Marked for Michael McGrath
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Apr 2029
A fracture rules Jariyah Shah out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Auckland City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Mamadou Loum in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Quicala Bari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
David Yoo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Auckland City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abongwe Newman, and the manager let it.
Market9 Apr 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Haris Zeb’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Feb 2029
Mamadou Loum was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Quicala Bari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Quicala Bari gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Quicala Bari is on it.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Abube Onuchukwu
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market19 Feb 2029
The Matt Ellis story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matt Ellis signs something — a contract at Auckland City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Auckland City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market12 Feb 2029
The deal that would have taken Santino Escolme to WaiBOP United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Auckland City with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
Auckland City asked and Unionistas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Adam Bell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael den Heijer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brandon Comley and Auckland City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
David Yoo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Auckland City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Feb 2029
No place for Brandon Comley in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Auckland City are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market15 Jan 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and WaiBOP United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Auckland City is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdoul Kialy Koné and Auckland City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Mamadou Loum in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Team Wellington have kept their man, and Auckland City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Quicala Bari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market15 Jan 2029
Mario Ilich is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Auckland City has been clear about where Mario Ilich stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad15 Jan 2029
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Auckland City know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
A loan enquiry to Waitakere United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
No place for Mario Ilich on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Auckland City pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Sep 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Auckland City can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Adam Bell and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Orlando Thorpe, and the manager let it.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
Michael McGrath asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market18 Sep 2028
The Haris Zeb talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Auckland City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Sep 2028
As if he never left: Adam Mitchell returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Adam Mitchell is a Auckland City player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad11 Sep 2028
David Yoo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mario Ilich is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad11 Sep 2028
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Auckland City know which stage they are at.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
David Yoo gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say David Yoo is on it.
Market11 Sep 2028
The Matt Ellis story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matt Ellis signs something — a contract at Auckland City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Michael McGrath trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Somebody is after Gethin Jones’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Gethin Jones suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Auckland City have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Auckland City. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Jul 2028
Position 2 and 25 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Auckland City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market31 Jul 2028
The bid was some way short and Auckland City did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad31 Jul 2028
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Adelaide United have kept their man, and Auckland City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Mario Ilich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad31 Jul 2028
At 33, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
A loan enquiry to Auckland FC: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
Haris Zeb gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Haris Zeb is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Jul 2028
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Auckland City asked and Wellington Phoenix said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Mario Ilich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Gethin Jones gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gethin Jones is on it.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Michael McGrath asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market24 Jul 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Haris Zeb’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Apr 2028
David Yoo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Auckland City know which stage they are at.
Market24 Apr 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market24 Apr 2028
He is 17, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michael McGrath commits to Auckland City for another 4 years.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Justin Vidic gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Justin Vidic is on it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Regont Murati falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Abube Onuchukwu
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market24 Apr 2028
The Matt Ellis story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matt Ellis signs something — a contract at Auckland City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.