The Auckland FC Sentinel
Market14 Sep 2026
Louis Verstraete hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Auckland FC can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The step up is real for Marlee Francois
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Louis Verstraete has improved at 27, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Ryan Miller for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Auckland FC will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
Joe Knowles counts the days
“I watch every Auckland FC game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Macarthur FC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Logan Rogerson 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.
In brief
- Squad A wage question at Auckland FC
- The dugout Daniel Hall keeps his manager's vote