The Auckland FC Sentinel
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Nobody could get near Jesse Randall
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
Michael Knight signs on for the long haul
Auckland FC moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Michael Knight, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Louis Verstraete 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 FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
Graduation day at Auckland FC
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Jesse Randall 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.
Market25 Oct 2027
Auckland FC promote Dylan Carter from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dylan Carter has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market25 Oct 2027
Auckland FC promote Jake Murphy from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jake Murphy has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market25 Oct 2027
One of our own: Max MacDonald joins the Auckland FC first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Max MacDonald is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market25 Oct 2027
Bradley Thomas steps up from the Auckland FC academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bradley Thomas has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Player ratings Lachlan Brook takes the honours
- Squad Lachlan Bayliss gets it from the manager
- Squad Jesse Randall has become a man the manager trusts