The Canterbury United Gazette
Squad19 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Michael Stamatelopoulos
67 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canterbury United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Matt Nelson is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A late step up for Jake McCowatt
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Graduation day at Canterbury United
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Canterbury United
Chris Singh 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
Ben Smith steps up from the Canterbury United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ben Smith 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
One of our own: Francis Garbett joins the Canterbury United first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francis Garbett is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market19 Oct 2026
Canterbury United promote Ben Barbarouses from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ben Barbarouses 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
Canterbury United promote Jai Lewis from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jai Lewis 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.
In brief
- Loan watch Chris Smith has seen enough of Auckland City
- Boardroom Canterbury United turn down the training-ground plan