The WaiBOP United Gazette
Market19 Oct 2026
Bill Bell puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tim Kirwan is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Nobody could get near Joe Fenton
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A late step up for Callum Sutton
At 24 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at WaiBOP United
Ryan Lockyer 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.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Graduation day at WaiBOP 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
WaiBOP United promote Dane Smith from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dane Smith 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
Ryan Lockyer steps up from the WaiBOP United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ryan Lockyer 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
WaiBOP United promote Alex Payne from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alex Payne 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
- Match A bad afternoon for WaiBOP United against Hawke's Bay United
- Squad Words at WaiBOP United training over how hard people work
- Loan watch Jake Wood has seen enough of Auckland City