The Wellington Phoenix Gazette
Market23 Jul 2035
Not going: Jesse Roberts stays at Wellington Phoenix
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Brisbane Roar had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market23 Jul 2035
Dale Butler asks to leave Wellington Phoenix
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad23 Jul 2035
Will Dobson out for 25 days
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Will Dobson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad23 Jul 2035
Kevin Khan 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 Wellington Phoenix this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2035
Panathinaikos tell Wellington Phoenix: Luc de Fougerolles is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2035
Wellington Phoenix ask about Axel Balbuena
A loan enquiry to Lech: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2035
A loan move for Liam Coyne is in the works
Wellington Phoenix have made the call to Melbourne Victory. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout23 Jul 2035
When it matters, Lukas Kelly-Heald plays
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 dugout23 Jul 2035
The manager has not finished forgetting Jesse Roberts's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
In brief
- Market The Will Dobson story refuses to die
- The dugout Hugh Clark asks for a word with the manager
- Squad Questions about Nicholas Cooper on the training pitch