Marked for David Doyle
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom18 Aug 2036
Pressure builds in the Auckland FC boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
No deal for Andrew Lee at that price
Auckland FC offered $4.0K; Newcastle Jets said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brisbane Roar have kept their man, and Auckland FC go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Aug 2036
Words at Auckland FC training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pršo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
A loan move for Thomas Doyle is in the works
Auckland FC have made the call to Western Sydney Wanderers. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets18 Aug 2036
A loan move for Liam Shaw is in the works
Auckland FC have made the call to Sydney FC. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad18 Aug 2036
Jake Robinson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout18 Aug 2036
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Joshua Inserra is on it.
The dugout18 Aug 2036
The manager makes an example of Peter Watson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jul 2036
“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 The request is on a desk at Auckland FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2036
An offer of $4.0K for Andrew Lee
Auckland FC have gone to Newcastle Jets with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2036
Melbourne City wanted more than $30.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2036
Auckland FC asked and Sydney FC said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Jul 2036
Riley Dalziell 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.
Squad28 Jul 2036
Words at Auckland FC training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pršo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets28 Jul 2036
A loan move for Dean Taylor is in the works
Auckland FC 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 dugout28 Jul 2036
Logan Walsh gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout28 Jul 2036
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom21 Jul 2036
The scrutiny sharpens at Auckland FC
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Auckland FC is running low.
Market21 Jul 2036
“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 Auckland FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2036
$4.0K was the most the club would pay and Newcastle Jets were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Transfer targets21 Jul 2036
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brisbane Roar have kept their man, and Auckland FC go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Jul 2036
Words at Auckland FC training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pršo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout21 Jul 2036
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Joshua Inserra is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Oct 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luka Pršo and Auckland FC agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2034
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.
Market9 Oct 2034
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Tristan Marshall 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.
Market9 Oct 2034
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Dale Gallagher is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market9 Oct 2034
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Doyle 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.
Market9 Oct 2034
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joel Moore 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.
The dugout9 Oct 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josey Casa-Grande, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Oct 2034
Words at Auckland FC training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pršo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout9 Oct 2034
Aidan Morgan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Auckland FC will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.