Phoenix fans celebrate scoring a goal. Photo: Masanori Udagawa
The Wellington Phoenix had a choice to make over the summer. Stick or twist. They gambled, believing in the talent they have developed in the capital. Not that general manager David Dome or director of football Shaun Gill had much choice, given their tight budget.
Yet splashing out on big Aussie names or bringing in more foreign talent would have been justifiable. The off-season saw the Phoenix lose Oli Sail, Clayton Lewis, Steven Ugarkovic, Lucas Mauragis, Callan Elliot and Josh Laws, as well as head coach Ufuk Talay. Replacing all of the above would have cost a fortune the 'Nix simply don't have.
Instead, the likes of Alex Paulsen, Finn Surman, Ben Old, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Fin Conchie, Isaac Hughes and Oskar van Hattum have been asked to step up, along with new boss Giancarlo Italiano. The 'Nix didn't even fill their foreign player quota until Youstin Salas flew in from Costa Rica in January.
Many predicted that this necessary gamble would fail. Most punters had the Phoenix pencilled in for the wooden spoon, but the opposite is true. A double from Old and van Hattum's first A-League goal helped the injury-ravaged 'Nix stay top and put a chokehold on the top two places, with a 3-2 win over Adelaide United this weekend.
Bozhidar Kraev of the Phoenix. Photo: Masanori Udagawa
Old was the star. If you were to ask some unknowing bystanders which youngster on the field of play was jumping to Bayern Munich in a couple of months, 9/10 would say Old and not Adelaide wonderkid Nestory Irankunda.
Injury problems have always hindered Old but he's starting to look like the Nix's most mercurial talent since Sarpreet Singh. He's playing so well that people have even stopped talking about how he was a golf prodigy as a wee boy.
As if the weekend couldn't get any better, a helping hand from a fellow Kiwi in the form of Marco Rojas' brace saw Brisbane Roar overcome fourth-placed Melbourne Victory. It is looking increasingly unlikely that Wellington will be dropping out of that top two before the end of the regular season. A first semi-final since 2011-12 is now tantalisingly close.
"You can't win anything with kids," are the infamous words once uttered by Liverpool legend turned pundit Alan Hansen in 1995. Manchester United proved him wrong by winning the Premier League title that season, led by the aforementioned 'kids' Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and David Beckham. And those three went on to achieve nothing, right?
Hansen's doomed quote stuck with him until he hung up his punditry tie in 2014. If the Phoenix go on to win the A-League this season, their pre-season detractors should be continually hit with a similar stick.
In other football news:
Rachel Lowe of the Victory celebrates a goal with teammates during the A-League Women. Photo: Martin Keep
While the Phoenix men continue to climb, the women's season continues to dive. A 5-3 loss to Melbourne Victory was their third on the spin. That's two wins in 10 now for the Wahinix and the early season optimism has dried up.
Chris Wood may be out injured but his Nottingham Forest team didn't even need to play to drop closer to the Premier League relegation spots this week. Rivals Everton had their 10-point deduction for spending like Johnny Depp reduced, seeing them leapfrog Forest as a result. Wood's teammates then lost in heart-breaking fashion to Liverpool at the weekend. With their own big-spender wrist slap on the horizon, Wood might find himself losing his Premier League player card at this rate.
Did you know the first silverware of the New Zealand domestic season was awarded over the weekend? No? Fair enough as it had nearly zero coverage. Anyway, Wellington Olympic defeated Chatham Cup winners Christchurch United 3-0 in the NZF Charity Cup clash. Hopefully, a new TV partnership with FIFA+, the success of the recent World Cups, Phoenix hype and the new Auckland expansion, can create a bigger buzz about the domestic game in 2024.
The Manchester derby did not go as anticipated, with those expecting a vicious thrashing from City having to make do with just a 3-1 triumph. Two local boys stole the show, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden scoring screamers for their respective outfits.
Emeka Eneli #14 of Real Salt Lake is tripped up by Eduard Atuesta #20 of the Los Angeles Football Club during the first half of their game at the America First Field. Photo: Chris Gardner
Forget Messi-mania in America by the way, Snowgate is what has captured the attention in MLS. Real Salt Lake beat Los Angeles FC 3-0 in a lightning-storm blizzard (yes, those exist apparently) at the weekend. Post-game, LAFC boss Steven Cherundolo was incandescent at having to play in Day After Tomorrow-like conditions - a far cry from their Hollywood home.