Wellington Phoenix
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@hydro11 said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
@crucial said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
@jegga said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
@mn5 said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
I used to go fairly regularly with work ( in the corp box of course ) and I must admit the crowd are pretty good fun despite their low numbers ( actually they'd probably draw more than the Lions these days but I digress )
In the cold hard light of day I do agree with all you've written though. They dumped that Auckland team for having a similar record did they not?
They really don’t deserve the fans they have , the Phoenix are just awful .
The Knights/Kingz got dumped when they went broke and a couple of guys in Wellington picked up their licence.The fans are really just a bunch a folk wanting to try and emulate soccer fan experiences from places in the world where it is a big part of the culture. They see it (or have experienced it before) and want to have the same in NZ.
Problem is, that they are a minority, the quality of the game is piss poor and their pretence can only go so far. I'm surprised they have held out so long before just sitting up in the early hours like sad fucks with Chelsea scarves around their necks pining for what they don't have.
The whole of the A league is built on fantasy.
Soccer is a big sport around a lot of the world but that doesn't mean it should be big in Australasia.That post makes no sense. Do you thing rugby in Italy is based on a fantasy? Italy has two domestic rugby teams which get pathetic crowds - far worse position than the a-league. In the A-league you have passionate fans and they are displaying their passion for the sport they love. The A-league is just the competition for football in Australia - if football grows the league will grow with it. The goal of the league doesn't have to be to get big or to take over.
There is an NBL in Australia which Cedric Jackson could come over and dominate after being not even good enough to play in the NBA. At least the A-league have had players who have been to the mountaintop.
You seem to be suggesting that people shouldn't bother doing something if it isn't going to become big which to me just seems like a very sad attitude.
You seem to misunderstand what I am getting at. I am not saying people shouldn't have a crack, just that if it isn't sustainable, it isn't sustainable. Eventually you can't go on pretending you are attending something better than you are. The attendances dwindle and the downward spiral begins.
There is a place for soccer in Australasia, it just isn't at the level the A league pretends it is. Anyone good within Oz or NZ plays overseas and the rest fill in a few gaps around failed overseas players. There is no pathway that benefits the sport in our countries. It is simply a put together product to appeal to those soccer fans that want to try and have the experiences they miss. That can only go so far.
Sports like Basketball can maintain a level of of excitement and entertainment because the crowd numbers are smaller. Put the Breakers into US size venues during regular season and it would look as pathetic as the Phoenix -
I dont follow soccer and dont know too much about who is who player wise ,
But went to a local derby A league game a few years back ( the same night we played france in the quarter to be exact) the two melbourne sides , and was blown away by the atmosphere ,
Big crowd , and the chanting and singing was full on , never been back though
, but they were all passionate about it ,I think its here to stay in Aus
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The Phoenix remind me a little bit of the Western Force.
A bright start when both franchises debuted but geographically isolated and heading in the wrong direction - in both situations they are/were in constant danger of being dropped from the competition by the governing body.
While there is a strong core of what fans they do have - the fanbase is not great and is much smaller than when they started out.
While each franchise they were able to attract some 'star' players earlier on (Giteau/Daniel) that has really dwindled recently.
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Maybe the Phoenix fans are simply to nice to stir up enough attention and bums on seats?
..and
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@mariner4life said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
....but what is the point of Wellington....
This is a question I’ve asked many times.
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@hydro11 said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
I also think it's great that someone like @mariner4life can decide to support a team 11,000 miles away coached by a German and reliant on a couple of Brazilians and a Egyptian, all the while dismissing local football culture. How do you think Liverpool even formed? It was local passionate people who were so small minded that they had a dispute with Everton. That's how clubs are formed, that's what they are built on. I guess if they hadn't done that in 1892, by the time you came along you would have just supported another random club because what's the point in small clubs?
holy shit, i missed this. Really? None of this makes any fucking sense at all super-fan. "local football culture" is 6,000 fans in a 34,000 seat stadium watching a team win once a year? Most of whom probably support a premier league side as well (how dismissive).
Their place is not secure. They are a failure on the pitch (making finals is a lot easier when 60% of the teams in the comp do). The Asian Federation isn't thrilled by the thought of an Oceania side making their Champions League (haha). Even overly optimistic and passionate Aussie soccer writers are starting to see that the A-League is stagnating. And I read an article today that thinks part of it is the lack of pathways for Aussie players. Having 10% of the teams trying to be a pathway for NZ players isn't going to help that.
Little point trying to compare to the Warriors, their own fans acknowledge they are a dumpster fire of epic proportions.
If you would like to change the tack of the argument. Why are they so shit? What needs to change?
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They just kicked out their only player who can actually score
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12186563
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@Chris-B said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
@jegga I think it is Long Pins I who has given him the boot - not the Phoenix.
Quite why she felt the need to inform the media, I'm not sure.
I only read the headline, life’s too short to read about the Phoenix but now that you bought that to my attention there’s a link in article to her Instagram page. A cursory look indicates she spends a lot of time in various states of undress.
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What is scandalous about all this? Rich, unmarried footballer banging multiple tarts. Time to clutch pearls!
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
What is scandalous about all this? Rich, unmarried footballer banging multiple tarts.!
Or as I see it living the dream
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@Stargazer said in What is the point of the Phoenix?:
Hell yeah! Eighth straight win for the Nix!
Win or "not loss"?
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That table doesn't include tonight's win so three points ahead of Adelaide and one point off second, although game in hand for everyone ahead of us.
Impressive comeback tonight, woeful first have but incredible turn around after half time. I can't remember the last time I saw the phoenix playing with that kind of intensity and focus.
Rudan is a great manager. If the phoenix can keep him for three years they'll be doing well. Bigger clubs will be interested soon.
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"What is the point of the Phoenix"? Asks the man who has posted almost 9000 times on a sports forum.
Sometimes I come here to check in on how the rugby fraternity is dealing with other sports being in the limelight for two seconds; and this is the bullshit I always see.
The Phoenix are the only professional football team in New Zealand. Many kids play football in NZ. I'll leave it to you to work out why their continued existence is important to many people.
