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Opposition Q & A

Pre-season Opposition: Phoenix Wellington Q&A

Today we speak to Phoenix Wellington fan Guy Smith from www.yellowfever.co.nz

Tell us about a bit about Phoenix Wellington and how it was formed, What is the quality of football in the A league like?
The Phoenix formed in 2007 to fill a gap left by the defunct New Zealand Knights. The Knights were based in Auckland but Wellington businessman Terry Serepisos brought A-League football to Wellington after, legend has it, hearing about it from his barber while getting a haircut. He had no previous experience of football. The club has since changed hands (Serepisos went spectacularly bust) and is now owned by a consortium of Wellington businessmen.

Ask a dozen fans how the A-League compares to Europe and you’ll get a dozen different answers. Players who have stood out in the A-League have made the move to some top European leagues, but apart from Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak, most of them haven’t really shone there yet. It’s probably something like one of the lesser Scandinavian leagues, or perhaps the second tier in Germany or Spain.

How big is football in New Zealand?
Hands down it is the most played sport, but it struggles to compete for the national attention with sports we can actually win at because no one else plays them (rugby, netball, rowing, sailing etc). The 2010 All Whites and their World Cup success gave it a boost and the World Cup is the most bet on and watched sporting event in the country, so there is definitely latent interest.

What is the average home gate and what would an average a league player earn per week?
About 8,000 give or take. Fans that is. The A-league is a salary capped league of 1.4 million pounds for a squad of 20-23 players. The average A-League salary would be something like 1-2 grand a week (pounds). So not huge money, but enough to make a comfortable living from.

How is West ham and their fans perceived in New Zealand? How well is West Ham known?
West Ham are not a big club here. Local fan group Kiwi Hammers has a couple of hundred members. Football fans would know Winston Reid and probably track the clubs progress because of this.

What is your view on West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium?
Didn’t know it was happening. Does the Olympic Stadium have a running track? If so, sounds shit.

Who are your key players? Who should we look out for on during the match?
Our big off season signings have been Alex Gorrin (who was captain of the reserves at Sunderland last season but never cracked the first team), Nathan Burns (an established A-League midfielder/striker who is a good solid signing in our league) and Michael McGlinchey (whose signing hasn’t been confirmed at the time of writing, but assuming it happens he’s a Scottish bloke with Kiwi heritage who plays for New Zealand and is a busy creative midfielder). Also popular is last year’s surprise package Albert Riera who only became a pro last year when we picked him up from a local amateur team. He stood out enough in his debut season to get picked in the A-League all stars team who are playing Juventus in a few weeks.

Winston Reid has been great for West Ham, what is the next best talent to come from New Zealand?
For sure Winton Rufer is our most famous and successful player. Ryan Nelsen is another legend of the game in this country. Reid has the potential and was great for us in 2010 but has had an on-again off-again commitment level when it comes to playing for New Zealand, much to fans’ frustration. Some of the young talent we have coming up includes Marco Rojas (Stuttgart) and Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle).

What is your Achilles heel?
We’re from New Zealand, so not being very good at football is definitely a limitation.

If you could have any West Ham player in your team who would you choose?
We’d probably try to pinch Reece Oxford so we could sell him to Chelsea for millions, but more realistically we always struggle for goals so maybe Kevin Nolan or Carlton Cole – both getting to the stage of their career where we might be able to snaffle them.

Where would you recommend away fans go in Auckland for something to eat and drink around the stadium?
The local John Deere dealer, but in Wellington we like Five Stags, Balti House, and Pizzeria Napoli for dinner, Electric Ave for a dance, and the Backbencher for pregame drinks.

Score and prediction for the match?
Comfortable win to Hammers. You’ll give us a goal though. Maybe 3-1.

Tell me one interesting fact about New Zealand
Not everyone here is a hobbit or a wizard, contrary to popular myth. We were also very nearly a French colony instead of a British one, which if we’re being honest would have been good for our football.

You can follow us on twitter at @YellowFever_NZ. Or if your opinion is more than 140 characters, jump on our website and forums instead www.yellowfever.co.nz

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