Australia NewsPhoenix Fear Over Kids Snub |
EXCLUSIVE: Wellington Phoenix say they have to take it on the chin as a second season without a youth side looms but the CEO admits it's a major cause for concern.
The Westpac outfit had been hoping to be part of the New Zealand Football Championship but the existing clubs in the competition have blocked that move, at least for a year.
It leaves Phoenix without any competitive fixtures for young players - the club having added teenager Marco Rojas to its ranks yesterday - or senior players anxious to stake their claim for a first team spot.
A series of friendly fixtures against local sides could provide some match action but Tony Pignata says there is nothing like football where something is at stake.
"We're obviously very disappointed that we won't have a team in there (the NZFC) but I guess we just have to cop it on the chin. We feel a youth side is imperative for us to grow as a club," Pignata told au.fourfourtwo.com.
Pignata said a lack of competitive action for a section of the club's players was bad news on several levels.
He said: "Youngsters are not getting the chance to make an impression when points are at stake and then you want a stage for others to show Ricki (Herbert) that they should be in his side.
"If a player in the side then drops out through injury or another reason then there is the issue of other players being ready to step in."
He also acknowledged that a second team would ensure that no-one in the side would feel secure about their starting slot.
"We'll go back to the FFA and examine our options," said Pignata.
Have YOUR say - What do you think about "Phoenix Fear Over Kids Snub"? Tell us NOW in the comment section below.
We talk to Premier League hot-shots Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres, Socceroos’ frontmen Harry Kewell and Josh Kennedy, as well last season’s Bundesliga top scorer Grafite and Man United legend Andy Cole.
