Row brewing over soccer squad

Press, 11 May 1977, Page 42

Row brewing over soccer squad

By

BARNEY ZWARTZ

Controversy again surrounds the New Zealand World Cup soccer squad, I this time over its matches I later this month with Luton Town. Again the difficulties arise' . f misunderstandings be- | tween and differing prior-

ities for the New Zealand Football Association and the) Auckland Football Associ-i ation. They are jointly spon-l soring the tour. The N.Z.F.A., stirred: partly by adverse reaction to the World Cup affair, is giving the A.F.A. and its coach no leeway within the constitution. The A.F.A. and the nat-l ional coach, Wally Hughes, I both want a much greater degree of autonomy, and Hughes has already been i rapped over the knuckles for exceeding his authority. i The major bone of contention is how much prepa-] ration the side is to have for 1 i»: two games with Luton, on May "24 and 26. Charlie Dempsey, the A.F.A. chairman, has said more than once that the side, will not take the field unless it is adequately prepared, by| which he means a campl starting on May 22. The A.F.A. would reimburse; players with a week’s wage; of $BO and $5 expenses a' ■ day. This will rule out about six of the original World Cup squad of 22, who cannot afford the time off work, I plus lan Park and Phil Dando, who are now in Australia. The alternative is to I assemble the 16 players to

be used from the squad in Auckland on Tuesday, have a couple of hours of preparation and play. They would; return to work on Wednesday and assemble again on Thursday to play. The question will be decided at the N.Z.F.A.'s coun- ) cil meeting in Wellington this week-end, and Dempsey 1 now says he will reluctantly I accept the decision if it should go against the A.F.A. Hughes earlier decided he would have the camp and select players to replace (those unavailable, which he did, and had to be told sharply that he could not do I this. The chairman of the N.Z.F.A. (Ron Kelly) is adamant that if the camp option is taken and more players have to be selected, the [four selectors — Hughes isj lone — must meet and, I choose them constitutionally. The four players Hughes: ■wished to add would have: (caused controversy anyway.) 'They were Duncan Cole (North Shore), Sam Malcolmsen (Stop Out), and Dave Sneddon and Sandy Davie (North Shore). No-one would argue with Cole’s selection. Hughes has lost two left backs in Park I and Ron Armstrong, and Cole is an outstanding player in the right age group. Nor would many argue with Malcolmsen. But neither Sneddon nor Davie is a f>w Zealand citizen and both are automatically ineligible. Besides this,

Davie is the wrong side ofi 30 and his form is dubious. To the soccer public, one of the main points of the exercise is to start preparing for the World Cup in 1981. Even the World Cup squad being used is open to sound criticism, because it is the old squad with many players who certainly will not be selected in 1981. To use the squad was largely a political decision of convenience. Nevertheless, whichever Way the decision goes at the] week-end, it is excellent to have the N.Z.F.A. being seen to exert its authority. A camp and properly selected

i new players, such as Cole and Brighton’s Richard Wilson, seems the wiser course for 1981.