A whole ‘team’ has left Chch United

Press, 25 February 1981, Page 16

A whole ‘team’ has left Chch United

Iri his preview of the Rothmans Soccer League'season, DAVID LEGGAT looks at the losses suffered by Christchurch Mogal . United

: There will:be a very heavy reliance on dis'"old hands'? if Christchurch.Mogal United is tomake a strong impression in the 1981 Rothmans SocCer League.. ; United has lost, effectively, a.whole team from last year. And the losses read something like a miniature "Who's Who’’ of Canterbury soccer. Gone are Allan Boath, Paul Bradshaw and Peter Moot to Woolston WMC; Mike Glubb to Dunedin City; Ross Durant to Wellington Diamond . United; -i Colin Chisholm io National Mutual •Miramar; Steve Sumner and Frank McKay to Australia; Graham Griffiths has retired; Brent Simpson will be* sidelined for at least another two months; and Neville Petrie has left the club.

be forced4o place an. interesting assortmentcf.;players. But he seems certain to find' it a difficult year. . ■'?<. United is a club which has had considerable success in the last 11 years, and, with the memory of last season still fresh; will bedooking for a return to what it undoubtedly views, with some justification, as its rightful place near the top of the football-ing-tree. The goal-keepers will be Barry Pickering, formerly with Stop Out, and the youthful Neil Caswell, from Shamrock. Pickering went to Korea in the New Zealand team of 1978, managed by Messrs Conley and Barrie Truman. He is a fine player, who seemed to have a knack for saving some of his best until he was opposing United. Caswell has a bright, future, but will probably spend most of 1981 watching, and learning. The outstanding Almond was troubled by injury last season, and, as a result, lost his New Zealand place. He will, form a strong central

;Those remaining. from ■ 1989, a year which promised ■ so much but produced disap- ! pbihtingly little, are Bobby • Almond, lan Park, who will again captain the side, Graham Archer. lan Marshall and Peter Bennie. sAround them, United’s new Coach, Mr Terry Conley, will

defence with Alan South, who stood out in an inconsistent Rangers defence in 1980. / Colin Duncan has come to United from Western, and James Margaritis has followed Mr Conley back from Blockhouse Bay. The pair will be battling for the rightback place, or might even find themselves both playing, . if it is decided to push Park forward. Park scored 28 times from 1972-74 when playing as a striker. .He has played in the front 7 line in pre-season matches and clearly Mr Conley is seriously considering pushing the experienced Park into an attacking role. Marshall will, barring injury, be one midfielder, with Archer, Bennie, Michael Howard and Stuart Chalmers being the others fighting for places. ? •■ . Archer, Bennie and, to a-

lesser extent, Howard, all had a chance last season, while Chalmers has switched from Nomads United, but he has brought with him a technical problem. At the end of the 1980 season, Chalmers was given a four-match suspension after receiving his second dismissal of the winter. However, he must serve that with Nomads, it seems, and Noamds do not start playing until United is well into its league proganime. Kees Doornenbal has returned from Australia and can be used in either the midfield or the attack. Doornenbal scored 31 times in his 126 appearances for United and, if he can recapture his old form, should be an asset. Gordon Faichnie is likely to be used on the left side of the attack. He proved with

Rangers last year that he has the ability to play at national league level. But Rangers generally used different tactics to United, preferring a fast break to the slower, methodical build-up, favoured by United. Provided Faichnie can adjust his game accordingly, which he should, he could make an impact, being the first genuine left-footed attacking player at United since Kevin Mulgrew. Michael Cantin has joined United straight from Xavier College. He will find the step a giant one, but according to Mr Conley “the basic ingredients are there.” He had a particularly good game against Cashmere-Wanderers in the pre-season tournament, but, at 17, might still need another year’s experience. Eric Reiser has returned from a trip to Austria, and might well force a place, while Mr Conley could also consider another young midfielder, Scott Sinclair. Mr Conley has a real challenge on his hands, some-

thing in which he revels. On that basis alone, it would not be too great a surprise if the end of the season points table shows United to be in a reasonably healthy position.