Far from home, the Latin American football fanatics of Waiheke Island are fighting to regain their place on the New Zealand football league. It’s a tale of passion, pride and love for the beautiful game, writes Michael Andrew. This story was made possible by Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown journalism, join today. For the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Defence report outlines changing nature of Pacific threats, DHBs unaware of staff vaccination, and visitors desecrate Lake Waikaremoana. The Defence Force has released a report which outlines their views on the most important threats currently facing the Pacific. As Politik reports, it hasn’t necessarily been about singling out … Read more
New verse from Syrian-New Zealand poet and high schooler Mohamed Al Mansour. In Lebanon I had a big football team, twenty-three players and two captains. My two best friends in the team were Ali Ahmad and Mohamed. Ali Ahmad is fast and Mohamed is tall. We played in the same place every time. The ground … Read more
The Wellington Phoenix managed to get a club record crowd when they last played in Auckland. Is the A-League missing out on a massive potential market? “Stand up if you love the Kingz, stand up if you love the Kingz…” rung out around Mt Smart Stadium for the very last time on Sunday 29 February … Read more
For once, the Wellington Phoenix are actually cool. Alex Braae was part of a record crowd that went along to see them in Auckland last night. “Have the Phoenix always passed it around this much?” I was asking my mate, who was as bewildered as I was about what was playing out in front of … Read more
Calum Henderson’s seven step guide to adding the Beautiful Game to your summer. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. The best part of any match at Kiwitea Street in Sandringham, Auckland, is the five minutes after the referee blows the final whistle, before the volunteers come down from the clubrooms and start taking down … Read more
You hate the breaks in play that come with video technology in sport. But what if we got rid of it altogether? Alex Braae ponders the possibility. I used to play a lot of park cricket, never at a remotely high standard. Club cricket organisations wouldn’t bother giving us umpires. Players on the batting team … Read more
A Kiwi reporter has been caught in the first known act of World Cup-related violence to affect New Zealand, taking a pint of lager to the face live on the AM Show as England fell to Croatia in extra time. Across the UK the faithful had gathered, stuffing pubs and parks the nation over to … Read more
Isn’t it interesting how New Zealanders suddenly remember they’re football fans just as the World Cup begins? Starring Ra Pomare. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
The Allegory of the Cave, and Madden: Haimona Gray muses on how the two are actually pretty similar, using his own (limited) experience with sport and his (not-so-limited) experience with sports video games. I have never dunked in real life. Plato probably didn’t either. What makes Plato and I different – besides location, era, and cleanliness … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, Alex Braae takes a look at a comically bad season for the Wellington Phoenix, who’ve just fired their coach, Darije Kalezic. Who? Kalezic is a Swiss/Bosnian/Dutch journeyman who arrived at the Wellington Phoenix at the start of the … Read more
The new FIFA Mobile game is a satisfying but less life-destroying alternative to its console counterpart, writes Calum Henderson. Every couple of weeks I entertain an increasingly vivid fantasy in which I quit my job, buy a PlayStation, withdraw from the world and spend all my time at home playing video games. By video games … Read more
Why does golf still exist, but Cricket Max doesn’t? How does Strip Date make the primetime schedule at TV2 when we can’t even get a half-hour slot for Clash of the Codes? Sam Parsons goes on a quest to restore justice to the world. Cricket Max The short-lived game was basically one day cricket on steroids and a … Read more
It’s EURO 2016 eve, the most beautiful time of the football year: a carnival of early morning starts, low-key sports betting addiction and extremely niche memes is nearly upon us. Get match-fit with James Beavis’ essential group-by-group breakdown. Group A (aka The One Where France Maybe Won’t Succumb To Infighting This Time) Teams: Albania, France, … Read more
Everyone’s hailing Leicester City’s amazing Premier League victory as a one-in-a-million sporting tale, but James McOnie argues it was plagarised from the Highlanders’ 2015 season. While everyone thinks Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League victory will be turned into a movie, let’s just remember this rags-to-riches tale involves some players* who earn more in a fortnight than many All Blacks do … Read more
Joseph Moore travels to the north of England for a first-hand glimpse of the team that has tortured his family for two generations and counting. I’m sitting alone on an empty, overpriced train plummeting deep into the heart of North West England. It’s mainly overpriced because I paid extra to get a ticket which included … Read more
A horrible goal celebration in Manchester, a horrible knee injury in London, and horrible weather in Stoke – all-in-all another great weekend of Premier League action. Yet another milestone in the unbelievable story of Leicester City – for the first time all season they are favourites to win the Premiership at the TAB. The Foxes … Read more
Leicester are the new Barcelona (at least until Pep Guardiola arrives in Manchester), Spurs are inching ever closer to the top of the table, and a rare start for Peter Crouch can’t help Stoke as Manchester United finally rediscover the joy of scoring goals. The January transfer window slammed shut with a hint of passive-aggression … Read more
Is Jonjo Shelvey the most important signing of the January transfer window? Has anybody seen Peter Crouch this week? And what happened to muscular rapping Dutchman Royston Drenthe? The January transfer window is wide open, and Premier League clubs are rushing in from every corner of England (and Wales) to partake in a bit of … Read more
The Premier League schedule returns to some semblance of normality this weekend, after a typically hectic holiday period. Here’s how each side fared over the break, in the order they sit on the table. 1. Arsenal (43 points) Won v Man City 2-1 Lost v Southampton 0-4 Won v Bournemouth 2-0 Won v Newcastle 1-0 … Read more
Jose Mourinho gets the sack, AFC Bournemouth continue their giant-killing run and Petr Cech’s wife bakes a wonderful cake in another week of wildly unpredictable Premier League action. Chelsea have finally sacked manager Jose Mourinho after a 2-1 loss to Leicester City on Tuesday morning left last season’s champions just one point clear of the … Read more
A strange, wonderful, violent round of upsets in the Premier League – and at the end of it all Arsene Wenger was able to sit back and enjoy his reggae in peace. In a weekend in which you could have reasonably expected wins for Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and even Chelsea – over Stoke … Read more
In the 1970s, nothing was more important to a young Jeff Evans than Liverpool FC. Then, gradually, his passion for the club began to wither. Could brilliant new manager Jürgen Klopp resurrect his love? It’s not often I’ll start a conversation with a confession, at least a conversation that doesn’t involve my wife, but today I’m … Read more
A goal-filled Premier League weekend saw Jamie Vardy break a record, Alexis Sanchez break his hamstring, and Bournemouth break their manager in an injury time frenzy. All eyes were on Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy on Sunday morning as he looked to break Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s consecutive game scoring record against Manchester United, and his … Read more
Stoke City striker Peter Crouch holds the Premier League record for headed goals, famously enjoys free nachos, and wears his deep and enduring love of Britpop on his sleeve. At 34, he has made his first music video guest appearance. For most people Britpop died out to the celebratory strains of Toploader’s ‘Dancing in the … Read more
This Friday the Wellington Phoenix play their first home game since Football Federation Australia’s refusal to grant them a ten-year license extension to play in football’s A-League. Right now, Wellington is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. It was a remarkable press conference. Two weeks ago A-League CEO David Gallop sat a desk … Read more
This week the Men in Blazers discuss the mid-table clash between Liverpool and Chelsea. Are Rog and Davo #teamJose or #teamCesc in the Chelsea fiasco? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P3DVrTNNj0&feature=youtu.be?utm_source=thespinoff&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=partnership With a quarter of the season gone, Premier League Pass are offering a quarter off the price. To claim your 25% discount, simply sign up as usual to a … Read more
You can’t get rid of the Phoenix. They’re named the Phoenix, for goodness’ sake. Is the Phoenix not the ultimate symbol of regeneration and rebirth and renewal? How can the Wellington club that rose from the ashes of Auckland’s attempts on dodgy property developer cash be handed a death sentence by the FFA? Do they … Read more
A happy week on Premier League Twitter, thanks to everyone doing reasonably well in Europe for once, with Arsenal’s 2-0 triumph over Bayern Munich a definite highlight. Looking ahead to the weekend’s round of games, which features a tantalising Manchester derby and struggling Chelsea vs high-riding West Ham, let’s first check what’s been happening on the … Read more