The Unused Subs

Head coach of the Wellington Phoenix Women BEV PRIESTMAN is our special guest this week on The Unused Subs, and what a treat it was to spend time with this energizer bunny of a football manager. Things we cover off in this episode:

* How she's adapted to the various injuries and unavailable players in her squad to put the Nix within striking distance of silverware
* Bev's connection to New Zealand
* Coping with the stress that came from the Olympics drone spying scandal
* An update on Macey Fraser
* How women's football can learn from the mistakes of the men's game
* What it's like to win an Olympic gold medal... not that she ever received one for her efforts in Tokyo!

Along the way, we're interrupted by two famous All Whites goal scorers who just happened to be sifting around our home ground of Tyler St Sport, and Paul Ifill does his best to contend with the heat and the lack of power in Honiara while on duty with the Samoan Women's national team... every now and then, he just intermittently drops off the call - sorry about that!

PLUS! We reveal our 'SUBS FOR SUBS' initiative, where we offer to contribute cold hard cash for one lucky kiwi's NZ club football fees!

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Kiwis talk football too!#football #soccer #newzealand

The Unused Subs is proudly presented by McDonald's!

Boy, oh boy... what a week for the Wellington Phoenix. What a result for Auckland FC! The 6th kiwi derby became a routine dismantling of the Black & Yellow, with AFC claiming their sixth straight win in a 5 star performance in the capital. Shortly after full-time, Giancarlo Italiano stepped down from his role as Phoenix Head Coach. The Unused Subs talk about Chiefy's decision, and use it to analyze the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY of his stint as head coach.

Goran drove from Auckland to Wellington and back again to hang out with the Yellow Fever on gameday, and thanks to the efforts of Ethan Fransen and friends we were able to mic a few of them up and hear their genuine reactions to the game... and the goals... in a Behind The Scenes EXCLUSIVE! Don't worry, it's family friendly. For the most part!

The Subs also chat about Josh Oluwayemi's SHOCKING own goal... what in the WORLD was he thinking?! And an old favourite is BACK in the saddle! It's Chris Greenacre's 4th run as a Nix head coach, we wonder whether he deserves the job on a permanent basis, and if PAUL IFILL will finally answer the calls of the fans and step into a role to support him?

And does Spoon want a goalkeeper coach role?

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For the final time this A-League regular season, our two kiwi teams square off on Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital. WHO WILL WIN? Can the Wellington Phoenix finally get on the board? Or will Auckland FC extend their streak to SIX?! The boys make an argument for the Nix, an argument for Auckland, and reveal which player will hold the key to unlocking victory.

Then we are joined by our guest this week, Emiliano Tade. He gives his take on the derby, and speaks about how much he's enjoying his role within Auckland FC's Pro League team as a player/assistant coach.

Emiliano reveals how close he came to playing A-League football, and what would have happened if he never boarded the plane from Argentina to New Zealand more than 15 years ago... in an alternate reality, he probably stays in South America and becomes a lawyer!

We're happy to say he made the right choice, as he became a big part of Auckland City's success during their FIFA Club World Cup run. The Subs bench goes back to that one time in 2014 when they placed 3rd in Morocco, Ivan Vicelich won a bronze ball, and Emiliano missed a sitter against San Lorenzo... Argentina's South American champions, and a team he watched very closely growing up!

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Kiwis talk football too!
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With Tyler St Sport opening its doors for the Superbowl on Monday, The Unused Subs needed a venue to play their unique brand of football…  look no further than directly upstairs, as the mighty Portside came to the rescue!  Only one small issue though: very, very hot in there, with the sun beating down through the glass roof!  Hydration was key, which it will be when CLAUDIA BUNGE and the Football Ferns head to Honiara shortly to commence World Cup Qualifying.

Claudia begins by addressing some of her on-field issues lately which threaten to sully her good name - a straight red card that was later overturned, and also the concession of a dubious penalty at the weekend.  After that, we talk about last season’s rollercoaster ride of a grand final, and how that is providing motivation for her and the Melbourne Victory to go one better this time around.

As an Aucklander, would she ever entertain the idea of playing for an Auckland FC women’s team?  Claudia gives her take on why the Aussies haven’t maximized the fan opportunity created by co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.

We go down memory lane too, with Claudia’s experiences of THAT World Cup; winning against Norway on opening night, failing to qualify for the knockout round and everything in between…  including being an ambassador for Visa!  That’s gotta mean free money, right?

And lastly, but most importantly…  WE’VE BEEN SAYING HER NAME WRONG FOR YEARS.  A stunning tutorial at the end of this episode awaits you!

Oh, and we start with our weekend wrap, including Sarpreet Singh returning for the Wellington Phoenix, Max Crocombe versus Libby Cacace, and what’s going to happen when Auckland FC finally hit the target more regularly?!  An xG of FIVE vs Sydney?!  Someone’s getting destroyed very soon!

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Kiwis talk football too!

#football #soccer #newzealand

Dutch international and injured Wellington Phoenix footballer TESSEL MIDDAG joins The Unused Subs today, but not before the boys talk about Oli Sail’s unfortunate injury for Auckland FC, Bill Tuiloma’s horrible error for the Nix, and debate which kiwi will be promoted to the Premier League from the EFL Championship - Marko Stamenic, Tyler Bindon, Max Crocombe, or Libby Cacace?

When Tessel arrives on the scene, she reviews the biggest road win in Wellington Phoenix Women history, 5-1 over the Newcastle Jets… with Paul Ifill bragging about Pia Vlok’s insane hattrick.  After all, he did tweet about her a few months ago, telling us she’d be amazing!

Tessel speaks about recovering from her 3rd ACL injury, with surgery some 6 weeks behind her now.  Being a long way from home, she tells us how she’s keeping busy, not only through rehab but by assisting the team with video analysis and offering plenty of advice to the young kiwis at the Phoenix.

The conversation shifts to what can be done to elevate the Women’s A-League, and the difficulties many players face when their football salary isn’t enough to cover the bills at home, meaning additional work is required to function in the real world.  But at what cost to their football?  Or even their other job??  Being stretched too thin can’t be good for either…  and then there’s the mental strain placed on the athlete as well. 

And having played with so many rockstars of the women’s game, we get Tessel to reveal her Four X’s with Collinson Forex - spoiler alert, Lucy Bronze makes the cut, and did you know she played Euros on a broken leg?!  So much more resilient than Iffy, who injured himself during a goal celebration!  Be sure to watch to the end to see the results of that!

FOLLOW THE UNUSED SUBS!

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Kiwis talk football too!

#football #soccer #newzealand