Soccer: Kingz arrive at crossroads

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Without really trying, the Football Kingz continue to turn heads - but they are often merely shaken in amazement.

The negative continues to outweigh the positive.

Sadly, the controversies and ensuing damage control are often sparked by off-field rather than footballing issues.

Within weeks of kicking off their second NSL season, the club, with their future assured by Fifa's backing, are desperate for ongoing support.

The Football Kingz deserve to succeed. To do so they must get everyone on their side. There can be no repeat of first-season and then pre-second season blunders.

Off-field controversies remain blights the Kingz cannot afford to repeat. These include the failure to pay wages on time and meet other payments, leading to the subsequent threat to liquidate the club; the handling of the "Chilean affair"; the reluctance to involve the national body in key decisions; the attempt to offload Chris Jackson and Jason Batty; the "swap stadiums" saga; the John Batty non-payout; the cloak-and-dagger manner in which key appointments were made, and the way in which Chris "cellphone" Turner railroaded all and sundry to "do it my way."

On the field, other questions begged answers. Why the reluctance to talk positively about winning a place in the top-six playoffs? Why an apparent decree by coaches Wynton and Shane Rufer that the team should change every week even after a much-lauded victory?

Why lack of discipline led to so many cards and suspensions? Why were the team so inconsistent? It was not until their 19th game that the Kingz managed to win two in a row.

Why, when Wynton Rufer was calling for more Kiwis in the squad, was the ageing John Lammers enlisted for a nil return?

On the flip side, there were positives, such as the return of Aaran Lines, albeit briefly; the emergence of Jonathan Perry, Lee Jones and Ivan Vicelich; the introduction of youngsters Jeff Campbell, Noah Hickey and Leigh Kenyon; the emergence of a real hard core of supporters; the ability to defy the odds in winning 4-1 over Perth and 3-1 away over defending champions South Melbourne after a long travel delay; the spark provided by Aaron Silva and subsequent support from Auckland's Chilean community; the touches of undoubted class shown by veterans Wynton Rufer and Fred de Jong; the goodwill engendered in taking games away from Auckland, and confirmation that in North Harbour Stadium New Zealand had a truly international-standard soccer ground.

Food for thought, surely.

Now, as the 2000-2001 season looms, the time is right to look ahead.

The decision to switch stadiums, for whatever reason, must be accepted. So must staffing and other appointments. The Rufers, with or without universal support, should be left to get on with it.

New Zealand Soccer's input must be encouraged.

Season tickets should be available sooner rather later, and admission charges pitched to reflect the level of interest which the game, and the Kingz, demand.

The Kingz have brought much negativity upon themselves. There are issues that still demand the club's attention.

It is now firmly up to chief executive Simon Massey and general manager Turner to get it right.

Support will be forthcoming. But only if the feeling, off and on the field, remains positive.

The public are, rightly, demanding. They want results.

While they might be prepared to forgive and forget many off-field troubles, there will no such charity if things go sadly wrong on it.

Just ask the Warriors.