Football: Emerging talent to provide tsar factor

New All Whites coach Anthony Hudson is taking charge at a time when plenty of talent is emerging. Photo / AFP

The NZ team which will attempt to reach the World Cup in Russia is shaping as one of our best, writes Michael Burgess.

New Zealand Football have a golden generation on their hands, which makes the coaching, management and planning of the next four years critical.

Some players will fall by the wayside and others may not develop as expected but the All Whites line-up for the conclusion of World Cup qualification in late 2017 could be one of the best the country has ever fielded.

It will certainly be more attack minded than the 2006-10 vintage, with the likes of Marco Rojas, Ryan Thomas, Michael McGlinchey and Tyler Boyd likely to feature.

"The young boys in this team are fearless in a way," McGlinchey said earlier this year.

"You see them in training, trying all their tricks and even in the matches, they always want the ball. It's an exciting time and, over the next four years, we have the chance to really build something."

It's something a newcomer such as Thomas has also seen.

"It's great to see the boys wanting to pass the ball," he said after the international against South Africa in May. "We haven't seen that so much with the national team in the past."

New All Whites coach Anthony Hudson made the point this week he was fortunate to be coming into the job at this time. Unlike the team during the 2010-14 cycle, this All Whites side are on the rise. In three years, Hudson should have the ideal mix of established professionals and exciting youngsters, with plenty of players peaking.

Chris Wood will be 25 and Winston Reid 29. Rojas will (hopefully) have three Bundesliga seasons under his belt and who knows how good PEC Zwolle midfielder Thomas can become?

There's also great potential in Storm Roux and Bill Tuiloma, and youngsters such as Louis Fenton, Boyd and Matthew Ridenton have made promising starts to their A-League careers.

New Zealand under-20s defender Declan Wynne is tipped to make a mark at senior level and Tim Payne will need to rebound from his Blackburn setback.

Others like Andrew Durante (32), Jeremy Brockie (26), Chris James (27), Chris Killen (32) and evergreen striker Shane Smeltz (32), who has 23 goals in 51 international matches, will have a role to play in the immediate future and won't give up their places without a fight.

The key is how much of the young talent can cement themselves at international level, and forge good club careers. There have been plenty of Kiwis who have been touted as the next big thing when they sign with a high-profile club, only to be released later and end up a few rungs down the football ladder.

Remember Jack Pelter (Sunderland), James Musa (Fulham), Cameron Lindsay (Blackburn), Andrew Milne (Rangers) and Luke Rowe (Birmingham)?

Another potential issue for the All Whites could be the physical stature of the team. The side interim coach Neil Emblem put out against South Africa was one of most skilful but also one of the smallest in recent memory.

Bafana Bafana didn't manage to exploit that at set pieces but other teams will, so careful planning and organisation will be required.