Soccer: Fulham link for Knights

When the final whistle was blown on the Knights' season last night, it was not exactly the end but a new beginning for coach John Adshead.

In many ways, this season finished a long time ago given the fact they were so far off the pace, meaning he's been able to devote a fair amount of time to what he needs to do to turn things around for the 2006/07 season.

Already gone is assistant coach Tommy Mason and others are certain to follow. Although the club have been tight-lipped about a replacement - All Whites coach Ricki Herbert has ruled himself out of the running - it's understood they have been in talks with former Fulham reserve team coach and assistant academy director Paul Nevin.

Nevin relocated to New Zealand recently and is one of the most qualified coaches in the country, as he holds a FIFA professional licence, which is awarded to those at the top of their profession.

Knights chief executive Steve O'Hara refused to comment, saying only they "have been looking around the world to see who's out there".

Although the entire club is being reviewed, from the management to medical staff, it's the playing squad which holds the most interest.

Ronnie Bull, Steve Fitzsimmons (both two-year deals), Simon Yeo and Danny Hay (both three years) have left the club and there are 10 players on only one-year deals.

Ben Collett, Josh Maguire and Xiaobin Zhang will be released, while it's understood Zenon Caravella, Glen Moss, Jeremy Brockie, John Tambouras and Naoki Imaya have all been offered extended deals.

Jeremy Christie is yet to be offered a deal and is attracting interest from an A-League side across the Tasman. As is Brockie, who is in the sights of the Newcastle Jets and would qualify as one of the three under-20 players each club must include.

The future is unsure for Cole Tinkler, Kris Bright and Sam Jasper but all three would still qualify as under-20 players along with Brockie.

Of the others, skipper Darren Bazeley and goalkeeper Danny Milosevic have two years left on their current deals, although Milosevic is unhappy at the club and might weigh up his options. Neil Emblen, Sean Devine, Josh Rose, Noah Hickey and Frank van Eijs all have a year to run.

Should the club want to pay out a contracted player, A-League rules mean that any payment would need to be factored into the club's A$1.5m salary cap for next season. It has also been suggested the club has lost close to $3m in its inaugural season.

Adshead is holding trials from Wednesday to Friday and, while it's not known exactly who will be there, considering NZFC is in the middle of their season, a 1.88m-tall Croatian striker is believed to be making his way to Auckland. Adshead has also said he's targetting a player out of Korea.

One player who has caught his eye is Auckland City striker Keryn Jordan, who has notched 18 goals in 14 NZFC games this season.

The former South African international moved to New Zealand in 2004 after being promised an A-League contract with the Knights if he scored at least 15 goals in the NZFC. He duly delivered but was told there was no longer a contract on the table because the deal was null and void considering it had been issued by the old Kingz.

"He's having a very impressive season," Adshead surmised. "His finishing has been absolutely top drawer."

"I haven't had an approach from the Knights yet... but it would be tempting," Jordan said. A potential stumbling block, however, is that Jordan plans to relocate to Gisborne next month to play in the Central Premier League. "I want to help build Gisborne up to what they once were so anything that needs to be decided needs to be decided with them first."


- HERALD ON SUNDAY