Our very first transfer saga. YAY!

Hartlepool's 1 year extension now means Joel Porter is under contract for 1 more year. He can no longer leave under a free transfer unless the club release him. The problem is apparently the guy has sold his house and made it clear he wants to leave. The Phoenix really cant afford to pay the transfer fee as all A-League teams operate under a salary cap, which includes transfer fees, and we are still in the market for another midfielder and 2 strikers (1 if we sign Porter) according to nix boss Pignata.

That leaves Hartlepool with a striker on their books, who they have effectively handcuffed to the club. They will have to sell him on to another club regardless, even if it isn't the Phoenix, as a disgruntled player is never the best idea for most changing rooms.

The English PFA have been contacted to help resolve the issue as the Nix claim to have agreed a three year deal before the contract extension was announced.

It will be at least a couple of days (if not weeks) before we here anything more from the Nix or Hartlepool, but I'm sure that every party to this deal wants it ended sooner rather than later.

 till next time

Just a small update, apparently Plan "A" still has some legs. Porter hasn't made any comments about the 1 year extension, and Tony Pignata of the Phoenix has stated "The Fat Lady has not sung yet on the Joel Porter transfer" .

Tony P is eloquent as ever.

All I can conclude at this stage is the speculation is more interesting than the actual end result.

till next time.

Well it actually didn't take that long to solve the Porter problem. Hartlepool released its retained player list, Porter's name was on it and the club used an option in his contract to extend it. I think everyone is a little disappointed that this is the way it ended, but at least we can look forward to speculating over exactly who Plan "B" is.

Andy Cole's name has been bandied about in the pub and he has been released from Sunderland. Stranger things have happened, like Dwight Yorke coming down under. Something to think about?

Till next time

Well the Joel Porter saga has taken another twist with the Hartlepool Mail saying that the player wants to stay at the club, but only if he gets a three year contract. With his injury record I don't think it is likely that they will meet these terms but we can only wait and see.

The Nix have made their offer and given him 2 weeks to accept. Tony Pignata has said there is a Plan "B" and Plan "C" to fall back on, so its not a case of all our eggs in one basket.

The teams trip to China (June 6th - 16th) looks like it will have a good team building effect and improve our profile over there. Leilei gao in the squad helps as well. Hopefully Porter is on board before the team departs.

Till next time.

Well the new look OleOle.com site has brought me out of my shell to express my news and views about NZ's best (and only) professional football team.

Firstly a little about myself.

I'm a local football fan who supports Arsenal when I'm not cheering on my beloved Nix. I am closely linked to the goings on of the fans being a moderator on www.yellowfever.co.nz the home of the Phoenix supporters group. I also work at the watering hole for the fans on match days, the Backbencher Pub.

Enough about me though as you are here to read about the Nix.

The news has been quite of late, with the off season transfer activity slowing down after a flurry of early defensive signings. The latest news was about us turning down an opportunity to host Juventus in Wellington due to financial constraints. Fair enough too as the Juve stars will all be at Euro 2008 and we just don't have the same sort of immigrant population of expat Italians to fill out our stadium (unlike Melbourne who will host Juventus).

Rumour has it that Celtic may be on offer also, and that sounds like it has more potential to turn a profit with a large number of mad Scotsmen running around our fair isles. The other potential draw  is the All White striker Kris Killen, who is on their roster and would gather a few more locals to the game.

Most speculation now is about Joel Porter  from Hartlepool. The season for the club is over and there is an offer on the table from the Phoenix. We are all just waiting to see what Hartlepool now do as they are yet to put out their release/retain list. The only key figure we seem to be missing at the moment is a quality strike partner for Smeltz. The hunt is still on so we just have to wait and see.

Untill next time.