NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Football

Football: Hudson lashes out at state of NZ Football

Steven Holloway
By Steven Holloway
Sport Editor - Digital·Herald online·
9 Jan, 2016 08:46 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

New Zealand Coach Anthony Hudson (l) and Football CEO Andy Martin. Photo / Greg Bowker.

New Zealand Coach Anthony Hudson (l) and Football CEO Andy Martin. Photo / Greg Bowker.

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson has launched a venomous tirade on the state of football in New Zealand calling the young players 'delusional', the culture 'laid back' and described the game as 'moving backward'.

Hudson is 18 months through a four year contract which takes him through until the end of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the 34-year-old Englishman said he wouldn't be doing his job properly if he didn't highlight the deficiencies in the national game.

Hudson lambasted the lack of professionalism in the domestic game and the absence of regular international fixtures.

The All Whites played just three games in 2015, the least in world football, and have no matches confirmed for the upcoming March international window ahead of the crucial Oceania Nations Cup which acts as a stepping stone to World Cup qualification.

"It's just not right and the situation has to change," Hudson told Tony Veitch on Newstalk ZB. "I find this situation very difficult.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We have never had a problem with finding teams to play us, that has never been the problem. There are teams out there who want to play.

"There is a Fifa window in March and still we don't know who we are playing so we can't plan, we can't prepare. Our players have nothing to commit to at the moment.

"If you're not playing games while other teams are playing games then yea, you're going backwards. We can't escape this. There's no magic wand. The only way to develop your team is to play games."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hudson also attacked the culture of football in New Zealand.

"This is the second Christmas I've been here and I just don't understand how the whole of the footballing world shuts down, I don't get it. We don't play games then we completely shut down while all our competitors are in competition. It's such a casual laid back environment that colours everything we do. There's no accountability in anything that we do here. When I sit with players over the Christmas period and they're more interested in having a couple of days down at the beach, when they're overweight, they're not sharp, but trying to get professional contracts. It's delusional.

"There's no point in me being here if I don't speak about this. It got to boiling point over Christmas when I was speaking to players."

Hudson, who also oversees the national under-23, under-20 and under-17 men's programmes, said the laid-back culture of the game in New Zealand is directly contributing to the countries top footballers falling short of their potential.

Discover more

Wellington Phoenix

Football: Roy Krishna ruled out for three months

09 Jan 01:55 AM
Football

Football: Auckland City go clear at the top

10 Jan 05:50 AM
Wellington Phoenix

Football: Phoenix earn meritorious point

10 Jan 08:02 AM
Football

Coach's tirade a 'declaration of death'

10 Jan 10:55 PM

"The way we're living and working is so far removed from the realities of where we need to be as young players to make it as footballers. It's delusional. And worse still, which makes the players worse, we have parents and people around these players that add to the problem by telling them how good they are. There's zero accountability with the players and they are simply not prepared when they head overseas."

The All Whites have played six games under Hudson's guidance, losing to Uzbekistan, Thailand and South Korea, drawing with Myanmar and China and, most recently, beating Oman.

"When I came in I had to rebuild the team. We've had so many debutants, 15 or 16 debutants and it's really not good, it's not right, it's far too many in six games but that's just a reflection of where we are.

"We've had the ineligibility case which has affected eight or nine players which people don't realise, we've had injuries. As of today I'm yet to name the same team twice.

"This group of players keeps me hopeful and hanging on really, but it's challenging. I'm here to coach and we want games and we have an ambition to go to the World Cup but it's difficult because we don't have a programme at the moment."

New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin was on holiday and could not be reached for comment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Football

Premium
Auckland FC

'A great bond': The inside story of Auckland FC's dramatic playoff win

19 May 08:00 PM
Auckland FC

Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory: Assessing a dramatic A-League semi final in Melbourne

Premium
Opinion

Opinion: Why opening moments will be crucial for Auckland FC in second leg of semifinal

18 May 05:45 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Football

Premium
'A great bond': The inside story of Auckland FC's dramatic playoff win

'A great bond': The inside story of Auckland FC's dramatic playoff win

19 May 08:00 PM

Michael Burgess recounts a memorable weekend in Melbourne for Auckland FC.

Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory: Assessing a dramatic A-League semi final in Melbourne

Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory: Assessing a dramatic A-League semi final in Melbourne

Premium
Opinion: Why opening moments will be crucial for Auckland FC in second leg of semifinal

Opinion: Why opening moments will be crucial for Auckland FC in second leg of semifinal

18 May 05:45 AM
Palace stun Man City to win FA Cup for first time

Palace stun Man City to win FA Cup for first time

17 May 07:03 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP