So well done to Hudson for going and knocking on doors and seeing who is available. Remember, most of the squad except for goalkeeper Oliver Sail and defender Jesse Edge have previously played for the All Whites, so it's an ideal opportunity to see if the fringe players have developed and are real contenders for the World Cup qualifiers.
Hudson needs a genuine 22-man squad to have meaningful competition for places and not 14 or 15.
The competition for places in the 1982 squad was fearsome. Any of the 22 players was worthy of a place when team selection came around.
I also remember John Adshead and Kevin Fallon making wholesale changes against Mexico in 1980, who were then ranked 10th in the world, creating a big hullabaloo.
The result was a 4-0 victory for the All Whites and baptisms for young Ricki Herbert, John Hill, Keith 'Buzzer' Mackay, Grant 'GT' Turner and the mercurial Stevie Woodin -- who all played integral parts in our 1982 World Cup run.
Our current players have to get used to the fact that Hudson is going to search high and wide for players in his drive for 2018 World Cup glory. So I take my hat off to the professional attitude shown by Andrew Durante and Glen Moss with news off their axing from the squad.
Both are key players with Wellington Phoenix so will be in Hudson's sights every week, so I like the call. Moss desperately needs a challenger between the sticks.
The All Whites have not won in their last seven games, scored only six times and conceded 18 goals with Moss being the custodian most of that period.
Moss was obviously not at fault for all the goals against, but I believe his sharpness and attitude would be hungrier with greater competition.
Hudson's biggest call was choosing a new assistant, and letting Neil Emblen go. I have never heard anyone in the game talk negatively about Emblen. He is held in very high regard and is a top class coach.
However, I can see why Hudson would opt for his former assistant Alex Armstrong as his No2. Armstrong is older and from a different generation, so Hudson can sound out someone with more life experience.
I believe Emblen is too similar in too many ways to Hudson. All Whites history will show our greatest moments have been achieved from unlikely marriages. Adshead and Fallon in 1982 and Ricki Herbert and Brian Turner in 2010 were both a little good cop, bad cop but they worked brilliantly.
Despite all that, we should make use of Neil Emblen's experience in international football. NZF has to give him an age group side or the Olympic squad.
4 thoughts on the game
1 Phoenix need a top player to pull the crowds.
The Wellington Phoenix are crying out for a marquee player who can change the course of a game. Paul Ifill has never been replaced. A player of his class is needed.
2 Centre backs can't tackle
Where are the tacklers? So many of today's coaches seem engrossed in coaching tactics, strategies and set pieces but seem incapable of being able to teach players the art of tackling.
3 No slumming in Hero League
Players and officials taking part in the Hero Indian Super League are certainly not slumming it. Wages for the lesser-known players are rumoured to be around US$200,000 ($254,000).
4 The goss
Barcelona fullback Dani Alves, 31, has agreed to sign for Man United on a free transfer next northern summer. Southampton scoring sensation Graziano Pelle turned his back on a ballroom dancing career to become a footballer.
