KEY POINTS:
United Soccer 1 bosses have taken an irrational "bob each way" attitude in their bid to rule the game in the north succeeding only in leaving the code facing another potentially messy legal wrangle.
Meaningful soccer in the strongest region in the country is headed for disaster following
the high-handed attitude taken by US1 chief executive Keith Johnston and his board.
The North Harbour-based federation will allow their senior and junior women and under-17 men play in northern regional competitions but they have stymied efforts by clubs to give their top male players the same opportunity.
This will turn senior soccer in the north into a competition involving only the Auckland Football Federation and Waikato Bay of Plenty Football.
The US1 Federation League - for the best, so-called, players will be nothing more than social or recreational soccer.
The top US1 league of 12 teams will include a new entity - the Western Tornadoes (or the Oratia club in a new guise) - the West Auckland team now apparently rated among their best but after not having played in the northern league for several seasons.
Suggestions they will play at the top class Croatian Cultural Society ground appear ill-founded with Parrs Park to be their home.
US1 has refused to allow East Coast Bays, Glenfield Rovers and Waitakere City (all teams who played in last season's now-defunct Northern Premier League) to join the new Northern Regional Football League.
Last season six of the 12 premier league clubs were from US1. For a variety of reasons three have not pursued places in the new competition.
Already the matter is headed for appeal with Glenfield, East Coast Bays and Waitakere yesterday lodging documents with New Zealand Football. That appeal is likely to be heard next week.
If the clubs succeed, they may still find a place in the new league which is scheduled to start next month.
New Zealand Football chairman John Morris is flabbergasted at the attitude of Johnson and board chairman Steven Yates.
"I have made it clear New Zealand Football does not see their motives as being for the good of the game but they can't see it," said Morris. "Nowhere in the world would you see people bringing their competition to a micro level when they should be looking to expand. They have been really cowboyish in their attitude."
East Coast Bays president Steve Buckley is fuming at Johnson's attitude. "Our view is that we want to give our players the chance to play the highest standard of football we can," said Buckley. "In our opinion this is not the way to do it."
A recent criteria appraisal - implemented by US1 - rated the East Coast Bays club with 284 of a possible 300 points yet that did not satisfy US1 and they refused to allow the club to play in the new league.
David Parker, chief executive at Auckland Football, said that once the NPL was axed it was always his intention to implement a strong replacement. "What we now have is not as strong as it could be but it is certainly better than federation football," he said.
"In all our discussions there was an undercurrent of feeling that Keith Johnston was not going to allow US1 clubs to participate. But, our door is always open."
Waitakere United chairman Rex Dawkins said the decision was a huge backward step and would "be detrimental to NZFC clubs looking to recruit players".
"Coaches will not be looking for players in federation football," said Dawkins.
After moving away from regional soccer, the central and southern regions have, or plan to, returned to such competitions citing the fall-off in playing standards as the reason. Johnston declined to comment.
