2005–06 New Zealand Knights FC season

The 2005–06 New Zealand Knights FC season was the club's inaugural season in the Australian A-League. Picking up just one win and three draws out of the 21 regular season matches, the Knights finished at the bottom of the table, 20 points behind 7th placed Melbourne Victory.

New Zealand Knights
2005-06 season
ChairmanBrian Katzen
ManagerJohn Adshead
A-League8th
Pre-Season CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Jeremy Brockie (4)
Simon Yeo (4)
All: Jeremy Brockie (4)
Simon Yeo (4)
Highest home attendance9,827 v Sydney FC
2 September 2005
Lowest home attendance1,922 v Melbourne Victory
26 November 2005
Average home league attendance3,909

Season overview

In their debut season, the Knights scored only 15 goals in their 21 fixtures. Their joint leading scorers were Englishman Simon Yeo and teenage whizkid Jeremy Brockie, with four apiece. Sean Devine scored three goals, while Joshua Rose, Jeremy Christie, Neil Emblen and Xiaobin Zhang all managed to find the back of the net once. Former Walsall right-back Darren Bazeley was the only Knight to start in all 21 of their games.

The club was plunged into turmoil in late 2005, as club captain Danny Hay apparently fell out with Knights bosses and coach John Adshead, and was released just before Christmas. This followed the departures of UK signings Ronnie Bull and former Lincoln City striker Simon Yeo.

The Knights may have had poor crowds in their inaugural A-League season but they did have loyal support from their supporters group, Bloc-5. Supporters who formerly supported the now-defunct Football Kingz franchise, are known for dressing up in the team's colours, chanting loudly and attending all home fixtures.

Immediately after the season, the Knights fired assistant coach Tommy Mason. Former Fulham reserve team and academy head coach Paul Nevin was named head coach to assist current manager John Adshead as Mason's replacement.

One positive to come out of the Knights' horrific debut season was 17-year-old New Zealander Jeremy Brockie. The dreadlocked midfielder-cum-striker was originally selected as one of the Knights three under-20 players in their squad. By the end of the season though, he had become a regular starter, scoring a brilliant double at home against the Newcastle Jets. This was followed up by a fantastic strike to earn a draw with Sydney FC, and a goal in the Knights' final game of the season, versus Melbourne Victory.

Transfers

In
Date Pos. Name From
7 March 2005DFNetherlands Frank van EijsVietnam Hà Nội F.C.
7 March 2005DFAustralia John TambourasFree agent
14 April 2005FWRepublic of Ireland Sean DevineEngland Exeter City[1]
14 April 2005MFEngland Neil EmblenEngland Walsall[1]
14 April 2005MFAustralia Steve FitzsimmonsFree agent[1]
14 April 2005FWJapan Naoki ImayaAustralia Blacktown City Demons[1]
14 April 2005MFAustralia Josh MaguireAustralia Blacktown City Demons[1]
14 April 2005GKNew Zealand Glen MossAustralia Bonnyrigg White Eagles[1]
5 May 2005MFAustralia Zenon CaravellaAustralia Sydney Olympic[2]
27 May 2005FWNew Zealand Jeremy BrockieNew Zealand Canterbury United[3]
27 May 2005DFNew Zealand Cole TinklerFree agent[3]
1 June 2005MFEngland Ben CollettEngland Manchester United[4]
1 June 2005FWEngland Simon YeoEngland Lincoln City[4]
1 June 2005FWChina Xiaobin ZhangFree agent[4]
21 June 2005FWNew Zealand Kris BrightNew Zealand Waitakere City[5]
21 June 2005DFEngland Ronnie BullEngland Grimsby Town[5]
21 June 2005MFNew Zealand Jeremy ChristieFree agent[5]
21 June 2005MFNew Zealand Sam JasperNew Zealand North Shore United[5]
21 June 2005DFAustralia Joshua RoseFree agent[5]

Transfers out
Date Pos. Name To
6 November 2005DFEngland Ronnie BullReleased[6]
17 December 2005FWEngland Simon YeoEngland Lincoln City[7]
23 December 2006DFNew Zealand Danny HayReleased[8]
25 January 2006MFAustralia Steve FitzsimmonsReleased[9]

Squad statistics
No. Pos Nat Player TotalA-LeaguePre-Season Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Australia AUS Danny Milosevic 16014020
2 DF England ENG Darren Bazeley 21021000
3 DF England ENG Ronnie Bull 1007030
4 DF Australia AUS John Tambouras 21015+3030
5 DF New Zealand NZL Danny Hay 1109020
6 MF England ENG Neil Emblen 16111+2130
7 MF Australia AUS Steve Fitzsimmons 1418+3031
8 MF England ENG Ben Collett 21015+3030
9 FW England ENG Simon Yeo 12510+1411
10 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Sean Devine 20313+4330
11 MF Australia AUS Zenon Caravella 21020+1000
12 DF New Zealand NZL Cole Tinkler 1309+2020
13 FW New Zealand NZL Jeremy Brockie 1449+340+20
14 MF Australia AUS Josh Maguire 1407+6010
15 DF Australia AUS Joshua Rose 15110+212+10
16 MF New Zealand NZL Noah Hickey 19012+501+10
17 DF Netherlands NED Frank van Eijs 908010
18 FW China CHN Xiaobin Zhang 1512+1012+10
19 FW Japan JPN Naoki Imaya 1006+4000
20 GK New Zealand NZL Glen Moss 1007+2010
21 MF New Zealand NZL Jeremy Christie 1018+2100
22 MF New Zealand NZL Sam Jasper 201+1000
24 FW New Zealand NZL Kris Bright 1209+3000
30 GK New Zealand NZL Roy Bell 000000

Competitions

Pre-season
DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance
24 July 2005Sydney FCAway1-3Fitzsimmons8,714
30 July 2005Queensland RoarHome0-53,397
6 August 2005Central Coast MarinersHome0-12,269

A-League

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United 21 13 4 4 33 25 +8 43 Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Sydney FC (C) 21 10 6 5 35 28 +7 36
3 Central Coast Mariners 21 8 8 5 35 28 +7 32 Qualification for Finals series
4 Newcastle Jets 21 9 4 8 27 29 −2 31
5 Perth Glory 21 8 5 8 34 29 +5 29
6 Queensland Roar 21 7 7 7 27 22 +5 28
7 Melbourne Victory 21 7 5 9 26 24 +2 26
8 New Zealand Knights[lower-alpha 1] 21 1 3 17 15 47 −32 6
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.
DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendancePosition
28 August 2005Queensland RoarAway0-220,7258
2 September 2005Sydney FCHome1-3Rose9,8278
10 September 2005Central Coast MarinersAway2-0Yeo, Devine5,2617
18 September 2005Newcastle JetsAway0-47,4958
22 September 2005Perth GloryHome0-14,1388
2 October 2005Adelaide UnitedHome1-2Yeo3,5588
10 October 2005Melbourne VictoryAway0-311,0108
16 October 2005Queensland RoarHome0-24,1828
21 October 2005Sydney FCAway0-211,8368
29 October 2005Central Coast MarinersHome1-3Yeo2,5838
4 November 2005Newcastle JetsHome2-4Brockie (2)2,5618
11 November 2005Perth GloryAway0-39,6678
20 November 2005Adelaide UnitedAway0-19,6768
26 November 2005Melbourne VictoryHome2-3Christie, Devine1,9228
1 December 2005Queensland RoarAway1-1Yeo8,6078
30 December 2005Sydney FCHome2-2Devine, Brockie4,2128
8 January 2006Central Coast MarinersAway0-17,2578
13 January 2006Newcastle JetsAway0-36,8628
19 January 2006Perth GloryHome1-4Emblen3,0248
28 January 2006Adelaide UnitedHome1-1Zhang3,0798
4 February 2006Melbourne VictoryAway1-2Brockie10,0788

References
  1. "Knights sign up six". SBS Australia. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  2. "Knights' signing a cut above". New Zealand Herald. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  3. "NZ Knights sign two more". Football Federation Samoa. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  4. "Trio Join Knights". TVNZ. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  5. "NZ Knights squad complete". Football Federation Samoa. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  6. "Bull leaves NZ Knights to head home". ESPN. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  7. "Yeo leaves NZ Knights". TVNZ. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  8. "Knights cut skipper Hay". SBS Australia. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  9. "Fitzsimmons leaves Knights". SBS Australia. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
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