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 2005DF Frank van Eijs Hà Nội F.C.
7 March 2005DF John TambourasFree agent
14 April 2005FW Sean Devine Exeter City[1]
14 April 2005MF Neil Emblen Walsall[1]
14 April 2005MF Steve FitzsimmonsFree agent[1]
14 April 2005FW Naoki Imaya Blacktown City Demons[1]
14 April 2005MF Josh Maguire Blacktown City Demons[1]
14 April 2005GK Glen Moss Bonnyrigg White Eagles[1]
5 May 2005MF Zenon Caravella Sydney Olympic[2]
27 May 2005FW Jeremy Brockie Canterbury United[3]
27 May 2005DF Cole TinklerFree agent[3]
1 June 2005MF Ben Collett Manchester United[4]
1 June 2005FW Simon Yeo Lincoln City[4]
1 June 2005FW Xiaobin ZhangFree agent[4]
21 June 2005FW Kris Bright Waitakere City[5]
21 June 2005DF Ronnie Bull Grimsby Town[5]
21 June 2005MF Jeremy ChristieFree agent[5]
21 June 2005MF Sam Jasper North Shore United[5]
21 June 2005DF Joshua RoseFree agent[5]

Transfers out
Date Pos. Name To
6 November 2005DF Ronnie BullReleased[6]
17 December 2005FW Simon Yeo Lincoln City[7]
23 December 2006DF Danny HayReleased[8]
25 January 2006MF Steve FitzsimmonsReleased[9]

Squad statistics
No. Pos Nat Player TotalA-LeaguePre-Season Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Danny Milosevic 16014020
2 DF Darren Bazeley 21021000
3 DF Ronnie Bull 1007030
4 DF John Tambouras 21015+3030
5 DF Danny Hay 1109020
6 MF Neil Emblen 16111+2130
7 MF Steve Fitzsimmons 1418+3031
8 MF Ben Collett 21015+3030
9 FW Simon Yeo 12510+1411
10 FW Sean Devine 20313+4330
11 MF Zenon Caravella 21020+1000
12 DF Cole Tinkler 1309+2020
13 FW Jeremy Brockie 1449+340+20
14 MF Josh Maguire 1407+6010
15 DF Joshua Rose 15110+212+10
16 MF Noah Hickey 19012+501+10
17 DF Frank van Eijs 908010
18 FW Xiaobin Zhang 1512+1012+10
19 FW Naoki Imaya 1006+4000
20 GK Glen Moss 1007+2010
21 MF Jeremy Christie 1018+2100
22 MF Sam Jasper 201+1000
24 FW Kris Bright 1209+3000
30 GK 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 Finals series and 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage
2 Sydney FC (C) 21 10 6 5 35 28 +7 36
3 Central Coast Mariners 21 8 8 5 35 28 +7 32 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) Champion.
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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