fyi, Nelly was on NZ radio this morning saying it was unlikely he'd play for either side in the match, his hamstring injury isn't quite right yet he says... will be a big shame that he can't get on the field one way or the other... said he'd quite like to see a 3-3 draw (a good result for the All Whites and a few goals conceded by Rovers so he's desperately wanted for the opening game of the Premier League season) :-)

Sydney - bloody hell, small world then! I know The Fat Bloke from when he was living in Hamilton... :ph34r:

Yer mate wouldn't be David Cross by any chance?

Well, here's a Kiwi post for you... Most of the info provided above is pretty accurate - football struggles for a foothold in this country and will always do so, even though junior playing numbers far outweight rugby... The NZ team to play Blackburn is almost a B team - there are a number of 1st choice players unavailable either thu injury or not being released by their clubs - ie Chris Killen, Simon Elliot, Kris Bouckenooghe, Adrian Webster, David Mulligan... Obv Ryan is the focus for many Kiwi football fans, given that we get good pay TV coverage of the premiership, so it'd be a huge boost to the media interest in this game if he was fit to play for either side. I was pretty happy with the result against Charlton given the strength of the squad - coach Ricki Herbert has done a good job since taking over on the international scene and while these friendlies won't gain us valuable Fifa ranking pts, the more casual sports fan in NZ would be more impressed if we picked up some sort of result against Charlton and Blackburn than against Estonia and Latvia. If you guys have any questions about our squad, feel free to ask - I used to play in the same side as our keeper back when I was young and fit... fyi, Jarrod Smith, one of the squad, is the son of former Kiwi test and ODi wicketkeeper Ian Smith...

No Nelsen , a bloody Aussie in his place too Savage shoulda been booked....then Diouf shoulda been marched

In reply to previous posts with Kiwi inquiries...other Kiwis in the leagues are, from memory... Leo Bertos _ Rochdale Chris Killen _ Oldham David Mulligan _ Doncaster Rory Fallon _ Swindon Mark Paston _ Walsall Pasty - top man- went from Bradford to Walsall in the off-season...excellent keeper ... Leo Bertos can play a bit too, apparently he was his side's best player v Charlton... btw, did u know that Nelsen was an outstanding cricketer at youth level who was on target to play for NZ...he captained an NZ u-17 side that also included Craig McMillan I think...