New Zealand Knights FC
Encyclopedia
This page details the history of the club. For information on seasons and results see New Zealand Knights seasons 2005-06 and 2006-07

New Zealand Knights Football Club (known as Football Kingz Football Club until 2004) were the only professional football club in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 before they became defunct. Based in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, they played in the Hyundai A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's premier football competition and have since been replaced by the Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix FC
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...

.

Kingz and the NSL 1999-2004

Football Kingz FC (promoted as Auckland Kingz within Australia) joined the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n National Soccer League in 1999 and proceeded to play in the last five seasons of the NSL, failing to qualify for the playoffs in every season. The club was originally to use the spelling of "Kings", however this was changed to the Kingz after receiving legal threats from another Australian sporting franchise.

Their inaugural coach was OFC
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...

 Player of the Century and former New Zealand international Wynton Rufer
Wynton Rufer
Wynton Alan Whai Rufer, CNZM, , is a retired New Zealand footballer, who played as a striker. He spent most of his professional career in Germany with Werder Bremen, winning a total of six titles. He also appeared for the New Zealand national team in its first FIFA World Cup participation, in 1982...

 in a player-coach role, with his brother Shane as assistant coach. These two seasons were the most successful for the club, both resulting in eighth placings. However after those two seasons, the owners fired Wynton Rufer as coach but still wanted him to remain as a player. Rufer's desire, however, was to remain as coach and to retire slowly as a player. Once it was clear that Rufer was not to be a coach, Rufer immediately retired from playing.

NSL Seasonal Results

Season Position GP W D L GF GA GD Pts Best Result Worst Result
1999–2000 8 (of 16) 34 15 5 14 57 59 -2 50 4-0 against Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power were a football team which was based in western Sydney. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999/2000 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003/04 season of the NSL after Perth made the Grand Final look easy in...


19 April 2000
0-4 to Melbourne Knights
Melbourne Knights
Melbourne Knights Football Club is a football club representing Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Premier League . The club is one of the most successful football clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League...


26 April 2000
2000–2001 8 (of 15) 30 12 7 11 52 52 0 43 5-1 against Newcastle Breakers
Newcastle Breakers
Newcastle Breakers are a defunct Australian association football club. Formed out of elements of the Newcastle Austral club, they participated in the National Soccer League from season 1991/1992, until their dissolution in 1999/2000. The club fared poorly on the field in its nine seasons in the...


27 October 2000
1-6 to South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...


25 April 2001
2001–2002 13 (of 13) 24 3 5 16 28 58 -30 15 2-1 against Sydney United
Sydney United
Sydney United Football Club are an Australian football club from Sydney, Australia, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area...


9 November 2001
1-7 to Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power were a football team which was based in western Sydney. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999/2000 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003/04 season of the NSL after Perth made the Grand Final look easy in...


15 March 2002
2002–2003 11 (of 13) 24 6 6 12 26 45 -19 24 4-1 against Northern Spirit
Northern Spirit
This article is about the railway company Northern Spirit. For the Australian football club of the same name, see Northern Spirit FC.Northern Spirit was a UK train operating company which ran local and regional train services in the north east of England during the late 1990s.-Operations:Created...


27 September 2002
0-7 to Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power were a football team which was based in western Sydney. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999/2000 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003/04 season of the NSL after Perth made the Grand Final look easy in...


15 February 2003
2003–2004 13 (of 13) 24 4 3 17 25 51 -16 15 3-1 against Marconi Stallions
Marconi Stallions
The Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian football club located in Sydney, Australia. The club won the National Soccer League title a record four times, along with South Melbourne FC and Sydney City SC...


23 November 2003
0-6 to South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...


30 November 2003

Restructuring Football Kingz into New Zealand Knights

Football Kingz then had a name change into New Zealand Knights as a new restructured franchise for Australia's new national football competition called the Hyundai A-League. Market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...

 carried out by the club, to determine the viability of a new identity for the team, indicated that 76% of respondents were in favour of a name change. When that research was focused on those aged 35 and under, the percentage in favour of a change rose to 90%. Further to that, the name of "Knights" were polled best of all names suggested in the survey, a clear 30% higher than any other option.

The former Football Kingz General manager Guy Hedderwick was promoted to the role of New Zealand Knights chief executive officer. Along side him Football Kingz and Waitakere City Chairman, Anthony Lee, became the New Zealand Knights Chairman in the restructuring.

Initially Anthony Lee had invested into the New Zealand Knights, with his company's (Total Football Ltd) 20% shareholding second only to majority owner Brian Katzen's Octagon Sport (later included Maurice Cox as partner) with 60%. The other shareholders were Sky Television (5%), Chris Turner (10%), and New Zealand Soccer (non cash 5%).

The only major sponsor the club had was retailer Zero's New Zealand (Sub Sandwiches). They agreed to a deal with the Knights over the first three seasons in a six figure deal as a sleeve sponsor.

New Zealand Knights was confirmed as one of the eight founding teams in the Hyundai A-League.John Adshead
John Adshead
John Adshead is an England-born former head coach of New Zealand's national football team the All Whites, whom he led to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in the 1982 tournament...

, who took the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 national side, the All Whites
New Zealand national soccer team
The New Zealand national football team, nicknamed the All Whites, is the national association football team of New Zealand and is governed by New Zealand Football . The team plays in an all-white strip rather than the traditional New Zealand sporting black due to a former FIFA regulation that...

 to their first ever World Cup finals appearance in 1982 was named their inaugural manager/coach. former New Zealand international, Danny Hay
Danny Hay
Daniel "Danny" Hay is an association football player who has represented New Zealand at international level as a central defender and captains Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship.-Club career:...

, who previously played in the English Premiership with Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 was named the inaugural captain of the team.

New Zealand Knights A-League seasons 2005-2007

Despite having a squad boasting several players with extensive experience in English football
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...

, many pundits did not rate the Knights as serious contenders for the A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 title, and they were considered favourites for the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...

. These predictions turned out to be true, with New Zealand Knights proving to be well out of their depth in their debut A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 season.

In April 2006, after the poor season, manager John Adshead
John Adshead
John Adshead is an England-born former head coach of New Zealand's national football team the All Whites, whom he led to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in the 1982 tournament...

 resigned from the club. Paul Nevin
Paul Nevin
Paul Nevin is a football manager. He is the former custodian of the New Zealand Knights, a professional club competing in the A-League. He was dismissed on November 15, 2006 due to poor performance.-Biography:...

 was confirmed as manager a month later, having worked as caretaker manager since the position was vacated by Adshead.

In late October 2006, as a result of low crowd attendance at North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape....

 in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 and continual poor on-field performances, rumours began to circulate that Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...

 (FFA) was considering the possibility of revoking the Knights' A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 licence and granting it to a new team that would be set to enter the competition in the 2007-08 season
A-League 2007-08
The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...

.

On 15 November and nearing the end of the November transfer window New Zealand Knights board and management decided to relieve Paul Nevin of his coaching duties due to a string of poor performances.

On 13 December 2006, strong rumours resurfaced that the FFA was considering the revocation of the Knights' licence to compete in the A-League. It quickly became clear that, with five weeks remaining in the current season, the FFA fully intended to reclaim the licence from the Knights. The FFA had continued to express angst at low attendance numbers, poor on-field performance and the lack of domestically developed players.

Late on 14 December, the FFA announced that it had revoked the competition licence held by the Knights' owners. An arrangement with NZ Soccer would see the national body step in to manage the club for the remaining five weeks of the regular season, with former All Whites
New Zealand national soccer team
The New Zealand national football team, nicknamed the All Whites, is the national association football team of New Zealand and is governed by New Zealand Football . The team plays in an all-white strip rather than the traditional New Zealand sporting black due to a former FIFA regulation that...

 player Ricki Herbert
Ricki Herbert
Ricki Lloyd Herbert, CNZM is a New Zealand former association football player who represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain...

 to fill the role of Head Coach.

Effectively, the Knights dissolved on 21 January, when the final match of the season was played against Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...

.

On 19 March 2007 after several delays, was selected as the successor to the New Zealand Knights.

A-League Seasonal Results

Season Position GP W D L GF GA GD Pts Best Result Worst Result
2005-06 8th 21 1 3 17 15 47 -32 6 2-0 against Central Coast Mariners
10 September 2005
0-4 to Newcastle Jets
18 September 2005
2006-07 8th 21 5 4 12 13 39 -26 19 3-1 against Queensland Roar
29 December 2006
0-5 to Queensland Roar
15 September 2006

Stadium

North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape....

 is a rectangular stadium situated in Albany on Auckland's North Shore in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997 after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction.

North Harbour Stadium has four main seating areas with an official capacity of 25,000. 19,000 (76%) of this capacity is seated, and the other 6,000 are on grass embankments.
  • Main Grandstand — A futuristic looking structure with a distinctive arched roof. It has three main tiers of seating, as well as a row of corporate boxes and several corporate lounges. A total of 12,000 can be seated, mostly under the roof. This is on the southern side of the ground.

  • Open Stand — A single uncovered tier opposite the Main Grandstand that can seat 7,000.

  • Embankments — At either end (East/West) of the ground, there is a single-tier grass embankment with a capacity of 3,000 people. The scoreboard is at the Western End, while the replay screen is directly opposite.


The stadium is lit with four 45 m tall light towers.

Colours and badge

The Knights played in all-black strips, with a silver left sleeve. The change strip was white, with black shorts and white socks.

The badge was designed for the inaugural 2005-06 season
A-League 2005-06
The 2005-06 season was the first season of the A-League, a domestic club competition for football in Australia. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005...

 and launched at the January 2005 press conference which highlighted the club name change.

Supporters

The New Zealand Knights supporter base was known as Bloc 5.
Season League Average High Details
2006/2007 A-League 3,009 7,304 R1 - Newcastle Jets
2005/2006 A-League 3,989 9,827 R2 v Sydney FC
2003/2004 NSL 1,273 4,083 R1 v Newcastle United
2002/2003 NSL 2,613 3,682 R7 v Melbourne Knights
2001/2002 NSL 3,874 8,121 R2 v South Melbourne
2000/2001 NSL 6,620 13,111 R23 v Marconi

Former Players

see List of Football Kingz F.C. players
and List of New Zealand Knights F.C. players

Club Captains

  • 2005   Danny Hay
    Danny Hay
    Daniel "Danny" Hay is an association football player who has represented New Zealand at international level as a central defender and captains Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship.-Club career:...

  • 2006   Darren Bazeley
    Darren Bazeley
    Darren Shaun Bazeley is an English association football player who most recently played for Waitakere United of New Zealand. He played as either a right full back or right-sided defensive midfielder...


NSL Manager History (As The Football Kingz)

Name Nat From To Record
PWDLFAGDPts
Wynton Rufer
Wynton Rufer
Wynton Alan Whai Rufer, CNZM, , is a retired New Zealand footballer, who played as a striker. He spent most of his professional career in Germany with Werder Bremen, winning a total of six titles. He also appeared for the New Zealand national team in its first FIFA World Cup participation, in 1982...

  October 1999 April 2001 64 27 12 25 109 111
91
Mike Petersen
Mike Petersen
Michael Petersen is a retired Australian soccer player. He is an inductee of the Football Federation Australia - Football Hall of Fame.-Club career:...

a
  October 2001 October 2001 4 0 1 3 6 14
1
Shane Rufer
Shane Rufer
Shane Rufer was a successful New Zealand soccer player who represented New Zealand on 8 occasions between 1979 and 1985, making his debut on 29 June 1979 in a 6-0 win over Fiji....

b
  November 2001 November 2001 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 4
Kevin Fallon
Kevin Fallon
Kevin Fallon is an English born football coach residing in New Zealand.He started his career with Sligo Rovers in 1967. He played in 102 matches for Sligo in the League of Ireland Championship, the FAI Cup, the Shield, the City Cup and the Blaxnit All-Ireland Cup.He made his debut for Sligo in an...

  November 2001 April 2002 18 2 3 13 18 41
9
Ken Dugdalec   September 2002 November 2003 32 7 7 18 36 63
28
Tommy Mason
Tommy Mason (footballer)
Tommy Mason is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.Mason made his full New Zealand debut in a 0-1 loss to Israel on 3 March 1989 and ended his international playing career with four official A-international caps to his credit, his final cap an...

  November 2003 February 2004 16 3 2 11 15 33
11
Total October 1999 February 2004 136 40 26 70 188 265 -77 146

A-League Manager History

Name Nat From To Record
PWDLFAGDPts
John Adshead
John Adshead
John Adshead is an England-born former head coach of New Zealand's national football team the All Whites, whom he led to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in the 1982 tournament...

  January 2005 April 2006 21 1 3 17 15 47
6
Paul Nevin
Paul Nevin
Paul Nevin is a football manager. He is the former custodian of the New Zealand Knights, a professional club competing in the A-League. He was dismissed on November 15, 2006 due to poor performance.-Biography:...

  May 2006 November 2006 12 2 1 9 4 26
7
Barry Simmonds
Barry Simmonds
Barry Simmonds is the Head of Scouting at Fulham FC and was previously the Director of Football then interim coach of A-League football team, New Zealand Knights.-Biography:...

d
  November 2006 November 2006 4 0 2 2 3 8
2
Ricki Herbert
Ricki Herbert
Ricki Lloyd Herbert, CNZM is a New Zealand former association football player who represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain...

e
  December 2006 January 2007 5 3 1 1 6 5 1 10
Total August 2005 January 2007 42 6 7 29 28 86 -58 25

All Time League Records

  • Record Victory: 3-1 vs Queensland Roar (H), 29 December 2006
  • Record Defeat: 0-5 vs Queensland Roar (A), 15 September 2006
  • Highest League Crowd: 9,827 vs Sydney FC
    Sydney FC
    Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...

    , 2 September 2005
  • Lowest League Crowd: 1,632 vs Central Coast Mariners
    Central Coast Mariners FC
    Central Coast Mariners Football Club is a professional football club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They participate in the A-League and are one of three teams from the state of New South Wales playing in the competition...

    , 28 September 2006
  • Winning Streak: 2 games (29 December 2006 – 7 January 2007)
  • Undefeated Streak: 4 games (29 December 2006 – 21 January 2007)
  • Losing Streak: 11 games (18 September 2005 – 1 December 2005)
  • Winless Streak: 18 games (18 September 2005 – 2 September 2006)
  • Goals in a game: 2 - Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Russell Brockie is a New Zealand football player who was recently signed by the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League...

     vs Newcastle Jets (H), 4 November 2005
  • Goals in a season: 4 - Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Russell Brockie is a New Zealand football player who was recently signed by the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League...

    , Simon Yeo
    Simon Yeo
    Simon John Yeo is a former English footballer.-Army career:After leaving school, Yeo began a two-year YTS as a carpet fitter before, in May 1992, joining the army with the 22nd Regiment...

    , 2005/06
    A-League 2005-06
    The 2005-06 season was the first season of the A-League, a domestic club competition for football in Australia. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005...

  • Most Assists in a season: 3 - Sean Devine
    Sean Devine
    Sean Devine is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker.He began his career with Millwall. Having spent time on loan with Woking in 1992, he spent two years with Bromley and one with Fisher Athletic before moving to Cyprus to play for Anorthosis Famagusta in the summer of 1995...

    , 2005/06
    A-League 2005-06
    The 2005-06 season was the first season of the A-League, a domestic club competition for football in Australia. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005...

  • All time most Appearances: 41 - Darren Bazeley
    Darren Bazeley
    Darren Shaun Bazeley is an English association football player who most recently played for Waitakere United of New Zealand. He played as either a right full back or right-sided defensive midfielder...

  • All time Top Scorer: 4 - Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Brockie
    Jeremy Russell Brockie is a New Zealand football player who was recently signed by the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League...

     and Simon Yeo
    Simon Yeo
    Simon John Yeo is a former English footballer.-Army career:After leaving school, Yeo began a two-year YTS as a carpet fitter before, in May 1992, joining the army with the 22nd Regiment...


See also

  • Wellington Phoenix FC
    Wellington Phoenix FC
    Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...

  • New Zealand Football
  • Football Federation Australia
    Football Federation Australia
    Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...

  • A-League
    A-League
    The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...


External links

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