Due to the popularity of this site that I sent out on another mailing list yesterday, I will post it here:

http://www.notsosoft.com/postcard/

Soccer NZ today rejected a request from the FA for an England v NZ
friendly to be played in the NZ winter, saying the game would likely be
'hardly worth it' following lowly England's recent loss to a second-string
Australia side.

'We'd have to make entry to the game free to attract a crowd to see
a low-calibre side like England, and the takings from the raffles and
sausage-sizzle probably wouldn't be enough to cover the cost of the hot
water for the showers, especially when you look at how many bloody players
they have', said Soccer NZ Chairman Bill Franklin from his offices at the
Poenamo Pub today.

'It's a bit of shame', added Franklin 'cause it looks like they've
got some decent young blokes in their team, and developing soccer nations
like England need exposure to high-standard opponents like the Oceania
teams'.

New Zealand All-Whites captain Harry Ngata echoed the Chairman's
concerns, and although thought England could take heart from their recent
result, doubted many of the NZ players could get time off from milking cows
to play the game, and also noted that the game would probably be 'smack in
the middle of lambing season'.

'We're probably better off just concentrating on our upcoming match
with Tonga', Ngata said.

Meanwhile Australia coach Frank Farina has come under fire at home
about the disappointing 3-1 result. He today dismissed criticism regarding
his reluctance to pick 'proper Aussies' for the England match as 'bloody
bullsh*t', instead claiming that the European-based players need a chance to
prove themselves too.

Farina hit back at top NSL clubs, Wollongong Wolves and Brisbane
Stars who were reluctant to release their top players for the international
claiming the match was 'farcical', and insisting that they were better off
retaining their top players for the upcoming matches with league
high-flyers, the Auckland-based Soccer KiNgZ. In some cases clubs were
seeking multi-hundred dollar payouts to release the players for the match
dubiously billed as an 'international', recognising that England is not really a proper
country anyway, just a principality like Wales.

'I'm glad we didn't pull all the blokes from the NSL (National
Soccer League) over there, it could have been an absolute bloody
embarrassment. We could have been lookin' at 6- or 8-nil if we'd had our
Australia-based players, and that's no good for anyone' said Farina.
'Plus with the cost of the flights, it would have been a waste of
bloody money.' Farina's frustration was evident, noting that England coach
Sven Goran Eriksson wouldn't even buy him a beer after the match, despite
his £2m a year pay-packet. 'Swedish w*nker' Farina was heard to have uttered.

Broaky! Long time no see. I am currently in Japan, endulging in exploring the art of sushi. Its fascinating, however I just cannot bear the taste of Fisch... Hope all is well.