Sam Cosgrove

That can absolutely happen.

I think the clearest case in recent years of someone actually working with a coaching team, really working with the raw materials of a footballer and improving them week on week, game on game with Sam Cosgrove without a question.

And I think how they... turned Cosgrove and it was the commitment to playing him week after week when he wasn't scoring and week after week without a goal but gradually he'd become more important he'd start contributing he'd start assisting he'd be he'd be a useful weapon and then finally the goals came and they came in a flood and I think that was a real you could see that that was pure coaching because again the The thing about Cosgrove, with the size of him, with the height of him, you thought he'd be this big battering ram.

But what he actually became was a really adept penalty box striker.

But since I knew I was going to come down there, I started watching all the games and mainly Auckland FC games they've done really well last year and it looks unbelievable the atmosphere everything about it the energy and the players and but yeah since I got here it's been a really good level obviously there's some top players here at Auckland FC obviously they were the best team last year so some really good players good experienced pros as well that you can that I've learnt so much already in the last few months on and off the field so yeah I'm just hoping to get I'm ready to get going and hoping to help the team in any way I can

Yeah, signing for Auckland FC, of course, does mean that you don't have to put up with the sharp end of Sam Cosgrove's elbows during the season.

I've already had a few in training.

I've had one today as well.

The main example of that, uh, you could argue the other way around, 'cause Lachlan Brooks comes in and, and Jesse Randall has a breakthrough season, bits like that.

But, um, the main thing they did was they took out Nader Moreno as a, as a, mostly playing off the bench, but not always, but as a impact player who was, you know, running at defenders and scoring goals from out wide, replaced him with Sam Cosgrove, a less talented footballer, but perhaps a, well, not perhaps, I think it's, I think the success tells the story a- alone.

A, a guy you can build a team around more functionally, and they did that, and they won a championship.

And, and becoming a little bit less of a, um, I mean, obviously it's a long season, so they had struggles with various injuries and things like that.

I think he is, that's the system he came up in, so I think that's the ty- that's the type of football he's trying to coach.

Um, which for the most part, I think works pretty well in, in A-League.

Sam Cosgrove is a good example of why that works well in A-League over, over at the other team in the, in the country.

But I would like to see a bit more sort of like players capable of picking the ball up and carrying in space ahead of them, and the way that Luke Brooks Smith probably would've brought a lot of if he had stayed this season.

So, yeah, no, I'm just hoping to get – I'm ready to get going and hoping to help the team in any way I can.

Yeah, signing for Auckland FC, of course, does mean that you don't have to put up with the sharp end of Sam Cosgrove's elbows during the season.

I've already had a few in training.

I've had one today as well.

So I, yeah, pump the brakes a little bit before that happens, but I've got that one, uh, I've got that one in the tank as well.

The Wellington Phoenix have signed their equivalent of Sam Cosgrove.

Yeah.

And by that I don't mean a big talk striker who wants to play rugby.

Bang, there you go.

And, like, Sam Co- This is the [laughs]...

Like, Sam Cosgrove's good at A-League football because he's playing rugby.

He's not good at A-League football because he's, because of his, uh, his footwork and his, um, running into space.