The 1999-2000 National Soccer League season was one of great interest to New Zealanders, with the involvement of this country's first-ever professional soccer club, the Football Kingz. In years past, West Island's national soccer competition has enjoyed passing interest at best from folk on  this side of the Tasman, for two reasons. The obvious one, of course, is the involvement of some of New Zealand's best soccer players in the league over the last twenty-odd years. The other speaks volumes for the myopic outlook on life and the world in general held by this country's media groups. By and large, if a news or sporting event takes place which, in the media's eyes, holds little, if any, interest to NZers, not to put too fine a point on it, they ain't interested. They go to the other extreme, of course, when there is Kiwi involvement, and, most notably on the sporting front, if said involvement involves a New Zealand victory. Indeed, to say they go over the top in acknowledging the latter is an understatement! This is most noticeable in rugby, league, cricket and netball, minority codes all, certainly so in the global scheme of things. Not so in the outlook of New Zealand's media, however, oh no! These are the sports which matter, the only ones which count. Enter the Football Kingz. Their arrival aroused plenty of interest from all the local media outlets, some of whom had barely given soccer the time of day since those glorious (for us) days of the road to Spain '82 ... except for those (numerous) occasions when the code's administrators proceeded to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse! Sheesh! Did they go for the jugular on those occasions!! If there was any chance to put the boot into soccer, they'd go for it all the way and then some ... Hence expectations for the Kingz inaugural season were somewhat mixed. From the extremists - "We'll cream this league; they're only playing Aussies!!" - through the pessimists - "New Zealand playing in Australia? Ha ha ha!!" - to the realists "We'll win a few, lose a few and draw a few, but we'll get better with time" ... the whole spectrum was covered. As it turned out, the realists were closest to the mark. The Kingz lost a few - most notably their opening match at home to Carlton, the visit to Melbourne Knights, and far too often, for anyone's liking, to Adelaide Force and the eventual champions, Wollongong Wolves. They drew a few - 3-3 thrillers on home turf with both the Knights and the Wolves were easy standouts in this regard, along with 1-1 encounters at Carlton and Newcastle Breakers. And they won a few - and how! Their very first triumph, 1-0 at home to defending champions South Melbourne, was one to savour, as were the thrashings dished out on this side of the pond to Perth Glory (4-1), Parramatta Power (4-0) an d Marconi Stallions (3-1), and on that side at Marconi (3-0), Souths (3-1) and the very first win on the road, 2-1 at Sydney Olympic. All up, New Zealand's first professional soccer side finished in a highly creditable eighth spot, much to the disbelief of the pessimists! Yet as good as that reads, given it was their debut season, they should have at least made the play-offs. Far too often, consistency, or, rather, the lack of it, was their failing. You couldn't tell how they would perform from half to half, never mind from game to game. There were times, within the course of a match, when they played like world-beaters then switched to playing like egg-beaters!! Statistics back this up. The Kingz netted 57 goals - third equal, with Adelaide, and behind Wollongong and Perth, in the goalscoring stakes. They conceded 59 - only Canberra Cosmos let in more. Having a settled side, of course, would have helped. But not even the players knew, from week to week, what the selection policies of the brothers Rufer would be. It's fair to say Wynton and Shane kept their charges on their toes in this regard, but in fairness to the coaching duo, their cause was certainly not aided by injury and ill-discipline. Like all at the club, they have learnt much from their first season in this competition, and will be intent on improving in the 2000-01 campaign, most notably in the areas of consistency, defensive work and, from the club's point of view, behind-the-scenes activities, of which, more later. All up, the Kingz employed some 26 players in their 34 NSL matches, with just one player, appropriately the club's Player of the Year, Ivan Vicelich, appearing in every match, once as a substitute. Captain Harry Ngata, another to excel, missed just one match, while Che Bunce would have gone close to being an ever-present but for the fact his no-nonsense defensive approach too often attracted the attentions of those responsible for wielding yellow and red cards with alacrity aplenty. (Now if ever there was a group more inconsistent than the Kingz ...!!) Others to play in more matches than most were

Chris Jackson and Jonathan Perry, who can be likened to the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton in that he's not a great scorer of goals, but a scorer of great goals - witness his match-winning humdingers against Northern Spirit and Marconi!! Like Perry, Marcus Stergiopoulos was high up in the "Games Played" stakes, but understandably became frustrated at the coaches' 'revolving door' selection approach - he was substituted in nine of his 23 starts, and appeared as a substitute on five more occasions. One of the team's true characters, he will be missed - not so strikers John "He missed again!" Lammers and Stu Riddle, now studying in the USA, to mention a couple of names who won't feature next season. If you think "Stergiboy" copped a rough deal, though, spare a thought for Chilean striker Aaron Silva, the club's top goalscorer. He finished only six of the nineteen games he started, while on one of the five occasions he appeared as a replacement, the substitute was later substituted! Yet he still managed to amass eleven goals ... Next best were Ngata, Rufer and Fred de Jong, with six goals apiece. Young Frederick was inspirational, knee injury notwithstanding, while Wynton was Wynton, as simple as that! Still capable of dominating a match - witness the Marconi encounter in Auckland - and changing the course of a game with an exquisite piece of skill - anyone who saw that technically flawless hip-turn volley at Newcastle will know exactly what I mean in this regard! All being well, Noah Hickey and Jeff Campbell - what an impact he made in the latter half of the season! - will be among the players to watch next season, while the rumour mill has linked OlyWhite Gerard Davis and All White Paul Urlovic with the Kingz,  along with a couple of European imports (hopefully of far better calibre finishing-wise than Lammers proved to be). Despite all the on-field efforts, backstage activities also captured the spotlight during the season, most notably surrounding the club's financial stability. It came to a head with the departure of Dino Mennillo, who earned people's respect for both his playing abilities (diving techniques excepted!), and his preparedness to adhere to his principles, a stand which, ultimately, prompted his leaving. At the time, though, some made him out to be traitorous - after all, (according to our myopic-minded friends) this sort of thing simply never happens in New Zealand, aka Godzone!! After the events at Subiaco Oval on June 11, however, I think I know who ended up with the better deal. Good on you, son! Late in the campaign, the Kingz financial future was secured by an 80% takeover by Sky TV. With their marketing skills and visual appeal on board, along with newly appointed CEO Simon Massey, there is scope for much improvement in the club's operations with each passing day. That said, it would be most unfair for anyone to criticise the small group who made professional soccer in New Zealand a reality by getting the Football Kingz venture up and running in the first place. I make particular reference to the enthusiastic efforts of Chris Turner and John Batty at this point. A professional club, especially one in its first year, requires a lot of input from a lot of people, but this duo was primarily responsible for the day-to-day running of the operation. That it survived a number of demanding examinations of its credentials owes much to their willingness to put the good of the club first, literally,  on occasions, at their own expense. It would be remiss to ignore the enthusiastic efforts of another group who helped put the Football Kingz on the map in their first season. The boys and girls in Bloc 5 put many a fellow supporter to shame with their lively lyrics and unswerving loyalty to the cause, which, for some, involved journeying to North Harbour Stadium from Hamilton, Tauranga, Taupo and many other North Island towns and cities. It's a shame their willingness to help fly the Kingz flag isn't shared by many of their contemporaries in Auckland. Had it been, the atmosphere at "Camelot" would have been even more impressive, rest assured. Still, the flag continues to fly. Gaining an extension to the current two-year licence from FIFA's Executive Committee is the next hurdle to be overcome, after which ... given the majority owners' title, perhaps the Sky's the limit!! One key hurdle has been overcome, however, that being media respectability. No longer does the local media hold the game the world plays in contempt. That in itself is a significant triumph in the short but spirited life of New Zealand's Football KINGZ!!