Hudson will be ‘wiser’ now: Herbert
To predict if Anthony Hudson remains All Whites coach, his predecessor, Ricki Herbert, would be looking into a crystal ball.
Herbert, who guided the All Whites to the 2010 World Cup but failed in his second attempt four years later, simply does not know whether Hudson would, or should, stay on.
From his own personal experience, Herbert has already admitted to holding on too long, declaring he was ‘‘too loyal’’ to New Zealand.
So what would be the attraction for Hudson to re-sign with New Zealand Football for another World Cup cycle?
Firstly, Herbert said Hudson will ‘‘better’’ and ‘‘wiser’’ from his first experience, which ended in a 2-0 loss to Peru. He knows the landscape now.
Secondly, another factor that could sway his decision is whether he believes that the All Whites have a better chance of reaching Qatar in 2022 than they did Russia 2018.
‘‘At the end of the day it’s up to him and he needs to make the call, and the call needs to be well within his heart that he thinks that it is possible that, whatever the financial budget is over the next four years, that the team can go to and will to go to a World Cup campaign in 2022,’’ he said.
When it comes to who will be there in four years, Andrew Durante is the only player that took the field against Peru that you could cross a line through now. He will be 39 in 2021.
Everyone else, fitness permitting, should at least be in the frame for selection, which bodes well, right?
Actually, Herbert is not sold. When asked if he thought the All Whites were a better chance of qualifying for Qatar than they were Russia because of the likely low turnover, he expected stars Chris Wood and Winston Reid to have declined while others will fall by the wayside.
‘‘I don’t think they will be better players. I think they will obviously be more experienced but Chris is very much in rich form for Burley [now] and where is he going to be in four years’ time? Will Winston be better? We’ve seen some fantastic years from Winston playing the EPL, some incredible performances week in, week out. But will he actually be a better player? I’m not sure. He’s an outstanding player now.’’
Looking back on the two games against Peru, Herbert said the biggest disappointment was the fact that the All Whites did not get a single shot on target across both legs.
‘‘I think the biggest disappointment, given the very comprehensive programme that this current group have had, to have 180 minutes of football and not get a shot on target will probably be the ultimate disappointment.’’
Even if he was only good for 45 minutes due to troublesome hamstrings, Herbert was surprised Hudson did not start Wood in Lima.
‘‘Our best possibility of scoring a goal is Chris Wood and we didn’t see a lot of him until the tie was finished or put into a position where we were going to be a bit more desperate than we needed to be.’’