2005–06 New Zealand Knights FC season

October 2015 October 2015 New Zealand Knights 2005-06 John Adshead Brian Katzen A-League 8th Pre-Season Cup Group stage Jeremy Brockie (4)Simon Yeo (4) Jeremy Brockie (4)Simon Yeo (4) 9,827 v Sydney FC2 September 2005 1,922 v Melbourne Victory26 November 2005 3,909 _shouldersonblack _angleshoulderonblack A0A0A0 a0a0a0 A0A0A0 000000 000000 000000 FFFFFF 000000 000000 FFFFFF 2006–07 The 2005–06 New Zealand Knights FC season was the club's inaugural season in the Australian A-League. Picking up just one win and three draws out of the 21 regular season matches, the Knights finished at the bottom of the table, 20 points behind 7th placed Melbourne Victory. Season overview In their debut season, the Knights scored only 15 goals in their 21 fixtures. Their joint leading scorers were Englishman Simon Yeo and teenage whizkid Jeremy Brockie, with four apiece. Sean Devine scored three goals, while Joshua Rose, Jeremy Christie, Neil Emblen and Xiaobin Zhang all managed to find the back of the net once. Former Walsall right-back Darren Bazeley was the only Knight to start in all 21 of their games. The club was plunged into turmoil in late 2005, as club captain Danny Hay apparently fell out with Knights bosses and coach John Adshead, and was released just before Christmas. This followed the departures of UK signings Ronnie Bull and former Lincoln City striker Simon Yeo. The Knights may have had poor crowds in their inaugural A-League season but they did have loyal support from their supporters group, Bloc-5. Supporters who formerly supported the now-defunct Football Kingz franchise, are known for dressing up in the team's colours, chanting loudly and attending all home fixtures. Immediately after the season, the Knights fired assistant coach Tommy Mason. Former Fulham reserve team and academy head coach Paul Nevin was named head coach to assist current manager John Adshead as Mason's replacement. One outcome of the Knights' debut season was 17-year-old New Zealander Jeremy Brockie. The midfielder-cum-striker was originally selected as one of the Knights three under-20 players in their squad. By the end of the season though, he had become a regular starter, scoring a double at home against the Newcastle Jets. This was followed up by a strike to earn a draw with Sydney FC, and a goal in the Knights' final game of the season, versus Melbourne Victory. Transfers In Date Pos. Name From7 March 2005DFNED Frank van EijsVietnam Hà Nội F.C.14 April 2005DFAUS John TambourasFree agent Soccer: Knights announce six signings https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/football/wellington-phoenix/soccer-knights-announce-six-signings/YNECQG3XRLD4OOJXO2M24HDRWM/ NZ Herald 28 November 2025 en-NZ14 April 2005GKAUS Danny MilosevicSCO CelticSoccer: Knights announce six signings https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/football/wellington-phoenix/soccer-knights-announce-six-signings/YNECQG3XRLD4OOJXO2M24HDRWM/ NZ Herald 28 November 2025 en-NZ14 April 2005FWIRL Sean DevineENG Exeter City14 April 2005MFENG Neil EmblenENG Walsallhttp://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72202 Knights sign up six 8 June 2013 SBS Australia https://archive.today/20080110222546/http://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72202 10 January 2008 dead dmy-all14 April 2005MFAUS Steve FitzsimmonsFree agent14 April 2005FWJPN Naoki ImayaAUS Blacktown City Demons14 April 2005MFAUS Josh MaguireAUS Blacktown City Demons14 April 2005GKNZL Glen MossAUS Bonnyrigg White Eagles5 May 2005MFAUS Zenon CaravellaAUS Sydney Olympichttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10124029 Knights' signing a cut above 8 June 2013 New Zealand Herald 6 May 200527 May 2005FWNZL Jeremy BrockieNZL Canterbury UnitedSoccer: United youth on board for Knights https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/football/soccer-united-youth-on-board-for-knights/R6PGV3A6VYZ3IHGMAWKENKPCW4/ 24 August 2026 NZ Herald 28 May 2005 en-NZ27 May 2005DFNZL Cole TinklerFree agent1 June 2005MFENG Ben CollettENG Manchester Unitedhttp://tvnz.co.nz/content/580620/3453174/article.html Trio Join Knights 8 June 2013 TVNZ1 June 2005FWENG Simon YeoENG Lincoln City1 June 2005FWChina Xiaobin ZhangFree agent21 June 2005FWNZL Kris BrightNZL Waitakere City21 June 2005DFENG Ronnie BullENG Grimsby Townhttp://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-1001-0-0-0&sID=12574&articleID=137007&news_task=DETAIL NZ Knights squad complete 8 June 2013 Football Federation Samoa https://web.archive.org/web/20160308173857/http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-1001-0-0-0&sID=12574&articleID=137007&news_task=DETAIL 8 March 2016 dead21 June 2005MFNZL Jeremy ChristieFree agent21 June 2005MFNZL Sam JasperNZL North Shore United21 June 2005DFAUS Joshua RoseFree agent Mid-Season Losses Date Pos. Name To6 November 2005DFENG Ronnie BullENG Basingstoke Townhttp://espnfc.com/news/story?id=348493&cc=5739&src=mobile&cc=3436 Bull leaves NZ Knights to head home 8 June 2013 ESPNRonnie Bull » Profile https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe67058/ronnie-bull/ www.worldfootball.net 26 November 2025 enBoss hopes four can help Town progress https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport/969747.boss-hopes-four-can-help-town-progress/ Basingstoke Gazette 30 November 2025 en 13 October 200617 December 2005FWENG Simon YeoENG Lincoln Cityhttp://tvnz.co.nz/content/640787/3453174/article.html Yeo leaves NZ Knights 8 June 2013 TVNZYeo Departs With Regrets http://www.nzknights.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=2736&pageid=432 https://web.archive.org/web/20060517021859/http://www.nzknights.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=2736&pageid=432 dead 2006-05-17 www.nzknights.com 26 November 2025 en23 December 2005DFNZL Danny HayAUS Perth Gloryhttp://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/650110/knights-cut-skipper-hay https://archive.today/20130916154712/http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/650110/knights-cut-skipper-hay dead 16 September 2013 Knights cut skipper Hay 8 June 2013 SBS AustraliaHay returns to Glory http://www.perthglory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=2895&pageid=204 https://web.archive.org/web/20060107234027/http://www.perthglory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=2895&pageid=204 dead 2006-01-07 www.perthglory.com.au 26 November 2025 en25 January 2006MFAUS Steve FitzsimmonsReleasedhttp://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/645965/fitzsimmons-leaves-knights https://archive.today/20130916154620/http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/645965/fitzsimmons-leaves-knights dead 16 September 2013 Fitzsimmons leaves Knights 8 June 2013 SBS Australia Squad statistics A-League Pre-Season Cup 1 Danny Milosevic AUS GK 14 0 2 0 2 Darren Bazeley ENG DF 21 0 0 0 3 Ronnie Bull ENG DF 7 0 3 0 4 John Tambouras AUS DF 15+3 0 3 0 5 Danny Hay NZL DF 9 0 2 0 6 Neil Emblen ENG MF 11+2 1 3 0 7 Steve Fitzsimmons AUS MF 8+3 0 3 1 8 Ben Collett ENG MF 15+3 0 3 0 9 Simon Yeo ENG FW 10+1 4 1 1 10 Sean Devine IRL FW 13+4 3 3 0 11 Zenon Caravella AUS MF 20+1 0 0 0 12 Cole Tinkler NZL DF 9+2 0 2 0 13 Jeremy Brockie NZL FW 9+3 4 0+2 0 14 Josh Maguire AUS MF 7+6 0 1 0 15 Joshua Rose AUS DF 10+2 1 2+1 0 16 Noah Hickey NZL MF 12+5 0 1+1 0 17 Frank van Eijs NED DF 8 0 1 0 18 Xiaobin Zhang China FW 2+10 1 2+1 0 19 Naoki Imaya Japan FW 6+4 0 0 0 20 Glen Moss NZL GK 7+2 0 1 0 21 Jeremy Christie NZL MF 8+2 1 0 0 22 Sam Jasper NZL MF 1+1 0 0 0 24 Kris Bright NZL FW 9+3 0 0 0 30 Roy Bell NZL GK 0 0 0 0 |} Friendlies and pre-season +DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance17 July 2005Central Coast MarinersNeutral0–224 August 2005Solomon IslandsHome4–0Devine, Josh Rose (2), Yeo Competitions Pre-season Challenge Cup +DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance24 July 2005Sydney FCAway1-3Fitzsimmons8,71430 July 2005Queensland RoarHome0-53,3976 August 2005Central Coast MarinersHome0-12,269 A-League Standings NZK +DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendancePosition28 August 2005Queensland RoarAway0-220,72582 September 2005Sydney FCHome1-3Rose9,827810 September 2005Central Coast MarinersAway2-0Yeo, Devine5,261718 September 2005Newcastle JetsAway0-47,495822 September 2005Perth GloryHome0-14,13882 October 2005Adelaide UnitedHome1-2Yeo3,558810 October 2005Melbourne VictoryAway0-311,010816 October 2005Queensland RoarHome0-24,182821 October 2005Sydney FCAway0-211,836829 October 2005Central Coast MarinersHome1-3Yeo2,58384 November 2005Newcastle JetsHome2-4Brockie (2)2,561811 November 2005Perth GloryAway0-39,667820 November 2005Adelaide UnitedAway0-19,676826 November 2005Melbourne VictoryHome2-3Christie, Devine1,92281 December 2005Queensland RoarAway1-1Yeo8,607830 December 2005Sydney FCHome2-2Devine, Brockie4,21288 January 2006Central Coast MarinersAway0-17,257813 January 2006Newcastle JetsAway0-36,862819 January 2006Perth GloryHome1-4Emblen3,024828 January 2006Adelaide UnitedHome1-1Zhang3,07984 February 2006Melbourne VictoryAway1-2Brockie10,0788 References 3 2005–06 Category:2005–06 A-League by team Category:2005–06 in New Zealand association football