I have been living offshore for a few years and came back for the match. There is a few things I have noticed since I've been back about football in NZ
1, Its much more mainstream. You would never have Checkpoint discussing football governance a few years ago. With 100,000 people(mainly youth) playing the game football is now a big part of many many NZ households. The support is widespread and strong....a good example was the 35,000 fans at the ROF creating as good an atmosphere as any you would experiance OE....and we were getting dicked.
2, NZF may have done lots of good things with setting up playing/coaching at junior level but they are a disaster higher up. The WC qualifying program was a total screwup. There was a complete lack of professionalism...from everything like organising the warmup games right down to the little things like team announcements. schedules. Gareth is right...it looks like a local tennis club organisation.
3, What with the NZ sports media? You guys are probably used to it but viewed as a new arrival I found some of the football coverage incredible. There seems to be down right hostility towards football by many sports journalists. Many stories seemed to be deliberately negative. 24 hours out from the Wellington match...a game with 35,000 fans and beamed to 130 countries TV1 buried the match preview behind a host of rugby stories including a 3 minute clip about the Wallabies. Football is NOT a fringe sport anymore in this country.....about time some of the media realised this.
4, Despite the media and NZF I think the game here is in good health. The number of young kiwis getting picked up overseas into good clubs is amazing....and it will continue to grow. We are at a kind of crossroads....IF NZF appoint the right CEO and IF they appoint the right AW coach and IF they both are supported and not undermined by petty local politics then the game has a good future.
p.s I know kiwis don't tend to like larger than life outspoken characters but you should cut Gareth some slack. Sure he has a scattergun approach and fires a few blanks but he is getting NZ football more widely discussed. Anything that encourages debate should be supported.