Team Wellington have announced the signings of Anthony Hobbs and Fergus Neil for the 2015/16 ASB Pre

Team Wellington have announced the signings of Anthony Hobbs and Fergus Neil for the 2015/16 ASB Premiership.

Though the versatile defenders have taken varying footballing paths to the capital, they both arrive at Team Wellington with proven Premiership pedigree.

It’s a return of sorts for Hobbs, with the North Shore native having previously signed with the franchise for the 2013-14 season only to have injury curtail his campaign before a ball was kicked.

The well travelled youth international arrives in the capital after a recent spell in Barcelona with CF Gava, a feeder club for La Liga side Espanyol. An opportunity that presented itself after being spotted playing in the reserves for MLS side Portland Timbers.

“Espanyol had some coaches to the US who ended up watching me play. They asked if I would be interested in making the move to CF Gava, it was a great opportunity.”

Prior to Spain, Hobbs linked with Auckland City FC for their 2015 Oceania Champions League campaign where they defeated Team Wellington in the final on penalties.

In returning to Team Wellington the All American graduate was looking to call on his experience in the Oceania Champions League to help the side go one better in 2016.

“I’m really excited to be rejoining Team Wellington for the upcoming season. I spent some time with Team Wellington a couple of years ago, but unfortunately an injury forced me to miss the season. Now I have the opportunity to help Team Wellington push for more success in the ASB Premiership and OFC Champions League. It a great motivation to try and take them one step further, and I think with the team Matt is assembling it’s definitely possible. For me personally it’s about some unfinished business due to my injury when I first signed with the Tee Dubs.”

Hobbs added: “I know the coaching staff well and I’m really excited to be linking up with some players that I have played with over the years. There is a good mix of players who have been performing well in the Premiership, and I’m sure with the likes of Bill Robertson, Liam Higgins and Fergus Neil there will be plenty of quality and competition at the back.”

Fergus Neil will be one of those who will be looking to cement a starting spot in the Team Wellington backline. Over the past two seasons the Queenstown-born Neil has established himself as one of the form fullbacks of the ASB Premiership having enhanced his reputation after previous stints with Hawkes Bay and WaiBop United.

Comfortable on either the left or right, the mobile defender joins Team Wellington on the back of another strong season for Central League Champions and ASB Chatham Cup Finalists Napier City Rovers. Neil is looking forward to the challenges ahead.

“I signed for Team Wellington because I see them as one of the top sides in the country and there was the added attraction of competing in the O-League next year. I’m looking forward to working with Bill (Robertson) again over the summer after the success we had with Rovers, but also with Matt Calcott who himself has been extremely successful with the likes of Miramar and Team Wellington.

Matt has done very well to assemble a squad in which there will be competition for places which is what you want in a franchise. As a player it’s important to keep challenging yourself and I see the culture and environment at Team Wellington as something that will provide that.”

Calcott is pleased to have Hobbs and Neil as part of the team and expects both players to figure prominently throughout the season,

“Their inclusion really strengthens our options across the back and adds real depth to the squad,” Calcott said.

And from experience, those are real advantages in helping to build a team that is ready to compete in two very strong computations. Anthony’s ability and experience playing abroad will really lend itself to our game, as will Fergus who has really impressed me over the past couple of seasons with his versatility and work rate. They are both quality footballers who possess the attributes to push their game to the next level.”