So this is the New Year, and I don’t feel any different.

While the words of Ben Gibbard seem to fit pretty much perfectly with me at the moment given I’m fairly happy with my own plans and situation, there’s a much more positive feel in this part of the world about the future of Wellington Phoenix FC as an A-League club.

It stems from FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s Christmas present to the club; just before the festive season he said in an interview on SBS’s The World Game that the AFC has no say in who plays in the leagues of its member nations, and that as long as the FFA are happy to have us then FIFA are as happy as Larry to see the relationship continue.

It seems that while Bin Hammam has no idea about the culture and football reality of the region, Blatter knows that we’re about as different as Edam and Cheddar Cheese, and that both nations get mutual and much-needed benefits from the arrangement.

What this means is that Mohammed Bin Hammam can’t dictate to Australia on this issue. Sure, they can still politick, and they undoubtedly will (heck, even Blatter’s comments are him trying to maintain his close relations with the OFC), but when it comes down to it the choice is that of Frank Lowy, Ben Buckley and their crew.

These are pretty smart men when it comes to business, too. They know that having a team from New Zealand increases the exposure and income of the league, while also fulfilling the FFA’s requirement of ‘helping’ the OFC through building the standard of some OFC footballers. Surely, only the most xenophobic and ‘patriotic’ Australians cannot see at least one positive thing about the presence of the Nix.

And really, Bin Hammam can’t legally dangle extra ACL places as bait, because Australia will soon meet the standards of the competition, and there is no requirement that all teams in a particular league have to be from that league’s nation that I know of.

Our performance this season will also certainly work in our favour. While I don’t believe we’ll make the finals this year (barring some minor miracle where we play decent and attacking football for the last few rounds), we’ve certainly shown that our location in the world does not mean that we will automatically finish bottom.

We’ve also turned over some big teams, and while we’ve done it with a very gritty style most of the time, we’ve shown that we know how to win, and that is only good for the perception of the club in both countries.

So, all in all I’m pretty happy and positive about our future, we just need to make sure we have a few New Year’s resolutions to make next season even better than any before.

1. Sign two quality strikers, plus one decent back-up perhaps.

2. Sign a creative midfielder who can cope with the rough stuff and last 90 minutes most games.

3. Play attacking and stylish football more often! (I believe there is something psychological within the team to play ugly long-ball whenever under any pressure).

4. Sort out a youth team of some kind, even if it is in the NZFC.

5. Tell Bin Hammam to grow up and get a level of understanding of the cultural and football situation in Australasia.