Some bits of news creep up on you with unfolding inevitability while others catch you suddenly and unaware. This particular bit of news… it’s almost hard to say which one of those categories it fits in. Maybe both? As announced by the club this morning (Thursday) in their club newsletter, Darije Kalezic has… well, you can read for yourself…

Darije Kalezic is gonna be one and done at the Nix. Obviously results have been trash for basically the entire season but you still got the idea that he was building towards something and earlier in the week in the last TNC Welly Nix despatch the argument was made that we’ve gotta give him the chance to keep building into next season, when some of this wrangling can start paying off. Except that now he won’t be there, so… umm… why?

“The parties were not able to find a mutual agreement on how to proceed forward and because of this have decided to move in separate directions.”

Okay now let’s get this into perspective. Kalezic inherited a team that was already significantly underperforming at A-League level. The previous manager had resigned, clearly having lost a bit of his old spark, but has since gone on to the Newcastle Jets and led them to a fantastic campaign despite the Jets not being much better off than the Nix in recent times. The interim gaffers did alright in terms of settling things down and clearing the path for the new boss but the squad still needed heaps of work.

In came Kalezic and he was paired with Rado Vidosic (who brought his son with him). A few interesting signings were made, looking to make amends for the busts that have been most of the Nix’s big transfers lately, and they started off alright albeit while losing and drawing games. He kicked off his first game with a high schooler in goal and tried to push an ambitious style of play before drastically shifting between extremes in terms of possession stats in search of desperately needed points.

Kalezic cut loose a disenfranchised Gui Finkler and then got involved in a power struggle which saw Vidosic & Son ousted from the team. There was talk of squad divisions. He cut a few more players loose. He signed another import. He promoted some youth players and criticised the attitude/ability of some of the more senior dudes. He’s spent the last couple weeks plotting how to give game time to a few inexperienced players in order to see where their futures lie with the team, most notably Sarpreet Singh. Now he’s scrapped it out with the club and someone decided call it quits after the season.

That’s if he stays until the end of the season. His status is a little vague in the initial announcement (which itself was super understated, just rip off the bandaid dudes). Doesn’t seem like much point in keeping him around when he’s been trying to implement so many changes only to decide that he ain’t about it no more. Did the board finally snap back at him pushing the boundaries of his power one too many times or is this a dig at his results so far? Or was it Darije giving up on trying to get these guys to do what he wants and figuring the Phoenix for a lost cause? Bloody who knows right now? Given that he’s upset a few people in the process you can expect a drawn-out autopsy report on this whole scenario.

One thing to hammer home though, this doesn’t make it a wasted season as a lot of people have been claiming. It’s definitely a set back because the things they’ve been striving for are now irrelevant but Kalezic did clean up the squad. He did cut loose a few hanger-ons (a couple of which were signed during his tenure) while bringing in players who can clearly compete at this level. Doubtful many will stay now but whatever. He tried to get the Phoenix to play some decent footy and then he tried to get them to win ugly, on both counts he at least tried. That results haven’t lived up to expectations doesn’t mean that the processes behind them were complete failures. We all went on a journey here. It turned out to be a tragic one rather than a heroic one but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Can’t rewrite history and all that. Live and learn. Move on.

More important is that he finally gave Matt Ridenton the opportunity to start regularly in the midfield and Matty responded beautifully to that confidence and trust. He also introduced us to Keegan Smith who was perhaps swimming a little beyond the flags this soon but will have learned plenty from that experience and remains a starting keeper of the future for this club. In recent weeks Kalezic has opened the doors to Sarpreet Singh and Liberato Cacace. We all wanna see kiwi players getting games at this club and, oh look, here that is actually happening. Alex Rufer, Logan Rogerson and Monty Patterson have done a couple things too – expect plenty more from Monty over the rest of the season as he settles. Chill on the fatalism, guys.

It’s probably not much of a stretch to suggest that there’s a disconnect between the players and manager right now, though. It would definitely help explain some of these performances, particularly away from home where a team needs to be more cohesive than ever if it’s gonna spot an upset. Kalezic has never been callous enough to name names but he’s ripped on players in pressers before. Gotta think Mike McGlinchey can’t care much for him, for one. Hopefully this clears some of that up – and if that truly is the case then Kalezic shouldn’t be seeing the season out.

Whatever’s done is done now so the task is how to move forward. First thing is that the board needs to step up here. There have been too many risky/bad decisions made by the suits and ties for them to keep hiding behind statements, get in front of the microphones and answer some questions. People don’t wanna tear this team to shreds, they just want to feel like there’s accountability with decisions and leaving it all on Kalezic’s shoulders isn’t completely fair when it’s hardly like things were A-OK before he strolled into town.

Second thing is that what the thing the Wellington Phoenix need more than ever now is stability. They tried to swing for the fences with Kalezic, sort of an all or nothing appointment, and they grounded a soft one to third. Didn’t quite strike out but it’s the same difference (sorry, mixing sports metaphors here). His successor can’t be another wild one, that isn’t gonna do anyone any favours. Look at the Premier League and see the pattern: a club hires an ambitious manager and it doesn’t work so they follow that up with a middle-aged British battler. Frank de Boer is replaced by Roy Hodgson. Ronald Koeman is replaced by Sam Allardyce. Then what happens is those guys run their course and get swapped out for someone more exciting. The worst example of this is the idea that Alan ‘Pardiola’ Pardew could fix what Tony Pulis left him with at West Brom. How’s that one working out, lads?

It’s a stupid tendency in a lot of ways but only because they take it too far by hiring the same six guys all the time. There’s plenty of relevant truth buried in there, it’s all about limiting the variables and getting back to basics. Hitting the reset button. The Welly Nix need a manager who understands the landscape of kiwi football and kiwi players. They need to be able to connect with what is still a large core base of local players. The imports have short shelf lives, the heart of the club these days is Andrew Durante, Mike McGlinchey, Roy Krishna, Tom Doyle, Matt Ridenton and the likes. As it happens, the Nix lost a chunk of these leaders last year (Mossy and Vinniesta most of all), which hasn’t helped things. But it’s those Nix Lifers that every season is built around. The next gaffer needs to see that and understand that.

Which is why, on this occasion, it doesn’t make sense to drag someone across from Europe or elsewhere. It doesn’t even make much sense to target an Australian – even though that’s probably what they’ll do. What oughta happen is that they promote a high-flyer from the NZ Premiership. Someone like Ramon Tribulietx, for example. It doesn’t have to be him, Jose Figueira, Danny Hay and Willy Gerdsen have all done wonderful things this season. It’s just that Hay’s still inexperienced and Figueira recently re-took the NZ U17s so that might rule them out in the short term. Gerdsen also doesn’t stack up so well compared to Tribulietx. So… why not Ramon?

It’s understandable why he wasn’t considered for the All Whites, which is a different kind of managerial job to what he’s used to. Yet there’s progression between what Auckland City have been doing and where the Wellington Phoenix need to go. This is a gut call and Ramon may not even want it but it really feels like he’s what the Nix need right now. Someone with a steady hand and a track record of success (albeit with more resources than most of his regular opponents). Someone who can connect with the players he’ll be working with. Someone who can bring out the local identity of the club and reconnect it with some disillusioned fans. We don’t need another statement manager when this club is simply not structured right now to handle someone like that.

It makes sense, guys. Go on and argue if you want but Ramon Tribulietx is the man for the job. Gonna have to go hundies on this. And if anyone mentions that goddamned word ‘badges’ then, honestly, I swear…

Another one in the bag, how about it? Slap an ad before you leave to support the TNC Revolution and maybe even donate a few bucks on Patreon too if you’re feeling generous. It all counts and it’s all hugely appreciated.

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