Another Peek At The Wellington Phoenix Squad Situation
The end of one season means the beginning of the next when it comes to professional sports, there’s no time to dwell on the past and if the future isn’t being planned already then you’re only falling further and further behind. Although, to be honest, both the past and the future are philosophical constructs and time is a myth and there is only the singular present in which we live… but best ignore that for the sake of this article.
The Wellington Phoenix have work to do. They need a new manager and you can assume they’ve been working hard at that task for more than a few weeks now. Domey said that they’re down to two candidates. Both are ‘local’ managers… whatever that means. Probably just means Australasian so don’t get excited and assume that the last two survivors are Chris Greenacre and Ramon Tribulietx. Insert tired reference to coaching badges here.
Unfortunately the tea leaves seem to suggest that we’re in for a boring Australian appointment because that’s probably what the FFA fascists want to see. That in itself doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A good manager is a good manager, regardless of where they come from. It’s just that the Nix have all this history with having to compete with the Proper Football Men of Australia so to have one in charge of the team could get slippery. But for the sake of our mental health let’s assume we get a good bugger who vibes with the fans and promotes kiwi players. Sweet as.
That still leaves the Nix with two-thirds of their squad coming off contract. There are a few locked in, Roy Krishna did his best to ensure that he’s one of them while Nathan Burns joined on a two year contract so he’ll be back as well. Sarpreet Singh, Keegan Smith and Ollie Sail have time remaining on their deals, as do Aussies Dylan Fox, Adam Parkhouse and Ryan Lowry. Tom Doyle too. That’s something to start with at least… even if a couple of that last trio are no sure bets to stick around. Player’s Player of the Year Dylan Fox makes Ryan Lowry pretty superfluous while Adam Parkhouse hasn’t kicked on and fell behind Logan Rogerson by the end of the season.
Which leaves us with an expiring list of players that reads as such: Scott Galloway, James McGarry, Andrew Durante, Lewis Italiano, Mike McGlinchey, Goran Paracki, Andrija Kaludjerovic, Alex Rufer, Logan Rogerson, Daniel Mullen, Matt Ridenton, Matija Llujic, Marco Rossi, Tando Velaphi and Monty Patterson. Possibly Liberato Cacace as well. It’s hard to know who’s got what contract options and who’s already in negotiations but that’s roughly how it stands.
Andrew Durante is coming back. That’s happening. There’s no way that Cacace doesn’t get pro terms either, he’s more than earned that. The import players are trickier because they’ll have more options. Marco Rossi is gone, Ljujic and Paracki might be retained but that’s their call. Kaludjerovic doesn’t feel like he serves much of a purpose with Krishna and Burns the first choicers but a poaching striker is always an asset, depends on how it all goes. Surely Matt Ridenton is extended. Surely Italiano, Velaphi and Mullen are released (unless they're all goods being bench players). The young kiwis it’s anyone’s guess. A couple others we’ll get to in a second.
As promised a few weeks ago, here’s the tallied up table of Chris Greenacre’s selections over his six games in charge, a decent indication of who the former reserves coach rated for game time…
Some of those minutes totals might be off give or take a couple since players tend not to be replaced on the exact minute, there’s some rounding up/down involved, it doesn’t really matter. Point’s the same. Also there was an All Whites game and plenty of rotation going on within this.
Those numbers paint a pretty picture for Singh, Fox, Sail and Cacace. Not so great for Rufer and Patterson, who could’ve used the stage to impress but that had to be balanced with the need for results as well. Patterson is one of the strangest cases here. He signed on loan in the knowledge that his Ipswich deal expires at the end of the English season and then he could be signed permanently. But he only started two games and ended up playing more minutes for the reserves, with injuries a factor as well. He’s worth a much closer look but it wouldn’t be a complete shocker if he didn’t get it.
Michael McGlinchey did not play well this season. He might decide he’d rather leave on his own terms, he also might get flicked by the Nix because it’s increasingly hard to see him starting and that attacking mid thing only got more crowded with the emergence of Sarpreet Singh doing things in limited opportunities that Wee Mac didn’t do all season – McGlinchey played 1351 minutes this season and didn’t score a goal while Singh scored four in less than half that time. But Wee Mac might also benefit from playing deeper in the midfield, alongside/instead of Matt Ridenton perhaps. The role he plays for the All Whites, basically.
It’d be nice to see Scott Galloway retained after he ended up playing the fourth most minutes across the campaign. He’s only young too so he’s gonna get better. However if they added another wide defender, dropping Gallo back to a reserve role, that wouldn’t be a terrible thing either.
Another centre back is crucial but it has to be someone good, Andy Durante’s gonna need more than a few rests and we can’t keep rotating backups. A goalkeeper would be handy too, pun intended. Both Ollie Sail and Keegan Smith got spells between the sticks and are locked in for another year… is either is ready to start on the regular though? Sail would be closest, he’s a few years older and physically more prepared. He made a few mistakes in those last four but he also did enough to get himself back on the radar after completely disappearing mid-season. Good for him.
Chuck in some more creativity in the midfield and maybe another striker to come in late and bag some goals… should be a much stronger team. Having said that, the quality in the squad is one thing but right now the biggest drama is confidence. All the psychic weight of a season gone bad weighs on players and affects their performances. It’s crazy how much better everyone does when they’ve got belief in themselves, in their teammates and in their club itself. Frankly that all comes down to the next manager, so… guess we’re back to square one again.
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