When Ufuk Talay took over as manager of the Wellington Phoenix he spoke about recruitment. In his words, 70% of successful coaching is about recruitment and the other 30% is motivation and tactics. Having a style of play that you want to impart helps. Being able to rark up the lads on a wet and windy Wellington day (oh how we’ve missed those games) is huge for turning defeats into draws and draws into wins with that extra bit of juice. But nothing makes quite as much of a difference as having the right players in the first place. Players who fit that system, who respond to the speeches, those are the players that you need. Sign the wrong blokes and the rest doesn’t really matter.

We can debate the balance of those percentages all we want but we can’t argue the underlying logic. Shrewd recruitment is how the best teams are put together... especially for a team like the Wellington Phoenix with their unique challenges. A kiwi team in an Aussie comp, unlikely to attract the best domestic players in Australasia and without the finances to challenge for those marque overseas blokes. So they’ve gotta be smart about how they do things. There’s not much room for error.

The Talay line referenced at the top was from his unveiling press conference and is sourced in this write-up from back when all that happened. Also from that same article, because there’s nothing quite like a writer quoting themselves, was this paragraph which outlines the context of what Uffie Talay was stepping into (seems dumb to rewrite it when I’ve already written it once so here goes)...

Squad depth was a big issue under Mark Rudan and there’s the very real accusation here that his recruitment was average at best. His coaching and development of players was a different story, as you can see from the strides made by blokes like Alex Rufer and Louis Fenton, but his recruitment? For David Williams there was Mitch Nichols. For Max Burgess there was Reuben Way. Michal Kopczynski was signed as a midfielder and played mostly in defence. Cillian Sheridan could have been a difference maker but couldn’t hardly get a start – whether that was because of his ability or because Rudan didn’t prefer him… either way best case scenario is Rudan signing a player that didn’t fit his vision there which is exactly what Talay is saying he won’t do. Rudan focussed on personalities. Talay seems more about ability – when asked about the NZ Premmy he said he’ll sign players from everywhere, that the more kiwis the better at a kiwi club, but they have to be good enough. Both of them stressed that they wouldn’t rush things at the expense of getting the right dudes.

Here we are now two and a bit years later with two and a half offseasons worth of evidence and tell ya what... it’s been an impressive haul. Money has been placed well and truly where mouth is. There were certain guys that Talay inherited such as Steven Taylor, Alex Rufer, and Libby Cacace (not to mention some of the academy dudes that Rudan had given debuts to, namely Ben Waine and Callan Elliot). But there wasn’t a whole lot else going on. Sarpreet Singh left for Bayern Munich the winter that Uffie arrived. Even more of a blow was the loss of Roy Krishna as he transferred to India. Andy Durante followed Rudan to Western United (along with Filip Kurto and Max Burgess). Gianni Stensness left after only four appearances. Of the starting XI in the elimination final loss to Melbourne Victory, the last game of Mark Rudan’s tenure... only three were still there.

And that worked out great because it meant Talay had a mostly clean slate to work with, bringing in the players he thought could do the job. Next thing you know the Phoenix secured their highest ever league table finish in season one and they followed that up by being a mere whisker out of the playoffs despite having only two home games the entire way in season two. Here are the players that Talay has signed:

2019-20 Season: Ulises Davila, Gary Hooper, Stefan Marinovic, Reno Piscopo, Matti Steinmann, Cameron Devlin, Walter Scott, Tim Payne, David Ball, Callum McCowatt, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Jaushua Sotirio, Luke DeVere, Liam McGing, Brandon Wilson

2020-21 Season: Clayton Lewis, Mirza Muratovic, James McGarry, Joshua Laws, Matthew Ridenton, Tomer Hemed, Charles Lokoli-Ngoy, Steven Taylor (re-signed)

2021-22 Season (So Far): Nicholas Pennington, Callan Elliot (re-signed), Gary Hooper (re-signed)

The strike rate is commendable, to say the least. We’ll start with the imports because that’s where there’s the most scope for excellence. You get five import spots to use on non-AU/NZ players and the value that you get out of that quintet is generally gonna be pretty influential in how good your overall team will be. The last seven Johnny Warren Medalists (including the double-banger last season) were all import players... including Roy Krishna who got local status part-way through that season. The only two domestic dudes to win that award since Shane Smeltz got it in 2008-09 are Marco Rojas (2012-13) and Nathan Burns (2014-15)... two strong Welly Nix connections there, although Rojas won it with Melbourne Victory.

If your imports are among your best players then you’re doing it properly. These are the imports that have played under Ufuk Talay, the ones he signed are in bold (keeping in mind that Taylor left between seasons and then was brought back as a new addition):

2019-20

Steven Taylor – 26 games | 2285 mins | 1 goal | 1.52 points per game played

Ulises Davila – 26 games | 2092 mins | 13 goals | 5 assists | 1.52 pts/g

David Ball – 24 games | 1999 mins | 5 goals | 5 assists | 1.48 pts/g

Matti Steinmann – 23 games | 1965 mins | 1.54 pts/g

Gary Hooper – 21 games | 1108 mins | 8 goals | 4 assists | 1.76 pts/g

2020-21

David Ball – 24 games | 2040 mins | 6 goals | 4 assists | 1.54 pts/g

Ulises Davila – 23 games | 1863 mins | 7 goals | 7 assists | 1.35 pts/g

Tomer Hemed – 21 games | 1340 mins | 11 goals | 3 assists | 1.48 pts/g

Steven Taylor – 12 games | 821 mins | 1 assist | 2.08 pts/g

They played half the 20-21 season with only three imports, mostly as a cost-cutting necessity during the pandemic. The one truly new dude they brought in last time was Tomer Hemed and after a very slow start he got it sizzling down the stretch - peaking with six goals in his last five matches, a club record for consecutive games on the scoresheet. His goals kept the Nix in the hunt as they finished on an 11-game beaten streak but the run was left a little too late to make the top six.

Meanwhile Ulises Davila did a little bit of this...

Davila’s career began with his local Guadalajara club. He then found himself at Chelsea around the time he was doing lovely things for the Mexican U20 team (never did play a full international though) and that meant doing the standard Chelsea youth player thing of five different loans to five different clubs in five different seasons. Then back to Mexico, then to India, and that’s where the Wellington Phoenix snapped him up. Next thing he delivers two of the finest import seasons the club has ever witnessed, that delicious left foot of his responsible for so much attacking flair.

So, naturally, this is what’s happened since...

Following in the footsteps of others first brought to the league by the Nix and then snatched away by other teams. Filip Kurto to Western United. Roly Bonevacia to Western Sydney. Matti Steinmann went to India in between but he’s now back in the A-League with Brisbane Roar. But, you know, this is how football tends to operate. Clubs with more money/resource like to minimise their risks by signing known quantity players who’ve already experienced their league competition, reinforcing the established hierarchy. Bayern Munich’s favourite thing is to sign the best players from other teams (the two transfer fees they’ve paid this window: Diego Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig). It’s the same pretty much everywhere. The Welly Nix know where they realistically stand within the A-League and that the way to work around that is to be amazing at recruitment. Hence this entire article.

David Ball came in after a solid lower league career in England (and some Manchester City academy days around the time that they came into all their money) and has been a leader within the group and a reliable presence wherever he’s played. Not as effective when squeezed out on the left but when he’s been able to play off a target man striker he’s been very good (and he was really handy on the right wing briefly while Davila was injured). Supreme work rate. Dangerous in the penalty area. The thing with Ball is it’s important to know he’s as much a facilitator as he is a goal scorer. Plus he re-signed during the pandemic, what a guy.

So Bally’s still around as is Steven Taylor who left and came back, he joined under Mark Rudan and didn’t follow Rudes out the door so that was cool. Matti Steinmann was an excellent defensive midfielder whose value to the team was most evident in the games he didn’t play. Gary Hooper was a supreme goal scorer whose impact was hampered by injuries, though 12 goal involvements in 1108 minutes is absolutely fantastic. Had he been fit for the elimination final defeat to Perth that year then it might’ve gone very differently. Each of these guys were great additions to the club. Five different imports signed by Talay and not a bad whiff among them. Six including Stevie T’s return. And what do you do when you lose a guy like Tomer Hemed? You bring back old mate Super Hooper, of course.

Can’t fault it. Can’t fault it one bit. If other clubs are scooping out old imports then dammit we can scoop up our old imports too!

The squad right now is still a few bodies short of a completed team photo. Various Australasian lockdowns have stuttered the start of preseason and no doubt had an impact on signings too with at least four more players yet to be added to bring the squad up to size. Ball, Hooper, and Taylor are the imports in place. They absolutely need someone to replace Davila and it’d be nice if they didn’t waste the fifth spot either but we’ll see how that goes. Point being that as stink as it is to lose Davila... the Nix have a track record of quality signings so faith remains that they’ll be able to find an attacking midfielder capable of something similar-ish.

Then there’s also the trend of finding local players who for whatever reason hadn’t gotten their big break elsewhere and offering them those opportunities. Including Australians. Talay’s history with Aussie youth teams (and also Sydney FC) has given him a bit of extra access to some of them types.

Cammy Devlin had only played seven A-League games (for Sydney FC) before joining the Nix. Next thing you know he’s being headhunted by half the A-League at the end of his contract, signing with Newcastle Jets but then being sold to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership before ever even reporting for Jets duty. Reno Piscopo, like Devlin, was an Aussie Olympian the other month. He’s impressed with his skill and directness and could be on the brink of a breakthrough campaign... he was playing in the vast third tier of Italian footy when the Nix swooped in with a rarity for this club: a transfer fee. Nicholas Pennington is seemingly a combination of the two of them, joining the Nix this offseason. Gotta let him carve out his own legacy at the club but again the history keeps you optimistic.

There are less successful versions of that type of transfer but very few that didn’t have at least some positive impact. Joshua Laws was used as a defensive utility (still wanna see him in midfield some more) coming back to Aussie from Düsseldorf’s reserve team. His CB performances were a little dependant on who he was paired with but his ability on the ball and his general composure shows evidence of a real player there, who was just re-signed for two more years and should continue to get better. Jaushua Sotirio, who unlike a lot of these guys had already played a heap in the A-League, has his weaknesses for sure. An inconsistent finisher whose end product doesn’t tend to match up to his quality build-up... yet he’s scored some crucial goals and can always be trusted to do a role (particularly when Uffie wants a pressing striker or a runner in behind high lines). He signed on for two more years after his first season. Luke DeVere’s injuries blighted his time at the Nix but his partnership with Taylor in year one was lovely. Three solid additions, all guys who went on to sign a second contract.

Even below that level, Liam McGing didn’t play much in year one but his second season saw some really impressive fill-in games before Taylor returned to squeeze him out again. Mirza Muratovic only played eight times for the Phoenix... but he did score two goals in those sparse opportunities. The only three Australian players signed by Talay who haven’t had positive impacts are: 1) Walter Scott who had one year stuck behind Libby Cacace and only played 189 minutes so no harm no foul, 2) Brandon Wilson who was a mid-season addition and looked useful in the two starts he made but was released to go home to Perth, and 3) Charles Lokoli-Ngoy who was a convenient local signing while the team was stranded in Australia all season (having trialled in pre-season). Didn’t come close to scoring in his nine substitute apps but no dramas, CLN only played 114 minutes all up and now he’s gone. If those are the duds then, mate, they didn’t exactly do much damage.

Which brings us to the lads of Aotearoa. Can’t be giving Uffie credit for the likes of Ben Waine and Sam Sutton coming through the academy – though he does get heaps of credit for playing them – but Tim Payne had been bossing things on the park for Eastern Suburbs for a couple years when Talay’s Nix brought him back onto the professional scene. First he made an international calibre right back out of him and then, when needs began to must, he trusted him to play through the middle of the defence as he had done for Suburbs and he was superb there too.

Clayton Lewis, same deal. Didn’t work out for him at Scunthorpe so he’d been back at Auckland City doing Auckland City things when the Phoenix brought him back to his home town and he served up the goods. Kept vice-captain Alex Rufer out of the starting eleven for most of it. Then chuck in no-brainers like having a year of Callum McCowatt’s services before he left for Europe or bringing Stefan Marinovic back from overseas was and you beauty. Marinovic was a little different because he was already well established as a pro but they got a solid year and a half out of him before Oli Sail won the starting GK gig – which was more about what Sail did right than anything Marinovic did wrong, he earned the club many a point with his shot-stopping abilities in his first year.

Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi didn’t work out as smoothly as those examples. Mostly because he didn’t play though – he was released from the last year of his contract to get back into domestic club football pretty much for that reason. There were some really promising games at CB in Uffie’s first season but only 68 total minutes in the second term was the clincher. Again, not a bad signing, just one where the circumstances didn’t work out. There’s a difference.

James McGarry had his ups and downs as well. Lost his starting LB spot to Sam Sutton by the end of it, his defensive output not quite matching up to his attacking abilities... but they still re-signed him and he’ll be battling for that starting spot back ASAP. Potentially battling with Callan Elliot, who is back from his year in Greece where he didn’t play a single minute for Xanthi FC. Elliot was signed by Rudan initially but did play five times under Talay after the covid restart. Small sample size there so won’t say much else. Both fullback spots are very much up for grabs at the mo’ (unless they sign an import CB and Payne goes out right again).

Now, if there’s one criticism to be fired at the club here it’s that there are more Tim Payne/Clayton Lewis level players in the kiwi club scene awaiting their chance and it ain’t like this team doesn’t have space left in the squad. Talay is pretty discerning about these things. He’s gotta be completely sure about a player before he brings them in, it’s one of the main reasons why the recruitment has been so good the last two years. He’s not one to take hopeful gambles. However the precedent is there with past signings, man. Just sayin’ is all.

Back to the bigger picture though, outside of a crap start to last season as they adjusted to being based in the land of Oz, amidst a flurry of injuries, the Wellington Phoenix have been as competitive these last two years as they have been for a decade. This from a club that has seemingly had to rebuild two-thirds of its roster year upon year. That doesn’t happen accidentally. It happens by having top notch scouting/identification process in place, by having the right values and traits by which to judge prospective players against, by having a coach with a vision and the patience to see all that through without compromise. It happens by good recruitment, in other words. Long may it continue.

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