It wasn’t exactly a surprise when it was announced. The fact that the Wellington Phoenix confirmed last Friday that Ufuk Talay would be leaving at the conclusion of the season, as we’d all long anticipated/feared, then added the caveat that a replacement would be revealed within a week... it didn’t exactly suggest that they were combing all the nooks and crannies of the earth to find their next boss. Nope, that had all the hallmarks of an internal promotion and given that Giancarlo Italiano is one of the very few hombres at the club with the necessary qualifications, as well as being the highest ranked as the first team assistant coach, well, it didn’t require Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery.

Ain’t that a blessed relief? No need for the usual existential crisis between managers, here’s a simple handover which makes all sorts of sense and seems to have been gleefully accepted by the fanbase. It’d be nice if Ufuk Talay can add a finals victory before he leaves but regardless of how you define success, Uffie is the winningest manager the club has ever had... and he’s done that despite 3/4 seasons having been affected by covid (that first season really feels like the one where the fates threw up a brick wall for no fair reason – oh what could have been – they’d won four games in a row prior to lockdown). He’s leaving because he feels it’s time, not because he’s been sacked. This is a rare chance for coaching continuity and the Welly Nix have gobbled it up.

Just as they did with the women’s team, by the way. When Gemma Lewis left prior to season two in order to take up a role with the Welsh FA, her assistant Natalie Lawrence was promoted in her place. When Ufuk Talay departs in a couple of games’ time (hopefully five, possibly just two), he’ll be replaced by assistant Giancarlo Italiano. Smooth transitions. Clear succession plans. Can’t fault it.

We pretty much knew that Ufuk Talay wasn’t going to stick around past this season. If he was planning on doing so then he’d have signed a new deal months ago. Thus controlled confirmation of that outcome was completely fine. Unlike those Mark Rudan days where rumours were rife and Rudes didn’t do much to douse the flames, Talay has kept a straight bat throughout. Never let it become a distraction. Always kept the focus on the next game. There was that pesky Melbourne Victory rumour however Talay shrugged that off last Friday reiterating that his hopes are to head overseas. Didn’t rule out ending up at another A-League club but it’s certainly not Plan A.

Talay’s often spoken about his ambition as a manager and in a post-Postecolgou world there’s never been a better time for an Australian manager to test themselves in Europe (the top Asian leagues are also usually amenable). Might even wanna have a yarn with Cammy Devlin and see if he can’t get an in for that open Hearts gig in Scotland. This is no different to players feeling like it’s time to step it up to a higher level. The Wellington Phoenix have done wondrous things with lads like Sarpreet Singh, Liberato Cacace, Ben Waine, and yeah sure Cam Devlin. Might as well let the coaches in on the fun too.

This is a club with designs on competing with the best in their league but it’s also a development club, capable of replenishing its ranks from within. Cacace leaves to chase some dreams and up steps Sam Sutton. Talay does the same and here’s Chiefy. Nothing to be upset about there. Instead it’s a point of pride for the Wellington Phoenix. That doesn’t mean the replacements are always going to be as good as the originals, the lack of striker depth after Ben Waine left is a stark example of the opposite, but this is a club that functions on multiple levels and players (and coaches) know they’ll get a fair crack when their moment arises, as well as being supported when it’s time to move on.

Unlike his predecessor, Italiano doesn’t have a background as a professional player himself. He cut his teeth locally in Sydney before joining the Sydney FC system initially as an NPL and Youth League coach. There he got to work with Ufuk Talay closely while Uffie was an assistant coach with the first team and that led to him being brought over to Wellywood when Talay got the Nix job. Initially as an analyst and second assistant, then for the last three years as Talay’s right hand man. Bit sad to see that combo broken up now, but so it goes.

You never quite know with these ones. Sometimes the assistant turns out to be an assistant. Someone who’d found their ideal role but then were so good at it that they were over-promoted beyond their capabilities. Sometimes the assistant ends up being the undercover mastermind of the whole enterprise and then thrives as a head coach. Usually it’s something in between depending on a bunch of uncontrollable factors. Only one way to find out. There’s risk involved no matter which way the Wellington Phoenix leant with this gig though at least this way there are fewer unknowns.

Worth mentioning that he did get a couple shadow runs of the head coach matchday experience last season filling in for Ufuk Talay while he isolated with covid. The Nix won both of those games. Wins that rightly count towards Talay’s record, he still would’ve been setting the plans even if he wasn’t on the sideline and it was his team moulded in his vision. However that is a handy advance preview for Italiano who has never before been a head coach at the professional level. Alex Rufer’s A-League All Access episode also had a few sneaky insights into how the Chief works with players.

How about the tactical stuff? Given that GI’s been putting in the time alongside Talay for as long as he has, and considering their shared Sydney FC heritage, we can surely expect to see the 4-2-2-2 formation continue in perpetuity. No reason not to. The team’s been inconsistent this season but that’s more to do with their lack of ruthlessness in either penalty area (particularly the attacking one) than anything strategic. Fix the finishing and there’d be nothing to worry about.

Chief: “It’s unlike when we both came in four years ago and it was almost a clean slate, and we started a new playing style and a new philosophy. I’m going to build on the playing style that Uffy has put in, but with my own new ideas. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

Plus, as mentioned in the last Welly Nix write-up, that formation does have heaps of natural variety so it could be that an Italiano 4-2-2-2 looks very different to a Talay 4-2-2-2. What that really depends on though is recruitment. In that light, it’s a very positive thing to hear that Italiano has been quite influential in that area for a couple of years already and we know that recruitment is something that the Nix have done very well during the Talay Era.

There’s a balance to be struck there but Italiano’s in a much better position than previous coaches have been when they took over. There are 12 players contracted for next year or beyond, offering a stable core of the team in terms of chemistry, culture, and tactics. Yet with enough blokes also leaving to give Chief room to put his stamp on the squad at the same time.

Four of the five imports are coming back (Yan Sasse the exception) so that could be frisky if he wants to change anything significant about the playing identity (unless anyone gets released early, never out of the question). It’s also potentially trickier to replace starter-level local players, especially for the Phoenix who are a tougher sell for Aussies than the rest of the comp. Would suggest we all pay very close attention to how the recruitment goes from this point onwards.

Wellington Phoenix 2023-24 Squad

Contracted: Alex Rufer, David Ball (I), Kosta Barbarouses, Bozhidar Kraev (I), Oskar Zawada (I), Sam Sutton, Finn Surman, Tim Payne, Scott Wootton (I), Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Oskar van Hattum

Leaving: Oli Sail, Steven Ugarkovic, Clayton Lewis, Lucas Mauragis

Free Agents: Yan Sasse (I), Callan Elliot, Nico Pennington, Joshua Laws, Nikko Boxall

The goalkeeping situation will be a massive one. Oli Sail is leaving and Alex Paulsen has been working hard as his backup for the last two campaigns though only has four ALM games under his belt. Paulsen turns 21 in July so it’d be a gutsy call to give him the starting gig... although Chiefy may see some sentimental parallels between Paulsen’s situation and his own as the unproven internal option. Paulsen also happens to be one of the most exciting kiwi prospects of his age in any position so the pedigree is definitely there.

That situation should give us an idea as to how Italiano will handle young/academy players. Always plenty of those coming through and the U20 World Cup next month will put several more WeeNixers on display. During Talay’s tenure he gave first team A-League debuts to: Sam Sutton, Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Oskar van Hattum, Finn Surman, George Ott, Jackson Manuel, and Riley Bidois as well as a few more in FFA Cup games. The latter three are no longer at the club, whereas the first three all went on to get professional contracts. As far as academy players go that’s a pretty bloody stellar ratio.

Midfield is clearly a problem area with Ugarkovic and Lewis both leaving. They have done the necessary thing in getting Alex Rufer signed on for a few more years but Nico Pennington is also a free agent (and probably not quite starter material, certainly not alongside Rufer)... and this is why the import spots may handcuff this team moving forward. Because with only one open visa position, if they use it to bring in a midfielder then they can’t replace Yan Sasse. If they re-sign (or replace) Sasse then they can’t bring in an overseas midfielder. It doesn’t have to be in the same position but, ultimately, unless this team is going to slide backwards it’s going to need to find a few more local heroes.

Steven Ugarkovic specifically mentioned Ufuk Talay as a reason for joining the Nix. Italiano won’t have that same pull, nor will he have quite as many contacts to utilise. Nobody said this would be easy, after all. But he does have that advantage of evolution rather than revolution. Everybody who knows him seems to love him and if he’s the underdog in this league then, frankly, that merely makes him a perfect fit for the Wellington Phoenix.

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