#WellyNix: Seven Thoughts About the Wellington Phoenix at the Moment
The Greenie & Buck Show
Three home games in a row, so far so good as they’ve won the first two and if the Central Coast win was a bit of a nail-biter (on account of way too many missed chances), the Melbourne Victory victory was flippin’ marvellous. It’s probably safe to say that Melly Vic only really turned up in body, not in mind, but that’s their problem. We needed that win and we got it, mate. With that, here’s how the Greenie & Buck era is looking:
7 GM | 3 W | 3 D | 1 L | 12 PTS | 12 GF | 6 GA | +6 GD
That lone defeat came by a single goal away in Perth and with Roy Krishna harshly sent off. The Ernie Era was fun but often displayed more than a couple of dumb traits and one was a kind of fickleness that saw them leak too many silly goals, especially late on, which cost them points. Sydney FC won in Wellington with an injury time Milos Ninkovic goal in the third game of the season, for example. Three of the six defeats that Ernie suffered this season were by a single goal. The two wins they got were both 2-0s, a couple of spare goals in there – they were winning games they dominated but losing all the close ones, not the best sign.
Under Greenie & Buck, the first thing they did was put away CCM for an easy 3-0 win. No worries there. But the second thing they did was reel of a run of three straight draws. There’s nothing especially sexy about drawing games, especially when two were at home, though it seems now that the platform has been laid for a more structured team which can grind out results on the tough days. Those points add up eventually. There are a few tactical things that they’ve done, tinkering with the formation and bringing in Alex Rodriguez as a starter alongside Vince Lia, to name a couple. The most important thing we’ve seen, however, is that added grittiness. You kinda need that in this league.
Roly Bonevacia Thru The Middle
Roly is a very good passer of the footy. Roly is a clever player who knows how to create space to receive a pass. He works hard and won’t get blown past when asked to defend. There are a lot of reasons why Roly Bonevacia might make a solid central midfielder… but there are even more why he oughta be playing further forward. In the last few weeks we’ve finally seen that happen as Gui Finkler’s been dropped to the bench and how bloody good has Roly been!? Even bagged a goal against Melly (assuming it wasn't actually an OG, replays seemed inconclusive?). The dude is so strong and skilful on the ball, he makes stuff happen. More than Finkler who always looked for the cheeky pass, Roly brings some extra variety because he can shoot or make the run as well. Obviously his finishing can use some work, he’s shown that for sure, but then there’s only one player in this team who’s scoring goals anyway. Roll with Roly on attack, it’s crazy that it took so long.
Embrace the Trattery
The theme at the start of the season was patchwork. The All Whites were away, there were a couple of injuries and players who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten a chance were thrust into the first XI. At first it seemed like Jacob Tratt was one of those, a young Aussie without any A-League experience playing out of place at right back… yet here he is 15 games later, the only ever-present player in the Nix squad. Tratty’s played every damn minute!
There are two ways to look at this bloke. On the one hand he does some incredible and gutsy things. He charges in for headers from set pieces, he’s not afraid, like Manny Muscat who he’s replaced, to go steaming forward down the sideline, always full of ambition. And then sometimes he’s just plain stupid, trying to do too much and forgetting that he’s meant to be a defender. The thing with Tratt is that the brilliant and the ridiculous so often come straight after each other so each mistake is made up for immediately and vice versa. The safest move is to embrace it. Accept that this guy runs hot and cold (like kiwi weather) and treat him like the cult hero that he ought to be. Shout out for the first club goal as well, that one was definitely coming.
Looking at the Table
For God’s sake, the Nix are up to fifth! It all happened quickly!
Now that every team has played 15 games the Phoenix are up exactly where they wanna be. Plus they host Brisbane next who are directly above them, three points clear, so if they win by more than one goal there then they climb yet another place. Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have a big gap on the rest of the teams and it’s not too likely we catch them up, third place is more than gettable though. Only five points short of Melbourne City as things stand. It’s kinda crazy how quickly they’ve shot up the ladder, how much difference a good month of form can make. Just look at this:
Kosta vs Wee Mac vs Fink
Assuming that Shane Smeltz and Roy Krishna are guaranteed starters then between these three there are a maximum of two places available, probably only one with Roly Bonevacia being favoured as the CAM. McGlinchey got the winner against the Mariners and played a mostly superb hour of football there on his return from injury. To be fair, he tired as the second half went on so it was no shocker he got subbed off but it was a surprise when he didn’t start against the Victory. Presumably it was a matter of not pushing him too far so soon, they were cautious with reintroducing him at all so that’d make sense. When he came on he again looked really sharp, better than he ever did before the injury – it was the Wee Mac of seasons past.
Which leaves you wondering about the two star attacking recruits of the winter. Both have been up and down, Gui Finkler has slowly gotten better and has had some genuinely impressive games but not enough to justify the hype, keeping it one-hunnid there. As for Kosta Barbarouses… he’s been objectively bad. He’s such an honest player, he gets himself in such good positions but almost every time it falls apart as a defender gets a foot in or Kosta shanks a shot or whatever. It happens way too often for a dude who’s only scored two goals all season… although the second was a bloody stunner to cap off that 3-0 win on Tuesday night.
Kosta’s been a regular though, while Fink’s been dropped to the bench. Both Finkler and McGlinchey have the ability to play deeper in midfield although their defensive coverage might not be what the coaches are after (weird that Wee Mac always plays CM for the All Whites and never for the Nix). So it’ll be interesting to see how the coaches lean when everyone’s fully fit and available on the weekend.
The Smeltz Situation
Two things on Smeltz. The first is that he’s new to the club, hadn’t played a game in six weeks and joined a team in midseason. There’s a settling in period there to be expected. When asked about the impact that Smeltz has after the Victory game, Kosta made mention of all the work he does off the ball, dragging defenders around and starting the defensive push from the top. All stuff that’s crucial and underrated to a team’s success. The other thing is that in two starts this week he hasn’t even looked like scoring. He does have an assist but he’s also only taken one shot in his three games (251 minutes played).
Part of this is that others need to get used to playing with him as well. Greenie & Buck made a point of wanting a focal point striker in their team, next thing they sign Smeltzy, while the squad themselves have been playing without one for the last year or two. Also their style of play tends to prioritise runs in behind the defence and patient build up around the box, which means a deep and crowded defence and fewer opportunities to shoot. The more shots that come in, the more that get parried away and the more poaching our lad Smeltz will be able to do. Nothing to panic about here, especially after a famous 3-0 win, but something to keep an eye on. If Smeltz is there, he does need to be scoring goals no matter how much he contributes elsewhere. For that to happen, there might need to be a bit of adapting done.
Defence, Cha-Cha-Cha
10 goals conceded in their first four games, all defeats. Since then they’ve conceded 10 in 11 games, including six clean sheets. That’s magnificent. Oh and it probably isn’t a coincidence that seven of those 20 goals were leaked in the three games in which the Andrew Durante/Marco Rossi combination was broken up (by injury or All Whites duty) and that’s despite Rossi and Ryan Lowry helping keep a clean sheet away to CCM in November. Glen Moss has had a sneakily brilliant season and that central defence pairing has been wonderful. Jacob Tratt has been an impact on attack from the start but he was a very risky defensive dude initially and has improved at the back with every week and now with Tom Doyle returned there’s a clearly favoured back four which does all that they want it to, including getting those fullbacks forward to offer width and allow Kosta and Roy to drift inwards. Two central midfielders helps shield them too – see the added steel of Thought #1 and this is a big reason why that’s happened.
One more point: It’s been 360 minutes since they last conceded at Westpac Stadium. Four straight clean sheets (and they had a 3-0 win in Hamilton too, it was just the pair of goals leaked in the 2-2 draw in Auckland against Adelaide the only blemish).
Bonus Thought via Mark Bosnich
Cheers for that chieftain, stay chill.