Club must rally in wake of coach exit
Caravella weighs in on Tony Popovic’s departure from the Wanderers
HE has played in some of the most disrupted clubs in A-League history and Zenon Caravella says Western Sydney Wanderers club officials should do all they can to maintain the status quo.
The Cairns-based coach, who retired in 2015, experienced some tumultuous times at Gold Coast United and Newcastle Jets and said Wanderers players would be “on edge” with uncertainty after Tony Popovic sensationally departed the club.
“I’ve been in clubs where the coach has gone midway through the season,” Caravella said.
“I’ve seen what it can do to players. “Everyone’s on edge. “You signed because of that coach and now that could all change.
“There will be players there who feel like they’re in limbo and some may feel let down.
“I think betrayed is maybe too strong a word, but let down that this has happened (is fair).
“So it’s about how quickly they bounce back and how quick the new coach that comes in can get them playing well.
“They would have been working for six months on a certain style, so does a new coach come in and change it?”
The Wanderers appointed assistant coach Hayden Foxe as caretaker coach this week, but it is unclear whether he will complete the season in the role.
Caravella said maintaining a coach who knew the structures that had been implemented over the preseason and the important club culture was the wisest option.
“I think this early before the season, it’s a clever move if they do that,” he said.
“To bring someone completely foreign, someone outside of that team environment would be a very big risk.”
For Caravella, it just reinforces the notion anything can happen in the A-League, but hoped most of it would be related to the stars on the park.
“The A-League is a competition where you never really know what’s going to happen,” he said.
“It’s a pretty close league and I always look forward to seeing the new foreigners, what they can bring to the competition and what they can give to their teams, because I think they always offer something different to what we have with our Australian players.” Zenon Caravella will give us his insights throughout the A-League season in his Full Time column, starting Tuesday.
I’VE SEEN WHAT IT CAN DO TO PLAYERS. EVERYONE’S ON EDGE. YOU SIGNED BECAUSE OF THAT COACH AND NOW THAT COULD ALL CHANGE. FORMER A-LEAGUE STAR ZENON CARAVELLA