Phoenix fly under radar with emphasis on youth
It could be short-term pain, long-term gain as Wellington Phoenix begin the new A-League season with a new identity – and a new rivalry.
Ufuk Talay has come across from champions Sydney FC, where he was Steve Corica’s right-hand man for one season, to replace his good mate Mark Rudan in what will be his first stint as an A-League head coach.
When he arrived at the club Talay made the curious claim that football is ‘‘70 per cent recruitment’’. But with 15 players leaving in the off-season, that has certainly been the case and Talay has overhauled the squad to suit the way he believes the game should be played.
With the Phoenix deciding to become a selling club in the wake of Sarpreet Singh’s club record transfer to Bayern Munich, Talay has made a conscious effort to sign up and coming talent instead of recycling A-League journeymen. The average age of the squad is only 23.7, making it easily the youngest squad in Phoenix history.
That may result in a tough 2019-20 campaign, especially as the Phoenix have so far failed to replace Johnny Warren medallist Roy Krishna, who, along with strike-partner David Williams, rejected a new offer to sign a big money deal with Indian Super League club ATK. But it should have long-term benefits if the Phoenix can keep the core of the squad together for the next two-three seasons.
Of their 13 new signings, the most exciting is New Zealand under-20 international Callum McCowatt, who
they’re going to. It’s football, it’s passion. But my reflection is where we were before he got to the club. It was probably the worst season the club ever had both on and off the pitch, we were struggling for a real identity and the results were poor,’’ he said.
‘‘But Mark took a real big gamble, possess all the tools to take the A-League by storm. The scorer of 21 goals in 16 games for New Zealand champions Eastern Suburbs last season, McCowatt is ready to take the next step in his career.
Of course you cannot write a season preview and not mention tomorrow’s blockbuster season opener against Western United, the A-League’s 11th club.
The nature of Rudan’s departure, having been linked to Western for months before exercising an eight-week out-clause in his two-year Phoenix contract, tarnished his reputation with many Phoenix fans, who were even more outraged when Western also nabbed long-serving captain Andrew Durante, who spent 11 years in Wellington and was expected to take on an off-field role when he retired.
But after being served up the ridiculous Distance Derby for years, a
took over as the coach of the club and no foreign coach who has coached the Phoenix has ever embraced Maori culture, the New Zealand traditions like he did. He set up a lot of values and traditions that will live with the club for a very long time. The best way to gauge how successful the club was doing last Ufuk Talay.
Steven Taylor.
David Ball (Rotherham United), Ulises Davila (Delhi Dynamos), Luke DeVere (Brisbane Roar), Cameron Devlin (Sydney FC), Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi (Auckland City), Stefan Marinovic (Bristol City), Callum McCowatt (Eastern Suburbs), Liam McGing (Sutherland Sharks), Tim Payne (Eastern Suburbs), Reno Piscopo (Renate), Walter Scott (Perth Glory), Jaushua Sotirio (Western Sydney Wanderers), Matti Steinmann (Hamburg SV).
Outs: Max Burgess (Western United), Nathan Burns, Tom Doyle, Andrew Durante (Western United), Anthony Golec, Justin Gulley, Michal Kopczynski (loan ended), Roy Krishna (ATK), Filip Kurto (Western United), Ryan Lowry, Mandi, Cillian Sheridan, Sarpreet Singh (Bayern Munich II), David Williams (ATK).
Krishna was the best player in the A-League last season and there does not appear to be anyone on the current roster who looks capable of matching the 19 goals he scored during the 2019-20 campaign. A genuine match-winner with speed to burn.
Biggest gain: Although the Phoenix have not yet signed a replacement for Krishna, they essentially had Marinovic across the line as soon as it became apparent Kurto would be leaving. The All Whites No. 1 brings experience from his spells in Germany, Canada and England and crucially does not take up an import spot.
Player to watch: Essentially everyone in the New Zealand football community has big wraps on McCowatt, and it is easy to see why. Still only 20, the young forward is a star in the making. Prediction: Sixth. That depends on the club signing an import striker before the transfer window closes, Davila emerging as one of the league’s best players and one or two of the youngsters having a breakout season. A clear top four should develop with Perth Glory, Sydney FC, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory boasting significantly stronger squads than the rest but the Phoenix possess enough quality to mount a challenge for the playoffs.
genuine rivalry adds to the excitement heading into 2019-20 and should result in a bumper crowd on opening weekend.
Despite all their departures, it is really only Krishna who the Phoenix have failed to replace and if they can land an experienced No 9 before the transfer window closes then there is good reason to be optimistic about the Phoenix’s prospects, even if they have been written off by everybody across the ditch.
One of the Phoenix’s big failings last season was their lack of depth. But Talay has addressed that by signing versatile players who are capable of filling multiple
year was people like Mark Bosnich and Robbie Slater, who were the loudest voices wanting to kick the Phoenix out of the league, were actually praising the club and saying how exciting we were, what a breath of fresh air this season was. For those guys to be singing praises and maybe hinting that that season
positions. For once, there are players on the bench who have the ability to make a positive impact like teenager Ben Waine, who has been in good scoring form throughout pre-season. Even the uncontracted Sam Sutton has impressed.
Sure, a lot will need to fall into place in order make the playoffs this season, but the new-look Phoenix have shown during the pre-season, where they drew against Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory, that they are still capable of competing with the A-League’s best. They just need someone to score the goals.
saved the club, I think the fans need to be remember that.
‘‘I fully respect the boos and the jeers because that’s football and that’s passion and you want your team to win, but if you really break it down and really try to think about the impact that Mark had at the club then it’s pretty impressive.’’