Why the Phoenix are riding high
You can understand why Wellington Phoenix aren’t getting ahead of themselves, even as they sit five points clear at the top of the A-League Men ladder.
“Just enjoy the ride,” is the mantra playing on a loop in forward David Ball’s head. The Phoenix’s oldest squad member has tasted success before, winning promotion playoffs in England with three different clubs, but a league title would be something else.
Belief is growing within the team and among fans that this could be their year.
Crowds have already started turning out at their Sky Stadium home in a way they haven’t since 2016 and should only grow in the five home matches to come, starting next Sunday with a visit from Adelaide United. Even a steady stream of injuries in recent weeks hasn’t halted their stride.
The Phoenix haven’t hosted a finals series match since 2015 and haven’t won one since 2012. Their best regular season finish was when they came third in 201920 and they have never made it to a grand final, falling one step short in 2010.
Every other club has won at least one of the three available pieces of silverware – the Premier’s Plate for finishing first on the ladder, the Championship for winning the final, or the Australia Cup, a separate knockout competition.
The Phoenix have spent the week in Western Australia, preparing to play Perth Glory at HBF Park tonight. Away fixtures in the Distance Derby usually attract only a die-hard TV audience, but given what’s unfolding this season, there will probably be more watching this time around.
Coach Giancarlo Italiano has probably believed in his team longer than anyone, but he is stressing the importance of remaining cautious, as hard as that might be.
“I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves,’’ he said. “I know it’s a cliche, but what’s working for us now is making sure that we go game by game and we focus on the stuff that we can control.
“If you start to talk about championships and expectations, it creates an extra layer of complexity. I feel like we need to be really, really smart and and just take every game as it is and then where we fall, we fall.
“Do I see a good team spirit? Do I see a good collective? Do I see a team that’s focused and has an objective? Yes, I do. It’s been really, really fun to be part of. All these guys really care about each other.
The staff do a really good job providing an environment for them to thrive.
“All these things, combined with the expectations at the start of the season, where everyone wrote us off, it’s all mixed together and meshed together for us to be consistent, which is the only thing that I can ask for.’’
The fact Phoenix fans are in a place where they can start wondering what a home grand final would be like is made all the more remarkable by the way the team has been playing. As commentator Teo Pellizzeri put it on a recent episode of the Make Australian Football Fun Society podcast: “Some of the underlying numbers aren’t great. It does feel as though the clock could strike 12 and the carriage could turn into a pumpkin at any moment.’’
This season’s Phoenix are taking 10.11 shots per game and conceding 17.89. Football statistics website FBRef has data going back eight seasons, and in that time those marks leave the 23-24 Phoenix 87th out of
“If you starting to talk about championships and expectations, it creates an extra layer of complexity.’’ Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano
suggest it’s hard to maintain results in those circumstances over a long timespan.
“Do we concede a lot of shots? Yes, we concede a number of shots.
“But they’re all in controlled positions. If you have a look at most of the shots, they’re blocked, they’re blocked crosses, they’re never clear in behind the defence. They’re always shots into the central defenders or from wide areas or exposing the goalkeeper towards the near post, where saves are expected to be made. Anyone that’s watching that games and watches over and over, they’ll see that pattern.
“So is it done by design? Yes, it’s done by design.
“We don’t sit there and go, ooh, let’s pray today that one of the 15 shots outside the box doesn’t go in. We understand exactly what we’re doing.
“Are there times that we’re better with the ball? Yes.
“That’s usually at home. Because at home, we have the ability to be fresh, we can press, we can be a little bit higher.
“But I’m also a coach that’s a little bit more pragmatic when we go away. I don’t expect my players to be going 100% and going full throttle because they’ve just travelled to another country and they’re getting used to the timezone.
“These are things that people fail to realise, that any sort of disruption to your normal routine causes you to have to adjust, and I think that that’s one thing that we’e very mindful of. I’m actually overcautious, maybe a little bit more overcautious than my staff. I overplay it, because I just go off what I feel.’’
Maybe the carriage will turn into a pumpkin before the end of May. Maybe it won’t. In the meantime, it’s probably best to follow Ball’s lead and “enjoy the ride’’.