As the A-League nears the finals series, another coach has called it quits. According to reports from New Zealand this morning, Wellington Phoenix manager Ricki Herbert has resigned from his position.
After a terrible run of form, it appears Herbert quit before he was sacked by the board.
After announcing plans to play a possession-based game mid-season, Herbert’s side has suffered several heavy defeats, losing 7-1 to Sydney FC in Round 17 and 5-0 to the Central Coast Mariners less than three weeks later.
They have quickly become the competition’s whipping boys.
Still, after a spirited comeback against Adelaide on Sunday afternoon, there were some signs of a revival for Wellington.
But it has been a tough year for Herbert.
His recruitment has been decent, bringing in Stein Huysegems, Benjamin Totori, Corey Gameiro and Carlos Hernandez, while promoting promising youth players Louis Fenton and Tyler Boyd.
He also made some cunning positional changes this season, moving Leo Bertos to right fullback and allowing Manny Muscat to cement his place as a defensive midfielder.
Both players have benefited immensely from their new roles.
Yet, Herbert should have been able to do more with the squad at his disposal. There is a feeling that his mid-year epiphany to play more “attractive” football may have been a misguided one.
With uncompromising defenders and big strong forwards, perhaps the Phoenix personnel would have been better to stick to their direct approach.
As the foundation coach at the Phoenix, it will be interesting to see what happens now in Wellington.
Herbert’s role has always been intertwined with his job for the national team. Assistants Chris Greenacre and Jonathan Gould are said to be taking the team for the rest of the season.
But assuming that Herbert is to stay on as national team coach, it is important for football in New Zealand that Wellington appoint someone who is willing to work closely with their predecessor.
It is hard to imagine Herbert being shoved aside completely.
Herbert’s demise is eerily reminiscent of Ian Ferguson’s at Perth. Both got their teams to the finals last season, and recruited well in the off-season, but were unable to continue their run of form.
And try as they might, both seemed unable to change their teams into attractive, enterprising sides.
It’s a timely lesson for A-League clubs looking to play possession-based football. The coach needs to be able to impart his philosophy to the players, and bring them along with him. It’s no good simply talking tiki-taka.
In any event, Herbert will be missed at Wellington. He is a hero of Kiwi football as both a player and a manager. He can now redeem himself by focusing on the All Whites. He is still one of the few who can say that he is undefeated as a World Cup coach!
It’s been a turbulent time for A-League managers this season. Herbert becomes the fifth coach to be sacked or quit this season.
Surely, he will be the last.
Stevo
Guest
Not Fussed about tipping this one. The only important thng is that they have a hard slog and appear in Dunedin dead set tired and ready to be picked off by a rampant HeartFC for a much needed way win. Here's hoping.
Atawhai Drive
Guest
Phoenix play Newcastle tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27, a rescheduled Round 26 fixture. How do we go about tipping for this one?
Paul
Guest
The All Whites were the only team at South Africa 2010 that didn't lose a match.
hog
Guest
My issue with the Pheonix this year is that it was quite clear that Herbert dd not have the sort of Squad capable of playing attractive football and producing results at the same time. It was the owners that insisted on changing the game style to increase crowd numbers(Wgtn is not a big city 400,000) but the team is well supported locally considering this is Rugby country, and the stadium is not suitable(PLEASE DON'T GET ME STARTED ON NZ STADIUMS). However how did Herbert with all his experience go along with this ill-fated experiment. And now that the cat is out of the bag what sort of off-season recruiting will the Pheonix do, attractive football will not come cheaply.
Paul
Guest
To tell the hardest truth, one has to question the future of the Phoenix. They're the only team in the A-League that is ineligible for participation in the ACL and as such have less incentive than other clubs to achieve. Their crowds have not been that great either. I don't believe they should be kicked out of the competition but their place in Australian football needs to be ascertained fast.
pete4
Guest
Herbert has had a good run with 6 years in-charge but with only 5 rounds left you'd think the Nix Board could have waited. The Phoenix seem to have a decent squad but the balance isn't there for whatever reason. Obviously hoping for a reaction tomorrow night v Jets
marlie chiller
Guest
Not necessarily, Postecoglou recommended Rado Vidosic to the Roar as their next coach and that ended in tears.
Chris
Guest
You know that Auckland idea, they tried that already. Their crowds aren't that bad for a town the size of Wellington. They are getting 7,000/game in a city of 400,000. Compare that to Perth getting 8,000 a game in a city of 1.8 million or Sydney FC getting 11,000/game last season in a city of 4.6 million and they are tracking pretty well.
Towser
Guest
RIcky Herbet resigning gives me one more reason why we should keep reassessing a Kiwi or future Kiwi teams in the A-League. My own thoughts on the subject have always been that any Kiwi team should put something on the table for the A-League if its potentially taking the place of an Australian club. For those who may bring up Swansea,Cardiff etc one they are under the same government as English clubs on the same space of land & two they are part of a strong established competition. We are trying to establish a strong competition,weak links can upset the apple cart,eg Gold Coast North Qld. I ask myself these questions is Wellington's population big enough? Well its the the same size as the Central Coast. Has it then achieved as much football wise on & off the park as CCM? Answer as much as Tony Abbott smiling at a camera.(I use a revolving mirror for these question & answer sessions with myself). If it changed the coach will that help? Were about to find out If it moved to a bigger City like Auckland which has a Cosmopolitian population(does it really?) & recruited a Del Piero marquee type would that help? Only if they got their act together,previous attempts at putting Auckland based teams in our league failed miserably. I mean you can't get more miserable than folding can you. As this team is in another country how much influence can the FFA have in reality on how its travelling? Well would they for instance have been allowed to step in like they did with the Wanderers & set up the club? Not set up as its established ,but do a complete overhaul of the way it operates. Knowing Kiwis & Aussie rivalry, therefore pride on the line I doubt it. Would an illawarra or Canberra team given the FFA experience with WSW's, give a better return for the A-League than the NIx have done in 6 years time? Well no guarantees,but I believe using WSW's as an example,they've learned from the GCU & NQF debacles & their tiffs with Barmy billionaires like Clive(last seen on a Titanic replica ,heading to Patagonia to hunt more dinosaurs for his Coolum resort)
Dcnz
Guest
Ricki Herbert conjured up a 1-1 draw with Italy in World Cup 2010 .. Forever a legend !
Allanthus
Guest
I think they were right to try to play more attractive football. They struggle for crowds as it is, no point in playing block and bash to 300 people every week. Not sure that the recruiting was a good as stated. Huysegems is too one-sided, Totori has pace but is one dimensional and was soon worked out by good defenders. They lack a quality midfield, Smith and Sanchez both given plenty of opportunity this season and found to be not quite up to this level. Very sad to see father time catch up with Ifill - he's gone from a genuine A-league star to a slow and sluggish battler in very quick time. Defence was good for 1st half of the season but is back to old habits. Many of the goals leaked recently are from players just not working hard enough to shut space down. On the plus side Brockie clearly has delivered goals, Boyd looks very promising, Fenton worth persevering with and obviously if they can keep Gamiero that would be a real bonus. Very important that they have a much improved season next time around, otherwise their viability will definitely be at risk.
langou
Roar Guru
I think this is a win for NZ football. Herbert is a good coach but sometimes a team needs a change to stay fresh. By Herbert quitting it will may help Wellington make their way back to a top 4 side and it will also benefit the national side as Ricki will have more time and energy to focus on their world cup campaign
Bondy
Guest
Its very difficult for the Nix not cared about by many,but if they could finish top four thats a good as a premiership win or a A.C.L. birth for mine,they have a very tough job there and really should move the setuo to Auckland.
AGO74
Guest
I disagree with your Ferguson comparison. Herbert has consistently produced over a much longer period of time (one season of non-finals football I think) while Ferguson had one good run in the latter half of season and made the GF on the back of parking the bus at CCM. Fantastic servant to kiwi football. I think with NZ's World Cup qualifiers coming up later this year, this is the best outcome for their national team. Even for NZ, it is simply not possible to have a part-time coach. The amount of football NZ play internationally now play is way more than what they did 4 years ago. I doubt he'd be a party of it but I hope Phoenix offer Herbert the opportunity to be presented to the fans so they can say thanks.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I've never met Ricki Herbert, but he presents on TV as a real gentleman - well-spoken, humble, impeccable manners. So, it's sad to see him depart like this. But, harsh reality is there is no room for sentimentality in pro-football. Ricki will always be remembered as the only coach to not lose a single match at the FIFA World Cup 2010 - even the superstars of Spain, couldn't achieve that.
Bondy
Guest
I hope Herbert stays with the National Team there you're only needed as a guide or motivator to Natioanlism. This is no suprise at all to watch the Nix over the past couple of weeks and on the weekend they don't want to win for him and thats fairly obvious, Herbert had to fall on he's sword because he was copping plenty of knives in the back from he's players I believe . The caretaking role is a sensible one for now.If I was the mangement of the NIix I'd ask Postecoglou who would be our best man for the job ?. Postecoglou is the best manager in Australia if you ask him who he thinks is the best manager in football their you will find your next manager.