Graham Arnold will drop the axe on up to six Sydney FC players over the next couple of days, as the coach pledges a more ruthless recruitment approach to get his club back to the top of the A-League.
Fresh from Wednesday night’s heartbreaking Asian Champions League (ACL) exit, Arnold said major surgery was needed before next season.
He expected “another five or six” of his squad would follow already-departed cousins Jacques Faty and Mickael Tavares out the door.
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The Sky Blues’ 2-2 second-leg draw with Shandong Luneng at Allianz Stadium ended a successful run in the ACL, a tournament in which they’d flourished despite failing to make the A-League finals.
The coach will now turn his full attention to rebuilding a team that made the grand final only a season ago.
“The worst part of my job is telling players they’ve got to leave or move on,” Arnold said.
“We’ve had an exceptionally good Champions League, but clear in my mind is the A-League.
“There’ll be changes. I have to look at how to get this club to the top.
“Hard decisions need to be made, and they will be made in the next day or so.
“And then recruitment. We’ve already started obviously with (Michael) Zullo and (Alex) Wilkinson, but there’s probably another four or five that will come in.”
Sydney have already secured the signatures of Melbourne City pair Zullo and Wilkinson and are on the hunt for a striker to boost their underwhelming attack.
Skipper Alex Brosque’s likely move under the salary cap from his marquee spot will free up space for a high-profile name in that role.
Arnold also made the surprising admission that he would stop nurturing young talent – his signature – in order to make the Sky Blues more competitive.
“I have to be more ruthless,” he said.
“I have to forget about developing kids. It’s what I love, but I’ve got to forget about it.
“I’ve got to get the best players I can find, and if that means I’m like a lot of the other clubs where I don’t have any kids, that’s what I have to do.
“It’s always something I’ve really enjoyed developing, and I watch the Socceroos squads and there’s five or six players I helped.
“But I can’t do that anymore. I have to think about what needs to happen to win.”
Arnold felt Sydney’s round-of-16 loss to Shandong was more painful because the 3-3 aggregate loss was decided on away goals.
He questioned the penalty conceded by red-carded Zac Anderson, suggesting the player he’d denied a goal-scoring opportunity, Yang Xu, had been offside.
But even despite goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic’s class in saving Diego Tardelli’s spot-kick less than 15 minutes from time, Arnold said he never allowed himself to believe it was Sydney’s night.
“I’ve been in football long enough to know it’s not over until the final whistle,” he said.
“I knew they’d keep coming at us and I didn’t have any defenders on the bench.
“With Seb Ryall out we didn’t have any back-up defensively.”
Sydneysider
Guest
"Wanderers are going to have daylight between them and SFC within a year or two if things don’t improve drastically." That is what is going to happen in about 3 years time when the new Parra Stadium is opened. From the 2016-17 season, the Wanderers are going to be based at Spotless Stadium Homebush. 3 years at Homebush for the Wanderers but it will only make them stronger. SFC will continue to be 2nd class citizens at Moore Park. They also haven't announced where their training base is going to be.....
Realfootball
Guest
Yes - the first person to face that axe should have been Arnold, not a player.
Realfootball
Guest
Agree - that is the real problem with Arnold - another wasted year. As a coach he is just the wrong fit for Sydney. However, I would not be too quick to condemn Pignata and co. Arnold did look like a good appointment at the time. Everyone assumed he would play more expansive football with more resources, and it has surprised everyone, I think, just how limited he has shown himself to be as a coach. So Sydney management are in a difficult position. Personally, I would have shown him the door at the end of last season, but I can see why, with his record at the Mariners, they have given him another season. What SFC have needed from square one is a marquee coach. Such a shame the club didn't bite the bullet, show Arnold the door, and hire someone on decent money with a real pedigree. Wanderers are going to have daylight between them and SFC within a year or two if things don't improve drastically. Arnold looks now exactly the coach who failed so dismally with the Roos and the Olyroos.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Love child ?
Stevo
Roar Rookie
This. Hahahahahahaha, I laughed so hard!!!
marcel
Guest
Is it really any surprise that Arnold has delivered mediocrity...I don't blame the man himself...I'm just astounded that his employers imagined it somehow would be otherwise. Arnold needs to be sacked tomorrow....with the same callous swiftness that he has turned on his players. As much as I hate to acknowledge that a sporting club is a brand....the simple truth is that the current SFC brand stinks...and there is no solution to that which involves Arnold.....burn the house down..let Year Zero commence.
Sydneysider
Guest
I reckon it will be 10 games into the 2016-17 season. If things don't improve then he is gone. Unfortunately that is another wasted year by SFC who have not embedded any proper roots into this city. They are based at Moore Park and treated like 2nd class citizens (evidenced again last night with the state of the pitch). They somehow scraped together enough pets to get their membership numbers over 13,000 for the first time in their history. This is for a club that has existed since the inaugural A-League season of 2005-06. SFC are going backwards and I say this as a SFC fan. Pignata, Barlow and the rest of the SFC board have to face the truth. They are a joke.
Realfootball
Guest
How long do you think Arnold will last if SFC don't perform next season?
Sydneysider
Guest
SFC won't progress until they get new owners who will invest in facilities, offices and a better culture at the club. That means people like Barlow, Pignata and Graham Arnold will be out of a job. Won't happen whilst Traktovenko is the owner so expect more mediocrity from SFC. Wanderers leaving SFC for dead off the pitch. Wait till that new stadium is built at Parra amd their training base at Blacktown is completed.. The Wanderers will go to the next level. I also hope they stop using "the biggest club in Australia" line when it's not at all true. As a SFC fan, maybe Traktovenko should have accepted the buy out offer from the City Group, who instead purchased Melbourne Heart. With these guys in charge at the club, expect nothing different next season. Last night was SFC's best chance at having a decent crack at the ACL title. They won't get another chance for at least 5 years in my opinion.
Waz
Guest
Bob Brown: I think that sums Arnie up - he's all smoke n mirrors and distraction tactics. Frustrating for the fans and only okay if he actually knows what he's doing, but sometimes I think he actually believes his own BS
Smoky
Guest
This.
Bob Brown
Roar Guru
Not making the finals is an F Minus for SFC, especially after finishing second and beaten Grand Finalists the previous season. He bought quite a few players in this season and no new youth players from what I can see. He only started playing "the kids" after they were no hope to make the finals.
Fadida
Guest
Still, Simon will be safe
Waz
Guest
He looked a bit clueless last season - comments like "we go out to win every match" which went against all the evidence from match days just made him seem out of touch. Now he's abandoning youth which he supposedly "loves" in search of a winning formula. It's going to be an interesting off season for him and a make or break season next year - can't believe he'll keep his job if he fails to make finals again.
AL
Guest
What is Arnold on about this was his team he selected them.
Kaks
Roar Guru
I find it funny when I hear a coach say things like this at the end of the season. In my opinion, a good manager would have axed the 6 players at the beginning of the season and had them replaced with competent players. It's like hearing Arsene Wenger whinge when his team comes fourth.
Realfootball
Guest
Should try out the axe on himself first. Make sure it's working.
Mark
Guest
I hope Victory has the same courage. More need to be sent on their way besides the ones who have already signed elsewhere (Barbarouses and Finkler) or retired or not being resigned (Delpierre and Thompson).