Is Popovic still the right man for the job?

Not at all jb, just shooting the breeze. Popa of all the coaches keeps his cards close to his chest - there's plenty that goes on behind the scenes that us lesser mortals would be unaware of i have no doubt and i am of the view, despite any misgivings i might have about his approach, that we should stick with him through thick and thin.

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Who replaces popa? Mark Crittenden.

Marron -I think perhaps you nave taken my comment as somewhat critical,,it was certainly not meant to be, for from a long experience of "importing" players I personally know it can take up to a season for a player to settle to his new home,his lifestyle and surroundings,not to mention his team-mates and how they play their game. With that in mind I can sympathise with TP in his efforts to constantly improve his team year to year,and as you point out, not without some considerable success. As a coach he has to make decisions that sometime may appear "strange" to the man on the terraces but as I said there are a few obstacles in the way that the fan doesn't always hear about and it is that "behind the scenes silence" that can cause unrest and wonderment among the club members. It is then we have to be loyal to the cause and wait until TP fails miserably before it can be expected he should move on,after all there are only 10 positions up for grabs in our football Cheers jb

jb, I'm not going to write them off, believe me. I did struggle to write those words - "keep things fresh" - however. It's a bit of a nothing statement, but the closest thing I could think of. Perhaps I could suggest the following.... . Popovic has made minimal adjustments to the setup of his teams when all is said and done. The same formation, the same like for like substitutions. Where the change from season to season has come from has been in personnel. WHen you play teams 3 times a season, and there are only 10 of them, perhaps there's a feeling that the opponents might have an easier time figuring you out, unless you change. And rather than change the playing style through the setup, Popovic prefers to ring in the changes to effect the change. A Juric for a Kresinger, well, that requires a few other changes too. We're going to play possession, play out from the back, well sorry NTS, it's time to go, you had a shot at it but couldn't quite manage. ACL requires a certain type of player as well, and he knows how to work that. But all players that can slot into the 4231, somewhere. Does it work? Well... it's hard to argue with 3 out of 4 top two finishes, the grand finals, the ACL. But when you end up with a player that doesn't quite work, or fit in, then perhaps that's the difference there, between a premier's plate and also-ran, because rather than change the setup to make it work, they're shoehorned or cast away.

Agree. last year we were dead last in Round 3 and finished 1 point behind at the end of the season. i wonder what might have happened if we won on Valentines Day instead of being massacred?

marron -" Keeping things fresh" is a rather novel way to describe a coach's ,or his team's, approach to the game of football. If we accept that the main aim of the game is to win then a coach in our top league is "ham-strung" from the word go with limits on imports and wages meaning that most of our HAL teams have a mixture of imported talent and experienced locals,the experienced locals starting to make a huge indentation into the FFA's hoped for career path for youngsters, as they ,the local veterans, swap club for club. TP has obviously approached these problems in a "novel" way,preferring to balance his imports and locals in such a way that he is indeed "keeping things fresh" as you suggest, and who are we to argue when one examines the amount of support his team has gathered in their "shorter than the rest" history,not forgetting the success on the field.. Is he right or is he wrong???. I would suggest that in view of how last season developed it would be better to effect a "wait and see" attitude before condemning his methods out of hand. This early in the season there are a few positions he would like to see strengthened,no doubt ,but that would apply to every team in the HAL at present so lets not "jump the gun" and write WSW or TP off just yet. Cheers jb

For me it's still too early to make a decision on his future but can definitely see him getting the boot if their mediocre form continues. Who replaces him but?

"Besides this, the last decisions of Tony Popovic have been questionable. The insistence of playing this season without a definite goalkeeper shows that the head coach isn’t seeing the whole picture. More incompressible is the fact that Kerem Bulut is still in the starting XI." Wanderers need to sort out their goalkeeper issues! Ante Covic anyone? Completely agree with this statement. The signing of Nicolas Martinez was questionable to say the least when i understood the Wanderers would actually be using Kerem Bulut as their starting striker, even when he talked himself up, claiming 15 goals for this upcoming season, as well as Brendan Santalab on the bench, it seems a little toothless, also considering Bulut's erratic form and the Wanderers currently not able to link up in the final 3rd.

Now that's something I'd agree to! But at least freedom of speech allows us to call out people who write utter bull crap.

That's what free speech gets you, we need for more draconian control over the media - maybe the same policing effort that goes into active support would improve the situation?

Thanks to the referee ? Thanks to Juric you mean, 6 years without a trophy for you guys now - might be time to sack another coach.

Sorry to say this is one of the more inane posts I have ever read on this site. Not having a go at you you becuase of what you are saying (I could becuase it is stupid) but you have given no reason and I mean zero reason to actually reach the conclusion you have. As I said this is the most inane piece I have ever read.

3 Grand Final appearances. 1 premiers plate. 1 ACL title. All in 4 years And after 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss an article like this is written...

3 games in and the knees are jerking already?

I've been wanting to see him gone since he failed to defend Our ACL title.

I think it's more than not recognising striking talent also. There's been lots of promise, but it's been a long time since we had a real cohesiveness up front, whether it be that little bit of hesitation to shoot or pass or whether it be woeful set piece organisation and delivery. Popa's unwillingness to mix it up is also a factor - it's the dimension of his game that I've criticised from early in our first season. But the wider point is that in the a-league we have limited squads and salary caps - there is always an element of "make-do" anywhere you go, and it prompts big turnovers of players in order to try and keep things fresh.

I hope this thread doesn't degenerate into a "Popa out"vs "in Popa we trust" debate. There have been some notable stories around the world that have been touted in the media, talked to death and then ultimately have happened but I don't expect this to be one of them. There is no wave of discontent amongst the club's fans. Everyone recognises that the team needs time to gel, gain fitness and they are improving week on week. There are weaknesses that require attention but that is true of every team in the A League, in fact true everywhere as clubs strive to improve and find some level of perfection. The huge turnover of players is somewhat mystifying and the lack of strikepower is frustrating at times. In discussions around our bay we just put it down to the fact that there is nobody on the staff that recognises striking talent and so we "make do". Each team has a different role to play in the A League theatre and it appears that WSW wishes to be slightly enigmatic, eratic and a general tease to its fans. If the team ever got serious in the final third of the pitch we would be telling a very different story.

Popovic is like a dictator/god to the club n fans, he thinks he is too good n smart after Asian club win ( thanks to the referee ), he should come down to earth crushing.........Go Sydney FC!!!!!!!!!!