Three of the best coaches in the A-League right now hail from Western Sydney, while the Wanderers lurch from crisis to crisis under a German who will almost certainly be sacked today.
The tweet came through around the 75th-minute mark of Western Sydney’s 1-0 defeat to Perth Glory last night.
According to ESPN, the Wanderers would relieve Babbel of his duties within 24 hours.
Many would argue it’s been a long time coming. After starting the season with three straight wins and a draw, the Wanderers have picked up just four points in ten games ever since.
And speculation has been rampant around Babbel’s future at the club after Sydney Morning Herald scribe Dom Bossi’s bombshell claim in mid-December that assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny was “white-anting” Babbel’s position from within.
Those who wanted Babbel’s reign to end look like they’ve got their wish, even if luck wasn’t exactly on their side on Sunday night.
They started dreadfully, with neither Dylan McGowan nor Patrick Ziegler covering themselves in glory after gifting the ball to Glory midfielder Jake Brimmer, who gleefully played in Bruno Fornaroli to score the opening goal.
(Nigel Owen/Action Plus via Getty Images)
However, the Wanderers looked like they’d scored an equaliser when Kwame Yeboah chested the ball home on 53 minutes, only for VAR to rule the goal out through handball.
It was one of those decisions that looked like it could have gone either way, with Babbel saying later on Fox Sports he believed it was “one hundred percent” a goal.
But those sorts of decisions have been going against the Wanderers all season and after just ten wins from 41 A-League games in charge, it finally looks like Babbel is out of a job.
Where to now for the club? The irony won’t be lost on anyone that it was Tony Popovic who masterminded yesterday’s defeat, while fellow hometown heroes Mark Rudan and Ufuk Talay both look bound for the finals in charge of rival clubs.
And it’s safe to say things haven’t gone to plan for Western Sydney ever since Popovic left the Wanderers less than a week before the 2017-18 campaign kicked off.
First Josep Gombau and now Babbel have tried and failed to stamp their authority on the Wanderers squad.
Gombau’s unsuccessful spell was largely dismissed as a product of Western Sydney’s unhappy stint in Homebush, but despite Babbel being given time to shape a squad of his own choosing, things have gone backwards under the former Bayern Munich defender.
You could hardly blame the club for bidding him ‘auf wiedersehen’.
This was supposed to be the season the Wanderers made a triumphant return to Parramatta.
Instead, schoolboy errors at the back and an inability to find the back of the net have slowly whittled away the Wanderers’ confidence.
The fans are staying away too. Watching the Wanderers rattle around in a brand new stadium that’s usually two-thirds empty makes for a depressing sight.
Mitchell Duke in action for the Wanderers. Crowd numbers have been in decline for the team. (AAP Image/SNPA, Ross Setford)
There’s no question the Wanderers need a reset, but is Jean-Paul de Marigny the right coach to lead it?
It’s a shame Babbel hasn’t worked out because as a character, he’s been a colourful addition to the A-League.
But like his compatriot Alex Meier before him, it’s surely time the Wanderers cut their losses.
Which is arguably how many of us are feeling about the current A-League season.
There hasn’t been a whole lot to shout about in recent weeks – although Kate Jacewiz deserves credit for her outstanding debut as the A-League’s first female head referee – with the league itself seemingly just going through the motions.
No one’s in charge, the social media blitz we were promised before Christmas seems to be yet another empty promise, and the Wanderers’ and Melbourne Victory’s struggles are undoubtedly hurting the metrics.
Not all of that is Markus Babbel’s fault. But after another insipid defeat, there appears to be only one course of action remaining.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
its reasonable to aim high craigo, there is nothing wrong with that
Coastyboi
Guest
This pleasing article has equated to a massive amount of comments and views. Not bad for football. I’d say A-League supporters are highly passionate. Keep posting comments folks, & let’s grow the sport.
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
The most pointless comment on the Roar this year - Explain how that is delusional?
chris
Guest
"I just don’t accept the the bit where he says every week that other sports are dying ". Now you're just being mischievous.
David V
Guest
I must respectfully disagree on the NSL. That league was terribly run and in my view helped reinforce the inferiority complex of Australian football, especially domestic football, which created the whole "Eurosnob" problem we struggle to overcome.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Chris Wages in rugby and cricket are bigger overseas . But rugby faces a domestic challenge also that nrl wages are enticing teenagers away from rugby. Countless players have left the nrl because of the salary cap to play league or union abroad It’s so simple . But time to move on . If you think it’s harder for the A league then other sports. So be it . You kinda playing the victim role for the A league though . Look just abolish the cap , see what happens.. it could be disastrous, or even exciting for a while . It might attract a few better players, but it isn’t the silver lining . The silver lining imo is creating a domestic talent pool similar to Japan or Korea and hopefully one day as good as small counties like Belgium and Holland.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Punter I agree with you , I agree with Chris on the challenges in football... I just don’t accept the the bit where he says every week that other sports are dying .
chris
Guest
Kangas this article discusses the issues facing the A-League. I stated that the salary cap doesn't work for football like it does for other sports because of losing players to overseas leagues. And that no other sport faces those issues except basketball. You and Randy tried to tell me that union and league face similar issues. Which is utter nonsense. I didn't mention the demise of any sport. You keep referring back to some other post I made about cricket having to keep re-inventing itself to stay mildly relevant. If you think I've lost some debate, well, good luck to you.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Kanga, why is this? '"Big pool of kids playing, but they are not good enough yet , I’ve been hearing for 40 years, about this so called next generation of great kids . These other sports you put down. are providing much richer pathways then soccer , for Aussie kids . We are not producing enough Aaron Mooys Daniel Arzani etc . " No doubt we keep shooting ourselves in the foot, but other reasons:, - in football as opposed to the other sports you have discussed, you are competing against every country in the world. Every big team in Europe has at least 5-6 players of African background playing. - the lack of money in football (other countries gets huge funding from Governments & private sectors). - the lack of media attention of football -lots of infighting as we know. I know many still believe we should rely on our physical ability over technical ability. Kanga, don't actually disagree with all you say, but, when you decide to shoot, look at the whole picture -
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
DV you might be right about the timing, but then again, the NSL was started back in 1977 and was the first national comp of any sport and didn't take hold, so at a minimum we can say that we are far better placed than if we had stuck with the NSL, even then, I think shutting out the old NSL clubs and disenfranchising their supporters was a mistake
David V
Guest
The Australian football community must adjust its expectations for both the domestic and international game back to reality. The A-League was born in an environment far less kind to it than if it had been born 10 or 20 years earlier when there had been more time to establish a league before the pulling power of foreign leagues really took hold. The K-League was set up in the 1980s, the MLS and J-League in the 1990s. Actually, the pulling power of European football was always there... Part of it is the belief that Australia was joining a new and exciting "Asian Future" in the AFC. In fact, Asians themselves don't really believe in it, because their interests gravitate far more to European and South American football, such that the AFC Champions' League struggles to gain much traction.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Chris . You lost the debate , your debate , not mine. You try to discredit other sports and move the goalposts to suit your narrative. Like my mention of goalposts . I really hope the A league makes it , despite the soccer boof heads wishing other sports death every week. Next week according to Chris , hockey is dead and hockey is not an international sport because it’s not as big as soccer.
TK
Guest
Regular alternating home then away fixtures would be my first basic request.
Jimmy
Roar Guru
The season average should be a tick over 10 000, interest will build after February when it gets to the pointy end of the season.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Golf is not a team game.
Craigo
Guest
The most delusional comment on the Roar this year. "Hopefully this new FFA CEO actually knows his stuff and can get the fan engagement back and this league will thrive past with the NRL and NBL, and compete with the AFL."
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
Obviously it is disappointing, but the way the team is playing and how the FFA have handled them over the past few years, I don't blame them. I was just watching best A-League chants on YouTube and they were terrific, especially the RBB ones. FFA need to give fans more freedom while at matches (albeit no flares), and hopefully the Wanderers can pick up their game and start getting the people to walk through the gates again.
chris
Guest
Wow what? We have a whole squad or half a squad of best players not currently playing for the Wallabies because they play overseas? Who are they?
Waz
Roar Rookie
Clubs “falling over” would be considered a lagging indicator of financial health. Crowds falling would be considered a “leading indicator” of financial health. It’s normally best to react to leading indicators, not lagging indicators. Clubs have indicated that they are struggling financially so the loss of 400,000+ fans over the past few years represents a loss of $10m+ to the game.
Waz
Roar Rookie
So for the last 5 seasons crowds have been down without any new teams. This season crowds are down again but with a new team. So with or without a new team, crowds are significantly down. TV viewing is also down.