Ernie Merrick, Marco Kurz and now, after a prolonged period of suffering for the Western Sydney Wanderers, Markus Babbel.
In the end, given the consistently disappointing performances and results, Babbel’s sacking was inevitable. The Wanderers should be credited for sticking with the German for as long as they did instead of making any kneejerk reactions.
It didn’t work out, though, and now it will be up to promoted coach Jean-Paul de Marigny to fix this Western Sydney side. Here are three simple things De Marigny will need to turn things around, with stats provided by Wyscout.
Get better at attacking and defending
This is an obvious one, but it’s easier said than done.
The Wanderers are tied at the bottom with Central Coast Mariners for goals scored per 90 minutes, with both teams failing to score at least once a game on average.
The underlying stats are a bit nicer but still paint a damning picture. Their expected goals (xG) tally predicts that they should have scored 17.58 goals, three more than they actually have, but that is still second-last in the league.
This means that under Babbel the Wanderers struggled to create high-quality chances frequently enough to be a serious threat on the attacking front. It is no surprise that the Wanderers have the lowest accuracy rate when it comes to hitting the target from their shots, with only 29.7 per cent even heading towards goal.
On the defensive end of the field things are not much better.
While they have conceded 21 goals so far this season, the seventh-best in the league, the xG numbers say that they should be the ninth best, with only the Mariners and Adelaide United below them.
While the Wanderers don’t concede too many shots – only 11.31 every match – the ones they do concede are high-quality chances, especially when it came to set pieces. The Wanderers’ poor marking meant that opponents regularly found themselves free in dangerous positions.
Get the best out of the players
On paper, I thought the Wanderers had a side capable of competing for top four or perhaps even higher if things went really well.
The now departed Alexander Meier went just as badly as it possibly could have. The ageing striker lacked the physical endurance to make an impact on games. Although he trained hard and definitely didn’t see Australia as a free pay cheque, it raises questions about the scouting of Babbel and the Western Sydney team that they thought he might still be able to perform.
Injuries undoubtedly played a part – the whole defence had to be restructured, with Daniel Wilmering unexpectedly stepping up to the plate, while Radosław Majewski’s ruptured ACL was a huge setback too.
Nevertheless, there should be enough talent in the squad to be competitive at the very least.
Nicolai Muller’s role in the team has been confusing. Is he a goalscoring midfielder? A creative playmaker? A forward looking to give the team width? Giving the German some consistency in terms of where he plays will be an important decision for De Marigny to make.
Wanderers captain Mitchell Duke has been by far the best player in the team, but it still feels like there is more to come from him. He has shown his intelligence to find space in the box and make the most of his chances, but he does have the potential to create opportunities for his team as well.
The arrival of striker Simon Cox is another unknown quantity arriving on Australian shores. The Irishman was a rotation player at Southend United in England’s League One but hasn’t played any competitive football in over a month.
If De Marigny can get their new signing firing, it would go a long way in solving their problems up front.
(AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
Creating a coherent system for the team to play
To get the best out of the players, though, De Marigny will need to figure out a system that best suits the qualities of his squad.
This is where Babbel royally screwed things up, especially this season. While the Wanderers finished last season with a back three and practiced it during the preseason, they ditched it due to injuries and never reconsidered it when things were going pear-shaped.
It reportedly caused confusion among the players and it showed on the pitch. Very rarely did it look like the Wanderers had a plan for how to take the ball from one side of the field to the other.
So are Western Sydney going to be a side that is happy to relinquish possession, preferring to control the space and attack in transition? Or will they want to dominate the opposition by holding the ball and patiently wait for an opening to strike?
These are the types of questions De Marigny will have to find answers for if he wants to bring his team back from the nadir of Western Sydney’s past few years.
Although this all sounds very simple, that is where the Wanderers need to start from. This next few months should be about getting the squad to understand the basics with the next coach then able to implement his own vision next season.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
If Beckenbauer, Cruyff or Keane didn’t have the armband, they would have been demanding it, or they would have made it hell, for their managers. You clearly have totally under estimated the ultra-egos of these men in question (not so much Keane, Fergie's darling). But, Beckenbauer, and Cruyff, are you serious? They have had their managers sacked, because they weren't given their way in the dressing sheds.
Shabab Hossain
Expert
I don't think it's silly at all. In Europe, a lot of clubs just give the captaincy to the most capped player for the team. Obviously doesn't mean they are naturally leaders. Are you telling me if Beckenbauer, Cruyff or Keane didn't have the armband they wouldn't have acted exactly the same?
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Really! Sorry but that is just a silly comment. So what you are saying the captaincy should be given to the worst player in the squad---just merely to be there to toss the coin. :silly:
Shabab Hossain
Expert
Sure, but they would have been the same whether or not they are "officially" captain.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Franz Beckenbauer, and Johan Cruyff, were the best captains I have seen. In fact they were more than just captains of their teams they were club statesmen, on and off the field, for their clubs. They commanded total respect from everyone associated with the clubs they played for.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Couldn’t agree more. I particularly want to see Sullivan with more game time and encouraged to push forward and take on defenders, probably working closely with Schwegler for movement and to use quick feet.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Hey – It wasn’t the intention to dismiss the stats as such; they servea good purpose and certainly backed up your argument. All I meant really was “never mind any objective statistical data” let me get stuck into what I have been witnessing all season so far! Or if you prefer – we don’t actually need all that data that is collected each game as many of us can see most of the issues with the team……just a different way of expressing it! I liked your article and agree about giving the ball away. I watch it come out, go across, go back, come out all achieved without pressure but as soon as there is pressure or they want to move the ball to an area that will set them up nicely, it breaks down and they turn the ball over. That pass on Sunday night that gave the goal away was schoolboy stuff. I don’t yell and shout at my under 12 side but I would have expressed a great deal of dissatisfaction that they would even consider passing into that area for exactly the reason that reared its head. The opposition had two players nearby and one just happens to be about the strongest striker in the league.
Shabab Hossain
Expert
Well you've got to get the foundation right first if you want to build on top of that.
Shabab Hossain
Expert
I like the looks of their full-backs who have played some part this season, Tate Russell and Daniel Wilmering (unfortunate that he's out for the season) look like they could come good if they continue playing for a couple of seasons. Lots of midfield talent like Kosta Grozos and Nick Sullivan who should get more starts imo. Mohamed Adam also should probably be ahead of the Yeboah in the picking order.
Shabab Hossain
Expert
All due respect Buddy, I use the stats to back up my own arguments and perhaps bring up new points. The gist of this article really is that WSW are bad in a lot of different ways and that's what they need to work on. I'm sure you'd agree with that, not sure what the issue with stats is. I actually agree with a lot of your analysis, midfield is a sore point for Wanderers because they lack someone who can first get the ball into the final third from deep, then someone creative who can penetrate the defence once they are there. Also don't even think this team is much of a sideways passing team, and they actually have one of the lowest average possessions in the league. They're just bad when they have the ball.
Shabab Hossain
Expert
My personal view on captaincy is similar to Nemesis. A leader will display those qualities that change a team with or without the armband. It's not that leadership isn't important, but it doesn't require them to be told "you are the captain" to do what a captain would do. My own theory is that the symbolic importance of captaincy comes from the role captains play in cricket, but that's a story for another day..
AndyAdelaide
Roar Rookie
any good kids coming though the youth team, who should be in the match day squad and challenging for starting XI? im not too familiar with WSW youth set up
Redondo
Roar Rookie
I agree Caltex but don't forget someone like Schmeichel who led from the rear at Manu without being captain (except for that Champions League final I think).
AndyAdelaide
Roar Rookie
not clinical enough. We shouldve beaten sydney twice, every game we’ve been in bar (wellington and perth) quite easily couldve been 1st or second in an alternate reality
Redondo
Roar Rookie
If WSW wanted one B to prosper they needed to get rid of the other B first, but they de-B'eed in the wrong order.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Ange underlines the importance of the Captain role. It’s so important to him that he doesn’t want just one captain, he wants multiple Captains.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"This next few months should be about getting the squad to understand the basics with the next coach then able to implement his own vision next season." - Sounds similar to what people said when Babbel came in.
Waz
Roar Rookie
those three are playing really well lately. The Roar team is two points behind Adelaide so if I were the Reds, I’d be worrying why my team of non-British lower league players keeps losing.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Even good leaders in a great teams will acknowledge that their could be a much better leader then them, to take on the role of captaincy. Man U was a team where they had leaders all over. However, the stand out was Roy Keane, the same with Liverpool, when Steven Gerrard was their captain. There was just something special about captains like: Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Bobby Moore, Roy Keane, and Steven Gerrard, in their day.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Ok, time to dispense with the statistical analysis and the possible outcomes they can produce when playing football replicates what we have on paper. Team has an outstanding keeper that plenty of clubs would sign if there was any possibility. Back four or five and sometimes three is underperforming. I don’t want to single out players, there are always pros and cons but players are regularly pulled out of position, defenders in wrong places at set pieces and taller defenders failing to win balls in the air is what I have been observing. Midfield is the key to attacking and scoring goals and it is this area that is the weakest as far as I’m concerned. I don’t see any real creativity from anyone who plays in midfield except a few flashes from young Sullivan. Good passing backwards and forwards and side to side is fantastic for statistics but doesn’t help win games unless you bore the opposition to death and let’s face it, there are some fine examples of that throughout the league. Pressing forward, running at defenders, drawing them out of position, playing pacey wall passes and getting round the back of defenders generally opens up defences and that has hardly happened imo. Up front, you need quality balls and in positions that give you a better than A 50/50 chance of getting a shot away, on target that will test the keeper. Without the service, forwards have to drop back and try and retrieve the ball in less dangerous positions. I just haven’t felt that the forward line has had a really good opportunity this season to prove themselves. The team is too busy building possession stats and going nowhere most of the time. Set pieces have been a bugbear this season. Free kicks have been ordinary to say the least although there was one good one on Sunday night - trouble is it fooled not only the opposition but WSW forwards as well. I have no doubt the side is missing The potential of Majewski. I have to say potential as we really don’t know. Wilmering came in to replace Elrich early in the season and although a bit green did really well prior to a season ending injury. My own hope is to see a change in style - change in formation and players that leave everything out there on the pitch..... there again isn’t that something everyone wants?