Wonder what Ryan Nelsen thinks of all this. He was on the interview panel. Knows the CONCACAF scene probably better than anyone at NZF
Surely he told Pragnell we would be up against it getting Herdman. I read somewhere on $CDN750k pa with Canada Soccer, home WC in a few years. Gold Cups and maybe Copa Americas
Why would he realistically consider the AWs. Surely the smart Nellie would have been wise to that
Surely he told Pragnell we would be up against it getting Herdman. I read somewhere on $CDN750k pa with Canada Soccer, home WC in a few years. Gold Cups and maybe Copa Americas
Why would he realistically consider the AWs. Surely the smart Nellie would have been wise to that
Apparently the Herdman family isn't short on cash, so maybe there weren't solely financial reasons, and that they missed New Zealand. John Herdman lived for almost a decade here, and then has spent the last 12 years in Canada. Maybe he said he wanted a change, only he and the interviewers will really know what he said and how genuine it was.
It wasn't always plain sailing as CanMNT coach either, with pay disputes about players and their image rights, especially around the stars like Alphonso Davies. There were also things like having to cancel friendlies with Iran due to the negative backlash received and with Panama due to a player strike. With Canada having a starting XI that is probably the best in CONCACAF and hosting next time around, the noise around the team is just going to intensify, and the AWs gig is almost the antithesis of that. He could be able to walk from North Harbour HQ to the Albany Mall without so much as being recognised, and that could have been more appealing than balancing Canada Soccer executives and CanMNT superstars.
Also, just as NZF flirted with him, there were reports that CS was potentially flirting with Carlo Ancelotti, who is on shaky ground at Real Madrid and has a Canadian wife who would probably welcome such a move. After all, Herdman and Canada did go to Qatar with a lot of deserved hype, but somewhat failed to deliver - one goal and three losses. A tough group - Morocco and Croatia were both semifinalists and Belgium still had some semblance of their 2018 side - but it would've dimmed the hype regardless. In the brief few hours between the Gourdie report and the CS statement, there were quite a few people saying that it wasn't actually bad that he was leaving and that he had taken the team as far as he could.
Jay Herdman being in the U20s could've also been a factor. I'm sure Herdman Sr would love to coach his son at international level, and the likelihood of that happening would be a lot higher in the AWs let's be honest. It's not impossible that it could happen in the CanMNT, but the bar is a lot higher and he did miss out on their U20s for the CONCACAF qualifiers after all.
With hindsight I'm sure most of the panel would look back sheepishly, but in real time, especially if Herdman looked and sounded entirely genuine in his interest, it's a different story.