History for Blew.2

Written by Nick Robinson

Something strange is happening. It could be early onset sleep deprivation from the World Cup but there appear to be positive vibrations emanating from the Wellington Phoenix. Ever since the appointment of Mark Rudan (and excusing one ridiculous outburst from Rob Morrison) it’s been bluebirds and buttercups and a cheerful falsetto among the squirrels. Good times. Rare times.

Rudan faced up to the media again this week and he kept up the good work, saying all the right things. He spoke player recruitment, he spoke of a focus on local players, he spoke of expectations and ability and import players. Finally now a long and furious few months since the Nix’s last game of the last season is over and we can turn focus towards the next.

Starting with the imports, Marco Rossi had already left and had pretty much departed emotionally halfway through last season. Andrija Kaludjerovic hadn’t done anything official but has been training in South Africa with Bidvest Wits when last heard of while Matija Ljujic actually has gone and signed a contract with Belenenses in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. As for the first import of the Darije Kalezic tenure, Goran Paracki’s future was unclear given he had in the past expressed interest in sticking around and, let’s be honest, he was the only one of that quartet who played with any consistency last season.

But Rudan’s told them all to bugger off. Not worth it, no deal. Cannot argue with a new manager looking to alter things for himself and literally none of those four did enough to unconditionally deserve to stay. By the end of the season they were all in rotation. Rossi played 15 times but Dylan Fox usurped him halfway through. Ljucic scored that one insane goal and then spent the rest of the season trying unsuccessfully to recreate it. Kaludjerovic started sharply with eight goals in his first 12 games and then scored only once in his final 14. Paracki was great at the beginning and steadily faded with the team.

Currently there are 11 players contracted with Keegan Smith soon to make it an even dozen. Andrew Durante, Dylan Fox, Ollie Sail, Tom Doyle, Louis Fenton, Roy Krishna, Nathan Burns, Liberato Cacace, Sarpreet Singh and Adam Parkhouse. There are a couple guys who might still re-sign although there are a couple others who almost certainly won’t. James McGarry’s exploring options in Europe, for example.

Which leaves some blatant holes in the squad, what with only half a roster and all. A number one goalkeeper is an imperative because Rudan is right in saying that neither Sail nor Smith are ready to be week-in week-out starters. Central defence you’ve got Dura and Fox but you can easily picture an import CB coming in and playing big minutes ahead of either. Tom Doyle is a quality left back. That’s one position sorted. Midfield… pretty skint there, although Sarpreet Singh has earned a larger role. Two damn fine strikers in Krishna and Burns is great however plenty of help is still required.

A dozen players there ready to go yet two are reserve keepers, Parkhouse is probably only a reserve player too, Libby Cacace hasn’t even finished high school yet and Louis Fenton is on the comeback trail from a string of injuries and didn’t play professionally last season at all. There might only be four or five players there who could start at more than a couple other clubs in the A-League.

Lots of work to do, then. Massive quantities of heaps. But for the first time since Old Mate Ernie’s early days you actually get the sense that you can sit back easy and trust the man in charge to make the right decisions. What a luxury.

Although a few tossing and turning sleepless nights might have come in handy over the next month, to be fair. Gonna have to rely on that alarm clock after all.