Coaching Angst (it's one result away)

Here's an upward spiral

Terry takes a chance, empties out the piggy bank, (I hope he's still got one!!)  buys a marquee with a Golden boot, we move out of the defensive mode, McKain goes into the midfield, we distribute the ball beautifully, Goldie does the job, we start winning games again, the crowd builds, we keep winning and the crowds swell, Terry starts to fill up his piggie bank, we reach the last 4 and have some final series games at home, Terry fills the piggie bank, buys more cover for next year, all is well, and the Yellow Fever stop sl*gging all and sundry...

Aahhhh...

In an earlier posting someone commented that Ricki is the most qualified coach in NZ.
In his time as a full time coach he has had a "golden period" from the end of the Knghtz to All Whites World Cup qualifications. Even the first season with The Phoenix probably exceeded most peoples expectations on a performance basis if not necessarily results.
As in any role it is a lot easier being successful. The true measure od ability is being able to work through diffcult periods and turn bad situations in to good.
We are now seeing Ricki in this environment. He clearly doesn't have any expereince in a football sense so he is "learning on the job". If he doesn't get it right it will be a very expensive lesson for both Ricki and The Phoenix.
If there are no obvious candidates to replace Ricki or it is too financially costly to sack him he needs to be helped through this period, or at the very least be given all the support available to most likely succeed.

So what's the solution.

The most experienced coach ever to have worked in NZ and the longest serving full time professional coach (+38 consecutive years)with club and international experience is currently sitting idle.

Allan Jones

He should be contracted on a short term basis as Director Of Football. This leaves Ricki in charge as Team Coach but gives him an immensely valuable resource who has seen it all before.

Allan is not only a good coach of players but a good coach educator. Therefore his impact would be both on the squad and Ricki. He has been around professional players all his working life.

The upside of this suggestion is Ricki already has a high degree of respect for Allan. He therefore would not see it as threatening or undermining.

Allan would be a good mentor for Ricki and help him through this period. Ricki will either come out of it a better coach and have more to provide or he will show he is not up to the job.

This approach does two things.

1. It shows Ricki, the players and the fans that the club is not prepared to take a "wait and see" approach.

2. It buys the club more time. If Ricki can not improve as a coach then he will be gone but the club will be able to do a proper job of finding a suitable long term replacement.

Ha !!!

People are laying in to the Phoenix for playing long ball now, so Allan Jones is the solution ?

Please.

We are playing awful football. 

There's a few players at the Phoenix who just aren't up to it.

Notably Richard Johnson, I know he's seen as a tough old b@stard but my word he gives away some cheap ball with poor passes and poor technique, and McKain... supposedly a defensive rock, he's more frail to a bullsh!t play than Steven O'Dor and Steven Old combined.  Come to think of it, they were better players.  He has no composure, little balance, and frequently gets caught out of position.

Karl Dodd and Michael Ferrante are up there too with dubious performers.

The 'Nix have to get the ball more to Leilei Gao, whether that means playing him in a more central role I'm not concerned.  At the moment he's the one who on the ball could make something.

I'm a big Ricki Herbert fan, but something has to give.  Full credit to him for what he did at the back-end of the Knights, but this just isn't working.  The formation is crud, sending Smeltz up there on his own is a nightmare and having two central defensive midfielders who are doing nothing but turnover the ball is getting us nowhere.  Going back to a more traditional 4-4-2 in the shape of a diamond would be the best tactic for me - Smeltz to have either Coveney or as I say someone technically sound on the ball like Gao running off Smeltz as a target man, Daniel more in a central role as he doesn't have the pace to burn it up, Sigmund into centre half alongside Durrante, and maybe the Phoenix may come good. 

Something is wrong in the State of Denmark.

Anyone is better than Johnson.  Anyone.  Lyndon B's time has come and gone.

I honestly think that Ricki is a half decent coach, i think he does have a football brain, but thinks about defending too much. The problem aint with Ricki, its with the players who think they are better than they really are.

On field or off field?

The Warriors weren't THAT horrific on field.  They never made the playoffs, but unlike the myth that perpetuates over here in Australia they've also never claimed the wooden spoon.

1995 59% win rate
1996 50% win rate
1997 39% win rate
1998 38% win rate
1999 38% win rate

So what's the difference now?  In the NRL, you need a full squad of players to be fit, or as close to it as possible.  At the moment, the top 25 for the Warriors are all available.  The same sort of logic can't be applied here because frankly who else is going to come in and make a difference?

This is painful, so much hope, so little in the way of performance.

Felipe - the Australian teams cottoned onto him after the Roar game, good in space but poor in the physical confrontations and he went missing after that
Moss - good keeper, gets lots of practice
Daniel - lacks end to end pace, particularly when he's played out wide, and pretty poor in the air.  You're right, needs to ride the challenges better and be more incisive
Mulligan - giving away a lot of ball
McKain - similarly
Durrante - he's a good player in my book, he's trying to hold the back four together but McKain tries his best to f*ck that up by charging out of the line and getting nothing but air

I think young local football fans' upbringing on these fellers can't be helping. No one's used to not winning.

Maybe it will be succesful hoof ball... we are currently hoofing to nobody, and claiming we play it on the deck.

Hard News - you clearly don't understand what long ball is. Jones played a direct style with Auckland City. However, there is a massive difference between "long ball" and being direct.

In fact Ricki himself said The Phoenix need to be more direct after the Perth game.

What Jones does know is how to win games - with Auckland City he won all domestic titles available and was the first to qualify for the Club World Cup.

Not only did he win games but Auckland City scored more goals than the other teams each season averaging 3 a game.

I'm not sure why you would knock the strategy of scoring goals and winning games. At this moment in time that is what The Phoenix are not doing.

There is no more astute coach in NZ. His assessment of opposition and ability to build a strategy to suit the attributes of his own squad is second to none in NZ.

Auckland City are now spending an absolute fortune to regain the dominance they had over the rest of the country and was achieved on a shoestring compared to today. He left the club with 2 NZFC titles, an Oceania title and $300,000 in the bank.
Funnily enough clubs in the Middle East are still trying to lure him back there but here in NZ we discard him because he is in his 60's. An absolute waste of talent

Even Auckland fans used to use signatures like... Nicholson, Uhlmann............... Jordan goal. 

I watched them play, it was the epitome of long ball.

What Chris James? Can't see a guy coming here when he is playing UEFA Champs league football in Finland not with those classy Nordic Ladies too. I mean some stunning Blond Viking Goddess or a minger from Upper Hutt, who look like this ? (teehee Vickmiest comes from Upperhutt!)

Unless someone knows different.

Oh and for that weird rant from the guy calling on the real fans, (BALLOCKER or Blocker?). I have not missed a home game since the Phoenix began. I missed going to the backbencher twice during every home game.
ForteanTimes2008-09-22 18:46:13

This is getting bizarre - the Phoenix will not axe Ricki as it will cost them too much money.

All the Aussie coaches and players NOT in the A-League are frankly of inferior standard. Waitakere City went to Brisbane on the weekend and beat the top Queensland State League team 4-1. That's Waitakere City the reserves and no hoppers of Waitakere United beating the top Queensland state league team.

http://www.unitedsoccer1.org.nz/content.aspx?id=2774


There is a reason all the A-league clubs don't go get players from their state league and they certainly don't get coaches out of the state leagues. Their coaches and state league players are inferior to A-league standard.

Either another coach comes from the top NZ coaches or he comes from well off-shore and we can't afford a high profile coach and a bad coach offshore is worst in many ways than the top kiwi ones.

Eh? There are heaps of decent players in the A-League from state leagues..

Shannon Cole, for example. Ognenovski is another.

Too early to consider this option.

I blame the players for the lack of cohesion first before turning on the coach.

Best to talk about the coach towards the end of the season when it matters more. When a club does not back their coaches, that will be an even bigger problem for the club. You can lose more respect that way, IMHO. So Tony P has made the right call in this forum.AllWhitebelievr2008-09-22 20:36:17

Ruud Gullit covers all bases here, for mine.

Oops!! That should have been preceded by this extract from an earlier posting:

Allan Jones

That's just gets worse . . .

Mike Holmwood - "a lucky coach".  

Get that caps lock off. Now...   Blasphemer! 

Sorry.
The frustration of watching a team that lacks creativity, passion and effort is starting to get to me.
As are Rikki's selection and tactical decisions.

...that was gracious. Carry on being frustrated.

Allan Jones can only coach one way long ball ie Wimbledon and Watford of the 80,s

I believe sacking Rickki would be the worst decision ever!    As for Alan Jones, what the   Ross is right, it is the players pure and simple! It is about the players stood and took responsibility for their poor showing as a team. It is the team that group of well paid players who are not performing. There is only so much the coach can do. This team played well together in the PSC, so what is the difference between then and now? Do the players think that they did their bit in the PSC and that is it? As an Ozzie commentator said about the Phoenix, they have good group of fans, they have a good coach and good management, they recruited well and on paper they have some very good players, some whatis going on? 

I don't now about sacking Herbert, who is going to do a better job?He is making some weird substitutions, like bringing on defenders when we are 1-0 down!  The players need to stand up.  The midfield is crap, Johnston is crap, and so is Ferrante.

Ferrante wasn't crap last season, he's getting dragged into the mire like everybody else.

I am being VERY careful not to comment actually.

And who changed the title of this forum???

That was just my frustration that people couldn't use the thread from last week.

Could have made 20 pages by now.

I think HN's role in the YF requires him to be very tactful.
Plus he's got his hands full moderating us...

+ves of the phoenix