Darije Kalezić: We hardly knew ye.

The new corner variations are supreme.

Yip. Instead of super shark now they're shark.

Sack Kalezic and give the job to someone who plays attacking football and doesn't lose every job he has quickly.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/10...

"Not content with just trying to rid the Phoenix of the schoolboy errors that leave them stuck at the bottom of the table, the coach has hinted at making major changes next season as he tries to mould the struggling club into an A-League force."


What "next season"?

2018/19. Hopefully this means a good clear out. Bring on the off season!

After seeing what happened to de Boer at Crystal Palace this season and feeling shark about it, I'm perfectly happy to see Kalezic stay on next season. He says he's got a plan, I'm all good with trusting him. More pissed at the board for bringing in Des and Greenie instead of Darije last season

You're still not peddling this idea that Welnix are winding down the team? All the movement in January should have shown you that they're serious.

You just have to read this forum, on top of Twitter and Facebook, to realise that the Nix are rapidly become a damaged brand, like the Knights. Even most of the hard-core fans don't bother coming anymore. So - even if there is still a WPFC team playing in the A-League next year - will anyone care, or indeed notice? Have we already crossed the Knights' event horizon?

I must admit I misjudged Darije, he's shown more patience and stickability than I credited him with. But this can't go on like this. Welnix must be taking a bath financially, and the fabled "metrics" are flatlining. Worst of all - never mind the players, without a back-room clearout, how can we avoid the mistakes which led to (a) Darije being paired with Rado even though they were incompatible; (b) a whole bunch of people being signed in the off-season who didn't cut it; (c) the lie being spread that "Darije approved all these signings"?

I really think that even if Darije assembles a gun squad in 2018/19 and we're top of the table by next New Year, it may be too late.

We’ve had the same minimum crowd as we’ve always had. 

Hardly the few hundred that turned up at the end of the Knights

So you're saying there will be a next season after all?

People are fickle.

To be honest, in terms of crowds; I feel like we do pretty good considering where we are. Sydney got, what, 11,000 people and they're flying at the top of the table in the most populated city in Australasia!

Next season is the last season we have a licence for. Yes, we may well get the four year extention (I frigging hope so) but there is also the minute possibility we might not. 

Our crowds are stable and I think they could be better with a better advertising campaign and of course with a winning team. 

Yes to keeping our Balkin signings. I think the club need to tie down Krishna asap to stop others from trying to grab him. Jets are the ones I read on facebook.

If we had lost only 2-0 last night I could handle that but three of those goals stank of capitulation and school boy errors. Perhaps Sth Jeff is right, we don't perform on miles stones. Congratulations Dura anyway and that was an awesome banner held up over there. 

No. Initial extension was for 4 seasons (16/17, 17/18, 18/19, 19/20) - the metrics-based extensions are two 3-season extensions after that.

Ignoring my points to make a smart-assed comment.

Let me repeat my last sentence, which was the real meaning of the original comment: what if we give a gun season in 2018/19 and viewership and attendance is at Knights levels because everyone's been burned so badly the last two seasons? That would almost be worse than just folding.

I do find it kind of risible that the people who have been the hardest on the Nix so far this season are turning around and saying "actually the crouds aren't that bad" (possibly just because if I say it it's gotta be wrong ;-) )

Well I did say people are fickle.

I can be called a lot of things but hard on the nix are definitely not one of them.

I actually appreciate the cast majority of what you say and bring to this forum, but there has been no evidence that welnix are going to abandon the team.

The metrics that the FFA seemed most concerned about were crowds, memberships, and tv ratings. Have any of those improved since the license extension? Are any of them likely to improve unless we have an absolutely huge turnaround in our on-field performance in the next season? Even if they do improve will they improve enough to meet the requirements for an extension?

There's two seasons to turn it around. Save the Nix happened 15/16.

If we go into the last season on our license before the possible extension and things are the way they are now then it'll already be too late to make big enough changes to save the club IMO. 

If we don't make the playoffs this year or next then it'll only have been once in 7 seasons that we have. In a salary capped league where more than half the teams qualify. 

Our brand is already damaged enough, another season of failure will make it beyond redemption.

I must say that I was kind of shocked that they were so low at the Adelaide game where we were literally handing out free tickets. I don't remember whether the Knights did something similar or whether the fabled croud of 547 (or whatever) all paid for theirs.

I also found the drop in the numbers/enthusiasm in the Zone somewhat disconcerting. So that might be why I am overreacting - the crowd who live in Welly have gotten used to the current situation, while as someone who only makes 1 or 2 games a year, it's scary.

Fox, Patterson, Khrishna, Kaludjerovics,Velaphi, Doyle.  I can only hope all six start the next game, because I'm not sure I can stomach any more dross like last night. Maybe Singh and Cacace too.  At least I have hope at this stage. 

IMHO on this topic, you are not over-reacting.

1.Get someone in charge of running the club that actually knows how to run a successful sports sports club.

2. Spend some decent money and get some decent players that are worth what we pay for them.

3. Get a coach who can get the best out of these good players and can get us winning more games than we lose in the A League.

2 of those are  still to be realised, perhaps also the 3rd [the coach] but without 1 and 2 being in place, not even the best coach in the world will get this club out of the shark.

To tell the truth - this club actually needs new ownership and an associated clean out resulting from that.

so we are riffing fudgeed?

Darige has never lasted more than a season at any club he's coached at, get him to f and get a local Welly boy in Stu Jacobs this club is going down hill fast at least with a kiwi in charge the money is staying country.

Darije stays.

The more we chop and change our staff, the worse it will get. Do people not understand that it takes time to learn game plans, tactics. To build up chemistry between the coach and the team? He's building for next year. Yes it hurts the way it is, but I trust him to make the right calls.

I don't care if we're losing, he needs to stay until the end for us to stay in the A-League.

Keep the coach, he and his new assistant need a bit more time to sort it out. Yes, I know Weemac and Sylis are being played on the wrong side of the field. But our defence, come on. These players have been around long enough to know and do better for the most part. Fox is definitely one for our future.

That's not true, he was a coach at De Graafshap for five years and Jong PSV for two.

We had Krishna and Kalu we'd have won 3/5 and everyone would be talking about the finals

Even that’s optimistic. All sides being equal we’d win it once a decade. We are far from equal. 

Anything about the team that doesn't have anything to do with coaching (e.g. ownership) will be hidden.