Wellington Phoenix Men

Ernie Merrick - former Phoenix manager

3094 replies · 671,649 views
almost 13 years ago

Dowie might be in this (shameless plug)


Founder

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almost 13 years ago

el grapadura wrote:

Feverish wrote:

being a bit harsh on Welli here. 


Well, it is a dying city...
Fold the club, move it to South Melbourne.

Palmerston North has a ring of dirt and a few yellow buckets to spare. Land the Ozzie teams at Ohakea simple. NEVER NEVER DO IT

  Supporter For Ever - Keep The Faith - Foundation Member - Never Lets FAX Get In The Way Of A Good Yarn

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almost 13 years ago

james dean wrote:

Coppel is obviously an experienced manager but there is something niggling me about this link - I just don't know whether this is the future.  Has his time at the top been and gone?  Is he going to take us forward with good, up to date modern coaching?



So now 'experienced' is a euphemism for 'old-fashioned'?

He has been out of management for 3 years but he seems like a smart guy, I'm sure he's managed to keep up with the latest trends. He may even have a Sky TV subscription and read the same football websites as you JD!

A lot of the names that seem to be in the mix at the moment suffer from the same problem:
Coppell - age 57 - last mgmt job 3 years ago
Dowie - age 48 - last mgmt job 3 years ago
Roeder - age 57 - last mgmt job 4 years ago
Merrick - age 60 - last mgmt job 1 year ago, last seen in the A-League 2 years ago

I'd still take Coppell from that bunch. He twice as experienced as any of them.

What's interesting is that we don't know if any of the younger crop of Aussie coaches like Okon, Moss, Trani actually applied and made the short-list.

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almost 13 years ago

My limited knowledge of the NZ football environment is via the net and I look up the NZ Herald & Stuff NZ .... indicates the exposure football receives from the NZ media is limited both in space and depth ....

For the past ten years the Australian football media has been increasing and has had a driven agenda of football education ... to the point where discussion about a match is many many levels about the hoff the ball up the park to the big striker who runs all day .... skill patterns of play ... Spain , Germany among others football playing  nations all discussed and analysis carried out ... so the hold the ball play out from the back mentally or playing in a highly technical structure is expected ... why Kossie and those similar no longer had the skills to coach at this level...

I will get to my point eventually ... what JD says about a 57 year old coming out of the UK is worth considering... was he the run hard all day play into channels style .... or the technical coach...  

I saw the new coach AU hired and my mouth watered .... he is still reasonably young and a very modern coach...

To me the Mariners squad was one of the least impressive in the A-League and the Drive Byes had mainly cast-off's .... SA had a very strong squad and Kossie the run hard all day play into channels coach... I also remember Terry Butcher at SFC and he was also a run hard all day play into channels OMG arguably the worst coach in the A-Leagues history with a huge EPL background..

So JD's asks a valid question and hopefully whoever you get is the technical type because as I said the football education by the football media in Australia has helped management understand football at a much more technical level... and I have not seen that from the NZ media and I guess this is the heart of JD's question does the management know who to appoint ....

 



Socceroo/ Mariner / Whangarei

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almost 13 years ago

New Zealand does not need a Craig Foster.

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almost 13 years ago

If Coppell is a real chance, I do hope Gareth digs into his pocket and gives him what he wants.

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almost 13 years ago

You would hope they haven't interviewed any of these guys without establishing expectations around salary etc first.


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almost 13 years ago · edited almost 13 years ago · History

New Zealand does not need a Craig Foster.


Craig is a zealot ... but he was / is  not alone ... most of the football media was / is talking about it ... Craig was like a fired up preacher giving a sermon.... many others wrote and spoke about it ... Bozza IMO was the best he mixed it up a lot and did not assume the readers where fools as Craig often did... 
As an aside is it the message from Craig or his style ... for me it was his style and that he never spoke / wrote about anything else.... it was never his message ..... almost every journalist in Australia has been writing about it for a long time I sometimes think [re some post I made and a thread I did] you meaning the Football community in NZ has not reached a point where you can be critical of an aspect of Football without others feeling the need to defend .... maybe the rugby controlled media gets folk over sensitive and any mention of something not quite right needs to be defended... I could be wrong too just how I see many on YF ...

Back on topic ... I still think JD's question is valid...

Socceroo/ Mariner / Whangarei

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almost 13 years ago

terminator_x wrote:

You would hope they haven't interviewed any of these guys without establishing expectations around salary etc first.


You would think so, but we did bring Rigters out and then low balled him. But  that was a different time.

My comment was more about that if it comes down to the cost being a major factor in who to choose, I hope Gareth would push for the best candidate regardless of the cost.
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almost 13 years ago

So who are the Dutch candidates on the short list..??????

We seem to have worked out who the Poms and the Aussie are !!!!!!!

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almost 13 years ago

there were dutch candidates mentioned? Keen!


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almost 13 years ago

playwithFire wrote:

there were dutch candidates mentioned? Keen!

Spanish is the new Dutch. But we should stay ahead of the curve, Germans will soon be the new Spanish.
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almost 13 years ago

I have a slight bias being dutch myself haha.


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almost 13 years ago

playwithFire wrote:

I have a slight bias being dutch myself haha.

Schteve McClaren as a compromise then?
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almost 13 years ago

Midfielder wrote:


Back on topic ... I still think JD's question is valid...



Of course it is, but it also betrays a certain prejudice against all things "British" in football as well as being age-ist. Is Coppell past it? Who knows, but there's certainly no evidence of that in his record so far. In fact, he coached a very good footballing side at Reading who totally carved up the Championship and then over-achieved in the Premier League. He was the League Manager's Association Manager of the Year twice! He's a smart guy who should be able to keep up with the trends and play the attractive, attacking football that we're after. I'd be more worried about whether he can lower his standards/expectations to deal with some of the dead wood he's going to find in our squad.

And even mentioning Terry Butcher in the same conversation is ridiculous. There's just no comparison between the two.


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almost 13 years ago

 Steve Coppell,responsible for one of my most depressing football experiences.

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almost 13 years ago

Sanday wrote:

 Steve Coppell,responsible for one of my most depressing football experiences.

Please explain. You can't leave it as that.

  Supporter For Ever - Keep The Faith - Foundation Member - Never Lets FAX Get In The Way Of A Good Yarn

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almost 13 years ago · edited almost 13 years ago · History

If Coppell is interested in coming here you would have to assume it is not for the coin or career advancement but rather for our lifestyle. Would be fantastic if we could get him and one would hope he could through his contacts pull a decent midfield import. I just hope he did not listen to our esteemed Prime Minister today stating that Wellington is dying.


Auckland will rise once more

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almost 13 years ago

If Coppell is interested in coming here you would have to assume it is not for the coin or career advancement but rather for our lifestyle. Would be fantastic if we could get him and one would hope he could through his contacts pull a decent midfield import. I just hope he did not listen to our esteemed Prime Minister today stating that Wellington is dying.



Is that the Wellington lifestyle? Wind, rain and 15 degrees in January? lol

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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almost 13 years ago

Leggy wrote:

If Coppell is interested in coming here you would have to assume it is not for the coin or career advancement but rather for our lifestyle. Would be fantastic if we could get him and one would hope he could through his contacts pull a decent midfield import. I just hope he did not listen to our esteemed Prime Minister today stating that Wellington is dying.



Is that the Wellington lifestyle? Wind, rain and 15 degrees in January? lol

 

Nearly right..wind the rain and the Phoenix...and it was our best summer "ever"..off the pitch.

A small town in Europe........looking to bounce straight back up....well that aint going to happen

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almost 13 years ago

Leggy wrote:

If Coppell is interested in coming here you would have to assume it is not for the coin or career advancement but rather for our lifestyle. Would be fantastic if we could get him and one would hope he could through his contacts pull a decent midfield import. I just hope he did not listen to our esteemed Prime Minister today stating that Wellington is dying.



Is that the Wellington lifestyle? Wind, rain and 15 degrees in January? lol
Still better than Crawley in January!
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almost 13 years ago

Frankie Mac wrote:

terminator_x wrote:

Jonathan Millmow finally gets around to confirming what we already knew...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8639014/Man-Utd-great-Coppell-linked-with-Phoenix-job 

Throws Glenn Roeder's name in there as well, which I hadn't heard about yet.

Reckons an announcement could be made as early as this week. 

nufc_nz - can you please check with your sources and confirm?


I got told about Roeder as well, but forgot about it (or blanked it out).  What I said about him when told was that my sister-in-law's sister (yeah, yeah, knew a guy who bought a dog of someone who once was in the same bar as......) was head nurse when he was in hospital with the brain tumor, and he was a really nice person.  He used to come and see her for lunch for years afterwards and she'd tell me that you couldn't wish to meet a lovelier person. Unfortunately being a really nice guy is not the most important attribute when it comes to being a successful manager, and he was also the person who relegated a West Ham team that had Joe Cole, Carrick, Defoe, Di Canio, David James, etc. The other managers on the list have also relegated teams from the Premier League, but none anywhere near as good as that one.

I'll confirm that Roeder is a nice guy. Met him a several occasions. Was an average manager. Rather him than "Bottle it" Coppell.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!

The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!

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almost 13 years ago

Blew.2 wrote:

Sanday wrote:

 Steve Coppell,responsible for one of my most depressing football experiences.

Please explain. You can't leave it as that.

FA Cup Semi Final.Crystal Palace 4-3 Liverpool.Had the pleasure of standing in the Holte end right next to the Palace fans.To be fair they were pretty happy.
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almost 13 years ago

terminator_x wrote:

Midfielder wrote:


Back on topic ... I still think JD's question is valid...



Of course it is, but it also betrays a certain prejudice against all things "British" in football as well as being age-ist. Is Coppell past it? Who knows, but there's certainly no evidence of that in his record so far. In fact, he coached a very good footballing side at Reading who totally carved up the Championship and then over-achieved in the Premier League. He was the League Manager's Association Manager of the Year twice! He's a smart guy who should be able to keep up with the trends and play the attractive, attacking football that we're after. I'd be more worried about whether he can lower his standards/expectations to deal with some of the dead wood he's going to find in our squad.

And even mentioning Terry Butcher in the same conversation is ridiculous. There's just no comparison between the two.



The point is it's hard to judge his current football cred because he's not working as a manager.  You can point to things that happened 5+ years ago but as of right now he's working in league 1.  It's hard to know whether he is really up with current trends etc, I'm sure that's what was discussed at his interview but without knowing what was said I personally am a bit unsure.

I do have issues with a lot of UK lower league football managers because I watch a lot of it and the standard isn't great.  League 1 isn't a particularly tactical league, it's a slog where good organisation and commitment get's you a long way.  I've been steadfast in that I think it's important that the club play a more attractive, modern style because I think it's crucial football in NZ gets a different approach after the RH years where we got decent results playing 20 year out of date football.  I think British coaching is a long way behind the rest of Europe generally and is still very old school and anti-intellectual.  However, there are also some great British coaches doing some really good stuff at all levels from League 2 up, so this isn't a blanket anti-British thing. I don't know where Coppell fits with that but that's why I have reservations.

As you say he is an experienced manager with a good track record who should be able to get a job in the UK (unlike Dowie or Roeder who have poor reputations and are currently out of work and have been for some time).  I don't know what his motivation for wanting to come to NZ actually is.  Maybe he wants to do a Del Piero and give something back in a different part of the world, which is great.  Or maybe he sees this a a pretty easy gig, in a nice part of the world playing football in the Summer, in which case maybe this isn't right for either of us.

Normo's coming home

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almost 13 years ago

Your post makes sense when you explain it. I mentioned a page back that the A League is a holiday comp and I think will generally be looked at that way from I guess an Englishmans point of view compared to what they have at home.

In terms of 'is he up to date' well I think we are perhaps under estimating him (and perhaps the other candidates) as he has been around a long while and I would think its fair to say that his coaching of when he had Palace in 1993 vs Reading in 2009 would be different in terms of learning and also adapting. He is still in the game, an educated man... I'm not so sure it is an issue.

I guess the best illustration of my point is do you look at the game now as you did 3 years ago. Have your ideas on it changed? I know mine have and that's just from watching. The game in Australia is slowly adapting to a possession based short passing game but even the 'Spanish style' is starting to lose its effectiveness on a world stage so from that perspective, the A League is evolving to a style that some parts of the world are starting to move on from. If you were making a case for Coppell being a 1 trick pony in terms of coaching and does not change well then I think your concern is more than valid but that's not something that has ever been directed at him from what I have read. Even if he was behind in modern trends, the A League is getting better but sits further behind on the football evolution spectrum than where his knowledge level would be.


The kicker is if he sticks around, would NZF ask him to replace Ricki as the All Whites coach? Would certainly be a standout candidate straight away...

Grumpy old bastard alert

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almost 13 years ago

To be fair - the points I raise here are obvious to anyone so if he gets the job I think it's fair to assume that the Welnix guys are happy with what they have heard talking to him face to face, they seem to be taking this appointment very seriously.  That would be enough for me to say great appointment! Interesting point about the AWs but I doubt anyone would be keen for the 2 job thing to be repeated

Normo's coming home

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almost 13 years ago

Sanday wrote:

Blew.2 wrote:

Sanday wrote:

 Steve Coppell,responsible for one of my most depressing football experiences.

Please explain. You can't leave it as that.

FA Cup Semi Final.Crystal Palace 4-3 Liverpool.Had the pleasure of standing in the Holte end right next to the Palace fans.To be fair they were pretty happy.

We Palace fans were over the moon mate! If Palace make the playoff final this year at Wembley I'll be there. I think Coppell would be a good coach, he's a legend at Selhurst Park. My question is why would he uproot and come to the other side of the world to manage a team? Are things so tight in the UK for unemployed managers.

I'd still prefer and Kiwi or Aussie to coach the Phoenix. Marshall is doing a good job at Waitakere.

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almost 13 years ago · edited almost 13 years ago · History

He is employed at the moment - not in management, but surely with his record he could easily nab a job in the championship if he wanted one. 


As someone said earlier, if he's applying for this job it isn't for the money or the need to be employed, it'll be for the lifestyle and a change for whatever reason. Coppell has apparently had issues dealing with pressure in the past so in that respect this would be a good choice for him. The kind of pressure the manager of the Phoenix experiences surely wouldn't compare to pressure in english football. 


The dompost beat-ups have got nothing on the UK press - they're probably not even bugging people.



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almost 13 years ago

Anyone we get will have "questions" over them... I'm pretty sure Mourinho would have as would SAF or Wenger or Arnold or Ange or anyone should they choose to come here... it's up to Welnix to decide who has the best potential upsides and the most "manageable" potential risks... it happens every day in all sorts of contexts.

Lock up your chill pills - it's almost angst o'clock...

E + R + O

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almost 13 years ago

Has anyone heard anything about Ricki taking up a new position? It was mentioned on the radio this morning but I never got to listen to the sports news.

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almost 13 years ago

Has anyone heard anything about Ricki taking up a new position? It was mentioned on the radio this morning but I never got to listen to the sports news.

that would be interesting - I wonder what that would mean for his role as football consultant for the Phoenix?

 

Note - this post has its tongue so far in its cheek it is pashing itself

All I do is make the stuff I would've liked
Reference things I wanna watch, reference girls I wanna bite
Now I'm firefly like a burning kite
And yousa fake fuck like a fleshlight

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almost 13 years ago

1. I heard RH saying the other day [on radio] that he was working with the Nix in a development role, might even have mentioned the academy [can't really recall].

2. There will be enough ex-pats on here who had good jobs back home but moved here for the life style - why shouldn't Steve Coppell be any different?

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almost 13 years ago

1. I heard RH saying the other day [on radio] that he was working with the Nix in a development role, might even have mentioned the academy [can't really recall].

2. There will be enough ex-pats on here who had good jobs back home but moved here for the life style - why shouldn't Steve Coppell be any different?


Don't underestimate the weird fascination of OZ (and thus NZ) to the average Englishman.  It's kind of bizarre, but it's an absolute fact.  I blame it on Neighbour's...
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almost 13 years ago

 Can't wait if it is SIR Steve Coppell!!!! He is a god at Reading and most of us wanted him back when McDermott was sacked. Another aspect fo this, is that SSC usually has Wally Downes with him as 1st team coach - mainly concerning himself with the defence. He left West Ham recently and there has been a rumour he turned down the chance to work with McDermott at Leeds.


And a bottler?? Really???

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almost 13 years ago

The Steve Coppell rumour is spreading around the world, even as far as Croydon!

http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Crystal-Palace-boss-Steve-Coppell-set-job-New/story-18913819-detail/story.html#axzz2Sf6Zp1DZ

However, in a small piece on the back page of the Dom Post this morning Coppell's agent was pouring cold water on the story saying he hadn't spoken to his client "for about a week" and that it was "unlikely" the Phoenix job was something he would be interested in.

[can't find an online link for this yet sorry]

Also, Coppell is currently being linked with the vacant Wolves job back in the UK...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2320956/Kenny-Jackett-Steve-Coppell-running-Wolves-job-Dean-Saunders-sacking.html


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almost 13 years ago

saw the article in the Dom Post, and to me an agent denial is not worth anything.  It is fairly certain that he has been interviewed for the job, and his agent would have been part of that process.  There are a number of reasons for him denying he knows anything about it (trying to negotiate with another club, not trying to burn bridges with his current club until it is officially confirmed, etc) but I would not read too much into it.

All I do is make the stuff I would've liked
Reference things I wanna watch, reference girls I wanna bite
Now I'm firefly like a burning kite
And yousa fake fuck like a fleshlight

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almost 13 years ago

Looks like your all wrong Fergi is on his way here.


GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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almost 13 years ago

ballane wrote:

Looks like your all wrong Fergi is on his way here.



Or Dean Saunders!


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almost 13 years ago

Frankie Mac wrote:

saw the article in the Dom Post, and to me an agent denial is not worth anything.  It is fairly certain that he has been interviewed for the job, and his agent would have been part of that process.  There are a number of reasons for him denying he knows anything about it (trying to negotiate with another club, not trying to burn bridges with his current club until it is officially confirmed, etc) but I would not read too much into it.



I hope you're right. I'd love to think Coppell might come but I still don't think it's very likely. I am mentally preparing myself for the massive let-down that will be the Ernie Merrick announcement any day now!

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