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Ricki made the playoffs three times out of 6 seasons - 50% rate. And it's not like he didn't have any off-field dramas to deal with, from having to put together an entire squad from scratch in about three months, to having to deal with Terry's bankruptcy and change of ownership.
I made a point some years ago on this forum that Ricki managed a team in a less competitive league. I think my argument still stands. One of the reasons his time at the helm ended was that he did not have enough football accumen to coach in the evolving league that brought in new players and new foreign coaches at an arguably higher level than before.
My mistake was that I assumed Ernie was a better coach than Ricki at that time. All I can say now is that he was a different coach with different experience, from a more professional club (MV). To succeed at the Nix and to make playoffs regularly probably takes an even better coach, in the second decade of HAL.
While I am cautiously optimistic about our new coaching team, I won't make any predictions this time, at the risk of another egg on my face. However, I am stoked that we have Rado as assistant, as he is a known quantity at A-League level, even more than I am happy about the new head coach (as he is untested in this league). Judging by new signings to date I do not expect a wooden spoon, but a top-four finish depends on performance of other teams as much it depends on our team.