Interim coach and next mens team coach

coochiee

martinb

ballane

martinb

ballane

Given there is another major rebuild that needs to happen at the end of thisseason 

But that rebuild needs to start much much sooner. For example Armiento is off contract. Keep? Who decides?

Edit: what YH said. lol.

Do agree but do you can you start a rebuild with an interim coach and what player is going to sign not knowing who the gaffer is going to be.
They get this wrong and they may as well move the Mens team to Porirua as well because it will only be us tragics at games.

Yep. Basically I’m saying we have to get the head coach in properly asap or they are going to have issues assembling a competitive squad for next season, even if they don’t take over or get announced yet.

Rudan was appointed May 30th, 2018, so 3 months on from now and managed to assemble a competitive squad, that went on to play some of the most exciting football displayed by a Nix team ever.

And Rudes inherited a club that really was a bit of a mess, post the Kalezic disaster. A club in far worse state than the Phoenix now.

I'm sure from tomorrow, Dome, Gill and Co will be beginning their head coach search. No need to panic yet.

I'll get hate for this but I'd be on the phone to Rudan right now. He massively turned the club around when he came in. Its a skill he's got.

I do not think we can expect miracles over the next few months.  The rebuild will need to start from the basics, and will take time.  As long as we have some sort of quality approach in place I almost do not care if it is someone like Stanton or thereabouts - but as for Rudan I think there is some baggage involved and the much-discussed trust issue cannot be ignored.

InsulinMachine

coochiee

martinb

ballane

martinb

ballane

Given there is another major rebuild that needs to happen at the end of thisseason 

But that rebuild needs to start much much sooner. For example Armiento is off contract. Keep? Who decides?

Edit: what YH said. lol.

Do agree but do you can you start a rebuild with an interim coach and what player is going to sign not knowing who the gaffer is going to be.
They get this wrong and they may as well move the Mens team to Porirua as well because it will only be us tragics at games.

Yep. Basically I’m saying we have to get the head coach in properly asap or they are going to have issues assembling a competitive squad for next season, even if they don’t take over or get announced yet.

Rudan was appointed May 30th, 2018, so 3 months on from now and managed to assemble a competitive squad, that went on to play some of the most exciting football displayed by a Nix team ever.

And Rudes inherited a club that really was a bit of a mess, post the Kalezic disaster. A club in far worse state than the Phoenix now.

I'm sure from tomorrow, Dome, Gill and Co will be beginning their head coach search. No need to panic yet.

I'll get hate for this but I'd be on the phone to Rudan right now. He massively turned the club around when he came in. Its a skill he's got.

No coach has ever put a fire in the players and fans like Rudan. That team had a scrappy intensity to it that I don't recall being matched during any other season. His press conferences were half hour monologues that I would genuinely listen through till the end, and made me feel like going to war for the bloke.

But on the other hand, I've not seen a coach burn bridges both with fans and the club in that way before (in terms of the Nix). There's no going back to Roods. Also, super unhinged and creepy dude, it turned out

So to summarise, given topicality and all world wide as well, we need an amazing motivator who is a super unhinged and creepy dude, but one that no one has twigged to yet? 

Rudan is a non-starter. He ditched the club in crappy circumstances, tapped up existing players to take with him and seriously burnt bridges at his last two clubs.

Is a sugar hit bounceback season where we finish 4th-6th then turn back into a shambles really all that people are aiming for? We should aim for sustained excellence and success, and Rudan is not going to bring that.

Monday lads, potentially decision day? Shortlist from what I’m seeing on here…

Kelly G
Greenie
Durante
Long Pins 
Stanton

Outside options:
Rudan (not popular option)
Merrick (could be tempted)
Albert Riera (don’t know if he’d hold the badges)

So who do we think will get it (most likely interim right?) or am I missing anyone

Darren Bazeley is potentially available after the World Cup, if the All Whites dont get out of the group I could see NZF not retaining him, and I think his contract may be up after the tournament

Whats Des up to?

Coaching in Saudi Arabia.

Interim will be Greenie or Kelly G, no point in even thinking we'd bring in an outsider at this point - the club will want someone who has a relationship with the squad at a minimum.

The search begins now for a coach who can build a competitive squad from scratch - we will be losing some decent names at the end of this season, at a minimum I'd expect most of the imports to be gone and possibly some of our local lads too (Rufer for one I'm guessing has already made that decision)

Wellington Phoenix assistant coach Kelly Guimaraes has bid farewell on Instagram. https://t.co/Q2GLl5t5TO

— Jason Pine (@pineynz) February 22, 2026

Won't be Kelly...

Farewell, and thanks for coming on down. 🤝
 
Would have been interested to see how he would have gone in the interim, given he is relatively fresh to the scene down here. 

Guess we dont have to worry about that now though.

Was a cracking player on his day, played in Japan and elsewhere.. I’m sure he will find plenty of work in Brazil who even have professional competitions in regional level. Go well Kelly 

YoungHeartHM

Wellington Phoenix assistant coach Kelly Guimaraes has bid farewell on Instagram. https://t.co/Q2GLl5t5TO

— Jason Pine (@pineynz) February 22, 2026

Won't be Kelly...

Farewell, and thanks for coming on down. 🤝
 
Would have been interested to see how he would have gone in the interim, given he is relatively fresh to the scene down here. 

Guess we dont have to worry about that now though.

I'm pretty happy to see Chiefy step aside. Was vocal on here about my disapproval of him being re-signed for this season. Just don't think he is head coach material.
His decision to step down now is good for the club. Gives us a chance to sign a new coach over the next month before season ends. So hope the club act quickly to appoint that coach and give him a chance to talk to current players and mould his own squad for next year.
I think they should put an interim coach in for the rest of the season. 
I'd be happy to see Greenie put in that role with no risk of him losing his current position with-in the club. 

Do we have a time yet for when we can expect today's supposed club statement?

YoungHeartHM

Wellington Phoenix assistant coach Kelly Guimaraes has bid farewell on Instagram. https://t.co/Q2GLl5t5TO

— Jason Pine (@pineynz) February 22, 2026

Won't be Kelly...

Farewell, and thanks for coming on down. 🤝
 
Would have been interested to see how he would have gone in the interim, given he is relatively fresh to the scene down here. 

Guess we dont have to worry about that now though.

interesting outcome, clearly he felt equally responsible for the performances this year and fell on his sword.

From my colleague: Chris Greenacre set to take over as Wellington Phoenix coach

andrewvoerman

From my colleague: Chris Greenacre set to take over as Wellington Phoenix coach

Trumpian-style word making up in the story ... or did the players all have their back teeth removed - ouch...

>>>
Greenacre has a big job on his hands to lift the Phoenix following such a demolarising defeat.

His first game in charge will be against former coach Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC back at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

theprof

YoungHeartHM

Wellington Phoenix assistant coach Kelly Guimaraes has bid farewell on Instagram. https://t.co/Q2GLl5t5TO

— Jason Pine (@pineynz) February 22, 2026

Won't be Kelly...

Farewell, and thanks for coming on down. 🤝
 
Would have been interested to see how he would have gone in the interim, given he is relatively fresh to the scene down here. 

Guess we dont have to worry about that now though.

interesting outcome, clearly he felt equally responsible for the performances this year and fell on his sword.

Or,like Italiano,was offered the opportunity to fall on his sword by management...

Fenix

theprof

YoungHeartHM

Wellington Phoenix assistant coach Kelly Guimaraes has bid farewell on Instagram. https://t.co/Q2GLl5t5TO

— Jason Pine (@pineynz) February 22, 2026

Won't be Kelly...

Farewell, and thanks for coming on down. 🤝
 
Would have been interested to see how he would have gone in the interim, given he is relatively fresh to the scene down here. 

Guess we dont have to worry about that now though.

interesting outcome, clearly he felt equally responsible for the performances this year and fell on his sword.

Or,like Italiano,was offered the opportunity to fall on his sword by management...

 We'll never know but he did two interviews in the space of an hour or so, the first one he was sticking with the team and taking them to the finals then the second one he'd quit. 

same same as far as I'm concerned, watching Italiano in the last 25 minutes of that game it was pretty clear he was preparing his resignation letter. He hand his assistants weren't paying much attention to the game at all.
certain trolls would have you believe that Dome and the owners would never sack or suggest Italiano resigns, but I'd suspect it was part of the conversation pre and post game.
pre game Italiano would have known it was crucial we showed more fight than before and the need to win it would have been clear, by half time the writing was on the wall so post game his meeting with Dome would have resulted in the "you're position is no tenable" conversation, which then led to his resignation.

Silent

andrewvoerman

From my colleague: Chris Greenacre set to take over as Wellington Phoenix coach

Trumpian-style word making up in the story ... or did the players all have their back teeth removed - ouch...

>>>
Greenacre has a big job on his hands to lift the Phoenix following such a demolarising defeat.

His first game in charge will be against former coach Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC back at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

 
Well watching it was like pulling teeth! 

martinb

Silent

andrewvoerman

From my colleague: Chris Greenacre set to take over as Wellington Phoenix coach

Trumpian-style word making up in the story ... or did the players all have their back teeth removed - ouch...

>>>
Greenacre has a big job on his hands to lift the Phoenix following such a demolarising defeat.

His first game in charge will be against former coach Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC back at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

 
Well watching it was like pulling teeth! 

I would have gone with them being punched out to be fair. 

It hurts just as much either way!

More than happy for Greenie to take over  till the end of the season. 

Grown a lot as a coach since the other times he was interim (one with Des), has obtained the required qualifications. His reserves team haven’t performed great and his U20 WC didn’t do as well as we predicted them to, but that WC squad were still an enjoyable watch.

Also I said this before somewhere and I’ll say it again, that second half against Wrexham when Greenie took over with the academy lads, I enjoyed that one half more than anything Chiefy has dished out this season. It was a different Phoenix side out there, a breath of fresh air, and those lads were having fun.

Looking forward to finally seeing something new.

martinb

Silent

andrewvoerman

From my colleague: Chris Greenacre set to take over as Wellington Phoenix coach

Trumpian-style word making up in the story ... or did the players all have their back teeth removed - ouch...

>>>
Greenacre has a big job on his hands to lift the Phoenix following such a demolarising defeat.

His first game in charge will be against former coach Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC back at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

 
Well watching it was like pulling teeth! 

Well, overall, our performance was rather toothless...

I thought we might have an announcement at noon but clearly not

Elemenop

Whats Des up to?

Seriously hope the club pursues him for the permanent position next season. Probably on big $$$ in Saudi but he has been very vocal in the past about how much he loves NZ. He understands the club & NZ football landscape, plus is known for playing positive attacking football that has produced great results in the past. Sadly it probably won't happen though

There was a moment late last season when Des was a free agent and Chiefy was really, really struggling. The Nix could have sacked Chiefy and tried to get Des then. But I suspect that even as a free agent he was already too big for us at that point and it was never on the cards. The big Des what if is really the All Whites job, where Des was keen but NZF disregarded him and went all in for Herdman.  

Edit: and also of course when it was a straight shootout between Des and Hay for the job and Hay got it 

Jazzy Jeff

I thought we might have an announcement at noon but clearly not

Team meeting was set for 11am this morning. 

Don't think you'll have much longer to wait.

And here it is: Greenie confirmed. Also states he's in discussions to stay until seasons-end and beyond.

No news yet re: new assistant.

https://wellingtonphoenix.com/news/club-icon-takes-charge-of-the-men/

Lots of things questions and answers still to come then.  Surely he has an assistant?  Is this a possibility for a player coach for now, and if so, who could that be?  Another of the academy staff maybe?  Speaking of which, who runs the academy in Greenie's absence?  He cannot do both.

Get it was obvious Greenie had to do the interim job. I like Greenie but dont think he is the man to get the fulltime gig. His reserve team dosnt really challenge for anything and didnt his WC team perform worse than had been hoped for.
Is he going to be able to attract players to come to the Phoenix because we are going to need them to come from somewhere.

I'd be happy to see Greenie take over as the full time mens coach next season. I just really hope all goes well for him. I would find it far sadder if Greenie had to leave the club in a similar way to Chiefy. He is a club legend and is taking on a hell of a task here.

Walsall Boy

Lots of things questions and answers still to come then.  Surely he has an assistant?  Is this a possibility for a player coach for now, and if so, who could that be?  Another of the academy staff maybe?  Speaking of which, who runs the academy in Greenie's absence?  He cannot do both.

I would think maybe Luke Tongue will take over the Reserves whilst Greenacre is with the Mens team.

He took over when Greenacre was off at the U20 World Cup last year.

Edit: Then again I just remembered he's a 2nd assistant for the men's team now

A little strange this part

“He is in ongoing discussions with the club about the head coaching position for rest of the A-League season and beyond”

Why is that word there in this press release? It doesn’t need to be there at this stage.

Sure discussions have to be made around employment conditions etc as an Interim but why have the word “beyond” unless it has already been decided that he is in pole position to be the coach next year?

Have the Nix already made the final decision and are not going  the market?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360941858/chris-greenacre-set-take-over-wellington-phoenix-coach

“It’s not the first time I’ve done this, but it doesn’t get any easier,” Greenacre said in a statement.

“Coming in this morning was quite difficult for me. We have to move on quickly as a club, but you never forget what’s gone before you.

“I want to pay tribute to Chiefy. He led the Phoenix to their best ever season, narrowly missing out on the premiers’ plate and a place in the grand final, and that shouldn’t be forgotten.”

ballane

Get it was obvious Greenie had to do the interim job. I like Greenie but dont think he is the man to get the fulltime gig. His reserve team dosnt really challenge for anything and didnt his WC team perform worse than had been hoped for.
Is he going to be able to attract players to come to the Phoenix because we are going to need them to come from somewhere.

I think the U20 team did okay at their WC in Chile.
Lost 2-1 to the hosts in the 97th min, after a bad late error from Henry Gray in goal. Good effort in front of a packed stadium behind the home team.

Beat Egypt 2-1, and then lost 3-0 to Japan in the final game.

1W & 2L, that could so easier have been 1W, 1D, 1L.

All 3 nations we played with far greater popns & talent pools than us. 
Not many buildup games, and Greeny missing the earlier May 2025 warmup tour of Chile, after a family bereavement in the UK.

No CONCACAF easy beats like we have had at previous U20 WCs, including Des's famed 2019 team (Honduras 5-0). Very early days but you feel that 2025 team doesn't have the depth of talent the 2019 version had, ie Des had better players.


Again I think the club need to think about what type of coach they want, and what the rebuild plan is for the men's team. 

An emphasis on local youth so a coach with proven Academy/young player experience, ie Greeny, Stanton etc. A longer term project possibly, that fans may have to be patient with.

Or an immediate quick fix, bringing in high quality (by ALM standards) visa players and a well known coach ie. a bit of a mimic of what AFC have done.

AucklandPhoenix

A little strange this part

“He is in ongoing discussions with the club about the head coaching position for rest of the A-League season and beyond”

Why is that word there in this press release? It doesn’t need to be there at this stage.

Sure discussions have to be made around employment conditions etc as an Interim but why have the word “beyond” unless it has already been decided that he is in pole position to be the coach next year?

Have the Nix already made the final decision and are not going  the market?

AucklandPhoenix

A little strange this part

“He is in ongoing discussions with the club about the head coaching position for rest of the A-League season and beyond”

Why is that word there in this press release? It doesn’t need to be there at this stage.

Sure discussions have to be made around employment conditions etc as an Interim but why have the word “beyond” unless it has already been decided that he is in pole position to be the coach next year?

Have the Nix already made the final decision and are not going  the market?

It may be as simple as Greenie wanting to have a parachute before he jumps.
He has a fairly comfortable job at the moment (relatively speaking) in terms of exposure to the media and mob scrutiny in contrast to what Italiano had to do.
If things do not work out for him as the first team coach, he would be in a real pickle in terms of ongoing options, unless some sort of a "pre-nup" is agreed on.  He may say "I need a long contract as a basic condition".  He might say "I want to go back to the reserves if we find out the top gig is too difficult".

NZ isn't the UK, it doesn't have a plethora of professional head coaching jobs. Greeny & his family have made a life for themselves in the Aotearoa. I'm guessing his kids are still school age.

So yeah if it it doesn't work out as Nix head coach, he could be in a pickle job wise, esp if he doesn't want to uproot & leave NZ.

I mean I'm sure part of the reason Corica, Danny Hay and some of the other Auckland staff have their families still in Aussie, is they know the football gods are fickle, and they could easier be back in much bigger Oztraylia looking for a new coaching job in short time.

Fair enough