Hail ___ the Chief - Giancarlo Italiano

1664 replies · 125,154 views

3 months ago

Bullion

Elemenop

Ran some stat's with AI. Cheify is at a 23% win rate over the past two seasons.

The only coach with a worse record is Kalezic with 19%....

If we lose the next home game the board need to take decisive action.

if you are cherry picking periods, there are probably worse win % from other coaches.

Trying to show how poor it's been since the highs of that sold out finals game...

We are going backwards

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Endorsed by WanderingSheep, WhoStoleMySock

3 months ago

AucklandPhoenix

He is doing better and I think the Sam Cosgrove experience helped him grow as a player.

Would still however like to see him be left in a room with Piper and Eze alone for 5 mins before a match to raise his aggro levels.

Think they have risen AP his standing up to Cosgrove helped. Then against the Jets we couldnt believe it there was one time he stood over a Jets player on the ground and gave him a serve.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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Endorsed by AucklandPhoenix

3 months ago

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360914411/wellington-phoenix-have-four-wins-2025-crowds-have-hit-record-lows-coach-giancarlo-italiano-worried

This quote from him saying we can't win every game sums us up. He should have said we want to win every game. We don't have a winning mentality

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Endorsed by Elemenop, FU BLU, Monto, number8 and 1 other

3 months ago

ballane

Oi Oi Edgecumbe

LKH made the team of the week this week, which is quite an accolade considering we conceded 3 goals. The experts can see the good work he is doing.

Yet some of the Nix fans cant something some have always done is hate on Kiwi players.

It’s the same with Aberdeen fans, always hated on locals. Never understood why they cop more flak.

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3 months ago

Elemenop

They might decide to offer him a new contract

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3 months ago

Ninja

Elemenop

They might decide to offer him a new contract

Kalezic is a free agent atm if we have a famous A-League 'global search' for new gaffer

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Endorsed by coochiee, nixin, number8, observerfromuh and 2 others

3 months ago

hmmmm I still have nightmares about his time at the Nix.

Queenslander 3x a year.

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Endorsed by kwlap, Mainland FC, mjp2, WanderingSheep and 1 other

3 months ago

honestly it's a crazy league table but a small run of wins and the nix are in top 6 contention and with the squad you have I think that's pretty good - especially considering the horrible run of injuries you have had.

Coaching in the A-League is a tough gig - small squad sizes - tough physical matches and the referees deciding that they are not going to call any fouls puts a massive load of stress on the playing depth.

Remember plenty of European coaches have been tried and failed in this league.

I think as I think Chief said - judge me on this season - so far the football is pretty good, results have been up and down but if he cracks the 6 and the club can try and support him in the market again - why not.

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Endorsed by anaveragestem, AucklandPhoenix, brookem, Bullion and 5 others

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

Queenslander 3x a year.

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3 months ago

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

Just the win needed to get ahead of City in 6th, I think.

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3 months ago

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

Dont think they are as bad as you suggest drew 1 and won 2 in their last 3. With Mata arguably playing some of his best A League football sadly dont think its going to be as easy as some may think.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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Endorsed by Bullion, Mainland FC, mjp2, WhoStoleMySock

3 months ago

ballane

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

Dont think they are as bad as you suggest drew 1 and won 2 in their last 3. With Mata arguably playing some of his best A League football sadly dont think its going to be as easy as some may think.

Agreed. But that AAMI Park problem has to be beat sometime. We're there, we're a chance.

Crazy, given you are right and it will be a tough one, but I'm up for the chance and I'm sure the guys will be.

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Endorsed by Simon B

3 months ago

mjp2

ballane

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

Dont think they are as bad as you suggest drew 1 and won 2 in their last 3. With Mata arguably playing some of his best A League football sadly dont think its going to be as easy as some may think.

Dont get me wrong i fancy our chances tonite but being the tragic i am im also well aware of how often we dont perform when expected to. Recent games against Glory and Jets perfect examples.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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Endorsed by mjp2

3 months ago

As a potential coach replacement... what about Long Pins? He's done pretty well in the middle east coaching and loved his time here.

Actually, an additional wondering... is David Ball still doing his academy - or has he fully relocated back to the UK?

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3 months ago

MetalLegNZ

Steven Taylor wouldn't be the worst shout. could always bring RH ;)

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3 months ago

Anyone remember when Chiefy re-signed? Fans got told they have short memories and a fan-made banner that said 'Chiefy Out' was photoshopped to say 'Chiefy In' in the announcement post? And when pretty much all the remaining coaching staff left? And when Chiefy self-admitted he lost himself and the locker room last season?

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes i guess.

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3 months ago

people in the other MD thread are making excuses. it's getting embarrassing at this point.

Nothing has changed since the first Auckland loss (against 9) but fans still defend this.

Him and Dome both gotta go imo.

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3 months ago

Since2007

Will never get over how much of a sharkshow that whole announcement was.

We still have short memories dear Gilly?

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Endorsed by Nixieboys222, WanderingSheep

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

observerfromuh

I don’t think anyone’s defending our performance: the debate is over how to fix it.

I totally get the reactions of “we can’t go on like this” and “something has to change”, but frankly there’s a lot of magical thinking going on that if we only fire enough people then the team will suddenly come right.

This isn’t the EPL where qualified people are lining up for the manager’s job. Show me a realistic pathway from dropping Chiefy that ends in a better performance rather than the team being thrown into even worse disarray, and I could be onboard with it. Right now all I’m hearing is “life will be better after the Revolution”.

Similarly people are making lots of unfounded assumptions about how much impact Dome has on our on-field results. I’m not saying incorrect assumptions, because maybe through the Football Committee he does have more direct influence than his job title suggests; but none of us actually know.

Something absolutely has to change. I’m just yet to be convinced this is the change that will fix things.

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Endorsed by ballane, BrockieTheGOAT, brookem, Doloras and 6 others

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

Incompetent comedy coach.

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3 months ago

Simon B

observerfromuh

Yes we don’t know if change fix things, but changing nothing proofed to be fixed nothing.

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Endorsed by Fenix, FU BLU, Monto, Nixieboys222 and 3 others

3 months ago

Yeah, that's what they thought when they elected Trump (both times)

Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads

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Endorsed by Bullion, FU BLU, Mainland FC, mjp2 and 6 others

3 months ago

I don't think Trump has the right coaching badges to coach the Phoenix so less worried about that.

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Endorsed by dunnix, FU BLU, WhoStoleMySock

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

Since2007

I reckon the success Chiefy had in season 1 was more to do with Adam Griffiths than Chiefy. Griffiths left and its been all down hill since then.
Now Griffiths is doing incredibly well with an average Perth outfit.
The decision to keep Chiefy on this season was crazy and a huge gamble, when you could see the disillusionment amongst the fans. Now look at the crowds.
The gamble has not paid off.

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Endorsed by Marto

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

Since2007

Oh we remember. Well I do at least - Even if I was willing to let go of past grievances and give him another short leash crack at the job.

Any credit we had from that 23/24 season is well and truly used up at this point.

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Endorsed by Monto, reg22

3 months ago

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

I admire your considerable optimism

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Endorsed by FU BLU, Monto, Nixieboys222, Noah4thenix and 3 others

3 months ago

I'd check with FIFA management before believing that ...

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Endorsed by Bullion, Doloras, dunnix, Simon B and 3 others

3 months ago

Fenix

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

I admire your considerable optimism

thanks, i'm always hopeful.
At this point it's rpetty clear Italiano's plan isnt coming to fruition. Injuries to key players at the worst time has not helped. Now he has Rufer potentially out.

No excuses but having a third of your starters injured for a good chunk of the season is dire!
Those suggesting Griffiths is the reason we did well in th epast seem to forget that he hung around for a good part of the dire part too! He may be doing better with Perth, but then anything would be better tha how they were playing beforehand.
As Doloras so beautifully stated with her cartoon - be careful what you wish for. Sure Italiano's plan isnt working but does it mean they next person will fix it, will they bring in new/better players? Or will they do a Trumpesque job and tear the whole place apart?

Queenslander 3x a year.

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Endorsed by brookem, queenofthequail, Ranix, Southernix and 1 other

3 months ago

number8

Simon B

observerfromuh

Yes we don’t know if change fix things, but changing nothing proofed to be fixed nothing.

You got to be joking, your saying i have to show you options to get you on board.

Face it Chiefy is the worst coach in the league and it's not even close. Piss poor results and people still want him in.

You have people like Steven Taylor, Danny Hay, Greenacre, Bazeley (next season option) who could take the job. Carl Veart and John Alosi could even be cracks.

All are better than Chiefy.

If you want change somethings gotta give. Low crowd numbers, dwindling fan support. This is getting close to the Darije days. (even he would have got a point against AFC by now too).

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3 months ago

Anthony Hudson anyone?

Auckland will rise once more

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3 months ago

AucklandPhoenix

Anthony Hudson anyone?

prob do a better job than Chiefy LOL

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Endorsed by number8

3 months ago

observerfromuh - Sacking Italiano may well be the best option, he could well be the worst coach in the league, even though CCM and WSW fans could argue the same.
I've said it before but Italiano is trying something tactically different to what the Nix have ever done, it didnt work last year and he has made changes to adapt the plan. It is looking better but clearly there are areas which need improvement.
Will he get the pass based on history? If he makes it to the end of this season with current results he's gone clearly! Replacing him wont be easy, some of the Names you mention like Aloisi ad Veart arent exactly screaming success. Hay, Taylor, Greenacre are assistant coaches at best, and Bazeley according to some is so bad he shouldnt be in charge of the NZ team.

Queenslander 3x a year.

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3 months ago

theprof

Hey I know we don't agree on some things but I am happy that you agree in a way with the first couple of points and I do not to see anyone lose their job in sports, but I cannot see how we improve the way we are going with Chiefy.

You have players like Rufer, Olewayemi, Retre, James, Nagasawa, Armiento, Eze, Conchie and Najjarine all off contract come seasons end. I know if Chiefy stays over half that lot are gone. Eze, Olewayemi and Rufer will def get picked up by other A-League clubs too.

I think he should have stuck with what worked in the first season and for all the options I named, I just said to have something there.

Also for Bazeley, I tend to agree, me and you could have coached NZ to the WC and the fact they didn't hire him straight away shows he wasn't the preferred option(s), but thats a different topic for a different day.

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Endorsed by Simon B

3 months ago

Fenix

theprof

a 3-0 win today and 6th is ours, best chance would be now as Vic are poor by their standards

I admire your considerable optimism

I mean, the Victory haven’t been great. Piper and Eze are a handful. We occasionally show evidence that we can defend. The game was definitely a chance for us.

But Melbourne has always been a tough trip. And new keeper, no high line, and no oomph. Though 4-2 with that pen would have been interesting.

A bridge too far for Lady Luck and our hopes of a phoenix rising.

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3 months ago

FIFA management are not the only people in the world who have figured out that if you kiss Trump's ring sufficiently you can get him to say literally anything. Give him a bullshark Peace Prize and you can get him to suggest that the NFL should change its name and leave proper football alone. So, yeah, they could tell him that he was the new coach of the USMNT and he'd probably make football compulsory in schools

Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads

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Endorsed by Bullion, Mainland FC, mjp2

3 months ago · edited 3 months ago · History

AucklandPhoenix

Anthony Hudson anyone?

I mean…if bad but different is your hope.
His best is man motivation right?
Let’s be honest though, we can’t expect much more than that level…

Hay or Veart might be interesting. Both old fashioned ‘ogre’ type coaches in the grumpy/gruff Uffie type. Certainly the opposite of Italiano.

I don’t think it matters any more what kind of a job Chief has done or might do. The fans are out. Nothing yesterday will bring them back. My feeling is they are unhappy with the coach as the main reason. Unless you’re MacArthur you can’t have a club without the fans.

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Endorsed by Antz

3 months ago

martinb

AucklandPhoenix

Anthony Hudson anyone?

Yup the vibe is so Chiefy out. He's done and you don't need a rando on this forum to be the ones suggesting potential replacements. If DD cannot do this or figure out any alternative, he should also leave the club too.

If your someone defending Chiefy or saying to provide alternatives before being Chiefy out, this mentality is exactly why the club has not won a single trophy in it's existence.

We keep him longer and it will effect not just this season but next too.

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Endorsed by number8

3 months ago

Yep. Italiano out. That’s all for now.

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Endorsed by Marto, number8, observerfromuh

3 months ago

Never ceases to amaze me how many people think their opinion carries more weight or means more than someone who dares to have a different view than them.
There are some truley toxic people across social media and i just dont get why things have to be said with so much venom and hate just because some dare to think differently to what they do.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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Endorsed by brookem, LG, nixin

3 months ago

Last night was not good. The last few games you can see that we have basically abandoned the high line and high possession football, something I actually think gives this squad a chance in the high risk/high reward dynamic. I hope that its not external pressure from pundits that resulted in the change and there is some logic to it (as it doesn't appear to be any).

We didn't create much last night, even our goal was a massive error that can't really be credited with a cohesive plan on pressing - Eze and Piper were not engaging with a press and Davidson had two easy balls to either the 'keeper or another defender and just shat the bed. If Eze and Piper were looking to press on possible out balls from Davidson, or pressing to funnel play into a position beneficial to us I could more credit OUR team for creating the chance. We just ceded so much territory and possession when our team is in a mid block with a back 5. MV's front 3 occupied our back 5 creating mismatches in other areas of the field, and even then we couldn't apply pressure on crosses or dominate the box aerially.

There were, imho, some also bad individual performances and some gritty individual performances.

I'm prepared to give Chiefy a chance - get Payne back, bring in a replacement for Ishige, and have a few more senior players in the squad - but not if its just to lie over like last night. Would love us to be even more aggressive without the ball than we have been at any point this season.

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Endorsed by mjp2, Nixieboys222, queenofthequail, WhoStoleMySock

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