Looking at the candidates are all pretty underwealming compared to last time round, I want Ernie back.
Out of the names thrown about I think Ramon.
If you look only at the timing then it's probably down to Ramon and Greenacre.
Bear with me because this is a bit of a conspiracy theory.
1. Ernie stepped down and said he wanted to do it now so that his replacement would get a run of home games. No one could ever accuse Ernie of being stupid, he knows very well that it could take months to find a replacement unless the club already had someone in mind.
2. The club has said they hope to sign someone before xmas which is a very tight timeline for finding someone in any position let alone one so specialised, they are at the very least going to have a favored candidate that they know is available.
So if they do have someone in mind who can drop everything and join the club within a few weeks why not have them here ASAP?
The answer is because that person is either in Japan or that person is already here and are just getting a run to make sure the faith that the club has in them is well founded. I.e. either Ramon or Greenie. Of course it could be anyone in the NZ game, but if Ernie made his intentions clear at Victory then the club has probably been active for the last few weeks looking at their options.