Alen Stajcic Discussion

[Sithslayer1991]

For me Staj hasn't won us over or convinced us he is the guy to get us glory. Definitely agree team choices are sometimes baffling. Like Kraev and Mata are both played out of position. 

That is why we get we go studs up on Staj when its a bad result. He hasn't yet got the credit in the bank to get us on board. 

Without good recruitment in the backline and midfield we will fall short of finals. We are too error prone in defence. I also think Scicluna injury has stifled our progress, the midfield really doesn't function as well without him. But again poor recruitment that does fall on Staj to build that depth. Hoping Al Taay once confirmed helps us there. 

[mack]

Like I've said over and over again, you don't need 3 years to put a team together. Teams have come from last to champions, and going from outside the six to top 4 doesn't need a miracle either.

This league exposes teams & coaches exceptionally quickly, in both directions. You can't rest on laurels when you come good, you have to get better again there's no coasting because unlike most top flights you can go spend a few million quid on players you can afford but your opponents can't.

Auckland didn't exist, now they're challenging for top 2 and a title/championship contender. Adelaide finished below us last season, now they're top of the table halfway through.

[StringerBellend]

1 hour ago, William said:

MCY on 24 points played 13 games 

Western United on 24 points played 14  games

Bulls on 21 points played 13 in 5th place 

Currently 21 points is 6th place sydney played 14 games 

Victory on 19 points played 12 currently playing against adelaide

Wanderers on 18 points played 13 games

CCM on 17 points played 13 games 

I think we are still in it for at least 4th place even 3rd 

Gersbach not ready for a month Clisby holds position for a while yet

Wooki still weeks away

cluer still weeks away 

Siccluna gone for the season 

Simmons back that’s a bit of a plus

Mo El Talay coming in will add some DM strength to us 

Hopefully out there let’s hope a good centre back is on the way and ready to play

So what is your point all of the teams you have named are above us?

Apart from CCM who beat us 3-1 at home ground last night 

I love your positivity, and when you are right and I'm wrong which I hope is the case. Feel free to tell me I'm a overly negative miserable twat.

But what I take from your post is it's a very tight competition, we have a good squad.

So given that why would you put your three best players on the bench and field and then act suprise when you lose.

 

Edited January 18 by StringerBellend

[StringerBellend]

38 minutes ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

For me Staj hasn't won us over or convinced us he is the guy to get us glory. Definitely agree team choices are sometimes baffling. Like Kraev and Mata are both played out of position. 

That is why we get we go studs up on Staj when its a bad result. He hasn't yet got the credit in the bank to get us on board. 

Without good recruitment in the backline and midfield we will fall short of finals. We are too error prone in defence. I also think Scicluna injury has stifled our progress, the midfield really doesn't function as well without him. But again poor recruitment that does fall on Staj to build that depth. Hoping Al Taay once confirmed helps us there. 

The midfield was functioning with Mata and Priestman our tactical genius decided to change it 

[MathyouWSW]

20 minutes ago, mack said:

Like I've said over and over again, you don't need 3 years to put a team together. Teams have come from last to champions, and going from outside the six to top 4 doesn't need a miracle either.

This league exposes teams & coaches exceptionally quickly, in both directions. You can't rest on laurels when you come good, you have to get better again there's no coasting because unlike most top flights you can't go spend a few million quid on players you can afford but your opponents can't.

Auckland didn't exist, now they're challenging for top 2 and a title/championship contender. Adelaide finished below us last season, now they're top of the table halfway through.

I always give a manager a season to get a team together. It really depends on when they are recruited to the club. For example, if the current manager is sacked mid-season, the manager replacing them has to deal with the "scraps" the previous manager did to the club, so I write off that season until next season. For this season, Stajcic was recruited before the season commenced so there was no excuses. 

I see Auckland as Melbourne City 2.0, they are owned by a wealthy American so they are going to splash the cash for some good recruited players. It would not surprised if they win the league before the Wanderers ever do.

 

[BoyFromTheWest]

Mack, I was one who suggested 3 years but you didn't read what I said. It was 3 years about creating a new culture. Yes you can buy a coach (and team) that gets there in a year. We did it with Popa, but there was no ongoing legacy, culture...

There's been enough commentary on here, including you, about the 'culture' of the club. There's constant complaint, including you, around turnaround of players, coaches... My comment on 3 years was about building a new and sustainable culture - and that can't be done in a year!!!

I don't know the behind the scenes stuff of the club or whether more recent changes have begun to turn things around. I don't know if Staj is the one who can build something long term, but if we want a different culture that has sustainability..., it won't be quick and won't happen if we continue to chop and change, both coaching staff and players. We also probably need a DoF to maintain continuity.

[SBW]

17 hours ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

But again poor recruitment that does fall on Staj to build that depth. Hoping Al Taay once confirmed helps us there. 

Well Staj did say in the fan forums that he would rather sign young talented players from the NPL than sign a senior player currently in the A-League or players from overseas. That's the direction our women's team went and look where they are on the ladder.

[SBW]

Btw, if you haven't watched this, around the 39min mark, Ninko had said he has desires to coach Wanderers in the future

 

 

[mack]

I don't care about turnaround or churn. I want to get rid of bad players and have a good scouting network replace them with superior players, run by a coach who isn't tactically inept.

That's what creates "culture". Being good on the field.

[MathyouWSW]

6 hours ago, SBW said:

Btw, if you haven't watched this, around the 39min mark, Ninko had said he has desires to coach Wanderers in the future

I honestly hope it does happen sometime in the future.

[StringerBellend]

6 hours ago, SBW said:

Btw, if you haven't watched this, around the 39min mark, Ninko had said he has desires to coach Wanderers in the future

 

 

Can he start Monday 

[marron]

Just getting in early. If and when it happens, Ninko will flop. I have zero doubt.

[GunnerWanderer]

36 minutes ago, marron said:

Just getting in early. If and when it happens, Ninko will flop. I have zero doubt.

Hardly insightful every coach since Popa has flopped haha

[MathyouWSW]

59 minutes ago, marron said:

Just getting in early. If and when it happens, Ninko will flop. I have zero doubt.

Got any suggestions then?

[dcrow]

22 minutes ago, MathyouWSW said:

Got any suggestions then?

Milicic

[billybob]

Ange might be available soon. 

[marron]

8 hours ago, MathyouWSW said:

Got any suggestions then?

Nope. 

But i don't understand why anyone would seriously put their faith in someone who's never coached before.

I know we are all sick of failure but come on. The aleague is tough for anyone, let alone a first timer.

 

 

[Smoggy]

I think big Ange might be free very soon 

[Smoggy]

1 hour ago, billybob said:

Ange might be available soon. 

Beat me to it 

[Sithslayer1991]

11 hours ago, dcrow said:

Milicic

I mean yea if you want help sleeping through the night 

[Hughesy]

On 18/1/2025 at 12:43 PM, marron said:

Fmd.

I'm far from convinced about staj but the carry on in here. 

A massive reason we are so **** is because of the absolute dogs breakfasts of turnovers that occur every season. Whether it be manager or players or both.

A few days ago it’s all "now just a centreback and we'll lock in finals" and now it's sack the coach. I'll tell you what happens if we sack the coach - the spine being built of good players who (notwithstanding whatever the **** happened last night) can score for fun, take on players, look for good ball movement to create opportunities - stuff we haven't seen for years - they all go. Thats what happens. And back to square one. Again. With likely someone on a par with Staj anyway. Except without a promising team.

Probably an unpopular opinion but this is where I think there’s a small responsibility from the fan base as to why we are in this predicament as a club.

Even when Popa was around, the minute things weren’t rosy people were off him. That same impatience has snowballed now to the point where individual losses are enough to have fans calling for the axe. 

Many might feel as though the club doesn’t listen but they hear these grumblings and you can’t tell me it doesn’t play a part in decision making, particularly with managers. 

[Stokz]

21 minutes ago, Hughesy said:

Probably an unpopular opinion but this is where I think there’s a small responsibility from the fan base as to why we are in this predicament as a club.

Even when Popa was around, the minute things weren’t rosy people were off him. That same impatience has snowballed now to the point where individual losses are enough to have fans calling for the axe. 

Many might feel as though the club doesn’t listen but they hear these grumblings and you can’t tell me it doesn’t play a part in decision making, particularly with managers. 

Garbage - if the club was building to something, you'll tolerate losses no problem - we've had zero consistency this year. 1 step forward 2 steps back. 

[StringerBellend]

41 minutes ago, Hughesy said:

Probably an unpopular opinion but this is where I think there’s a small responsibility from the fan base as to why we are in this predicament as a club.

Even when Popa was around, the minute things weren’t rosy people were off him. That same impatience has snowballed now to the point where individual losses are enough to have fans calling for the axe. 

Many might feel as though the club doesn’t listen but they hear these grumblings and you can’t tell me it doesn’t play a part in decision making, particularly with managers. 

totally agree

 

Yes.. that is an unpopular opinion 

 

[StringerBellend]

Two words 

Sean Dyche 

that would stop us playing out from the back and losing it 

 

Granted it would stop us scoring and playing football but yer know swings and roundabouts 

[Sithslayer1991]

2 minutes ago, Stokz said:

Garbage - if the club was building to something, you'll tolerate losses no problem - we've had zero consistency this year. 1 step forward 2 steps back. 

Actually we have had consistency this season. After the first 5 games which included 2 derbies and no Lawrence Thomas, we have had 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses 14/24 points. From the start of this season we have scored in every game and we also concede in every game aside from the City game. That's consistency and prior to Scicluna injury it was building to something.

Aside from the last 2 games we have somehow been able to wrestle possession and once we get across the halfway point we are creating chances. In the first 5 games I argued that we had structural problems, however the more we play the more that isn't the case. We aren't getting hurt in transition or getting picked apart, its individual errors due to lack of leadership in the backline and people not doing their roles.

Majority of this thread isn't so much on how we are playing but on who we can recruit to beef up or defensive half because its clear we lack experience and quality. Gersbach helps us at LB. We need a CDM and CB. Al-Taay may be the CDM that replaces Scicluna but I haven't seen enough of him to say that for sure

 

 

[Smoggy]

We can have Michael Carrick from the Boro if wait a few weeks.

[Stokz]

20 minutes ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

Actually we have had consistency this season. After the first 5 games which included 2 derbies and no Lawrence Thomas, we have had 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses 14/24 points. From the start of this season we have scored in every game and we also concede in every game aside from the City game. That's consistency and prior to Scicluna injury it was building to something.

Aside from the last 2 games we have somehow been able to wrestle possession and once we get across the halfway point we are creating chances. In the first 5 games I argued that we had structural problems, however the more we play the more that isn't the case. We aren't getting hurt in transition or getting picked apart, its individual errors due to lack of leadership in the backline and people not doing their roles.

Majority of this thread isn't so much on how we are playing but on who we can recruit to beef up or defensive half because its clear we lack experience and quality. Gersbach helps us at LB. We need a CDM and CB. Al-Taay may be the CDM that replaces Scicluna but I haven't seen enough of him to say that for sure

 

 

Disregarding the first 5 games - is an interesting way to paint a picture of consistency. 

5 wins 3 draws and 5 losses in 13 games.

That looks like the definition of inconsistency. 

[Sithslayer1991]

3 minutes ago, Stokz said:

Disregarding the first 5 games - is an interesting way to paint a picture of consistency. 

5 wins 3 draws and 5 losses in 13 games.

That looks like the definition of inconsistency. 

You said we weren't building into something. But we have improved since those 5 games. The goals we construct the opportunities we make consistently break any defence in front of us. Staj frustrates me to no end with his picks but there is a method to the madness. If we continued like in those first 5 games we would be around Perth and Brisbane territory. We still do have consistency from thise first 5 games we have scored in every game. Aside from City we concede due to individual errors rather than tactical issues. I think Bonetig is a good example of this, he has saved us against Nix and Adelaide but he also cost us against Macarthur and Mariners

My argument is we lack a "Marcelo" player at the back to take us into top 6 contention. I don't think inconsistent is the issue I think its team weaknesses that are exploited and we don't have personnel to fix this. 

[Stokz]

Yes we are better than those first 5 games - but it very much looks to me win one, lose or draw the next. Repeat cycle. 

Get stuck in mid table. 

[sonar]

1 hour ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

My argument is we lack a "Marcelo" player at the back to take us into top 6 contention. I don't think inconsistent is the issue I think its team weaknesses that are exploited and we don't have personnel to fix this. 

100% this.