The Western Sydney Wanderers have appointed the Carl Robinson to manage the side into the 2020/21 A-League campaign.
Robinson, a 43 year old Welsh ex-international joins the Wanderers from fellow A-League side the Newcastle Jets, a position he held for just 9 months. The torrid financial situation of his former employer allowed the Wanderers to make a swoop to replace Jean-Paul de Marigny who left the Wanderers following disagreements with management over the direction of the club.
Since the departure of Tony Popovic on his ill-fated Turkish adventure the club have scythed through managers, Hayden Foxe's period as interim manager failed to see him secure the top job, Josep Gombau lasted less than 6 months before a player revolt & poor performances saw him sacked, Markus Babbel looks like a period of relative stability with his 18 month tenure, de Marigny was elevated from assistant to the head role on an interim basis, secured a 1 year contract in July before his exit in order to make way for Robinson who clearly impressed club leadership with his post-lockdown revival of the Newcastle side.
The Welshman has a horrific mess on his hands to sort out a club that has not had a successful season since 2015/16, when Popovic lead the side to a losing Grand Final against Adelaide. Reports suggest the league will begin again in very late December, and a severe cut to the salary cap will make it hard to replace Mitch Duke, and to find new players to strengthen the lineup. The Wanderers have also poached Kenny Miller to act as a first team assistant coach.
While Robinson made an impact on the league by improving the Jets in the final stint of the season, it remains to be seen if he can turn around the fortunes of a side in dire need of leadership and direction.
Edited by mack
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