While season 2015-16 is far from beginning, the pieces for the upcoming season have started coming together.
It often takes time for a coach to have all his pieces in place. While Sydney FC has made little announcements in the way of player signings, other pieces have been brought to the club to assist in increasing the club’s success. These are all important pieces for Graham Arnold. As we all saw last season, Arnold values every player and staff member highly and treats everyone like family.
The first piece of the extended puzzle to be brought into the fold is Robbie Stanton. He has been poached from NPLNSW side Sutherland Sharks, which currently sits in seventh on the NPLNSW ladder.
Stanton has been brought in to replace Steve Corica, who was promoted by Arnold to assistant coach for the club’s A-League side. Stanton will coach the club’s National Youth League side for the upcoming season and in 2016, he will be the head coach for the club’s academy side’s inaugural season in NPLNSW2.
As a player, Stanton achieved NSL championship success with Marconi and Wollongong Wolves, both of whom now participate in NPLNSW. As a coach with Sutherland, he has won the NSW Premier League championship, the NPLNSW’s predecessor, in 2009 while also guiding it to two Waratah Cup titles in five years.
As Sydney FC looks to make an impact in the NYL and next year’s NPLNSW2, the club feels Stanton has the right attributes to develop its next generation. He has had a hand in developing current first teamer Chris Naumoff, now a regular starter for the A-League side.
CEO Tony Pignata spoke highly of Stanton’s qualities.
“Robbie was an outstanding candidate for the role,” Pignata said.
“He has a first class pedigree as a coach and a player, an excellent reputation among the local associations and the type of personal qualities which are hugely important to this club.
His teams are well known for the type of football they play and we are confident that the brand of football Robbie already believes in closely matches the brand of football we are trying to develop at Sydney FC.”
Stanton himself is excited to be a part of Sydney FC during the next stage of the club’s expansion.
“It’s an exciting and challenging role with the target being to develop players within the Sydney FC playing style and philosophy,” he said.
“I want to provide our youngsters with the best chance they have to become A-League players and give them a pathway into the first team, so they can fit straight into Graham’s squad.”
Fans should be assured that both the NYL and academy squads competing in NPLNSW2 will be fairly similar.
“It will be another step for our young players to be playing at a higher level against men, and it will give them that added development they need to potentially turn them into A-League footballers,” Stanton said.
Academy Director Kelly Cross was looking forward to Stanton’s contribution.
“Sydney FC’s technical core has done a lot of work developing the blueprint for the long term future success of the club and articulating what the Sydney FC playing style is,” Cross said.
“That’s going to be brought to life in the Academy and it’s about developing that whole philosophy and playing style right through the club.
Robbie’s main tasks will be to help evolve the Sydney FC Playing Style and to develop the players who can seamlessly transition into the first team squad.”
Stanton has already started his new role with the club.
The next piece in the club’s puzzle belongs to Graham Arnold. Arnold has successfully lured John Crawley to be Sydney FC’s goalkeeper coach.
Crawley has been responsible for developing some of Australia’s best goalkeepers. He was an integral part of Arnold’s staff when both were at Central Coast Mariners. Sydney FC now arguably has the best coaching staff in the A-League.
Crawley was happy to be reunited with Arnold.
“I am delighted to be joining Sydney FC and to be working with Arnie once again,” Crawley said.
“The club had an excellent season under his guidance last year and I’m very excited to see what we can go on to achieve both in the A-League and in Asia this year.
We have two very good keepers on the books and I look forward to helping them to get even better.”
Arnold believes Crawley is one of, if not the best, goalkeeper coach in the country and it is hard to argue against it.
“His record speaks for itself in the keepers he has developed, including Danny Vukovic, Mat Ryan, Adam Federici and Andrew Redmayne,” Arnold said.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge and ten years A-League experience to the role. I am looking forward to seeing how Vedran and Anthony develop under his tuition.”
Crawley begins his role with the club once players return to preseason training.
Arnold has also added another piece to the squad in the shape of Zac Anderson. Anderson, another former Mariner, has been signed on a one-year deal. His links to Arnold helped in deciding his next career move.
“It is a great move for me and I’m looking forward to working again with Arnie,” Anderson said.
“Sydney FC has a fantastic support and are one of the A-League’s biggest clubs; it’s a huge honour to be signing for them.”
Arnold praised Anderson, citing the experience he brings.
“Zac has a lot of A-League and Asian Champions League experience and will serve us very well this season,” he said.
Obviously I’ve worked with him before and I know the quality he has. He will give us great depth and competition for places, and at 24 he is at a great age as well.”
While Anderson was not at his best last season, under Arnold’s tutelage at the Mariners, he was a reliable and solid performer. He replaces Nikola Petkovic and provides added competition to Jacques Faty, Matt Jurman and Aaron Calver. Fans should believe that if anyone will get Anderson back to his best, it will be Arnold. Additionally, Anderson’s experience in the competition will come to the fore when the Sky Blues compete in the Asian Champions League in 2016.
As with Crawley, Anderson will link up with the club once players return to pre-season training.
Competitive games are beginning to come into sight as the new season draws near.
In the FFA Cup round of 32, Sydney was drawn to take on NPLWA side Sorrento FC. The game will be played at nib Stadium in Perth on 5 August. The Bat and Ball Hotel will be putting on an event for the game for those not travelling.
Arnold provided his thoughts on the game, saying: “It will certainly be a good test for us so soon into our preseason campaign.”
“Sorrento will be fired up and ready to go with their season in full swing. But it will also be our first competitive game in almost three months so our boys will be up for it and wanting to put on a show.
It will also be good for a bit of team building as our new players will have joined us by then and it will be good for them to gel and get to know the culture of the team. We look forward to the challenge.”
Preseason fixtures are yet to be announced but it is expected the club will take on Macarthur Rams in Campbelltown and Belconnen in Canberra. It is also rumoured the Sky Blues will once again face reigning NPLNSW premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
In good news for fans, membership renewals are now open. The club has developed a new, more user-friendly website to use when purchasing memberships. It also looks to be the place where you can book your kids in for holiday clinics run by the club.
The club has introduced a pay-by-the-month option, which it has called ‘Sky Blue Renew’. This option is a lighter hit to your wallet by allowing membership payments to be spread over 12 months. Additionally, members will have their membership renewed automatically for the 2016-17 season.
Pignata is aiming for 13,000 members this season.
“After the fantastic, record breaking support we received last year, we wanted to make our Memberships renewal process as simple to use and as easy to afford as possible, so we have invested in this new system to provide the best Membership experience we can,” he said.
Sydney FC has also introduced a community membership in partnership with the club’s charity partner, Football United. The new membership allows members to purchase a community membership for $50, and Football United will give it to one of the underprivileged youths it works with, in turn, nurturing an interest in football and potentially becoming a fan of Sydney FC. The community membership allows free entry into all home games and has all the benefits of a junior membership.
The Cove has already purchased 25 community memberships and is looking to buy more. This is a unique opportunity to provide underprivileged kids a chance to experience football where they may otherwise not be able to. As fans, we should show our support and purchase a community membership for Football United.
“We pride ourselves on our involvement with our local community in Sydney and work tirelessly to engage with young people from all walks,” Pignata said.
“We hope this initiative will encourage more young people to become involved in football and also provide an avenue for those Members who want to help to grow the game.”
These pieces have all come together over the past few weeks. Each will play its part in helping achieve even more success for the club and set benchmarks higher. With the season creeping closer, more pieces will be brought in to complete the jigsaw puzzle.
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