Former Marconi Stallions and Wollongong Wolves defender Rob Stanton opens up about the brand new Sydney FC academy, winning seven titles, working with Graham Arnold and the hot debate of A-League promotion and relegation.
If modesty is a powerful asset in the world of football coaching, then Stanton has the brightest of futures. Fresh from walloping cross-town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers 4-1 in the NPL2 Grand Final at Leichhardt Oval to collect premierships across three different age groups, the man with the clipboard is somehow still not completely satisfied.
Speaking exclusively to Outside90, Stanton says: “We have done well but as a coach I can improve and do more. For me I’m still learning and don’t look too far forward. I just try and be the best I can be in the role I’m in at the moment.”
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Collecting the NSW NPL 2 Coach of the Year award following unheralded success in the U/20s, NPL2 and Foxtel National Youth League would seemingly give the coach a platform to highlight his CV at any given opportunity, but the 44-year-old wanted none of the accolades.
“I’m pretty calm about it,” he explained.
“The players have done a tremendous job all year so when you look at it, it is down to their commitment and effort that we’ve applied with the football program and it has paid off. Performances are the main concern but it is nice to get results and create winners within the club.”
If recent events are anything to go, by then the Sydney FC academy is breeding the next generation of winners. Finishing first past the post in a regular season and taking home the Grand Final trophy is the best possible outcome for any team, yet Stanton knows his job requires much more than that.
“The goal now is to improve what we did and go to another level to provide players for Graham’s (Arnold) first team – that is the key to at least create depth for him to look at.”
Talented defender George Timotheou is one of those Arnold can now call upon and Stanton believes the conveyor belt is only getting started.
“George will be contracted this year as one of the Under 20s and we have Charles Lokoingoy and Bai Antoniou who both have scholarships so they will be part of the first team. This is the whole reason why we set up the structure we have, they can almost touch it because the opportunity will come.”
Taking cues from the best football academies around the globe, the coach understands that 2016 is an embryonic phase for the Sky Blues to develop the best Australian players possible.
“We’re only in year one,” said Stanton. “The style is something you want right through the whole club eventually but because this is a start up we have boys from Canberra and Queensland. If we want the best academy in Australian then we need the best players but in time we will have players coming through internally.”
Working under the tutelage of Graham Arnold is a joy for Stanton, with the A-League manager’s background not only including the Socceroos position but having a hand in the youth setup of the national team.
“I’m lucky I get to work with Graham every week for personal development…I get to ask questions and have great conversations with him on tactics and all areas of the game as I’ve been observing all year spending time with the first team.”
“We have developed a model that is best for the young players based off Graham’s principles. It’s not always the same formation but the principles are there so it is easy to relate when Graham sets them a task.”
Thankfully for the coach, he can see that the current crop are quick learners. “The players have a really good understanding so when they go to Graham and he says ‘I need you to do A, B and C’ it isn’t foreign to them.”
If winning trophies did not seem like a big enough task , Stanton must juggle roles and responsibilities for boys from the U/16s level to U/21s.
“Myself and David Zdrillic combined the two teams (NYL and NPL) where both squads trained together. We didn’t look at it as two squads, just one big squad where we dropped and rotated. By the end of the year you could not tell who was who because of the development. On match days you are actually coaching one team.”
“Some of the boys who are required for the FFA Cup will do some more training but the majority who have completed close to 200 sessions and 50 games will be off for 4 weeks. Now is the time to let them recover mentally and physically otherwise they will have issues down the track,” warned Stanton.
One concept that might allay the problems surrounding a mixed schedule is the controversial and much discussed promotion and relegation dilemma, and Stanton is adamant in his support
“It is something we need to have,” argues the coach. “If we really want to develop footballers there needs to be a higher level of competition where they are full time. We have the NPL but the majority are part time, they have to work. You’re never going to see them grow to another level unless they are training full-time.”
Stanton’s history, spanning “old soccer” with clubs like the Marconi Stallions and Wollongong Wolves into “new football” via the Sydney FC Academy, gives him an ideal perspective on the dilemma facing the FFA, yet he is firm that a bigger pool will make for a healthier game across the board.
“The community of Wollongong is quite big and Canberra is another area you could put an A-League team in. The decision makers in this country have to find a solution because a lot of people want it. At least have them in a full time environment,” he iterates. “Then you can see who has potential as a starting point to deliver more players and better coaches.”
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