2014-15 Season Review: A Tale of Wander and Woe for Western Sydney

2014-15 Season Review: A Tale of Wander and Woe for Western Sydney

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Outside90’s David Votoupal looks back on a frustrating season for the Western Sydney Wanderers and pinpoints what went wrong for Tony Popovic and his players.

First, the bare facts. An awful lot of games were lost, but not by an awful lot. And an awful lot of players were used a lot, but not a lot were too awful. But that would add up to an awful season, right? So why did it get so bad? Probably it was expected that the Wanderers would fail to attain the standard of their first two seasons, not that it excuses that this edition of Tony Popovic’s side simply were not up to the mark, no matter how far they would go in Asia.

Changes in playing staff

Some of it, of course, was inevitable brought on by players moving on or being unable to retain them by virtue of the salary cap. Firstly, the club couldn’t quite fill the gap left by Aaron Mooy and Shinji Ono, while the talented Vitor Saba showed flashes but didn’t get off the mark. Two foundation players in Michael Beauchamp and Youssouf Hersi left and in their place came Brendan Hamill and Romeo Castelen, two of the only unqualified successes of the players that were brought in. The end result was an unsettled side with a record number of players being used, either brought through the ranks or signed as injury replacements or otherwise during the season. Some of the youngsters show real promise and will be (or should be) persisted with. A more radical clear-out has just taken place, more likely informed by performances and the possibility of substantial spending.

The congested fixture schedule

No, not the number of fixtures. The problem is that aside from all the travel, the league schedule was rather wonky. Fans had to wait a month for the first home game in the League, by which time Wanderers had lost the first four games. This was followed by four home games, three of which were drawn and one lost. There seemed to be a long wait between home games before a fair run of them came later in the season, giving rise to faint hope that the tide might turn. It didn’t, although it made a paltry total of four wins all season seem all the more precious. The disrupted rhythm of fixtures coupled with an unsettled squad contributed, as it left little time for anyone to settle in. So the campaign just never got off the ground.

Too much thrown away

Many a game could and should have ended in three points for Popovic’s men, that they contrived to draw or lose. And that made it all the more painful since there weren’t defeats by more than a goal or two in most games, and three at the most! There are countless examples – all three Sydney Derbies were salvageable but yielded only a point, three games against Newcastle Jets produced two points, and away to Adelaide United, which ended in a last minute defeat.

Weaknesses in key positions

Defensively, Wanderers were not the worst in the league, since Central Coast and Newcastle had worse records, and Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City had records not dramatically better. Up front, there were decent options but it says something that Kerem Bulut would become top scorer in such a short period of time. In midfield, the failure to replace Mooy and Ono adequately really did hurt – Vitor Saba and Yojiro Takahagi have had to fill their boots, but Popovic will need to strengthen greatly in that area.

Did other teams simply figure out the game plan after two successful years? This would be difficult to qualify given how much changed took place, and how different it will be yet again next season. Some of the departures are unfortunate but inevitable. Ante Covic performed magnificently in the Asian Champions’ League triumph but his standards dropped afterwards, which may have informed the decision to release him. It’s pretty evident to many that Juric and Bulut were looking for an exit, and Rukavytsya didn’t deliver as much as he could have. This leaves Popovic with what’s looking like a considerable war chest, and a reconstruction that could build a “second” Wanderers side that could equal or surpass the achievements of the first.

Rumours will no doubt abound as to who will arrive to form the “second generation” Wanderers side. Scott Jamieson has joined from Perth Glory, but surely some more first-team signings will be on the way. It would also not be beyond the club to pull off a spectacular coup, especially one that majorly upstages any of their rivals.

This is what has marked the careers of many great managers, and thus begins the second chapter in the annals of Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club. This season closes the first, but the cast for the second is there or will arrive before long.

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