Melbourne Victory

[jockman]

Another A league club he can manage for a year or two then  fork off back to Europe next opportunity he gets..Signed a 3 year deal with Victory lets see if he stays the distance. What's the record for number of A league clubs managed be the same  person ?

[WHACKO]

Popa announced as coach

[GunnerWanderer]

@jockman I think popa may be first to do 3 since Merrick 

It was always going to be Popa 

it’s the safe bet, they don’t want to become a shambles like us. With popa you know what you are going to get and that’s a solid squad who make finals - I don’t think they wanted to roll the dice again. 
 

Be interesting if we hire Muscat when the owners tire with Robinson - if the season continues to the shitter might both be looking at new managers next season 

[Smoggy]

2 hours ago, jockman said:

Another A league club he can manage for a year or two then  fork off back to Europe next opportunity he gets..Signed a 3 year deal with Victory lets see if he stays the distance. What's the record for number of A league clubs managed be the same  person ?

I give it 18 months max before he buggers off for some 2nd tier Albanian side on the brink of bankruptcy.

[StringerBellend]

2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

I give it 18 months max before he buggers off for some 2nd tier Albanian side on the brink of bankruptcy.

Kalac can give an interview afterwards with foxtel about how suprised he is that a failing club in a failing league in a failing nation state failed to pay them 

[Smoggy]

11 hours ago, GunnerWanderer said:

@jockman I think popa may be first to do 3 since Merrick 

It was always going to be Popa 

it’s the safe bet, they don’t want to become a shambles like us. With popa you know what you are going to get and that’s a solid squad who make finals - I don’t think they wanted to roll the dice again. 
 

Be interesting if we hire Muscat when the owners tire with Robinson - if the season continues to the shitter might both be looking at new managers next season 

For all Popa did for us, and while I will always be grateful for that, I hope he never wins a GF....

******* splitter.

[jockman]

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

For all Popa did for us, and while I will always be grateful for that, I hope he never wins a GF....

******* splitter.

I am with you. Grateful for the early success he brought us in those wonderful first few seasons . pi@@ed off with the way he left the club

[StringerBellend]

1 hour ago, jockman said:

I am with you. Grateful for the early success he brought us in those wonderful first few seasons . pi@@ed off with the way he left the club

Yep although the club don’t get off totally free. There was no succession plan in place, at all despite it being obvious that Popa was going to leave at the first European gig that came up 

[Sithslayer1991]

41 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Yep although the club don’t get off totally free. There was no succession plan in place, at all despite it being obvious that Popa was going to leave at the first European gig that came up 

The WSW Owners are still trying to figure out post popa

[MathyouWSW]

Popa is probably thinking "Yeah, this club will do until I get another offer from European some club that's in the likes of Kazakhstan"

[Carns]

2 hours ago, MathyouWSW said:

Popa is probably thinking "Yeah, this club will do until I get another offer from European some club that's in the likes of Kazakhstan"

Kazakhstan is technically Asian (they are the largest central Asian country).

[Davo]

27 minutes ago, Carns said:

Kazakhstan is technically Asian (they are the largest central Asian country).

Although the clubs in Kazakhstan are technically European as they play in the UEFA Champions League/Europa League.

[Carns]

47 minutes ago, Davo said:

Although the clubs in Kazakhstan are technically European as they play in the UEFA Champions League/Europa League.

Touché. Obviously UEFA doesn't have the same issues the AFC does re: teams outside their confed.

[Davo]

32 minutes ago, Carns said:

Touché. Obviously UEFA doesn't have the same issues the AFC does re: teams outside their confed.

Israel is currently in UEFA but were previously in the AFC and briefly in OFC, although that’s more political than football.

[Carns]

8 minutes ago, Davo said:

Israel is currently in UEFA but were previously in the AFC and briefly in OFC, although that’s more political than football.

I was aware of Israel's unique position (and the political reasons for it). Kazakhstan to me is more interesting due to clubs playing UEFA and country playing AFC.

[wendybr]

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/popovic-unprofessional-totally-out-of-order-says-victory-interim-coach-kean

[Davo]

This is where a Technical Director or Director of Football role makes sense.

Popa isn’t officially working for Victory yet so he’s not going to come in, sit down with the current management and work out next season. In saying that, this is the time of year where clubs start having these sort of discussions with players about their futures. A Director of Football would meet with Popa and sort out his plans, then work with the club and the current manager to have these discussions.

[MathyouWSW]

Victory CEO Trent Jacobs is departing:

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/melbourne-victory-ceo-trent-jacobs-to-depart?fbclid=IwAR1revH8pObTunoLKjLknqVpYA7edYkRpFZbCm8iAhL4ORr-AXs7uA7bGZo

Jacobs said the time was right for him to move on after 13 years at the club - the last three of which was spent as CEO - with head coach Tony Popovic arriving in July on a three-year deal with a licence to effectively overhaul the Victory.

[Paul01]

1 hour ago, MathyouWSW said:

Victory CEO Trent Jacobs is departing:

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/melbourne-victory-ceo-trent-jacobs-to-depart?fbclid=IwAR1revH8pObTunoLKjLknqVpYA7edYkRpFZbCm8iAhL4ORr-AXs7uA7bGZo

Jacobs said the time was right for him to move on after 13 years at the club - the last three of which was spent as CEO - with head coach Tony Popovic arriving in July on a three-year deal with a licence to effectively overhaul the Victory.

Popa cleaning out from the top down

[papersun]

12 hours ago, Paul01 said:

Popa cleaning out from the top down

I think that it might be that the clubs owners are on the nose with Vuck supporters and they need to be seen to be doing something  at executive level (sackings) to placate them.

[BoyFromTheWest]

I don't think Popa has ever developed a team into an ongoing group.  After the 1st 2 seasons we had a constant open door at season's end every year. Others (eg Arnie) have been able the develop and build a squad that grows and stays together.  Popa hasn't done that. Not sure he can???

[StringerBellend]

1 minute ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

I don't think Popa has ever developed a team into an ongoing group.  After the 1st 2 seasons we had a constant open door at season's end every year. Others (eg Arnie) have been able the develop and build a squad that grows and stays together.  Popa hasn't done that. Not sure he can???

Yep even our early success always kind of felt it was built on sand, 2 seasons blow up the team have a bad season, blow it up again, 1 good season, blow it up again, a bad season, blow it up, quit with no obvious successor or plan 

[wendybr]

29 minutes ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

I don't think Popa has ever developed a team into an ongoing group.  After the 1st 2 seasons we had a constant open door at season's end every year. Others (eg Arnie) have been able the develop and build a squad that grows and stays together.  Popa hasn't done that. Not sure he can???

 

26 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Yep even our early success always kind of felt it was built on sand, 2 seasons blow up the team have a bad season, blow it up again, 1 good season, blow it up again, a bad season, blow it up, quit with no obvious successor or plan 

Quite a deficiency, I think.

But  in addition to him offloading players, many of them might have struggled with his stern, disciplinary style? And might have been glad to get out.

Interesting to look at the physique of our former players, as soon as they left the Wanderers, and I couldn't help wonder whether they resented his obsession with having them all stick-thin...etc.

No other team I am familiar with have players all looking fairly emaciated, which Popa's players were.

And so many came back to life as players after they left us. 

[Carns]

There were also players who praised Popa for getting them to perform to a level that they hadn't in years. For all his detractors there seemed to be almost as many devotees who swore by his methods. And he did have a few players that would stick around in his squads, but obviously the majority were culled on a yearly basis.

[wendybr]

On 09/05/2021 at 8:11 PM, Carns said:

There were also players who praised Popa for getting them to perform to a level that they hadn't in years. For all his detractors there seemed to be almost as many devotees who swore by his methods. And he did have a few players that would stick around in his squads, but obviously the majority were culled on a yearly basis.

Sure...no doubt.

[StringerBellend]

On 09/05/2021 at 8:11 PM, Carns said:

There were also players who praised Popa for getting them to perform to a level that they hadn't in years. For all his detractors there seemed to be almost as many devotees who swore by his methods. And he did have a few players that would stick around in his squads, but obviously the majority were culled on a yearly basis.

He revived the careers of many players Bridge, Santalab, Beauchamp Cole etc were all cast offs when the came to WSW 

The culling wasn’t great in particular end of season 4 when we let the likes of Andreu and Alberto go 

But his high expectations of the players and fitness, is just him expecting them to behave like professional footballers.  Which if they went to any decent European league they would have the same expectations 

Did we really miss any of the players who didn’t like it? Did any of the lm achieve anything  afterwards?

For example if Saba applied himself, like Shannon Cole, he’d have been the best player in the league as it is he bounced around a few lower league teams and did nothing. Massive shame for him that he had to retire early due to health issues

apart from him dumping us on the morning of a season the critism I’d have is that he had no succession plan in place, but then the club needs to take responsibility for that 

although football clubs having no succession plan is hardly unique to australia look at Tottenham 

[wendybr]

On 11/05/2021 at 8:32 AM, StringerBellend said:

 

Did we really miss any of the players who didn’t like it? Did any of them achieve anything  afterwards?

 

I don't know...or remember the ins and outs of why players left.

And I'm not 100% certain who actually left during Popa's reign...but many of you would know.

I think of players like Aaron Mooy (who is the most high profile player who looked over it/something of a has-been/a disappointment before he left, to go on to much greater things). 

I don't know whether it was Popa's brutal standard of fitness (if that's what it was when they all looked emaciated)...or other things that saw Mooy head out. But most ex-players who have gone on to continue their playing careers have never gone back to looking as thin as they were made to look as a Wanderer.

 

PS I really don't remember the point I started on when I began this discussion. LOL.

Edited May 12, 2021 by wendybr

[Sithslayer1991]

17 hours ago, wendybr said:

I don't know...or remember the ins and outs of why players left.

And I'm not 100% certain who actually left during Popa's reign...but many of you would know.

I think of players like Aaron Mooy (who is the most high profile player who looked over it/something of a has-been/a disappointment before he left, to go on to much greater things). 

I don't know whether it was Popa's brutal standard of fitness (if that's what it was when they all looked emaciated)...or other things that saw Mooy head out. But most ex-players who have gone on to continue their playing careers have never gone back to looking as thin as they were made to look as a Wanderer.

 

PS I really don't remember the point I started on when I began this discussion. LOL.

Mooy was battling Ono for the play maker position and Popa made Mooy do more defensive stuff in midfield. I remember by the end Popa preferred line up in centre midfield was Ono, Poljack and La Rocca. Mooy preferred position was taken by a Japanese legend and then popa wanted Mooy to do more defensive work which led him to favour La Rocca and Poljack.  In the end popa system limited Mooy because the team worked for Ono, I reckon it would be different now you would setup your team around Mooy.

Point is the players need to fit popa's strict system which is why Saba couldn't do it and Mooy was limited in what he could do while at the Wanderers. But someone like Haliti, La Rocca or Bridge was a godsend for popa's way of playing. It could be why MAYBE Neil Kilkenny would be moving to Victory seeing as how Centre Midfield is weak, he knows popa and popa's style.

[Davo]

You could tell Popa pushed the players more than most clubs by how often players would leave us and go on to have serious injuries. Hersi left for Perth and had a bad hamstring tear, Alessi and Kuzmanovski both had ACL tears after leaving us, and that's just off the top of my head. I don't remember players have those sort of injuries while they were with us, outside of Golgol Mebrahtu and Nick Ward having ACL injuries, although both of them did it on their debut with the club so it's likely they weren't fully Popa fit.

[MathyouWSW]

I'll take this rumour as a pinch of salt since the source is Robbie Slater