Carl Robinson Discussion

[mack]

Long read: Catch up with Carl Robinson

From pre-season preparations in the midst of a state-wide lockdown, new recruits landing in Western Sydney, and all the expectations for the A-League season ahead. Wanderers A-League head coach Carl Robinson reveals all.

It has been a busy off-season and pre-season at the Wanderers Centre of Football in Blacktown with the shifting of the guards in the A-League side.

With some familiar faces moving on and new faces being brought in, head coach Carl Robinson has pressed the reset button ahead of the club’s tenth season in the A-League competition.

“It’s been a busy off-season with lots of positive changes. I wanted to remodel the roster, there were a lot of players out of contract which allowed me to review it, analyse it and reset it to build on the positives that were there last year,” said Robinson.

“But it was also making sure that we had the right understanding of what we wanted when we brought players in, to make sure we had the right profiles that could not just fit tactically and technically, but also have the right personalities.

“To be a successful team you need good people. To be a successful team you need talented players and to be a successful team you need to all be going in the right direction.

“So there has been a lot of work done in the off-season in relation to finding those identified individuals that can help the club moving forward.”

Robinson’s recruitment of players for the upcoming A-League season has seen a two-fold approach.

The first being players that identify with or have had a relationship with the Western Sydney region. The second being players that have extensive football experience in the domestic competition.

“Being at the club for almost a year now, you understand what this club means to people,” explained Robinson.

“Finding out what the values of this football club are was very important to me because now I understand how to tap into players’ minds, peoples’ minds, and make sure we’re all on the same page.

“I did look at whether players were from this area (when recruiting them).

“The people from the Western Sydney region have a certain characteristic in them. It’s a fight until the end and I need to find players that are willing to do that.

“They are people that are not given anything, and they have to earn things.

“You see that with the number of players that are from this area that understand or have been at the club before, they understand what Western Sydney and what this club is about.”

Out of the Wanderers newest recruits, Terry Antonis, Ramy Najjarine, Dimi Petratos, and Steven Ugarkovic (Jan 2021) all have a link to the Western Sydney region having grown up and played their junior football in the area.

“When you’re new and you walk into the doors at the club, you feel the warmth of the club,” said Robinson.

“The club have got really good people working here and we’re all here to win.

“But to win takes time and it’s important that you put building blocks and foundations in the right way, and the right way is to understand the values and characteristics of what Western Sydney is all about.

“People like Dimi, Stevie, Terry, and Ramy have all lived here and understand what it is all about.

“When I first took the job at Newcastle, there was Stevie and the first thing he said to me was that he’s a Western Sydney boy and he’s proud to be a Western Sydney boy.”

Looking outside of the Western Sydney lens, Robinson has also brought in two senior talents at both ends of the pitch that are set to shake up the Wanderers squad this season.

At one end is towering central defender Rhys Williams.

“I’ve known Rhys for a number of years. I was actually in one of the Welsh squads when he was an under-21 player many, many years ago when I was a national team player and he sat on the bench,” reflected Robinson.

“So I remember him from there before he changed allegiance and went to Australia.

“I tried to sign Rhys in Vancouver when he was playing in the A-League with Melbourne Victory. So I did my recruitment on him three years ago.

“I knew he was recently playing in Saudi Arabia and he was very successful there. He played every minute of every game being the captain.

“I looked at it and thought, what we lacked last year was voices. What we lacked a little bit was understanding in certain scenarios.

“Rhys has had a great career, but he’s still got the hunger and desire to want to win as well.

“My first conversation with Rhys was pretty simple. I decided to move one or two things around and I was looking for a profile of a player that could fit in well to how I want to play, and he fit that well.

“He liked what we are trying to build here and he wanted to be part of it.”

At the other end is prolific international striker Tomer Hemed.

“Well, he’s got a track record of scoring goals. Everyone in the A-League knows that and he scored goals for Wellington last season,” said Robinson.

“I was aware of Tomer about 18 months ago. He was in Brighton and then went on loan to Charlton (Athletic) in League One. I knew all about him and I knew he was looking for something different.

“So when he signed for Wellington, I wasn’t surprised. Obviously, it took him a bit of time to get up to speed but he did exceptionally well for them and scored a number of goals.

“We had a reset in the front areas of the pitch, so we were light on the front areas of the pitch. So what we had decided to do was look at all our European targets, South American targets, and internal targets.

“When I say internal, I mean league players so league players that are here in the country. After a quick conversation with Tomer, he made it pretty clear that he wanted to be based in Sydney and he wanted to play another season in the A-League.

“His goals last season spoke for itself.

“Tomer is a very charismatic man, very articulate, very smart, and has a desire to win. Numerous times in the conversation I had with him it was all about being a professional, winning, setting standards, and all the fundamentals of a player that a manager wants to bring in.

“He was one that I straight away knew would be a perfect addition for us as we have some fantastic young players in this football club, and more coming through, and they need to be set the standards and targets. Who better than a group of senior players that are as good as anyone.”

With so many young players pushing through the Academy ranks and the Wanderers first team squad, it was fantastic to recently see midfielder Keanu Baccus on the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics.

Baccus returned to the club’s Centre of Football late last week after hotel quarantine to link up with his teammates and is set to play in his sixth A-League season.

For Robinson, the return of Baccus signifies more than just depth in the Wanderers squad but rather the return of an individual that represents exactly what Western Sydney is about.

“First of all, I love Keanu. He’s a fantastic boy and he’s got great experience in this league, he went and represented the Olyroos in the Olympics and did well when he played,” said Robinson.

“Keanu played more games than any other midfield player in our squad last season. I left him out for three games and he came on as a substitute in all of those games.

“Towards the end of the season, I saw him play some of the best football he’s ever played. He’s a fantastic boy and he’s a fantastic player.

“I can still improve him and he can still improve himself.

“He is a huge part of this club moving forward and he epitomizes what this club is all about. Hard work, determination, fire, and desire.

“He’s got a mindset of improvement and he wants to be better every day and that takes you to a certain level.

“As a manager, you want players that want to learn and he certainly wants to learn.”

The Wanderers pre-season preparations commenced at the start of this month under strict government rules and regulations to prepare for a season kick-off date of 30 October 2021.

Preparations have been as smooth as they can be with the majority of the Wanderers squad training together daily with the exception of players that are in locked-down LGA’s or yet to arrive in the country.

“The most important thing is that people are safe and everyone follows the rules and does what they need to do so we can get back to normal as quickly as possible,” said Robinson.

“Obviously we’re training which is great and we’re very fortunate and lucky to do.

“At the moment it’s about getting basic levels of fitness and integrating in the players we have brought in so that they understand the way that we work.

“We understand that we’re all as important as each other. Whether you’re the goalkeeper or whether you’re player 21 or 22, or you’re an Academy player as we’ve got a lot more Academy players in the group at the moment.

“It’s drip-feeding the players on what is required on a daily basis and what is required each week. Tactically drip-feeding them as well as we don’t have a point of reference yet for a game so what we can do is get them in the right frame of mind.

“Key to it is not to become monotonous. So trying to keep our ideas and their minds fresh so they don’t know what’s coming.

“But we’ll be prepared and ready for when we do come out the other end as we know we will.”

he Wanderers had a mixed first season under Robinson with plenty of positives and negatives to grow from ahead of what is set to be the club’s historic tenth season in the A-League.

“There were a lot of positives last season but there were a lot of things we need to improve on,” said Robinson.

“We conceded far too many goals, especially from set-pieces, so we need to own that, accept that and we will. That needs to improve.

“We scored a lot of goals but I still think we missed a lot of chances. I still want us to be more aggressive in certain areas of the field.

“We got into a rhythm of the way we wanted to play and I won’t go away from the way that we want to play. The style on my methodology is very clear and that’s what I need to do now with our new personnel.

“That’s the reason why I reset and brought in different profiles because I think the different profile of player might understand the way I want to play a little bit more.

“We want to play front-foot football, we want to add more aggression to our game and we actually want to try to dominate more than what we did last season in games with the attacking intent that we had at times but not clear enough.

“We want to win more games, that was clear and we were close in so many games but ultimately that was our shortfall.

“But we’ve analysed that, we weren’t too far away but we weren’t good enough. We’ll be better this season, we’ll be good enough this season and we’re here to win.

“There’s no bones about it. People can talk about finishing fourth or fifth, but that’s not what it’s about. We want to try and win, but we know there’s a lot of hard work and need a little bit of luck along the way.”

With just over two months to go until the Wanderers kick-off Season 10, Robinson is confident that his new personnel combined with the support of the club’s members and fans can make all the difference this season.

“We’re fully focused, we’re fully committed and we’ve got a group of players that understand the values of what the Western Sydney Wanderers are all about,” stated Robinson.

“We’ll get our members and fans behind us as they’re really important for us as well, we’ve seen how important they were last season and we have to continue to fight, grow and get better.

“Then there’s no reason why we can’t go on and win.”

[matty]

"The style on my methodology is very clear and that’s what I need to do now with our new personnel."

- Carl Robinson

 

 

 

Forgive my cynicism but I am not hopeful for this coming season. 

[GE942150]

No mention of any more signings. 

Edited August 24, 2021 by mack
No need to quote the entire post.

[pseudonym]

"There’s no bones about it. People can talk about finishing fourth or fifth, but that’s not what it’s about. We want to try and win, but we know there’s a lot of hard work and need a little bit of luck along the way.”

So basically aiming to avoid FFA Cup playoffs and hoping we get some dodgy penalties from VAR and we might get 6th place 

[mack]

2 hours ago, mack said:

But we’ve analysed that, we weren’t too far away

That's not the word I'd use to describe a season where we went 5-1 down to the 2nd worst team in the comp and had 4-1 and 5-1 losses.

[Carns]

Lasted a couple of paragraphs before I had to stop due to cliché overload.

[StringerBellend]

1 hour ago, Carns said:

Lasted a couple of paragraphs before I had to stop due to cliché overload.

He's basically David Brent 

[Keithie]

A brilliantly put discussion on his recruitment and hopes for the coming season  

[SNS100]

I'm filled with pessimism about our upcoming season... reading that interview gives me zero hope that we'll make the 6, yet again. 

Carl Robinson reminds me of a used car salesman that talks way too much crap. I genuinely think he is out of his depth. 

Other than a good run towards the end of the season with the Jets, all he has done at WSW is poach players from other clubs, play a system that blantantly didn't suit the squad last season, play VISA players on the bench (or not at all), make decent players into duds (McGowan, Műller, Duke and Yeboah)... but the most frustrating thing about CR, is his constant need to educate the football world with recycled post match interview clichès.

I give him 10 games before he is finally sacked and we'll be back to the drawing board as a club, trying to desperately refind ourselves after the post Popa era. 

[Wanderingbeersclub]

10 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

He's basically David Brent 

"The first thing Steve Ugarkovic said to me was that he's a western sydney boy and that he is proud to be a western sydney boy"  Buuuuuulllllsh!t. 
That's what you say to a welsh manager when he arrives in Newcastle to coach you at Newcastle.  Carl's not given up on the bullsh#t just on making them good ones.
He really is David Brent

Barista: What can I get you. 
Ugarkovic: Well I'm a western sydney boy and I'm proud to be a western sydney boy. 
Barista: oooook


 

[StringerBellend]

10 hours ago, Keithie said:

A brilliantly put discussion on hi and hopes for the coming season  

I think we'll be ace this season but I say that every year, im a positive person. That interview was full of cliches but let's face it all football manager interviews are

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Upthehill]

“I looked at it and thought, what we lacked last year was voices."

Mmm no, you talked plenty

"What we lacked a little bit was understanding in certain scenarios."

You're not wrong Mr Robinson. It just wasn't the players that lacked it...

 

[Keithie]

We could have Corica , (Bimbi, geez that is a kids nick name) , every interview he has done related to a game is" we were the better team and should have won" 

[Zelinsky]

Whoever did the interview with he-who-talks-a-lot qualifies for the 2021 "golden ear award".

[theseeker]

The Wanderers is a coach's graveyard.

Some physic influence seems to take over seemingly talented coaches when they entered the hallowed halls of the Wanderers Centre of Football...…and they fail. Or what other reason could there be I wonder ?

 

 

[MartinTyler]

9 hours ago, SNS100 said:

I'm filled with pessimism about our upcoming season... reading that interview gives me zero hope that we'll make the 6, yet again. 

Carl Robinson reminds me of a used car salesman that talks way too much crap. I genuinely think he is out of his depth. 

Other than a good run towards the end of the season with the Jets, all he has done at WSW is poach players from other clubs, play a system that blantantly didn't suit the squad last season, play VISA players on the bench (or not at all), make decent players into duds (McGowan, Műller, Duke and Yeboah)... but the most frustrating thing about CR, is his constant need to educate the football world with recycled post match interview clichès.

I give him 10 games before he is finally sacked and we'll be back to the drawing board as a club, trying to desperately refind ourselves after the post Popa era. 

Whilst I get the sentiment of your post I can't agree that he made Mcgowan and Yeboah into duds as they have been duds for quite a while.....Duke was still good enough to link up with the national teams so I can't see him being classed as a dud also. Muller was on a downward slide after his bad injury too.

[BoyFromTheWest]

Yeah, sure the interview had much 'Robbospeak' but there is a deeper sense of responsibility and admission of failure last year. He admits what everyone's been saying.  He got rid of various players - which is what this forum has demanded all year (rightly or wrongly).  He brought in various new players of a certain type and calibre - AND who understand Western Sydney.  There is a strong sense of him coming to grips with our roots and origins and getting in touch what people on here (myself included) have wanted - a recognition that we are Western Sydney and not the east.

I'm not sure what people expect him to say.  He's the coach.  He's been affirmed as the coach - despite the calls for him to go and that the merry-go-round continue to roll along with another manager... and more of the same on here.  Do we expect him to be different in language and style?  Do we expect him not to approach the season in a positive and hopeful manner?  Do we expect him to not do the best he is able to secure the best type of players for this club at this time (whether we agree with his and the club's decisions or not)? 

Look, he didn't get us to where we wanted or should have been last season but nor has he made excuses.  He has not defended the season but acknowledged a lot of the problems - and not all were him (as this broader forum has continually noted as we have ravaged players who haven't met our hopes or standards).  Whether he has what it takes will all be revealed this season - obviously.  I am glad he is aiming high but the reality is that City are still the bench mark and are in a prime position to recruit good OS players, having the City franchise behind them.  They continue to build whilst we rebuild.  Sydney will be there and Vucks are recruitung hard.  Popa's team will always be a tough competitor - until the grand final, which if they make it will lose.

Personally I am just pleased to hear some detail from coach and club and recognise it wouldn't matter who it was or what they said, there would be a mix spin/crap and reality. I'm wait and see and hope that everything comes together in season X.

 

[StringerBellend]

2 hours ago, MartinTyler said:

Whilst I get the sentiment of your post I can't agree that he made Mcgowan and Yeboah into duds as they have been duds for quite a while.....Duke was still good enough to link up with the national teams so I can't see him being classed as a dud also. Muller was on a downward slide after his bad injury too.

Yep Yeboah hasn't been any good since he left the Roar as a kid

[Keithie]

2 hours ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

Yeah, sure the interview had much 'Robbospeak' but there is a deeper sense of responsibility and admission of failure last year. He admits what everyone's been saying.  He got rid of various players - which is what this forum has demanded all year (rightly or wrongly).  He brought in various new players of a certain type and calibre - AND who understand Western Sydney.  There is a strong sense of him coming to grips with our roots and origins and getting in touch what people on here (myself included) have wanted - a recognition that we are Western Sydney and not the east.

I'm not sure what people expect him to say.  He's the coach.  He's been affirmed as the coach - despite the calls for him to go and that the merry-go-round continue to roll along with another manager... and more of the same on here.  Do we expect him to be different in language and style?  Do we expect him not to approach the season in a positive and hopeful manner?  Do we expect him to not do the best he is able to secure the best type of players for this club at this time (whether we agree with his and the club's decisions or not)? 

Look, he didn't get us to where we wanted or should have been last season but nor has he made excuses.  He has not defended the season but acknowledged a lot of the problems - and not all were him (as this broader forum has continually noted as we have ravaged players who haven't met our hopes or standards).  Whether he has what it takes will all be revealed this season - obviously.  I am glad he is aiming high but the reality is that City are still the bench mark and are in a prime position to recruit good OS players, having the City franchise behind them.  They continue to build whilst we rebuild.  Sydney will be there and Vucks are recruitung hard.  Popa's team will always be a tough competitor - until the grand final, which if they make it will lose.

Personally I am just pleased to hear some detail from coach and club and recognise it wouldn't matter who it was or what they said, there would be a mix spin/crap and reality. I'm wait and see and hope that everything comes together in season X.

 

Very good input Boyfromthewest you have put in writing perfectly 

3 hours ago, MartinTyler said:

Whilst I get the sentiment of your post I can't agree that he made Mcgowan and Yeboah into duds as they have been duds for quite a while.....Duke was still good enough to link up with the national teams so I can't see him being classed as a dud also. Muller was on a downward slide after his bad injury too.

Yep Martin these players where average before they got here and Duke has achieved quite a lot of his time with the Wanderers. 

[Hughesy]

I appreciate the insight and good on Carl for putting himself forward but these sorts of stunts do more harm than good to the club in the position we’ve been in for the last 4-5 years. I think they’re missing the point. 

For several seasons now there’s been an impassioned interview/letter/address at some point in the off season from JT, Lederer and/or the current manager about how last year was **** but this season will be better etc etc. Then we see much the same and the cycle continues.

Without actions to back up these words, it’s just empty corporate rhetoric. I’d rather hear dead silence until October and then watch a side come out that is improved and competitive. Let our results do the talking. 

With all respect, there’s really nothing new in that interview that we haven’t heard before.

[MajorMelons]

What I got out of that interview:

1) Rhys Williams is a potential captain 

2) Hemed hopefully to be in better form than his 1st season in Aus which if often the case for imports.

 

[Keithie]

42 minutes ago, hughsey said:

I appreciate the insight and good on Carl for putting himself forward but these sorts of stunts do more harm than good to the club in the position we’ve been in for the last 4-5 years. I think they’re missing the point. 

For several seasons now there’s been an impassioned interview/letter/address at some point in the off season from JT, Lederer and/or the current manager about how last year was **** but this season will be better etc etc. Then we see much the same and the cycle continues.

Without actions to back up these words, it’s just empty corporate rhetoric. I’d rather hear dead silence until October and then watch a side come out that is improved and competitive. Let our results do the talking. 

With all respect, there’s really nothing new in that interview that we haven’t heard before.

I have to disagree Hughsey , communication is very important in any environment and the more I personally hear from the coach ,  player with good positive stuff without being overly optimistic the better I feel.

I though Robbo's long read was a good insight into things going on at the moment, all positive without being arrogant.   

 

 

[matty]

16 hours ago, MajorMelons said:

What I got out of that interview:

1) Rhys Williams is a potential captain 

2) Hemed hopefully to be in better form than his 1st season in Aus which if often the case for imports.

 

What I got out of it is that our systems have been put in place to give a voice to those players that he's brought in. We're not aiming for 4th or 5th, we're going to try and reach our full potential as passionate Western Sydney boys. 

[StringerBellend]

22 hours ago, Keithie said:

We could have Corica , (Bimbi, geez that is a kids nick name) , every interview he has done related to a game is" we were the better team and should have won" 

Yes it would be terrible, imagine winning things and making grand finals 

[GE942150]

2 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Yes it would be terrible, imagine winning things and making grand finals 

It helps when you walk into a star studded team handed to you from Arnold and some how seem to have more cap space than every other team in the league every year.

[Wobblies]

3 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Yes it would be terrible, imagine winning things and making grand finals 

Now hang on a minute, just slow down. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about you.

[StringerBellend]

35 minutes ago, Ossified said:

Now hang on a minute, just slow down. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about you.

I'm no Corica fan he's a dickhead, but let's face it he's done a good job at Sydney. Id like to win something again 

[StringerBellend]

37 minutes ago, GE942150 said:

It helps when you walk into a star studded team handed to you from Arnold and some how seem to have more cap space than every other team in the league every year.

How have I suddenly managed to make myself the defender of Sydney FC

He's a dick and yes he had a great base to work from, which comes from the club having a succession plan which let's face it we blew it from season 5 on (we are now up to 10 f me)

As for the cap thing, that's just us making excuses so we feel better. They have used all the rules loopholes etc better than us. Our club can't complain about other use of this when in some seasons we haven't bothered using the all the marquee slots 

[Carns]

1 hour ago, StringerBellend said:

As for the cap thing, that's just us making excuses so we feel better. They have used all the rules loopholes etc better than us. Our club can't complain about other use of this when in some seasons we haven't bothered using the all the marquee slots 

Agree with all that, but they've also cheated the salary cap more than once too.

We've arguably spent plenty of cash in certain seasons and have got sweet **** all to show for it.

[theseeker]

We don't need an Arnold , a Bimbi or even a Bimbo.

We need a David Traktovenko.