Alen Stajcic Discussion

[SBW]

4 hours ago, Zelinsky said:

I would not be complaining. He may even score the winner himself, for all I care. 

Before I forget: I doubt that any other AL manager would have dared and field a highly inexperienced CB pairing. We may be unhappy about the amount of goals we are conceding, but considering where they are at in their career, Panta and Bonetig have been outstanding.

And Panta for me is the most exciting wanderer since Santa. 

yeah fair play to Stajcic that he had to stick by with Bonnetig who at times seemed a little bit nervous at defending and looked a little bit scared to get stuck in, something that we were use to with NTS, Beauchamp, Spira and Marcelo but with Panta partnering up with him, he just grew in confidence and seemed more settled at defending

[StringerBellend]

6 minutes ago, SBW said:

yeah fair play to Stajcic that he had to stick by with Bonnetig who at times seemed a little bit nervous at defending and looked a little bit scared to get stuck in, something that we were use to with NTS, Beauchamp, Spira and Marcelo but with Panta partnering up with him, he just grew in confidence and seemed more settled at defending

Bonetig is great on the ball too, I dig him.

With Gersbach coming in at LB we have a decent back 4, although we do need to learn not to switch off at corners.

 

[matty]

On 06/05/2025 at 12:56 PM, William said:

No but we have a bit of luck on our side and if we go on and win we will still have to ride our luck 

But if we consider not winning anything yet based on the repeated calls for Stag out we have actually got very lucky 😃

I don't think many were repeatedly calling for Staj out. 

At most there was a bit of concern and questioning at times.

That should be considered normal, even in a successful team.

[StringerBellend]

I'm happy to be wrong 

To be fair, given our record with managers 

It is somewhat understandable 

 

[sonar]

18 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

I'm happy to be wrong 

To be fair, given our record with managers 

It is somewhat understandable 

 

Yep.

I am happy to say I was wrong for calling #StajOut before our unbeaten run started. Tbh we were playing terrible at the time. They turned it around....kudos to the team.

[Erebus]

It all started to turn around when Jeong got injured and we sorted out a consistent back line.

We leaked way too many soft goals early on.

[immortalshogun]

Happy to have been proven wrong by Staj - build the bloke a statue if we win a trophy

[Smoggy]

I think we would all agree that the Wanderers mentality he has brought back to the club is the big thing. We have found to our cost how hard this is to reinstate if lost...so major kudos there....

Situation as things stand..I know I will be called harsh but even with the great points total he is still at the same stage as Rudan got to..all be it with better performances / run...

I so want him to go beyond the first week of the finals and progress us further, both Staj and the team deserve it.

Staj has got himself in such a good position, he now needs to go out and deliver...and deal with that level of rising expectation. We are all behind him and the team, nothing to fear.

Get out there and get the job done eh.

Edited Thursday at 01:36 AM by Smoggy

[William]

14 hours ago, matty said:

I don't think many were repeatedly calling for Staj out. 

At most there was a bit of concern and questioning at times.

That should be considered normal, even in a successful team.

Ya don’t think , every day pre Christmas  😳

[Smoggy]

Well...I for one always knew Staj had it in him 

 

 

[StringerBellend]

1 hour ago, William said:

Ya don’t think , every day pre Christmas  😳

Isn't a lot else to talk about on here.

You were right those he's done ace. That said huge test Saturday, win that and he's passed the Rude Boy's achievements

[StringerBellend]

3 hours ago, immortalshogun said:

Happy to have been proven wrong by Staj - build the bloke a statue if we win a trophy

Statue 

You need to do this 

 

 

[William]

52 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Isn't a lot else to talk about on here.

You were right those he's done ace. That said huge test Saturday, win that and he's passed the Rude Boy's achievements

Ha ha Stringer you should go to the start of this thread and have a read of the posts July to November , history always makes for good reading 😳

[StringerBellend]

Just now, William said:

Ha ha Stringer you should go to the start of this thread and have a read of the posts July to November , history always makes for good reading 😳

I told you I'm more than happy to be wrong.

I very often am too 

[matty]

3 hours ago, William said:

Ya don’t think , every day pre Christmas  😳

Lol, you related to Staj?

Consensus on here is basically that we weren't too good pre Xmas... so what do you want? Should we say nothing negative about a coach that just came last in the league and had us 13 points up to round 11? 

We had our doubts, some still do, relax and let the conversation flow, no one's going to take your wonderful Stajinator away... just yet 

[WHACKO]

I think it was us naysayers that help motivate Staj...to prove us all wrong.   #STAJSTAYSTHEREWILLBENOPARTEE.

Happy to help    (only joking)

 

 

Happy to be wrong.

[sonar]

The funny thing is that most of us in this forum are the WSW diehards. 

We've all seen and watched a lot of crap over the years and have every right to call it out. 

I was a fan of Staj's appointment in the beginning but there was a time when we were playing like U8's,hence the #StajOut.

Happy to say I'm glad he turned it around. Making the finals is a pass. Getting past the Vics and making the GF should now be the goal. Onwards.

[BoyFromTheWest]

When we were really dire against Brisbane and they played dead soldiers lying around near death, I didn't think he had the nouse to beat anyone. That was the worst match I think I've ever seen - including under 6! I was thinking then that Staj didn't have it and we were going backwards - yet again.

I was wrong! He turned it around and has convinced me. The team is playing well. There is a renewed WSW culture and it feels good again. So kudos where its due and, like others, happily stating I was wrong - but it isn't finished. Job isn't done yet!

[William]

1 hour ago, matty said:

Lol, you related to Staj?

Consensus on here is basically that we weren't too good pre Xmas... so what do you want? Should we say nothing negative about a coach that just came last in the league and had us 13 points up to round 11? 

We had our doubts, some still do, relax and let the conversation flow, no one's going to take your wonderful Stajinator away... just yet 

Hey Matty the relaxation is happening here I am not sure you are so much ,  you made the statement "I don't think many were repeatedly calling for Staj out."  and I gently suggested you to have a look at the posts pre Christmas as your statement was a little incorrect and nothing to do with if we were good or bad or only had 13 points or whatever and what do I want I want nothing but Wanderers winning  championships and I hope Staj for the Wanderers club , players and supporters sake takes us there this year , I want stability in the club not a new coach every year, not a new team every year. 

So in closing it is great that we look to have a future with a stable coach and hopefully even better team next year. 

Go the wanderers see you all Saturday night at Parramatta

   

[MathyouWSW]

I’ll admit that I was skeptical about Staj joining the club after his stint with Perth Glory. I think majority of us felt that way. Glory is in disarray, and even David Zdrilic couldn’t turn things around. Same applies to Brisbane Roar as they are basically in a similar mess as well. With that being said, good luck to Michael Valkanis trying to clean it up.

Moving on, Staj has done an outstanding job in his first season. Does he deserve a contract extension? Absolutely, announce it already! Even if it's for one or two seasons. 

One thing I liked about Staj is his willingness to give NPL players a chance. For years, I’ve wanted to see this instead of the constant 'recycling' of A-League players (in other words, a player going from one A-League club to another one the next following season) which sparks those tired “ and the recycling continues” comments on social media. However, it's going to happen and it'll forever happened due to the fact that the league is salary cap league and only 5 foreign players are allowed for each A-League club.

Although Pantazopoulos was signed under Rudan, Staj has utilized him effectively and has proven NPL players can thrive in the A-League. It shows you don’t always need to chase established Australian players to build a strong team, there are some future stars in the NPL and I really hope Staj or whoever is scouting at the Wanderers can find more players like Panta, Pelekanos or Temelkovski in the NPL leagues.

[StringerBellend]

I was totally wrong although I still hold if he didn't make the 6 then we shouldn't necessarily keep him.

I agree with wanting stability but no point on stability for stability sake.

If we did that we'd still have Gumby ball

He made the 4 and we are are playing ace footy so we definitely should.

He's brought the good times back so for that I'm in love with the Stajinator 

#Istajmyself

Edited Thursday at 10:42 AM by StringerBellend

[MathyouWSW]

2 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

#Istajmyself

I DON'T WANT ANY OTHER COACH
WHEN I THINK ABOUT AL I STAJ MYSELF!

[mack]

Staj flew very close to the sun at Christmas/January after coming in with a dismal previous season at Perth. After 14 games the team was equal 9th (with the Nix in 10th by goal difference) with 1 more loss than win and a barely positive goal difference.

That awful midweek match vs Perth that the team scraped through 2-1, losing to the Mariners then Auckland before barely getting over the line vs the time wasting Roar, it wasn't looking great.

But the defence got more solid after the 3-3 with the Smurfs and the attack began to fire and now there's a long unbeaten streak and we will see just how much Stajcic had worked on the 'mentality' in the Finals.

[WSWJACK]

10 hours ago, MathyouWSW said:

I DON'T WANT ANY OTHER COACH
WHEN I THINK ABOUT AL I STAJ MYSELF!

👏

[Smoggy]

10 hours ago, mack said:

Staj flew very close to the sun at Christmas/January after coming in with a dismal previous season at Perth. After 14 games the team was equal 9th (with the Nix in 10th by goal difference) with 1 more loss than win and a barely positive goal difference.

That awful midweek match vs Perth that the team scraped through 2-1, losing to the Mariners then Auckland before barely getting over the line vs the time wasting Roar, it wasn't looking great.

But the defence got more solid after the 3-3 with the Smurfs and the attack began to fire and now there's a long unbeaten streak and we will see just how much Stajcic had worked on the 'mentality' in the Finals.

I was at that 3 - 3 derby...not so many of us were! Late collapse apart we played some decent stuff that night and for me is where the signs of change started.

[papersun]

13 hours ago, MathyouWSW said:

I’ll admit that I was skeptical about Staj joining the club after his stint with Perth Glory. I think majority of us felt that way. Glory is in disarray, and even David Zdrilic couldn’t turn things around. Same applies to Brisbane Roar as they are basically in a similar mess as well. With that being said, good luck to Michael Valkanis trying to clean it up.

Moving on, Staj has done an outstanding job in his first season. Does he deserve a contract extension? Absolutely, announce it already! Even if it's for one or two seasons. 

One thing I liked about Staj is his willingness to give NPL players a chance. For years, I’ve wanted to see this instead of the constant 'recycling' of A-League players (in other words, a player going from one A-League club to another one the next following season) which sparks those tired “ and the recycling continues” comments on social media. However, it's going to happen and it'll forever happened due to the fact that the league is salary cap league and only 5 foreign players are allowed for each A-League club.

Although Pantazopoulos was signed under Rudan, Staj has utilized him effectively and has proven NPL players can thrive in the A-League. It shows you don’t always need to chase established Australian players to build a strong team, there are some future stars in the NPL and I really hope Staj or whoever is scouting at the Wanderers can find more players like Panta, Pelekanos or Temelkovski in the NPL leagues.

I didn't expect the team to make the finals this season either.  The squad didn't look strong enough to me, happy to be proven wrong.

I think both centre halves have come on a lot as the season has progressed, so much so that they might be garnering interest from abroad,  although both probably could do with another season here.

When you think about I'm sure there's still a lot of guys running around in the NPL that are up to A league level that haven't been given the chance.

Anyway onwards and upwards.

 

[Smoggy]

Another thing a manager needs is a bit of luck also. I know the old saying is the harder you work the luckier you get but sometimes and for some managers they seem to get plenty anyway...

Be lucky Staj.

 

[matty]

15 hours ago, William said:

Hey Matty the relaxation is happening here I am not sure you are so much ,  you made the statement "I don't think many were repeatedly calling for Staj out."  and I gently suggested you to have a look at the posts pre Christmas as your statement was a little incorrect and nothing to do with if we were good or bad or only had 13 points or whatever and what do I want I want nothing but Wanderers winning  championships and I hope Staj for the Wanderers club , players and supporters sake takes us there this year , I want stability in the club not a new coach every year, not a new team every year. 

So in closing it is great that we look to have a future with a stable coach and hopefully even better team next year. 

Go the wanderers see you all Saturday night at Parramatta

   

I looked, there was little to no #stajout, mostly just concern.

[StringerBellend]

56 minutes ago, matty said:

I looked, there was little to no #stajout, mostly just concern.

I don't know I posted more than my fair share of Staj Out, how could I have been so wrong. 

If I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I'd take back all those hurtful things... 

 

If I could reach the stars I'd give it all to Staj 

[matty]

13 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

I don't know I posted more than my fair share of Staj Out, how could I have been so wrong. 

If I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I'd take back all those hurtful things... 

 

If I could reach the stars I'd give it all to Staj 

You'd look good in Chers outfit mate