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  • Popovic Abandons WSW On Brink Of Season

    mack

    By mack

    Tony Popovic has dramatically exited the Western Sydney Wanderers a mere week out from the opening of the 2017/18 A-League Season

    Reports have indicated that Popovic received & accepted a shock offer from Turkish side Karabukspor, a  inconsistent, occasionally relegated side who have gone through coach after coach in the past 5 years. His tenure at the Wanderers resulted in the club becoming the first ever Australian winners of the Asian Champions League, while domestically his output was less than expected after he failed to add to the single A-League Premiership the club won in their inaugural season. 

    After rejecting multiple offers from clubs in England & China after winning the Asian Champions league, he has finally accepted what appears to be a quite mediocre club for his first major opportunity overseas. The awful timing sees the Wanderers scrambling to find a replacement manager to take charge of the Round 1 fixture against Perth Glory. 

    One minor benefit for whoever the new coach will be is that unlike previous seasons, the Wanderers recruited well & early, putting together a strong squad with all 5 foreign spots filled early into pre-season. The benefits have shown as the Wanderers have made their way into the FFA Cup semi-finals and have been touted as a top 4, if not top 2, squad in the A-League.

    It is likely that Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer & CEO John Tsatsimas has already potentially scouted new staff as Popovic's contract was expiring at the end of the season, and the obvious targets include Ante Milicic, currently an assist with the Australian National Team, Josep Gombau, who is in charge of the Australian U23/Olympic team. Should the club want to look to promote coach from the NPL they could seek out the services of Mark Rudan, Chris Taylor from South Melbourne, or Mark Crittenden from Blacktown City. Ian Crook will run the club in a caretaker fashion until an appointment is made.

    Ultimately the club will need to move forward quickly from the "Popovic Era", find a coach that can bring quick success to a club that has not won a title for the past 3 seasons. Popovic's style was highly authoritarian, and said to be total control over the football side of the club. It will be an adjustment for the players & staff regardless of who takes over the role, and whoever wins the job will have high expectations from day one.

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    btron3000
    1 minute ago, EmMac said:

     I don't begrudge Popa his ambition, but his timing sucks 

    We have no idea what is going on. It might not be Popa's timing at all.

    To be frank, I don't care about reasons. It is what it is. If it is true (I'll wait for official word. Meaning Taurus of course!) we should celebrate his success at building the club, but move on quickly.

     

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    EmMac
    8 minutes ago, btron3000 said:

    We have no idea what is going on. It might not be Popa's timing at all.

    To be frank, I don't care about reasons. It is what it is. If it is true (I'll wait for official word. Meaning Taurus of course!) we should celebrate his success at building the club, but move on quickly.

     

    Well sure, i don't know whats gone on. I personally think the timing is awful. Which of course doesnt negate his magnificient contribution to the club. Happy to clarify that.

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    btron3000
    • Popular Comment

    Maybe it's because I deal with this sort of thing regularly, but I don't get why people (not here, on Facebook, twitter) are getting mad at Popa about timing. Even if it's totally his choice, so what? You can't control when these opportunities come up. Most people would not turn down a job they want because of timing.

    Also, it's the bloody #popaout knobs going on about it. Anything to have a whinge.

    Popa era was great. Hopefully the next one is just as good. Milicic or Gombau for me.

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    Smoggy
    • Popular Comment

    Timing stinks, but also a sense of perspective here.

    No one person is bigger than WSW, that certainly includes Popa and this has left us in a precarious position for sure, BUT did Popa kick on from the first few seasons, not really. He won one of the biggest trophies on offer with the ACL and we will be eternally thankful but I was growing increasingly frustrated with some of his tactics. This seasons build up looked to be offering something more stable and better, but then there were also hints of the same old issues creeping in, just maybe but we will never know.

    We have recruited well still, whoever comes in will be taking over the biggest club in the HAL and the best supporters, time to look to the future and build something new.

    All the best Popa, thanks for the memories...now lets kick on....exciting times still I think....a new era is dawning.

    Edited by WSWBoro
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    btron3000
    6 minutes ago, WSWBoro said:

    This seasons build up looked to be offering something more stable and better, but then there were also hints of the same old issues creeping in, just maybe but we will never know.

    This is the main thing that frustrates me. There are so many entitled, complaining Monday Morning Coaches in our fanbase and I really wanted to see Popa take us to the Double so they would shut the **** up.

    Not just for now, but so that if another coach had a couple of bad results we could point to this year and shut them up. Unfortunately now they have a green light to piss and moan about our coaches forever.

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    Edinburgh
    9 minutes ago, WSWBoro said:

    Timing stinks, but also a sense of perspective here.

    No one person is bigger than WSW, that certainly includes Popa and this has left us in a precarious position for sure, BUT did Popa kick on from the first few seasons, not really. He won one of the biggest trophies on offer with the ACL and we will be eternally thankful but I was growing increasingly frustrated with some of his tactics. This seasons build up looked to be offering something more stable and better, but then there were also hints of the same old issues creeping in, just maybe but we will never know.

    We have recruited well still, whoever comes in will be taking over the biggest club in the HAL and the best supporters, time to look to the future and build something new.

    All the best Popa, thanks for the memories...now lets kick on....exciting times still I think....a new era is dawning.

    This

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    Neverbloom
    1 hour ago, lloydy136 said:

    gatt reporting kalac gone too.

    **** yes, **** off you piece of human garbage

     

    still love popa but glad kalac is gone

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    Paul01

    Gombau and Carrusco would be a great combination.

    he's been working with the u23 national team and has worked with Aspro, Baccus Jnr, Scott and Sotirio.

    He also watched us last season with all its faults.

     

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    Jukes01
    21 minutes ago, matty said:

    Carrusca may not be the right fit. A decent assistant does not necessarily make a good head coach, think Vidosic or Crook, speaking of which... :(

    Then again he might be a great fit. Every first team coach has to get a chance at some stage. This guy's pedigree is second to none and deserves a shot. Plus he knows the club and the system in place. This close to the season it would be silly not to consider him a strong candidate. You do realise with his background he could also walk into quite a number of 1st team coaching roles. Ex Barcelona, ex-Malaga, we also poached him from a job he was going for at PSG. He accepted us, we are lucky to have him. He is more than qualified.

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    Neverbloom
    12 minutes ago, tardotz said:

    Mark may be ok but I think his heart is still with ESFC

    that is why he would be great as a coach to piss them off :P also he is a good coach from what i know, i would like Gombau though, i do like our assistant coach but i do worry that he might not make a great head coach

     

    i want to clarify i am not angry at Popa, i just wish the timing was different and no matter what people say he has been an amazing coach imo and i hope he does an amazing job in Turkey

     

    thank you Popa

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