- May 5, 2006
- 62,726
- 70,017
- AFL Club
- West Coast
Urgh.
Did not much with Northern Spirit in the NSL, was ordinary when he was Socceroos coach for a bit, did well with Central Coast with a very strong A-League squad then jumped s**t to Vengatta Sendai, did nothing with them and lated 5 minutes and is now doing well at Sydney FC with a very strong A-League squad.
I don't doubt his ability to get teams playing good football, you can't deny his record with CCM and Sydney FC. But there is a difference between managing a team you see day in day out for most of the year and a squad you cobble together every once in a while. As an A-League manager he's always been in charge of good teams. Granted the Mariners aren't a big club but they had a strong squad by A-League standards. Back when the Mariners were a top side they had great young players coming through. Mat Ryan, Tom Rogic, Rostyn Griffiths, Bernie Ibini, Trent Sainsbury... plus they had some good established players like Zwaanswijk, McBreen, Hutchinson, Wilkinson, McGlinchey... Arnold left during the 13/14 season and over that season and the next they lost a heap of quality and plummeted. I doubt if Arnold returned for the 14/15 season with the Mariners he would've had them winning trophies with the players they had.
As a club manager it appears players like/respect him. Matt Simon, Alex Wilkinson, Bernie Ibini are all ex Mariners players who've played under him at Sydney FC. Brosque, Carney, Wilkshire are all pretty established players who are comfortable playing under him at Sydney. How much say he has in signing Bobo, Ninkovic, Buijs, Adrian etc. I don't know. This is great for the manager of Sydney FC but not all that relevant to being the Socceroos coach. Sydney FC put together the best A-League season on record last year and are pretty much already out of the AFC Champions League half way through the group stage. That is what worries me. The Socceroos might have the luxury on beating up on a few weaker nations in Asia, but it took us extra time after two legs to beat Syria then a play off against Honduras to make the WC.
I hope I'm wrong but Arnold gives me a 'big fish in a small pond' vibe and the Socceroos are anything but that. Guys like Mooy who plays in the Championship, Rogic who plays in Scotland, Cahill who is 95 etc. are our best players, meanwhile our first WC game is against France who have players at Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Man Utd, Juventus and Bayern. I understand Graham Arnold won't be in charge for the 2018 WC but it's a very, very different landscape to managing an A-League club with a bunch of capped Socceroos and some of the best foreign marquee players.
Did not much with Northern Spirit in the NSL, was ordinary when he was Socceroos coach for a bit, did well with Central Coast with a very strong A-League squad then jumped s**t to Vengatta Sendai, did nothing with them and lated 5 minutes and is now doing well at Sydney FC with a very strong A-League squad.
I don't doubt his ability to get teams playing good football, you can't deny his record with CCM and Sydney FC. But there is a difference between managing a team you see day in day out for most of the year and a squad you cobble together every once in a while. As an A-League manager he's always been in charge of good teams. Granted the Mariners aren't a big club but they had a strong squad by A-League standards. Back when the Mariners were a top side they had great young players coming through. Mat Ryan, Tom Rogic, Rostyn Griffiths, Bernie Ibini, Trent Sainsbury... plus they had some good established players like Zwaanswijk, McBreen, Hutchinson, Wilkinson, McGlinchey... Arnold left during the 13/14 season and over that season and the next they lost a heap of quality and plummeted. I doubt if Arnold returned for the 14/15 season with the Mariners he would've had them winning trophies with the players they had.
As a club manager it appears players like/respect him. Matt Simon, Alex Wilkinson, Bernie Ibini are all ex Mariners players who've played under him at Sydney FC. Brosque, Carney, Wilkshire are all pretty established players who are comfortable playing under him at Sydney. How much say he has in signing Bobo, Ninkovic, Buijs, Adrian etc. I don't know. This is great for the manager of Sydney FC but not all that relevant to being the Socceroos coach. Sydney FC put together the best A-League season on record last year and are pretty much already out of the AFC Champions League half way through the group stage. That is what worries me. The Socceroos might have the luxury on beating up on a few weaker nations in Asia, but it took us extra time after two legs to beat Syria then a play off against Honduras to make the WC.
I hope I'm wrong but Arnold gives me a 'big fish in a small pond' vibe and the Socceroos are anything but that. Guys like Mooy who plays in the Championship, Rogic who plays in Scotland, Cahill who is 95 etc. are our best players, meanwhile our first WC game is against France who have players at Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Man Utd, Juventus and Bayern. I understand Graham Arnold won't be in charge for the 2018 WC but it's a very, very different landscape to managing an A-League club with a bunch of capped Socceroos and some of the best foreign marquee players.