Football: Time for the Phoenix to spend some cash

Ernie Merrick
Ernie Merrick
OPINION: Whether the owners of the Wellington Phoenix like it or not, the time has come for them to open their wallets.

The Welnix group have some of the deepest pockets in New Zealand and, if they don't want their A-League team to get left behind, they need to start writing some cheques.

They made a savvy signing this year in Spanish midfielder Albert Riera and also added a bunch of bargain-buy rookies but a paper-thin squad eventually finished ninth, which isn't good enough.

Taking the 'Moneyball' approach to sports teams is the in-thing at the moment but what the Phoenix owners might also like to research is that the Oakland A's, who the film and concept was based on, haven't actually won baseball's World Series since 1989.

Winning championships is usually done by the teams with the best players. There's a reason why the Brisbane Roar topped the A-League ladder this season.

Ernie Merrick is a fine coach but he can't spin cotton into silk all the time and, while he had a fair point that the club's best XI could foot it with anyone in the league, no side can play their best team every game due to injuries.

Merrick needs talent to work with and the owners need to recognise this but they seem more concerned about finding a cheaper way to host their home games.

They've also got a general manager who has publicly said he's spending up to 10 hours a day trying to arrange two off-season gimmick games against English Premier League teams.

It begs the question: Is anybody at the Phoenix actually worried about their on-field performance?

This new stadium idea for Petone is about as likely to happen as stumbling across the winning Lotto ticket in the street yet the owners want to sink millions of dollars into it.

For a fraction of those sums, they could buy some decent players who would actually put some bums on seats at an increasingly-deserted Westpac Stadium.

Taking a leaf from the book of the Breakers circa 2011-2013, they filled Vector Arena because they won games.

New Zealand sports fans are some of the most fickle going around but there's one common denominator - they love success.

It's not a matter of throwing dollars at an Alessandro Del Piero-style signing but names trumpeted in the press releases from Phoenix HQ need to set the pulse racing more than Jason Hicks, Roy Krishna or Lewis Italiano.

If the club don't retain Paul Ifill, or he gains citizenship to qualify as a local later this year, the Phoenix could have an import slot open for next season and they need to use it wisely.

Current All Whites Chris Killen, Shane Smeltz, Michael McGlinchey or Rory Fallon could also be targeted for the right price, although a couple from that bunch may need to wrangle out of an existing contract.

"I think we'll have the budget," Merrick said. "I'll let you know if we don't but I think we have."

The Welnix group have said they want to make the Phoenix a financially self-sufficient club in the future but there might be no fans left to turn up to a stadium no matter where they play if they don't make a serious commitment to the playing roster.

- by Daniel Richardson of APNZ

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