Marked for Lachlan Middleton
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Luke Vickery is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Alex Gersbach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dylan Scicluna is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
The manager makes an example of Emin Duraković
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Sep 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Western Sydney Wanderers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Bozhidar Kraev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Oliver Randazzo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Gersbach is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Liam Gillion has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Alex Gersbach knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Western Sydney Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Sep 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Western Sydney Wanderers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market17 Sep 2029
Alex Gersbach has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Western Sydney Wanderers they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
Joshua Lakkis: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Western Sydney Wanderers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Trent Sainsbury was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Sep 2029
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Steven Ugarkovic falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
Lawrence Thomas has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
Alex Gersbach knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Western Sydney Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match17 Sep 2029
37 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Sep 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Western Sydney Wanderers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
No deal for Jonny Yull at that price
Western Sydney Wanderers offered $1.1M; Adelaide United said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad10 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Western Sydney Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Anthony Bailey is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Alex Gersbach falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market10 Sep 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
Makai Welch gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
Aidan Simmons knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Western Sydney Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Sep 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Western Sydney Wanderers have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Western Sydney Wanderers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 11 signed and 20 gone
That is the business done at Western Sydney Wanderers until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2029
The offer went to Adelaide United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Trent Sainsbury and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Gersbach is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market3 Sep 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Western Sydney Wanderers, another week without a signature from Trent Sainsbury.
Squad3 Sep 2029
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout3 Sep 2029
Bozhidar Kraev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Aug 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Alex Gersbach and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Steven Ugarkovic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cameron Howieson, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
Liam Gillion gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Liam Gillion is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Aug 2029
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Western Sydney Wanderers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market20 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets20 Aug 2029
Fee done, terms next for Jonny Yull
Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United have settled on $980.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Trent Sainsbury was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Adrian Davies is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Alex Gersbach falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Lawrence Thomas is on it.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joshua Lakkis, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
Cameron Howieson asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 May 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Western Sydney Wanderers can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout28 May 2029
Macklin Freke: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Western Sydney Wanderers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 May 2029
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Western Sydney Wanderers will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad28 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Western Sydney Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 May 2029
Lucky Tom gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Lucky Tom has just signed for Western Sydney Wanderers, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad28 May 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Germán Ferreyra is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 May 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Lawrence Thomas is on it.
The dugout28 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Harrison Devenish-Meares, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 May 2029
Aidan Simmons knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Western Sydney Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Aug 2028
19 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market14 Aug 2028
Isaac Hughes hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wellington Phoenix can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
$180.0K settles it between the clubs for Jordan Holmes
Western Sydney Wanderers have accepted the money. What Wellington Phoenix do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market14 Aug 2028
Luke Supyk has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wellington Phoenix they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
The paperwork begins on Jack Austin
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Wellington Phoenix have done the hard part with Northampton Town, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Aug 2028
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Bill Tuiloma and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Wellington Phoenix offered $190.0K; Central Coast Mariners said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad14 Aug 2028
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.