Marked for Dylan Beath
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Jan 2034
Dylan Beath 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 Western Sydney Wanderers can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Jan 2034
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.
Player ratings2 Jan 2034
Age has not caught Bozhidar Kraev yet — 8.00
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Match31 Dec 2033
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Western Sydney Wanderers are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings2 Jan 2034
Mark Natta pops up at the right end — 7.87
7.87, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad2 Jan 2034
At 21, Reece Anderson is already the best thing here
An average of 7.29 in a first team he is several years too young for. Western Sydney Wanderers have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad2 Jan 2034
Angus Thurgate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market2 Jan 2034
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Western Sydney Wanderers have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings7 Nov 2033
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.76, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings7 Nov 2033
Two goals and a mark of 9.66 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings7 Nov 2033
Age has not caught Angus Thurgate yet — 8.03
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market7 Nov 2033
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad7 Nov 2033
Angus Thurgate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Nov 2033
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The dugout7 Nov 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Austin Ludwik, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Oct 2033
Angus Thurgate 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.
Squad3 Oct 2033
At 19 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.
The dugout3 Oct 2033
“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.
The dugout3 Oct 2033
Jarrod Carluccio 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.
Squad3 Oct 2033
Kai Mitchell 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Sep 2033
Angus Thurgate 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.
Squad26 Sep 2033
Logan Brown is the real thing at 21
A season average of 7.06 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Western Sydney Wanderers know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The dugout26 Sep 2033
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The dugout26 Sep 2033
Patrick Wood 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 Patrick Wood is on it.
The dugout26 Sep 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Reece Martin, and the manager let it.
Market26 Sep 2033
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Reece Anderson’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout26 Sep 2033
Dylan Beath 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.
Market26 Sep 2033
Melbourne City had somebody in the stand with a notebook, and he was not there for the pies. Watching is free; the next step is not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Aug 2033
He is 20, he is averaging 7.19, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad22 Aug 2033
Riley Johnston is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Squad22 Aug 2033
Reece Anderson 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.
Squad22 Aug 2033
Marco Rufer 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.
The dugout22 Aug 2033
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 Bozhidar Kraev is on it.
The dugout22 Aug 2033
The manager makes an example of Riley Johnston
“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.
Market22 Aug 2033
The Mark Natta story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mark Natta signs something — a contract at Western Sydney Wanderers or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match22 Aug 2033
Position 5, 34 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Market22 Aug 2033
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Aug 2033
19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Western Sydney Wanderers lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad15 Aug 2033
Angus Thurgate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Aug 2033
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The dugout15 Aug 2033
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 Daniel Graskoski is on it.
Market15 Aug 2033
“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 Nicholas Fisher.
Squad15 Aug 2033
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Western Sydney Wanderers would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
The dugout15 Aug 2033
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Squad15 Aug 2033
Nicholas Fisher wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Western Sydney Wanderers have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Aug 2033
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Western Sydney Wanderers lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market8 Aug 2033
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad8 Aug 2033
391 appearances across 10 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Western Sydney Wanderers know what they have.
Squad8 Aug 2033
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nicholas Fisher is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad8 Aug 2033
Angus Thurgate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Aug 2033
Jarrod Carluccio 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 dugout8 Aug 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Reece Martin, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Aug 2033
Dylan Beath 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
Steady
Squad20 Jun 2033
Angus Thurgate damages knee ligaments — 75 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 75 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout20 Jun 2033
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad20 Jun 2033
Angus Thurgate 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.
The dugout20 Jun 2033
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Squad20 Jun 2033
Reece Anderson 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 Jun 2033
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 May 2033
A knee injury of the worst kind for Angus Thurgate
117 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Western Sydney Wanderers lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout9 May 2033
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market9 May 2033
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 May 2033
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.
Squad9 May 2033
At 21, Logan Brown is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Western Sydney Wanderers have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
The dugout9 May 2033
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Squad9 May 2033
Reece Anderson 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 dugout9 May 2033
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 dugout9 May 2033
Bolu Sholumade knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bolu Sholumade trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2033
A knee injury of the worst kind for Brandon Borrello
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Western Sydney Wanderers lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad21 Feb 2033
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout21 Feb 2033
Adrian O'Neill: 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.
Squad21 Feb 2033
Angus Thurgate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings21 Feb 2033
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match19 Feb 2033
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 93. Sydney FC had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Match19 Feb 2033
It needed Patrick Wood to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Sydney FC, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout21 Feb 2033
Half-satisfied: Interim Coach on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 2032
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Perth Glory waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad23 Aug 2032
He is 19, he is averaging 7.07, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad23 Aug 2032
At 18 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.
Squad23 Aug 2032
Angus Thurgate 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 targets23 Aug 2032
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sydney FC have kept their man, and Western Sydney Wanderers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout23 Aug 2032
The manager makes an example of Mark McDonald
“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.
The dugout23 Aug 2032
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 dugout23 Aug 2032
Reece Anderson 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
Steady
Market16 Aug 2032
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Melbourne City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market16 Aug 2032
Perth Glory come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Western Sydney Wanderers did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad16 Aug 2032
At 20, Tom Byrne is already the best thing here
An average of 7.02 in a first team he is several years too young for. Western Sydney Wanderers have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad16 Aug 2032
Angus Thurgate 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.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2032
Western Sydney Wanderers asked and Melbourne Victory said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout16 Aug 2032
“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 dugout16 Aug 2032
Jesse Watson 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 Jesse Watson is on it.
Market16 Aug 2032
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mark Natta’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market16 Aug 2032
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Hugh McGrath may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.