1‑5 against Melbourne Victory, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“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.
“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 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.
Western Sydney Wanderers moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Oscar Edwards, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
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.
Raphaël Oyemah 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Alou Kuol
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Barbosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Thomas Doyle 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luke Butler and Western Sydney Wanderers agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
37 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
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.
$190.0K on the table at Melbourne City. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Western Sydney Wanderers asked and Melbourne City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Angus Thurgate 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.
Thomas Doyle 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.
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 Nathan Walker is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thomas Doyle trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The offer from Newcastle Jets for Alou Kuol was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Zach Lisolajski 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Western Sydney Wanderers have made the call to Melbourne Victory. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A loan enquiry to Melbourne Victory: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 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.
Thomas Doyle 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.
Western Sydney Wanderers have made the call to Sydney FC. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Newcastle Jets waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have shaken hands with Melbourne City; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer went to Melbourne City 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sydney FC is saying, and nobody at Western Sydney Wanderers is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Walker was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout12 Mar 2035
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Oscar Edwards to a room that had heard them before.
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 Zach Lisolajski is on it.
Beaten 4 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
In brief
The dugoutThomas Doyle dropped after a run of poor form
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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Western Sydney Wanderers people have started saying his name in the past tense.
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.
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.
Raphaël Oyemah 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Reid has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Logan Lee is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Bradley Collins and Western Sydney Wanderers agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“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 dugout25 Dec 2034
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Oscar Edwards chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Scott Wood will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Western Sydney Wanderers the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings18 Dec 2034
Nathan Walker was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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.
“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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Western Sydney Wanderers has been clear about where Thomas Doyle stands, which is more than many ever get.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Zach Lisolajski 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout4 Dec 2034
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Oscar Edwards to a room that had heard them before.
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 dugout4 Dec 2034
Somebody else is better right now than Thomas Doyle
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Angus Thurgate’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Western Sydney Wanderers needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
0‑3 against Perth Glory, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
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.
Zachary De Jesus 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.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout13 Nov 2034
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Oscar Edwards to a room that had heard them before.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Thomas Doyle
The dugoutThomas Doyle dropped after a run of poor form
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Alou Kuol
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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom4 Sep 2034
Deadline passes with 4 signed and 16 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Darren Beath will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Western Sydney Wanderers the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Angus Thurgate and Western Sydney Wanderers agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Angus Thurgate 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Melbourne City have kept their man, and Western Sydney Wanderers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Thomas Doyle 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 deal with Central Coast Mariners is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Angus Thurgate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Western Sydney Wanderers asked and Basel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Zachary De Jesus 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 name of Jamie Thomas has come up in conversations Western Sydney Wanderers were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad19 Jun 2034
A muscle injury sidelines Thomas Doyle for 15 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Western Sydney Wanderers will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Western Sydney Wanderers have made the call to Groningen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.