"We're a big club, so it's [taking an early lead] no surprise," Western Sydney Wanderers assistant coach Labinot Haliti said, following their 3-3 draw with reigning champions Melbourne City at the start of January.
"All we need is a bit of belief and we'll get on with it. We showed tonight what we can do."
That draw in Melbourne -- and positive performance -- made for one of only two A-League Men's games in the last six weeks for the Wanderers. It's the detail that makes Carl Robinson's sacking on Sunday, after Saturday's 3-0 loss to Brisbane Roar, so peculiar.
With the Wanderers still to host Perth on Wednesday, Robinson has received no clemency to find rhythm, after a COVID-enforced fractured period to play and prepare -- such has been the dramatic disintegration of faith in him, especially given the autonomy he had in Western Sydney.
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Earlier in January, the league-wide issue of operational models and how that impacts squad compositions was examined. The Wanderers are the strongest example of that. Robinson's dismissal isn't without reason when considering the body of evidence on the pitch, but the fact he was given carte blanche to compose the squad he coached -- among other functions -- speaks to more systemic issues at the Wanderers.
This has only been a repeat of consequences experienced with previous coaches Josep Gombau and Markus Babbel. In other words, doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Especially given Western Sydney's effort on Saturday, there's enough to suggest Gary van Egmond's recent hire as an assistant manager effectively rendered Robinson a sitting duck.
Because the Wanderers are really haphazardly composed, in terms of both the overall squad and match-day starting XIs. That Robinson's final game in charge of the Wanderers came against Brisbane, given both have struggled in maximising the strengths and minimising the relative flaws of respective midfields, was kind of fitting.
In their own right, Warren Moon and Brisbane have found relative difficulty in complementing one of the league's best deep-lying midfielders in getting the ball up the pitch, in Matti Steinmann. But with Steven Ugarkovic and the Wanderers, it's been an extremely debilitative case.
For players to have seen a minimum of 90 minutes this season, Ugarkovic ranks seventh among midfielders and attackers in the ALM for combined progressive passes and dribbles per 90 minutes, and third for combined tackles and interceptions per 90 when adjusted to possession volume. In ALM terms, when also taking into his movement off the ball from midfield, he's like a swiss-army knife. That Robinson has actively nullified this with composition is arguably impressive.
Because it ultimately impacts both the quality and volume of shots for both the team and individuals within that collective framework, which is important given how much possession Western Sydney have in comparison to the rest of the league. With an average of 53.2% of the ball per match, they hold the longest possessions in the league on average, at 16.4 seconds per possession. They can effectively keep the ball, but what do they do with it?
The only Wanderers player above the league average for xG per shot (0.13) among midfielders and attackers is Tomer Hemed at 0.32, but he sits well below the league average for shots per 90 (2.02) at 1.26. Dimi Petratos, Keijiro Ogawa, Bernie Ibini and Ramy Najjarine are all below the league average for shot quality, while Ibini (1.18) is also below the average for shots per 90. Nor do Ibini and Hemed seek to involve themselves in the Wanderers' build-up play outside of wall passes, compounding that lack of impact in front of goal. That they have seen extended time together on the pitch, including the 20 minutes where Brisbane sealed the result on Saturday, is one layer.
The next layer is arguably the biggest dynamic for Western Sydney in attack this season -- and it was a question posed at the very start of the season -- how subservient would any potential quality in midfield be to the indulgence of James Troisi and Petratos? We've had enough evidence to suggest this season, that subservience is high.
Among midfielders in the ALM to have seen a minimum of 90 minutes this season, Troisi is in the top 10 for shots and fourth among Wanderers players per 90 at 2.42, but only has an xG per shot of 0.03. But the issues lie predominantly in the build-up -- more specifically, the positions Troisi receives the ball, impacting what he can actually do with it.
This preference in his play was evident at Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United, but it's almost become weaponised at Wanderland. He rarely ever received the ball in positions where he could turn towards goal, but now lacks the relative explosiveness to dribble out of those positions. Both Troisi and Petratos don't tend to take their first touch towards the opposition goal -- allowing defences to recover collective position and get back in front of the ball -- effectively undoing what the likes of Ugarkovic, Terry Antonis and Jack Rodwell can create from deeper on the pitch.
Something that highlights this statistically, Troisi has averaged 5.13 dribbles per 90 this season but a progressive dribble rate of 0.00. One instance for Petratos on Saturday underpinned how debilitative his positioning can be, before even considering his prohibitive decision-making.
Petratos ruins me man. From stopping the midfield joining in when the ball filters out wide, to twice not offering a line of pass given the angles of his approach towards the ball, which then forces a diagonal to the space he's literally gone wandering from. Death.#BRIvWSW pic.twitter.com/y1mBhtCDdN
— Ante Jukić (@ajjukic) January 30, 2022
The minimal scope Ogawa, Najjarine and Alessandro Lopane have received in comparison to these two layers reinforces the jumbled nature of Robinson's matchday selections and squad compositions. That Ogawa's deployment as a centre-forward against Melbourne City -- significantly contributing to Western Sydney's best performance of the season, along with Keanu Baccus' return -- was discarded one game later is microcosmic.
Yet, the problem isn't solely with Robinson and his implementation at Western Sydney, but with the decision-makers at the club who placed their trust in him to control aspects of footballing operations off the pitch. This, obviously, then manifests on the pitch. Not to mention, this ordeal has followed the wildly varying degrees of success that came with similar responsibilities placed upon Tony Popovic, Gombau and Babbel before him.
It's easy to do away with Robinson and present him as a sacrifice to a fan base, but the people joining in the social media pile-on are too concerned with likes and retweets to acknowledge or even recognise the issues deeper than at surface level.
The reality is, as a "big club" in the words of Haliti, the Wanderers are without an identity outside of geography, no semblance of an operational or footballing model, no direction and no evident plan to change that.
And that is insane, given the dire need for sustainability and functionality both on and off the pitch for clubs in the ALM, and the goldmine of talent the Wanderers sit on geographically. Just hiring another coach and leaving it at that, laying the carpet for yet another squad rebuild, is wilful ignorance of a long-evident problem.
The Wanderers have no right to consistently fail, let alone in such a spectacular manner. This goes beyond what happens on the pitch and week-to-week match preparation, and the sooner they act accordingly, the better.