A-League 2020: Markus Babbel under pressure as Wanderers falter
Markus Babbel’s future is suddenly in focus as the Western Sydney Wanderers bright start to the season long forgotten for a coach who seems to have no answers to his side’s failings.
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There comes a time in any manager’s tenure when credentials must start to be questioned, and Markus Babbel’s are close to being picked apart.
Saturday night’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle – a third-straight defeat – has left Western Sydney bosses wrestling with the question of Babbel’s long-term compatibility with a club so accustomed to winning.
The previous A-League season was too soon for such scrutiny.
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It was, after all, the German’s first, and in a country not known for fast integration of foreign coaches.
You can add that the bulk of his squad was inherited from predecessor Josep Gombau, and injuries forced an over-reliance on under-experienced youngsters.
But now, with a full season behind him, a revamped playing roster and resources about which smaller clubs wouldn’t dare fantasise, there are, in Babbel’s own words, “no excuses anymore”.
And yet the same old problems keep resurfacing, and the same finger of blame keeps being pointed at the men on the field, men who played “freestyle” against the Jets instead of the game plan he’d communicated.
The upshot is that last month’s brief, sweet moment atop the table is suddenly now fifth, and with the prospect of falling further south when they travel to Wellington and Perth over the next fortnight.
Even the club’s strongest start to a season – a 10-point haul from four games – did not conceal a tendency to be outshot, out-passed and out-possessed, and round five’s lacklustre loss at Western United felt like it had been coming.
Ironically, last week’s 3-2 loss to Melbourne City revealed the most promising signs in attack, despite the stark defensive drop-off.
In the first four rounds, the Wanderers conceded two goals. In the subsequent two, they leaked five.
The trip to Newcastle occasioned a sense of opportunity to reassure fans this team can deliver at both ends of the field simultaneously.
The performance offered neither, and it was only down to Daniel Lopar’s masterclass that the Jets didn’t score four more in a one-sided first half Babbel labelled “more or less a freestyle”.
Yes, they ran the show for 30 minutes in the second stanza and should have had a penalty, but even Babbel acknowledged “even if we got the penalty I’m not sure if we can score”.
What about conceding two late goals? The coach called it a return to “the old situation”.
And how can a team boasting high-quality imports and senior internationals look so humdrum? “A mystery.”
Is he concerned the players aren’t responding to his instructions? “No.”
“Last week (against City) we showed it,” Babbel said.
“We followed the structure and it was fantastic. I don’t know why we didn’t do it here.
“OK, we lost both, but they were different. It’s a tough period for us at the moment, we have to accept this. It’s our fault, it’s no one else’s fault.
“We have to come back and we will come back. Don’t worry, we’ll come back.”
Babbel’s confidence is never shaken; it’s part of his charm.
That charisma undoubtedly helped when club bosses and chairman Paul Lederer met with “over 14 potential international coaches across Europe” and picked the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich defender as the best of the lot.
But passion and refreshing honesty only gets you so far when results are the real currency.
It’s a conundrum for a club used to success right up until the moment Tony Popovic left at the 11th hour of the 2017-18 pre-season.
Nothing has been the same since, but it will be interesting to see how the hierarchy address the current situation, especially in the context of Gombau.
The maligned Spaniard was sacked after finishing 2017-18 in seventh place on the back of eight wins, 10 losses and nine draws with an inherited squad struggling to adapt to Popovic’s abrupt exit.
Last season the club stuck by Babbel after he delivered eighth place following six wins, 15 losses and six draws.
But Lederer has set the bar high this campaign, and he’ll be keenly observing the rivals who’ve proved good things can happen quickly under new foreign coaches.
One case in point is Frenchman Erick Mombaerts, who has convincingly steered City to the table’s top.
Another is Gertjan Verbeek, the Dutchman already chasing a fifth-straight win against Wellington tonight.
Yes, the armoury of these two clubs contains topscorers Jamie Maclaren and Riley McGree, among others.
But that is also strength in recruiting, a front on which Babbel has been provided ample funds and freedom.
Some have been successes.
Lopar and Pirmin Schwegler are the best Swiss imports since Lindt chocolate.
The former has, quite literally, saved his side on a string of occasions while the latter would probably beat a rottweiler in a challenge then outrun him up the pitch.
In terms of visa players, Radoslaw Majewski’s long-term injury was highly unfortunate, likewise that of Patrick Ziegler.
But there’s a sense we are yet to witness anything near the full capabilities of Alex Meier and Nicolai Muller, and Babbel’s own comments suggest Sydney FC defector Alex Baumjohann did not fit the system he himself espouses.
Even that, though, does not account for a general lack of coherence and, as they found out yet again in Newcastle, crucial lapses in defensive concentration.
“We have to learn from these mistakes, I have to talk to the boys,” Babbel said.
“They have two options: if we go the freestyle way I don’t think we have success, if we follow a structure there’s a good opportunity there to get results again.”
All things considered, if Babbel’s players are either misunderstanding his philosophy or simply failing to respond, questions must be asked about why.