Why Western Sydney’s fans have been left Wandering how it came to this

Fans in revolt, the captain bemoaning a lack of fight from his own team, the chairman insisting he wears every setback ‘like a stab to the heart’. Where has it all gone wrong for the Wanderers?

Wanderers striker Mark Bridge has battled a long-term injury.

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Desperate times call for desperate measures.

If it seems like hyperbole to describe Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer’s letter to his members this week as desperate, it was certainly an extraordinary intervention amid another season of turmoil.

Lederer’s letter was an attempt to staunch growing criticism in the stands and on social media, and to remind the supporters of the millions of dollars being invested in the future via a new training ground, club HQ and fee-less youth academy.

But those members who make their way to ANZ Stadium on Saturday night to watch Western Sydney face Melbourne Victory could be forgiven for wondering how it came to this: fans in revolt, the captain bemoaning a lack of fight from his own team, the chairman insisting he wears every setback “like a stab to the heart”.

If the Wanderers are to some extent victims of their own success, in the sense that expectations are stratospherically high after the success of the first few seasons, then that is also a function of being a self-confessed “big club”.

All clubs make good and bad decisions, but to many supporters it seems that some unavoidable pain – particularly around being displaced while Parramatta Stadium was rebuilt – has been worsened by a series of questionable choices.

Wanderers striker Mark Bridge has battled a long-term injury.

The choice of Josep Gombau as head coach 14 months ago was the most visible, though the fact Gombau was also short-listed for the Melbourne City job indicates the standing he had at the time. But an appointment made in haste was truly repented at leisure by a squad that looked utterly bewildered by his tactics far too often last season.

The fallout from Gombau’s tenure can still be felt in the make-up of the current squad. Four players were signed in the month between Gombau’s exit and Markus Babbel’s appointment, all, it’s understood, having been identified by Gombau.

One of those was Tarek Elrich, leaving the club with three fullbacks all on more than $200,000 a year – an awful lot of the cap tied up in one position.

Some other factors are unavoidable, such as Mark Bridge’s serious calf injury, which will keep him out for at least another four weeks, and quite possibly longer. But there is an imbalance to the squad when central midfield is being anchored by a 20 and 21-year-old, and natural leaders on the pitch are in very short supply.

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Markus Babbel is looking for answers. Picture: AAP

With little room left to manoeuvre upon his own appointment, Babbel brought in compatriots Patrick Ziegler and Alex Baumjohann, but his dissatisfaction with some of the current squad is clear. With the transfer window now open, two players have left, another’s agent is talking to other clubs, and others will be told they are also free to look elsewhere.

But none can be forced to leave, and in the meantime Babbel has no visa spots open, though the club will push hard to have Ziegler’s citizenship approved by Australia Day which would leave a few days to bring in another foreigner.

But a significant overhaul is likely to have to wait until the off-season, when a whole bunch of players are off contract. That includes four of the five visa spots, almost all of the defence and most of the attack. Lederer’s passionate defence of Babbel in his letter suggests the club is determined to play a long game and avoid recruitment again suffering from a coaching rupture.

But there is still pressure on Babbel, with little evidence so far that he has articulated a brand of football to his squad that can take root. Players, fans and officials are hanging on for the sunlit uplands of Parramatta Stadium next season, but the flashiest stadium will still only be filled by a team worth watching.

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