Sydney FC rebuild begins as Graham Arnold departs for Socceroos

Where to now for Sydney FC?

Graham Arnold waves goodbye to fans after Sydney FC’s defeat to Melbourne Victory on Saturday night. Picture: Toby Zerna

Where to now for Sydney FC?

Graham Arnold still believes they are the greatest team in A-League history — with good reason — and captain Alex Brosque is adamant Saturday night’s loss to Melbourne Victory does not diminish their accomplishments, but it will be a different Sky Blues next season when they look to life without Arnold, and, more than likely, Brosque and a handful of other players.

Arnold, the coach who took the club to stunning heights during his four-year reign, will move on to his new job as Socceroos coach once the World Cup finals in Russia are over in July, leaving the club searching for a replacement.

That is already in the process, but his are massive boots to fill, an act that will be incredibly difficult to follow given what he has helped achieve, particularly especially over the past 19 months or so.

With two grand final appearances, successive Premiers Plates (the only club to achieve the feat), a championship, an FFA Cup and countless records including most goals and most competition points in a season, Arnold has left a lasting legacy for the club.

Sydney have been far and away the best team in the league for two seasons, setting a standard that will be hard to follow.

Whoever follows Arnold will have an unenviable task, though the club will be well equipped to provide the new man with the resources for the rebuild ahead.

While Arnold moves on, it also appears a number of players may have also featured in a Sky Blues jersey for the last time, with club legend Brosque possibly the most significant.

Brosque, who will be 35 at the start of next season, admitted he has yet to make up his mind about his future. The futures of former Socceroos David Carney and Luke Wilkshire, and Dutchman Jordy Buijs, are also in doubt .

Wilkshire, 37 in October, and Carney, 35 in November, have finished their contracts with the club, as has Buijs. Wilkshire is likely to retire though Carney could look for one more payday, possibly at another club or in one of the lesser leagues in Asia.

Buijs, who joined Sydney in the 2017 January transfer window, has been linked with a move to several A-League clubs, notably Western Sydney Wanderers.

For Brosque, who has played 203 games for the club, the way he was talking after the game one senses it would not surprise if Saturday night was his final bow.

“Not really ... I need a break. I have been speaking to a lot of people the last couple of weeks in trying to come to a decision,” Brosque said when asked if the loss had swayed his mind either way in regards to retirement.

“I think I owe it to the club to make a decision (quickly) and allow them to move on either way, but maybe in another week or two after I have had a bit of a break.

“The Asian Champions League took its toll on me physically and mentally. At the moment I really don’t know which way I will go.”

Talking through reddened eyes, Brosque was quick to cast aside suggestions the failure to defend their title will diminish Sydney’s achievements over the past two seasons.

“I don’t think it can. The amount of records these boys have broken, the football they played, that will be in history forever,” he said. “So, until someone comes along and does it better then that will always be there.

“Off course, it definitely hurts to not go on and defend our championship (after) having gone on and done the hard work, winning back to back premierships — and that was the hardest thing to do.

“But rather than diminish anything, it is just that it makes it hurt a bit more.”

Brosque is confident that no matter who comes or goes, the Sky Blues will bounce back while he also paid tribute to Arnold.

“I think the club can repeat the era,” he said. “Most of the team is staying on, it is a very good team and there is still a lot of quality.

“What we have done now is created a very high standard for players that do come in and the players still here and make sure they do not fall away from that.

“Arnie was instrumental in creating that culture and helping set that standard.”