Former Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert hopes for clarity on club's future
Former Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert hopes the club isn't going the way of the Kingz or the Knights.
Founding Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert hopes the club's future soon becomes clearer.
The A-League club is yet to make any comment following a report that Football Federation Australia was set to reject a deal for them to be sold. Chairman Rob Morrison has, however, met with representatives of the Yellow Fever fan group.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday the Phoenix had agreed a deal with a Sydney-based consortium to be sold for $16.3 million over a two-year period, but that it was going to be rejected by FFA.
Requests to the club for interviews with Morrison have received no response this week.
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While acknowledging the role Morrison and the rest of the Welnix ownership group played in saving the Phoenix in 2012, when he was still in charge of the team, Herbert has joined those seeking clarity.
He may have coached the Phoenix in the first six of their 11 seasons, leading them to three of their four playoff appearances, but right now, he is in the dark as much as any other fan.
"I'm no different whatsoever. I'm not saying that I should have knowledge of what's going on inside, I don't, I don't need to have that, absolutely," Herbert said.
"I'm just sitting on the outside, reading, thinking is it going to happen, isn't it going to happen, are we going to keep it, are we going to lose it? It's an ongoing thing.
Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison has met with some fans, but many remain in the dark.
"I understand from an ownership point of view that things may have shut down because they want to get it to a point where they can come out and say, 'hey, this is what we're actually doing,' rather than having a million pieces of speculation in the media, probably 99.99 per cent of which are actually not going to be factual whatsoever.
"I'm sure they want to come with the complete answer of exactly what's going to happen, and myself and thousands of people around the country will be waiting for that decision to come."
Having been a key figure in founding the Phoenix back in 2007, when the New Zealand Knights folded, Herbert knows how vital retaining a professional football club in New Zealand is.
"That's a club that I was a strong part of setting up and getting organised. The last thing I want is it disappearing. It has to stay, it's a fantastic concept, to have a professional football team in New Zealand.
"This club is very iconic. We've seen the Knights come and go, we've seen the Kingz come and go. There's been previous examples where things didn't stick around very long and they didn't look very good. The ultimate is you don't want to have this one being the third one."
The Phoenix are currently without a coach for next season, 11 weeks since their previous boss Darije Kalezic confirmed he wouldn't be returning, and nearly five weeks since their 2017-18 campaign ended.
They have 10 players signed for next season, while All Whites Matt Ridenton and Michael McGlinchey have confirmed their departures. Fellow Kiwi James McGarry is believed to be eyeing an opportunity in Europe. Italian defender Marco Rossi has also confirmed he has left, while Serbian striker Andrija Kaludjerovic has been training with a club in South Africa.
This weekend, the Phoenix will field a team in the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens, which features two off-contract players in Alex Rufer and Logan Rogerson.
- Stuff
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