It is hard to believe that the last time Wellington Phoenix fans saw their side in competitive action, Oskar Zawada was sidefooting home a 99th-minute equaliser that – in a parallel universe, perhaps – would have seen the club snatch a spot in their first-ever Grand Final. But time has rung the changes. The Phoenix are preparing to enter the 2024/25 campaign with an overhauled squad, some fresh foreign flair, and a new, noisy local rival. But with so much change, what can the A-League Men expect from Giancarlo Italiano's side this season? Below, Front Page Football attempts to answer that question, recapping a refurbished squad – including the new faces, the old hands, and the dearly departed – and analyse what the Nix’s pre-season might tell us about what we can expect. We’ll also preview their mouth-watering fixtures, tip you off on the players to watch, and ponder that most burning question – where will the Wellington Phoenix finish this season?
Giancarlo Italiano enters his second season as Wellington Phoenix head coach off the back of masterminding a second-place finish in 2023/24. (Image: Imray's Snaps)
Departures
The seemingly annual flush-out of the Wellington Phoenix squad has become a mainstay for fans. The winter of 2024 did not disappoint, with Front Page Football previously mulling over the loss of six of the Phoenix’s best players by the end of July.
Arguably, the departure of goalkeeper Alex Paulsen – whose transfer first to Bournemouth and subsequent loan to Auckland FC will make that first derby even spicier – will hit hardest.
But the flight of attacking mainstays Bozhidar Kraev and Oskar Zawada – a duo that accounted for 16 goal involvements last year, despite the latter missing most of the campaign through injury – is a blow (mainly because the former, the Bulgarian Kraev, will be plying his trade in the red and black hues of the Western Sydney Wanderers this season).
Similarly, Ben Old’s nine goal involvements and effervescent, highly watchable play will be missed, as will Finn Surman’s presence at the back (not to mention that winner; and no, it was not a Miranda own goal).
Finally, utility option Nicholas Pennington and backup goalkeeper Jack Duncan departed for Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory, respectively.
Arrivals
After a slow start to the transfer window, Wellington – despite the budgetary limitations that will always render a handful of free agents a necessity each window – has recruited well.
The big name? Marco Rojas returns to the Phoenix after more than a decade away from the club that launched his career – he scored two goals and laid on seven assists in the 2010/11 season. The other big names joining Rojas as quality free-transfer additions are former Melbourne City and Sydney FC midfielder Paulo Retre – who, if he makes just eight appearances for the Phoenix, will chalk up 200 A-League Men appearances – and Stefan Colakovski. The former Melbourne City and Perth Glory forward left Western Australia to pursue an opportunity in Europe at the end of last season. But he signed a one-year deal with Wellington after a move failed to come to fruition.
The Phoenix have also picked up young central defender Corban Piper from amateur Auckland-based side Birkenhead United on deadline day and sealed a move for 16-year-old Kiwi winger Luke Brooke-Smith – an eight-time national age-group BMX champion – who signed his first professional contract with the Nix from Hamilton Wanderers.
With Zawada and Kraev both parting ways, it was vital for Chiefy to dust off his suitcase and turn to his Visa spots. And he has – stamping his passport with not one, but a pair of new Japanese signings. Midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa was soon followed through the door by winger Hideki Ishige.
Meanwhile, English goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi, a former Tottenham youth player, has landed with the expectation that he will make the No. 1 jersey his own. Rounding off the incomings are backup goalkeeper Dublin Boon and young defender Jayden Smith, who both received promotions from the Phoenix Reserves; the latter on a scholarship after earning his stripes training with the first team for three months.
What has stayed the same?
Crucially, the Phoenix has held onto a core of last year’s squad. This list includes Scott Wootton, Alex Rufer, Mohamed Al-Taay, Kosta Barbarouses, Oskar van Hattum, David Ball, Lukas Kelly-Heald, and Isaac Hughes.
Other familiar-but-not-so-familiar names sticking around include Fin Conchie, Luke Supyk, and Matthew Sheridan – and all can expect to see more first-team minutes this season.
Of course, key coaching duo Giancarlo “Chiefy” Italiano and his assistant, former A-Leagues playing legend Adam Griffiths, are still in situ—and if anything, will have a greater impact on the Phoenix’s chances of success this season.
Last season, the pair masterminded a 55.56% win ratio. The team scored 42 goals and conceded just 26 (less than a goal a game) across the 27 A-League Men regular season matches. And it is not just the personnel that has stayed the same – it’s the mentality. This should see Italiano continue to put his faith in youth, a strategy we saw most recently in the Phoenix’s 1-0 loss to South Melbourne in the Australia Cup. There was not much for the travelling Phoenix fans to savour that cold evening in Albert Park, but the sight of young prospects Tze-Xuan Loke, Fergus Gillion, Alby Kelly-Heald, and Lachlan Candy all making an appearance – alongside senior squad members Supyk, van Hattum, and Sheridan – would have done plenty to warm the optimism of the yellow-and-black-clad fans that night.
Pre-season recap
How much can we read into pre-season results as a reliable indicator of future performance? The mercurial nature of the A-League Men, in particular, tells us it is a fool’s errand – and Phoenix fans, at least, will be hoping their team’s pre-season record is not a sign of things to come.
Despite triumphing over fellow Wellingtonian side Olympic, the Phoenix have come up short in all their three matches against A-Leagues competition: in September, losing 1-0 to Newcastle Jets and 2-0 to the Western Sydney Wanderers, then succumbing 2-1 to the Central Coast Mariners in early October. While those signs are not good, it is worth remembering that, last year, the Phoenix polished off their pre-season with a 3-0 dismissal by Melbourne City – who, in a reversal of historical roles, would eventually crash out in the first week of the Finals Series. Meanwhile, the Phoenix came to within a hair’s breadth of a first-ever Grand Final.
Key matches
In August, we wrote about the seven Wellington Phoenix matches you can’t afford to miss this season – and it all begins this Sunday, 20th October, when the Nix entertain Western United at Sky Stadium in their 2024/25 season curtain-raiser.
From there, it only gets better, with a trip to Perth preceding arguably Wellington’s biggest game of the coming campaign, when they host Auckland on 2nd November in the inaugural edition of the 'Kiwi Clasico'.
Despite the much-maligned moniker, there will be no love lost as the Phoenix – who have, for almost two decades, been the league's only New Zealand team – look to establish early bragging rights over their North Island neighbours on home soil.
Other dates to look out for include the Nix’s home fixture against the Central Coast Mariners – premiers, title winners, and the only team in the division better than Wellington last year – on 25th January, as well as a trip to Macarthur FC’s Campbelltown Stadium a week earlier. The Bulls’ patch has been a happy hunting ground for Italiano’s side, who have lost just two of their eight games at the stadium.
Phoenix fans will also want to tune in for the Unite Round, which this year will take place on the weekend of 22-24 November. The Phoenix play Melbourne Victory (in a nominal 'home' match) – in the first of at least three meetings between these sides this season. Last campaign, the two teams came together no less than a staggering five times – including twice in a seesawing home-and-away Semi-Final – and each was a cagey, bitter affair short on goals but rarely short on drama. Expect nothing less this time around, too.
Phoenix fans looking for a rest amid a congested football calendar should also highlight Round 6 (late November), Round 11 (mid-week in late December 2024/early January 2025), and Round 17 (late January 2025) in their calendars. These weeks, the Phoenix will have a bye. They will not play A-League Men football—a new scheduling quirk the competition has introduced to cope with the demands of an expanded 13-team league.
Players to watch
Whichever style of football you enjoy, pacey wingers are always fun to watch – and the Phoenix have stacks of them. The returning Rojas, import Ishige, mainstay van Hattum, and youngsters Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues and Luke Brooke-Smith can all line up on the flanks in the Phoenix attack – and, given Chiefy’s use of a style last season that favoured quick transitions and organised counter-attacking play, each should be electrifying to watch.
Ladder prediction
It is hard to tell what kindled the magic that propelled the Phoenix to a club-record second-placed finish last season – and to new heights of goals scored, clean sheets, and matches won. Was it the perfect blend of exciting youth and battle-hardened experience? A new, clever coach with adaptable, responsive tactics? Were many of the league’s historically high-performing clubs in flux? Or perhaps all of the above?
Whichever way you cut it, Chiefy faces a challenge if he hopes to replicate last season’s heroics. New, well-heeled local rivals have landed; players integral to the 2023/24 run have departed; rival coaches have had a season to figure out how the Phoenix play – and how they can be beaten.
READ MORE A-LEAGUE MEN SEASON PREVIEW CONTENT ON FPF
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PERTH SEASON PREVIEW: Another new Perth Glory dawn: A 2024/25 preview as the Zdrilic era begins
Still, the Phoenix have retained a core nucleus of young and (importantly) homegrown talent. Alex Rufer will be there, marshalling the midfield; Scott Wootton will be there, shoring up the back; and Kosta Barbarouses, hoping to build on last season’s 13 goals, will be there, too.
Will that be enough to sustain last year’s levels of success? Intuition says that, sadly, it will not and that the Phoenix will revert to the established mean of previous seasons. Fortunately for Wellington, though, that is pretty good and consistent. With that in mind, we predict the Phoenix to come 5th but lose – albeit bravely – in the first match of the Finals Series in a nail-biting affair.
Do you agree? In the comments, let us know where you think the Wellington Phoenix will finish in 2024/25. Until then, thanks for reading. If you are hungry for more A-League Men preview content, check out the Front Page Football's A-Leagues page! We have done articles on Perth Glory, the three Victorian clubs, and a discussion piece on the intriguing coaching storylines.
We will return with more Wellington Phoenix content after the Nix commence their new campaign – see you then!
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