leaving then was odd. but it didnt leave us in the lurch. he got us qualified. 

Graham Arnold gets fired from Vegalta Sendai.

Ange takes a club from the brink of relegation to champions of Japan.

Ange > Arnie

Congratulations Ange! 

Homage and respects to the big grumpy hairy one

This was a subtle dig at Arnie and Harper/FFA.

Agree that Ange leaving us on the eve of the WC was a dog act. But it was probably a culmination of things that led the straw breaking the camels back.

https://www.facebook.com/optussport/videos/1889811367829492/

Press conference live in 5.

Exactly right. I think he just thought 'fuck all those who've been om my back for so long.' nevertheless the way we qualified was incredibly frustrating and I think he'd lost the dressing room around the Thailand game and had to work very hard to get it back. Cracks showed in Russia and then the final two games. The team banded together in the playoffs. Just..... 

The Arnie farce, was a setup from day one.

What a career this old Hellas boy has had. Titles, cups, groundbreaking football, goals....the guy has transcended football in this country with his achievements. There is no question about him being our greatest ever local football product. Before he became ‘famous’ and was jobless he would often sit up anonymously in the stand at Lakeside watching his boyhood team. I’m sure the Japanese will truly appreciate his achievements more than the Australian football fraternity(mafia) ever has. 

Ange was well appreciated in Australia at both Brisbane and Melbourne.

I agree but he wasn’t widely respected or understood, especially outside those two clubs. He says as much in his 2016 book. Ange thinks big and is willing to gamble and lose, to stay true to his objective. That takes nuts, bigs nuts, in a professional sport and not everyone will back such an approach. Ange is not perfect, far from it but he is both our best coach ever and also still one of our most misunderstood and divisive characters. That says more about the rest of us than him. 

Although I have only watched today's and last week's game, it is blatantly clear that there is no way any HAL side has a chance in the ACL against Ange's Yokohama side. Every aspect of their game is superior. Australia has to make some very big changes and soon to avoid falling even further behind than we already are. 

I would say that Ange in my memory is the best club manager we have had and is respected and understood. He wants to do it his way and it takes time. As long as he has the backing of the club which he always had in Australia that will work out. Having success in Japan will only enhance his reputation and if he ends up in Europe people will give him time to succeed.

As a NT manager, purely on results Ange at a global level Ange is behind Rale Rasic, Guus and Pim. He made life hard for the average Australian sports fan that wanted Australia to qualify for the World Cup. With limited access to the players that a NT manager has it takes longer to get players playing your way. Ironically the weeks leading up to a World Cup are the time when a NT manager can put his mark on a team and he walked away from that last time.

Anyway - I hope his latest success leads to more opportunities for him in bigger leagues and bigger clubs.

A massive achievement and I tip my hat to him to staying true to his philosophy. It's a damn shame there was so much drama and internal politics in the way when he was coach for us. Over the last year or so he looks so much more at ease and happier. Hope he doesn't rush his next move if chooses to move on in the next season or two and finds a club and situation that will back him.  I find it hard that people rate him so lowly as an NT manager. At the end of the day the only piece of silverware of any consequence we have came during his tenure. I'll forever be grateful to Guus but he had the most loaded Australian team we have ever produced. That was our golden generation at the peak of their powers.

I still enjoy the narrative that Ange walked away from the national team in some unforgivable fashion or somehow ‘left us in the lurch’. His position was virtually untenable at the time. There were clear issues with management, talk of short term replacements being sounded out and large sections of the media and fans demanding he be sacked. No one lost more from Ange leaving before the World Cup than he did.

Also did anyone read what slater was doing on twitter.  Blocking people for calling  him out for being two faced and a snake .

:laugh:

Get extra popcorn: https://twitter.com/RobbieSlater17/status/1203215822308536321

Arsenal should sign him. They won't, but they should. Would go better than their recent managers.

I agree, but you'd never see a big EPL club with the patience and fortitude to get through the Angeball adaptation stage.

My thoughts exactly except I don;t agree he would have been able to fix the team problem in the lead up to the tournament.  He had had enough time already..

He bailed before the World Cup because he knew he did not have the players to play the game he wanted . Every time even a crappy Asian opposition attacked- Thailand FFS- we looked like conceding.  We looked a completely different proposition under BVM and he fixed in  months what Postecoglou could not in an entire campaign.

It was good for us and him that he left, but he should have done it sooner.

He preaches about the overall good, building dynasties, but make no mistake, he's out for number one first and foremost.  That's no disrespect, just a fact and not even a bad thing.  Successful people are usually selfish, single minded, ruthless and arrogant.

 Don't forget he took Yokohama from 5 th to 12th and was in danger of relegation in his first season.  As a CFG appointee, he was allowed  to stay.  None of the Big League in Europe will offer that luxury.  Look at the recent sackings in the EPL

Congratulations on his achievement. A good club coach IF a club will back him. Would not want him anywhere near the National Team again.

Classic Sydney football fraternity out to perpetuate lies against their Melbourne superiors. 

Well  we did sign wenger from japan  in 96 and the papers were like arsene  who?  You never  know the cfg might praise him enough to arsenal

Damn, that was a good laugh

In fairness Wenger had coached in Ligue 1 for ten years before going to Japan, taking Monaco to a Cup Winner's Cup final and a Champions League semi final.

That's not to say that Ange hasn't achieved anything prior as well, of course.

Yes he did but the english press  were insular back then.  They are Still to an extent

Ange has done well, a true test would be to see if he can do it next season before moving to the EPL.

Why does Ange always need a true test? After every achievement, a ‘truer test’ is always around the corner. I mean, Ange says as much himself but it’s almost like other people always want to put another test in front of him, hoping he will fail and they will then have their gotcha moment!