Clearly the problem is that the year is 2009. Rather than sack Lawrie they just have to wait seven months and they can start winning again.
I really haven't made up my mind on this one, actually. I don't think McKinna did all that bad last year with a bunch of homegrown talent and he had to take most of that squad through to the ACL as well (where they did abysmally, of course). Like Kosmina I'd suggest to wait until the end of next year to see whether or not they should put the machete in and how far, but if he gets some wonderful foreign talent in that meshes well I'd see no reason as to why he should be gotten rid of. Come on, they finished 4th altogether in the A-League which ought to count for a little bit.
Haha that's not a clearout Half the bloody team needs to be let go not just 4, one of which was going to retire anyway and another one wasn't even a one of their own players and more of a loan.
Because I am an incredible nerd I am going to go to wiki and see who has the most foundation players left and how many. Did it: CCM 8 - Huchinson, Heffernan, Mrdja, Clark, Boogard, Wilkinson, Vukovic, Kwasnik* BRFC 4 - McKay, Murdocca, Reinaldo*, McCloughan MVFC 4 - Archie, Alsopp, Muscat, Theoklitos SFC 3 - Bolton, McFlynn, Corica PGFC 3- Harnwell, Coyne, Sekulovski AUFC 3 - Dodd, Cornflakes, Pantelis NUJ 2 - Wheelhouse, Thompson What a surprise, a third of CCM's squad has been with them since 2005, more if you count guys like Simon and Porter. And this is after they've just dumped O'Grady and Gumps. You can make a case for keeping a squad together but holding onto guys like Mrdja and Clark this long is just baffling.
The funny thing is, imo, those 8 players all should be given the boot. Especially the likes of Huchinson and Boogard. Terrible players.
One can only assume that McKinna wanted to keep a stable core to make things work, instead of adopting a more "revolving door" approach with new signings and teammates. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have worked out as planned.
Well... is making three finals series, losing two GFs and winning Premier in a year when SFC, MVFC and AUFC were all shit really worth coming apart at the seams like this? McKinna's done well to get them where they were (though CCM are not as short of a quid as they make out) but his reign has been characterised by consistency and getting the most out of a modest bunch of players. When the big occaisions come round he is regularly outsmarted and now his rigid tactics and freeze-frame roster are biting him in the arse.
Gee- I'm overwhelmed! http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/fo...-coast-mariners/2009/06/01/1243708404250.html
I have this crystal clear vision of McKinna's head resting in the palms of both his hands during the last game of the season as the Central Coast are being bent over by whatever team they're facing. Unfortunately his hands make quite a good basket for the axe swinging above.
I thought McKinna had some pretty harsh words in this article regarding Caceres and Mrdja, although they might be something you Mariners fans agree with: http://a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=28116
Speaking of Mackinna- I didn't even hear about this! http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/105971,arnie-sidelined-as-mckinna-stays.aspx