Sizing Up The Candidates to Replace Graham Arnold

Sizing Up The Candidates to Replace Graham Arnold

James Caughlin

It was not quite the Friday evening bad news dump, but few would have expected Graham Arnold to resign from his post with the national team late last week.

Since taking over in mid-2018 for Bert van Marwijk, Arnold has experienced plenty of highs and lows in his second stint in charge, with a couple of earlier than expected Asian Cup exits bookending the team’s best ever World Cup campaign.

Despite being under contract through to the end of the 2026 World Cup in North America, the pressure was rising on the former Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners boss after a rough start to the latest phase of World Cup Qualifying.

A loss at home against Bahrain was followed up with a 0-0 draw in Indonesia and the Aussie attack just did not seem to be able to generate the necessary scoring opportunities.

The big complaints from the experts and fans alike centred around the team becoming stale and predictable when in possession and not having the ability to break down disciplined and well organised defences.

While Arnold’s style was perfect for the 2022 World Cup where Australia was forced to play on the back foot against very strong opponents and relying on the “Aussie Spirit” to act as the great equaliser, that did not necessarily work against teams that were just as, if not more determined and incredibly well organised.

During his tenure, Arnold had his moments and the peak was definitely in 2022 with the penalties win over Peru and the tournament in Qatar.

But now the search for a new coach has begun with an eye on first reaching and then participating in the World Cup in just under two years before the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps the biggest failing of Australian Football since joining the AFC in 2005 is the overconfidence in the team and lack of respect for the growing strength of the sport across the continent.

The next coach has to understand not only the playing squad but the obstacles that come with playing in different countries and climates every month.

Ideally in a manner that results in direct qualification instead of the playoff path they took to reach the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

So let’s run through some of the local options and a couple of foreign names who might get linked with the job in the coming days.

Ange Postecoglou

It’s inevitable that this will be suggested, given many fans continually called for Ange to come back, despite many of those same people wanting him sacked after just about every match during the 2018 Qualifying campaign.

He took over in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup and despite not earning a point, at least had the team playing attacking football.

Then in January 2015 he took Australia to Asian Cup glory, winning the final over South Korea in Sydney.

However there’s two big problems with his potential return outside of the fact he did not leave the post on good terms seven years ago.

For starters, he is not giving up being a Premier League boss with Tottenham and by the time Spurs are ready to think about sacking him, the Aussie job will have been filled.

Secondly, and this is the big one, Postecoglou’s managerial style is not suited to international football.

It is no coincidence that his best efforts in the Australian job came in tournaments where he had time to bed in his intricate playing style rather than the in-season qualifiers with players arriving 36 hours before kickoff fresh off a club environment.

This was his response to rumours linking him with the England job.

When the name gets thrown around, just smile and nod because it won’t go any further than those sort of discussions.

Tony Popovic

The natural selection for the role might be the man who was originally touted as Postecoglou’s successor in 2018.

A one time central defender for the national team, Popovic has a strong domestic managerial record having won the premiership with the Wanderers in the club’s inaugural season.

If that was not enough he guided them to the unlikeliest of Asian Champions League titles in 2014 before an ill fated overseas move to Turkey sent him down the pecking order and opened the door for Arnold after another title with Sydney FC.

Since then, he has managed Perth Glory to a premiership as well as Xanthi and Melbourne Victory, all with varying levels of success.

While his tenure with the Victory did not end on the best of terms, Popovic has shown he can navigate the challenges of Asian football and should be able to come in and have an instant impact on this squad.

Kevin Muscat

Perhaps the best thing you can say about Muscat is that his teams did not reflect his hard-nosed, often over the line style of play.

His teams actually played some phenomenal football and he is well regarded by fans in Melbourne and Yokhama.

The biggest problem with Muscat might be his availability, currently topping the Chinese Super League and setting all sorts of records on their way to silverware.

John Aloisi

Is the man responsible for the most iconic kick in Socceroos history now the best option for the top coaching job?

He has built a solid if inconsistent resume at A-League level which got off to a very rough start with Melbourne Heart.

In his first season at Brisbane, he took them to the brink of silverware before leaving the club in the Christmas period in 2018.

Tabbed as the successor to Marko Rudan at Western United, Aloisi took the squad and claimed the club’s first trophy, winning the A-League Grand Final in 2022.

Since then the Western United results have not quite been as good as one would hope, but if there is anyone who understands the pressure of getting Australia to the World Cup, it’s him.

Patrick Kisnorbo

Two years ago Kisnorbo might have won the public vote to succeed Arnold but this is not the best time for him.

He left Melbourne City and after a disastrous stint in France has now returned home, only just taking the reigns at Melbourne Victory.

Alen Stajcic

Similar story to Kisnorbo, decent shout for the job based on his resume but not the right time for a coach who already has experience managing Australian national teams.

His Matildas tenure ended with a controversial sacking, however his results could not be argued with as he oversaw a strong run with the national team.

Since then he has coached Central Coast and Perth in the A-League Men’s competition, while also taking Singapore to the World Cup in 2023.

He has now begun life in charge of the Western Sydney Wanderers and does not seem likely to leave that post so soon after beginning.

Especially now he has Juan Mata at his disposal.

Herve Renard

The beauty of football being the world game is that there is no shortage of options should the decision makers opt to search beyond the candidates that hold an Australian passport.

Frenchman Herve Renard has plenty of experience in both men’s and women’s international football, proving to be a thorn in the side of Arnold’s teams on numerous occasions.

He managed Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup before leading France’s womens team in the 2023 World Cup and Paris games before stepping down.

At the time of publish, Renard is available and might be the overseas coach worth breaking the bank for.