Usain Bolt, the sprinter, is the bee's knees in the eyes of Paul Ifill but Usain Bolt, the footballer, simply doesn't cut it for the former Phoenix maestro. Photo/Photosport
Usain Bolt, the sprinter, is the bee's knees in the eyes of Paul Ifill but Usain Bolt, the footballer, simply doesn't cut it for the former Phoenix maestro. Photo/Photosport
The Wellington Phoenix's pattern of play may have left some Yellow Fever fans scratching their heads and even feel they have gone back to the good old days of "long-ball" merchants but Paul Ifill says it appears to be an astute ploy of horses for courses.
Taking an agnostic stance, Ifill believes new Phoenix coach Mark Rudan is adroit enough to know there are games he can play to eclipse oppositions, as they did with a 2-0 victory in the opening match against the Newcastle Jets last Sunday, and there are those where they'll have to tussle.
Ifill reckons for Rudan to employ tactics to eke out three points against ex-Phoenix mentor Ernie Merrick's Jets, who were last season's losing finalists, in the Hyundai A-League match in the capital city was a snapshot of that dexterity.
"I don't expect them to play like that every week. I expect them to play a different style of football but, I think, for that game it was the way to go," says the 39-year-old Englishman who plied his trade for the franchise from 2009 to 2014, making 106 appearances and scoring 33 goals which striker Roy Krishna equalled with a second attempt from a penalty kick last Sunday.
However, Ifill gives a swollen thumbs up to what the Australian mentor has done in his short tenure to instil a sense of belonging among the collective.
"I love the club culture. I think it's the closest I've seen it to be since my time there," says Ifill.
He's delighted for Fiji international Krishna's equalling club-scoring milestone and believes that goal will lift some weight off his shoulders.
"Roy's a wonderful player and a very humble guy," he says of a bloke who reportedly spurned the advances of PSV Eindhoven in March 2009. "I absolutely don't want to lose the record because I'm selfish but if it goes to anyone I'd rather it was to him."
Ifill says the 31-year-old striker from the sugar-milling town of Labasa came in for him as an injury substitute.
"People were questioning whether goals would come from someone like Roy so I'm glad he's kept himself in the play and is still managing to get goals on a weekly basis."
Ifill says Krishna, who under previous regimes was employed equally effectively to fill the role of provider to would-be strikers, should go on tomorrow to smash his record in the 7pm kick off at Suncorp Stadium.
"I don't want to look back to see he's only beaten me by one or two goals but somewhere like 66 or 99 goals, you know," he says. "You don't want to equal a record with a penalty, anyway."
He wishes the Phoenix all the best in the challenging stride to make the playoffs to become championship contenders.
While there has been much debate on the use of video assistant referees (VARs) he believes there's a place for it but it'll have to be employed with a much more clarity.
"I like that it serves as a technology but I don't like the way it is permitted for use," he says.
Ifill says despite how good the technology is there are still too many mistakes although having a big screen at venues for the fans to comprehend the referees' interpretations will help minimise those errors.
In fact, the Thirsty Whale Hawke's Bay United player/assistant coach feels it's perhaps best to revert to the old method of "human errors" where ground officials have the last say.
Roy Krishna should go on to smash the Wellington Phoenix club record as top goal scorer from the away match against Brisbane Roar from tomorrow. Photo/Photosport
Ifill umms and aahs when asked about the Usain Bolt saga with the Central Coast Mariners.
"I absolutely love Usain Bolt, the sprinter — love him, what a guy, champion," he says. "Usain Bolt, the footballer, not so much."
He understands the commercial fascination with the former world champion sprinter and multi-Olympic Games gold medallist from Jamaica but doesn't think it's a very good look for the beautiful game in the A-League.
"If it is honestly his dream and he's worth as much money as everyone says he is then surely he should come to play for a minimum wage and work your way up," he says of Bolt whose agent reportedly wants $3 million but who the Mariners have offered $150,000 fulltime contract.
The 32-year-old retired multiple sprint record holder has become a source of amusement and drawn the ire of protagonists in the code in the belief that stamping his authority as the undisputed champion on the athletics track somehow gives him the licence to make outlandish demands on the football pitch.
