Terry Maddaford: Recruitment vital for Herbert

Ricki Herbert. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Simply put, the Wellington Phoenix failed to live up to the hype and expectation.

A late-season rally salvaged something from their fifth Hyundai A-League season, but that really only papered over the cracks.

Now for coach Ricki Herbert the three Rs - retention, recruitment and results - are the priorities.

And, highest on that list for a team which only rarely has shaped as a genuine playoff contender, is recruitment.

Too often the public, and perhaps even Herbert, have been duped into thinking they are getting world-beating players only to be landed with lemons - even at this level.

With Danny Vukovic (unfortunately), Troy Hearfield, Jade North already gone and Dylan McAllister, Nick Ward, James Musa, Diego Walsh, Toto and Reece Crowther set to move on, Herbert has some room to move within the A$2.35 million ($3 million) salary cap in assembling his squad for 2011-12.

But, and he is in not being rushed, Herbert must tread warily.

Simply, some players recruited in the past haven't performed to expectation. Results have followed accordingly.

In the just-finished season there were serious misgivings about players falling well short of what was expected. Macallister needed a late-season rally to save face; North showed little until he returned from a late-season Asian Cup stint with the Socceroos; Diego was given his chance but fell well short; ditto Toto who arrived injured and never fully recovered; Leo Bertos, another handicapped by injury, failed to match his past deeds; and James Musa, a youngster pitched in but not ready, all contributed to what, in the end was a mediocre effort.

Problems were obvious at both ends of the field.

Defensively the Phoenix leaked 41 goals. Only newcomers Melbourne Heart (42), Perth Glory and North Queensland Fury were worse. But for Vukovic's heroics, it would have been a much more dismal tale.

On attack the Phoenix managed 39 goals - the sixth best - but without an ace goalscorer teams can't hope to be competitive.

Chris Greenacre was the best of the Phoenix strikers but his eight goals were only half of golden boot winner Sergio van Dijk.

Losing Paul Ifill midway through the season didn't help but Herbert never made excuses.

In midfield the Phoenix had hard-working destroyers but without a genuine playmaker their efforts counted for little.

It is the players who are paid to produce the results. Too many didn't contribute 100 per cent. And, those who did let themselves and the team, their fans and the huge band of Phoenix supporters down with ill-discipline.

Some of the infringements which led to cards were, simply, dumb. To have players handed mandatory two-match bans at the business end of the season is inexcusable and unacceptable.

Travel is obviously a factor. Again, Herbert refused to blame that but the facts spoke for themselves.

They won only twice across the Tasman all season. No team is ever going to win anything with such a record.

Teams coming this way have found it no easier.

Only twice in the past 30 games has an Australian team won at Westpac but they face that trip only once, or occasionally, twice in a season and struggle accordingly.

The honeymoon is long over. It is now time for the Phoenix to front and show they deserve the support they get and become a genuine contender.

If Herbert can get the retention (and here we think Marco Rojas) and recruitment (starting with a midfield general and genuine goalscorer) right, the results will, hopefully, take care of themselves.