Babbel sacked by Wanderers after run of poor results

German coach Markus Babbel has been sacked by Western Sydney Wanderers after winning just 10 of 41 A-League matches.

Babbel

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Markus Babbel Source: Getty Images

The final nail in Babbel's coffin appears to be Sunday night's 1-0 loss at home to Perth Glory at the hands of former Wanderers coach Tony Popovic. 

Babbel lost 23 games while in charge of the 2014 Asian Champions League winners, averaging just 0.93 points per match. 

Of all the 29 A-League coaches to be in charge for more than 30 matches only Paul Okon, who coached Central Coast Mariners from 2016-2018, has fewer points per match (0.86).

Babbel's time coincided with the Wanderers moving into their new state-of-the-art Stadium in Parramatta, and although the season started well including a 1-0 win over local rivals Sydney FC in front of a sold-out crowd in October, poor results and performances have seen attendances fall. 

Just over 10,000 people turned up to watch Sunday's loss to Perth - their lowest crowd of the season. 

The Wanderers have the bye this coming weekend and then will play their next game away to the Central Coast Mariners on February 2.  

“It is unfortunate that we have needed to take this course of action because we have a great relationship with Markus,” said Wanderers Chairman Paul Lederer via a club statement.  

“However we firmly believe that we have a great squad and the results are most definitely not reflective of the ability of the players at this club and certainly do not reflect the aspirations of the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club.  

“We have total faith in the group of players here at the Wanderers and look forward to pushing on with renewed vigour towards the finals series.”  

Jean Paul de Marigny has been appointed as caretaker coach, supported by assistant coach Labinot Haliti, while the club commences its search for a new head coach. 


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2 min read
Published 20 January 2020 10:58am
Source: SBS The World Game


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