Wanderers shouldn’t rush to boot Babbel, says ex-captain Cornthwaite

Under-pressure Western Sydney Wanderers coach Markus Babbel should be allowed to ride out the storm and lead the club into their homecoming at the newly rebuilt Bankwest Stadium next season.

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Markus Babbel Source: AAP

That’s the view of former Red and Black skipper Robbie Cornthwaite as scrutiny mounts on the outspoken German after a run of eight defeats in 10 games and the quest for an A-League finals spot already a lost cause.

Despite an apparent disconnect between the coach and his players - whom Babbel has castigated on a regular basis this season - Cornthwaite is not expecting a repeat of the knee-jerk response which prematurely cut short the tenure of his predecessor Josep Gombau.

Cornthwaite, who was one of the Spaniard’s critics, told The World Game: “I think Babbel will have at least until the end of the season, when the club will then reassess things.

“The finals are out of reach, and there’s probably no point in making a big shock decision (over the former Liverpool defender’s future). That said, in football you never know.

“You’ve got the new stadium to come and I’d expect him to be looking at which players to keep and which to let go of. Maybe also source some foreigners for next season.”

Cornthwaite - who retired in 2018 after a 13-year career which earned him seven Socceroos caps - said the initial feedback he received from former teammates over Babbel was positive.

“I heard initially they liked his style and the way he was going about things,” said the defender who skippered the team over 18 months under Tony Popovic and then Gombau.

“I would say though that a lot of coaches come out and say ‘my team can’t defend, my team’s not fit’. But it’s the responsibility of the coach to make sure they can defend and are fit.

“It’s valid to say that the squad isn’t what he wants, since he didn’t put it together. Although he did add some players.

“Ultimately though you want to see improvement and there hasn’t been a lot of that.

“Even Central Coast, as bad as they’ve been, have looked better in recent weeks. You haven’t seen that with the Wanderers - and that’s a concern for the coach and the club.”

Babbel’s latest tirade against his team came in the wake of Friday’s horror 5-1 home loss against Newcastle Jets, when questioned what it means to the latest generation of players to suffer a defeat.

“If I lost 5-1, I would be upset for the whole week. They, after five minutes, it’s like normal life. This is not an Australian problem, but a world problem. The generation is different,” he observed.

But Cornthwaite defended the attitude of Wanderers’ latest crop.

“As much as the older generation will come out and say the young ones don’t care, of course they care,” he insisted.

“They’re the ones who have to cop a lot of shit from the fans and the media.

“Everybody wants to be a professional player but you have to remember that in Australia some of these young guys that are getting criticized are on pretty basic wages.

“Some of them are on minimum-wage, which is $50,000, which is great for a 20-year-old but the amount of scrutiny they getting for that money sometimes doesn’t add up.

“People say ‘oh there’s the pressure of relegation in Europe’. That’s true but those players tend to be on a lot more money.”

Cornthwaite believes that while the Wanderers hierarchy won’t be happy with Babbel to this point, he isn’t under the blowtorch in the same way that Gombau was.

“Gombau was the first manager after the Poppa era and faced huge pressure and didn’t get much leeway,” he added.

“Now you’re onto your second manager, and things are similar but I’m sure they’ll be less likely to make another quick move and will be prepared to let the season play out, and see why happens in the last 10 games.

“They’ve signed Mitch Duke and Kwame Yeboah and will want to see how they can improve the team.

“They’ll see if Markus wants to stay, what he thinks about the new season and what players he wants to bring in.

“I don’t have any inside knowledge but I suspect heavy investment will be made in the team (by owner Paul Lederer) to get the new stadium full for every game, and get off to a flying start.”

Cornthwaite sees a silver lining in the emergence of youngsters like goalkeeper Nick Suman, defenders Tass Mourdoukoutas and Tate Russell, midfielder Jordan O’Doherty and striker Abraham Majok, who have racked up 40 appearances between them.

“The future is very bright with the youth set up they have there,” he said.

“A lot of those players have stepped up when they’ve had the opportunity and it’s a matter of marrying that with the right experience and the right manager. Those are positives for the club.

“But confidence is low for the whole squad and when that happens results aren’t the best.”

Does he expect Babbel to rein in the rhetoric during the remainder of the season?

“Obviously Babbel has his way of doing things, and if he thinks that’s the best way to get results then I’m sure that’s what he’s going to do,” he added.