Multiple Authors
First, Alen Stajcic departed, sacked in January with Western Sydney barrelling towards a first wooden spoon in their history. Then, Ufuk Talay went, ‘mutually terminating’ the last months of his deal with Sydney FC the eve of the March international window, only to then immediately pop back up at Wanderland, while Patrick Kisnorbo dropped into Sky Park as an interim.
Down in Melbourne, meanwhile, Aurelio Vidmar and Arthur Diles, the two coaches from last year’s grand final but also no strangers to riding waves of fan discontent, remain in place at Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory, but are out-of-contract at season’s end.
The silly season is nearly upon us and, in theory, the prospect of the four biggest jobs in the A-League Men — or best resourced, if one of the quartet doesn’t fit your definition of big — changing during the months ahead remains in play.
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– Kisnorbo lands Sydney FC job as Talay stands down
There has been further coaching movement across the league this season, of course. We’re not ignoring the churn at Wellington, Perth, or the Central Coast, nor the rising rancour amongst the fanbases at Brisbane and Macarthur. But it’s in Sydney and Melbourne where we could see four of the standard bearers of the competition, three of whom have provided the league with seven of its last eleven champions and seven of its last eleven premiers, make a move. That could potentially shift the face of the league.
The quartet have the chance to determine just what they want their football to look like, what kind of values they want to espouse on the pitch, and how they’ll go about achieving both. Do they chart a new course or commit to their current helmsmen? The actual scope afforded to coaches across the A-League varies widely, ranging from limited remits within a first-team environment to others amassing broad power over recruitment and football departments. However, who clubs employ often reveals a great deal about how they perceive themselves.
Ufuk Talay (right) and Patrick Kisnorbo will both coach at their third A-League clubs. ESPN/Getty Images
We already know that Western Sydney will bear a new heading, with Talay signing a two-year deal that will commence following the conclusion of this season. If nothing else, it should add some level of spice to the rivalry between the Wanderers and Sydney from a narrative perspective, but any sustained level of extra malice almost entirely rests upon the 50-year-old actually bringing some level of sustained success to Parramatta, something no coach has been able to do in the near-decade since Tony Popovic departed in 2017.
Good for the yarn as it might be, Talay was hardly the top of Wanderers’ fans’ wishlist when Stajcic departed, and Sydney supporters were quickly losing patience even before reports of his talks with their rivals emerged. He arrives at Wanderland without a silverware-winning pedigree, nor a style of play or philosophy that would explain the Wanderers being content to overlook his long association with Sydney as a player and a coach. And given he inherits a Wanderers fanbase that has already started voting with its feet during this annus horribilis of a campaign, there’s little to suggest that anything other than success — rapid success — will endear him in his new home.
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It’s anticipated that the Wanderers will also seek to add a sporting director to their ranks, with Mal Impiombato, still nominally the general manager of football at Western United, and Michael Petrillo, the director of football at City, linked in reports to the role. ESPN understands that Impiombato has had discussions with the Wanderers in recent weeks, but Petrillo flatly denied any talks about a move.
Over at Sky Park, Kisnorbo, an external figure, being named interim suggests he, short of Sydney collapsing and missing finals over their last three games, is at the front of the line for the full-time position.
Any side under Kisnorbo’s charge will run, and they will be ruthless. How adaptable they are, particularly in possession, is a question, but they will jump on teams and not back down if given the chance. The former Socceroo courted controversy with the manner of his exit from Victory in 2024 (he pushed back against depictions of a walkout in his first press conference last week), but figures around the league spoken to by ESPN are not surprised to see him get another chance.
While his two forays overseas have quickly turned sour, Kisnorbo brings a track record of trophy-winning success at City and, small sample size acknowledged, had Victory humming in his seven weeks in charge. Clubs in the A-League want to win football games, and they’ll overlook a lot more than fans will — perhaps to their detriment — in pursuit of that goal.
Further, at both City and Victory, Kisnorbo showed he’s fine working within an established structure, and at Sydney, a sporting director is already in place in Alexander Baumjohann. Should Kisnorbo get the job full-time and Baumjohann, who has drawn the ire of Sydney fans amidst the turn on Talay, remain, just the pair collaborate will be a key factor determining success — Baumjohann under pressure to deliver a squad, particularly foreign signings, capable of winning not just on paper, but when actually asked to function as a collective, and Kisnorbo almost exclusively working with some of the league’s best squads in his domestic coaching career.
Down in Melbourne, it gets a little more uncertain. Diles at Victory, even accounting for an abject 1-0 defeat against Wellington on Sunday, is probably better-placed. A grand finalist last season, Victory, on their best day, is capable of beating anyone in the league, especially given that the environment Diles has helped put in place has allowed Juan Mata to experience a career renaissance. They should play finals and a championship, if they go on a run, isn’t fanciful.
What’s next for Arthur Diles and Aurelio Vidmar? ESPN/Getty Images
Nonetheless, the gap between Victory at their best under the coach and at their worst is considerable, while the team has struggled to find a consistent path to goal; Diles drawing the ire of fans for his public mantra of continuing to do what they’re doing, even when repeatedly blunted against low blocks. Sunday’s loss to Wellington, meanwhile, was the latest in a string of results wherein Victory were completely flat in a game that, while not a major rivalry, could have had major implications for their season. Victory’s brass will need to consider if that’s a hump that can be overcome before committing.
“[The contract] discussions are in the background,” Diles told ESPN. “They’re not things I want to talk about. I’m heavily focused on this season being a very successful season for Melbourne Victory.
“Absolutely [I want to come back], I’m very happy in Melbourne. But next year is next year. I’m not going to let any outside noise get between my two ears, nor my players.”
Over at City, Vidmar’s likely facing a simple scenario: miss finals for the first time in over a decade, and the standards City has set mean his exit will likely follow. It’s what comes after that, say with an elimination final exit, that perplexes.
“I’m not in a position to right now,” Vidmar told ESPN when asked about contract negotiations.” We’re in a really precarious position on the table, and what we need to do to get into the finals. So the focus is solely on trying to get the team into the top six.”
Vidmar guided City to a second title last season despite a wave of injuries and one of the competition’s youngest sides. They reached the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League Elite this year. He’s constructed a defensively resolute unit. Patrick Beach and Kai Trewin have blossomed into Socceroos under his watch, with more potential ones coming through. Nonetheless, goals have proven hard to come by this season — their win over Western Sydney on Saturday was just the second time they scored three or more goals in a game in 2025-26 — and the speed and ruthlessness in possession that defined their best years has waned. Now they’re in a dogfight for finals.
Does the City brass, or forthright Vidmar, feel that he can take this group further? After opting for experience with Rado Vidošić and Vidmar, does the club want to go young, as they did with Kisnorbo in 2020, in the form of assistant Scott Jamieson, former youth coach Alessandro Diamanti, or someone external?
We’ll soon find out. For the silly season is nearly here.
