Wellington Phoenix general manager David Dome says he is “extremely disappointed” by New Zealand Football’s failure to fully explore how the club’s men’s coach could also serve as the All Whites coach.
Ufuk Talay applied for the national team role with his bosses’ blessing, seeking to combine it with his A-League role, just as Ricki Herbert did between 2007 and 2013.
After six weeks of silence following his interview in mid-December, Talay found out on Tuesday that he had been unsuccessful, when he received what Dome described as a “template email rejection letter from the recruitment company”.
Canadian men’s coach John Herdman is understood to have been NZ Football’s preferred candidate, though he has since committed himself publicly to his existing job, with the North American nation preparing to co-host the next World Cup in 2026.
Both Dome and Talay have acknowledged that Herdman, a former Football Ferns coach, was a superior candidate, having taken Canada to world football’s showpiece event for the first time in 36 years in Qatar last November.
But there is lingering frustration among those in charge at the Phoenix that NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell didn’t engage in discussions as to what a job share could look like, especially as there’s now a chance the All Whites coach search might begin anew.
After being rejected in such a cursory manner, Talay has said the “ship has sailed” in terms of him being interested in the job.
But in a country where football resources are scarce at the best of times, Dome feels a combined role could remain an option in the future, which is why he finds it frustrating there was no effort to seriously explore what it would entail, even if it was ultimately going to lead to nothing in the short term.
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay has missed out on the All Whites job.
Dome said he did eventually speak to Pragnell this week and was told the All Whites coach would have to be based in Auckland, which would effectively mean the Phoenix would have to be based to Auckland if one person was to hold both jobs.
“What that says to me is that there was really never a realistic option that Ufuk Talay was being considered for that role.”
NZ Football’s involvement in funding and providing staff for the Phoenix’s women’s team in its first two seasons has brought the governing body and the country’s only professional club closer together than they have been for most of the decade since Herbert’s dual role ended.
But Dome’s frustrations with Pragnell’s lack of engagement extend beyond the All Whites coach search.
“We’ve been trying to work with New Zealand football on a greater integration of the programmes for quite some time,” he said.
“It’s working reasonably well in the women’s space – but it could be expanded.
“Our ability to integrate with New Zealand Football and to work on a high performance arm based out of our facilities here in Upper Hutt [the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport], which we think is a game changer for football in this country, is being very, very limited by New Zealand Football’s unwillingness to interact with us and even talk about it.
“The CEO still has not been here. We’ve been here now almost six months and the CEO is yet to visit.
“We’ve had most of New Zealand Football’s [board members] come through. I’ve had [Football Ferns coach] Jitka Klimková come through who loves it. We’ve had a number of players. We’ve had a number of technical people from outside the game. You’ve got Sweden here [for the Fifa Women’s World Cup in July).
“Fifa have come through it and raved about it and the CEO of New Zealand Football has yet to visit.”
Pragnell has been unavailable for comment since discussing the appointing of men’s under-20 coach Darren Bazeley as interim All Whites coach for two home friendlies in March against China on Wednesday.
He said at the same time that NZ Football had a preferred candidate who was “very close” to signing a contract, but was ultimately unable to take up the job before March due to a family health issue.
While Herdman is understood to have been the organisation’s preferred candidate, a statement issued by NZ Football after he confirmed he had rejected a job offer insisted positive dialogue with such a person was ongoing.
“We will not be commenting on media speculation for the position,” it said. “We will also not be commenting on individual candidates.”
A big reason why the Phoenix were backing Talay for the All Whites job was the belief it would enable them to tie him down for another three years, through until the end of the 2025-26 season.
Now the has missed out on the national team role, the club’s most successful regular season coach could potentially head for the exit when his contract expires at the end of their current campaign.
Dome said the Phoenix would “try [their] very best” to extend Talay’s stay at the club.
“But if he gets a better offer overseas, then we can’t stand in his way, because he’s out of contract, and I think as a coach, everything that he’s done for us sort of proves that he’s worthy of the next step in his career.”
