2021–22 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2021–22 season will be Wellington Phoenix's 15th season since its establishment in 2007. The club will be participating in the A-League for the 15th time.

Wellington Phoenix
2021–22 season
ChairmanRob Morrison
ManagerUfuk Talay
StadiumWIN Stadium
(Due to Coronavirus travel restrictions)
Sky Stadium
Eden Park
A-League9th
FFA CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Gary Hooper (2)
All: Jaushua Sotirio (3)
Highest home attendance1,948 (vs. Western Sydney Wanderers, 3 December 2021, A-League)
Lowest home attendance1,512 (vs. Central Coast Mariners, 27 November 2021, A-League)
Average home league attendance1,730
Biggest win4–1
(vs. Avondale FC (A), 14 December 2021, FFA Cup)
Biggest defeat0–4
(vs. Newcastle Jets (A), 10 December 2021, A-League)
All statistics correct as of 14 December 2021.

Pre-season

The Phoenix finished 7th in the 2020-21 A-League season, one point short of finals series.[1] On 21 May, the Phoenix announced that head coach Ufuk Talay had signed a 2-year contract extension with the club.[2]

June

On 9 June, the Phoenix confirmed the departure of captain Ulises Dávila in spite of the club's record-setting efforts to retain him. He would later sign for Macarthur FC.[3][4] On 10 June, the departure of Stefan Marinovic was confirmed by the Phoenix after he had signed with Israeli club Hapoel Nof HaGalil.[5][6] On 15 June, the Phoenix announced the return of Gary Hooper on a two-year deal.[7] On 23 June, the Phoenix re-signed Joshua Laws on a two-year contract.[8] Following the conclusion of the 2020-21 A-League season, on 25 June, the Phoenix confirmed the departure of Cameron Devlin, Liam McGing, Luke DeVere, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Matthew Ridenton, Charles Lokolingoy, and Mirza Muratovic.[9] On 30 June, it was announced that left-back James McGarry signed a one-year contract extension.[10]

July

On 10 July, it was announced that Tomer Hemed would not be re-signing with the club for the 2021-22 A-League season. Hemed had finished as the Phoenix's top goal-scorer with 11 goals. He would later sign for Western Sydney Wanderers.[11][12] On 29 July, it was announced that defender Callan Elliot, who had previously played for the club, had returned on a two-year deal.[13] On 30 July, the Phoenix announced the signing of Australian midfielder Nicholas Pennington on a two-year deal.[14]

September

On 13 September, the Phoenix announced that academy players Ben Old and Alex Paulsen had signed three-year professional contracts with the club.[15] On 27 September, Steven Taylor announced his shock retirement just days after being named captain.[16]

October

On 13 October, the Phoenix bolstered their defensive stocks by securing a season-long loan deal for 20-year-old Melbourne Victory centre-back Matthew Bozinovski.[17] On 18 October, the Phoenix announced the signing of Olyroo Luka Prso on a one-year deal.[18] On 22 October, the Phoenix signed reserve team players George Ott and Kurtis Mogg on one-year scholarship contracts ahead of the A-League Men season.[19]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  MKD Matthew Bozinovski (on loan from Melbourne Victory)
5 DF  NZL James McGarry
6 DF  NZL Tim Payne
8 MF  NZL Ben Old
9 FW  ENG David Ball
10 FW  AUS Reno Piscopo
11 MF  AUS Jaushua Sotirio
12 MF  AUS Luka Prso
13 MF  AUS Nicholas Pennington
14 MF  NZL Alex Rufer (captain)
16 DF  NZL Louis Fenton
17 DF  NZL Callan Elliot
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW  NZL Ben Waine
19 MF  NZL Sam Sutton
20 GK  NZL Oliver Sail (vice-captain)
21 DF  AUS Joshua Laws
23 MF  NZL Clayton Lewis
31 DF  ENG Kurtis Mogg (scholarship)
32 FW  NZL George Ott (scholarship)
33 DF  NZL Finn Surman (scholarship)
34 MF  NZL Jackson Manuel (scholarship)
40 GK  NZL Alex Paulsen
43 FW  NZL Oskar van Hattum (scholarship)
88 FW  ENG Gary Hooper

Transfers

From youth squad
N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
8 MF Ben Old19 3-year senior contract[15]
40 GK Alex Paulsen19 3-year senior contract[15]
31 DF Kurtis Mogg20 1-year scholarship contract[19]
32 FW George Ott20 1-year scholarship contract[19]

Transfers in
No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
88FW Gary Hooper Unattached Free transfer 2 years 15 June 2021 [7]
17DF Callan Elliot Xanthi Free transfer 2 years 29 July 2021 [13]
13MF Nicholas Pennington Olbia Free transfer 2 years 30 July 2021 [14]
3DF Matthew Bozinovski Melbourne Victory Loan 1 year 13 October 2021 [17]
12MF Luka Prso Osijek Free transfer 1 year 18 October 2021 [18]

Transfers out
No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
10MF Ulises Dávila Macarthur FC End of contract 20 May 2021 [4]
1GK Stefan Marinovic Hapoel Nof HaGalil End of contract 31 May 2021 [6]
2DF Liam McGing Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
3DF Luke DeVere Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
4DF Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi Unattached Mutual contract termination 25 June 2021 [9]
8MF Cameron Devlin Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
12MF Matthew Ridenton Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
13FW Charles Lokolingoy Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
15MF Mirza Muratovic Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
17FW Tomer Hemed Western Sydney Wanderers End of contract 11 July 2021 [12]
27DF Steven Taylor Retired 27 September 2021 [16]

Contract extensions
No.NamePositionDurationDateNotes
21 Joshua LawsCentre-back2 years23 June 2021[8]
5James McGarryLeft-back1 year30 June 2021[10]

Technical staff
Position Name
Head coach Ufuk Talay
Assistant coach Chris Greenacre
Assistant coach/Head analyst Giancarlo Italiano
Goalkeeping coach Paul Gothard
Head physiotherapist Ben Venn
Strength & conditioning coach Aidan Wivell

Friendlies
25 September 2021 Wellington Phoenix 2–0 Miramar Rangers Wellington, New Zealand
 Report
2 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Wellington Olympic Wellington, New Zealand
 Report
  • Mata
9 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix 1–0 Western Suburbs Wellington, New Zealand
NZST
Report
16 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix 2–0 Miramar Rangers Wellington, New Zealand
 Report
23 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Western Suburbs Wellington, New Zealand
NZST
Report Stadium: Martin Luckie Park
2 November 2021 Central Coast Mariners 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
11:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Valentine Sports Park
6 November 2021 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
18:00 AEDT
Report
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
13 November 2021 Sydney FC 1–0 Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
17:00 AEDT
Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

Overview
Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 21 November 2021 TBD Matchday 1 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 025.00
FFA Cup 7 December 2021 TBD Round of 32 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 100.00
Total 6 3 1 2 8 9 −1 050.00

Last updated: 14 December 2021
Source: Competitions

A-League
Main article: 2021–22 A-League Men

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
7 Western Sydney Wanderers 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 5 Qualification to 2022 FFA Cup round of 32[lower-alpha 1]
8 Perth Glory 4 1 1 2 4 3 +1 4
9 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 2] 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 4
10 Adelaide United 4 0 3 1 4 5 −1 3
11 Sydney FC 4 0 2 2 2 5 −3 2
Updated to match(es) played on 12 December 2021. Source: A-League Men
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. The top 8 teams qualify for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participate in a playoff round.[20]
  2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they come from New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
4 1 1 2 3 8  −5 4 1 0 1 2 3  −1 0 1 1 1 5  −4

Last updated: 11 December 2021.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

Results by matchday
Game Week12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
GroundAHHAAAAHHAAHHHHAHAAHAHHHA
ResultDWLL
Position7379
Updated to match(es) played on 12 December 2021. Source: A-League Men
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Notes: Positions show the situation at the end of the corresponding Game Weeks (GW); not the position at the conclusion of matches or game days

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

21 November 2021 1 Macarthur FC 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
18:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 1,188
Referee: Ben Abraham
27 November 2021 2 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Wollongong
17:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,512
Referee: Jack Morgan
3 December 2021 3 Wellington Phoenix 0–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Wollongong
19:45 AEST Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,948
Referee: Tim Danaskos
10 December 2021 4 Newcastle Jets 4–0 Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
19:45 AEST
Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
19 December 2021 5 Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
18:45 AEST Source Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
27 December 2021 6 Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix Gosford
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
1 January 2022 7 Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Adelaide
19:35 ACDT Source Stadium: Coopers Stadium
5 January 2022 8 Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
8 January 2022 9 Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
15 January 2022 10 Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix Perth
18:15 AWST Source Stadium: HBF Park
TBC 11 Western United v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park
29 January 2022 12 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory TBA
19:05 AEST Source
5 February 2022 13 Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC TBA
20:00 AEDT Source
12 February 2022 14 Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United TBA
16:10 AEST Source
19 February 2022 15 Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC TBA
17:00 AEDT Source
27 February 2022 16 Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
6 March 2022 17 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City TBA
19:00 AEST Source
12 March 2022 18 Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix Brisbane
17:05 AEDT Source Stadium: Dolphin Oval
18 March 2022 19 Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
18:10 AEST Source Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
26 March 2022 20 Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
1 April 2022 21 Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
16:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park
9 April 2022 22 Wellington Phoenix v Western United Wollongong
14:05 NZDT Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
16 April 2022 23 Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners Wollongong
16:05 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
24 April 2022 24 Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers Wollongong
18:10 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
29 April 2022 25 Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park

FFA Cup
Main article: 2021 FFA Cup
7 December 2021 Round of 32 Western United 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Geelong
19:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 1,217
Referee: Jack Morgan
14 December 2021 Round of 16 Avondale FC 1–4 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:30 AEDT
  • Reid  74'
 Report
Stadium: ABD Stadium
22 December 2021 Quarter-finals Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:30 AEDT Source Stadium: Casey Fields

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals
As of 14 December 2021
No. Pos Nat Player TotalA-LeagueFFA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Goalkeepers:
20 GK  NZL Oli Sail 604020
40 GK  NZL Alex Paulsen 000000
Defenders:
3 DF  MKD Matthew Bozinovski 200+1010
5 DF  NZL James McGarry 404000
6 DF  NZL Tim Payne 504010
16 DF  NZL Louis Fenton 300+1020
17 DF  NZL Callan Elliot 50400+10
21 DF  AUS Joshua Laws 504010
31 DF  ENG Kurtis Mogg 100010
33 DF  NZL Finn Surman 20001+10
Midfielders:
8 MF  NZL Ben Old 502+2010
11 MF  AUS Jaushua Sotirio 531+211+12
12 MF  AUS Luka Prso 21001+11
13 MF  AUS Nicholas Pennington 500+3020
14 MF  NZL Alex Rufer 504010
19 MF  NZL Sam Sutton 300+101+10
23 MF  NZL Clayton Lewis 60401+10
34 MF  NZL Jackson Manuel 000000
Forwards:
9 FW  ENG David Ball 60401+10
10 FW  AUS Reno Piscopo 504010
18 FW  NZL Ben Waine 621+3022
32 FW  NZL George Ott 000000
43 FW  NZL Oskar van Hattum 20001+10
88 FW  ENG Gary Hooper 424200

Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total goals are equal.

As of 14 December 2021
Rank Pos. No. Player A-League FFA Cup Total
1 MF11 Jaushua Sotirio123
2 FW18 Ben Waine022
FW88 Gary Hooper202
4 FW12 Luka Prso011

Assists

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total assists are equal.

As of 14 December 2021
Rank Pos. No. Player A-League FFA Cup Total
1 FW9 David Ball112
2 DF14 Alex Rufer011
DF16 Louis Fenton011
DF17 Callan Elliot011
DF18 Ben Waine011

Clean sheets

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal.

As of 14 December 2021
Rank Pos. No. Player A-League FFA Cup Total
1 GK20 Oli Sail011

Disciplinary records

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total disciplinary records are equal.

As of 14 December 2021
Pos. No. Name A-League FFA Cup Total
FW9 David Ball301040
MF14 Alex Rufer200020
DF6 Tim Payne100010
MF8 Ben Old001010
MF13 Nicholas Pennington001010
FW17 Callan Elliot100010
MF19 Sam Sutton001010
MF23 Clayton Lewis100010
FW88 Gary Hooper100010

References
  1. Rollo, Phillip (5 June 2021). "Wellington Phoenix rue poor start after finishing one point short of finals series". Stuff.co.nz.
  2. Rollo, Phillip (21 May 2021). "Coach Ufuk Talay sticking with Wellington Phoenix after signing contract extension". Stuff.co.nz.
  3. "Wellington Phoenix Confirm Davila's Departure from Club". Wellington Phoenix. 9 June 2021.
  4. Rollo, Phillip (20 May 2021). "Wellington Phoenix captain Ulises Davila to join rival A-League club Macarthur". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. "Wellington Phoenix Farewell Stefan Marinovic". Wellington Phoenix. 10 June 2021.
  6. Rollo, Phillip (31 May 2021). "Israeli Premier League club announces signing of Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  7. Rollo, Phillip (15 June 2021). "Former Celtic star Gary Hooper returning to Wellington Phoenix on two-year deal". Stuff.co.nz.
  8. "Wellington Phoenix Re-Signs Joshua Laws". Wellington Phoenix. 23 June 2021.
  9. Rollo, Phillip (25 June 2021). "Starting midfielder Cam Devlin among seven players leaving the Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  10. Rollo, Phillip (30 June 2021). "All Whites defender James McGarry re-signs with Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  11. "Hemed Departs Wellington Phoenix". Wellington Phoenix. 10 July 2021.
  12. Rollo, Phillip (11 July 2021). "Tomer Hemed joins Western Sydney Wanderers after leaving Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  13. Rollo, Phillip (29 July 2021). "OlyWhites defender Callan Elliot returning to Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  14. Rollo, Phillip (30 July 2021). "The next Reno Piscopo? Wellington Phoenix sign Australian-Italian midfielder". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  15. "Wellington Phoenix Sign Academy Players Ben Old and Alex Paulsen". Wellington Phoenix. 13 September 2021.
  16. Rollo, Phillip (27 September 2021). "Wellington Phoenix defender Steven Taylor retires days after being named captain". Stuff.co.nz.
  17. Rollo, Phillip (13 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix sign young defender on loan from Melbourne Victory". Stuff.co.nz.
  18. Rollo, Phillip (18 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix men sign Australia under-23 midfielder Luka Pršo". Stuff.
  19. Rollo, Phillip (22 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix sign George Ott and Kurtis Mogg on scholarship deals". Stuff.
  20. "FFA Cup to introduce Hyundai A-League play-off process from 2020". Football Federation Australia. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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