‘An Aussie would understand the challenges’ – Merrick on why he went for huge role

Ernie Merrick reckons there’s no time to waste as he tackles a new job that covers almost all of Australian football, hears Tom Smithies

It was precisely because he feels so Australian that Ernie Merrick decided to take on what might just be the most terrifyingly broad job that football in this country has ever seen.

As Football Australia’s newly appointed chief football officer prepares to take on a vast remit to try to change the game, the A-League’s most experienced coach wants to change the headlines of his job description from day one.

Appointed according to FA to be a “disruptor” in search of reform, Merrick says he actually wants to be more friend than fighter in bringing the game’s competing interests together in pursuit of driving standards among players and coaches.

It’s because of what he calls the “unique” nature of both the job and the country it occupies that Merrick – who grew up in Scotland but moved here in the 1970s – decided to apply for the role little more than a fortnight ago, well after the nominal closing date.

“I thought to myself that if I didn’t put my hand up, I’d only have to myself to blame if I didn’t like what then unfolded,” Merrick told KeepUp. “It’s a unique system here because of the nature and the size of the country, and so it requires a unique strategy to try to change things.

“I’m sure there were excellent candidates from overseas but looking at the job, I just felt it would be hard for someone coming in from overseas to grasp all of that immediately. And you could argue that we don’t have time for that.

“Given that I’ve worked at pretty much every level – grassroots, the Victorian institute of sport, the A-League, coach education – I felt that I should apply for the role to offer that experience.”

Read: Merrick appointed FA’s chief football officer

To illustrate his point about the landscape, Merrick notes that “in Belgium they rewrote the curriculum in the 90s and you can see the results in the players they have produced and how strong their national team is.

“Certainly we can learn from what they did, but you can’t simply replicate it because of the unique challenges here. Our elite players often can’t just travel 20-30 minutes for training or a game.”

Merrick, who seems to have become remarkably diplomatic in preparation for the role, isn’t referring to anyone directly, but FA’s technical director from 2014-18 was of course Eric Abrams – one of the figures who led that reform in Belgium.

The CV he sent with his application showed Merrick’s breadth of experience – winning A-League titles and coach of the year awards, acting as a consultant to Football Coaches Australia and to St Kilda in the AFL, among many other things, including continual attention to his own coaching development (and providing tactical previews to this website).

Interviews with FA executives and director Mark Bresciano led to Merrick’s unveiling on Tuesday to tackle a role that even he admits has a remit that’s “enormous”. The original job ad covered areas from “reimagining” player pathways and “enhancing” coach education through to defining FA’s technical strategy, advising on key appointments including national team coaches and advocating for “major structural football transformation”.

Merrick has been assisting the St Kilda AFL team as a coach consultant.

But the buzzword FA was keen to emphasise – that the CFO will be a “disruptor” – seems less important to Merrick. “I think it’s in the Australian way of doing things, it’s better to be collaborative than confrontational,” he said.

“If people are pulling in the right direction you can create something special. Ultimately we want to increase the flow of talented kids and the whole game will benefit.

“The only way things will work is if the member federations, the A-League clubs, FA, everyone basically, has the same vision on helping young players reach the highest level they can. I think it’s much more my style to work with people, and achieve all of that together.”

Read: Ernie Merrick’s tactical preview of the 2022 A-League Men’s Grand Final

Those sentiments may raise an ironic smile on the face of Rob Sherman, who was briefly FA’s technical director from 2019-20 before quitting over what he saw as the continual clash of vested interests in the game.

That’s arguably one of the reasons that Merrick’s role is rather broader than just technical director and will encompass structural reform such as the national second division.

“It is a huge role but you have to start somewhere and I’d say the priority is increasing the youngsters coming in to the game, improve the pathways to professional teams and the quality of the development opportunities,” he said.

“It’s one thing to coach youngsters and improve that coaching, but they need to be playing against other teams at a higher level if they are to keep improving.

“Coach education is a big part of this role, working on the principles rather than the prescription of what is taught.

“Having worked at so many levels of the game I think I’m across the good things we do – and the not-so-good things. This is an opportunity to have a significant and positive effect on football in Australia.”