Ernie Merrick

Infobox Football biography
playername = Ernie Merrick
fullname = Ernest Merrick


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1953|1|3
cityofbirth =
countryofbirth = Scotland
position = Manager (former Defender)
currentclub = Melbourne Victory
clubnumber =
youthyears =
youthclubs = Sheelston
Clyde
years = 1975-1978
1979-1984
clubs = Frankston City
Doveton
caps(goals) =
manageryears = 1979-1984
1986
1987-1988
1989-1991
1992-2004
2005-present
managerclubs = Doveton "(Asst.)"
Frankston Pines "(Asst.)"
Preston Makedonia
Sunshine George Cross
VIS
Melbourne Victory

Ernest 'Ernie' Merrick (born 3 January 1953 in Scotland) Scottish-Australian, Ernie Merrick, is the current head coach for the Australian A-League football (soccer) team, Melbourne Victory.

Managerial career

Melbourne Victory

2005-2006 season

In his first season at Melbourne Victory in 2005/06, the club failed to live up to its championship aspirations. With Socceroos Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat in the squad, and the experience of 2 European internationals in Geoffrey Claeys and Richard Kitzbichler, expectations from the Melbourne fans were high. But they were left disappointed when the club finished the season 7th out of the 8 teams. After a promising start which saw them 1st after round 8, when they beat eventual champions Sydney FC 5-0, the team then won only 3 of the last 13 games. In this poor run of form, Melbourne endured a spell when they didn't score for 7 hours of football.

Indeed there was a vocal section of fans unhappy with the way Melbourne performed in the inaugural season under Merrick. Despite this supporter unrest the Melbourne Victory, Merrick retained his job.

2006-2007 season

A second season of underachievement never eventuated. The Victory won the 2006-07 A-League Premiership, 12 points clear of second placed Adelaide United. Melbourne faced Adelaide in the A-League Grand Final at the Telstra Dome on February 18, winning the match 6-0 with Archie Thompson scoring an incredible five goals.

The 2007-2008 season was a return to the disappointment of Merrick's first year in charge however, with the team finishing outside the Top 4 spots and thus failing to progress to the Finals Series. This stark contrast in fortunes has been blamed by large sections of the supporters and the media on the loss of star playmaker, Fred, who joined MLS club DC United after the 2007 Grand Final, and Merrick's conservative approach to team tactics and selection.

The much-heralded 2008 Asian Champions League was also a huge disappointment, with the Victorian team slumping to a low point of losing comprehensively to unknown Thai team, Chonburi FC, and failing to progress beyong the group stages. Their failure to progress was again largely attributed to Merrick's conservative tactics which were criticised and compared unfavourably with rival Australian team Adelaide United's campiagn which saw their fluent attacking play carry them through to the knock-out phase out of the tournament.

Merrick has had a tempestous relationship with the FFA, mostly arising out of his lack of willingness to release players for international fixtures unless forced to by the FFA. Examples include Adrian Leijer, Kristian Sarkies and Leigh Broxham in the lead-up to the 2007 Grand Final, and Nick Ward, Billy Celeski and Leigh Broxham during the 'dead rubber' phase of the 2008 Asian Champions League campaign.

Honours

Manager

With Melbourne Victory:
* A-League Championship: 2006-2007
* A-League Premiership: 2006-2007Personal Honours:
* A-League Coach of the Year: 2006-2007

External links

* [http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=mvfc_coachingstaff&pid=900 Melbourne Victory profile]
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/M/ME.html Oz Football profile]