Feature Image: Rachel Bach
Box Hill United’s inaugural NPLW coach Bob McGuinness has departed Wembley Park, the club has today confirmed.
The 63-year-old Scotsman handed in his resignation to the club in the aftermath of their 2-1 home defeat to Bulleen Lions, the side he coached to a Women’s State Knockout Cup triumph in 2014.
The former WPL Coach of the Year and dual-VPL Player of the Season and Golden Boot recipient has enjoyed a glittering career in women’s coaching, working with the FFV’s State Development Program and Melbourne Victory W-League in the past, where he helped bring through some of the state’s brightest talents, including Beattie Goad, Kariah White, Lia Privitelli and Liv Ellis to name a few.
McGuinness further carved a name out for himself with the Bulleen Lions, taking the reigns midway through 2013, where he lead the promoted side comfortably to safety, despite the club sitting on six points from its first 12 games before his appointment.
He turned the Lions into an exciting outfit, delivering finals in 2014 and a respectable sixth placed finish in the final WPL season.
McGuinness took over at Box Hill United for the inaugural NPLW season in 2016, finishing just a handful of points away from a finals berth and again showed his eye for spotting talent in uncovering two of the finds of the season in American Kristina Hall and goalkeeper Emily Shields.
Despite a promising start to the 2017 campaign – as the club registered a 3-0 win over South Melbourne – the club struggled to string together consistency on the park as they managed just two further victories coming against cellar dwellers Heidelberg United and Bayside United in Round 6 and 7.
Assistant Coach Dennis Georgakopoulos will take over in an interim role, with Box Hill on the search for a permanent head coach.
It marks a turbulent fortnight in the coaching scene for the NPLW, which has also seen Bayside United coach Graham Dudley retire from coaching and Galaxy United’s Vincenzo Ierardo depart for a role within the backroom staff of Melbourne Victory’s Youth side.
Dudley cited the off-field component of coaching as his reason for prematurely leaving the sport.
His role mentoring what was one of the youngest sides in the NPLW was admirable, as he further exposed his young charges to the rigours of the state’s premier competition.
Dudley’s Bayside finished with five wins in their inaugural season, which included a memorable 2-1 triumph against a Calder United side that went on to win the competition that year.
Bayside sit anchored to the bottom of the NPLW ladder, with Steve Stroud appointed his successor for the remainder of the season.
Former Sandringham SC head coach Shaun Parton will assist the senior team within the revamped backroom setup.
Ierardo departed a fortnight ago to take up a role within the Melbourne Victory Youth setup as an assistant coach.
The budding coach saw out his tenure with the club with a Round 11 win over Bayside, with the well-credentialed Kat Smith taking the reigns.
The former Green Gully technical director and current Melbourne Victory assistant coach led her side to a 4-1 win over the Senior NTC last weekend after making her NPLW coaching debut with a 0-0 stalemate against Alamein FC.
The three changes within recent weeks is a far cry from last season, which saw all nine coaches remain at the helm for the entirety of the season.
There were four personnel changes at the beginning of the 2017 campaign, with Rob Giabardo & Bill Mihaloudis taking over from Stuart Munro at Southern United, Melissa Barbieri moving off the park to take up a coaching role with Heidelberg United, while Bulleen Lions went for experienced campaigner Paul Kilpatrick for the top job.