9. ERNIE MERRICK

Season Club managed GM W D L W % D % L % GS GC
2018-19 Newcastle Jets   27 10 5 12 37.04% 18.52% 44.44% 40 36

Merrick was our coach of the season last year, a fairly flattering suggestion given Graham Arnold and Kevin Muscat's respective accomplishments, if you ask us. 

But we in the media love to build them up just to tear them back down again, so he takes the ninth-placed gong this time around. However, if there's one thing that rings true about Godfather Ernie, it's just when you think that he's out, he pulls you back in.

From the highs of Melbourne Victory's dominance to the lows of Wellington Phoenix and back again, Merrick's coaching career has been a rollercoaster of itself and this season was one of the scary parts.

We're not saying he isn't a fitting gruff ol' foreman to supervise a Newcastle rebuild, staggeringly soon after making the Grand Final, albeit. But it was a little unsettling watching such a well-drilled outfit descend so quickly into periods of disorganised chaos. 

Merrick's shoot-first, focus-on-tactics later approach turned a side renowned for their dazzling counter-attacking finesse into a slightly series of repetitive slogfests.

It also turned a banging MacDonald Jones Stadium back into Thursday nights at Eltham Library. For the sake of that wicked atmosphere, here's hoping the hunted can become the Hunter once again.