8. MARKUS BABBEL

Season Club managed GM W D L W % D % L % GS GC
2018-19 Western Sydney Wanderers   27 6 6 15 22.22% 22.22% 55.56% 42 54

Okay, we're prepared to eat our hats a little on this one if the German legend finishes below Merrick's men again next season, but despite the 11 point gap between the Wanderers and Jets suggesting otherwise, we think Babbel had a better campaign.

It couldn't have been easy in his first season Down Under to remedy rambunctious stars and a disorganised squad still reeling from Tony Popovic's departure.

Not to mention tackling a challenge the Wanderers had never faced before: a cavernous atmosphere at ANZ Stadium.

Honourable mentions for the shards of glass and concrete wickets at Spotless Stadium but the less said about that the better.

What is worth mentioning is that Babbel's unique man-management focus on denigrating his players at every opportunity, for the most part, backfired badly.

But then something shifted in Wanderland, four wins and two draws from his final 10 games probably saving his coaching career. With a fresh-faced squad and a fresh-surfaced stadium next season, Babbel may be able to justify our (limited) faith in him. 

If not, we can just chalk the extra points down to those purple sweaters.