“We’re in good hands when it comes to the strength of the passion in our game," Wehrman, 42, a former A-League midfielder and NSL winner with Brisbane Strikers, told FTBL from his base in Oslo, Norway. 
 
“We have those ex-Socceroos right there now on the frontline talking and discussing ideas, firing out questions, and wanting to know answers. 
 
“And we have a young CEO at FFA James Johnson who has come in during some really tough circumstances.
 
“But I have real faith and belief that he has what it takes to take us to another level.
 
“That’s why you have all these ex-Socceroos boys standing up now,” adds Wehrman, who has been an assistant coach in the Norwegian league for the past four years, most recently with Fredrikstad. 
 
 
As for specific issues that are being debated right now in Australia, Wehrman is another who advocates moving the A-League to a March to November calendar, bringing it in line with the big Asian leagues. 
 
“We really need to look at this idea hard because originally we changed the league into a summer competition in 1990, now the landscape’s changed, we must look at this,” he said. 
 
“To have NPL and A-League and youth league coinciding would work. 
 
"And when you play in 40-degree heat in the middle of summer, it was difficult for even me, a country boy from Cloncurry in NW QLD. 
 
“There’s real merit to it.
  
“And you could have an FFA Cup Final and Grand Final at the end of the season together.”
 
Football Federation Australia last week re-confirmed its intention to resume the A-League 'as soon as possible', identifying a number of criteria that need to be satisfied before a firm date for the resumption could be set.
 
However, with the league in limbo, there is a standoff with broadcaster Fox Sports over funding the league. 
 
Could the vacuum be filled in the interim with the remainder of the 2019/20 season before restarting pre-season in 2021? 
 
“There’s time for discussion before the next league games kick-off and the headlines will kick back in," belies Wehrman. “Now is the time to think outside the box. 
 
“I’ve got a lot of belief in James that he can get things right. 
 
"But we need to bring in guys like a Mark Viduka and others, real football people, to use their standing within football to help get across what we want to achieve.”
 
Wehrman has been an assistant coach in the Norwegian Eliteserien since 2016
 
Wehrman’s career spans Australia and Scandinavia. 
 
He began in the NSL winning a title with Frank Farina’s Strikers in 1997. 
 
He later played Perth Glory in the NSL and for the Newcastle Jets in the A-League.
 
At the national team level, there were Young Socceroo and Olyroos 2000 appearances plus 12 caps for the Socceroos during the Golden Generation. 
 
He also had stints in Norway playing for Moss, Lillestrom, and Fredrikstad. 
 
Wehrman remains a strong advocate for the game back home. 
 
He added: "The Socceroos have qualified for three more World Cups since the 2006 edition, so they have held up their side of the bargain.
 
"Guys like Luke Casserly [former FFA head of high performance] and others did a great job. 
 
“The next generation has done a really good job, actually. 
 
“They’ve finished second and first in the last two Asian Cups, but what people I think are sensing now is we can see the decline coming.
 
“We have hurdles to get over with broadcasting deals, better youth development, greater cooperation between NPL and A-League clubs, and finding the balance between unstructured and structured development of young footballers.
 
“But we have the passion and good people, like James Johnson and Mark Viduka. And we need these types of guys right now.”