 I'm going to let our Chairman pull the letter of speech first and just introduce our new head coach if there was anything you want to report. Morning everyone. It's a beautiful day out there and it's a special occasion and we're very fortunate and privileged to have Carl with us and JT, my CEO of course. And obviously you know we have made a change, a significant change and Carl will be taking over the running of the football club as far as professional league is concerned and we're very proud, very privileged. I've known Carl for a little while and I think he's an exceptional human being, an absolute gentleman, a man who played the game at the highest level, knows the game I would say as well as anyone or probably better and I think he's a perfect fit for our club. We have certainly spoken in the past numerous people and it's our duty to find the best possible candidate for our club and I'm absolutely sure in my mind that Carl fits that bill. It's a challenge, I like to think we are a big club and we are to our fans first and foremost, we are to ourselves to find the best candidate to lead us to our future and I've got absolute 100% certainty that Carl is the right guy for the job. I look it's a very exciting day for us and it's been challenging in terms of ensuring that our aleaks fortunes return to where they need to be and I can categorically state we've been looking for the right fit for a while now and Carl is the right fit. We've committed for a period of three years and the next three seasons are going to be an exciting time for the Western Sydney Wanderers, exciting time for our fans and our members in the region of Western Sydney and we look forward to Bankwest hosting an entertaining band of football. It's one of the characteristics that alerted us to the way Carl's team play the implementation of the style. We've built a beautiful house here, we've done everything possible here and I said previously the only thing is the only thing we need to get right is the sizing plate. We just need to put the roof on the house and craftsmanship that Carl will bring and his skills and his Ibramata will certainly put a roof that's befitting the house that we've built here and we're excited and along with Kenny Miller who's a noted name in European football as well. The other element is they've got experience in the Celery Cap League, the MLS success and in a very short period of time they've had a very successful period of 10 and 11 games and one defeat in the Australian context, new to the league and taking the team without the time of struggling and if you take the form table at the time they end up leading the league towards the end. Very excited. It was a change that we needed to make now because we believe in this season and the opportunity arose now so I'm very proud to have you. Well first of all thanks to Paul and John. It's been a whirlwind 24-48 hours. As soon as I got permission to speak to the guys here their vision of what they want their football club to be aligned with how I see the game. Saying and doing two different things. My job is to do. It's easy to say things but that comes down to hard work and one of my qualities I generally believe people who know me will be to get to know the person. If I know the person then I can make them accountable for where we want to go because this football club wants to win and that's certainly in my remit as well. Looking forward to being here. Great opportunity. Fantastic facilities. People talk all the time about European football and football clubs over there but the facilities and the infrastructure here are absolutely phenomenal. I'm looking forward to getting to work with all the players here that we have and getting my mind and my eyes on the academy because there's so many players that are probably not being seen or not being given a pathway to play and that happens in football but part of my remit will be to allow these kids to play. Three years is a part of the conflict but why should one of us be excited about your head coach? Three years and 24 hours in football is a long time as I can vouch for that but contracts are there. Belief that the club have in me. I was at my previous club before I went to Newcastle for nearly five years in my first managerial job but prior to taking my first job I'd been studying a lot and I'd been learning a lot. I'd been on all the coaching courses that I think that every young player, young coach needs to go on to learn, to gather that experience. Yes it was a short stay in Newcastle but the opportunity when it came was too big an opportunity for me to turn down. As I said it's a fantastic club, fantastic people here as well who've got the drive and will and desire to win. It's a project, it's not going to be easy, we know that but I want to do it a certain way and it aligned with John and Paul as well so I look forward to that. It wasn't built overnight, it won't happen overnight but it will happen over a period of time. You're taking over the scene that had one biggest win in the country and had underachieved over the last few years and some fans and others might say that when it comes to the playing group there's a culture problem, there's a problem with the culture here. How might you approach that? I mean you've seen your philosophies out of the hands on a project but hasn't had good relationships with them so have you approached that? Well do it stage by stage, obviously not just the playing group, the staff, the support staff, the people in the office, we are one and we have to become one because if I'm going to be successful at this football club I need every single person rolling in the right direction and that's my job to get them on board. I have to build relationships individually and collectively, not just with players but staff and we said we have to be on the same page and we'll do that. My job is to, people talk about culture and environment all the time in football and whenever there's changes usually that gets brought up. What I will say is I create a learning environment, that is how I believe as a player I wanted a manager to be and that's what I want here. So that's not just for players, that's for coaches as well because if you talk about assistant coaches they would like to be managers one day and people within the office would like to be John. So it has to be a learning environment and it will be and especially when you've got the back amounts of young players which we have, we've got 13 players that have come through the program already on the roster and that probably might be increased as well. If you don't coach them and develop them then I won't be doing my job and I certainly can do my job so you will see me hands on approach on the training field and hands on approach in the offices as well. Well just about three months ago John Valdemarie wasn't there, there's a permanent head coach, why was the decision made now to make a change before the start of this season? Look it's our job, probably it's my job and it's John's job to find the best suitable candidate for the future. We believe to take this club to the level that we should be or we want to be, I think this gentleman is the right man for the job, it's as simple as that. We use our judgement in our judgement, Carl is the right guy to take our club for the future. What were the problems that arose between the last season and now? There's no problems, I wouldn't classify them as problems, I think it's always our job to improve our squad, improve our playing staff, include our office staff as part of management to find the best suitable people to take us to the next level. Look that's a continuous thing, it's an endless thing. I think also Tom if I can jump in there, the encumbered at the time was a long term interim appointment, then COVID hit and then there was a restart of the season. And when the restart of the season was, the following season was to recommence in October and that was the scheduled date at the time and certainly we sat down with Paul on the board and said we need to make a call in terms of whether it's going to remain an interim. But with the season being changed, being delayed to the back end of this year and also pre-season being longer and what not and the extension of the encumbered was only for another 9-10 months. So we thought in terms of the opportunity arising here, solidify the future of the football club and get an understanding of what we need to be for a longer period and that's the circumstances that led to where we are today. So John Paul's marriage is only at the end of the interim appointment despite being made permanent. Look let's say it again, it's our job, our function is to find the best suitable people for the job. That's it, that's management, that's in business and life. We've got to reassess ourselves every year and we've got to look at the new season, by the way we're looking at it super optimistically I think. We've got an opportunity and I think Carl is the right guy for the job, that's it. So Paul, at the end of this year you're not going to play in and you're looking to replace again? No, no, no, look, it doesn't go to play. Look, our club is an ambitious club. We don't want to be on top 6, we want to be the top. I'm like the apologist about that. We're a very ambitious club. I mean, you know, you must have, you do know me, we are ambitious. We're all at the top and we can do everything in our power to make that happen. That's why this gentleman's here to take us there. Is there guarantee, that's what you're asking me. There's no guarantee. There's no guarantee in life. There's no guarantee in football. Football less guarantee than life, to be honest. But that's how it works. I mean, you do your best. That's all you can do. You both mentioned how Carl was the right fit for the role. Can you get into the specifics of that? I think he's background in football for me. His knowledge of football, the meeting that I had or the meetings we had. His character, his attitude, his work attitude, which is absolutely phenomenal. And his commitment to the top team, which I call the A-League, and his commitment to the youth of tomorrow. He's the right guy for the job, am I sure? Of course, as sure as you can be. As sure as you can be. You used to be mentioned a lot, Carl, is that there's going to be less transfer there, so it's going to be focused on a lot of academy. Well, I think when you have an academy which has a number of talented players as much as we do here, I'd be very naive as a manager of this football club to not look internally. I have to do that. I want to do that because, first of all, the objective is to win. We know that. What I don't want to do is block pathways. My job is to unblock pathways for these young players. And that takes time. That takes decision making. That takes me having the ability to watch these players because there's no point in having two senior players in the fight for one position. Because experienced players, the last thing they want is a young, energetic young lad chasing their position. And my history suggests that I will play young players. I'm not afraid to throw them in. But then the management side of me deals with the senior player and how I have to deal with him, keeping him on board but leaving him out of the team. Well, that's part of managing. And that's part of understanding what you have to do as a football manager to be successful within a football club. So will it be young players looked at given the opportunity? 100%. Is it a big focus? Yes, it is. But they'll only be put up and pushed through when they're ready. But I can't say they're ready when I haven't seen them. My job will be spend hours and hours with the academy, with the crookie, with the academy, with those guys to make my own decisions based upon the information that they give me. But you'll see me all over the place, which is part of my job. Is that going to be a real tough balancing act in trying to get immediate success and bringing you through at the same time so they're ready to go and usually do that? They don't sometimes, no. But that's my job and that's why I'm accountable for it and I will be. And I'll take responsibility for that. But my job is to manage the team, the first team. I need to get results. We want to get results. As you said that we haven't reached the playoffs in the last three years, which we know. I think the guys have said that we need that not to happen. I'm joining a club which I think not just the top six, we want top four, top two. We want to win championships. You've done it before. I like that pressure. Pressure is football. There's so much pressure in life in general. So this is a pressure which you love having because I'm doing something that I love, something that I brought up in and I'll be accountable for it, no problem. Jb, you mentioned that you have appointed Jb to see out the next season and you said just now that COVID had rearranged some of your priorities and so you made the decision three months in to make that change. So was it a wrong call to appoint Jb? No, no, because I think in the day, Jb was there in an interim role for a long period of time. COVID happened, then restart of the season wasn't certain as to when it was going to happen and when the following season was going to happen. But we had assigned players, we had to get to an understanding, move forward with the season as it was for an October start. We extended it by nine to ten months, a more permanent range of nine to ten months. We're here with Carl today for a period of three years. We've got some clarity in terms of when the season is going to start again. It's been delayed and we've got an opportunity to start afresh and now that we know that what we want and how we want it and seeing the way that Carl's team played and Carl's here for a long period of time and we're very excited about what's going to happen. So no, you didn't make the wrong decision regarding wanting Jb? At the time, that's the information that we had and they're the decisions that were made and certainly it wasn't a three-year appointment because we believed that we needed some certainty in terms of where we were going to go. Do you have some insight on this? Well, in terms of the circumstances where it was, October start was the original conversation as to where the A league was going to start. So we just couldn't wait and continue and have an interim appointment for another season. Carl is now a fifth coach since 2017. Giving him a long term contract is a significant shortfall but what makes this appointment? Why are you very confident of Carl changing things? You can only use your judgement. Let's face reality here. Another day you use your best judgement going forward. I mean, you pick people that you believe in. Is there a bank guarantee? No, there isn't. There's no bank guarantee. Do I believe he's the right person? Absolutely. Am I 100%? 101%. Is there a guarantee? No, there isn't. No, there isn't. It's exactly like buying a player. I mean, I don't have to remind you gentlemen, ladies. My apologies. Players get sold every day for fortunes. 80 million, 100, 100, 100, 100, a dozen of them. And they're sitting on a bench. You use your best judgement. That's all you can do. We use our best judgement. I do that every day of my life. That's all I got, my judgement. Usually not bad. Pretty good track record. But I believe in a guy. In fact, I say to you, I believe in this guy more than I believe in most. I really believe in this guy. I think he's the right fit for our club, which is also very important. He's the right person for our club. There's a lot of coaches out there to be asked, okay, they're not bad, but they were not the right fit for our club. When did you first think the car was gettable, and when did you first start to look for your own potentially coming on? To be totally honest with you, when I saw him take Newcastle over, and I saw how the team was playing, and I saw the squad that he had, and what he did with that squad, to me, is quite significant. Very significant. He's done an incredible job with that squad, if I may say so. Incredible job. And the style of football, his attitude, and the way he manages people, the way he talks to people, the way he behaves, all that sort of stuff. It's just the perfect fit for our club. Carl, I'll say you're pretty as it is, press conference when he was a coach, said that by the time this contract had come to an end, he wanted to have one trophy. Is that, do you have the same ambition, the same voice in your travels, in your first together, with the expectations of winning a trophy? No. Listen, I think every coach will have their own aspirations and ideas of what they consider success. Whatever club you join, if you're joining a big football club, there is that will, that desire, that need, not just internally, but externally, to win. And I've no doubt about where I think I can take this team. And speaking to John and Paul, especially over the last 24, 48 hours, it's clear that they want to win. And that matches up with how I see things, what I want to achieve. So will I come out and say it? No. I think the information that you get from me will be seen. And when I say that, it's seen on the football pitch because that's where I do the majority of my work and the managing I do behind the scenes. So I won't be, you won't get me on record making statements like that. I'll quietly go about my business because I'm a very quiet person, but I'm an open person as well. But have I come here to be successful without a doubt? Yes. What about the Jets? Is it difficult to live? And you have a message with the Jets fans, you might be a bit annoyed that you've left? Yes, it was difficult. And it was difficult because I've built some very, very good relationships over the 10 months. But there was an agreement in place prior to me coming over from Major League Soccer after 10 years being there with my family. And my daughter still is in, but she's still a do-over at the moment, which was always the grey area for me that I could talk to football clubs if an opportunity arose, whether that be here in Australia or back in Major League Soccer. And that agreement was in place and that's why we're here today. You know, I enjoyed my time there. There's some really, really good people there working with Laurie and the players. And the players were fantastic for me. But that was my job. My job was to teach the players, and my objective here is to get to know these guys, find out what makes them tick on a personal level and on a playing level and push them to hopefully limits that they've not quite been at the moment, too, and then add with the additions of some younger players and some new arrivals to try and get that success that we all crave. How much was the financial position of the Newcastle's been well documented and the differences that they have? Was that a factor, even coming to Westin City? Possibly. And what I'd say with that is what you've got to remember is I don't like talking about people's business. That's not what I do. Newcastle have been, Laurie's been working night and day for months and months and months to try and sell a football club. And there's a lot of uncertain times, not just at football clubs in life in general. Was it the main reason? No. Was it a reason? Yes, but I'm joining the biggest club in Australia. And when you get that opportunity and that comes calling, you don't say no. And I certainly didn't have to meet the guys because I know how driven they are as well.