Nick Ward Revived

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Victory star Ward rethinking European plans

January 13, 2008
Olyroos midfielder Nick Ward is considering staying in the A-League and scrapping a return to Europe after playing a key role in the Melbourne Victory's late season resurgence.
Ward, who spent a difficult 18 months battling it out in the English lower divisions before being thrown a career lifeline by the Victory last month, had initially signalled he wanted to use his stint at the Victory as a springboard to another European deal.
He is on a six-month contract with Melbourne to stay until the end of the Asian Champions League.
But the 22-year-old, who has made a marked difference to the Victory and been a key in them stringing together three successive A-League wins, admits he is re-thinking whether to give Europe another try.
"I haven't written that (staying at the Victory) off at all," Ward said.
"The biggest thing is for me to get back to full fitness and I'm playing regularly now.
"I'm enjoying my football again. I had a tough time overseas and I just want to get back to loving football."
Ward's signing has been a perfect fit for the Victory - giving them a box-to-box midfielder capable of getting beyond their strikers and taking the pressure off midfielder Carlos Hernandez.
Ward netted his first goal for Melbourne in their impressive 3-0 win over Wellington at Telstra Dome on Friday night and his workrate and vision was a key element in allowing Hernandez to star in the match.
Victory coach Ernie Merrick admitted he would love Ward to stay beyond the Champions League.
"If we sell the club to Nick, then he'll stay," Merrick said.
"I think he's enjoyed himself and the supporters and the quality of the football and he's scoring. If he scores goals every week he won't want to leave."
Former Perth Glory player Ward was the A-League young player of the year in the competition's first season, before his ill-fated move to Queen's Park Rangers.
And it would appear if he is going to remain in the A-League, his preferred club would be the Victory.
"It's definitely different playing with Melbourne. It is a lot more professional than when I was at Perth. We didn't have the facilities, the backing or the crowds and the players as well," Ward said.
"It's easy when you've got good players, like Carlos and Archie (Thompson)." The Age


The AGE/Michael Lynch -Ward's taste for Victory
OLYROOS midfielder Nick Ward is considering staying in the A-League and scrapping a return to Europe after playing a key role in the Melbourne Victory's late-season resurgence.
Ward, who spent a difficult 18 months battling it out in the English lower divisions before being thrown a career lifeline by the Victory last month, initially wanted to use his stint at the Victory as a springboard to another European deal.
He is on a six-month contract with Melbourne to stay until the end of the Asian Champions League.
But Ward, who has made a marked difference to the Victory and been a key in it stringing together three successive A-League wins, admits he is re-thinking whether to give Europe another try.
Having lost attacking midfielder Fred after last season, Victory will be hoping the 22-year-old from Western Australia wants to stick around.
Ward's mobility, touch, clever link play — especially with Archie Thompson and Carlos Hernandez — and his physical presence have helped him become an important figure in a revamped Victory team.
Had the champion been able to secure his services earlier than mid-December and play with a more attacking midfield line-up than it did for much of the season, who knows how the campaign would have gone.
As coach Ernie Merrick pointed out on Friday night, his team had lost just six of its 19 games going into round 20, the same number as table-topping Central Coast Mariners. The difference has been that the Mariners had over the same period been able to kill off enough games to register nine wins in 19 matches compared to Melbourne's then total of five from 19.
With Ward and Adrian Caceres in attacking midfield roles linking with the always lively Thompson and Hernandez, finally fully fit and showing all the touch, guile and passing range that his World Cup pedigree had promised, Victory once again looks a slick and potent outfit, one that can embark on its initial Asian Champions League campaign with a fair degree of confidence.
Will Ward, who notched his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Wellington on Friday, be part of it? A member of Australia's Olympic squad, the inaugural winner of the A-League's young player of the year award left Perth Glory after the competition's first season and sought to make a breakthrough in Europe.
His time at English Championship club Queens Park Rangers was an unhappy one, although he admits it did make him a tougher character, and late last year he signed for the Victory on a six-month contract that will keep him with the club until the end of June, when the ACL's group phase is completed.
Ward admits he could be tempted to stay with the Victory longer than his initial deal.
"It's easy (to play here) when you have got good players like Carlos and Archie making good runs. Archie makes great runs, you know he's always there. He might pull off to an angle wide so you play him because you know he's got great pace and he is going to get past players," Ward said.
"It's more professional (here) than when I was playing at Perth (and) I haven't written off staying beyond six months.
"The biggest thing for me is getting back to my full fitness but I am playing regularly now and enjoying my football again.
"I had a tough time overseas and I just want to get back to loving the game again. I will take two or three months to get fully fit, but I think I am in the right place for that."
Merrick says he is delighted that Ward and Hernandez are rapidly developing such a potent combination.
"I think Nick is just a good all-round player, I think Carlos is adapting to our level of football and our style of play and he has accepted he has got to work an awful lot harder and he did that."
"He's just developing as a player and the combinations of all of the boys are working out much better."
Will the club do all it can to keep him for at least another season?
"We will see what happens," said Merrick. "If we sell the club to Nick, then he will stay." The Age