2023–24 Wellington Phoenix FC season

Pre-season

On 14 April 2023, it was announced that Ufuk Talay would depart the club at the end of the season. The following week, assistant coach Giancarlo Italiano was announced as the next head coach on a 2-year deal.^[1][2]

On 10 May, the Phoenix announced the departures of eight players, including vice-captain Oliver Sail, Clayton Lewis, Steven Ugarkovic and Callan Elliot.^[3]

On 11 May, the Phoenix announced their first signing of the off-season in Mohamed Al-Taay on a two-year deal from the Newcastle Jets.^[4] On 18 May, it was announced that Nicholas Pennington had signed a one-year contract extension with the club.^[5] On 9 June, the Phoenix announced the signing of Jack Duncan on a one-year deal.^[6]

On 6 July, the Phoenix signed academy player Lukas Kelly-Heald on a four-year professional contract.^[7] On 2 August, it was announced that Reserves midfielder Fin Conchie had signed a three-year professional contract with the club.^[8] On 13 September, the club announced the signing of their academy captain Isaac Hughes on a two-year professional deal.^[9] On 27 September, the Phoenix announced their final off-season signing in 17-year old Luke Supyk, who had only joined the club's academy 5 months prior, on a three-year deal.^[10] Despite initial criticism, these signings came as a result of the club putting greater emphasis on developing young New Zealand players.^[11]

The Phoenix would make a positive start to pre-season with a 5–1 win over Western Suburbs in their first friendly. They would then go on to beat Wellington Olympic twice with an aggregate score of 5–1.

Australia Cup

The Phoenix progressed to the Round of 16 of the Australia Cup after a 2–1 win over NPL side Peninsula Power.^[12] However, they would then succumb to a 3–0 loss against Melbourne City in the Round of 16, getting eliminated from the cup campaign in the process.^[13]

A–League Men

The Phoenix kicked off their season on 22 October against the Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney.^[14]

Transfers in

More information No., Position ...

No.	Position	Player	Transferred from	Type/fee	Contract length	Date	Ref.
12	MF	Mohamed Al-Taay	Newcastle Jets	Free transfer	2 years	11 May 2023	[15]
25	GK	Jack Duncan	Newcastle Jets	Free transfer	1 year	9 June 2023	[16]
17	MF	Youstin Salas	Deportivo Saprissa	Loan	5 months	30 January 2024	[17]

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Transfers out

More information No., Position ...

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref.
23	MF	Clayton Lewis	Unattached	End of contract	9 May 2023	[18]
5	MF	Steven Ugarkovic	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[18]
12	DF	Lucas Mauragis	Newcastle Jets	End of loan	10 May 2023	[19]
15	DF	Nikko Boxall	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[19]
17	DF	Callan Elliot	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[19]
20	GK	Oliver Sail	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[18]
21	DF	Joshua Laws	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[19]
31	MF	Yan Sasse	Unattached	End of contract	10 May 2023	[19]

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From youth squad

More information N, Pos. ...

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Notes
18	DF		Lukas Kelly-Heald	18	4-year senior contract[20]
5	MF		Fin Conchie	19	3-year senior contract[21]
26	DF		Isaac Hughes	19	2-year senior contract[22]
23	FW		Luke Supyk	17	3-year contract, the first two of which are on scholarship terms.[23]
30	GK		Alby Kelly-Heald	18	3.5-year scholarship contract[24]
43	DF		Matthew Sheridan	19	1.5-year scholarship contract[24]
51	FW		Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues	16	3-year contract, the first two of which are on scholarship terms.[25]

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Contract extensions

More information No., Player ...

No.	Player	Position	Duration	Date	Notes	Ref.
13	Nicholas Pennington	Central midfielder	1 year	18 May 2023		[26]
40	Alex Paulsen	Goalkeeper	3 years	2 November 2023	Contract extended from end of 2023–24 until end of 2026–27.	[27]
8	Ben Old	Attacking midfielder	3 years	22 November 2023	Contract extended from end of 2023–24 until end of 2026–27.	[28]

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Overall record

A-League Men

Australia Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Pensinula Power v Wellington Phoenix

4 August 2023 Round of 32	Pensinula Power	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Wellington Phoenix	Brisbane
19:30 AEST	Greenwood 71'	Report	Pennington 43' Rudland 119'	Stadium: A.J. Kelly Park Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Shane Skinner

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.

As of 18 May 2024

More information No., Pos. ...

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	A-League Men		A-League Men Finals		Australia Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
3	DF		Finn Surman	27	0	2	0	2	0	31	0
4	DF		Scott Wooton	27	0	2	0	1+1	0	31	0
5	MF		Fin Conchie	2+9	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
6	DF		Tim Payne	22+1	3	2	0	2	0	27	3
7	FW		Kosta Barbarouses	25+1	13	2	0	2	0	30	13
8	MF		Ben Old	15+12	5	2	0	0	0	29	5
9	FW		Oskar Zawada	5+7	6	0+2	1	2	0	16	7
10	FW		David Ball	18+6	0	2	0	0+1	0	27	0
11	MF		Bozhidar Kraev	25+1	6	2	0	2	0	30	6
12	MF		Mohamed Al-Taay	17+8	0	0+2	0	1	0	28	0
14	MF		Alex Rufer	24	3	2	0	2	0	28	3
15	MF		Nicholas Pennington	20+3	1	2	0	2	1	27	2
17	MF		Youstin Salas	6+4	0	0+2	0	0	0	12	0
18	DF		Lukas Kelly-Heald	18+4	0	0+1	0	2	0	25	0
19	MF		Sam Sutton	11+9	0	2	0	0+1	0	23	0
23	FW		Luke Supyk	0+4	0	0	0	0+1	0	5	0
24	FW		Oskar van Hattum	3+12	1	0+2	0	1	0	18	1
26	DF		Isaac Hughes	4+6	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	12	0
40	GK		Alex Paulsen	27	0	2	0	2	0	31	0
42	FW		Fergus Gillion	0+1	0	0	0	0+1	0	2	0
43	DF		Matthew Sheridan	1+3	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
51	FW		Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
34	FW		Josh Rudland	0	0	0	0	1+1	1	2	1
36	FW		Ben Wallace	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	1	0
41	FW		Kaelin Nguyen	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	1	0
52	MF		Jackson Manuel	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

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Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

As of 18 May 2024

More information Rank, No. ...

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	A-League Men			A-League Men Finals			Australia Cup			Total
1	14	MF		Alex Rufer	7	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	9	0	1
2	6	DF		Tim Payne	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1
3	15	MF		Nicholas Pennington	5	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	0
4	7	FW		Kosta Barbarouses	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	0
	9	FW		Oskar Zawada	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
	17	MF		Youstin Salas	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
7	11	MF		Bozhidar Kraev	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	19	MF		Sam Sutton	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	10	FW		David Ball	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
10	3	DF		Finn Surman	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	4	FW		Scott Wooton	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	24	FW		Oskar van Hattum	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	40	GK		Alex Paulsen	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
14	12	MF		Mohamed Al-Taay	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	18	DF		Lukas Kelly-Heald	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	26	DF		Isaac Hughes	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					49	0	2	4	0	0	3	0	0	56	0	2

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Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

As of 18 May 2024

More information Rank, No. ...

Rank	No.	Nat.	Goalkeeper	A-League Men	A-League Men Finals	Australia Cup	Total
1	40		Alex Paulsen	11	1	0	12
Total				11	1	0	12

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Players

More information No., Pos. ...

No.	Pos.	Player	Award	Source
40	GK	Alex Paulsen	A-League Men Player of the Month (October/November)	[32]
			A-League Men Player of the Month (March)	[33]
7	FW	Kosta Barbarouses	A-League Men Player of the Month (December)	[34]
			A-League Men Player of the Month (January)	[35]
26	DF	Isaac Hughes	A-League Men Player of the Month (February)	[36]

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Managers

More information Manager, Award ...

Manager	Award	Source
Giancarlo Italiano	A-League Men Coach of the Month (October/November)	[37]

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