The 2020–21 season was the Wellington Phoenix's 14th season since its establishment in 2007. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time.
Pre-season
On 27 August 2020, it was announced that Liberato Cacace had signed with Belgian club Sint-Truidense after they had paid a transfer fee of $2,100,000. On 6 September, the Phoenix announced that Callum McCowatt signed with Danish club Helsingør following the conclusion of his contract. On 12 September, it was announced that Gary Hooper had departed the club following the conclusion of his contract. On 14 September, the Phoenix announced the shock departure of captain Steven Taylor after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract. Both players joined the Indian Super League, signing with Kerala Blasters and Odisha, respectively. On 24 September, Phoenix youngster Callan Elliot signed a deal with Xanthi. On 18 October, it was reported that Matti Steinmann had signed with Indian club East Bengal despite no announcement from the Phoenix. On 19 October, it was announced that Brandon Wilson would be parting ways with the Phoenix. A week later, it was confirmed that Walter Scott would not extend his contract with the club, after he played as a trialist for Macarthur FC in a pre-season match.
On 15 October, it was announced that the 2020–21 A-League season would commence on 27 December. On 27 October, the Phoenix confirmed that their squad will move to Australia for the start of the new campaign. On 28 October 2020, the Phoenix announced the dual signings of All Whites Clayton Lewis and James McGarry on one-year deals. On 30 October, it was announced Joshua Laws had signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix. On 6 November, it was announced that Matthew Ridenton had returned to the Phoenix on a one-year deal. On 10 November, the Phoenix announced the signing of Mirza Muratovic on a one-year deal. On 30 November, the Phoenix announced the signing of Israeli International Tomer Hemed, as its marquee player on a one-year contract.
Players
Transfers
From youth squad
Transfers in No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromType/feeContract lengthDateRef 23 Auckland CityFree transfer1 year28 October 2020 5 James McGarryUnattachedFree transfer1 year28 October 2020 21 UnattachedFree transfer1 year30 October 2020 12 Matthew RidentonUnattachedFree transfer1 year6 November 2020 15 UnattachedFree transfer1 year10 November 2020 17 UnattachedFree transfer1 year30 November 2020 13 UnattachedFree transfer4 months17 February 2021 27 Free transfer3 months5 March 2021
Transfers out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toType/feeDateRef 13 $2,100,00027 August 2020 21 End of contract6 September 2020 88 End of contract12 September 2020 27 Mutual contract termination14 September 2020 17 End of contract24 September 2020 5 End of contract18 October 2020 12 Perth GloryMutual contract termination19 October 2020 23 UnattachedEnd of contract25 October 2020
Contract extensions No. Name Position Duration Date Notes 9 David Ball Striker 2 years 27 October 2020 4 Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi Defender 2 years 29 October 2020 2 Liam McGing Centre-back 1 year 2 November 2020 3 Luke DeVere Centre-back 1 year 6 November 2020 23 Clayton Lewis Attacking midfielder 2 years 18 May 2021 20 Oliver Sail Goalkeeper 2 years 19 May 2021 18 Ben Waine Forward 3 years 20 May 2021 27 Steven Taylor Defender 1 year 4 June 2021 16 Louis Fenton Full-back 1 year 10 June 2021
Technical staff PositionName Head coach Ufuk Talay Assistant coach Chris Greenacre Assistant coach/Head analyst Giancarlo Italiano Goalkeeping coach Paul Gothard Head physiotherapist Ben Venn Strength & conditioning coach Aidan Wivell
Squad statistics Appearances and goals
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" style="width:190px;" |Player ! colspan="2" style="width:87px;" |A-League ! colspan="2" style="width:87px;" |Total |- ! !Goals ! !Goals |- |1 | ! scope="row" | Stefan Marinovic
|6 |0
!6 !0 |- |2 | ! scope="row" | Liam McGing
|6(1) |0
!7 !0 |- |3 | ! scope="row" | Luke DeVere
|6 |0
!6 !0 |- |4 | ! scope="row" | Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi
|0(4) |0
!4 !0 |- |5 | ! scope="row" | James McGarry
|15(3) |0
!18 !0 |- |6 | ! scope="row" | Tim Payne
|19 |0
!19 !0 |- |7 | ! scope="row" | Reno Piscopo
|8(1) |1
!9 !1 |- |8 | ! scope="row" | Cameron Devlin
|11(6) |1
!17 !1 |- |9 | ! scope="row" | David Ball
|17 |4
!17 !4 |- |10 | ! scope="row" | Ulises Dávila
|18(1) |7
!19 !7 |- |11 | ! scope="row" | Jaushua Sotirio
|6(7) |3
!13 !3 |- |12 | ! scope="row" | Matthew Ridenton
|2(6) |0
!8 !0 |- |13 | ! scope="row" | Charles Lokolingoy
|0(7) |0
!7 !0 |- |14 | ! scope="row" | Alex Rufer
|15(1) |0
!16 !0 |- |15 | ! scope="row" | Mirza Muratovic
|3(5) |2
!8 !2 |- |16 | ! scope="row" | Louis Fenton
|12(5) |2
!17 !2 |- |17 | ! scope="row" | Tomer Hemed
|9(5) |5
!14 !5 |- |18 | ! scope="row" | Ben Waine
|9(6) |6
!15 !5 |- |19 | ! scope="row" | Sam Sutton
|3(2) |0
!5 !0 |- |20 | ! scope="row" | Oliver Sail
|13 |0
!13 !0 |- |21 | ! scope="row" | Joshua Laws
|10(2) |0
!12 !0 |- |23 | ! scope="row" | Clayton Lewis
|17(2) |1
!19 !1 |- |27 | ! scope="row" | Steven Taylor
|3(2) |0
!5 !0
Friendlies
Competitions
Overview
A-League
League table
Results summary
Matches
References