Ernest Merrick

Melbourne Victory

In his first season at Melbourne Victory in 2005/06, the club failed to live up to its championship aspirations. With Socceroos Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat in the squad, and the experience of 2 European internationals in Geoffrey Claeys and Richard Kitzbichler, expectations from the Melbourne fans were high. But they were left disappointed when the club finished the season 7th out of the 8 teams. After a promising start which saw them 1st after round 8, when they beat eventual champions Sydney FC 5–0, the team then won only 3 of the last 13 games. During the second season, The Victory won the 2006–07 A-League Premiership, 12 points clear of second placed Adelaide United. Melbourne Victory faced Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final at the Telstra Dome on 18 February, winning the match 6–0 with Archie Thompson scoring an incredible five goals. The 2007–2008 season was a return to the disappointment of Merrick's first year in charge however, with the team finishing outside the Top 4 spots and thus failing to progress to the Finals Series. Melbourne Victory finished second in the group phase of the 2008 Asian Champions League. Gamba Osaka won the group and went on to win the Asian Champions League. In the 2008–2009 season, Melbourne Victory won the treble; the Pre-Season Cup, the Premiership and the Grand Final. In the Grand Final, Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United 1–0 to secure their second championship under Ernie Merrick's…

Merrick was born in Edinburgh to a circus family. Before entering the head coaching ranks, he was a PE teacher as well as a semi-professional football player.

Coach

With Melbourne Victory:

A-League Championship: 2006–2007, 2008–2009 A-League Premiership: 2006–2007, 2008–2009 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup: 2008 Personal Honours:

A-League Coach of the Year: 2006–2007, 2009–10 Order of Australia: 2014