Ex-USWNT coach Jill Ellis explains why 'ambitious' San Diego Wave sacked Casey Stoney just months after NWSL Shield triumph

San Diego Wave announced on Monday that Stoney had been sacked as manager after a tough start to the season and a run of seven games without a win. Stoney guided the club to a first NWSL Shield in 2023 and followed that up with a victory over NY/NJ Gotham in the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup. However, a poor start to the campaign has cost Stoney, with the team currently down in ninth place in the table and already 17 points off the top.

Stoney's departure still came as a shock, particularly as she had signed a new contract at the club in January that ran until 2027. Ellis has now tried to explained the club's thinking, highlighting the team's ambitions for the future, but also insisting it had been a very tough call to part company with Stoney.

Ellis told reporters: "Obviously it certainly wasn't an easy decision. I don't think there's ever a perfect time to make a decision to let someone go. I have the utmost respect for Casey and the contribution she's given to the club, and I think you read in our statement, we thanked her profusely for the foundation she's laid here in San Diego. I think results and statistics certainly give us information and currently we're 17 points out of first place and we are actually over halfway through the season.

"We are an ambitious club, we want to compete both domestically and internationally. Right now to qualify for the Champions League, the three criteria [are]: win the league, finish second in the league, or win the championship. Where we sit at the moment, we are limiting our opportunities, it's never all about numbers. It's also how it looks, how it feels, and for sure how it performs. In sport, we don't live in the past, it's how we perform in the moment. In this moment, we felt, and again it's very hard, an inflection point. So we made a very hard decision to try and begin a search for a new coach."

The search for a replacement is now underway with Paul Buckle set to serve as interim coach for the time being. Meanwhile, Stoney has admitted to being "broken" by the decision. She replied to a post thanking her for her efforts by a fan group on X with the message: "Today I’m broken but in time I will be proud of what we all achieved together! Cheer those players loud on Friday because that’s what they deserve."