No coach, no owners: back to square one for Adelaide
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 4 Jun 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- A-League, ACL, Adelaide United, Asian Champions League, Aurelio Vidmar, Dave Mitchell, FFA, football, Iain Ferguson, Olyroos
Australian soccer club team Adelaide United FC coach Aurelio Vidmar, left, and midfielder Travis Dodd.
From the heights of their impressive performance to reach the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League to the lows of having to find a new coach and their prospective owners pulling out of the club, Adelaide United is back to square one and faces another season of doom in the A-League.
It was a bitter day for the club.
First, Aurelio Vidmar announced he was off to greener pastures at the FFA in the dual-role of Olyroos coach and assistant with the Socceroos.
The news may have been met with a mixed response from Adelaide United fans, but you could sense an overwhelming feeling of relief that the split had happened and was painless.
Vidmar remains an enigma in Adelaide: a success in the Asian Champions League showing an ability to adapt his team to the higher tactical demands of playing Asia’s best, yet unable to halt United’s slide from grand finalist’s to the wooden spoon in one season at home.
His counter-attacking style may have suited Asia, but it proved debilitating on the domestic front when the club incredulously sold off key midfielders and brought in players which so clearly didn’t fit the Vidmar system (Lloyd Owusu). His inability to adapt and change this system to the changing circumstances in the A-League saw the fans turn against him and is the reason why many of them breathed a sigh of relief at yesterday’s news.
His style simply didn’t suit the A-League, particularly with the team he and the club put together for the season just past (financial restraints considered), and even when he did take them to the grand final it was with a frustrating inability to score regularly in a season with no other genuine contenders apart from Melbourne Victory (and we know the edge they have over Adelaide United).
His persona was also an enigma, and while he could be approachable and well-mannered on the one hand, his numerous public outbursts, most famously this tirade (which should have cost him his job), damaged the club.
It was time for him to move on and following his and predecessor John Kosmina’s reign, it’s time for the club to find someone who will have a positive influence on the club’s off-field demeanor, as well as its performances on-field.
While assistant Phil Stubbins is the fan-favourite for the top job, his strained relationship with key Adelaide United players is well known in the city and could stop him getting the gig.
While the club boasted of a worldwide search for a replacement (they aren’t fooling anyone), Perth Glory’s Dave Mitchell is the leading candidate, with Iain Ferguson ready to take Mitchell’s place out west.
Mitchell won’t revolutionise how Adelaide United play football and his potential success or failure may well be out of his hands.
Which brings us to the second wallop of the day, which was the news the Alan Young consortium, which was set to takeover the club, has pulled out leaving the FFA to take back control and start again in the search for new owners.
The news wasn’t a complete shock. Speculation had been growing of issues relating to the handover, and the deafening silence from Young was a major concern.
While the particulars of why the deal feel apart remain a mystery, the concern for the FFA (in addition to the fact they now have to prop up another club) and the South Australian football community is the lack of any white knight on the horizon.
The FFA’s wish for local interests to control the club is a noble one, but Adelaide is hardly flush with millionaires out to burn some cash on a football club, and a community owned club with members acting as stakeholders seems far off, with the way the club has been run so conservatively and traditionally hardly conducive to such a radical structure. And, at the end of the day, Adelaide is simply not a big enough market for such a structure.
For the loyal fans, it’s a bitter blow. The promise shown in the ACL had expectations high for the coming A-League season, with redemption very much in their mind following last season’s embarrassing wooden spoon.
Now it seems the ingredients of that success will soon evaporate with key players expected to follow Vidmar out the door with the club’s future yet again clouded and the FFA not in a position to fund big name signings (and re-signings).
It’s remarkable that a club with the most stable, healthy and loyal supporter base in the league faces such dilemmas and key questions must be asked of key personnel within the backroom.
Thankfully the club has the support of Adelaide and a committed fan base otherwise they would be in an even worse predicament.
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- Explore:
- A-League, ACL, Adelaide United, Asian Champions League, Aurelio Vidmar, Dave Mitchell, FFA, football, Iain Ferguson, Olyroos
June 4th 2010 @ 12:08pm
Realfootball said | June 4th 2010 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
The bottom line is the club will not be allowed to fold, so patience will be the key. Yes, Adelaide’s playing roster will be limited but then again, some of the youth team players will get their chance. Then after the WC there will hopefully be a surge in interest in the game and investors will come.
I think Farina would be an excellent choice under these circumstances.
June 4th 2010 @ 12:33pm
Kazama said | June 4th 2010 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
The issue is, will the fans be patient? We have already been through one season without an owner, and we finished last. It is worth noting that during one game towards the end of the season a number of Red Army members turned their back on the game and were chanting “we’re not gonna take it”… so if we have to go through another underwhelming season I’m not sure what impact it will have on the supporter base.
Of course we will not be folding any time soon, but ultimately the we want to find an owner, a good coach, and assurances of a long term future, including planning the direction the club needs to head in, as soon as possible. If the World Cup can help with that, fantastic.
June 4th 2010 @ 12:57pm
Realfootball said | June 4th 2010 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Adelaide’s supporters are the envy of the League. They’ll stay the distance.
June 4th 2010 @ 1:52pm
James said | June 4th 2010 @ 1:52pm | Report comment
The club really is run by muppets – sure it’s the same old faces from the Adelaide City NSL days.
How can a club with such success in Asia (and all the associated cash that comes with that), the A-League and such a big feature in the city with a massive supporter base struggle to find new owners let alone shirt sponsorship? Jim’s Mowing…please.
June 4th 2010 @ 2:18pm
ItsCalledFootball said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:18pm | Report comment
They’ve picked up another major sponsor – Jim’s Football Managers.
June 4th 2010 @ 2:15pm
David V. said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
The club needs to go foreign, as Sydney FC has. Vidmar was neither here nor there.
June 4th 2010 @ 2:29pm
James said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:29pm | Report comment
Watching that press conference tirade again – how on earth did he survive that? What a fool.
June 4th 2010 @ 2:37pm
oikee said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
I remember last year, you guys on here telling everyone from all codes that aderlaide was your golden goose. Lads, learn to paddle before you swim.
Asia, your golden future you said, your gold mine. Hang tough socceroos, the financial crisis is the only thing holding you back at the moment.
I still think rugby league and soccer(football) should be joining forces to make both our games more comftable, at the moment we have raids, air raids going on left right centre, i see non of you guys on the league forums adding any comment.
All you have to remember is one thing, our games are a whole season if we stick together, gorw both memberships and fans, and lets kick some buttt, Whos with me. ?
Just think England lads, we play side by side in England, yes football is the man, but we can both prosper. ? Now who’s with me. come-on.
Think Braveheart, you provide the grunt, league fans will provide the mussle, come-on. Our footy show never disrespects soccer lads.
June 4th 2010 @ 3:01pm
James said | June 4th 2010 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
Won’t work – still rivals for the same fans/dollars. Look at how Newcastle Knights and Jets went after each other.
June 4th 2010 @ 4:24pm
oikee said | June 4th 2010 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
Dont ever use the words won’t work, can’t work. Look, you only need our 2 knucklehead leaders to hug kiss, do some cuddling and tell anyone who wants to listen we are both penpals coming togehter to grow both sports around the country. Now, once the inital shock of the leaguie lads get over it, i think it would work nicely for both codes. Not only that, you get instint access to Indigernous kids with talent. Mate there is under 20 talent to burn sitting around being wasted. Now throw them a soccer ball, and get them practising kicking around at training, instant love.
Just dont use the word cant, think AFL, where are you going to be in 20 years if you fastrack the game.
Look, i have told my story before, i use to love the English game, watched it often in the 70′s, then i found rugby league, but you could easily get me excited again if i found development coming into the game through nrl circles. I can see talent there, its not being used. It can work, maybe better here than England. The training might laso improve. ?
June 4th 2010 @ 2:45pm
oikee said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
Just remember one thing, Wigan and Leeds are 2 famous clubs, for rugby league and soccer. Wake up, smell the roses and tell whoever is in charge, we want to grow together, and we have the best of both worlds, as we do in England, our seasons dont really overlap that much. Come-on. Get on board.
June 4th 2010 @ 2:54pm
AndyRoo said | June 4th 2010 @ 2:54pm | Report comment
I’m all for it. In all serious some sort of partnership to secure new grounds at grass roots level in a rectangular shape for the use of both codes would be benneficial.
I’m from Parramatta where the convergence already started with the Eels starting up the Parramatta power to keep the ground busy all year around. Unfortuantely the Power/NSL didn’t quite deliver on the “busy” part of the deal
June 4th 2010 @ 4:45pm
Farqwar said | June 4th 2010 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
I agree Oikee. The games are completely different. I grew up following League and playing soccer, I also played League for a couple of years. We have the best of both worlds, the sheer strength, physicality and excitement of Rugby League and the skill, tactics, open play and passion of soccer.
The AFL is just a blend of these two that isn’t as good as either. But is strong because it has a broader cross section. Where as we are divided.
June 5th 2010 @ 10:59am
oikee said | June 5th 2010 @ 10:59am | Report comment
Just finished watching the roos Denmark game, i am contributing to soccer already. I will also watch as many world cup games and A;league games as i can. Its easy to help both codes. Also i will keep sending my letters to Gallop, until he sees the sense of the 2 together , and how to prosper.
The knights and Jets might not have started all that well, but with the Bears, i am sure they could make ago of a new club coming onboard from the A-league.
I am already thinking in 10-20 years time. Not toomoorow, but the future.
Yes Axel, 8 years might be a long time, but its what you do in that 8 years. The next deal should be 10 times what this deal was by then. cheers.
June 4th 2010 @ 6:04pm
Axel V said | June 4th 2010 @ 6:04pm | Report comment
I have an idea, how about Adelaide United get new private investors? I hear A-League clubs making the same mistakes over and over proves their intelligence.
Better yet, when are the FFA going to sign another under valued TV contract spanning 8 years?