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Ian Crook the right man for Sydney FC

papmeister new author
Roar Rookie
17th May, 2012
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papmeister new author
Roar Rookie
17th May, 2012
8

Since the inaugural season of the A-League, Sydney FC has had five coaches at the helm. And the announcement of Englishman Ian Crook to replace Vítězslav Lavička as head coach makes him the sixth.

Bling FC has had a merry-go round of coaches and a lack of consistency and no real game plan going forward has meant that the team supposed to be beating Sydney’s blood has been up and down the A-League ladder.

The arrival of a new coach is never likely to generate stability in a club, especially after the three-year reign of Lavička, but the promotion of Crook from within suggests that Sydney FC is looking to the future just as much as they are looking for immediate trophies.

Crook first came to the Sky Blues for the opening season of the A-League, where he assisted manager Pierre Littbarski win the inaugural championship. His latest role for the club has been as National Youth League coach, and it’s in this role that Crook can offer more than anyone else could.

The Sydney squad has a wealth of young talent in its first team squad; see Terry Antonis, Joel Chianese, Dimitri Petratos and Mitch Mallia. And Crook, who knows their game intimately, is the perfect man to make them tick.

There are others who are only just beginning to break through too; Nathan Sherlock, Daniel Petkovski and Hagi Gligor are all pushing hard to become regular first-team action.

Crook shares a similar philosophy to Graham Arnold, as both men look to bring exciting young players through the ranks. And Crooks’ relationship with the young guns at Sydney FC will only benefit the squad in the long-term.

Unlike other foreign coaches who would be more likely to look to older, more experienced players to push Sydney to the title, Crook, who has seen the juniors develop over the past two seasons, will have more faith in his young chargers, and should trust them to help bring back the glory of winning the title.

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It’s not to say that Crook is only a promoted youth team coach, as he has the managerial ability and experience to cope with some of the more established stars in the squad.

The Brit has a wealth of footballing experience – he played in Europe for both Tottenham and Norwich City, and has had backroom jobs at Norwich, Newcastle Jets and was head coach at NSWIS.

His first foray into managing was successful too, as he led Newcastle United in the old NSL to a second place finish – a hard task considering the team sat second from bottom the season before; a feat that earned him the title of coach of the year in 2001.

His second full-time management job didn’t go so well, however, as he was unable to lead America Samoa to a win in his four matches in charge of their World Cup Oceania qualifiers.

The results of his international management shouldn’t be taken adversely, though, as he is still a capable tactician and manager, and given the opportunity, will serve Sydney FC to great effect over the next few years.

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