It’s hard to ignore the similarities between Ian Crook’s weekend resignation from Sydney FC and Mehmet Durakovic’s Christmas-time exodus from the Melbourne Victory.
Both took command of the A-League’s two most high profiled clubs in the wake of their respective administrations ditching the two men who’d brought them their most success.
Durakovic and Crook both arrived at their clubs with a degree of goodwill. Both fairly likeable, good intentioned chaps who fostered an air of smooth transition in the wake of Vitezlav Lavicka and Ernie Merrick’s messy, perhaps unwarranted, departures.
Lovely. If only professional sports were a book club.
Crook and Durakovic landed their jobs with resumes which really weren’t good enough for the A-League. During the pre-season and in interviews this was masked by their positivity and clean record. However once the real stuff got going, they both floundered.
Where both really came unstuck was when Melbourne and Sydney brought in the big players on the big wages, with resumes overly qualified for the A-League.
Brilliant as both signings were, the Harry Kewell and Alessandro Del Piero signings both served as the catalysts for their manager’s departures.
Not because they rocked the boat and not because they underperformed. They each sealed their manager’s fate because they quickly exposed their boss’s weaknesses.
Perhaps a manger’s credentials and tactical nous can be hidden when a team is populated by a team of players whose on field qualifications are the equal of their coach’s off field acumen.
Yet let loose a coach whose shortcomings are revealed to players who have been in places and situations their managers could only dream of, and the boat begins to wobble.
Kind of like the backyard gardener being called up to run the botanical gardens.
Durakovic held on longer at Melbourne because management at the time couldn’t bring itself to admit how badly it had screwed up both Merrick’s sacking and their apparent ‘worldwide’ search for a new manager.
By resigning, Crook made Sydney FC’s job a lot easier and saved their administration from making the tough call. Ironically, Crook may also have just saved Sydney’s season.
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