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How important is the coach to a team’s overall success? Plenty of A-League clubs are asking that very question in the wake of Mike Mulvey’s wildly successful first full season in charge of Brisbane Roar.
Mulvey, who after years as a successful youth and women’s coach isn’t quite the overnight success some would have you believe, was always going to need time to make his mark on the Roar.
But few could have predicted the impact the Manchester-born tactician would have on the A-League after originally taking over from Rado Vidosic on an interim basis. The contrasting fortunes of Vidosic and Mulvey suggest there’s a fine line between success and failure as a coach at the top level.
But just what is it about a top coach that makes them successful?
Tony Popovic might be asking that very question after his Western Sydney Wanderers came up short in the grand final for the second year running.
The former Crystal Palace assistant has been lauded for the managerial progress he’s made since returning to Australia, but plenty of pundits were quick to turn on him for his selections and tactics in the grand final.
In particular, the failure to select a centre-back, such as Michael Beauchamp, on the bench came back to haunt the Wanderers when skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley limped off injured. Then there was Popovic’s decision to withdraw Shinji Ono with eight minutes remaining, when the Japanese playmaker had been at the heart of most of Western Sydney’s attacking play.
History will show that Besart Berisha scored the equaliser just four minutes later, so were Popovic’s decisions borne of tactical naivety, or is it simply a question of bad luck?
The performances of Mulvey and Popovic haven’t been lost on Sydney FC fans because the Sky Blues have over the years, in one way or another, passed up the opportunity to sign either as head coach.
Instead, some two years and three coaches after he returned to his native Czech Republic, the Sky Blues have replaced championship-winning Vitezslav Lavicka with the familiar figure of Graham Arnold.
Lavicka is an interesting case study in what it takes to be a successful coach, in as much as he won a title playing some of the most boring football this country has ever seen. For all he accomplished at the Sky Blues – and instilling a much-needed sense of professionalism was no mean feat – would Lavicka even be remembered had Kevin Muscat’s penalty not hit the post and Victory had instead gone on to win the 2010 grand final?
How much did Lavicka’s tactics have to do with a penalty shoot-out win anyway? Were they vital, or was it simply left to the players to get the job done?
The recent sacking of Manchester United manager David Moyes suggests that, as much as the players dictate the action on the pitch, what happens in the dressing room is still crucial. Though he needed more time to shape the declining squad left to him by Sir Alex Ferguson, Moyes nevertheless appeared awe-struck by his own players.
If one of the most obvious roles of a coach or manager is to act as an authoritarian figurehead, then Moyes failed dismally during his brief tenure at Old Trafford.
How interesting it is, then, that French second division side Clermont have appointed Portuguese woman Helena Costa as their manager for next season. It will be fascinating to see whether there’s any difference in dynamics having a female tactician operating on the touchlines of a decidedly macho environment.
A-League coaches have it tough too, operating in a salary-capped league designed to spread talent across the board.
And with the likes of Phil Stubbins, Kenny Lowe and John van’t Schip all looking to start afresh next season, there are plenty of A-League coaches hoping they can emulate the mercurial Mulvey.