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As a former defender himself, Adelaide United coach Rini Coolen has no doubt seen some bad defending in his time. He had a bird’s eye view of it in Adelaide’s 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane Roar on Friday night, so why did he do so little to prevent it?
Coolen blasted his defenders in the aftermath to Friday night’s embarrassing defeat, claiming they were guilty of giving away soft chances in Brisbane’s rampant first half display.
“In that period they scored five goals, so that’s not finding a good solution in a tactical way, but also very, very poor defending,” a sheepish Coolen admitted in the post-match proceedings.
Jon McKain and Cassio both gave away penalties during the first half debacle, while Daniel Mullen looked at all sea after being thrown in as a makeshift central defender.
And after playing Milan Susak alongside McKain in central defence over the opening rounds of the season, why did Coolen suddenly decide to partner Mullen alongside McKain in the heart of the back four?
The 22-year-old was caught ball watching time and again by an incisive Brisbane attack, although he wasn’t helped by the cumbersome McKain, who has looked well off the pace so far this season.
The question is, why didn’t Coolen change anything when Besart Berisha – a player I predicted on Friday to be one of the sharpest goal poachers in the league – was continually getting in behind Adelaide’s back four?
And when he did change something, why was it Andy Slory hauled from the pitch four minutes before the break when the damage was being done further down the park?
The trend of substituting players only minutes before half-time smacks of a reactive attempt to conjure an air of control, as though changing a player before a natural break in play is some sort of tactical masterstroke.
Both Coolen and his Dutch compatriot John van’t Schip have employed the tactic this season, but it hasn’t exactly garnered results, and the pair have more in common in terms of the pressure they’re currently under.
Much was made of Adelaide United and Melbourne Heart playing a ‘Dutch style’ under their respective coaches, but if any team is playing a brand of total football, it’s Ange Postecoglou’s all-conquering Brisbane Roar.
And Coolen’s decision to try and play a high-pressing game against the Roar backfired spectacularly, as the Brisbane’s strike force brutally exploited the space in front of them.
Is it a form of cultural cringe that leads us to assume a coach with limited success as a Dutch clubs Twente, Apeldoorn and Roosendaal will suddenly transform an A-League side?
Coolen’s time at Roosendaal is perhaps instructive – he oversaw the business side of side of things in addition to acting as head coach – and the club are now languishing in the fifth division after recently declaring bankruptcy.
That’s not to imply Coolen had anything to do with Roosendaal’s demise, rather it’s a reminder the Dutchman is used to enjoying plenty of autonomy.
He used it to good effect last season, but so far Adelaide United have looked as disjointed as anyone in the nascent competition to date.
And unless the Reds find some solutions to their erratic form, there’ll be plenty more scrutiny headed Rini Coolen’s way.
There’s no doubt United’s defending was poor on Friday night and certain players deserve much of the blame.
But Rini Coolen needs to shoulder plenty of the responsibility as well.
If he thought he had the answer to stopping Brisbane’s powerful attack, Friday night’s demolition proved he had it all wrong.