So John Kosmina, a man fond of dust ups and discussing the mentally unstable, is back in the coaching game.
“[It] Lets the lunatics out [of] the asylum. The lunatics run the asylum,” was how Adelaide United’s new manager described the Internet in a post-match press conference during his time at Sydney FC.
It’s one of many controversial moments Kosmina gifted us with during spells in charge of both Sydney and Adelaide.
Coupled with the modest success his teams managed during his two different A-League appointments, it makes ‘Kossie’ an interesting replacement for Rini Coolen who United sacked over the weekend.
According to Chairman Greg Griffin the reasoning was simple.
“We have gone to John (Kosmina) because he is a passionate South Australian with a great history, he has taken this club to being Premiers before, he is a man who believes in the club, he has passion, and essentially the reason this ownership group got involved with Adelaide United was so that there would be a strong football presence in South Australia,” explained Griffin.
While I appreciate the thinking behind the idea that Adelaide needed someone to “steady the ship”, when was “passionate South Australian” a good enough reason to hire a coach?
The hope will be that, like Ange Postecoglou did before taking on the Brisbane Roar position, Kosmina has developed himself as a coach during his time away from the dugout.
Though recent comments from the 55-year-old about Adelaide midfielder Dario Vidosic and social media have me wondering whether this will prove to be the case.
Kossie on social media:
“I’ve been in trouble for this comment before but the internet has let the lunatics out of the asylum.
“I know social networking is a part of modern culture and you can’t change that but what I can’t deal with is that the younger generation live their lives by it. I think it creates feeble-mindedness and people hide behind computers.”
And on Vidosic:
“If he had a bad back fine but you don’t broadcast that to the whole world. I bet you he wouldn’t have been keen to take it off if he had a better game. And Ross Aloisi played with stress fractures for years.
“I had the same problems in my late 20s at Sydney City and Carl Veart had a bad back … these types of guys got on with it – they were winners.”
I wonder how Vidosic, who is a key component of this United playing squad, reacted to the news that a man who publicly hammered him just a few weeks ago is his new coach.
Regardless, what’s most troubling is the incoherent nature of the decision making of Adelaide United’s management team.
Since the new ownership group came in last year, severe cost cutting measures have been implemented around the club while at the same time Coolen was handed a well paying four-year contract.
It’s a decision that has now forced the club to keep the Dutchman on in a behind the scenes role – an unfortunate situation for all involved.
Furthermore, in the hope of building a side that could challenge for the title, United invested heavily in Coolen’s plans – a choice that saw a high turnover of players including fan favourites Travis Dodd and Marcos Flores shown the door. Now the Reds have to start all over again.
We must reserve judgment on Kosmina until he’s had a chance to prove himself again, but the information coming in on those making the key decision at Adelaide is troubling.
Lunatics running the asylum? I hope not Kossie.
Bondy
An embarrasing gaff by bulldog Slater today on F.S.N. describing the Arsenal vs Man Cty game this morning as Spanish esc. You're flogging english football mate , not wishing it was spanish .
Bondy
Kossie's always been a refreshing guy for mine , he also has the right to say that people who hide behind computers are cowards i'll cop that . Good luck John and Greg.
nordster
Guest
a transition coach but then i guess they all are! :) bring in one of the state assoc coaches u mention as assistant to take over long term. Do they need a more highly badged coach for AFC tournaments still? (They have ACL coming again.)
cruyff turn
Roar Rookie
I understand what you mean, they need someone who can motivate the players and bring back some confidence. I wouldn't be surprised if the Reds recorded a few wins in the next month or two. However, once the euphoria surrounding Kossie's appointment has died off, and he's been there for a few months, then what? I don't expect things to improve greatly, but I guess time will tell. All I'm saying is out of all the choices they could have made, and there must have been a few decent options available, Adelaide chooses to go back to a coach it sacked only 4 years ago. It's like going back to an ex-girlfriend, and a bitchy high-maintenance one at that!!! It just seems like a short-sighted decision to me.
Windsor
Guest
http://images.safm.com.au/2009/02/16/128736/torrens-river-drained-11-600x400.jpg
Walt
Guest
As a South Australian, I can tell you that the lack of local personell only gets noticed - when they arent winning. If United, the Sixers, the Redbacks or Power were winning - nobody would bemoan the fact that they dont know what the Popeye was.
Windsor
Guest
We had nothing on the park. Fear and loathing that is all. I remember seeing Ross Aloisi vom on the halfway line under kossie (NJ prelim shhotout)...I have no idea what that added to this discussion. Should be an interesting night at AUFC members information session tonight at Hindmarsh. I will post photos and highlights on @windsors oops feeble-mindedness..
nordster
Guest
i think its a motivational strength they're looking for in a new coach ... so the technical level or adding things that way maybe isn't what they need just now. not wanting to mean it as a criticism of Kossie!
Mattay
Guest
May I ask, are you South Australian yourself? Because if you're not, then it's easy to gloss over the appointment as being for a short sighted reason. In SA in recent times, there has been a number of articles and comments on sports talk back about the lack of SA personnel in SA teams, and that the lack of success in SA teams may have something to do with it. i.e. we have teams full of blow ins who are here for the pay cheque and don't play for the shirt/state/club/etc. It's an easy statement to make, and one that I think a few commentators here throw about a bit too easily, but you can't deny there's a feeling across the state that maybe we'd perform better if we invested in local talent, rather than always recruiting them in. Because in reality, we can't do any worse.
Mattay
Guest
I think the problem with Adelaide soccer/football is simply politics and need to please a broad range of people. If nothing else, Kossie can and has previously cut through all that crap and had a bond with the players and got results. He may upset a few backroom boys, but if he gets the team winning and gets the fans onside, then he's done his job. He's still young as well, so if he can steady the ship and build on what is a good set of players, then he can be at the helm again for a number of years. Now we just need Muscat to take over from Durakovic at Victory, and let the rivalry heat up again!
Dean
Guest
sportspunter.com is currently quoting a price of $5.25 for an AUFC win against SFC on Thursday night. I cannot think of an easier way to get a 400% return on your money before Santa's visit.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
I'm nt a huge Kossie fan but he seems a great fit for the role of caretaker manager for the rest of the season. I would be surprised if Adelaides results don't improve and he's cheap :) He gave a lot of starts to young players at Sydney FC.
Titus
Guest
Adelaide were so cocky not so long ago, I remember their CEO (Griffin?) saying if SFC wanted less games they could send them to Adelaide because they will always get a near full house. Well, this year shows that no team in the a-league can get too cocky, not even the Victory. I think teams need to be less cocky based on short term factors and more stable and focused based on long term goals. I really think that Adelaide have lost more money by letting Flores go than they would have made by selling him. As a Sydney fan I wasn't an admirer of Kossie as a coach, though I appreciate his strong, straightforward personality and I honestly hope he can help restore some Adelaide pride.
MG
Guest
Dean, alot has changed since the 05/06 and 06/07 seasons. The benchmark is now higher than it was in those earlier seasons. I wish John all the best and hope he turns it around but as AGO74 said above, it seems the only reason he has been selected is because he is passionate about SA. For me, this was a knee jerk reaction from the board and not entirely thought through. Realistically, if removing Rini was their only concern, what would have been the harm in letting Luca Triani assume the role for a couple of games until we have found a replacement going through a proper process?
MG
Guest
Mattay, I think Kossie's comments were spot on about Petrillo, McKain and Vidosic.It will make it an interesting work environment. I just don't think bringing in Kossie will fix anything to be honest, because I beleive the problems with Adelaide United and Football in SA run alot deeper than Rini Coolen.
Dean
Guest
This is an excellent move by AUFC. They have one of the most talented squads in the HAL but they've been devoid of passion, structure and clear instructions and Kosmina will bring this to the team. I'm surprised at the negative comments about Kosmina on this forum. I can only assume the people making these comments are new to HAL football and didn't watch the early years of the comp? John Kosmina is one of only 2 HAL coaches, who has taken his team to a top 2 spot in the Championship in successive years. For football purists, finishing Top 2 in the HAL is the most important indicator of football success and Kosmina was the first to do it in 05/06 & 06/07; Ernie Merrick did it in 08/09 & 09/10. Even a great coach like Ange Postecoglou, is starting to realise just how difficult it is to achieve success 2 years in a row.
Mattay
Guest
To be fair, Petrillo, Vidosic and McKain have done nothing to earn themselves praise from anyone since they've been at United. Would be very happy for Kossie to show all three of them the door. Particularly Vidosic. For someone with big wraps, he goes missing far too often in games. Not fit to shine Flores' boots.
AGO74
Guest
Apparently being a passionate South Australian got him the gig. On that basis maybe they can employ Lleyton Hewitt as assistant coach? I can't see this ending well for Adelaide United.
Luke
Guest
Good to see Adelaide have started signing coaches to short-term deals. Maybe they have learned.
MG
Guest
As an AUFC Season Ticket Holder from the very start, I honestly have no confidence in our Board, especially in Griffin. How can you hire a Kossie after he has publically been so critical of Michael Petrillo, Dario Vidosic, Jon Mackain, etc on his radio show and column in the Advertiser? While I am not sad to see the back of Coolen, signing him to a four year deal and now removing him after 6 months proves that the Board have no idea what they are doing. I hope Griffin is as good a lawyer as we have been told he is, because I can't see this ending nicely.