Adelaide United might be out of the A-League finals but they’re not out of the headlines. The search for a new coach reached new heights of hilarity last week.
In retrospect we can piece together the most recent chapter, which featured the seemingly innocuous announcement that Michael Valkanis would not stand for the head coaching role – and most notably, an unbecoming statement on Adelaide United’s website that was quickly taken down but spread like wildfire anyway.
As if to trumpet the fact that John Kosmina’s prophecy was wrong and that Valkanis had not penned a two-year deal to usurp him, the club instead toppled another set of dominoes.
But somebody clearly forgot to explain things in a satisfactory manner to the selection panel that had been tasked with finding the new coach.
When it came through that Valkanis had decided he wanted his old job back, and that the club had okayed this, the panel resigned on the spot.
Predictably after the last few months of the Adelaide United soap opera, the story blew up. On social media, the fans decided to do the same.
The club moved to clarify, explaining Valkanis had simply assumed the role he had left on an interim basis, and that he could well be asked to move on by any prospective new coach.
But the damage was done and United’s battered image took yet another hit.
It came after an embarrassing game of brinksmanship between Kosmina, who is said to have penned a piece that called for the heads of Michael Petrillo and Glenn Elliot in a newspaper article that was yanked at the last second, and Greg Griffin, who jumped the gun with a response that made Hindmarsh seem like high-school.
The spotlight won’t go off Adelaide until the new coach signs a contract, and rightly so. Fans are restless and tellingly, so are senior players – including captain Eugene Galekovic.
The next move is key. Who comes in? Queue the A-League coaching carousel. Former Reds assistant Phil Stubbins is reportedly the frontrunner.
Other candidates include Adelaide legend Damien Mori, the eccentric Miron Bleiberg, and the sometimes sour Ernie Merrick.
FFA is involved as part of a new ‘selection panel’, which means the club will probably be using the governing body’s established overseas links to help with the search – most likely the Netherlands, with the aid of Han Berger’s little black book.
Frankly, that is where Adelaide should be looking – elsewhere. Appointing a face that is familiar to the club would be a disaster.
Stubbins may have tried to earn his stripes overseas, but he knows all the protagonists in the latest stoush.
He would walk in with preconceived feelings and emotions towards staff and players.
Normally, possessing an in-depth knowledge of a club’s culture would be a big tick for any aspiring coach. Not so here.
And as much as it pains this childhood Adelaide City fan to admit it, Mori might not be the right choice either.
Though he has never been officially involved with United, he knows the corridors of power in South Australian football all too well.
This is not a job for them. This is a job for someone with absolutely no mates or enemies at Adelaide to come in, find out why the club is polluted and be given license to do whatever it takes to stop it happening again.
A coach from overseas might be going against the grain amidst this new wave of curriculum-driven local tacticians but it might also be Adelaide’s best bet right now.
Alternatively, there are options at home – just as long as they don’t call Adelaide home.
Merrick has more than the required credentials but his history with bitter rivals Melbourne Victory should rule him out – unless the board wants a Benitez at Chelsea kind of scenario.
Bleiberg is a polarising figure but he can coach. Gold Coast United were a supreme success on the field until Clive Palmer’s meddling stopped the former Israeli Navy captain and ‘lizard system’ inventor from doing his job properly.
His sides are great to watch, which is important, because Adelaide fans have started to turn off. His inimitable style in the media would help publicly douse the embers of this bungle-filled era.
He would not care about existing politics. Bleiberg is a Mancini-type who doesn’t really care if his players despise him, either – although it’s only a minority who do. He’d much rather drag them kicking and screaming into success.
And he is smarter than Rini Coolen, who had those very intentions but mistakenly ripped the heart out of a club by messing with the wrong things.
Of course, there are other options. Plenty of them, in fact.
The club is screaming for someone to come in and take control and with the growing international prestige of the A-League, there’s never been a better time to look abroad.
But vitally, the stakes have never been higher for Adelaide either. The right move can extract the Reds from the vicious cycle of embarrassment and clique-driven controversy they’re in right now.
The wrong move, however, will only further strain the already tenuous relationship between unhappy fans and headstrong management.
j binnie
Guest
Kasey- Thanks for the reply to my observation that was made with my tongue in my cheek. But your reply has opened up a gap in our thinking, for I don't believe,,& never will believe, that new tactics will be generated by any "young" coach in our emerging league for many years, for I believe that " coaching innovations" have now come the full circle with teams all over the world using systems that are, in many cases, developments made in the '50's, '60's, & the early '70's. What we have today are numerically similar "layouts" & one has only to look at the systems used by our 2 premier clubs to see that they are essentially basic 4-3-3 with players in each side given specific tasks to add to the attack or defensive functions.Have our young coaches come to the realisation that you cannot play "Barca style" football without first having the players who can perform the way Barca players perform.??????. Your confidence in the Han Berger "system" I do not share for the essential basics of his teaching plan are ideas at least 40 years old, have been tried in Australia before ,& failed for exactly the same reason,lack of a driving force at the highest level of the game,After 7 years in the formulation & 5 of implementation I still don't see the improvement that the millions of dollars already spent should now be delivering,at all levels,especially representative, of our game. Hope you are right & I am wrong but so far I see nothing to to get me change my mind. Your mate jb
Kasey
Guest
That’s not what I did at all my friend, my comment is not based on age, it is based on the fact that our young league has evolved markedly in only 8 years and tactics that worked in its formative years are risky propositions going forward especially as our league continues to develop under the next gen of coaches, like Ange and Poppa. Hans Berger has instigated a regime of improving the qualifications of local coaches in an attempt to drive the tactical development of our league forward. So you can see I wasn’t being ageist, just questioning the wisdom of appointing a coach based on results garnered in a less tactically sophisticated league. Besides Merrick-brand football was never that interesting to watch IMHO. I seem to recall similar sentiments from the denizens on the MBV crowd during his reign.
j binnie
Guest
Kasey - Careful my friend ,you have just consigned such names as Ferguson (71), Hiddink (66), Venables (70) and our own Han Berger (62) to the coaching "scrap heap" though to be honest ,I don't think you thought out that far??jb
Matt F
Roar Guru
Can't get past the Fair Work Commission? Any termination can get through that as long as the terminated employee receives adequate compensation. Sounds like the real issue is that they don't want to pay him out if they terminated his contract. The way they handled Rini Coolen backs this up
Kasey
Guest
I don’t know where else to put this, but this is the most active football discussion today…more great news for the A-League with all public tickets sold for the Grand Final on Sunday…another 'win' for football in what has already been a year with more ‘wins’ than we are used to as football fans in this country. Onwards and upwards! http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Grand-Final-general-public-ticket-allocation-snapped-up/65403 All tickets are now either sold or are currently allocated(6700 x SCGT Members?) for Sunday’s Grand Final at Allianz Stadium.
wisey_9
Roar Guru
well said Kasey
Kasey
Guest
Matic, Merrick and Stange are all in an Emergency Box in the First Aid room labelled "break open in case a time warp reverts football in Oz back 20 years".
Matt P
Guest
Paul Okon has surely served his apprenticeship and from all reports is well respected. has experience at the highest levels in Europe and was always a thinking mans footballer rather then someone blessed with natural gifts, they are the coaches that as a rule tend to succeed ie. popervich
Kasey
Guest
Ab-so-fricken-lutely "Here you can be in charge BUT we'll appoint your 2IC" will not work and the desired Head Coach would just tell AU to go and jump.
Franko
Guest
Head down that path and we could end up with Zoran Matic.
Kasey
Guest
Franko, now *that* sounds like the way we fans have come to see our club being run. Sadly there isn't much we the fans can do about it:(
Franko
Guest
They said they couldn't sack him from being an assistant because they wouldn't get it past the Fair Work Commission. But come on, the guy is not wanted, have some integrity and resign. My guess is that he is chummy with one or two of the owners who want to keep their puppet in place.
Kasey
Guest
All coaching appointments are a gamble. IIRC even the Great Sir Alex was close to being dumped a few games into his first season in charge of ManYoo. Tony Popovic was seen as a Gamble 12 months ago. The thing to remember is that the general football fan in SA is feeling very disillusioned with the club and in July it will be Membership purchase/renewal time. The board needs to appoint someone who will allow the fans to have some hope that the squad will make progress in season 2013-14. Critically, this appointment then needs to engineer that progress or the non-committed casual fan will find other things to do when the Reds are at home.
Ian
Guest
I'm not sure i understand the fuss about valkanis pulling out of the race for the head coach. the board did say yes you can be the assistant which is where he used to be. weren't the panel there to do decide on the head coach only? if valkanis didn't want to do it then the panel won't waste their time evaluating him. notwithstanding valkanis obviously wasn't the right person to become the head coach so they can focus on real possible candidates.
Frank Scicluna
Guest
I will give you one name - providing that at 65 years of age he would still want the job. Give Bernd Stange a three year contract, irrespective of early results, then let him build the club from bottom up. The man knows and understands Australian football AND loves the country.
rob
Guest
Whoever the coach is he needs to be able to pick his support team - not Valkanis!
Towser
Guest
Kasey Just checked his credentials,outsider or not for me he is a gamble ie he is not proven being mainly a youth coach.. A season or so as first team manager in the Latvian league then disappearing is not IMO proof that he can succeed in the A-League. Depends on whether the club is prepared for a gamble,given the scenario of the last year or so I would have thought they would have gone for the best tried & trued coach affordable. Gambles do pay off in coaching appointments as we know,but they are still a gamble if the coach has no proven trophies in the cabinet & sometimes even if he does, he doesn't fit the club's philosophy,as indicated by Football United below.
Franko
Guest
How Valkanis (Val-can't-is) hasn't resigned is beyond me. This guy clearly agitated to get rid of Kosmina, failed in his own duties as a coach and is now hanging around like a foul smell to 'welcome' the next head coach, who he will no doubt try to undermine again. What a fall from grace from a wonderful player.
Franko
Guest
+1 For Nunzio
Kasey
Guest
I’m hopeful that board will surprise us all and appoint the ‘outsider’ in Italian Nunzio Zavettieri formerly of Latvian champions FK Ventspils. Besides leading Ventspils to the title in 2009 He also led them into the Europa League. He has coached at youth level at top Italian clubs A.C. Milan, Udinese and Inter Milan and has thrown his hat into the ring if one can believe anything that Val Migliaccio writes these days. Of course If Stubbins gets it; I would be prepared to give him a go before judging him. I am only wary when he is described as being the brains behind United's success in the 2008ACL because wasn’t Rado described as being the brains behind Brisbane's back to back championships? That turned out well didn't it?