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How hard is it to coach in the A-League? Josep Gombau might just be the man to ask, after his Adelaide United masterminded an impressive 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers yesterday.
One of the joys of following a 27-round season is watching all the twists and turns along the way.
Come Round 10 of the campaign and Reds coach Gombau was under serious pressure, after his team had managed just a solitary victory on the opening day of the season.
But a 4-0 win over Central Coast Mariners has sparked an impressive run of form since, with the Reds having now collected 11 points from their subsequent five games.
More than the results, however, it’s the manner of Adelaide’s wins which have suddenly put Gombau back in the good books.
His team battered the Wanderers in a frenetic opening period at Coopers Stadium, opening the scoring early through Argentine import Marcelo Carrusca and generally looking the more impressive side.
On his day, Carrusca looks just about the best player in the A-League and all of a sudden Gombau has got his Adelaide team buzzing, with the Reds pressing high and using the full width of the pitch to get in behind opposition defences.
It was a tactic Tony Popovic appeared to have little answer for, but then the Wanderers coach was far from alone in enduring a difficult weekend.
Across town, his counterpart Frank Farina must be wondering what he needs to do to motivate his players.
Despite Sydney FC going into their clash with Central Coast Mariners desperate for a win, Farina’s team turned in an insipid performance – particularly after going a goal down.
Mile Sterjovski’s winner was a classic ‘coach killer’ as Terry McFlynn gave the ball away in midfield, allowing Sterjovski to roll the dice and get lucky with a deflection which left Vedran Janjetovic stranded.
Not for the first time the Sky Blues looked listless in response, and though Farina can do little to ensure his players carry out his instructions, questions will surely be asked of the former Socceroo coach’s ability to motivate his team.
But then, it’s been one of those seasons where questions are repeatedly being asked of coaches.
That’s certainly the case in Newcastle, where Gary van Egmond is rumoured to be the next Jets tactician to be shown the door.
The Novocastrians were simply woeful in their 3-1 defeat at Melbourne Heart, and they’ve now lost six games and drawn four in what is turning out to be a forgettable campaign.
Why is it some coaches seem so capable of motivating players and others don’t?
Does intensity of personality play a role, whereby the likes of Ange Postecoglou and more recently coaches such as Popovic and Mike Mulvey essentially will their teams to win?
That might be one factor, though it would overlook the traits of the most successful A-League coach of all.
Ernie Merrick may have won the A-League championship twice with Melbourne Victory, but he was in no mood to be sentimental when his Wellington Phoenix took on the Victory on Saturday afternoon at Wellington Regional Stadium.
The hosts positively thrashed their visitors, with ex-Victory star Carlos Hernandez leading the charge.
And while the 5-0 defeat was no doubt a chastening experience for Victory coach Kevin Muscat and his depleted side, it must be said that pretty much everything went Wellington’s way on the day.
So perhaps the key to the A-League coaching caper is to simply admit the entire business is harder than it looks.
It would be interesting to see how a Sir Alex Ferguson or a Marcello Lippi might have fared in our salary-capped league, and perhaps one day the A-League will institute a marquee coaches rule.
But for now, we’re left to analyse the coaches we have.
And judging by this weekend’s result, there’s nothing easy about being a coach in the A-League.
UPDATE: The going certainly isn’t easy for an A-League coach, with Newcastle showing Gary van Egmond the door after last weekend’s loss to Melbourne Heart.