Mulvey's sacking indicates where the Roar's power lies

From A-League coach of the year to unemployed – all within six months. No matter which way you look at it, Mike Mulvey’s departure from Brisbane Roar is a cruel and unfitting end to his tenure as head coach.

Five losses and a solitary win in the opening six matches of the 2014-15 A-League has been a shock for all football fans, but the extreme decision to axe Mulvey has been a real bombshell.

Brisbane’s Indonesian owners, the Bakrie Group, have continually expressed their vision to take the club forward, particularly in Asia, and they’ve decided Mulvey isn’t the man to lead them into a new era.

ROAR CONFIRM FRANS THIJSSEN AS INTERIM COACH

It’s a clear indication of where the power lies at Brisbane Roar – the technical director’s role. Ken Stead, former conditioning coach under Postecgolou and then Mulvey, was elevated into the position last year to takeover from Rado Vidosic.

It’s clear that his influence at the club has steadily risen, while Mulvey’s star has slowly diminished.

“Kenny is the guardian of the football knowledge and the guardian of our philosophy,” managing director Sean Dobson told The Daily Telegraph.

“Short-term it’s [Mulvey’s sacking] going to raise a lot of eyebrows and there’s going to be some pain. But the focus really is on Asia and building out and making sure that as a club, our systems, our training methodology, our conditioning methodology keep improving.”

“If it’s not improving we have a duty and obligation to correct it.”

The board gets what the board wants, and apparently they are more inclined to agree with Stead’s methods than Mulvey’s. It’s not unwarranted; Stead was heavily involved in creating Ange Postecoglou’s successful Brisbane side.

Mulvey entered the fold at Brisbane as an unknown in December 2012, steering the Roar ship that had swayed under Rado Vidosic following the loss of Postecoglou to Melbourne Victory.

He signed a full-time contract with the club in February 2013, and despite “Mulvey Out” signs occupying Suncorp Stadium initially, the rookie manager took Brisbane into the semi-finals. The following season he won the premiership and championship double.

He had taken the club’s philosophy indoctrinated under Postecoglou and raised the bar. While he didn’t start the Roar revolution, he evolved the club into a more efficient beast.

Needless passing along the backline went out the window and the team was a more exciting and attractive outfit to watch. Whereas Postecoglou’s possession-based game was aesthetically pleasing when viewed exclusively, it could often result in dire contests.

Mulvey was wary of Brisbane becoming predictable, allowing opponents an easier path to stemming their effectiveness. We were already seeing that last season, and with the departure of Besart Berisha, Mulvey saw the chance to stray away from a focal point in attack to a more fluid front three.

He wasn’t afraid to mix it up tactically either, often allowing opposing sides such as Adelaide last season to dominate possession, while pressing intelligently. Some may say his style wasn’t as attractive as Postecoglou’s, but it’s a very subjective matter.

Regardless, the Bakrie Group, led by Stead’s expertise, weren’t pleased with Mulvey’s direction. He had reportedly been put on notice due to his training methods, which he’d obviously tweaked following Stead’s promotion to technical director.

In the off-season, Mulvey brought in renowned video analyst Ron Smith, and the move was expected to take Roar to a new level. But it hasn’t paid off, and it will be interesting to see if Smith stays on. He would have had a big role in Mulvey’s training sessions.

Stead’s role in the dismissal puts further bad light on the role of technical director. Football is littered with examples of power struggles, from Dennis Wise and Kevin Keegan to Franco Baldini and Andre Villas Boas.

Who should take the blame for poor recruitment or the loss of key assets? That’s an area in which the technical director holds big influence. But the manager is usually the fall guy when results don’t eventuate.

Mulvey’s biggest asset was his personality. An intelligent scholar of the game, Mulvey was also a brilliant man manager. It’s hard to believe that he lost the dressing room, as has been suggested in some quarters.

The terrible start to the 2014-15 season didn’t help Mulvey’s tenuous position, though there was a feeling he could turn it around.

But this wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction from the Bakrie Group, it’s clear that this was a long time coming, and perhaps they just needed the right situation to make it happen. Sacking Mulvey in the offseason after winning the double wouldn’t have gone down well.

No one knows the full story being Mulvey’s dismissal, but the wording of the release that stated he was “stepping down” was bizarre. There are many unanswered questions, but one thing that is certain is that Roar’s management have handled the sacking with little class.

News Limited scored the scoop before players or manager had any idea about the impending decision. The Roar’s failure to give their manager a fair and dignified departure is extremely poor.

Blame the media all you want, but management were aware of their intentions to sack Mulvey well before Sunday.

The Bakrie Group have made their ambitions to move forward clear, and the Asian Champions League is a big factor in future development. The upcoming 2015 campaign is a crucial stage, but will incoming head coach Frans Thijssen offer more chance of success than Mulvey?

The former Netherlands international has a unremarkable CV, but then again Mulvey held similar pull when he was given the job. Given that Thijssen has the job only until the end of the year, when Brisbane will reportedly target an overseas name, perhaps he’s there solely to carry out Stead’s wishes.

Time will tell if the Bakrie Group’s decision to back Stead’s vision pays off. This could well be similar to when Southampton ruthlessly discarded club hero Nigel Atkins in favour of Mauricio Pochettino.

It wasn’t a popular move among fans and media alike, but it the end the change of direction pushed the Saints to a new level, and the board was vindicated.

Whether the same will be said about the Bakrie Group and Thijssen in a year’s time is yet to be seen. Hopefully, for the A-League and Roar fans, that is the case.

As for Mulvey, he can leave the Roar with his head held high. His reputation remains intact, and he says goodbye with a record of 27 won, 8 drawn and 21 lost in 56 matches – an impressive record slightly tainted due to this season’s woeful stamp.

There is no doubt he deserved better, but there will be no shortage of suitors from A-League clubs when the next casualty in the coaching rosters fall.

Phil Stubbins is under pressure in Newcastle, as is John van ‘t Schip at Melbourne City, while Adelaide and Western Sydney may lose their coaches to bigger gigs overseas at the end of the season.

Whoever manages to secure Mulvey, when the time comes, will be in safe and meticulous hands.

Follow Janek on Twitter @JanekSpeight