Paul Okon, whose Mariners team have had one of the least conspicuous worst-ever seasons, walked away from the club on Tuesday.
To put things in perspective, the Mariners play Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne City and Newcastle in their final four fixtures; that’s three of the top four, and an underachieving Brisbane team that just beat the leaders.
It’s more than probable that Central Coast finish the campaign with their current points total – 20 points – which would make it their second-worst final tally since 2010.
They have been awful this year, and if not for the four points wrested off Sydney FC, it would seem even worse.
The hope drained away insipidly, quietly; Okon’s promise as a manager, stoked by the ambition inherent in his pass-heavy approach, was built up in spite of the frank facts of his maiden season, in which the Mariners finished joint-second-last.
There was a sense that, once Okon was able to craft the playing roster to his tastes, the football would be less haphazard, strewn with fewer errors, tinged less distinctly with the sense of a team only barely able to comprehend their brief, much less carry it out. Okon brought in 14 players at the start of the 2017-18 season, and saw that many depart, although he probably wasn’t overjoyed to see Paul Izzo and Roy O’Donovan join the latter category.
AAP Image/Darren Pateman
Still, this was – keeping the very meagre finances and highly questionable support of the club firmly in mind – a team as close to hand-crafted by the manager. These were his players, and it was upon their collective talent – and up against the limits of that talent – that Okon was relying; their shortcomings were as important to the system as their strengths, and it was Okon’s job not just to tailor his team to his plan, but his plan to his team.
He was unable to. Central Coast lead the league in passes-per-shot, passes-per-goal, and possession. They are last in the league for percentage of long balls played. They’ve completed the second-most passes in the attacking third, behind Sydney FC, and at a league-leading percentage of accuracy.
Every Mariners game was a flurry of passing, weaving patterns across the full length and breadth of the pitch. This was the foundation of Okon’s philosophy.
Central Coast are also last in shots on target, and have scored the equal-fewest goals so far. Theirs was an attack that swelled with build-up activity, lolling around like an elastic bladder bloated with passes in key areas, considered approach play and industrious probing, but that could not be converted into goals. The Mariners have attempted the third-most crosses this season, and yet completed the second-fewest. It’s all fiddling and no incision.
Combine this busy impotence with a slavish dedication to passing out from the back – a practice that, when executed shoddily, tends to regularly hand goals to the opposition – makes for an incredibly frustrating team; we can see what you’re trying to do Paul, but you’re failing.
Initial failures were excused in the first season, but the longer the trying and failing went on, the excuses dried up. This was largely a problem with the attack; Central Coast have conceded 37 goals this season, which is a lot, but fewer than Perth, Western Sydney, and Wellington. That they’ve scored so few is the bigger issue.
This sounds familiar, of course; Ange Postecoglou ended his Socceroos tenure under a similar cloud, and walked away from the job among echoing calls for him to modify – even abandon – his approach, which also suffered from impotence, ill-fit and defensive errors.
AAP Image/Matt Roberts
Whereas Ange’s trudge towards the exit was brightly lit and closely followed, Okon’s has had to suffer under far less scrutiny, but the similarities are striking.
Postecoglou’s Yokohama FM recently earned their first J1 win, over Urawa Reds no less, having lost two and drawn one of their first three league games. Apparently Yokohama controlled possession, consistently passed out from the back and played a high line, with the goalkeeper involved when in possession.
The opening stanza of that game saw Yokohama barely survive a high Urawa press, a period in which they looked especially fragile on the counter and could easily have conceded. Eventually, though, Yokohama took control and ended up narrow 1-0 victors. Again, this all sounds familiar.
There is a limit to which a manager’s dedication to his tactical philosophy can be considered admirable, and that limit is usually breached when the manager’s commitment begins to visibly hurt the team. Central Coast have been bad for a while, so it was difficult to pinpoint that moment for Okon; perhaps that point was reached in his first match. Certainly, now that he’s gone with zero progress made from last season, it’s obvious very little worked.
How much of this is the club’s fault, or the fault of the players? How much better might Okon have done with more money at hand, or with O’Donovan up front? Would Okon take Barcelona to the treble, playing a brand of tiki-taka the likes of which Pep Guardiola only sees in his most ecstatic fantasies?
Well, if rumours are true, and Okon is in line to take over at Sydney after Graham Arnold leaves, we’ll see him with a much better team, and more resources, at his disposal. Milos Ninkovic is no Lionel Messi, sure, but Andrew Hoole is no Milos Ninkovic.
Okon’s time at Central Coast will now be bookended in the A-League annals, a curious sojourn that began with lofty, buoyant ambition, but turned out as a period of near-consistent foundering, before ending as an infuriating example of how imperative it is not to be too imperative.
LuckyEddie
Guest
Thanks Claudio for the brutal honesty in regard to big Ange. Ange only stayed around long enough to pocket the $1m bonus for getting us to the WC. Rather than having the will to take the players to the WC he decided to line his pockets and bolt. He pulled the old family responsibilities rubbish as an excuse for his greed, left the family in Melbourne, and took off. His period at Brisbane was down to Berisha and Broich being young and in top form. When Broich did not play for Roar under big Ange Brisbane did not win a game. No doubt when he gets the flick in Japan he will scout around for more money and no doubt some mugs will cough up for it. Ange will always be plan A Ange because he never had a plan B.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Lets get one thing straight, Ange walked away for more money. He had free reign with the Footballroos to play whatever style or tactics he liked and the FFA board never interfered. Any notion that he was a martyr fighting the establishment for the purity of football is just BS. He had a dispute with the FFA about how much he was going to get paid for taking the Footballroos to Russia. He didn't get what he wanted so he left, pure and simple. The stories about FFA "interference"and "wanting to be with his family" are all BS. He went to Japan leaving his family behind in Melbourne because Yokohama offered him more than double what he was getting paid by the FFA. He has no credibility with anyone.
fadida
Guest
There comes a time when you realise your team aren't capable of doing so. Then you need to be flexible and improvise
stu
Guest
You correctly raise the issue of AP that most have ignored until most recent times. No coach can take a team into a game with a perception that his team is the only one on the park, sometimes I think AP firmly believes this.
stu
Guest
Interesting to get an update on AP in Japan. I think it again confirmes that he is very one dimensional in his coaching ethos. Is this being a good coach or just lacking in ideas? Me thinks for later. Then I notice Arnies lack of control on the sidelines raising it's head again recently as times get tough, I worry about his composure when in charge of Australia ie. can he take the pressure.
Midfielder
Guest
Nem You said ""The additional ALeague figures makes perfect sense. And, you’ve been conservative with your projections & used a rational approach.""""" I based on what I have read from US research... the research is quite specific in that it says you need to target new media areas... this means regions and cities... The research argues, you will get say more eyeballs from a new city / region, that an area with an existing team... So Tassie & Canberra teams would add more eyeballs than new teams in larger population centres like Sydney & Melbourne.... However it also says well place teams creating derbies will also add eyeballs ... but the planning needed for new teams in existing cities needs to be very carefully planned ... in a way saying the South East Danny bid is better than the South Melbourne bid. Because the ability to draw new fans would be greater in a bigger region. However the overall logic says new teams bring extra eyeballs... It has in many ways changed how I view the expansion... the new six teams... Tassie, Canberra, Gong, SE Melbourne, SW Sydney, second Brisbane that is different to the Roar
Midfielder
Guest
Nem Thanks the google thing worked ...
Nemesis
Guest
Middy you can temporarily suspend the Ad Block for that particular page. Or, if you use Google Chrome Incognito, most of the Ad Block apps don't work.
Midfielder
Guest
PH I can't get past the fire wall as I have ad block and it wants me to cancel my ad block .... which my IT manager [ son] refuses to do... So can you do a copy and paste of the article
chris
Guest
The shire is big regarding participation levels. I'm pretty sure that the women's side is the biggest participation of any other association in the state.
chris
Guest
Yes it could PH. I've seen some of the dinosaurs that roam around the msm over there and Forbes calling them "gatekeepers" of traditional US sports, is being too kind. The demographic of 18-34 is the key. They will be the ones having children etc and I would say it will grow exponentially. I hazard to say its the same here with football and basketball as their favourite sports. Thanks for the link.
j binnie
Guest
Waz - Without knowing at what level you coach it is hard to follow your logic re. "the coach being most important person" . It is that type of logic that in my opinion has created an aura around coaches, an aura not always earned by deed but gifted to the recipient by adoring followers of the game. At the lower levels of our game it should be imperative that the "coaches",in effect the "teachers of the game',should, ,just like teachers ,have to have a qualification to teach. Now you know as well as I do that this is not the case in the majority of our grassroots clubs where we are still dependent on well meaning volunteers,and, despite the efforts of those "Curriculum Believers" this is a situation that has not really improved, not since 2007 (NC publicised), but since 1974 when the idea of small side games on small pitches was first mooted and a serious attempt was made to have qualified State Coaches running coaching courses for coaches, in every state. That worthwhile effort died a death,and those who ridiculed the idea at the time stood by the graveside and watched the final act. Did they come up with a better idea?, Of course not and so our "coaching" stagnated for another 30 years, Now to get back to today. If you believe that all that prancing,dancing , & gesticulating has any effect on the outcome of a game then so be it,,nothing I can say will change your mind, To me it is purely theatrical and nothing else. Cheers jb.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
This article could virtually be written with Australia replacing US, except the bit about the World Cup LOL
Football is Life
Guest
There are a number of comments along the linesof the coach being a strategist and that includes selecting right players to execute that strategy and preparing the players fot that strategy. I also concur with Nem's statement about casting a wider net to build the supporter base. Struth if Southern Expansion bid get up with their own boutique stadium etc the Shire area is a big drawing ground and as i understand it football is big there. Bring on new teams! !!!
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
I continue to stray off topic, Midfielder funny enough this just popped into my twitter feed https://www.forbes.com/sites/filipbondy/2018/01/08/soccer-will-soon-be-americas-third-favorite-spectator-sport/#4b5083173c53
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Or you could just get better at playing out from the back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pssPXUABhb8
chris
Guest
Interesting ! https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/wallabies-will-go-head-to-head-with-socceroos-world-cup-opener-20180320-p4z5bn.html
reuster75
Roar Rookie
The fear of losing has become so great that coaches now tend to drill into their players a set way of playing and the ability for players to think on their feet and adapt to what's in front of them has gone missing (with the notable exception of the Italians). There has been discussion/concern around the game for a while now about the death of street football especially in South America as the spaces for kids to play has disappeared. Those games were great for teaching kids how to adapt to what was in front of them and how to control the ball in tight spaces. Acamedies are certainly helpful for player development but have we got the balance right between drilling a partilcuar style of play vs the ability to adapt tactically on the fly as Italian teams have traditionally been so good at.
Nemesis
Guest
The additional ALeague figures makes perfect sense. And, you've been conservative with your projections & used a rational approach. 2nd Div viewing is open to debate. I'm ok with your assumptions, but be prepared for the usual posers to try arbitrarily shout you down.
reuster75
Roar Rookie
Absolutely it's very logical what you're saying. What we want is as many people as possible to engage with a team to start with no matter whether that's an a-league or NPL team. From there they will hopefully become more engaged with their chosen teams and thus you get the best type of growth - organic and sustainable. Where the FFA fall down is the belief that the a-league is the be all and end all when it comes to converting grassroots partiicpation numbers into bums on seats (hence their fish where the fishes are approach to new teams). This isn't much use if you live 100's of km away from your nearest a-league team thus you get the current disconnect between numbers playing the game and numbers attending a-league matches. More teams, even if it's a 2nd division, equals more games equals more content for media equals more money for the game. As Paul sings "from little things big things grow".