Robbie Slater: Aussie coaches have better understanding of workings of A-League than foreigners
The A-League is such a different environment on so many levels. And, according to Robbie Slater, the problem is that the majority of the foreign coaches who come here don’t understand that.
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It’s taken a little ,over three months but now we have our first coaching casualty of the season, with Ernie Merrick taking the fall for Newcastle’s woeful campaign.
The big question for the Jets hierarchy is whether to seek out a foreign coach or back a local candidate.
It’s only when you have experience of playing in Europe and here that you understand how different an environment it is in the A-League (and the NSL before that) — on so many levels. The problem is that the majority of the foreign coaches who come here don’t understand that.
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Those who come from the British school in particular — Robbie Fowler, for instance; even Markus Babbel, who spent years at Liverpool – are often managers, not coaches.
When I played at Blackburn, history records Kenny Dalglish as the manager who won the EPL title, but it was actually his assistant, Ray Harford, who did most of the day-to-day coaching.
Similarly at West Ham, Harry Rednapp largely watched while Frank Lampard Snr put us through the drills.
Not only that, coaches from Europe are used to overseeing the finished article, when many of the young players here need a more hands-on coach who can develop them as much as direct them.
They also have to deal with what’s been dubbed the longest pre-season in world football.
Players get so bored of doing the same drills and bored of hearing the same voice for months on end. The FFA Cup gives some relief, but the teams who go out early don’t have that.
You need to understand how to keep players entertained and stimulated from July to October, not just put in place a short, sharp fitness regime that leaves the squad too knackered to think.
The overall question of fitness is a big factor, too. I played in the NSL as a teenager then moved to Europe, and was blessed not to have serious injuries. Then I came back here and immediately had terrible trouble with my back and hamstrings from the pitches — training and for games — being so rock hard.
You need a coach who understands that and doesn’t overload players (or let them overload themselves).
That translates into a coach who believes in the value of sports science and listening to his medical staff, and not forcing players to train harder and harder just because that’s how it was for you.
All these factors combine into the need for a coach with a nose for the Australian football landscape.
The three foreign coaches who have won the A-League had squads with experienced senior players who understood all that and were listened to by the coach.
Lawrie McKinna, the Jets CEO, won the Premier’s Plate and got to two grand finals. He gets it. I’m sure that’s in the back of his mind as he sifts through resumes this week.