Brisbane Roar need to give Robbie Fowler full support and cash to spend

Incoming Brisbane head coach Robbie Fowler poses with a fan before the Roar's match against Adelaide at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

We probably won’t know for some time what Robbie Fowler made of his first look at the club he will take over next season.

Fowler could well have been left wondering what he has let himself in for after watching the Queenslanders lose 5-3 to Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium on Anzac Day, in a merciful ending to what has been a season to forget for the three-time A-League champions.

Still, sorting out the fixes for the on-field issues that brought them just four wins in 27 games this season with a club record 71 goals conceded could be the least of his worries unless the club’s owners, the Bakrie Group, are prepared to throw plenty of their financial weight behind him.

Make no mistake, Fowler is going to need all the help he can get. It’s a task that would be extremely difficult for a coach with vast knowledge at senior level, let alone one with very limited experience.

Whether the Liverpool legend can coach or not remains to be seen. There are many who will argue that just because you were a great player doesn’t necessarily mean you can cut it as a coach. Football history is littered with such failures.

Fowler, however, is tenacious in his belief he is the right man for the job and he should be given the chance to prove himself. He has the right credentials and the proper coaching badges to say he can make a good fist of his chance.

Importantly, he is going to cut his teeth away from the high profile of a European league and the glare of a ferocious media just waiting to dig their claws in at the first signs of failure.

The 44-year-old said all the right things and gave all the right signals during myriad interviews on Tuesday following the announcement he had signed a two-year deal. Now, having defied convention by throwing their support behind a rookie coach, it is incumbent on the Roar’s management to back him up.

There are good signs that they will do that. For a start, they have a more than capable man at the helm in chief executive David Pourre, who has overseen the completion of a new training complex at Logan while helping to steer the owners back in the right direction.

Pourre identified Fowler as the man for the job from the very first time he signalled his intention to apply.

Unlike several seasons ago when the Bakries appeared to have lost interest, cutting finance and, at one stage failing to spend the entire salary cap, the club is moving in the right direction.

There are still some underlying issues, but they spent the full $3.063 million salary cap this season and the bills are being paid.

They need to go further, however, especially in terms of recruitment and specifically in finding the right type of visa players, as well as a marquee signing that can make a difference on and off the field.

Fowler’s undoubted connections, not just in Liverpool, but around the world are going to be a massive influence. It is understood he has already sounded out a number of possibilities in England.

With Tobias Kristensen, Thomas Mikkelsen, Alex Lopez and Eric Bautheac all expected to depart, it will be crucial for Fowler to get his foreign player mix spot on.

And hopefully the Bakries will loosen the purse strings and follow the lead of clubs like Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory who have never been afraid to splash big cash, anywhere up to $4m outside of the salary cap, to get a marquee of immense standing. The Roar will also need to show they are moving forward administratively. The debacle over John Aloisi’s resignation in December left a lot to be desired.

The club went without a full-time coach until Tuesday and that no doubt affected the players, many of whom were left in the dark about their futures.

With a P-plate coach in charge, albeit a man of the immense footballing stature of Fowler, Brisbane simply cannot afford that sort of hesitancy and indecision next season.