Where does united stand?
The last few weeks or so for Adelaide United have been one that the club would rather forget. From the fans unrest, the $750,000 payout to Rini Coolen and recently the Kosmina shock resignation, you could be forgiven to think that these were problems of an A-League club sitting at the bottom of the ladder. Surprisingly the club are sitting 4th on the table and are only 4 points off the desirable 2nd spot. But if you have observed the club since its inception then you would know that controversy is regularity, so much so that Mario Balotelli would fit in nicely to a club like Adelaide United.
Michael Valkanis is now the coach of the struggling reds which looks to be the case for the remainder of the season. His first outing as coach couldn’t have got off to a worse start with a 4-2 loss at home to the Wanderers. Wanderers who are high on confidence, a team that’s well structured and hard to breakdown was not very good timing for a team low on confidence, coupled with their defensive frays. Hindmarsh usually being a fortress for United, it was their second home loss of the season which sent alarm bells ringing through the Hindmarsh faithful. The loss even got to long time servant of the club Cassio who stormed out of the dressing rooms after their 4-2 loss to Tony Popovic’s men.
Previous to the home game against the Wanderers, there was some welcomed news from Adelaide United owner and board director, Bruno Marveggio, who has put together an all-star cast to help the reds select a new coach for the 2013-2014 season and beyond according to the Advertiser. The cast involved analyst (Barca crazy) Craig Foster, city legend John Perin, former head of fitness at Liverpool FC, Darren Burgess and another former ex Socceroo yet to be confirmed. The article went on to say that there has to be more emphasis on passion and professionalism. Building local talent and re-engagement were other goals the club wanted to achieve. It also stated that the new coach must have a philosophy of total football (tiki taka football) and be able to implement training methods for juniors and seniors so players can understand what kind of football the club wants them to play. Getting into the mind of now reds coach Valkanis, you wonder if this will have any bearing on his thoughts that he may only be a short term solution for the club.
Looking at the reds next opponents for round 20, it doesn’t get much easier with high flying Melbourne Victory sitting 2nd and coming off an impressive derby win. Bruce Djite, Nigel Boogard and Fabio Ferriera all but ruled out for the clash against their bitter rivals but to the fans delight, Jeronimo is set to return. Despite chaos around the club, there is always a buzz leading up to this game with a bumper crowd expected and I presume a sold out away bay full of blue and white.
The club and fans may be going through a tough time at the moment but this has no doubt brought all reds fans closer together who demand more and rightfully so. Club management may be slow to learn from their mistakes but will no doubt be better for it in the near future. Valkanis has got a tough gig to steer this club anywhere near finals success this season so don’t expect a quick fix anytime soon but don’t expect the reds to go down without a fight on Friday night against Ange Postecoglou’s men.
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