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Football, Sport 1

Death to Pissants: Is Adelaide finally on the path to being United?

By Justin Civitillo @JC_Kazama · On December 16, 2013

“Because of a piss-ant town this club will never win anything, until you get rid of that crap.”

The now infamous words spoken by then-Adelaide United manager Aurelio Vidmar, amidst a rant  following another horrendous finals defeat, have haunted the club ever since.

The term ‘pissants’ has been used by Reds fans and opposition supports alike to mock the club during its many on and off-field meltdowns since.

So it’s somewhat surprising that new manager Josep Gombau has inspired such a display of support from the club’s hardcore fans, including the unveiling of an ‘In Josep We Trust’ banner at the game against the Mariners on Saturday.

After 8 games without a win – the club’s longest ever winless run – it could be expected that Reds supporters would be frustrated and baying for the unheralded manager’s blood.

Rini Coolen, the man whose name has seemingly become synonymous with ‘crap foreign manager,’ had a similarly poor record at the start of 2011/12.

Rini’s Reds won 2 out of 11 before he was ‘moved’ to youth team manager in a ‘restructuring’ – ostensibly Chairman Greg Griffin’s attempt to force Coolen out of the club without paying out the ridiculous contract he was given.

Following a protracted court battle, Coolen is currently counting Griffin’s money in between shifts at Dutch club PEC Zwolle, where he is the director of the club’s youth academy.

It was clear though that Rini had lost the Hindmarsh faithful – the discontent was evident among the 7,967 fans in attendance for Coolen’s last game in charge, a 3-0 pantsing by Gold Coast United.

So the question remains, what has Gombau done to earn such patience and understanding from the Reds faithful?

Perhaps it’s not so much what Gombau has done, but that the fans and the club are learning that to shake off the pissants tag, Adelaide must truly become United.

Anyone who lives in Adelaide can attest that the media, specifically the local rag, The Advertiser, can be quite powerful in influencing public opinion.

So again it’s pleasantly surprising that the fans are backing Gombau after things have become heated between himself and Val Migliaccio, the Advertiser’s chief football writer – and also the man identified by Vidmar in his rant as being part of the politics supposedly causing the Reds continual meltdowns.

While Gombau’s comment about Migliaccio’s son can’t be justified and has rightly been apologised for, it is understandable why Gombau would go on the offensive against the scribe.

After early criticism of the Reds’ new style, Migliaccio interviewed former Reds Assistant Phil Stubbins, who had been overlooked for the vacant job before it was given to Gombau.

Stubbins, though reasonable, was not entirely complimentary about Gombau’s plans for the club.

This article perhaps provoked Gombau into accusing Val of backstabbing him at another presser – presented by Migliaccio as an attack on the media, along with more quotes from a former Reds employee. This time it was Coolen, who Migliaccio had been critical of during the poor start to 2011/12.

Rather than attempting to hurl shit at his former club like another ex-Reds manager, Coolen delivered some levelheaded advice, perhaps wishing he’d also been afforded the same patience by the club, the fans and the media.

Regardless, the hardcore supporters continued to back their man in, even after the incident Migliaccio described on his Twitter account as a “Sad day for [Adelaide United].”

A defeat to Central Coast on Saturday may have tested the resolve of the fans and the club further, however for once the Reds stood up when it mattered most and delivered a ridiculously satisfying 4-0 tonking of the Champions, a team that had beaten Adelaide in each of their last 9 encounters.

It could very easily have been different, especially if Daniel McBreen had converted a golden chance granted to him early on by slack Reds marking.

Notably, there was a change in style. The Reds were out-possessed, electing to adapt their passing game to exploit the space left by the Mariners pressing, according to Gombau.

While some may view it as a cop out, others will see it as Gombau identifying a weakness in the opposition’s attempt to exploit the Reds’ rigid adherence to a high possession game.

The result was a balance between ‘tiki taka’ and long passing. Hardly representing a switch to pragmatism, with less of the ball the Reds were still damned entertaining to watch and created plenty of chances – as did the Mariners.

But everything that needed to go in the Reds favour, for once, did, and United fans were rewarded for their patience with one of the club’s greatest victories.

It is only one result, but it’s a much-needed injection of belief for the players, the club and the fans. It also serves to shut up any critics or malcontents, at least for another week.

Or perhaps not.

Adelaide’s next game is away to Perth, who are currently embroiled in their own pissants-like saga.

A win in the draining Perth heat against an injury-hit and possibly imploding Glory side would position the Reds nicely for home games against Newcastle and Sydney FC, before traveling to Suncorp to again test themselves against the league leaders Brisbane Roar.

Fans will be hoping that Saturday was the first sign that the club is prepared to move beyond the pissants label and stop shooting itself in the foot when it matters most.

But more impressive than the hiding dished out to the Mariners is the support of the manager, so often the person to take the brunt of the criticism for a team’s poor results and normally the first head to go on the chopping block.

If the Reds supporters continue to keep the faith with Gombau – regardless of what happens in the remaining 17 games, or what is printed in the local paper – they may well be eventually rewarded with a golden toilet seat of their own, and the sense of legitimacy that comes with it.

Adelaide will then no longer be a pissant town with a football club that never wins anything.

A-LeagueAdelaide UnitedFootballJosep GombauVal Migliaccio
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  • strayan says: December 18, 2013 at 4:02 pm

    world clarsh article there champ. Josep is the man who will lead the pissants to the promised land

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