Agree with most of this.
On O'Donovan, I understand the logic behind having at least one of your visa players having experience in the league and being a known quantity, but so far for Fowler it is backfiring, given the form Roy is in. 

Article from the SMH with Vince Rugari: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/fowler-s-british-infused-roar-keen-to-break-the-stereotype-20191101-p536j0.html

Even before Robbie Fowler was confirmed as Brisbane Roar's new coach this year, there were elements of the Australian football community wanting him to fail.

Some were delighted to see a Liverpool icon take the first step in his coaching career in the A-League. Others were more hostile, rolling their eyes at the thought of a foreign celebrity being preferred, yet again, over deserving local options.

That sense of scepticism intensified when Fowler locked in his contingent of five foreigners - all of them from the UK and Ireland. Including a handful of repatriated Australians, the Roar have signed eight players whose last experience in England was in the third tier or lower. A few have been written off as "backpackers" who will wilt when the summer heats up.

Fowler, because of his high profile and lack of coaching experience, will probably be judged more harshly than his A-League contemporaries. It's the nature of the beast in Australia, where there has long been a subtle undercurrent of anti-English sentiment in football, and only time will tell if it is justified in this case.

"Some people have opinions, but it's not really an opinion is it? It's a dig and I don't know why," said Tony Grant, the Roar's technical director and Fowler's right-hand man.

"There's always debate on ex-players. No one ever knows, do they? There will be people out there who are [saying] that and it's a cross you've got to bear, I suppose. We're experienced enough, we love the game. We're giving all these kids as much as we've got."

On paper, the names in Brisbane's squad are not overly impressive. But they are the product of a deliberate approach from Fowler and Grant, the club's new brains trust who have known each other since they were 10-year-olds in Liverpool.

When Fowler signed for the Reds, Grant signed for Everton. Their careers went in different directions but they remained close friends, living near each other, sending their children to the same schools, and doing their coaching badges together. They are a package deal. "We go together, it's as simple as that," Grant said.

Fowler and Grant, who has also worked as a scout for Everton, did their research on the Roar, who shipped 71 goals in a tumultuous last season - the worst record in the A-League. After showing the door to more than a dozen players, their chief goal was bringing a sense of stability - installing a tactical blueprint that would stop the rot at the back to give them a platform to build on and create a productive environment that would allow them to blend in young talent."We haven't taken over Roarcelona," Grant said. "We took over Brisbane Roar who were nowhere near Roarcelona, who needed a full facelift. It's not always so simple. Even Barcelona don't play like Barcelona no more."They brought in players known to them, ensuring there would be no cultural or linguistic barriers in the dressing room. All of them, Grant believes, have been undervalued in some way by clubs in England, or have potential that has not been realised.Jay O'Shea, for instance, is a technically gifted midfielder who Grant reckons should have become an established Championship-level player - but the opportunity never came.

With these signings Robbie has made, were they signed to bring instant success on the field, or to build a culture/style of play over time? I assume one of the targets this season is too make the finals at the bare minimum? If not Robbie can give these guys an extended run with chopping and changing the starting line up and see if they are any good.

Why didn't Robbie use his Liverpool connections to get some U21/23 Liverpool players, like what City did with bringing Shayon Harrison last season.

There's got to be more Trent Alexander-Arnold and below type players in their reserves/unders squad that would love some actual top flight game time.

I was wondering the same thing. If Roar signed a couple of Liverpool youngsters (who would be on low wages as well) and the rest of the imports being championship standard players, then they’d be far better off.

I'd also accept Leeds and Cardiff reserve teamers.

I know it is natural to discuss our coaching etc. I had a lot to say about Aloisi last season ...but I did give him a lot of leeway in his 1st and 2nd seasons because of so much off field drama .
Last season was the first where he had a clear run with no dramas and his own team (to be fair he had a horror run with injury but that will happen when you re-sign players with known major injuries ...Holman anybody ?)
He failed it miserably and appeared completely lost and without any idea of what to do about it.
Quite rightly, almost all called for his head .

Fowler and Grant however have had just two A-League games with a brand new team .
I am happy to give them till about mid season to see if they appear to have a clue.
I am not expecting to win anything this year but I do expect to see gradual improvement .
I also expect they will make plenty of mistakes whilst trying out things.
Mistakes are necessary to learn the correct path.
Football is not an exact science.Most coaches try players and systems out until it all clicks .
In our case our coaches are also inexperienced at the senior level so they are learning as well.
I think we need to give them some time to get things heading in the right direction but also cut them some slack with subs and players selection etc .
Mid season we will know if they have the potential or are just clueless and not looking like improving the team any further ...then the knives may come out !

Klopp did say something in regards to players that are allowed to leave the club on a loan basis in the off-season, but I can't remember what tbh. But I'd imagine in regards to players from Liverpool not coming to the Roar on loan it'd be because Liverpool would be wanting their youngsters to be playing at a much higher level than what the A-League has to offer. So then, if that's the case and he [Fowler] did get some Liverpool U21/23 players, would that [potentially] mean that they're the ones they really don't want and are desperate to get rid of? Shayon Harrison had no future whatsoever at Tottenham, which is why they would've allowed him to come to the league. Wasn't there a heap of people complaining that "we should be developing our own, not developing kids from elsewhere" too? Sounds like a no-win situation to me!

FWIW, if we're going to be bringing in players in their late teens or early twenties to Australia, I'd rather we be bringing them here permanently rather than on-loan. At least it then gives clubs an opportunity to earn a significant transfer fee should they wish to return to Europe, South America or earn some quick cash in Asia.

Well said Miron  I really wanted JA to succeed, and was patient with him. As you point out it's only been 2 games, so let's wait a few more games to see what happens. 

JA will be a good coach ,maybe not next yr or yr after but he is a decent human and I’d back him to take the next step ,
remember Ange was hammered with Aus 17s 
history 

The difference between Ange and Aloisi is Ange did win titles,before the Roar job.Aloisi hasn't.He hasnt shown an ability to build a squad.He is the reverse of Ange.

Ya , maybe , coaching at this level is a cruel game , injuries , players out of form , bad recruitment , all can conspire to fuck a season up .
How many seasons did it take for Fergusson to get Utd  up and running , just as well he diddnt get the Roar gig:)

Good point. JA could be the next Fergie. The shit football his team played was just bad luck. Especially the semi against WSW, the crap defending was so out of character under JA. FMD 

Agree on the first part but feel you are a little harsh on the second. 

He isn't as bad as it is made out. He did a lot when the Roar suffered turmoil..

I remember season one and season two when Brisbane was dealing off field dramas, unpaid wages etc. It was a horror show, Brisbane were tipped bottom 3 by many in both seasons. Season one he signed Mclaren (Who I was a big fan of at the time), who was an impact sub/super sub at Perth Glory. 

Season One Brisbane finished 3rd. They should have got the premiership and were ultra unlucky against the Victory (McKays miss). If any of those clear chances went in Aloisi would have won a premiership.  In the Semi Finals Brisbane blew a 3-0 lead against WSW. Arguably Brisbane's best season outside the 3 Championships (maybe one of the Farina seasons where Brisbane were close to the Premiership). I know I am saying "if" but at the end of the day he was as almost close as you can be to winning trophies without winning them. 

Season 2 Brisbane were 3rd again. Less to hype up about that season but given the dramas, two third places and for the most part great recruitment. His tactics always seemed odd, but the results were coming. 

Season 3 Brisbane were 6th, poor season all round, an exciting run in to finish sixth though with a cracking win away to Perth to seal it. But he did make the finals which is almost a bare minimum. 

Season 4 it completely went off, bad pre season results and then poor start to the season. Although from memory the win over City at Suncorp was a fantastic game of football. 

I am not his biggest fan but I feel he does cop a bit too much for a manager who finished 3(SF), 3(SF), 6. Especially given the off field crap in the first two seasons.

Jono MV 

all that is true. The turmoil at the start of his season one was compounded by the loss of three first team players to junior international football mid-season. In the three games missed he picked up a possible two points from nine with the loss of MacLaren and Doncs proving critical. 

John was always well liked by fans and gave his time freely at supporter events, always the last to leave he was popular for autographs and selfies. His response to that initial crisis helped many get over their initial reservations about his appointment and his first season offered much hope. 

Season one was his best, then seasons 2, 3 and 4 in that order. And that’s crucial - as things improved off the field as Pourre, Kingsman (R.I.P.) and Pourre came to grips with the administration of the club, on the field things went badly south and that just seemed to be something JA couldn’t recognise nor correct. 

Season one was an unlucky third - he should have finished first. Season two was a bit of a lucky third place finish and it could have been 3rd to 5th even. 

As time more on there were things that characterised his reign:

- His sacking of almost an entire youth squad when he arrived marked a period where youth progression in to the first team stalled. At the end his refusal to give DWH game time underscoring a total distrust of youth. 

- The team he assembled around him included Craig Moore, Ross and Danny Tito. All fine people but non of these appointments went down well with the fan base who felt a “jobs for the boys” culture was coming in. Outside of these four football department staff seemed to churn with alarming regularity. 

- Then you have the excuse culture. It was “The Refs”, The VAR”, “the training pitch is too hard”, etc etc ... there was always something that was out of his control that was responsible for defeats and failures. For many this came to characterise his tenure at Roar 

- That 5-4 loss to Wanderers seemed to have a big influence on JA. He sent out a young team that imploded against a much older team. After that youth stopped getting a go and the average age sky-rocketed - SFC, Glory and WU today all do the same. But JA never seemed to get the mix right and as the pressure increased in his last season and a bit he seemed fixated with older age players at the expense of youth eg not playing DWH 

JA seemed a nice bloke, but the words people use about him today are “slightly paranoid” which may explain a few things - in the end it was a freakin disaster for him at Roar and it’s a shame for him, the club and the fans. 

Time to move on. 

JA had a vision for football that did not eventuate for a number of reasons.

His vision was a heavily structured pre-programmed playing system that could only work when every player knew the gamebook for every position they might be called on to occupy - which did not happen, and in reallty is unlikely to ever have happened in our league.

It was his inflexibility and inability to come up with a Plan B for any game or season that damned him most.

You can understand him not wanting to waste all the effort that must have gone into training for such a system - but when a major system like that doesn't work you have two options:
1/ Keep at it until it works
2/ Ditch it completely (there is no option to use part of the system midseason without players messing up which bits are in and out)

Roar have moved on Waz. It is just a waiting game for individual fans to decide if they can let those years go.

For me, win or lose we are now a competitive team again - not out of place in the league. I am looking ahead to each game as a new challenge rather then back to recent results for my expectations, and it will only be after we have played each team at least once (as you suggested weeks back) that we can have some history to support our future expectations.

err, who placed the Daniel Bowles order?? 

Bit of surprise. Trying to work out how it's going to work. Mcging switching sides with Neville as the othing wb now.

Something seriously wrong if he is starting lol

Playing a back five. That makes sense 

Gosh if we where converting our chances we would be a scary team to play. We are creating enough chances. Hard to break down. 

Now playing well and being unlucky is going to take a toll if we not getting 3 points in the next few games.

We have continued to improve significantly and are not far off a win.

DWH showed his inexperience in his short spell - up to Robbie to give him enough game time to be able to make the right runs at the right time.

A few lucky moments for us, but overall a good, positive, dominating performance. Played cautious and steady in the first half and switched up in the second.

Liking what I am seeing from O'Shea, Inman and the short game man Holloway particularly.

Roar reminds of the Socceroos under Ange. They pass the ball along the back line far too much. No one makes runs into space to give the ball carrier options. And when the counter's on, the wing backs stop and pass the ball back or to the side, allowing the opposition to regroup and pack the defence.

Have to add - we attacked fluidlly up the middle several times in the second half. I'm calling the midfield ours by the end of the game.

Our passing is slow compared to other teams who are firing - but aside from some very average unpressured passing mistakes, we are doing a lot of effective passing and not just for the sake of holding the ball. Good positive attacking build up.

Woe to the team who meets us when we get our front end clicked in.

Roar defended a very high press for a lot of the game.

Then broke out regularly enough for Wanderers to drop back and shore up their end of the field.

Several times, for some minutes, it was frustrating how defensive we were passing - but it wasn't for too long and it happened less in the second half.

A well played whole game by the Roar team. Held under pressure, pushed back, made the game theirs.

Except on the scoreboard - but it will come.

Wanderers certainly have the best keeper in the League but it’s still disappointing not to win that. 

In hindsight I’d have swapped DWH for ROD, if he was intending on playing 4-5–1 

inman played well in his usual midfield role, and Bowles did well and looked trimmer than previous seasons. 

If Fowlers objective was to fix the defence it’s fair to say he’s done that. We’ve got the best defence in the league at the moment. The attack (and not just ROD) is stuttering though. 

It gets easier from here though: Adelaide, City, Nix and CCM next.  Three wins and a draw from that would put us on 12 points from 7 games. That would do. 

I think Toure will bamboozle the two donkeys Roar has in middle of defence. 

ALF, Barbarouses, Nincovic all didn’t. 
Fornaroli, Castro, Ikonomidis all didn’t. 
Toinovan and Nabbout didn’t either. 

So I wouldn’t be sure Toure will despite his impressive start. 

Can you grind out nil all draws to a premiership? 🤔

Not a chance. But we were talking about Fowler fixing the defence