Season 2011/12 was one of tremendous lows for the usually high-fying Reds.
Season 2011/12 was a tough one for Adelaide United, marked by sackings, inconsistency, lack of goals and poor results. The only thing that saved the Reds from the wooden spoon was Gold Coast United-s implosion.
Defence
The table says it all: 44 goals conceded - the worst record in the league this year, and an increase of eight on the previous season. What happened? The loss of centreback Robbie Cornthwaite and defensive midfielder Paul Reid obviously hurt the Reds- backline and they weren-t replaced.
Fringe Qantas Socceroo Jon McKain was brought in and given the captain-s armband to add some class and experience, only to suffer a crisis of confidence and form halfway through the year. Adelaide must strengthen at the back during the off-season if next year is to be any different.
Midfield
Again, the departure of quality players as part of former coach Rini Coolen-s misplaced “four-year plan” was a disaster for the club.
Shorn of Reid, Travis Dodd and Matthew Leckie (although any club would have struggled to keep hold of the talented youngster) Adelaide lost steel, intelligence, pace, and creativity. No surprise they struggled for results.
Dario Vidosic has shown flashes of the form that took him overseas but certainly not enough to lift the at-best mediocre squad that surrounds him.
Attack
The departure of Marcos Flores was perhaps the biggest deciding factor in Adelaide-s season, and they never recovered from the loss of the Argentinean. But that doesn-t let the rest of the attack off...
In his previous two seasons, Sergio van Dijk scored 17 and 19 goals; this year, he got eight. Alongside him, the returning Bruce Djite fared even worse, with just five goals in 24 appearances. One striker losing form is one thing; having two unable to find the net reveals bigger problems.
History shows these two are proven goalscorers, which means Adelaide have to improve the service from midfield if they want to improve on their paltry 26 goals this year - a league low.
Coach
Two coaches in the domestic league and neither of them got it right.
Rini Coolen: 11 games, 2 wins, 5 losses, 4 draws; 8 goals scored, 21 conceded; 11 points from a possible 33.
John Kosmina: 16 games, 3 wins, 7 losses, 6 draws; 18 goals scored, 23 conceded; 16 points from a possible 48.
Overall Grade D-