Robbie Fowler has been appointed the coach of East Bengal for the 2020-21 season, to manage them in their first season in the Indian Super League (ISL). What can we expect from the former Liverpool legend?
His first stint came as player-manager for his last club, Thailand's Muangthong United, in 2011. Then came an 8-year break - where he worked as an ambassador at Liverpool and a mentor in their academy while working on his coaching licenses. In 2019, he was appointed the coach of A-League team Brisbane Roar. We look back at that one year spent in Australia.
The good
Fowler took over a Brisbane Roar team that had conceded 71 goals in 27 matches in the 2018-19 season (a record) and transformed them defensively - they conceded just 25 goals in the 24 games he was in charge of them for in the league.
His preferred formation? A risk averse 3-4-2-1 that morphed into a 5-man backline more often than not. He oversaw a massive overhaul of the team, 14 players out, 14 (mostly British) players in.
From 10th in the league, he took them to fourth with a record of W10, D6, L8. And this was a team that was constantly improving. In January and February, he had been named the A-league's manager of the month. The pandemic halted play in March.
To most observers, it also appeared that the team played for their manager, with Fowler and assistant Tony Grant building a siege mentality around the club.
The bad
This defensive frugality came at a cost. Where they had conceded just 25 goals in his 24 A-league games, they also scored just 25. The previous season that number had been 38.
His was safety-first, defensive-oriented football. As skillfully organized and disciplined as his backline was, his team's forward play often lacked creativity, with the team content on recycling possession rather than attempt a risky defense-splitting pass. The idea was generally to ensure no mistakes were made.
This often meant they were effective on the counter-attack, but struggled to break down teams that sat deep. Mid-season signing Scott McDonald improved this aspect a touch on arrival and helped the team achieve improved results (and display better performances) toward the back end of the season.
This style of play, though, caused a fair amount of consternation among a section of the fanbase who believed their team's (two-time A-league champions) identity to be one of free-flowing attack.
The ugly
The circumstances around Fowler's departure from Brisbane were rather controversial.
The club maintain that he left to spend time with his family. They released a statement saying they "completely understand that family comes first during these difficult times."
Fowler claims that after leaving Australia in March following the league-suspension, the club did not so much as contact him about the restart (which happened in late July). In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Fowler said, "they just suddenly turned gangster on us. Lots of people have opinions about me but one thing I'm not is selfish. I had a job to do and I wanted to finish that job."
Even during his time in Australia, Fowler was fairly outspoken, at various points criticising the league for their salary caps, scheduling, and refereeing. He also spoke about the "powers that be" not "embracing" foreign managers.
But it was with the siege mentality that had the potential to turn rather spectacularly ugly. For Fowler, this mentality meant that he had to shield himself and his team from criticism, regardless of where they came from -- and out of this came frequent twitter spats with journalists and fans. It even led to one fan deactivating her twitter account.
One thing is certain, given the passive and quiet nature (not!) of the fanbase of the club he has walked into right now, this could very well be quite fun.