The pissant conundrum: A deep dive into Adelaide United's latest imbroglio

After feeling the effects of Carl Veart's dismissal as Head Coach, Adelaide United is engulfed by yet another controversy, with Technical Director Ernest Faber now at the centre of it. Front Page Football  examines both sides of the debate and assesses the public outcry that has ensued.

Ernest Faber (centre) is in the middle of Adelaide United's latest controversy. (Image: Pagonis Photography)

"Because of a pissant town, this club will never win anything."

While both Adelaide United and Aurelio Vidmar have gone on to make history by winning their elusive A-League titles, there are moments when his iconic outburst still rings true in the City of Churches.

Halfway through the mandated month break after the A-League season, usually a quiet period for most clubs, rumblings began coming out of Adelaide United about the makeup of its men's squad backroom staff after Carl Veart's exit. The story was that A-League Women's Head Coach Adrian Stenta would replace Travis Dodd in the Reds' men's backroom staff as one of Airton Andrioli's assistants.

Dodd confirmed his exit 24 hours later in an explosive interview on Channel 7, which revealed allegations that Technical Director Ernest Faber had undermined outgoing Head Coach Carl Veart.

Dodd laid the following accusations against Faber:

• Approaching the Adelaide United leadership group after a 4-1 loss away from home, asking them to take control of team selection for the last three games. A request that was rejected.

• Ostracising failed import Ryan Tunnicliffe with a physically demanding training regime to get the midfielder to quit the club.

• Suggesting to the youth team that the club should consider changing its tactics.

Naturally, in a parochial South Australian manner, the public onslaught began on Faber, the outsider, and his role in undermining Veart in his last season at the club. While much of it is arguably warranted, examining the whole picture is crucial before making sweeping judgments.

Unfortunately for Australian football, rash and sweeping judgments are symptomatic of how the nation, not only South Australian football, discusses its most popular sport.

At Front Page Football, we have decided to dive deeply into this situation to understand what has occurred and why supporters feel a particular way about it.

Let's begin with the club. Branding itself as unapologetically South Australian, with promises of transparency and the moniker of "The People's Club," Adelaide's one professional football club has a lofty, self-imposed standard to live up to.

Veart's dismissal was sudden and left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. But Dodd's comments have taken that frustration to another level. Dodd is not just another disgruntled ex-employee; he is a former captain and a Reds legend whose words carry weight with fans of "The People's Club."

At the same time, it would be remiss not to mention his close relationship with Veart, who personally picked Dodd to replace the outgoing Mark Milligan in September 2024. Thus, Dodd would be backing Veart in this situation and may even be talking with his blessing.

Now, let's consider Ernest Faber's role as Technical Director. Installed in the position by majority owner Cor Adriaanse, a level of trust allowed him to shape the club in a way that he saw fit, aligning with the philosophy of the club he had spent decades of his life in, PSV Eindhoven.

To begin, it is essential to note that Faber's European background gives him a different attitude to the game, and while aspects of it may come across as brutal, it is part and parcel of the game in his home continent, the place where the majority of the Reds players are hoping to make a jump to at some stage in their careers.

While Faber adopts that approach, it is essential to consider the starkly different context in which he operates in Australia. There will be misunderstandings, and the only remedy is transparency and communication, something that is severely lacking in this situation from both sides.

By the end of the season, Faber decided that Veart was not the right man for the vision he was trying to implement, as is his right in his role as Technical Director.

Channel 7 reported that Faber tried to engage with leadership players rather than the coach following a late-season loss to Perth Glory. He failed to understand that, even though Veart may have been history in his mind at that point, the club was unlikely to sack its longest-serving manager and club legend with three games to go and finals still in reach.

Faber's trust in the leadership group may work in Europe, empowering players to take ownership of a team's fortune once a coach is on the way out; it is clear to anyone with an understanding of Adelaide United's context that this situation is quite different.

Firstly, Australian football circles are much smaller than those in Europe; local players are much less likely to turn against a local coach, especially in a one-club city like Adelaide. Secondly, Carl Veart is not just any coach. Much of the community, including his players, have too much respect for him to operate behind his back, even if it is clear he will not be their coach in a month.

While the intention might have been pure and a sign of support for the players moving forward, the execution was poor and does not align with the transparent culture the club claims to aspire to. When you combine that with the affinity fans have for Veart and Dodd, it is clear why the average fan views Adelaide as divided.

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The Tunnicliffe situation may sound cruel and unusual. Unfortunately, it is a reality in sport, especially in Europe, where Faber hails from, as a way to shake off unfavourable contracts. That does not make the situation right, but it is not unprecedented. The only reason it has reached public discourse is the highly unusual move of an assistant coach publicly speaking out against his club before they have even officially announced his departure.

It is also important to remember that Tunnicliffe was not in the club's plans even before Faber's arrival, a situation the Dutch Technical Director inherited.

While many at the club would have wanted the Visa players' wages off the books a few months earlier, the best way to escape those situations is to ensure you do not get into them in the first place. Adelaide United's disastrous 2023/24 pre-season transfer window is well-documented, with the only signing being Tunnicliffe and the due diligence not done on what type of player he is or how he fits in Adelaide's logjammed midfield.

Following Dodd's interview, former Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo also shared his experience, claiming that, despite a strong pre-season, in his last weeks at the club, the outgoing Carl Veart informed him that Ernest Faber had said Cavallo was not to be utilised.

While harsh, it is not unusual for clubs to freeze out players they do not see in their plans, instead backing those they view as having bigger upside, as seen with Ryan White's professional debut over Tunnicliffe and Cavallo.

The question remains why Faber did not have a direct conversation with Cavallo, providing his reasoning, or why Cavallo's coach only shared that important career update with his player in his last days at the club if that was the reality of the whole season leading up to that moment.

Like Tunnicliffe, Cavallo was out of favour even before Faber arrived at the club.

Finally, conversations with players about how the club should approach games tactically are part of the job description of a Technical Director. Having those chats with younger players is educational. Faber also played a key role in hiring the youth team manager, Airton Andrioli, as the A-League Head Coach, showing that not everyone on that coaching staff was painted with the same broad stroke.

While Faber has not handled this situation perfectly, it is essential to remember that there are two sides to every coin. The public comments on his conduct this week have come from a coach who had a three-year offer rescinded and a player who was on the outer before and during his spell at the club.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Carl Veart, it was clear even early in the campaign that he and Faber did not get along.

In the 2024/25 season, for the first time in his tenure as Head Coach, Carl Veart was required to work with a Technical Director who was installed to improve practice.

Lack of communication and disagreements take two to come to fruition.

As a Head Coach, working towards a unified vision of what a club should look like is part of the job description. Being unwilling or unable to adapt is a fatal flaw in any industry; football is no different. 

There can be frustration about decisions and how they were made, but once the bed is made, you've got to accept the role you played and sleep in it.

A close look at this situation shows that there is no party in the "right" of this saga; it is just a series of unfortunate events that have left a club, its supporters, and significant personalities hurting.

It is the role of the Technical Director to disrupt and improve. It is the coaching staff's role to adapt and implement. It is the players' role to act on those directions.

Meanwhile, a club is responsible for providing a safe environment where everyone works towards the same goals, and systems exist to resolve differences of opinion. As of the time of writing, it is clear that a system like that does not exist within the walls of Adelaide United.

Should the club want to shake off Vidmar's haunting words about the attitudes that keep Adelaide United from reaching its full potential and living up to the lofty values it sets for itself, this situation must serve as a valuable learning experience about the importance of transparency. To avoid harmful sagas like this from repeating, transparency cannot be just another buzzword to appease stakeholders but a modus operandi for anyone who steps foot within the club's walls.

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