FAN FOCUS: ADELAIDE UNITED.

In continuing with our Fan Focus series, we've decided to head down to Adelaide to speak with resident Adelaide United fan Edward Trinh, to get his thoughts on a range of topics from the club's future to its supporters.

Describe last season as a Reds supporter?

First half of the season the team were cruising, and as a supporter it was great. Once all the coaching dramas occurred, it all went down hill from there. A season of ups and downs.

Some would argue John Kosmina's treatment of Sergio Van Dijk and Zenon Caravella were the catalyst for his demise. Would you agree?
 
Van Dijk and Caravella weren't getting game time. All pro footballers want game time, so they moved on. Whether Kossie had animosity towards the two, I don't know.

Should Michael Valkanis have gotten the job?

No. Mickey V was a stop-gap solution until a permanent coach was found.

Let's look forward to this season. What are your expectations for your team?

Finals participation and at least a 4th or higher placing at the end of the season. Of course I want to win trophies, but I'm being realistic.

Josep Gombau has come in; are you confident he won't become another Rini Coolen?

Depends how he manages the players throughout the season. So far, it looks all good from the outside. Give him time is what I urge everyone to do.

He's stated that he could have the power to bring Barcelona to The City of Churches for a pre-season tour. Would the people of Adelaide embrace this?

Of course. But what we as a city and state need is money to actually get them here.

He's been very vocal of his desire to play a Barcelona-style of football, is that what the fans want?

We are a very football-savvy city so what we want to see first-and-foremost is an attractive, attacking style of football. Of course results matter too, so hopefully he gets the team playing a winning brand of football too.

What do you think of his off-season recruiting? Isaias has a decent CV.

Both Isaias and Cirio have very good CVs. What Gombau has done is provide further depth to the team. The Catalan players will have a wealth of European experience as well as high technical ability to play Gombau's new style of football. They will complement Jeronimo and Carrusca very well. Elrich also adds A-League experience to the team. Zullo adds much needed competition on the left hand side. Lustica comes back to the A-League with some European experience under his belt, but is still very young.

Dario Vidosic is a big loss, who would you like to be his replacement?

Dario is very big loss, there's no hiding that. I'm confident in the current squad to plug his absence in midfield. We have a wealth of attack-minded midfielders.

Let's talk about your club's owners. What do you make of Greg Griffin and the board?

Greg was perhaps in the media spotlight a bit too much early on where he should have left football matters to the footballing side of the club. This has improved over the off-season. The board has just been expanded to include various other members of the South Australian community with ties to Asia, political influences and grassroots. This can only be a benefit to the club.

What area could they improve on and as a paying fan what would you like to see change?

Like I have said, they're listening and they're engaging more with the members and supporters now. This is a step in the right direction. What I would like to see in the future is further strengthening ties with Asian clubs and leagues.

They toyed with the idea of moving away from Hindmarsh which we thought would've been a disaster, is this where AUFC belong?

Yes.

You've had stadium security management problems like other A league teams - was the silent protest a success?

You're better off asking a member of the Southern End active supporter groups.

How big of a brand is Adelaide United in a generally AFL city?

We're a minor player in the sporting landscape in Adelaide. The two AFL clubs receive the most attention here but I'd say we're closing the gap steadily.

You have a great set of supporters, but we want the league to grow. What can the club do to build its supporter base?

This is not really a club issue, but an issue with the FFA. At the moment, active support areas are allocated seating. What we would like to see is general admission to the active support areas.

Our favourite question to put to fans: who has been the best player for Adelaide United?

Travis Dodd.

And the worst?

None.

In 10 years, Adelaide united FC will be...

The only Australian club to have participated and won the AFC Champions League final.