I think that’s the main part. Apparently his wife has missed living in Australia ever since they went back. And as you said, he knows the league. I’m just not sure whether he’d be capable of stepping into a head coaching role with so little experience.
In terms of the unique challenges like geographic diversity and salary cap. He’ll be relieved that the Bunnings chairs have since been upgraded though.
You hear plenty of anecdotal evidence of people in the UK (including players) who watch the league because of the time it’s on. Given Fowler’s played here (and not just for one season/club but actually came back for more at another club) it’s reasonable to assume he’s kept in touch.
That obviously doesn’t mean he has any abilities as a coach, but I think he’s got a decent claim of understanding the league’s idiosyncrasies pretty well before starting.
Fowler is a very wealthy man (from outside as well from football). Certainly not doing it for the paycheck. If he could stomach playing in Townsville and Perth in summer, he also understands some of the stresses involved in the HAL.
For Roars sake you hope Fowler turns into a good appointment but its a huge risk when they should probably be playing it safer with someone with good managerial experience. Carl Robinson, with 200 games coached in the MLS seemed a better move.
Remember reading Fowler was pretty close to landing the Perth gig.
Don’t think their CV’s are at all comparable before landing their first top job. Gerrard was in charge of LFC 18’s / 19’s, Fowler had a stint as player / manager in the Thai league 7 years ago.
Our clubs are too weak to sack marquee coaches. I predict ‘given the green light for an overhaul of the playing squad in the January transfer window’ by Christmas, and sacked in March.