Australian coaches have smashed some pretty high glass ceilings overseas in recent years.
Think Ange Postecoglou leading Spurs to their first trophy since 2008 – Graham Arnold
taking Iraq to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, Kevin Muscat winning back-to-back Chinese Super League titles with Shanghai Port.
But later today, the odds will be stacked even higher against an Aussie coach, when Jon Brady’s Port Vale travel to London to face Chelsea – aiming to secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1954. Vale are currently bottom of League One (3rd tier), a full 14 points adrift of safety, while Chelsea, the current FIFA Club World Champions, are sixth in the Premier League.
Simon Hill caught up with the Newcastle-born Brady to look ahead to the clash at Stamford Bridge…
Simon Hill: Is this the biggest game of your managerial career?
Jon Brady: Yeah, it has to be, considering the opposition we are facing. The Champions League
side, the Club World Champions – it’s the ultimate test really. To be fair, it was the same before the Sunderland game as well (in the last round), and on the day we were more than worthy winners. But going to Chelsea with the internationals they have – they could put three different teams out really. I’m studying them thinking, well he’s playing in South America on Wednesday, so hopefully he’ll miss out, and hopefully he’ll miss out because he’s been playing for Portugal in the United States. But whatever team they go with, it’s one of the hardest tests – it wouldn’t be so bad if you were a Premiership side, but when you are in League 1 and you take over a team that’s been struggling, you know it’s going to be tough.
Your Next Read
SH: So, how do you approach it?
JB: You’ve got to try and find a position where you are comfortable – you have to know the strengths and weaknesses of your group. Compared to how we set up in the league, this is many levels higher, so there are so many ways they can exploit you. They can suffocate you, counter-press when you win the ball back, and it can be hard to get out.
You don’t want to overload players, but you want to be in a position to defend well. It would’ve been a more balanced test if we’d played them at home to be honest – our pitch isn’t in the best condition, and even though we don’t want it to be that bad, it has helped us. The pitch at the Bridge will be one of the fastest we’ve played on all year. Even so, we’ve created history – we’re into the quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years, and we’ve given people a chance to believe in us. We must try to stay in the game as long as we can, and try to get some opportunities to get close to their goal, and test them. The longer we can keep a clean sheet, the longer it gives us a foothold in the game.
SH: You’ll be cheered on by 6,000 travelling fans as well…does that help, or is it a myth?
JB: If you have a stadium full of opposition fans and you don’t have yours – and I’ve been in stadiums like that – it can be frustrating. They give you a lift, but you have to drive yourself. They can inspire you at times. What you want to do is put in a performance they are proud of as well.
SH: Why has there been such a huge contrast between league and Cup form?
JB: Well, the points per game average since we came in on the 6th of January has improved – but honestly when I came in, I had 55% of my goals taken away. Just a few days after I signed, Ronan Curtis le[ a[er a deal had been agreed to go to Plymouth. He had the most assists for us in League 1. Then (joint top-scorer) Devante Cole was also sold a couple of weeks after, to Luton. These were things already in the pipeline, so that was out of my control. Up until the last league game against Wycombe (Vale lost 4-0), we had been one of the best defensive teams – but it you don’t put the ball into the net you’re going to struggle. It looks like we’re going down, and we need to get to the summer rebuild. I’ve been through that before with Northampton Town – we built them back up and got them in to League 1 – I’ve done it before.
SH: For those in Australia unaware of your background, can you tell us a little about your journey?
JB: Yeah, I’m from Newcastle – I started at Adamstown Rosebud, and also played in the NSL National Youth League. We used to play before the main teams, and in those days you could play four over-age players in the youth teams, so you could play players who were coming back from injury. So, for example, you go down to Sydney Olympic and Clint Bolton is in goal, and I’m 15 or 16 years old putting one past him. I then played a youth competition for the Northern New South Wales team in Denmark, and a scout from Brentford saw me and asked me back for a trial. So, I started my playing apprenticeship in 1992 with the Bees when I had just turned 17.
It went well at Brentford but not quite well enough – Swansea picked me up, then I went to (non-league) Hayes, and from there I was bought by Rushden & Diamonds. They were a club on the up. We played big FA Cup ties against Leeds (Harry Kewell was playing for them), which we lost after a replay. I played Conference League, a bit of League 2, but mostly the top end of the Conference for Stevenage, Cambridge, Hereford, Chester. Then I decided at the age of 28 (while at Cambridge) to start my business to deliver PE to schools. I had 40 staff, the business was going well, I was still a full-time footballer, and I did my coaching badges early on.
At 34, I somewhat fell into management with Brackley Town. I had stopped playing at my last club (Kettering Town), because my business had become so big that I needed to manage it. Then, Brackley asked me to come and play three games. I hadn’t trained for weeks, and I didn’t even know which league they played in. Still, I offered to help, and after three games they said “you are like a manager on the pitch” – and they asked me to become the manager!
I thought it was a great opportunity – one of the owners was Allan Leighton (currently Chair of supermarket giant, Asda) – a top businessman, so to learn from him was a big chance. We had six years of unbelievable success – we got promotion, nearly went up again, and had a great FA Cup run where we beat Gillingham (in 2016). After six years and getting them into the Conference North, I went to do more individual courses. Then someone at Northampton Town – Bobby Gould’s brother, Trevor – asked me to do their Under 16’s… I was a bit reluctant to step back to coaching kids, but I went to do a few sessions, did it for a year…then the late Justin Edinburgh came in as manager, saw what I was doing, and said he needed someone to manage the youth team. I did the youth team for four and a half years, and we got quite a few youngsters ready to play first team. At the end of that period, the club weren’t doing too well post-Covid. They asked me to take over for a couple of games, and I did that – and the rest is history. We won promotion (in 2022/23), and after four years as manager, I resigned (in 2024), because I
felt I had taken them as far as I could. I had some time out – went to spend a few months in Spain with Villarreal, and learned a lot off Marcelino (Villarreal Head Coach)… then came the Vale job.
SH: So, why did you decide Port Vale was the right fit?
JB: In the situation they were in, I knew it would be extremely tough. But there’s a future to it… what I’m good at is building structures, building teams, and we’ve got the resources to do that. The Chair, Carol Shanahan, has had two promotions and two relegations – she wants to steady the ship. She’s from the area, wants to invest and it’s a family club – those values align with mine. I really connected with her, and she to me. That’s why we both took on this project. We’re in it together.
SH: Do you ever envisage moving back to Australia?
JB: While I was out of coaching, I did meet a Chairman from an A-League club who offered me a job to go back. But I felt I had unfinished business in the Football League, and in Europe you have so many opportunites, and of course, my family is here. Family is always going to come first – while my kids are still young and going to primary school here, I don’t want to unsettle them. Having said that, Australia is the best country in the world to live in – Newcastle is the best city, and our family home is right near the beach. One day I’ll take them all home – but not now.
SH: Do you keep in touch with the goings on in the A-League and Australian football generally?
JB: Yes, of course. For me, it’s fantastic to see Newcastle at the top of the league at the moment – that’s a big win, because I know they have been through so many ups and downs. From my playing era, I keep in touch with Robbie Middleby and Harry James. We’re pretty close. I keep in touch with Mile Jedinak as well. Ange (Postecoglou) brough me into Spurs for a couple of days while I was out – Mile was there too of course, and he’s doing brilliantly with the Aussie team now.
Your Next Read
SH: You’ve been in the UK so long, do you get stick for being Australian in the dressing rooms when the Ashes come around?
JB: I’m Aussie through and through. I don’t tend to get stick because we normally win. I ask them – do we want to speak about the Ashes today? I normally get silence!