In Robbie Cornthwaite’s latest column for KEEPUP, the former A-Leagues defender reviews Charlie Austin’s verbal stoush with Connor Chapman – and how the two Roar team-mates stayed on the right side of a “very fine line,” as “two frustrated winners who wanted better from their brothers and from themselves.”
John Kosmina once said: “It’s always easier to fight with your brother than to fight with a complete stranger”
I’m not even sure if he would remember saying these words, but they rang true this week when Brisbane Roar teammates Charlie Austin and Connor Chapman went toe to toe in a verbal stoush on the A-League All Access.
Scott Jamieson said it on The Players Pod this week, and I couldn’t agree more. Full credit to Brisbane for allowing the fans to see what goes on behind closed doors. They could have pulled the vision in fear of what it might look like to those outside the four walls of the Roar dressing room. But they didn’t, and I think the game in this country is better for it. It’s what the show is all about-giving the fans an insight.
I too was captivated by the footage and ended up showing a whole heap of people who would never have stumbled across it if not for me. They thought it was brilliant and began to ask a lot of questions about the players and the situation and asking what my own personal views were on the verbal volleys.
VISIT THE A-LEAGUES ALL ACCESS HUB
While it may be confronting to some, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before or experienced first hand. I don’t think either player closed the line and the, let’s say, constructive criticism never became personal, at least from what we saw. This is undoubtedly happening in top teams around the world, including here in Australia, and it can often be very healthy if done correctly.
Chapman spoke on The Players Pod this week and mentioned how close he and Austin actually are. “Easier to fight with your brother…” I think most players know a time and a place and which teammates can handle that type of feedback. If Chapman had just sat there and taken it from the former EPL striker, the narrative could have been a lot different. Austin probably would have been labelled a bully or an asshole. But he chose his target wisely, whether he knew it or not.
I’ve been on the end of a few decent sprays, but none better than that well documented Tony Popovic rocket I got in my first preseason at the Wanderers. Calling me in to a meeting in front of all the coaching staff, he questioned my ability to sprint, tackle, and block a shot. He made me feel two inches tall, and as uncomfortable as I felt in the moment, I loved it. I liked that kind of coaching. It put me on edge and made me want to do better. Ultimately, I did. I earned his respect and became captain less than twelve months later.
The line is very fine and I’ve seen it crossed many times. Training ground bust ups, over the top tackles, head butts in the locker rooms, or personal insults slung But there are two that standout.
Both happened overseas and when you’re in another country, you have to remember that the players, staff, and fans have a different understanding of what is right or wrong. They have different values, a different culture, and different upbringings.
I don’t want to give names, teams or places, but we were playing in a very critical must-win game. We had taken an early lead and things were going well in the opening 45 minutes. At half time, things were calm and everyone was upbeat. In the second half, we were largely untroubled and, despite only holding a 1-nil lead, looked to be cruising to a trouble-free three points. Late in the game, the coach decided to bring on an extra defensive midfielder. The player was a teen from memory, but was extremely talented and more than capable of mixing it at this level. He played for junior national teams and had started many games for us already. As the time ticked away, we were in comfortable possession, but the young boy dwelled on the ball, lost possession, and in a moment it was 1-1. The game ended in a draw.
As we sat in the dressing room dejected, nobody was talking. The coach came in and didn’t say a word.
He called the young player forward, took off his watch, handed it to the assistant coach, and punched the player straight in the face.
Shocked, I half jumped out of my seat, but nobody else reacted. I was stunned and didn’t really know what to do. The player, now clutching his face, was asked to stand up straight. He did so and received another strike. This happened another one or two times, before for the coach, without a word put his watch back on and left. The coach would later apologise in a team meeting and it was never mentioned amongst the team again.
The worst player-on-player fight I saw happened a few years later. The team was going through a difficult period and tensions were high. The pressure was mounting on the players and staff. As a foreigner overseas, you have to tread carefully. You can’t put the local players offside, so you have to treat them with respect and earn their trust before you can criticise them. I had another foreigner in my team who thought he was Maradona, but to be honest, he was shit and the locals knew it. He would argue and call out the locals all the time while continuing to make his own errors.
We played an away game, and the foreigner came on as a second-half substitute in a game we would ultimately go on to lose. As far as I was aware, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the loss. But just as I was sitting down in the change room, the foreign boy comes flying in and shapes up to the local. I am not sure what the problem was but and an argument kicks off between three or four players.
It turns out that when the foreigner came on in the second half, he was blanked by the player coming off. No handshake, high five, or words of encouragement, and he feels he’s been disrespected. Before anyone really knows what’s happening, a swift right hook comes flying and cracks the local across the jaw. An all-in brawl kicks off with arms and legs flying. People are trying to pull people off each other while also trying to land a few blows of their own.
Before you have time to blink, the victim of the initial punch has made his way to the medical room and grabbed a pair of scissors.
While I truly believe this was a hollow threat, he did try and get to the perpetrator but was held back by staff and players.
This was a toxic dressing room that was divided and within a few weeks a number of us left the team, including myself.
These incidents crossed the line, and I don’t condone anything I saw or was a part of.
But this is not what I saw on the A-League All Access. I didn’t see Brisbane as having a toxic dressing room or a team divided. I saw two frustrated winners who wanted more, wanted better from their brothers and from themselves.
Players would agree that there’s often a better way of communicating, but in the heat of battle you’re not always thinking clearly. At the end, we saw the boys hug and make up. This is what matters most, and 99% of the time, it’s forgotten as soon as it happens. You come together, shake hands, and move on.
Because at the end of the day, you’re family.
