Tag Archives: Brann Bergen

A Leeds United fan’s view of Rudy Austin

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , ,

 

Midfield has been a problematic area for Wigan Athletic this season. It has been missing the strong physical presence that is necessary at Championship level. Moreover the pace of play has too often been pedestrian, lacking the sort of midfield player who will run at the opposition defence.

Reports suggest that Latics are about to secure the services of Rudy Austin from Leeds United. Could he provide the kind of balance that the midfield has needed?

The 29 year old Rodolph Austin started his football career in his home country Jamaica. He played for Portmore United, based in the suburbs of Kingston. During his time there United won two league titles and the Caribbean Football Union Cup.

In the summer of 2008 he went to Bergen in Norway to play for Brann, well known to Latics supporters through Paul Scharner’s sojourn there. Austin’s most successful year there was in 2011 when he won the award of best player in the Tippelegaen (Norwegian Premier League).  During his three years in Bergen, Austin made 90 appearances, scoring 15 goals. He moved to Leeds United in July 2012, where he has since made 91 appearances, scoring 7 goals.

Austin has made 71 appearances for Jamaica, scoring 7 goals.

In order to find out more about Austin’s time at Leeds we reached out to  Adam of the Marching on Together site forum (@motforum).

Here’s over to Adam:

Rodolph Austin, Jamaican Warrior, signed to great fanfare from Brann by Neil Warnock in 2012 was something of a cult hero before he made his debut with fans having seen exploits of his powerful running, tough tackling and accurate passing on YouTube.

He has never really lived up to that potential however, perhaps mainly due to the position he has been played in. His stature and tough tacking have usually meant managers have marked him out as a defensive or holding midfielder but he has never really looked comfortable there, his positional sense really isn’t good enough for that role. He was made captain in 2013, you would think he was the ideal man to get players going but in reality he is a quiet man and he stepped down from the job in January 2014.

The best of Rudy Austin really comes when he plays in a more advanced role and is given licence to get forward. It’s a position that Neil Redfearn has played him in during recent matches and having been out of the side for a while he has been a revelation. Once he gets on the ball and starts running up the pitch at speed there really is no stopping him, he is like a juggernaut leaving opposition defenders in his wake. He’s also better when he keeps things simple, that old YouTube video may have shown wonderful long cross field passes but he’s equally likely to hit the ball into tough. Equally with his shooting, he loves a long range strike but rarely sees them hit the target.

 If you want to see Austin at his best check out the highlights of our last game against Bournemouth; strong forward runs and simple short passes. If you look at him and expect him to be a great, tough tackling, holding midfielder you’ll be disappointed. If you give him some freedom to get forward you’ll get the best out of him. He is certainly not the most cultured of footballers but he’s honest and a hard worker. Had he been rumoured to move on earlier in the season I wouldn’t have been bothered but given his performances in the last few games I’d be little disappointed if he left.

 

 

Scharner – Nearing His Peak?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , ,

 

Great tackles are rarely as memorable as great goals, but some just stand out as exceptional. Half way through the first half  on Saturday a nice move by Reading led to a low cross coming to centre forward Pavel Podgrebnyak at the near post. The Russian looked certain to score until the long legs of Paul Scharner appeared out of nowhere to slide the ball to safety. A crucial moment in a tense first half, when the Royals had been getting on top.

Roberto Martinez had bravely changed his team’s shape for the Reading match, reverting to a flat back four and pushing Jean Beausejour into a left wing position. In the 40th minute a tall figure crossed the ball from that position and it took me a second or two to realize it was none other than Paul Scharner. It brought back mixed memories of the Austrian’s performances in a Latics shirt during his previous life at the club.

There have been a wealth of articles written on the eccentric central European.  His weird hairstyles, love of classical music and having his own personal  psychological coach place him apart from the average professional footballer. Interviewing him can be a challenge as this journalist found out.

Scharner joined Latics in January 2006, when I was living in Vienna and regularly watching one of his previous clubs, FK Austria, in the Bundesliga. Although popular in Norway, through his excellent performances for Brann of Bergen, he was by no means a hero  in his home country. In 2003 he had to move on from FK Austria after refusing to come on  as a substitute to play in right midfield at the behest of manager of the time, Jurgen Low. At the time he stated that “The coach and I discussed where I can help the team the most, but the coach always uses me elsewhere. I already played in seven different positions.”

In 2006 Scharner’s criticism of the Austrian FA led to national team coach, Josef Hickersberger, saying that  Scharner would never play for Austria again as long as he was in charge. After Hickersberger left Scharner returned to the national side. However, in  August 2012  another skirmish with authority led to the chairman of the Austrian FA saying that the player would never play for Austria again, no matter who the  coach was.

Paul Scharner’s made his Latics debut that January 2006, coming off the bench to head a winner against Arsenal that was to be instrumental in Latics reaching the League Cup final. Fans were not quite sure if he had been brought in to bolster an ailing centre of defence or to put some muscle into midfield. Some 16 months later his well taken goal at Bramall Lane on the last day of the season, helped to keep Latics up and put Sheffield United down. He was to make 145 appearances, in  a variety of positions, before leaving in the summer of 2010.

So which is the real Paul Scharner? The one who  Roberto Martinez describes as  a model professional  who he has welcomed back to Wigan with open arms, or the rebel who clashes with coaches and FA officials in his home country? Moreover is he willing to play in a central defensive position, week on week? Reports suggest that his move to West Bromwich was only finalized after Roberto Di Matteo agreed to play him in his preferred midfield position.

Paul Scharner has made a welcome return to Wigan at an opportune moment. He has already helped shore up a wobbly defence and made a “man of the match” performance for me at Reading. He has always been a very capable central defender, although it has not been his favourite position. Wigan are well stocked for midfield players and Scharner knows it. He is now 32, but in excellent physical shape. He  could go on for at least another couple of years as a Premier League central defender.

Has Paul Scharner already reached his peak or is it yet to come? Like anything else with the big Austrian it depends on his state of mind. Scharner would be well advised to forget his attacking forays and concentrate on defence. He has the experience, technique and positional sense to be an outstanding central defender. It is not too late for him to reach his peak.

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