A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with a fairly reliable source and talk about some of the rumours that have been circling about player divisions at Perth Glory FC. In particular, I wanted to know what had happened to one-time cult hero Eugene Dadi; a player who has gone from being the co-winner of the club’s Golden Boot to a regular player in the club’s National Youth League team.
Dadi has recently been in the papers out west stating his discomfort with continually being overlooked for the senior side, even in the absence of recognised strikers like Branko Jelic. At the time, coach David Mitchell stated that Eugene seemed to be “talking to everyone but him” about his place in the team, and seemed justifiably annoyed about it. According to my source though, Dadi’s biggest fear seems to be the club’s fans getting the wrong impression; he feels the supporters have shown him a lot of respect and he wanted to ensure that they know he still loves the club and its fans, and wants to play his part. Supposedly then, that’s why he tried to get the message across in the local rag.
This here then is where things get interesting. Rumour has it that the heart of the whole thing is Mitchell simply doesn't want to play Dadi, for reasons known only to the coach. Apparently, attempts to talk to him about it have only been met with the vaguest of answers. According to my source, who is normally quite reliable about such things, Dadi has specifically asked Mitch to spell out what is wrong, so he can work harder on whatever is causing him to not be picked, and again he cannot seem to get a straight answer. Now, Mitchell has stated publicly that Dadi doesn’t do enough defensively, but I don’t really see any difference in his game now to that of last year, when he was picked quite regularly.
Allegedly, this conflict between the two even goes so far as Mitchell seeming to set Dadi up for things to go wrong; apparently Branko Jelic told the coach he was unwell and unable to play the day before a match, but Mitchell supposedly only told the French striker one hour before kick off that he was in the team. Dadi hadn’t played in the side for a while, could have spent the previous day getting as sharp as possible, and it could be interpreted that ‘Mitch’ was trying to create a situation where the fans could see the reason why he wasn't picking ‘Big Dadi’.
I am of course somewhat sceptical of some part of what I’ve been told. While I don’t doubt that Mitchell has some sort of issue with Eugene on a professional and perhaps even personal level, I find it difficult to believe that he’d orchestrate the kind of setup described by my source. That said, stranger things have happened in football; and it’s very hard to know what goes on in the dressing room without speaking to the players or coaches themselves.
Apparently these issues between Mitchell and Dadi originated last season, and came to a head with the huge delay in Dadi being re-signed, which was taken as a sign that he wasn't really in Mitch's plans from the get-go. This was only compounded when NSW State League striker Matthew Mayora was picked up on loan earlier this season. You’d imagine that Eugene may not have had a problem if the coach simply picked better players than he, but it’s hard to believe someone like Mayora or Scott Bulloch warrants that status. My source believes that Dadi feels snubbed and may think that Mitchell is not being respectful in the way he treats him; reading back over the articles in The West concerning this very matter, you get the feeling that this may just be the case.
According to my source, Mitchell and Dadi simply don't talk anymore, with the coach completely ignoring him at training. He maintains that you can talk to any other player in the side and they will tell you they have no problem with Eugene, and that he trains and works hard just like everybody else. Seemingly, his relationship with everyone at the club is great except for just one person. Unfortunately for Eugene, that one person is the guy with the final word on the matchday lineup.
While talking to my source, I mentioned FC Vaduz and the clashes that Dadi had with then-coach Pierre Littbarski while he was on loan. While they agreed that it was easy to draw a conclusion that Dadi has an attitude problem because he had issues with the manager there, as well as problems with David Mitchell now, it may well just be an unlucky coincidence. Reading back over articles from The West and FourFourTwo from around this time, Dadi seemed to anger the former Sydney FC coach by warming up on the touchline while waiting to come off the bench - hardly terrible behaviour by any means. There may, of course, be more to that story - but unfortunately I’m not privy to the goings-on of teams based in Liechtenstein.
Whispers during the off-season had it that Dadi was presented with two-year deals from other A-League clubs, but supposedly turned them down because he wanted to stay in Perth with Glory. Certainly, if his behaviour towards the fans during matches and family days is anything to go by, he loves the club and everyone around it - and as such, why would he leave?
Watching him play for Glory this last year or so, you get the feeling that Eugene is a very ‘heart on the sleeve’ kind of guy. If you look at his goal celebrations, his interaction with the fans, and his pleas in the media from earlier this year, it may just be the case that he occasionally acts before thinking. Certainly, you could see why this would piss off just about any coach, but guys like Bobby Despotovski were no different. In fact, there are a lot of footballers who are no different. Really, if you’re a coach and you let something like that get in the way of picking a proven goal-scorer to play on a given day, chances are you’re not very good at your job.
In any case, my source believes that Eugene is still very much committed to the club, and that he’d be heartbroken if the fans thought otherwise. Granted at 36 he’s no spring chicken, but apparently he doesn’t drink, works out hard in training, and does all he can to keep himself fit. It’s debatable as to whether you could say the same for some of his teammates in the senior side; and surely in any case their poor form should have had him knocking on the door to replace them?
Dadi seems to be playing for the youth team well enough; he’s scored a number of goals in the past few weeks and had a hand in making a bunch of other chances. You do get the feeling though that he isn't happy just to just play at a youth level. Upon my asking if Dadi got on well enough with Gareth Naven and co, my source simply reiterated their earlier statement about there only being one person at the club who supposedly dislikes ‘Dadi Cool’. Whether this is true or not, I’m not sure - but it certainly made for interesting discussion.
As for you, dear readers, what do you think? Is there an issue between Mitchell and Dadi that hasn’t yet been aired in public? Do you believe there’s a culture of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ at Glory? Does Dadi even deserve another chance to prove himself in the senior lineup? As always, I await your comments with interest.
