David Coles has only been in the UAE for seven weeks but already Al Jazira’s new goalkeeping coach appears to be having a positive impact on the club’s young custodians.
The former West Ham, Portsmouth and Southampton coach was axed from the Upton Park backroom staff when Sam Allardyce took the Hammers post and elected to bring in his own man – just a week before pre-season started.
Coles readily admits that the timing of his departure from east London meant it was difficult to find work at home, with most teams having their coaching teams in place, so when best-friend Tony Cotton suggested he applied for the vacant job at Jazira, it was a no-brainer.
The 47-year-old confesses he is still settling into life in the Emirates, but as I chat to him after a one-on-one session with injured national team keeper Ali Khaseif, his commitment to his new job and thirst for the game cannot be questioned.
“I enjoy football, I enjoy watching it, I enjoy going to see it. I get excited when I’m training, I have not lost the enthusiasm or the desire since I was eight years old,” Coles tells Sport360° as he relaxes in one of the changing rooms inside the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
Coles’ passion for football is infectious and it seems his new charges in Abu Dhabi are already benefitting from the knowledge passed their way from a coach who worked with David James, Robert Green and Asmir Begovic as well as a host of others during 13 years in the English Premier League.
Jazira’s young custodian, Khaled Issa – deputising for Khaseif – produced an assured performance against Al Wahda on Friday night that belied his tender years as his side held out for a 2-1 win at the home of their city rivals despite playing for 70 minutes with only 10 men.
It was a display that clearly caught the eye of his new coach as the 47-year-old looks to complete his main objective at Jazira, to provide the club with quality cover between the sticks.
“Issa’s performance the other I thought was the best I’ve seen and I’ve watched a few games on TV, I’ve watched games before I came out here on the goalkeepers, to see what they’re about to see what notes I can make,” he said.
“Issa’s come in the side and I’ve been really impressed, he’s been absolutely fantastic. He’s not the biggest but I tell you what that boy can get around his goal quite easily.
“He played well in the Super Cup. We played in this Ramadan tournament, and his first game here I was lucky enough to sit behind his goal and observe him and he made two unbelievable saves. His distribution’s very good, he’s a very focused young man at 22, 23 he knows what he wants.
“He’s very reserved, he’s not as loud as Ali, but he’s starting to get a personality because of the performances he’s putting in. He hasn’t played here because Ali’s been No.1, my view now is that you have two No.1s which is even more healthy, which is like the Premier League.”
Coles, who worked as a Social Worker during his playing days in the lower and non-leagues and briefly during his time at Southampton is a firm believer that keepers need to have a strong personality. It is a quality that he sees in both Khaseif and Issa.
“The keeper you saw this morning, Ali, his personality it’s infectious,” Coles says of Khaseif. “It spreads and if it’s the right personality it builds up a team. Goalkeepers have to be born leaders for me, they have to have a personality and there’s times to be aggressive and there’s time to be calm and there’s times to be your own man.”
It’s also a quality Coles has displayed throughout his career. Having lost his job at Southampton just days before Christmas in 2005, when George Burley like Allardyce six years later decided he wanted his own man, Coles followed former boss Harry Redknapp down the M27 to Portsmouth.
In doing so he crossed a divide that stirs up as much fervent emotion in the inhabitants of England’s south coast than any in Manchester, Milan or Madrid. While he enjoyed his time with Southampton, it is clear where his heart lies.
“It’s a great club, the fans are just unbelievable, it’s hard to describe,” Coles says affectionately of Pompey. “I’ve been to three FA Cup finals, once with Southampton and twice with Portsmouth. I thought Southampton was fantastic when we played at the Millennium Stadium and it was a sea of yellow and blue. But running out at Wembley twice and seeing this blue and white; they’re fanatical.”
Indeed it was with a heavy heart that Coles left Fratton Park – having turned down the chance to join Redknapp at Tottenham – a decision he has come to regret.
“I followed Avram from Portsmouth to West Ham for the simple reason that it was just too great an opportunity to miss. If you ask me now with hindsight whether I would have changed it then the answer would have been yes, I’d have stayed at Portsmouth.”
Hindsight though is a wonderful thing, especially for Jazira, and their young goalkeepers.
