Alan Marley: A Look Back... Queensland Football's Best Youth Development Football Coach

By Tom Kenny - The Technical Department

Instinct is one of human nature's greatest fascinations. Pride in oneself belief, capabilities and opinions is one of the most powerful tools a human being can possess. And the ability to think with an abstract mind, taking pride in oneself belief, capabilities and opinions, thus creates a personality that of whom you cannot forget. A personality that upon first contact immediately stands out to you. A personality that changes your opinions and broadens your horizons.

I didn't know it at the time, nor did I appreciate the lessons that I learned as I was only 15 years old, but there was always something within me that knew that as a youth development coach, this guy was special.

His name is Alan Marley; Queensland Football's most unsung hero, and (in my opinion) Queensland's best Youth development coach of the 1990's to 2010's.

Why? Well, the answer is simple; The ability to think with an abstract mind, pride in his self-belief, capabilities and opinions, and, of course, personality.

My experiences of working with some previous coaches of that era (late 2000's) painted a bland picture of football in my head. Pass, move, possession, small sided game. Every session; on repeat.

Alan had his own way, and what that entailed was what I interpreted early on as to be what makes football beautiful. He valued 1vs1, ball mastery / ball manipulation. He incorporated football movement into our sessions. He broke down individual technique and focused on the individual, not the team. He understood that his role was to develop individuals to sustain a career in professional football; players to represent our national teams.

Growing up with a father that used to play a bit of ball in that era and was also connected within that circle, I would overhear reminiscent conversations between him and his mates and Alan "Digger" Marley was always in the conversation as one of the greats of the 1970's and 1980's.

I mean, for anyone to represent their country (New Zealand) at any level, they must be pretty handy, right?

And that was the difference with Alan, he knew what that next step was like, he knew what it takes to get there, and he knew what you need to have when you do get there; Good technique, the ability to beat players 1vs1, and of course, that little bit of "mongrel" that you need to be successful. Something that Alan "apparently" had in abundance in his playing days. And I think it is because of this that he was able to successfully develop players (Robbie Kruse etc). That is what made him special.

Coaches like Alan and (rightly so) the duo of Steve Dolan and Mark Aponas, are what made the Northside of Brisbane (BND / Brisbane Silver) a hotbed of talent during that time.

What Alan had was high standards and high expectations and his man management was excellent. He demanded respect and he delivered his messages in a way that made you more fearful of disappointing him through a lack of effort than the fear of underperforming / underdelivering.

I often wonder that if Alan had more say and was in a position to really influence things at a state level, if we'd be seeing better, more technically competent players than we see today. But he was never one for politics. He played his own game. One can only wonder...

Without Alan, I wouldn't see the game in the same way that I see the game and youth development today. No coach has believed in me in the same way that he believed in me. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Alan "Digger" Marley; The undisputed unsung hero of Queensland Football... and to me... the Best.