The temperament of Adelaidean football fans a vast contrast to what UK native and Red Army Committee member Jason Cavey is familiar with, but he says he loves the atmosphere at his new home ground.

“It’s lot more laid back, it’s got that Aussie feeling," Cavey said.

"I’ve brought a few friends here from the UK and one of them is a Chelsea season ticket holder and he says the atmosphere was fantastic.

"It’s a lot more what it should be, about the fans and very grassroots – not so much the corporate involvement."

While he also doesn’t need to fear for his life.

“There’s that as well! It’s nice to go to the football and know there’s no trouble,” Cavey added.

Fan Kasey Van Puijenbroek, who has tracked the Socceroos around the globe, still gets a buzz out of going to Hindmarsh.

“Hindmarsh is the best football stadium in the country, we don’t have to share it with the rugby league or the rugby union and there’s not a bad seat in the house, it’s perfect. I love it," he said.

"When you come here you know a hundred people. It’s like putting on a pair of comfy old jeans. Why wouldn’t you want to come back here?”

Adelaide United has maintained a solid backing over the years and is arguably the best-known team in the A-League after its exploits in the AFC Championship League and FIFA Club World Cup.

Despite a tough start to the 2011-2012 campaign smiles are plastered on the faces of fans as the club embraces the dawning of a new era, with a touch of the old.

The man fans credit for taking Adelaide to the top before has returned to offer the mid-season shake-up supporters have been desperate for.

Diehard fan David Eggers, who has been following Adelaide since the NSL days, believes John Kosmina's return has given fans renewed hope. Since taking over from axed Dutchman Rini Coolen in mid-December, Kossie has overseen an unbeaten run.

“He’s obviously got results so far,” Eggers said.

Adelaide's A-League crowds averaged 10,947 in 2005-2006 and over 12,000 in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Despite a lack of on field success during the 2009-2010 season, crowds remained healthy and are tipped to flourish again in the 2011-2012 season.

Eggers contends that football holds its own in the AFL entrenched city.

“It’s pretty big, it’s in the papers and we get a lot of coverage now - especially lately with Kossie coming back on board,” he said.

And with 11, 274 fans turning out to see the game against Brisbane Roar there seems to be renewed fire in the bellies of not only the players but the Reds fans as well.

“I think we’ve got a bit of that in us, especially if the boys are down we like to think we can get them up over the line,“ Red Army Committee member Andy Ruzgar said.

“Kossie certainly does, he can certainly get us fired up when we’re down, he has in the past when he’s gone on his tirades and that kind of thing and grabbing Kevin Muscat by the throat – could be a repeat next week!”

But there are a few voices of dissent at Kosmina’s return.

“While it’s good for the club that he’s definitely brought back some courage into the players, at times I do think the club is going backwards," Carlos said.

"But the proof’s in the results so it’s a good thing so as long as the club’s winning."

Cab driver Stephen Baker and his wife braved the entire match from the Eastern stand amid torrential rain in the first half, and he believes technically, Kossie isn’t that great, but he’s good with the players.

“He can ignite the players and fire them up. But previously, in his role as manager, his method of play was from the back - and boot the ball up,” Baker said.

“Now he’s got better players he should do better. Sergio Van Dijk and Bruce Djite can score, but they’re both slow."

As for Kosmina he seems to be more relaxed in his second spell in charge and enjoying the excitement that his return has injected into the club.

“It’s nice that I can inspire people with fire in the belly but I’d like people to think of me in football terms as well, rather than just being a panel beater that runs around pumping everybody up and maybe kicking a few people."

That's fair enough too.

One of the most controversial figures in Australian football, the 55-year-old, who thought his coaching days at the highest level were over, knows he’s been handed a lifeline. He’s hoping to shake that bad boy image and make the headlines for the right reasons only, this time around.

Kosmina aside, the Red Army is confident that Adelaide United will always be a powerhouse.

“We’ve had more ups than downs over the past seven or eight years, it’s a good team to follow because we always win generally," Ruzgar said.

"When we’re down we’re not down for that long and we always have something to smile about at the end of the day."

With Adelaide's form and results improving, and the A-League congestion that sees the team equal on points with sixth-placed Melbourne Victory, you can’t blame fans for getting excited about what lies ahead in 2012.

Many supporters at Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday night were crossing their fingers that the man they credit for being the heart and soul of the club would back away from his application for the position of football director at Sydney FC and begin a new full-time role at the Mariners.

Peter Prior, who leads the match-day chants for the Mariners’ supporters club the Yellow Army, believes McKinna’s work over more than six years has been the foundation of getting the city of Gosford behind its only national football team and creating what he says is a unique atmosphere at the regional stadium.

“It’s like having a family – a home away from home,” Prior said.

“If the club didn’t keep (McKinna) on in some capacity or another – I mean he is the Mariners, he is the heart and soul of the Mariners – for him not to stay would be an absolute travesty for the club.

"It would be really poor if the board didn’t keep him.”

But McKinna can’t rule out a possible move elsewhere, with the club only signing a part-time deal with the devoted Scotsman – who spent five years in charge as coach and then as football and commercial operations manager at Bluetongue Stadium.

He will work three days a week, continuing his work in the community, while also being involved in player contracts, talent scouting and helping to oversee the Mariners run in the AFC Champions League.

McKinna says the backing he got from supporters during negotiations humbled him.

“There were quite a few comments on Facebook and Twitter because I thought there would be a full-time role at the club, but they said there would be no such role,” he revealed.

The Mariners’ media manager, Ben O’Neill, said the club has always kept close ties with McKinna and acted swiftly to sign a deal with him after the call from fans.

"He has converted a lot of people for life,” O'Neill said, in what is traditionally a rugby league hub.

McKinna, who had been working behind the scenes for the Mariners consortium since 2004, said he knew his hard work was paying off after the first grand final.

“I got pulled up in Erina Shopping Centre by a guy who said he was a rugby union fan, but because of what I’d done with the team he’d become a Mariners fan, even though he didn’t know anything about football.”

While supporters welcomed the move to bring in Graham Arnold into the coaching post in February 2010 after five years with McKinna at the helm, they believe he is the key to keeping the community spirit alive.

O’Neill said the club knows there’s a “difference between Arnie and Lawrie” and this latest development is “exactly what the club needs, Arnie to be footy focused and Lawrie to continue his work in community engagement.”

The Yellow Army believes that thanks to McKinna, they have the best deal of all A-League supporters groups in getting up close and personal with their team.

“Interaction between members of the club and players with local schools and local clubs … they don’t just stay and play in their ivory tower, they come out and talk to people and we’ve got some Gosford juniors grown up," Mariners die-hard Barry Earp said.

"Matty Simon a great example of a local, the feel of it. It’s a good local club.”

Earp is proud that McKinna’s always gone that extra mile for the Yellow Army, even though he caused a stir three years ago tweeting his half-time analysis in a bid to get a message out to fans.

“Lawrie really helped to capture the spirit in those early years for the Mariners. Having his chest waxed was just … really something! This is a man who’s really putting his body into it,” Earp added.

Supporter Richard Thornton believes the bond fans have with the team plays a major role in the Mariners' unbeaten home run this season.

“Look at the record, how many grand finals have they played in? Community support it’s like the old fashioned days when you used to go watch your team play, cheer for them and support them and get them over the line.”

The chummy club nature has even drawn the interest of fans from Sydney, including 16-year-old Marko Paulic, who is happy to make the journey up the coast to see his team in action.

“I love the togetherness of the club so that’s why I got into them about three years ago. I liked the players, their positions and formations,” he said.

The club unity is a pitch the Mariners hope will help sway fans from North Sydney in their bid to triple the small support base of less than 5,000 members.

But Prior is urging the Mariners not to get complacent about being the only national football team to represent the Central Coast.

“It’s still a rugby league heartland, the whole of the Central Coast," he said.

"Hopefully in the next five to 10 years football can really take a front seat here, but there has been more of an influx of people getting into football with the Mariners being here now.”

As talk to create a National Rugby League side from the region remains in limbo, some locals, including league fan Craig Johnson, have jumped aboard the football bandwagon. Craig’s family of six catches every home game of the season.

“I’ve always been a fan of sport, more league, though, but the stadium’s here so we thought we’d use it, support the local team,” he explained.

Regardless of a possible Gosford-based NRL team in the future, O'Neill believes it would be “healthy to have the two codes playing in different seasons” and utilising the stadium all year round.

But many in the Yellow Army are hopeful the club adopts their view that the only way to keep the community engagement strong and stay ahead in the footy code war is to get their General back on board for good.

"Of course we are, it's part and parcel of coming from Newcastle, we have a fantastic team, fantastic ground, and fortress Newcastle is alive and well," one Jets fan said.

While another supporter was also unoffended by the term.

"No, I take it as a compliment. We’re different people."

More than 12,000 Newcastle fans converged at Ausgrid Stadium to watch their team play Perth Glory on Saturday night, pumped and full of ferocity. It was as though they were on a mission to stake their claim as the best supporters in the A-League.

"We're Novocastrians, most passionate people in Australia," one diehard said.

"I think we're more passionate than other fans. I think we're always showing up in great numbers and I think Newcastle crowds are more passionate about their sporting teams than any other region - but then again I'm biased," another supporter said.

There is no doubt Newcastle natives are fiercely loyal to their breeding ground and they are just as proud of the fact that their rivals fear their cauldron like home ground.

Since the Jets controversially adopted new stripes this year to incorporate the traditional red and blue colours that reflect Newcastle, a majority of supporters have jumped on board and decked themselves out in the new merchandise.

The new hues enhance the intensity at the stadium that is lined with red and blue seats and gives fan’s even more ammunition to boast a hostile environment for the opposition.

So what does being a Jets fan mean?

"Entertainment, hopefully winning, a day out,” one supporter said.

There is a definitive buzz inside the stadium and you get a sense from the crowd that it really couldn’t get any better than this in Newcastle, spending a warm and sunny afternoon backing your team.

Whether the fans are kicking back on the grassy hills behind both ends of the pitch or filling the stadium seats along the sidelines, you quickly understand what an event it is for locals to go to the football in Newcastle.

So what is the Jets’ community spirit like, especially in a city dominated by the NRL?

"Mate, the region, we love it. As soon as the A-League kicked off, everyone was involved in it. The change with the Tinkler group… we love the Knights, we love the Jets," one faithful said.

And while being a so-called ‘different breed’ may sound rather complex, it seems the motto is quite simple for Newcastle followers, well at least according to one supporter.

"I've lived here all my life, so I just go with it".