From the 606 Man City message board when they were linked with him:
comment by PSFieten
posted Jun 13, 2007
In Holland Co Adriaanse is considered to be a 'Louis Van Gaal-type' manager. He always focuses on strong team discipline and attacking (pref. Dutch school 4-3-3) football. His 'Schoolmaster-style' of managing brought him major success with smaller Dutch teams, but big star players seem to think his approach is a bit too childish. (Which is rumoured to have been his problem at Porto).
comment by ElSombre
posted Jun 13, 2007
In Holland Adriaanse is seen as a succesful coach who is firmly tied to the recent successes of AZ Alkmaar. Adriaanse turned them into a top-4 team whilst playing attacking and attractive football. This has always been fundamental for Adriaanse throughout his career, he wants to play decent football.
Although being highly respected in Holland, he never won any silverware here. His first year in Portugal was a success, winning the double. Left because the chairman refused to pay out a promised bonus. This is typical, he is a man of principles.
He is known for his ruthless approach towards his squad. He is authority-based and will certainly lay down some clear rules and structure. He is known to be able to change the behavior of some players and being ruthless to those who do not change. The best example is a player who was known for being hugely talented and a dirty player. He stopped picking up cards and made it to the Dutch national side, making his debut at the age of 34.
Concluding, he is a bit of a unusual, but very good coach. Will try to attack and is perfectly capable of building up a team. Beware of the way he treats the media...