Last season was, to put it mildly, an unmitigated disaster. The inability to put the ball in the net on a consistent basis was the chief reason for the Reds’ dramatic slide down the ladder.
So they went out and got the best available striker they knew could perform in this league – Serginho van Dijk.
He has already proven his worth during the Reds’ encouraging Asian Champions League campaign, where they managed to make it to the round of 16 before being beaten in extra time by Korean outfit, Jeonbuk Motors.
If Lloyd Owusu can get over his injury troubles, they may be able to become a deadly combination.
We had a brief glimpse of Argentinian playmaker Marcos Flores at the end of last season and during the ACL and he looks like he can provide the midfield polish that United were sadly lacking last season.
The loss of Kristian Sarkies from his makeshift defensive role will hopefully be nullified by the return of Paul Reid, if he can stay off of the physio table long enough to recapture his 2008 form.
But the biggest off-season change was with the manager.
Aurelio Vidmar ended his association with the Reds after the ACL campaign to take up a role with the national team.
He has now been replaced by Dutch coach Rini Coolen.
Coolen has experience in the European leagues, having played and managed in Holland as well as learning his craft under such managing greats as Guus Hiddink and Gerard Houllier and will bring much needed new tactics to the Adelaide squad, including a 4-3-3 formation, if the pre-season has been anything to go by.
There is talk that goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic is being actively pursued by overseas clubs and may be gone before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
If this happens, then Young Socceroo goalie Mark Birighitti will have to step up into the role or the club will need to find another keeper in a hurry.
The Reds have once again been hampered by injury during the run up to the season but hopefully this will not impact on this season as much as it did the last.
They will start the season with captain Travis Dodd and midfielder Fabian Barbiero on the sideline after off-season surgery. Hopefully their absence will not be a long one as the Reds need to get off to a positive start with so many contenders for a finals berth ahead of them.
With young gun Matthew Leckie returning for another season after his brilliant arrival last season, hopes are high for a more attacking and successful run at the title. Let’s just pray that there isn’t Glad Wrap over the goal like there was last season.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
Round 25 was a weekend of football that had plenty of action. There were five games due to the Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide…
Arsenal fans were outraged that Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson got off scot-free for this challenge in the Gunners' 5-0 win.
Kai Havertz has scored twice against his former team and Ben White also got a brace as Arsenal brushed aside a dismal Chelsea side…
Goalkeeper Jamie Young: 2-1 win for Melbourne City against Western Sydney Wanderers. Full game played, seven saves, 29/47 passing. Young had a very strong…
Central Coast Mariners' star striker Angel Torres has been stood down from playing in the A-League Men after he was charged with sexual assault. …
