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The A-League season is drawing near and we’re getting a clear picture of what our clubs are going to bring to the table.
This is how I rank the changes in the A-League squads and how excited they make me, not a prediction on where I think these teams will finish on the ladder.
Adelaide United
It’s usually a heralded moment when a new coach arrives at a club, but nothing in recent memory has matched the buzz surrounding new manager Josep Gombau.
The former coach of Barcelona youth academy FCB Escola comes with the unique honour of helping produce talent for one of the world’s best clubs.
No doubt the time spent at Los Cules has burnt ‘tiki-taka’ on his footballing brain and that thinking will be at the forefront of the style Adelaide is likely to play.
Their Spanish signings have drawn my attention, Isaías Sánchez and Sergio Cirio come with the expectation of being familiar with the Spanish style Adelaide is going for and I expect them to flourish.
On the more familiar front, the signings of Michael Zullo and Steven Lustica bring some young fire and the chance to firmly establish themselves at a club, something which has proved to motivate returning youths to perform with great success.
On the losses front, Iain Fyfe, Tomi Jurić and Dario Vidošić all rate as big ones but the new attitude at the club can make up for this and more.
Brisbane Roar
Two names dominate my reasoning for placing Brisbane second: Liam Miller and Matt McKay.
Two proven performers at A-League level, the idea they’re lacing up alongside Thomas Broich to provide balls to goal machine Besart Berisha is enough to make any goalkeeper run for the hills.
The Irishman Miller only scored two goals in his time at Perth but he was noted for his defence-breaking dribbling and quick-minded passing ability.
Crowd favourite McKay looks set to continue impressing after a while on the road trying to find a home, all the while turning in good performances for the Socceroos.
Diogo Ferreira and Dimitri Petratos offer some fresh options in defensive midfield and striking respectively and the youth players promoted are indicative of south-east Queensland being the new home of football youth production.
Mitch Nicholls is a big loss but they’re covered in midfield so I wouldn’t be too worried if I was a Roar supporter.
Sydney FC
I can honestly say without bias, my beloved Sydney FC will do better this time around.
Rado Vidošić is key here, the famed assistant coach was a key figure in Brisbane Roar’s undefeated streak and he is serious about correcting Sydney’s problem with consistency.
Defence has been the game killer here, who could forget the painful 7-2 loss against the Mariners last season?
Matt Jurman and Pedj Boich arrive to plug some holes in the back while Marc Warren will provide a sensible ‘English style’ option at left back.
Corey Gameiro will provide back some of what has been lost with the departure of Joel Griffiths, and Richard Garcia will give them an experienced wide player, someone who little Panamanian ball of speed Yairo Yau can learn a thing or two off.
They’ve mostly cut dead wood out of the team, the only big loss here is Joel Griffiths, no doubt inspired to move after the unfair releasing of his twin brother Adam.
The Cove will be glad to see the backs of Trent McClenahan and Fabio who tortured the Sky Blue faithful with shoddy defending and reckless challenges.
Melbourne Heart
Often described as Victory’s cuddly alternative, Heart have spent the off season sharpening the claws, getting tough on under-performers and searching for that special player with the ability to kill off games.
The main factor here is the bums-on-seat factor Harry Kewell will bring.
After spending so little time on the pitch since his last stint in the A-League, he’ll take some time to get going but what he will bring is interest, something hard to come by for the red half of Melbourne.
Their acquisition of Orlando Engelaar, although sustaining a bad injury, shows Heart’s recruitment credentials, someone who could so easily have continued on in the Netherlands, moved to Germany or even secured a contract in the English Championship, his youtube highlights reel show a confident and creative player, someone who any A-League team would love to have.
Iain Ramsay and Massimo Murdocca are two established names in the A-League and should do well, while it will be interesting to see the Heart’s sometimes toe-treading youth recruitment policy come to fruition when a few of their youth players step up.
Patrick Kisnorbo will bring some hard defending experience to a troubled area and new recruit, Tando ‘Spider-Man’ Velaphi will thank him for it.
John Aloisi has shown no remorse in cutting the dead wood out of the club, no longer tolerating underperforming players, this new fire under the Heart will spur them on to give so much more for the club and can only be a good thing.
Central Coast Mariners
Last season’s grand final winners will be banking on another strong season despite the well-documented departure of key figures.
Marcos Flores will be hard to look past when it comes to adding attacking flair in a line-up that already includes golden boot winner Daniel McBreen and returning crowd favourite Matt Simon.
Marcel Seip looks to be a mini-Patrick Zwaanswijk, with plenty of experience in the English lower leagues.
The biggest setback this year will be the players who have moved on, Oliver Bozanic, Matt Ryan and Bernie Ibini-Isei were all key performers and any team would find it hard to fill that hole.
Wellington Phoenix
Another team, another new coach, this time familiar face Ernie Merrick steps in to replace the over-encumbered Riki Herbert.
Player-wise, Johnny Warren medallist ‘King’ Carlos Hernandez steps in to give Nix fans the latino flair enjoyed by Victory supporters, who he dazzled in his stint in the navy blue.
Speaking of wide players, fellow Costa Rican Kenny Cunningham joins the Phoenix to spruce up the wings and give Wellington a two-winged counter attack, with the other being Paul Ifill. I feel sorry for anyone that lets them fire off a counter attack.
Ernie Merrick has overseen the release of a whopping 11 players, this is a serious warning shot to the A-League, there will be fire in the Phoenix again, dismiss at your peril.
Melbourne Victory
For the first time in a long time, I find myself with not much to talk about when it comes to Melbourne Victory’s off-season signings.
Ange Postecoglou is looking to recapture some of that orange magic in signing Mitch Nicholls and Kosta Barbarouses, a pair who have a track record under Ange and will be looking to deliver.
The cuts have come thick and fast, Postecoglou has given his marching orders to seven players and Daniel Mullen returns to Dalian Aerbin, while Billy Celeski moves to the United Arab Emirates with Al Shaab.
Western Sydney Wanderers
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, the Wanderers meteoric rise to the forefront of Australian football has been well documented but when it comes to players and staff, they haven’t had to make wholesale changes like other clubs.
I’d rank them a little lower but their capture of Tomi Jurić should prove to be a tidy piece of business, in his seven appearances for Adelaide United, he managed to score two goals, one of which a pacey wonder goal against Sydney FC which my pundit side was urging to applaud.
Brendon Santalab returns to the A-League, he’ll give the Wanderers some great long range shots for when defenders clamp down in the box.
Tony Popovic has proven to have no problems cutting loose players and has done so in letting go crowd favourite Dino Kresinger, Rocky Visconte and letting other clubs take the likes of Tarek Elrich, Reece Ciara and Joey Gibbs.
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle has quickly become a favoured destination for young talent in the A-League, and this season should see an exciting youth recruitment spree come to fruition as players like James Brown and Adam Taggart look to establish themselves as top-level performers in the A-League.
Kew Jailens brings in defensive experience from popular defender source: the Netherlands and loanee Nathan Burns will prove a nimble alternative to the big, forceful Emile Heskey.
The loss of Ryan Griffiths is a big one and it will be hard to get used to not seeing a Griffiths in home colours at Hunter Stadium.
Perth Glory
Boy did they drop the ball on this one, letting Liam Miller go without a fight will come back to bite them, Ljubo Miličević proves to be the only exciting signing in a transitional season for the Glory, full of untested youth players and classic foreign journeymen.
In the outs column they’ve lost more good than bad, simple as that, if it wasn’t for the fresh approach in training Alistair Edwards will offer, I’d say this season wold be a complete waste for any Glory fan.
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