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While A-League headquarters continue to deliver confusing messages about active support, and refereeing standards remain the elephant in the room, at least on the pitch there is genuine cause to get excited about what lies ahead this season.
While many technical mistakes where made in the early years of the A-League around recruitment of coaches and players, there has undoubtedly been a gradual rise in the standard of the competition, particular since the likes of Jason Culina and Carlos Hernandez hit our shores four or five years ago.
Step by step there have been improvements in the decision making in club-land, much of it spurred on by stern analysis and the ongoing rise in the knowledge of a more discerning football audience.
But even last season, despite all the fanfare surrounding the arrival of a trio of big marquee signings, there were still a few technical holes across the scene, evidenced by the eventual struggles at Sydney FC, Perth Glory, Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets, Melbourne Heart and Wellington Phoenix.
But as this long time technical observer surveys the scene ahead of tomorrow night’s season kick-off, there is much potential for what will be produced on the park and from the first in the line of plastic chairs.
With Friday night free-to-air television likely to expose the league to more homes than ever, there is confidence most clubs can deliver a product worthy of a bigger audience.
Here are five reasons why:
1. Better quality coaches producing more proactive football
It’s staggering to look back and wonder whoever made the decision to bring over coaches like Terry Butcher. Richard Money and Steve Macmahon.
There have been many poor decisions over the life of the league, and sadly many have related to who clubs have put in charge of their sides.
But gradually there has been a shift towards a more educated coach able to instil a system of play rather than relying on old-fashioned motivation and playing to a default 4-4-2.
He was much criticised in Australia, and with some valid reasons, but I have long argued that one of the main triggers for improvement in the standards across the A-League was the former Sydney FC Czech manager Vitezslav Lavicka.
It was not that he was some sort of tactical genius, far from it, but what he did in his first pre-season was instil a more professional culture at a club notorious for its lack of direction.
Setting up a pre-season program of over 15 games, with an emphasis on getting his team fitter than everyone else, and on the same page, he was somewhat the A-League revolutionary.
Some may write off the Lavicka years, but it was no coincidence that Ange Postecoglou’s success in his first full season at the Roar came the season after Lavicka’s success and was modelled largely around a massive pre-season working with strength and conditioning man Ken Stead.
Arnold too has derived much of his success at the Central Coast Mariners on building a squad, with the help of Andrew Clark, fitter and stronger than most.
Witness the run from the likes of Pedj Bojic, Josh Rose, Mitchell Duke and even evergreen Danny McBreen in recent times.
The same can be said of the Western Sydney Wanderers last season under the guidance of Tony Popovic, Ante Milicic and Adam Waterson.
Now, as you look across the scene, it is more common than not for teams to have played at least 10-15 pre-season games against local, A-League and international opposition, refining their systems, building a base.
There is genuine cause to be excited about the potential that the likes of Josep Gombau at Adelaide, Mike Mulvey at Brisbane Roar and Alistair Edwards might bring to the competition with a full pre-season under their belt.
I was very impressed by what I saw from Adelaide in their clash with the Wanderers in Penrith last month, and Gombau looks to have already identified the players, like Steve Lustica, Sergio Cirio, Isias and Michael Zullo that can understand and translate his preferred method of 4-3-3.
Also easy on the eye, based on what we saw from Edwards and Mulvey at the back end of last season, will be the Glory and Roar.
No-one looks to have stood still, and while the Victory, Heart and Sydney have retained their managers, they have worked hard to improve.
Sydney FC have also gone down the path of playing a system, and certainly there is merit in the decision to use a gifted ball player like Nick Carle as the team’s enabler.
The hope for their fans is that Frank Farina and Rado Vidosic get the balance of the rest of the team around Carle right.
After a promising start to the pre-season, things have looked far less balanced recently, and the pressure, as always, is on.
The same can be said about Newcastle and the Melbourne Heart. All three need the finals, as a minimum.
Yet evidently there is a commitment to keeping the ball, and while it might take time for some of them to consistently execute, the motive is to be applauded.
But as sure as these teams will be looking to be dominant and control games, expect others to also come up with strategies to counter, with higher pressing continuing to evolve.
After leaking goals last season, the Newcastle Jets, for example, seem hell bent on keeping things tighter in defence.
Don’t be surprised to see them playing a little more reactively, trying to disrupt high or deep and strike quickly through the transitionary work of the likes of Nathan Burns.
The Wanderers too, as I wrote on Tuesday, are just the type of team that won’t mind letting the opponents have it, looking to disrupt and hit swiftly.
We will see some of this from Mariners and Wellington Phoenix, too.
Right across the league, whether with the ball or without it, it’s clear the players have more of an idea what they’re meant to do.
The days of default football appear to be over, and hallelujah to that.
2. Deeper squads
Increasingly, in a league on the rise, you are only as good as your weakest link, with squad building becoming more hit than miss.
There’s no doubt the two most successful squads last season, the Wanderers and Mariners, were the deepest.
For example, it was to this corespondent’s disappointment that Oliver Bozanic didn’t see more game-time, and we saw how successful he was in the grand final and has been in Europe since leaving.
With better recruitment from overseas (keep an eye out on the likes of Sergio Cirio, Isaias, Kenny Cunningham and Michael Mifsud and Sidnei Sciola), and many more young Australians (like Burns, Jamie Maclaren, Brent McGrath, Lustica, Matt Spiranovic, James Troisi, Zullo and Dimi Petratos) coming home to advance their careers ahead of the World Cup, expect much.
Most clubs these days are not only buying players because they are available or being shopped around, a common error of the past.
What most are doing are recruiting players to suit a defined system.
It’s been the common trend in the recent success of the Roar, Mariners and Wanderers, and it’s no surprise to find others trying to emulate.
3. Strength at the back
One of the biggest features of the off-season has been number of foreign central defenders brought in to stop the goals.
Little doubt many have looked over at the success the Mariners had with the now-retired Patrick Zwaanswijk.
From his replacement Marcel Seip, to Kew Jailens up the M1 in Newcastle, to the Heart’s Rob Wielaert and Victory’s Pablo Contreras in Melbourne, there’s been a clear push to stop the leaking using international experience.
Even Sydney FC came into the picture late with the capture of Serbian Nikola Petkovic.
Meanwhile, the homecoming of Patrick Kosnorbo and Spiranovic adds to the quality we saw from local central defenders Michael Beauchamp, Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Trent Sainsbury last season.
It might not be music to ears of the league’s strikers, but it’s another little challenge for managers.
4. More diminutive types creating in midfield
While the physicality of Mateo Poljak, Iacopo La Rocca and John Hutchinson anchoring their midfields ultimately proved successful last season, what we are starting to see is more of the crafty midfield enablers anchoring.
Last season we saw Luke Brattan have a terrific second half of the season alongside Lustica.
This time he’s most likely to sit behind Matt McKay and Liam Miller.
Over in Adelaide, Isaias looks adaptable enough to play as the number six, setting the tempo, or push up into the number eight role when Gombau feels the physicality of Osama Malik is required.
Isaias’ partnership with Lustica looks very exciting, all pass, touch and movement.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, it’s hoped Carle is pulling the strings more often than Terry McFlynn.
Across town there may eventually be a bit of game-time at Wanderland for midfield buzzer Martin Lo.
5. An extra substitute
The decision by the FFA to finally expand then bench from four to five, meaning each coach has access to four outfield players, has been a long time coming, but is welcomed.
What it should do is give managers a little more tactical flexibility.
Most have erred on the conservative side in the past, often featuring an adaptable player or two who can cover any number of positions.
Now, and particularly at home, managers might keep a more offensive bench.
What it should also do is give a few kids an opportunity to get some game-time, or experience game-day, and the more we get to see of the likes of Kwame Yeboah, Awer Mabil, Chris Naumouff, Daniel de Silva and Nick Olsen, the better.
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