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Season 10 of the A-League is set to be a cracker

5th October, 2014
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The arrival of Melbourne City and David Villa will take the A-League to a new level. (Wiki Commons)
Expert
5th October, 2014
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The buzz and interest around football has never been higher in Australia. Following the World Cup in Brazil, the momentum has continued with the introduction of the FFA Cup and Western Sydney’s rise to the Asian Champions League final.

Season 10 of the A-League could be the biggest yet, with a number of teams expected to be in the mix for the premiership, and crowd numbers on target to reach an all-time high.

Memberships are on the rise, although they are still some way off the FFA’s target of 110,000.

Currently at 90,000, there’s still time for that figure to rise. Melbourne Victory sit at 19,000 but pulled 22,000 members last year and will be targeting to beat that.

Western Sydney are near capacity already, with almost 16,000 members signed on, while Sydney FC have dealt with the departure of Alessandro del Piero and have almost eclipsed their total from last season.

Melbourne City have reached a record high (8200), as have Brisbane Roar (10,700), while the Newcastle Jets have pulled more than 7600 despite the woeful performances on the pitch in the last few years.

There’s still room for improvement however, with Adelaide’s revolution yet to transform into membership numbers and Wellington, Perth and Central Coast struggling to get past the 5000 mark despite boasting some of the cheapest deals.

And with the crowds comes the promise of a ferociously contested season. A-League 10 should deliver plenty of excitement in the battle for honours.

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New boys Melbourne City could go from cellar-dwellers to title holders if all the hype is to be believed. David Villa leads the vast array of talent, but he will only be here for a 10-game stint.

Defence is a concern, but the midfield is where the magic should happen, with John van’t Schip bringing in Robert Koren, Damien Duff, Aaron Mooy and Erik Paartalu.

Brisbane Roar should also be up there towards the end of the season, despite losing the enigmatic Besart Berisha to Melbourne Victory. If anything, the loss should bring them down to an even playing field.

Any side with Thomas Broich in the starting 11 is going to be a threat, and Luke Brattan’s continuing development should see him earn Socceroos recognition soon. A lot will depend on Dimitri Petratos kicking on this season, as well as how quickly new Albanian recruit Mensur Kurtishi adapts.

Meanwhile, Adelaide’s impressive development under Josep Gombau is expected to improve further, and their dismantling of Brisbane in preseason was a sign that they’ll be in the mix.

Gombau has been experimenting with a three-man defence, and it will once again be a joy to watch the Spaniard’s tactics in the A-League. If they can start the season strong – they won just one of their first nine last season – then Gombau could be headed towards silverware.

Melbourne Victory will also be in with a shout, headed by Berisha – who has scored seven in eight preseason games. They’ve recruited strongly, with Matthieu Delpierre marshalling the defence, Carl Valeri adding steel to the midfield and Fahid Ben Khalfallah bringing experience to the front line.

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Both Sydney teams will have something to say about a title challenge too. Western Sydney will be riding a wave of optimism after their ACL campaign, and Graham Arnold has started strongly at FC and potentially boasts the league’s most potent attack.

The rest – Perth, Newcastle, Wellington and Central Coast – haven’t been tipped for success, but it’s dangerous to write any of them off as finals aspirants.

Perth Glory came agonisingly close to winning the A-League grand final three years ago, but have failed to impress since. Old boys Jacob Burns and Steven McGarry have moved on, so hopefully the player clique that forced Alistair Edwards and Ljubo Milicevic from the club are now gone.

The starting 11 is going to be a completely different beast, with Kenny Lowe ringing the changes. Youssouf Hersi, Mitch Nichols and Richard Garcia will hopefully offer Glory fans a more exhilarating attack.

Newcastle are in transition after the failed Gary van Egmond revolution. They’ve lost their captain, three of their most promising youngsters and their fans have been starved of finals football for too long.

It’s going to be a long season, but if Marcos Flores can return to his best form and Jeronimo Neumann clicks quickly with his teammates, the Jets could surprise under Phil Stubbins. Stranger things have happened.

The Mariners can never be written off, and have continually performed against the odds in the A-League. But they’ve recruited the worst out of all A-League clubs and this could be the year where they fail to make finals.

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Phil Moss is a fine coach, and his ability to switch his tactics around mid-game is a valuable asset. The culture of the club is also a huge strength, and they’re used to punching above their weight. Mitch Duke needs to fire up front if the Mariners are to make finals though.

Wellington’s poor form in the past two years has seen attendances fall away, but Ernie Merrick has given his squad a makeover and there’s a bit to like about the side.

Alex Rodriguez, Michael McGlinchey and Nathan Burns have arrived to reinvigorate the attack, but the defence needs to improve and Jeremy Brockie is the only real option up front. Like Newcastle, it could be a very long season, or a campaign that surprises.

Either way, there are six strong contenders this season, and four pretenders. Funnily enough, membership numbers reflect that optimism and pessimism. But it will be interesting to see who fails to live up to expectations and who rises above the critics’ predictions.

The winners and losers are ultimately irrelevant though. Season 10 of the A-League is set to be a winner on the pitch and in TV lounge rooms. The World Cup, FFA Cup and Asian Champions League have provided a solid base, and the A-League will feed off that to reach record numbers.

In between the country will also experience the worldwide pull football has. The Asian Cup and the arrival of fanatical support from competing nations will be the first time Australians can see first-hand just how popular the game is internationally.

Whether Gombau’s Adelaide revolution succeeds, Melbourne City win their first championship at the first time of asking or Sydney FC return to the top of Australian football, this season is promising to be a rampant success.

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If the lesser-fancied clubs can perform and pull some solid crowds, then FFA’s ambition of getting more than two million spectators through the gates could become reality.

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