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It’s that time of year again, when attention turns to the A-League finals series and fans of the clubs that missed out ponder what might have been.
It’s also the time of year when kids everywhere head home with their report cards – or so I assume, having finished school so long ago I can’t actually recall a single noteworthy detail of my time there.
That hasn’t stopped me from running the rule over all ten A-League clubs! And to be perfectly honest, there’s a few who deserve to spend the long off-season in supervised detention.
What are your thoughts? Am I on the money, or would your report card look entirely different?
The Sky Blues have swept all before them and if they beat the hapless Newcastle Jets on Saturday, they’ll set a new points total record for a 27-game season. It will ultimately count for nothing, though, unless Sydney FC win the championship – despite what coach Graham Arnold says.
Grade: A+
Must do better: Getting more fans through the gate.
Verdict: Top of the class by a country mile.
Melbourne Victory show potential but must improve their consistency if they’re to return to the top of the pack. Failure to win any of their past three A-League matches means they go into the finals with little momentum, although a second-place finish insulates them from the first week of action.
Grade: B+
Must do better: Bridging the gap to a runaway Sydney FC.
Verdict: Consistent high achievers but with plenty still to prove.
Are Melbourne City working hard or hardly working? They’re a whopping 24 points behind Sydney FC going into the final round and despite boasting one of the best squads in the league, they’ve only won 11 games so far. With Roy Hodgson now ‘advising’ the club, will he take over as coach next season?
Grade: B
Must do better: Marketing. Should they be satisfied with their crowds?
Verdict: A work in progress.
It’s hard to know what to make of Brisbane Roar, who have been the Jekyll and Hyde of the league campaign. The good news for Roar fans is the amount of young talent making its way into first team contention. The bad news is their almost total reliance on top scorer Jamie Maclaren for goals.
Grade: B
Must do better: Finding another source of goals.
Verdict: Trying hard, but with definite room for improvement.
Should Perth lose to Melbourne City on Sunday night, they’ll have won nine, drawn nine and lost nine games during the regular season. That just about sums up Kenny Lowe’s unpredictable outfit, who nevertheless possess the firepower to defeat any team in the competition on their day.
Grade: C
Must do better: Converting draws into much-needed victories.
Verdict: A season of promise could yet turn into something special.
It’s been a season to forget for Western Sydney, with one exception – they’re in the finals. Can they do some damage from sixth? Not if they can’t find the back of the net. One of the lowest-scoring sides in the league, they’ve drawn 11 times and go into the final round with a goal difference of zero.
Grade: C-
Must do better: Recruiting and retaining players in key areas of the park.
Verdict: They talk a big game, but lack the results to back up the bravado.
A season that promised so much delivered so little for the Wellington Phoenix, prompting questions yet again about their overall viability in the league. Perhaps the biggest disappointment – aside from the departure of Ernie Merrick – was the fact that fans failed to support them in any great numbers.
Grade: Fail
Must do better: Everything.
Verdict: On the verge of permanent expulsion.
Perhaps the best-performed of the bottom four clubs, the Mariners should be reasonably satisfied with their campaign under coach Paul Okon. They can’t afford to rest on their laurels, however, and the impending departure of Roy O’Donovan means they’ll need to find an adequate replacement.
Grade: C-
Must do better: Backing the coach. Does Okon even have the full support of his players?
Verdict: Some positive signs, but still plenty of work required.
A catastrophic campaign from start to finish, the Reds are a textbook example of how not to manage personnel changes. There’s little doubt the salary cap needs to be increased, but even allowing for some key departures, this season has been an absolute shambles for the defending champions.
Grade: Fail
Must do better: Coaching. Surely Gui Amor won’t hang around in the City of Churches?
Verdict: From heroes to zeroes withinin the space of a season.
Few expected the Jets to be title challengers this season, particularly after the shock dismissal of Scott Miller. His replacement Mark Jones has failed to fire his side to any great heights, and unless the Jets invest heavily next season, there could be plenty more wooden spoon campaigns to follow.
Grade: Fail
Must do better: Reconnecting with a frustrated and increasingly fractured fanbase.
Verdict: The only way is up for the misfiring Jets.