The A-League is off and running, but just to wrap up my preview of the season, as a follow-up to my piece on The Roar earlier in the week, here’s a quick whip around the clubs to identify the respective key men, starting at the top and working in clockwise fashion.
North Queensland Fury; Robbie Fowler
The squad is thin, Ian Ferguson is untried as a stand-alone manager at this level, so naturally the attention should fall on the man at the sharp end. The biggest name in the league, Fowler will have pressure to deliver at home and away, where fans across the league will be hoping to witness his lethal finishing, as long as it’s not at the expense of their own side winning. If he gets going, the feel-good factor around the Fury will grow, and it might be enough to get them into the finals.
Brisbane Roar; Sergio van Dijk
Van Dijk proved in the back-half of last season just how critical his goals can be. The Roar have a deep squad, plenty of young talent, and a solid defence lead by Craig Moore, but with Reinaldo a bit up and down, a firing van Dijk will be key to ensuring Brisbane score their goals.
Gold Coast; Jason Culina
The marquee, back home in his prime, will not only be the flag-bearer for club, but for the league, lifting its technical standard and reminding all of the importance of technique over brute, not that he’s a shrinking violet. If he can get forward, create and score, the fans around the country will love it and the Socceroos will benefit.
Newcastle Jets; Branko Culina
With all the turmoil at the club and players unsure of whether they’re coming or going, Culina has a massive task keeping it all together and keeping his frustrations in check. Not only does he have to instill a more positive mood around the club, he has to keep his players and boss happy, and then there’ll be an expectation he produce positive football. If he pulls it all off, he’ll be superman.
Central Coast Mariners; Chris Doig
As we saw on Thursday, Pedj Bojic will try to fill the hot shoes of Mile Jedinak, as I alluded to in my first piece for the new online fanzine Half-Time Heroes (see page 6 here), but the man behind him has an equally important role. Doig is said to be a leader and talker, and we saw evidence of it in the season opener, where the Mariners defensive line was compact and solid.
Sydney FC; Vitezslav Lavicka
There are many leaders in his side, including McFlynn, Brosque, Keller, Colosimo, Corica and Aloisi. If Lavicka can get them all to lead, get the best out of the enigmatic duo Musialik and Bridge, encourage the other kids, keep the media on-side and draw the fans back, then he may as well be granted the keys to Sydney. No pressure at all.
Wellington Phoenix; Diego
As skipper Andrew Durante was keen to remind me at the season launch, Wellington’s defence wasn’t too bad last season. But in attack there was an over-reliance on Smeltz. Daniel was disappointing. Diego’s signing has the potential to be the missing link as he will provide a creative edge, and if he gets fit and stays on the pitch, Greenacre and Ifill could be in for some decent service.
Melbourne Victory; Ernie Merrick
Nominally you would say that Kevin Muscat is the heart-beat of this side, but with every team keen to knock-off the champions, as we saw on Thursday night, Merrick’s every move will be closely scrutinised. His selections, tactics and man-management will be the key to ensuring Melbourne has a successful title defence.
Adelaide United; Lloyd Owusu
Even before Mark Rudan, it was hard to see Adelaide’s defence suddenly falling to bits after the departure of Sash Ognenovski, and that was only emphasised by the assured efforts of Cornthwaite on Fyfe on Friday night. The big question is whether the can find the requisite goals to push for the top two. As such, Owusu becomes crucial, and how well he combines with Cristiano will likely decide how far the Reds go.
Perth Glory; Chris Coyne
The Glory dished-up some great stuff in the front third in the second half of last season, and there is every indication, with Sterjovski and Dadi teaming up, that that will continue, even if they’ll need some time to gel. Where they struggled for leadership and quality was at back, and Coyne is the man who can bring organisation and strength to the last line.
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