When you think of the success the Wanderers had in their first season and just how crucial Michael Beauchamp and Mateo Poljak were to it, it’s almost unfathomable to think, six rounds into the next season, they aren’t part of the starting 11.
But that exactly the scenario at the Western Sydney Wanderers at moment as Tony Popovic looks to be evolving his team into one that possess the ball more than it has yet done.
There’s an old adage that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, yet Popovic appears to be defying that logic and, as he invariably does, finding success in his formula.
As I wrote in my Wanderers season preview, standing still is no longer good enough in the A-League, and finding improvement would be a key to whether the Wanderers made any progress this campaign.
Yet few would have predicated that two of last season’s key men, the skipper and the midfield enforcer, would be looking for a way back into the starting 11 after only six games.
Beauchamp, as we know, formed a formidable partnership with Nikolai Topor-Stanley last season, so much so he had many calling for him be recalled to the Socceroos.
Poljak, at times, resembled Miley Cyrus, a midfield wrecking ball.
When he was in, the Wanderers looked a formidable physical force, almost impossible to dominate.
In many ways, Poljak was the Wanderers bodyguard.
There was one occasion, at Wanderland, when Western Sydney had a player sent off early against the Melbourne Heart, that Popovic adjusted by leaving Poljak on his own in central midfield.
As I wrote at the time, he might have been up against three Heart midfielders, but Poljak blitzed them, destroying every potential raid with a characteristic high-octane display.
Yet both now appear to be on the fringes.
The reasoning makes sense from a football perspective.
While hitherto the Wanderers have been very much about being well organised and keeping it simple at the back and playing their football in the front third, now they appear intent to play out and possess the ball more.
To that end Matt Spiranovic and Aaron Mooy are the players that have come in for Beauchamp and Poljak, and their greater comfort on the ball is starting to make the Wanderers look like a team that can keep the ball and build from defence, through midfield.
Mooy had his best game in red and black against the Melbourne Victory on Saturday night, regularly making himself available and getting the ball, either deep in his own half or higher up the pitch, where he could influence the attack.
Whether dropping between the two central defenders to start a home attack or playing combinations on the edge of the Victory box, Mooy was everywhere.
Last season, when he did feature as one of the twin pivots in Popovic’s 4-2-3-1, Mooy looked to struggle with the workrate required as the Wanderers invariably where on the wrong end of the possession counts.
Their game was very much about absorbing and reacting by getting it quickly to the likes of Youssouf Hersi, Shinji Ono and Mark Bridge.
The twin screeners, Poljak and, most often, Iacopo La Rocca, were there not so much to play, but break down opponents.
While Mooy might have been part of the starting 11 plans at the beginning of the campaign, by the end he was very much an impact option.
Indeed, there was even some speculation Mooy might be on the outer at the start of this season, but anyone who watched the Wanderers pre-season will have known how important he would be to Popovic’s plans.
Spiranovic, too, is already proving a big difference in allowing the Wanderers to keep the ball and build up patiently from the back.
Taking up Beauchamp’s right-central-defender position, one can already see how comfortable he is as demanding the ball and carrying it forward, something that has never been a strength of Topor-Stanley and Beauchamp.
Also noticeable in his first two games have been his accurate switches of play.
If you want a pointer to the way the Wanderers are looking to play, you have to look no further than the kick-offs.
Whereas in the past they gave always knocked it back to Topor-Stanley who will invariably hoof it into the opponents half, now there have been a couple of examples of them playing it shorter to Mooy, and trying to keep it.
It is rare to see the Victory on the wrong end of a possession count, and the fact it was the Wanderers who out-possessed them tells you much about the influence of Spiranovic and Mooy already.
Credit should also go to Topor-Stanley and La Rocca, who have looked composed around them the past two games.
Popovic, of course, will look to evolve this even further throughout the season, and hinted as much with his post-match comments, saying there were better signs of the possession game he was after, but more to come.
While Tomi Juric has undoubtedly given the Wanderers a focal point in attack in the opening few rounds, the ability to possess the ball better and build from the back gives Popovic even more tactical flexibility as the season unfolds.
Friday night’s top of the table clash away to the Brisbane Roar, who like to use the width of Lang Park to stretch opponents, will be another test for Popovic and Ante Milicic, to see whether they look to absorb the Roar or keep the ball, or use a combination of both.
The fact the Wanderers are building these options should make them stronger in their second season.
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