Not even the most die-hard of Perth Glory supporters would have predicted how this season would play out for their side, especially following yet another season of turmoil in 2013-14.
Current manager Kenny Lowe took over midway through last season after the Alistair Edwards vs Jacob Burns saga. In hindsight it was best for the club that this shambles played out, as both parties have now left the club.
Lowe inherited a side that was not his, and had to build morale after a demoralising period for the club.
Owner Tony Sage gave Lowe the nod for the current season and was rewarded with Glory’s blistering start, spearheaded by Irish striker Andy Keogh.
Lowe went about building a brilliant squad to execute his ideas, bringing in Youssouf Hersi from grand finalists Western Sydney Wanderers, Mitch Nichols on loan from Cerezo Osaka, Ruben Zadkovich from Newcastle Jets, and Richard Garcia from Sydney FC. These acquisitions weren’t the headline grabbers that others may have been, but they have been more effective than most.
Lowe’s squad took little time to click, as they accounted for Wellington and defending premiers Brisbane in the opening two rounds, before bogey side Adelaide put them to the sword in a 2-0 defeat.
But the Glory then went on a season-defining run of ten games without defeat – eight wins and two draws – that saw them rocket to the summit of the A-League ladder.
The new year brought change and after a wonderful 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory, their drought began. They have not managed a win since January 2, mustering five draws in this period. It’s been enough to keep them in the mix, but if this form continues it’s hard to see them lifting the toilet seat at season’s end.
It’s no coincidence that striker Andy Keogh’s form has dipped during this period. He and Joshua Risdon drowned their sorrows a little too deeply in Adelaide after a hard-fought draw, and both players ended up in custody. They were both fined as a result and doubtlessly suffered a knock in confidence.
Keogh failed to find the net for a further two games, but returned his name to the goal scorer’s list with one against the Victory last weekend.
So from a fast start and a consistent mid season, Glory seems to be flat-lining to the finish.
Is it because teams have worked them out? Maybe.
A five-game drawing streak doesn’t exactly give players or fans much confidence. Their grinding out of results has, more than likely, caught up with them.
When you are winning everything seems to go your way, the bounce of the ball, refereeing decisions and the ball going into the back of the net. But when you are out of form everything goes against you and that seems to be the case for the Glory.
Kenny Lowe needs to find something extra, something different if he wants to return Perth to the winners’ circle. He surprised us all by putting this brilliant squad together, can he do it again and put Perth back on track?
Batou
Guest
I agree iangou, Perth's early season form was definitely a blip in their now long history of poor football and poor results. It appears that order is in the process of being restored though. :)
TheVolley
Guest
You summed it up perfectly - "Kenny Lowe needs to find something extra, something different if he wants to return Perth to the winners’ circle.". The question is can he? It's always easy to setup a team defensively and use 'pacey' players to take advantage of open spaces. It's always harder to instruct a team to commit players in attack to break down an opposition's defense and still be able to defend when you lose the ball.
Mervyn
Guest
How is the Sydney Morning herald running this story about our new national team - not a way to make friends amongst the millions of cricket lovers - and ignoring the FFA threatened takeover of Tinklers Jets story http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-now-the-truly-national-team-says-gallop-20150317-1m15iw.html
AZ_RBB
Guest
You're not allowed to win unless every goal comes after a 23 pass combination.
langou
Roar Guru
you fools. This is just a blip. We will win the A-league this year, even if we have to travel to Wellington to do so
LordBrucie
Guest
Not so josh. I genuinely am of the view that the MLS is superior to the a league in every way but particularly in relation to crowds and size of the league and quality of players both local and foreign stars.
Ian
Guest
Are you inferring the comp is tighter this year so harder for a team to be an outright leader? Or were Brisbane just that much more consistent? mind you if Victory can get more than 52 points and get a trophy that will be time for you to cheer. Another angle is the amount of draws. Last season Brisbane had 4 draws all year. Victory had 8. Victory have 7 so far with 7 rounds left. last season there were 66 draws or about 48% of games. this season there have been 58 draws after 21 rounds (minus 2 games to be caught up) which is 56% of games. The tightness can be down to more draws occurring where last year Brisbane won 16 games. Wellington on 12 wins has a similar ratio of wins losses and draws that Brisbane did at season end.
Uncle Junior
Guest
There's a myth that Perth have mental toughness and Victory don't. According to the table, Perht has won and drawn the same number of matches as Victory. The only difference is Perth has played 1 extra match and they've lost that 1 extra match. Victory and Sydney have only lost 3 matches this season (Victory has played 20, Sydney 21). By contrast last season after 20 matches, Brisbane who romped to the Premiership title had lost 6 matches.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
Being a Glory fan they have exceeded expectation this season, and I think by no means have they been the "best" team this season. But they have been the team that has fought hardest, and sometimes it is mental toughness and playing as a team that wins matches more so than individual brilliance (we saw this recently with the Socceroos in the Asian Cup). Look at the Vicotry, for all the individual brilliance they have, they still struggle to hang on to leads and/or to finish off teams (same can be said for Adelaide). Sydney are winning too at the moment, but conceding more than any other team in the process. I think Glory has been found out with too few wingers and not enough creativity in the middle. De Silva should be running the show with Nichols, as Markinovic has a great shot but not much else. I don't think Keogh has so much gone off the ball as more that the service just isn't there ...
AZ_RBB
Guest
As shown in the 4 times MVFC beat Perth this season......oh wait....
melbourneterrace
Guest
Yeah, I think Perth have just gotten incredibly lucky. They aren't a good side by any stretch of the imagination. Adelaide, Wellington and Melbourne are all playing far better football.
Uncle Junior
Guest
If Perth finishes 5th on the table I think it would be a fair reflection of its level in the A-League. So, there's nothing unusual about Perth Glory's current form. More unusual was Perth's form early in the season when it was winning consistently.
Josh
Guest
I think Brucie was looking for a cheap shot on Perth crowds instead of talking up the MLS. You need only look up 'invented buffoonery' for an example of how cringeworthy the MLS experience is. It's a reference to Sounders fans btw
bobbym
Guest
he needs to play da silva in a central position.
Kasey
Guest
@LordBrucie MLS is not only 10 years older than the A-League, but has access to a list of 40-odd cities that are suitable for a professional association football team. We have hit all the major population centres already and are kinda stuck as to where to head next its not like we have an Orlando just waiting to be chosen. MLS isn't all perfect decisions either. Chivas USA was a disaster from start to finish. Your comments might resonate further if you found a way to to tuck your cultural cringe back in when you're discussing the world game.
AZ_RBB
Guest
A nation with a population 15 times of Australia, only has 2 times the teams Australia has. Yeah nah thanks for the tips buddy but we're alright.
AZ_RBB
Guest
I thought Perth were brilliant before the Asian Cup. Strong at the back and brilliant in transition and producing consistent results. But my belief in them has dropped gradually since then. They've been ok last couple of weeks but in the month before that the wheels really fell off. A visit to CCM is a good chance for them to get it back together and try and get a home semi. Adelaide v MVFC will be absolutely huge on Saturday night. I imagine it'll sell out by the weekend.
LordBrucie
Guest
It is a sad indictment on the a league and asso. Football in this nation that this very ordinary team with less than 10,000 fans from a city of 2 million is near the top of the ladder. We really need to take lessons from the infinitely superior MLS in the US who have just successfully added a couple of teams. Come on Straya pull your socks up!
Kasey
Guest
I just don't think Perth Glory are that good to be brutally honest. Adelaide are a mid-table-ish team and we mostly have the wood on them. If they strike another good run of form, there's no reason why they couldn't go deep into the Finals and maybe even jag the Dunny seat, but the table shows that Wellington and Melbourne Victory are more consistently good teams on the field than Glory. There is a good reason Feenux and Victory are favourites for the Dunny Seat.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Still think Hersi would have made a huge difference this season for Glory. I don't feel that Perth have been all that bad at all in defence but they don't seem as effective in transition as they were with Hersi on that wing. Similar to WSW.