Full credit goes to Perth Glory for taking a chance and signing Tony Popovic as coach of its A-League side for the next three seasons.
Popovic is astute, charismatic and a disciplinarian. He has been successful winning the Asian Champions League as the manager of the Western Sydney Wanderers.
He has also had experience working in England as the assistant manager at Crystal Palace. Popovic has a presence and will hopefully bring big crowds to NIB Stadium for the Glory.
What he achieved with the Wanderers was remarkable; he built up a new club from scratch as well as a robust fan-base. Glory has been lacking a brand as well as success and that is where the experience that Popovic has had as a manager, can make the difference.
Hopefully we will see an increase in attendances at the games this season, as well as a boost to the membership numbers.
Tony Popovic is back, but not where we thought he might be (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Since Popovic has achieved the ultimate success for an A-League manager, it is not a gamble to appoint him on a three-year contract. He is a person who is driven to succeed and will get the sport of soccer in Perth where it should be, from grassroots level all the way up to the A-League.
There will be a focus on youth development and knowing Popovic, he won’t shy away from squad rotations, as he has already signed exciting youth midfielder Brandon Wilson on a two-year deal. The way in which Popovic rotates players could be beneficial due to the rigours of travelling interstate.
His reign as Glory manager starts against Chelsea; it should be a good opportunity for the players at Glory to show their wares. Popovic is a ruthless manager; he is tough, and is well known as being a tinkerer.
This is a positive, as the teams that he has coached have been adaptable to many different systems.
The manner in which he selects his team keeps players on their toes and makes the style in which his team plays unpredictable for opposition players and managers. It promises to be an intriguing tenure under Popovic for the Glory.
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Here is the way the Roar expert panel sees all the action unfolding across the final weekend of play prior to the semi-finals.
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The loser of the Sydney Derby will be under immense pressure entering the final three matches of the season.
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
Sydney moved into fourth with their point but Glory's finals hopes are now officially extinguished.
Anthony Caceres is a player with immense talent and has a fantastic work rate, broke the deadlock against the Mariners in the 74th minute.
