When Steve Corica accepted the role at Sydney FC, he knew exactly what he was in for. During the domestic home and away dominance of the Sky Blues under Graham Arnold, the fan base grew well and truly comfortable with the success and now expect little to change.
Citing potential, improvement and development isn’t really an option for the new man. Sitting atop the league table since late 2016 and having collected considerable silverware over that time, Sydney fans aren’t hoping for a struggling team to improve; they are looking for more of the same.
Some A-League clubs have the luxury of allowing their manager a period of grace; with the new man given time to implement new structures and thinking. Tony Popovic, Mark Rudan and Markus Babbel will enjoy such a period in their current roles.
Contrastingly, the Harbour City can be a rather ruthless and heartless beast. Trust me, I have lived in the nation’s most populated and fickle city all my life and despite Corica’s Queensland roots, his time in Sydney will have made him well aware of the challenges and expectations he will face.
Steve Corica (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
Corica will be expected to challenge for silverware immediately. However, considering the loss of three of the best foreign imports in the A-League, that expectation could well be interpreted as unfair.
Bobo scored 42 goals for the Sky Blues over the course of two seasons, Adrian Mierzejewski won the Johnny Warren Medal as the best player in the league and key defender Jordi Buijs’ experience became a cornerstone in defence.
With Luke Wilkshire, David Carney and Matt Simon also departing the club, it became clear the eleven that Corica would put on the park to start his tenure, would be remarkably different from a team that had been incredibly easy to select in the preceding 12 months.
New foreign players always bring a sense of the unknown and Sydney appeared in no rush to fill their roster. Daniel de Silva and Trent Buhagiar joined with months to spare, yet the fans were keen to see what quality the front office would source and lure to the club from abroad.
In the end, it was experienced Premier League and English Championship player Adam le Fondre and journeyman Dutch defender Jop van der Linden who would fill two of the key slots on Sydney’s books.
Van der Linden’s fellow Dutchman Siem de Jong was the third in a trio of imports in whom the sky blues will invest considerable faith.
As things have unfolded, the new manager has made a cracking start, wiped his brow in relief and navigated his baptism of fire well.
Advancement to the FFA Cup semi finals, despite an almighty scare against Avondale FC in the quarters, had Corica building early support in the Cove, yet a derby always serves as something of an acid test when it comes to football in Sydney.
The convincing 3-0 win against the Wanderers at Penrith Stadium sent Sydney FC to its third FFA Cup final and built early confidence in Corica.
The victory also continued a recent derby dominance, which both sides place high on their list of priorities.
Siem de Jong was in ominous form for Sydney. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
As fiery and passionate as a derby can be and as fervently as both sets of supporters sang, there was somewhere far more important than the score line itself.
A collective sigh of relief could be heard among the Sydney fans; knowing that their new personnel had shown its quality and that the chances of a competitive season now appeared high.
De Silva has fallen victim to injury early in the season, yet Buhagiar appears a revitalised player on the end of improved service. His time at the Central Coast Mariners saw little in terms of goal production, in what was more often than not a struggling team.
The 20 year-old looked comfortable and effective in front of goal once again and captain Alex Brosque will have difficulty in reclaiming his starting spot with Buhagiar in such good form.
Le Fondre has looked a striker in the pure sense of the word. Sniffing around opportunistically appears his method and when given the chance, precision and power have been evident in his finishing.
Van der Linden and de Jong look impressive. The combination between Alex Wilkinson and van der Linden appears potentially imposing and will need to be if Sydney is to continue its dam-like defence of the past two seasons.
De Jong appears to have a sublime touch and his free kick to double the lead on Saturday night was artistry.
There will be few moments of relief for Steve Corica this season. Each and every week, Sydney fans will be watching keenly to note any interruption to what they perceive as normal transmission.
Alternatively, opposition fans will be licking their lips and ready to pounce in the terraces if the Sydney train shows any signs of derailment.
Daniel De Silva of Sydney FC (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The early moments suggest that Sydney will be fine, competitive and a serious top six contender. However, the questions and analysis will continue for…..well, ever.
It is what Sydney demands and it also reflects the standards that Graham Arnold set, however difficult they may be to maintain.
Corica appears to have a darn good squad. Whether its success replicates the past or is acceptable to the Sydney fans is yet to be seen.
But for now, Sydney is certainly sky blue.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Do I detect a lack of a soft spot for the Jets, Waz? (Nearly) always just slightly negative. ;-) Not the first Roar fan who was that, mind...
Griffo
Roar Guru
Club up for sale is a new one, although that could be because the only readily available source is behind a pay wall. I can't see Trump easing off any time soon. I also can't see Ledman selling more in Europe and Asia to account for the drop in US sales. An aim of 11k-12k memberships isn't going to make up for the shortfall, unfortunately.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Don't know about David Williams, being in NZ it would be hard for him right now, but Jade North does some great work with Aboriginal kids. I've long said that losing the NQ team in the A League was a big loss. Some great talent in remote parts up north, but the other codes have a much stronger footprint than football. The absence of an A League club up north doesn't help.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
MF - totally agree. There are paid up season ticket holders who don’t bother going to Homebush as they hate the place so much! There are those that pick and choose their games even though they have season tickets and there are some that just don’t go at all now, some with season tickets and some that haven’t bothered and will take their chances next season. As anecdotal as this is, it is based on talking with plenty of people that at one time between 2012 and now were regular attendees. The other issue at the club is the relationship between the club and active support. That all helps to reduce attendances further and like it or not, has a flow on effect as when the active support is not there, other fans don’t turn up either in the belief they are supporting the cause or just don’t like the place without the support.
At work
Roar Rookie
I agree that the news cycle is too intertwined with what is happening with Sydney and Melbourne, instead of spreading the stories to other clubs. That’s probably always been an issue with professional sport in Australia, where the main media organisations are stationed at the two biggest cities.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Sure. I recon we’ll know after the first three rounds where crowds are sitting for the rest of the season anyway - let’s hope we’re not in a crisis. I understand last seasons fall off caught everyone off guard and they didn’t see it coming. Alarmingly (and to Kanga’s point above) I don’t see anything has been done to boost attendances significantly so I get the concerns. But I’m just thinking Honda looks to have boosted Victory (they’re just about to surpass last seasons total membership a week before kick off) and Roars pitifull 9,200 should go up by 3,000/game on average as we have the better fixtures this year (SFC, Victory and Wanderers twice at home) So yeah, we can talk in circles as you say but we will know soon enough
Mister Football
Roar Guru
New stadiums always reels in extra fans, so Wanderers will pick up when they return to Parra
Mister Football
Roar Guru
We don't all live in Sydney and Melbourne, but the A-League's future is dependent on strong clubs in Sydney and Melbourne. Might be nice to have clubs from places like Ipswich and Hobart, but doesn't really do anything for the league.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Kanga, It’s been a long ride to get here, attendances have been sliding for five years and whenever these have been pointed out on these pages any poster (myself included) has been attacked for it. The records speak for themselves now. We were in a rut, and last year we dropped into freefall ... the apologists went silent pretty quickly. I won’t disagree that if the freefall continues we’re in serious trouble as a professional league. The professional game is being held together by foreign owners basically which makes Lowy’s attitude towards them all the more disgusting. But I am optimistic this year will see the decline reversed, but not by much. Roar and Victory will go up by quite a bit. SFC, Jets, will go down by a bit. The rest will be flat or slightly up/down depending on form. We only need an increase of 58,000 in aggregate attendances to get that 4-5% increase. Two clubs will drive that.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
I agree with both your comments but if you have spent any time in Japan, you will quickly realise that Honda is bordering on a deity. There will be plenty who come for an Australian holiday and to see Honda play. I might be wrong but I believe Victory might be using the opportunity to foster engagement with the Japanese business community. And, yes, we hare not harnessing our indigenous youth anywhere near enough. I believe that David Williams (playing for Phoenix) this year is working hard to get indigenous kids into football. Struth, we get those kids up into the pro ranks and watch out!!! They are natural athletes.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Wsw only had to look at the terrible nrl crowds at Homebush, and stay away . They be better off using concord rugby union ground or Penrith or even play some matches at edensor Park Blacktown or Marconi depends on their capacity.. to keep the atmosphere vibrant.
RF
Roar Rookie
I don't quite agree with Kanga on one point - I don't think this season is the make or break. I think it will be next season, when the A League is for the first time, from start to finish, run as an independent organisation. What I am predicting is a further decline this year in both attendances and viewing figures, with next season last chance saloon. If there is no bounce then from the independent competition, then I believe Fox will not offer another contract for the television rights. And that would be the end of the competition unless, for example, Optus decides to be philanthropic and bundle the A League into a complete football package to keep the A League alive. When the A League came into being, I naively thought, This is it. Football has finally made it. And when the Wanderers came along, I thought football, real football, has finally come to Australia. It ironic that the success of the Wanderers has, in the end, become a key blow. You no doubt will has what on earth is he saying? Well, it's this: the Wanderers were the good news story the League needed, a gift that kept on giving. Then their management, in a display of staggering misjudgement, decided to relocate to Spotless during the construction of their new stadium. It has been a calamity, not only for the club, but for the whole A League, because as the Wanderers have lost their support (and, in a perfect storm, because their results have gone south too) because of the awful stadium, the heat has gone out of the A League too. No longer are Wanderers matches a spectacle on tv, so not only have their attendances dived, but the League has lost its most valuable broadcast asset. Who would have thought that the new Parramatta Stadium could end up delivering a knockout blow to the A League. Paul Lederer - what were you and your people thinking?
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Not 100 percent sure what’s happening with the jets owner yet Just yesterday we signed Steve urgarchovic , and last week petratos to increased contracts . If you go back to the nsl through to tinker . all Newcastle soccer owners have gone broke , while owning the jets . It’s a curse . Let’s hope this is not the case with Martin Lee
Trev
Guest
We need more investment into young Australians, little kids that love the game. I know it would take time but more investment into young local talent will mean better Socceroos. Eventually
RF
Roar Rookie
Not missing the point at all, but this is becoming a bit circular so let's leave it there.
RF
Roar Rookie
This is not good. I hadn't heard anything of this. Great - so the Jets are collateral damage of the Orange Smurf.
RF
Roar Rookie
Agree on all points.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Kinda missing the point. Membership sales are up ~5%, thats the fact. The disconnect between membership numbers and attendances will be the same this year as it was last year. Only up ~5%?
Waz
Roar Rookie
Jets Chinese owner has been caught up in the trump/China trade wars. Massive cuts in jets playing budget proposed (which he seems to have softened on but still made cuts which explains the lack of signings). Club apparently up for sale.
RF
Roar Rookie
I also note, Waz, that the disconnect between memberships and attendances, in the case of both WSW and MV, are a matter of fact, not speculation.