Last season, Wellington finished ninth. They did well in their midfield consisting of Matthew Ridenton, Goran Paraski, Matija Ljujic and Sarpeet Singh but they could have improved in their defence, with Daniel Mullen, Andrew Durante, Tom Doyle and Dylan Fox unimpressive at times.
Last season’s position
9th, 31 goals scored, 55 goals conceded
Finals Series
N/A
FFA Cup
Round of 32 in 2017, Round of 32 2018
In the offseason, Wellington lost 12 players, goalkeepers Tando Velaphi, Keegan Smith and Lewis Italiano, defender Marco Rossi, midfielders Matija Ljujic, Michael McGlinchey, Goran Paracki, Adam Parkhouse, Matthew Ridenton, James McGarry, and attackers Andrija Kaluđerović and Logan Rogerson.
They replaced these players by signing goalkeeper Filip Kurto from Roda JC, defender Steven Taylor from Peterborough United, midfielders Mitch Nichols from Perth Glory, Mandi from Spain, Michał Kopczyński on loan from Poland and NPL players Max Burgess and Louis Fenton. Attacker David Williams joins from Hungary.
Strengths and weaknesses
Midfield. Sarpreet Singh, Mitch Nichols, Michał Kopczyński and Mandi are all fantastic midfielders with plenty of talent or experience. Despite this, I would argue the unit could take some time to gel since Singh hasn’t been at the club for too long, and Kopczynski, Nichols and Mandi are all recent signings.
Attack. Andrija Kaluderovic, Wellington Phoenix’s top scorer last season has departed, and existing squad members Roy Krishna and Nathan Burns haven’t been at their best. Either will need to step up to provide the goals for Wellington if they are to avoid the wooden spoon.
Players
Top scorer; Andrija Kaluderovic (9). Top assister; Roy Krishna (5). Most minutes; Goran Paraski (2,148).
Transfer window grade: Poor
There have been over twelve departures in the offseason, and most of them were key players. It remains a doubt if the eight signings can fill the void left by the key departures.
Squad
GKs
1) Filip Kurto, 20) Oliver Sail
DEFs
2) Daniel Mullen, 5) Ryan Lowry, 6) Dylan Fox, 13) Liberto Cacace, 19) Tom Doyle, 22) Andrew Durante, 27) Steven Taylor
MIDs
8) Mitch Nichols, 15) Michał Kopczyński, 18) Sarpreet Singh (#) Mandi
WIs
7) Nathan Burns, 14) Alex Rufer, 16) Louis Fenton, 23) Max Burgess
STs
3) Ben Waine, 10) David Williams, 21) Roy Krishna
Predicted best eleven
4-2-3-1
1) Filip Kurto, 7) Nathan Burns, 8) Mitch Nichols, 13) Liberto Cacace, 15) Michal Kopczynski, 18) Sarpreet Singh, 19) Tom Doyle, 21) Roy Krishna, 22) Andrew Durante, 27) Steven Taylor
Prediction
10th. The odds are heavily stacked against a Wellington side who sat at the bottom of the table last season.
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