At 10:00am on Tuesday Football Federation Australia CEO James Johnson announced the A-League will be postponed until 22 April.
But with most of the football journalists dedicating their articles to the coronavirus, I have decided to write my A-League team of the season and how I’d play them in a game. This is not based on how good a team any one player is in; it’s based on how good that certain player has played throughout the season.
Goalkeeper
Pretty much every A-League goalkeeper is a contender for this spot. You have the likes of Mark Birighitti who has made an astonishing 88 saves but conceded 51 goals, or you have the likes of Jamie Young, who has made 51 saves but conceded 16 goals. Originally Young was going to be the goalkeeper, but Andrew Redmayne has conceded two fewer goals and made ten more saves, so he just edges Young to the No. 1 spot.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Left back
It’s hard to look further than Liberato Cacace for the left-back position. Cacace has been a standout in a standout Wellington Phoenix side this season, and the fact that he’s done it from left back is extraordinary. He has three goals and one assist this season and has made 29 tackles with a tackle success rate of 56.9 per cent. He has looked comfortable overlapping as well as tucking in, allowing Reno Piscopo to freely move ahead of him.
Centre backs
Curtis Good deserves a spot in the team of the season. Even though Melbourne City have conceded 34 goals in 2019-20, it’s hard to look past his statistics. He has won 22 tackles, seven more than second-placed Ryan McGowan, and has a 73.3 per cent tackle success rate. He also has solid distribution skills – he has completed 1300 passes and has a passing accuracy of 85.6 per cent.
I have opted to put Nikolai Topor-Stanley alongside Good. Topor-Stanley has made 13 tackles this season as well as 31 interceptions and has played 1139 passes with a passing accuracy of 84.6. A special mention goes to Steven Taylor, who was a millimetre behind in second place.
Right back
The two main candidates for the right-back spot are Josh Risdon and Rhyan Grant. While Grant has averaged better passing accuracy and more successful passes, Risdon beats Grant in assists and key passes. Risdon has won eight more tackles than Grant, but Grant has a significantly better tackle rate and has also made more interceptions and blocks. It’s tough to choose between the two Socceroos teammates, but I feel that Rhyan Grant edges it based on his engine and overall contribution to Sydney this season.
Defensive midfielders
Luke Brattan needs to be in this team. With the tactics that I will be using, he will be the perfect No. 6 to help spray passes along the field. He also has made 28 tackles in defence and 33 interceptions, which will be handy in the middle of the park.
While Joshua Brillante’s defensive statistics stand out, I don’t want to play with two midfielders who sit off and prefer to be a deep-lying midfielder. Matti Steinmann is a good shout but is a bit too defensive-minded for my liking.
Cameron Devlin is my pick to play alongside Brattan in the heart of midfield. Devlin has been adequate defensively, winning 34 tackles and making 37 interceptions, but is also great going forward, playing as an attacking midfielder at youth level. Special mentions go to Steven Ugarkovic and Neil Kilkenny.
Attacking midfielders
The main four attacking midfielders that have impressed throughout this season are Diego Castro, Ulises Davila, Riley McGree and Milos Ninkovic. Ulises Davila goes through on sheer numbers, having contributed to 16 goals in 20 games this season for Wellington, with 11 goals and five assists.
Diego Castro will be playing alongside him in the left attacking midfield spot. Castro has four goals and 11 assists this season, while also having played 42 key passes and having 86 successful dribbling throughout this season.
Strikers
The two strikers I am going with to complete my A-League team of the season are Adam Le Fondre and Jamie Maclaren. The two top scorers of the competition, between them they have scored 35 goals in 2019-20 and will be a deadly strike force up front.
My A-League team of the season.
Tactics
The style of football I am going to play with this quality team is possession-based attacking football. Curtis Good and Nikolai Topor-Stanley will operate as ball-playing centre backs, while Luke Brattan will slot into the defensive line to help provide penetrating passes forward.
Cameron Devlin will move in between the lines of the press, creating an option, while Rhyan Grant and Liberato Cacace will remain high and wide. Milos Ninkovic will drop into the little pockets of space on the left to help hold up the ball, while Ulises Davila will remain in a more advanced position.
Jamie Maclaren will make runs in behind while Adam Le Fondre will help build up play and press from the front.
This would be an exciting team to watch. I enjoyed picking my A-League team of the season. Have I got anything wrong with this team? What would you change?
NoMates
Guest
Typical Waz! stick to FFT forums and Jamie Young is over rated, Stefan Marinovic tops him easy.
Jack George
Roar Guru
Hi Waz, I was planning on putting Jamie Young in my team before I did the research on statistics, but Andrew Redmayne just edged Young on stats. However, I can see why you feel that Jamie Young deserves a spot in the team, and I spent fifteen minutes deciding between the two!
Waz
Roar Rookie
No Jamie Young. No team. Sorry. Best keeper left out - the remaining 10 selections are not worth reading !!
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
When the Newcastle Jets were struggling Steven Ugarkovic never stopped working and he carried the team. Then he was rewarded when they improved as he scored 4 goals, his last 2 were extremely good and world class! Roy O’Donovan does plenty of work that goes unrewarded when he endeavors to cause turnovers by pressing high up the pitch and was a pivotal player to the Newcastle Jets structure. Luke DeVere and Alex Grant were both outstanding. Alessandro Diamanti nearly had the most assists in the A-League with 7, as Petratos had 8; Davilla had a total of 5 assists, but scored 11 goals, so I understand you picking Davilla. https://www.espn.com.au/football/stats/_/league/AUS.1/view/scoring I have to disagree with you regarding Alessandro Diamanti as his passing was unbelievable; he makes it look so easy and is possibly the best import in the history of the A-League or at the very least in the discussion! It was tough for me to overlook Andrew Redmayne and choose Jamie Young, but Young helped alter the season for the Brisbane Roar, helping them to be 4th on the ladder as it stands; he gave his teammates confidence and helped resurrect the Brisbane Roar season. I understand that it wasn’t only him as Jack Hingert, Aiden O’Neill and Scott McDonald along with Corey Brown also helped the Brisbane Roar improve, so I don’t have any issue with you picking Andrew Redmayne. At the end of the day it’s a subjective exercise, which makes this an interesting topic, as long as everyone respects each other’s opinion.
Jack George
Roar Guru
Interesting picks! Steven Ugarkovic was someone that I felt maybe deserved a spot in the team but I love the way Devlin plays and this was his breakout season, a bit of personal bias there! Interesting to have O'Donovan in, the reason he didn't make my team was he had that month gap where he barely got any minutes of football; if only the transfer window came earlier! Centre-backs are hard to judge, and I felt Luke DeVere and Alex Grant both had very good seasons and maybe they could have made my team. I love Alessandro Diamanti, but Ulises Davila had better all round stats and Diamanti often executed passes that looked wonderful, but they often made it hard for players to control, and that bugged me a bit.
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
I chose 4 players that you had, or 5 as you stated that you meant to include Diego Castro. I decided to go with a formation of 4-4-2: Goalkeeper- Jamie Young, despite being a fan of Andrew Redmayne as a goalkeeper. Right Back: Rhyan Grant- Picked himself. Centre Back: Alex Grant- Doesn’t get enough credit. Centre Back: Luke DeVere- Was one of Wellington Phoenix’s most important players. Left Back: Liberato Cacace- Like Rhyan Grant was like an extra midfielder. Centre Midfield: Steven Ugarkovic- Worked tirelessly and scored some fantastic goals. Centre Midfield: Luke Brattan- Had a fantastic workrate. Attacking Midfield: Alessandro Diamanti- Has 5 goals and 7 assists. Attacking Midfield: Diego Castro- Currently has 4 goals and 7 assists. Striker: Jamie Maclaren- Top scorer in the A-League. Striker: Roy O’Donovan- Does so much work making unrewarded runs; pressing high up the pitch to try and cause a turnover. Was the Brisbane Roar’s top goal scorer and helped the Newcastle Jets resurgence, sitting just 3 points outside of the top 6. He scored a total of 9 goals for both teams combined. Let me know what you think!
Jack George
Roar Guru
Wuthrich is one that I feel I should have mentioned in the article, but I didn't feel he deserved a spot in the team. His tackle success rate was 38.1 % and he only won eight tackles all season. Of cause, he was playing in a wider role to Curtis Good throughout the season, but Nikolai Topor-Stanley also was moved into a wide centre-back role later in the season.
PB
Roar Rookie
Brave post! Hope it gets good discussion going. I pick Redmayne over Young, because Redmayne has a red mane, but Young ain’t young. I wonder who the opposing team would be..
Waz
Roar Rookie
The moment you didn’t have Jamie Young as keeper you lost all credibility. Don’t bother replying. You’re dead to me.
Admiral Ackbar
Guest
How could you leave out Gregory Wuthrich?
Jack George
Roar Guru
I have put Ninkovic's name on the image but Diego Castro will be playing alongside Ulises Davila in attacking midfield. Sorry for the confusion!
Jack George
Roar Guru
I have three players from Sydney FC (the top team on the ladder) and two from Melbourne City (2nd placed on the ladder). My tactics are suited to the players I’m playing with and Both Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix play this brand of football. If you want to get into a more detailed conversation about the tactics feel free to message me on twitter and let me know how you’d improve this team, as everyone’s team of the season is different.
Coxie
Guest
Your choice is from a person who watches to much Sydney and Melbourne football. With a token player from New Zealand. Tactics typically slow and 1 dimensional.