As A-League fans wait for the annual barrage of signings in the weeks leading up to the new season, the quality of the playing groups assembled becomes the focus.
Pundits attempt to identify which clubs appear likely to mount a serious tilt towards an A-League title based on recruitment, retention and the overall balance of the squads.
However, it is the men with the clipboards and beads of stress on their forehands who stand to lose the most should the off-season moves made at their respective clubs fail to produce that for which the fans demand.
While some A-League managers appear likely to enjoy yet another productive season, others will be undoubtedly under the pump, either through false expectation or a frustrated fan-base that is fundamentally sick of recent failures.
Some of the men in charge will enjoy a charmed ride, others will crash and burn, while a few will remain in something of a state of limbo as the ups and downs of recently unpredictable A-League seasons continue and their stress levels rise and fall accordingly.
So, where does each A-League manager stand as we head into a 2021-22 season that may still yet begin on October 30, should re-opened borders and continued impressive vaccination rates allow it?
Champions Melbourne City appear to have very little to worry about, with Patrick Kisnorbo still riding the wave after presenting the club with its first championship. Naoki Tsubaki and Craig Noone have departed yet Mathew Leckie’s arrival adds further depth to an already polished squad. It is a safe bet that Kisnorbo will enjoy another successful season in charge.
The same could be said of Steve Corica. It appears to be steady as she goes for Sydney FC; a handful out and a handful in and Max Burgess looming as a terrific signing. It is difficult to see Corica under any pressure at a club assured of finals play in 2022.
Things might be a little more difficult for Nick Montgomery on the Central Coast, with the Mariners appearing as long odds to emulate their brilliant season of 2020-21. Serious talent has departed and after the bar set by Alen Stajcic last season, Montgomery may well have the cards stacked against him, barring a few stunning late signings that might rejuvenate hopes for a repeat performance.
How will Staj’s departure affect the Gosford side in 2021-22? (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)
Warren Moon did a ripping job in Brisbane to guide the Roar into the finals last season and with five solid recruits in the form of Nikola Mileusnic, Matti Steinmann, Luke Ivanovic, Jordan Holmes and Juan Lescano, the departing players appear to have been well replaced.
After his impressive first season as an A-League boss, I’d suggest Moon has earned some credits in the bank and should avoid any pressure on his position even with a less than perfect start to the upcoming campaign.
Carl Veart took Adelaide United to within a game of the grand final in his first season, has lost considerable talent during the break and brought George Blackwood and Isaias Sanchez back into the fold. Along with Nick Ansell as key signings, it does look from the outside that the Reds may need a little more to seriously threaten for the title.
Yet Veart has earnt the respect of the supporter base and Adelaide fans could well be forgiving considering his fundamental need for more tools at his disposal.
Macarthur FC made the finals in their first season and were also just a game away from the decider. Ante Milicic exceeded expectations and based on the talent assembled for the Bulls’ second tilt (despite the key losses of a certain two Spaniards), it is possible an even higher position could be achieved this time around.
With Ulises Davila, Daniel De Silva, Tomi Juric and Craig Noone added to an already impressive squad, anything less than top four would be something of a disappointment.
Wellington Phoenix lived life away from home for almost the entire 2020-21 season, played well and missed the finals by a whisker. Ufuk Talay impressed yet will be hoping his departing stars, of which there were many, will be ably replaced by Callan Elliot, Nicholas Pennington and Gary Hooper.
Talay has runs on the board with fans, yet would want nothing less than a solid start to cement the work he did last season.
Does Talay need to get Wellington back into the finals this season? (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Many could debate the successes and failures of Carl Robinson’s first year at the helm in Western Sydney. However, it will all matter for nought when the sheer weight of the talent the red and black have assembled for season 2021-22 begins its campaign.
If Robinson cannot steer the Wanderers to a top-six position with a star-studded midfield and new names such as Ramy Najjarine, Tomer Hemed, Terry Antonis and Dimi Petratos, frankly, he will be on the plane back to Wales on the first day of the off-season.
Richard Garcia’s coaching future could well be on the line in Perth this season. A host of talent has been lost and ex-Sydney FC defensive midfielder Brandon O’Neill looks the best and only significant signing thus far. With seven regular starters having left the club, Garcia may well be the coach under the most pressure should things start poorly for his Glory team.
And so John Aloisi returns for a third coaching crack at the A-League, this time with Western United. Frankly, I fear for his chances. The ex-Socceroo has shown little in previous postings and despite the signings of veterans Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Neil Kilkenny and Jamie Young, much of the young blood arriving remains unproven. A few tense press conferences appear certain as Alosi battles to gel his squad.
A change appears to be as valuable as a holiday in Newcastle, with new Jets manager Arthur Papas taking charge of a playing group refreshed and almost unrecognisable. Newcastle set free 15 players, signed 11 new ones and Papas’ will undoubtedly see out the season no matter what happens based on the task he has been set.
Similarly to Papas, Tony Popovic will have something of a free hit at Melbourne Victory. After their worst season ever and massive changes to the playing roster, no pressure could reasonably be lumped on Popovic until deep into the season.
Although, he does have a cracking squad with which to work and with undoubted pedigree as a manager – the Victory fans will still be demanding.
Most likely, someone will be sacked by Christmas, a few more come season’s end and a handful will live glorious seasons on their way to the top four. Knowing who each will be is near impossible and that is something we all love about the A-League.
Robert Pettit
Guest
Wanderers from a neutral'standpoint (City fan) were excellent entertainment value last season. Wanderers, though, appeared disorganised at times and the squad top heavy with credentialled overseas players past their prime. More local players with their enthusiasm and commitment need to be given a chance. In respect of City unclear as to why they recruited Leckie. I hope Colavoski is not hung out to dry as a result. He played very well at the tail end of the season in the unfamiliar CF position and needs to be given (much) more game time as he has considerable potential to improve. Colavoski is possibly a litmus test of City's commitment to developing local players.
Pork Chop
Roar Rookie
Ok …… I’ll bite. In europe Mueller was impressive. In the a-league you say not so much. How he was used,liked, coached, accepted by the radical fan base etc all has to do with his performance. I am amazed at comments about Montgomery. People have not researched his coaching credentials or history. Mariners sold three players to europe from last season, monty’s boys from his academy. When tongyik went to olympics a monty boy came in and more than filled the gap. His personal coaching man management is outstanding, his history and scouting network is faultless. If he wanted and gave one of his import spots to Meuller I would not doubt that he will be a fit for the team. If recruiting is the sign of a coach lasting the season you can lock in Montgomery. Before a player can be recruited he would still be measured against what is coming out of the academy and that is a factor that doesn’t seem to get traction with the “experts”. The squad is deep and my only worry is getting a covering keeper.
Logan of Mighty Wellington
Guest
It's not actually so much about the playing losses, it's that the playing squad was very ordinary to begin with and it was merely the excellent management of Alen Stajcic and a few standout performers that took the team as high as it did (and frankly 3rd place was also a lucky finish considering Brisbane, Adelaide and Macarthur finished the season quite poorly). Haven't heard good things about Nick Montgomery as a coach and depth in that side looks very poor, rate a lot of those kids but not to the point of pulling it all off again. Yes the coaching staff that surround the head coach is also important but at the end of the day they're the leader - they're the one with the final say in football-related matters and I've real doubts about Montgomery in those responsibilities. Is it harsh to consign the Mariners to a spoon battle? Perhaps. But regardless, a top six finish looks pretty damn unlikely especially given that a few clubs that missed finals in 2020-21 have made decent strides in the offseason
Stuart Thomas
Expert
How many other people live in Australia? Any one of them will do. Oh, expect Pauline, Clive or Porter.
Tekkers
Roar Rookie
From what I have heard about the boys training, they seem very disciplined in defence and Smith looks solid at the back along with Tongyik. Remember we had Stefan Nigro at RB who was rubbish before he came to our club, we developed him into a much better player, one of the top 4 fullbacks defensively and that's why Melbourne Victory came back knocking at his door. We have a habit of fixing rejects and turning them into solid players. I wouldn't be surprised if Smith has a great season then Adelaide snatch him back for next season. Just wait and see.
Tekkers
Roar Rookie
Yeah mate I was also very disappointed in him in the second half of the season. However, i have been following him in Germany and to my surprise he slotted straight into the reserves starting 11. He has scored 4 goals in 6 starts which is pretty decent. I think with him it was the fact the deal got done so early in his season that he didn't feel he needed to work as hard or impress anyone anymore, which was a shame. Hope he does well overseas though.
josh
Guest
WSW board doesn't care about results, they're only concerned about getting the Academy to produce players they can sell overseas. The fans need to take the club off these guys, they've just about killed what was built.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
Tm plenty of talented female leaders in the ALP. Unfortunately, none appear to be leading the party into the next election. Lost opportunity.
chris
Guest
Hmm let me see... From the left I'd have Albo, Wong or Plibersik. On the right only Frydenburg - maybe. The sooner we put a broom to the current lot who are in charge the better off we will be.
Rosario FC
Guest
As a Sydney FC fan, I was hoping Corica would move on to the J-League & test himself there, granted if he got the opportunity. What else has he left to achieve? Wouldn't mind Staj to be honest. And some new fresh faces. I am not sold on Kamsoba, & I hope Burgess comes guns ablazing. He was very exciting prior to hiatus & hope that does not hinder him. So over this long off season, & no narratives or podcasts.
Tm
Guest
Who else can u suggest that should be PM right now instead of him.
Punter
Roar Rookie
He got some cameo roles in 2018/19 & looked promising, got a better look in 2019/20 with a few full games & looked very average, in 2020/21 fell behind Patrick Wood, but when he did come on didn't show as much as Patrick. This is my opinion, maybe a different coach/location may me good for him, but his runs into space looked very average.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Never read too much in to a preseason, I agree. But a good preseason helps, a bad preseason never helps. This is Roars 4th game and it’s 13-1, 5-0, 5-0 and 3-0 so far with three wins over NPL opponents. Getting a “proper” preseason in is going to be difficult for all teams and the expert forecasters will need to factor that in.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Based on his first season performances I thought he was going to be a star and he should have got a lot more game time. Second season he didnt look as good but still promising. Last season he looked ordinary, he has the same dodgy look that Tomic has. The shame is that Sydney didnt give Tilio a look in ahead of him, I think a big factor In Tilio going to City was Ivanovic being ahead of him.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
as I say Stuart, I think he'll be good in building the club. Won't win any premierships but he'll set high standards as far as club stability, strategic planning, that kind of stuff. I'm not convinced of his recruiting skills - he brought some duds to Roar, and released some great youngsters.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
how much game time did Ivanovic get at the FC?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
impressive debut with Roar, but there's acouple of other youngsters who will be pushing for a game - Dehmie and Eli Adams, who we saw a little glimpse of last season. I really do like Adams and Alex Parsons but Dehmie gets big wraps. He's had problems with his footing on his A League appearances thus far.
chris
Guest
Tekkers it'll be interesting to see how Kuol goes in Germany. I thought he was awful last season and frankly I think he will struggle in Germany and will be back fairly soon. Would love to be proved wrong however. Maybe his heart wasnt in it anymore once he knew he was going.
chris
Guest
Stuart, Coal Man is anything you want him to be. Isn't he from the northern beaches but prances around with sharkies caps like hes been a lifelong fan? The worst PM since Abbott.
Punter
Roar Rookie
I'm sure Steve Coria sees the same at training. I hope he goes to BR & proves me wrong, but I much prefer Patrick Wood. I have watched him closely & like I said skills but no end product & happy to see him going elsewhere, like I said Wood, Nieuwenhof, Buhagair & other young players shows more, he has had a good chance without looking great.