In Round 2 of the A-League Men’s competition, Sydney FC conceded a goal to crosstown rivals Macarthur FC through some stunning work by Lachlan Rose.
They would go on to lose this match 1-0, in what was a really weird game. This came after Sydney defeated the Bulls in last year’s semi.
Every man and their dog would tip the Sky Blues to win that game. Sure, Macarthur have picked up Craig Noone.
But surely that wouldn’t account for the firepower of Bobô, Kosta Barbarouses, Luke Brattan, Adam Le Fondre, and Milos Ninkovic?
Hold on to your horses, Steve Corica. Brattan has been sidelined for a year with an ACL injury, Bobô and Barbarouses have been struck down with nagging injuries, and Ninkovic and Le Fondre have already booked a home in a retirement village.
Doesn’t look so good now, does it? Could Sydney even make the finals this year?
This article will go through their strengths and weaknesses, and predict where they will go this year.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Sydney’s greatest strength in the 2020-21 season was their stunning midfield, and their five-star forward line.
They were able to transfer the ball up forward so easily, mainly off the boot of Andrew Redmayne, or the supreme accuracy of Rhyan Grant.
They can move so freely up the ground, and the prowess of Barbarouses and Bobô could make the most shabby kick look like it was straight from a Scott Jamieson highlight reel.
The hard-running Luke Brattan led the team couragiously through the midfield. All in all, they had star players left right and centre, proving severely damaging to other teams.
So why on earth are they second last coming into Round 3?
The main reason for Sydney’s early downfall would be injuries to star players.
As mentioned earlier, Bobô, Barbarouses, and Brattan have all been sidelined.
But this is not the only reason, as they lost the grand final to Melbourne City with the whole list.
Melbourne City had the better of Sydney FC in last year’s decider. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Maybe it is the disipline, or lack there of, as Luke Brattan found himself seeing red at the hands of Chris Beath.
But this is an issue that has been nagging at Sydney for a while now. This is the reason Western United have barely moved off the bottom of the ladder.
Their defence is understocked. Yes, yes. Rhyan Grant is amazing. But he alone couldn’t possibly stop players like Jamie Maclaren or Roy O’Donovan from finding the back of the net.
Sydney have to play some more defensive midfielders to fix this problem. Maybe they should have targeted Craig Noone instead of Barbarouses, and let Melbourne Victory do a bit better.
How could they fix this problem now though? I suggest moving a Brattan-like player to defence.
But that could open up a hole in the midfield. Maybe they should change the formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3. Steve Corica, you have some thinking to do.
(Photo by Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
How will Sydney go this year? Can they knock off defending champs Melbourne City? Can they take down the Wanderers and leave Bankwest Stadium drenched in red and black blood?
Or will they fail to make the finals, and leave loyal fans gutted for the second year in a row?
I’d say wait for the reinforcements. Most of the injuries are relatively short term, and most should be back before 2022.
This coming game against the Newcastle Jets may define their season. If Valentino Yuel can score on Andrew Redmayne, and the Jets get the win, I’d say Sydney are headed for another non-finals finish.
This may be too harsh considering they were runners up last year, but I don’t think they can possibly be premiers, or even champions, with an 0-1-2 start.
The competition just seems too good this year. Melbourne Victory seem ready to launch another finals assault, Adelaide United and Melbourne City look like the favourites, and Macarthur seem to be ready to go again.
All of the teams this year look ominous at their best, with Perth Glory the only exeption, and even they were contesting for the finals last year.
My overall prediction is eighth. Sydney don’t have much youth in their list, and it is hard to see them with more silverware.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Struggling to score? What, do you want them to score one every 5 minutes? They were doing ok. It was 3-1 in the end.
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
They are still a solid unit that is used to winning , couple that with a light travel schedule you would be silly to write them off yes.
chris
Guest
That's a really good point PC. That result in the GF could leave mental scars. Ninko is starting to have less influence in a match and without Brattan next to him to do the heavy work, might expose his age even more. Defensively SFC look ok still. To write them off after 2 rounds is silly but the warning signs are starting to appear. I'm looking forward to the Jets match on Saturday. I think this will tell us a lot as to where SFC are this season.
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
Cards stacked against Sydney FC?!, is that a thing? Nah completely outplayed from the start Brattan send off result of being overrun in midfield and 2 rash challenges. City scored 2 goals after the send off so not really struggling were they, could of had a couple more
Tigertown
Guest
Demolition job? Te-he-he. Yeah, right. The cards were completely stacked against Sydney. FC’s Luke Brattan was sent off in the 35th minute. Red cards kill grand finals. City had one more player & they were STILL struggling to score. Anyway, the A-League “needed” Melbourne to win, right? Now, where’s my tin foil hat?
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Or the start of another
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
You wonder what that defeat in the final last year did to them mentally, it was an absolute demolition job by Melbourne City. Felt like the end of an era being televised.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Who is coming to the club? It could be a curse in disguise if it is some 35 year old bloke just trying to have a kick.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
definitely not the favourites, will be lucky to make the 6 once injuries start piling up a good test of where the club will be this season , is against brisbane on Saturday
Will Stefanson
Roar Rookie
Adelaide as Favorites? Well I am flattered.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Its only good for the A-league and its fans in general if SFC are near the bottom of the pack, its brings new life into the game and some much needed fresh air with the smaller clubs doing there thing. In saying that SFC have had a few injury's with players out so i expect them to bounce back in the next few months strongly. As much as i dislike them they have there place and are a side not to be underestimated despite ageing players.
AGO74
Guest
Agree that Corica that there are some areas of concern even when we get players back. I don’t believe we have done enough in the off-season to overcome City who showed in the GF that they had gone past us. Victory are on the rise too, so I’m not confident in us winning this year but I don’t think we wil end up as low as what the author suggests.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
dont believe the demise is here yet its only 2 games into the season, no team can be written off. if sydney continue to struggle up until christmas, they can look forward to a new experienced european midfielder arriving in january (club is currently being offered players) – he might be the circuit breaker to get the season back on track or push for the finals. Even with brattan out, i still havent changed my pre season prediction of them finishing third – experience counts for everything in the a league (which they have an abundance of) but its better to pick up points earlier rather than later off season 2022 could be the most crucial off season in the clubs history though, i’d expect several players of this current team to leave + admin positions within the club to change over as well sydney are well run, they have plenty of money – they wont be down on there luck for long
josh
Guest
Probably not, but the thing I hate most about them is they don't accept mediocrity. If their players aren't up to it they'll just go find even better players. It's a lesson for other clubs especially my own across town who just don't get it.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
hard-running Luke Brattan? Is this a comedy article. Ninkovic got owned by Noone last match, first match he did better. Then for some reason Corica switches La Fondre to the left couldn't work that out. Corica should have subbed off Ninkovic much earlier , hardly used Burgess. I would have put Van De Saag on the right and switched Kamsoba to the left where he dominated Macarthur in pre season. So despite all the injuries Corica isnt even making use of his depth on bench. I think you deluded if you think Bobo will make things better, the opposition then get a free pass to play out the ball. Bobo is a good finisher has he got the speed to get onto anything. La Fondre is a lot better than Bobo in the running department. Without Brattan they have the kept the opposition from the biggest team vulnerability Wilkinson. If you get one one one with Wilkinson he backpedals and then falls over. I suppose the philosiphy could be if they score more then they can rely on Redmayne to stop the opposition like he has done in the past three seasons.
Grem
Roar Rookie
And they do have a number of youthful players in their squad- Wood, Buhagiar, King and Van Der Saag have had good time and they need to make sure they play well to demand selection. Nieuenhoff is coming back from injury and will get more time. There's also Talbot, Yazbek, McGing, etc. It's up to each of them to displace the players in front of them.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think it's too early to write them off as there are a few games to go until the finals and there's still a lot of talent in the squad. As a supporter I could see them going down a Melbourne Victory path last year and I, like many football followers, believed they needed to refresh their squad for continued success. They haven't so they've gambled on this year. They may only be sitting on one point at the end of round 2, but they've only conceded 1 goal. Their defence and goalkeeping has been OK. Max Burgess has looked good, and should get more time, Le Fondre will get a few soon, Bobo will be back as too will Kosta. Brattan is a loss, but will be replaced in January. I think they'll clivk soon and come good, and if not, I'll continue to go to games and follow them knowing that sport works in cycles. Sydney are a club that will evaluate their failure and do something about it. I will also enjoy, hopefully, seeing other teams playing good attacking football and players developing throughout our competition and going on to play in Europe. Isn't that what all football followers do?