And we’re off again! They said it wouldn’t happen but here we are. Hyundai buggered off at the end of last season and there’s still no main sponsor, Fox Sports are in the final year of their re-negotiated contract and most of the top players have departed. Oh yeah, and Sydney is currently in the grip of a new Covid cluster so the season’s opening W-League/A-League double-header extravaganza scheduled for Sunday 27 December had to be put back. But despite the numerous setbacks, top flight football in Australia has resumed. So strap yourself in and enjoy the rollercoaster ride whilst we have it – this season really could be make or break for both leagues.
The A-League now has 12 teams as we welcome new boys Macarthur FC, another Sydney-based team to go alongside Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW). The new boys, with their Oxford Utd-themed badge, have recruited well with a lot of experienced pros in captain, Mark Milligan, goalkeeper Adam Federici, a couple of Spanish imports Benat Extebarria and Markel Susaeta and former Blackburn Rovers striker, Matt Derbyshire. Already the pundits are tipping them for a top 4 finish.
But, as always, it’s Sydney FC who are the red-hot favourites. Looking to be Champions for the third successive time they’ve lost striker Adam Le Fondre, but have kept the core of their dominant, title winning team, and it’s hard to see anyone stopping them. Bastards!
WSW have a new coach in Carl Robinson and assistant Kenny Miller, who made the move after an impressive stint at Newcastle Jets. And they wasted no time in pissing off their former employers by taking winger Bernie Ibini-Isei with them. After a few seasons of being utterly shite, big things are expected of WSW this season. It’ll be funny if they cock it up again.
In Melbourne, the Victory have a new coach in Grant Brebner and his assistant, the snake in the grass, Steve Kean. Watch out Grant, he’ll be after your job within weeks! Victory did well in the Asian Champions League, being the only A-League team to get through to the knockout stages. They had a shocker last season but look to be in far better shape this season.
Melbourne City, last season’s beaten finalists, have a new coach in Patrick Kisnorbo and they look like they’ll be challenging for the title again. Andrew Nabbout has arrived, having cancelled his contract with Perth Glory having never set foot there due to Covid restrictions, whilst striker Jamie Maclaren will no doubt hammer in the goals. Being part of the Man City portfolio saw them ride the Covid wave far better than others.
Western Utd had a great first season but have been quiet in the transfer market. They still have the evergreen Alessandro Diamanti who was superb last season, but Utd’s biggest issue is where they’ll play their home games when the season progresses. With a later start to the season, their ground is shared by AFL side Geelong who have first dibs, and with Victory and City sharing AAMI park they’re running out of options as to where they’ll go.
Wellington Phoenix are currently based in Woolongong due to the travel restrictions to New Zealand, but will be hard pushed to match last season’s fantastic third-place finish. Not eligible to take the Asian Champions League spot (I presume because they aren’t Australian), they’ve lost striker Gary Hooper and captain Steven Taylor. And if the players start to get homesick, things could easily fall apart.
Brisbane Roar lost Robbie Fowler as coach but he wasn’t missed as they finished 4th last season and took the ’Nix’s Asian Champions League qualifying round spot. They’ve relocated from the huge Suncorp Stadium to the smaller Dolphin Stadium, which is a good 40+km away, but the atmosphere at the new place will be far better. If they can win on the road, then they’ll be a dangerous team.
Adelaide Utd didn’t do draws last season – they either won or they lost and this lack of consistency saw them miss out on a top 6 finish. They have lost striker James Troisi as well as star player Riley McGree so could be another frustrating season for the reds.
And now for the three basket-case clubs.
Newcastle Jets are the most basket case of the three with their absent owner, Chinese businessman Martin Lee, having his A-League licence revoked by the FFA having let the club hurtle towards the abyss for the past 14 months. The have no coach and all their decent players want to leave this horribly sinking ship. A recent buy out fell through leading to some dodgy property developer to say he’ll step in to save the day, so at the moment it’s the other 11 clubs who’ll be propping them up and that goodwill will very quickly evaporate. If they can’t get a new buyer sorted quickly, the new 12-team league may soon go back down to 11.
Perth Glory, Premiers just two seasons ago are in deep financial trouble with owner Tony Sage desperate to offload them. He was at the forefront of standing players down during Covid, much to the dismay of the players and their union. Ultimately this led to a raft of departures of key players including Jake Brimmer, Tomislav Mrcela, Jacob Tratt, Ivan Franjic, Joel Chianese and Juande and at one point it looked like they wouldn’t have enough players to complete their remaining Asian Champions League fixtures. But they’ve managed to hold on to star striker Bruni Fornaroli as well as re-recruit striker Andy Keogh and more surprisingly captain Diego Castro is still there, despite failing to appear for the lockdown fixtures last season and instead went on holiday. But with the emphasis on youth, they’ll probably get hammered regularly and who knows who’ll own the club in 6 months’ time.
And finally, the team who always finish bottom – Central Coast Mariners. They have the lovely ground with the palm trees and the giant inflatable condiment bottles. But that’s as good as it gets for the Mariners, who have lost key defender and former Hamilton Accies player, Ziggy Gordon, to WSW. Financially they’re more stable than the Jets, and seem to have a happier squad than the Jets so could easily finish 11th this season. Finally, there’s hope for the long-suffering Mariners fans!
The A-League now has 12 teams as we welcome new boys Macarthur FC, another Sydney-based team to go alongside Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW). The new boys, with their Oxford Utd-themed badge, have recruited well with a lot of experienced pros in captain, Mark Milligan, goalkeeper Adam Federici, a couple of Spanish imports Benat Extebarria and Markel Susaeta and former Blackburn Rovers striker, Matt Derbyshire. Already the pundits are tipping them for a top 4 finish.
But, as always, it’s Sydney FC who are the red-hot favourites. Looking to be Champions for the third successive time they’ve lost striker Adam Le Fondre, but have kept the core of their dominant, title winning team, and it’s hard to see anyone stopping them. Bastards!
WSW have a new coach in Carl Robinson and assistant Kenny Miller, who made the move after an impressive stint at Newcastle Jets. And they wasted no time in pissing off their former employers by taking winger Bernie Ibini-Isei with them. After a few seasons of being utterly shite, big things are expected of WSW this season. It’ll be funny if they cock it up again.
In Melbourne, the Victory have a new coach in Grant Brebner and his assistant, the snake in the grass, Steve Kean. Watch out Grant, he’ll be after your job within weeks! Victory did well in the Asian Champions League, being the only A-League team to get through to the knockout stages. They had a shocker last season but look to be in far better shape this season.
Melbourne City, last season’s beaten finalists, have a new coach in Patrick Kisnorbo and they look like they’ll be challenging for the title again. Andrew Nabbout has arrived, having cancelled his contract with Perth Glory having never set foot there due to Covid restrictions, whilst striker Jamie Maclaren will no doubt hammer in the goals. Being part of the Man City portfolio saw them ride the Covid wave far better than others.
Western Utd had a great first season but have been quiet in the transfer market. They still have the evergreen Alessandro Diamanti who was superb last season, but Utd’s biggest issue is where they’ll play their home games when the season progresses. With a later start to the season, their ground is shared by AFL side Geelong who have first dibs, and with Victory and City sharing AAMI park they’re running out of options as to where they’ll go.
Wellington Phoenix are currently based in Woolongong due to the travel restrictions to New Zealand, but will be hard pushed to match last season’s fantastic third-place finish. Not eligible to take the Asian Champions League spot (I presume because they aren’t Australian), they’ve lost striker Gary Hooper and captain Steven Taylor. And if the players start to get homesick, things could easily fall apart.
Brisbane Roar lost Robbie Fowler as coach but he wasn’t missed as they finished 4th last season and took the ’Nix’s Asian Champions League qualifying round spot. They’ve relocated from the huge Suncorp Stadium to the smaller Dolphin Stadium, which is a good 40+km away, but the atmosphere at the new place will be far better. If they can win on the road, then they’ll be a dangerous team.
Adelaide Utd didn’t do draws last season – they either won or they lost and this lack of consistency saw them miss out on a top 6 finish. They have lost striker James Troisi as well as star player Riley McGree so could be another frustrating season for the reds.
And now for the three basket-case clubs.
Newcastle Jets are the most basket case of the three with their absent owner, Chinese businessman Martin Lee, having his A-League licence revoked by the FFA having let the club hurtle towards the abyss for the past 14 months. The have no coach and all their decent players want to leave this horribly sinking ship. A recent buy out fell through leading to some dodgy property developer to say he’ll step in to save the day, so at the moment it’s the other 11 clubs who’ll be propping them up and that goodwill will very quickly evaporate. If they can’t get a new buyer sorted quickly, the new 12-team league may soon go back down to 11.
Perth Glory, Premiers just two seasons ago are in deep financial trouble with owner Tony Sage desperate to offload them. He was at the forefront of standing players down during Covid, much to the dismay of the players and their union. Ultimately this led to a raft of departures of key players including Jake Brimmer, Tomislav Mrcela, Jacob Tratt, Ivan Franjic, Joel Chianese and Juande and at one point it looked like they wouldn’t have enough players to complete their remaining Asian Champions League fixtures. But they’ve managed to hold on to star striker Bruni Fornaroli as well as re-recruit striker Andy Keogh and more surprisingly captain Diego Castro is still there, despite failing to appear for the lockdown fixtures last season and instead went on holiday. But with the emphasis on youth, they’ll probably get hammered regularly and who knows who’ll own the club in 6 months’ time.
And finally, the team who always finish bottom – Central Coast Mariners. They have the lovely ground with the palm trees and the giant inflatable condiment bottles. But that’s as good as it gets for the Mariners, who have lost key defender and former Hamilton Accies player, Ziggy Gordon, to WSW. Financially they’re more stable than the Jets, and seem to have a happier squad than the Jets so could easily finish 11th this season. Finally, there’s hope for the long-suffering Mariners fans!
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