Gone West: A challenging season ahead for the A-League
Never again was the refrain from the Australian authorities when Gold Coast United had their licence revoked in 2012. Soccer down under had a hard enough time battling for attention against the country’s numerous sporting codes and European leagues, and with the collapse of the old National Soccer League still fresh in the minds of many supporters, the last thing the A-League needed was another collapse.
And yet, it’s happened again. And yet, it was very predictable. Give a licence to a club in a nondescript suburb of Melbourne that’s hard to get to and doesn’t have a stadium, and it should come as no surprise that said club becomes financially unviable.
The headlines going into the season should have been about the Socceroos qualifying for the World Cup with a squad largely made up of A-League or ex-A-League alumni, or the build up to the women’s Asian Cup due to be held in Australia next year. Instead, both competitions start one team short after Western United collapsed under $18m worth of debt and a winding up order from the tax office.
There is a bitter irony at play here. After an incredibly nomadic existence since being awarded a licence in 2018, Western were finally starting to resemble a proper club. Ironbark stadium may have been their training ground in the middle of nowhere and the new stadium in Tarniet seemed as far away as ever, but it was starting to fill and generate atmosphere and the club itself was starting to generate an identity. The men’s side had a title under the belt and the women’s side quickly established themselves in the upper echelons of the competition.
But even so, it’s hard to build it and they will come when the build doesn’t exist and sits in the middle of nowhere. With Macarthur stagnant and facing dwindling crowds and the Canberra franchise no closer to getting off the ground, it’s only the expansion into Auckland that has shown any semblance of good decision making from the game’s governing body. To paraphrase Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men, it isn’t a crisis but it’ll do until the crisis gets here.
And yet, there’s also plenty of cause for optimism. Last season’s Melbourne Derby Grand Final was just about the best outcome the A-League could have asked for, with just shy of 30,000 packing AAMI park to watch Melbourne City defeat Melbourne Victory in a fiery match that also demonstrated the occasionally frustrating and unfair nature of the finals format. Auckland were by far and away the best side in the competition, comfortably taking the Premier's Plate (aka topping the end of season table) but came undone in the semi-finals by Victory, who finished 10 points behind them. Unfair? Yes. But exciting? Yes, also.
Auckland will again be expecting to challenge at the top, with Steve Corica’s side largely settled over the summer. Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen is the biggest loss but Jake Girwood-Reich will add more stability in the centre of the park. Even if the competition looks a little closer this season, it's hard to imagine Auckland won't make the finals. Likewise, Melbourne City will expect to be challenging for honours this season, despite the loss of title winning goalscorer Yonatan Cohen. City have eschewed the eye-catching signings in favour of building from their academy. Aurelio Vidmar’s side may not be the most eye-catching but they are consistent, which is the bare minimum required to make the finals. The biggest challenge will be balancing Champions League football with the domestic competition, although given the A-League’s dismal record in top tier continental football, that may not be as much of an issue.
The biggest challenge to Auckland and City looks set to come from Parramatta. Under wily former Matildas boss Alen Stajcic, Western Sydney Wanderers have finally recovered their mojo after many seasons of false dawns and collapses. Stajcic’s side made the finals after breaking their record for goals scored in the regular season and embarking on a 12-match unbeaten run. Star forwards Zac Sapsford and Nicolas Milanovic have both departed for Scotland but Stajcic has recruited smartly adding proven A-League talent in Alou Koul and Kosta Barbarouses to lead the attack alongside Socceroo Brandon Borrello, while Steven Ugarkovic joins from Melbourne City and have picked Angus Thurgate, possibly one of the best midfielders in the competition, from the wreckage of Western United. Wanderers looked unplayable at times last season and, providing they can replace Sapsford and Milanovic’s goals, a second Premier's Plate and first title isn't beyond them.
They'll also be without Juan Mata, arguably last season's biggest signing and biggest disappointment. Bringing in an ageing Premier League star who had barely played in ten years might have shifted plenty of Parra-MATA T-shirts, but Stajcic only used the Spaniard sparingly from the bench. Which makes Melbourne Victory’s decision to sign the 37-year-old even more baffling, and its hard to see where he fits into Arthur Diles’ much changed side. Following their second straight Grand Final loss in a row, it’s a much changed Victory who will take to the pitch this season, with the majority of their key players departing in the off-season. There's no Kasey Bos, Daniel Arzani, Ryan Teague or Zinedine Machach, while veteran Bruno Fornaroli has dropped to the second tier and goalkeeper Mitch Langerak has retired. With the spine of his team gone, Diles will need to work similar miracles to last season when he arrested Victory’s side following the unexpected departure of Patrick Kisnorbo. A third grand final in a row would be an exceptional achievement, but also incredibly unlikely.
Like Victory, the A-League’s other big club Sydney FC also have a substantially different look to them after severely disappointing last season. Despite a strong squad, the Sky Blues failed to make the finals and crashed out of the ACL2 (Asia's Europa League equivalent) to Lion City Sailors. The club has made a big call in opting to renew coach Ufuk Talay’s contract over the winter, with sections of the fanbase turning on their former midfielder towards the end of last season. Talay has made significant changes, some forced and some deliberate. Marquee signing Douglas Costa was released after being stuck in Brazil due to legal issues, while fellow visa players Anas Ouahim, Leo Senna, and Patryk Klimala have also left. With Socceroo Anthony Caceres also departing for Macarthur and young gun Adrian Segecic currently lighting up Fratton Park in the Championship, goals and creativity have been stripped from the side. Not that attacking was the issue last season, with plenty of defending that an Isthmian League side would have viewed as embarrassing. Like the Wanderers, Sydney have sifted through the Western United bargain aisle to recruit much-needed experience at the back in Ben Garuccio as well as DR Congo captain Marcel Tisserand. With two much-needed leaders in defence, a lot will depend on how the host of promising young Socceroos that Talay has drafted in will gel together. If Sydney once again fail to make the finals, it’s unlikely Talay will be offered another chance at Moore Park.
Perhaps the biggest wildcard in the competition is Australia Cup winners Newcastle Jets. Winning the pre-season domestic competition doesn't guarantee success - after all Macarthur imploded last season after their victory - but in Mark Milligan, the Jets have a hungry rookie coach who has already added quality and resilience to the side. Max Burgess, frozen out at Sydney last season, adds creative flair, while Irish defender Joe Shaughnessy should help tighten up a porous backline. Of the three sides who have substantially overhauled their squad over the off-season, the Jets seem to have gelled quickest and will fancy their chances of making the top six. Newcastle seem to perform in fits and starts, with one good season offset by several more kicking around near the bottom of the table. The Jets are due a good season sooner rather than later and could well make life difficult for more fancied sides.
Of the remaining sides both Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory will be hopeful of avoiding a battle for the wooden spoon again. Both sides have been the victims of boardroom changes and inertia in recent seasons, but Perth look more settled than of late with David Zdrilic keeping his job despite finishing dead last and addressing the Glory’s defensive frailties by signing Brian Kaltak from Central Coast ,and Sam Sutton and Scott Wootton from Wellington Phoenix. With former Sydney FC youth product Jayden Kurcharski set to get an opportunity to show he's more than just an impact sub after moving from the east coast, Glory look a very different proposition from the side that finished with 17 losses to their name last season.
As for the Roar, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect. The Queenslanders have spent reason seasons in the bottom half of the table with a continual churn of managers and players, and it’s no different this time out. The good news more the Roar faithful is Ruben Zadkovic, who looked furiously out of his depth in the dugout, has been replaced by ex-Melbourne City boss Michael Valkanis. Eleven new faces will take to the field at Suncorp, including a completely overhauled attacking lineup featuring Greek striker Georgios Vrakas, former Everton youth player Chris Long, and Aussies Justin Vidic and Michael Ruhs. The Roar could scarely be worse than last season and if the side clicks, then the finals aren’t beyond reach.
Two sides who both collapsed last season might find it hard to regain lost momentum. Macarthur started last season like an express train after their cup win before falling away badly and losing key players in January. The Bulls struggled for goals in the second half of the season and will be hoping that reuniting Anthony Caceres with his former Sydney FC partner Luke Brattan in the centre of the park will give them a platform to attack, although both players are the wrong side of 30. A lot of the burden will fall on Liga MX recruit Rafael Martinez and former Sunderland striker Ji Dong-won, and Macarthur’s chances largely rest on how their foreign imports adjust to the A-League.
Meanwhile, Adelaide have gone from title challengers to wooden spoon contenders in a little over half a season. For a period it looked like the Reds would push Auckland all the way, before conceding four against Sydney mid-season and going on a disastrous run that cost coach Carl Veart his job. That they ended up in the top six said more about Sydney’s ineptitude than Adelaide’s resilience and the core of the squad has now departed with plenty of rumours that all is not well behind the scenes. Golden boot winner Archie Goodwin, playmaker Zach Clough and Stefan Mauk, so often the heartbeat of the side, have all departed for curious overseas opportunities (Clough has moved to Mayalsia and Mauk to Vietnam). Add in an overseas coach with little A-League experience in Brazilian Airton Andrioli and plenty of international journeymen bulking up the squad, a season of transition for the South Australians would be a generous assessment. One bright spot is the return of Socceroo and club legend Craig Goodwin from Saudi Arabia for a third stint. Goodwin is a class act and has been one of Australia’s most consistent performers at international level since the last World Cup, but it’s hard to believe one player alone can drag the Reds to finals football.
Finally, it’s hard to see anything but a battle to avoid finishing last for the Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix, a cycle that both sides thought they’d broken free of in recent years. Phoenix often looked staid and lost last season, have lost several key players and despite the promise shown by Giancarlo Italiano when he first took over two years ago, last season was a big step backwards. The Nix were the lowest scorers in the league last season and with Kosta Barbarouses heading to Western Sydney, their strike force looks even lighter. Phoenix were relatively tight at the back, which was some source of comfort, but when the two sides who finish below you both seem to have recruited well and taken strides forwards over the summer, it’s going to be hard for New Zealand’s second side to regain any kind of momentum.
And then there’s the Mariners. Two seasons ago, the Gosford side were celebrating back-to-back titles but, as the smallest side in the competition, the Mariners are exceptionally vulnerable to losing their best players and, it turns out, their treble winning coach, with Mark Jackson quitting on the eve of the season amidst rumours of disagreements with the boardroom. With defensive rock Brian Kaltak leaving for Perth and creative talent Mikeal Doka joining the exodus from the Central Coast, and club captain Trent Sainsbury still a recovering from a long-term achilles injury, it’s hard to see anything but a season of struggle for the Mariners, even with cult goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne returning to the club he started his career at. Redmayne nearly quit football to become a barista at one point and may wish he'd opened up a coffee shop in one of the area’s many tourist-friendly beach towns rather than seeing out his career in what looks set to be a very challenging season at the A-League’s most picturesque stadium.
| Gary's regular season prediction | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Western Sydney Wanderers |
| 2 | Auckland FC |
| 3 | Melbourne City |
| 4 | Newcastle Jets |
| 5 | Sydney FC |
| 6 | Melbourne Victory |
| 7 | Perth Glory |
| 8 | Macarthur FC |
| 9 | Brisbane Roar |
| 10 | Adelaide United |
| 11 | Wellington Phoenix |
| 12 | Central Coast Mariners |
Gary is a regular previewer on our weekly newsletter the Weekend Boxset and has appeared on the podcast a number of times over the years. You can find him on Bluesky and Substack.
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