It’s July 10, exactly three months to the day till season 10 of the Hyundai A-league blasts off. Here’s a snapshot of where each club is with their squad.
It-s July 10, exactly three months to the day till season 10 of the Hyundai A-league blasts off. Here-s a snapshot of where each club is with their squad.
Adelaide United
Spanish coach Josep Gombau brought flair to Coopers Stadium last season and has seen his passion rewarded by being voted coach of this season-s FOXTEL A-League All Stars side. This time around he is yet to have the same impact in the transfer market compared to the talent he recruited when signing with the Reds. Despite this, Jeggo and McGowan are both young players with a point to prove and there will surely be more to come as Adelaide look to build on last season.
Ins – James Jeggo, Dylan McGowan,
Outs – Jacob Melling, Jon McKain
Brisbane Roar
The champions have had a quiet off-season in the transfer market with the club only announcing their first couple of signings this week, alongside the addition of experienced coach Ron Smith as their new assistant. Despite this the club will be buoyed by the performances of their Socceroos Matt McKay and Ivan Franjic in Brazil, with the latter hoping to be fully fit for the start of their defence. Of course they can also rely on Johnny Warren medallist Thomas Broich but the big question is will be how they cope with the absence of Besart Berisha.
Ins – Jamie Young, Daniel Bowles
Outs – Besart Berisha, Matt Acton, Diogo Ferreira
Central Coast Mariners
The Mariners had four former players play a major part in the Socceroos- World Cup campaign and they-ll be hoping their academy can unearth a new generation of stars this season. Having made a flurry of signings in the mid-season transfer window the Mariners have also added youngsters Liam Rose and Anthony Kalik to their roster. With a few players leaving the club from last season, Phil Moss will no doubt be happy with the re-signing of key players Roux, Cacerers and Duke.
Ins – Liam Rose, Anthony Kalik
Outs – Justin Pasfield, Mile Sterjovski, Marcos Flores, Adam Kwasnik
Newcastle Jets
There has been a huge turnover of personnel at Newcastle with new coach Phil Stubbins handed the assignment of guiding the Jets back to the finals. Marcos Flores is their big signing to date and he-ll be eyeing a huge performance against his former club the Mariners in the opening round F3 derby. Of course the loss of last season-s Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart will be a big but goalkeeper Mark Birighittti will no doubt come back from Brazil a lot more confident following his experience in the Socceroos- squad.
Ins – Adrian Madachshi, Josh Barresi, Marcos Flores, Edson Montano (on loan)
Outs – Connor Chapman, James Brown, Josh Mitchell, Joey Gibbs, Ruben Zadkovich, Zenon Caravella, Adam Taggart, Emile Heskey
Melbourne Victory
The retention of Mark Milligan to an extended deal as their new Australian marquee is a huge coup for the Victory and his combination with new signing Carl Valeri will be vital to their season, as will new French central defender Delpierre. The high profile signing of Besart Berisha will inject some real potency up front as the club look to go a step further and make this season-s Grand Final after back-to-back Semi-Final exits. The Melbourne derbies will be an even bigger spectacle this season given the new financial muscle of their cross-town rivals City.
Ins – Besart Berisha, Carl Valeri, Matthieu Delpierre
Outs – James Jeggo, Adama Traore, James Troisi (end of loan spell), Tom Rogic (end of loan spell) Francesco Stellar, Pablo Contreras (retired)
Melbourne City
It-s been a huge off-season for Melbourne City, with the club being taken over by new owners and undergoing a rebranding to mirror brothers Manchester City and New York City. That relationship has seen Spanish superstar David Villa signed for a 10-game guest stint, with a similar arrangement for England and Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard mooted in the press today. Add to the mix the signings of former Ireland international Damien Duff and Aaron Mooy and there-s no doubt City will be pushing for higher honours this season.
Ins – Aaron Mooy, James Brown, Connor Chapman, Jacob Melling, David Villa (on loan), Damien Duff,
Outs – Patrick Gerhardt, Sam Mitchinson, David Vrankovic, Jeremy Walker, Aziz Behich
Perth Glory
Having decided to stick with entertaining coach Kenny Lowe, the Glory boss will be hoping to see his persona reproduced on the pitch. Perth have been the most active club in the player market to date, with a string of signings set to return the club to a competitive force in 2014/15. It will be interesting to monitor how this overhauled squad jells and Irish international Andy Keogh will hopefully be able to deal with the Perth heat better than former marquee William Gallas. Mitch Nichols looks a good pick up, too.
Ins – Youssof Hersi, Dino Djulbic, Ruben Zadkovich, Andy Keogh, Danny Vukovic (returning from loan spell), Diogo Ferreira, Adrian Zahra, Mitch Nichols, Jordan Thurtell, Richard Garcia
Outs – Jacob Burns, Ryan Edwards (end of loan), Darvydas Sernas (end of loan), Adrian Zahra, Shane Smeltz.
Sydney FC
The biggest thing Sydney FC will be craving this season is stability and in new manager Graham Arnold they should have that in spades. The club has added some real attacking flair to their books with Bernie Ibini, Shane Smeltz and Alex Brosque set to form a lethal combination. The latter holding the record as the Sky Blues- greatest goal scorer. Of course the absence of Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero is something they will miss but it means Sydney still have space for a marquee signing.
Ins – Bernie Ibini, Shane Smeltz, Alex Brosque,
Outs – Alessandro Del Piero, Richard Garcia, Ranko Despotovic, Mitch Mallia, Joel Chianese, Blake Powell, Marc Warren, Matt Thompson, Terry McFlynn (retired)
Wellington Phoenix
A young Phoenix squad should be all the stronger from the experience of last season but they-ll need to avoid another winless start to the campaign. The Phoenix will miss the presence of Carlos Hernandez but Gorrin and Burns should provide able cover. Wellington-s Football United Tour, which will see them host Premier League clubs Newcastle United and West Ham this month is a wonderful initiative that will help ensure football is buzzing in New Zealand this season.
Ins – Alejandro Gorrin, Nathan Burns
Outs – Carlos Hernandez, Lucas Pantelis, Leo Bertos, Stein Huysegems, Luke Adams, Paul Ifill (off contract but training with the squad).
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney have seen their foundation squad decimated in the off-season as coach Tony Popovic sets about rebuilding a team that will hope to go one better in this season-s Grand Final. Wanderers fans still have to look forward to their team-s participation in the knock-out stages of the Asian Champions League and their qualification for the next edition will again ensure Popovic rotates his squad as he masterly last season. Just who will replace Shinji Ono remains the big question for the Red and Black.
Ins – Dean Bouzanis, Vitor Saba, Brendan Hamill, Anthony Golec (signed from ACL contract)
Outs – Michael Beauchamp, Shinji Ono, Youssouf Hersi, Jerome Polenz, Adam D-Apuzzo, Jerrad Tyson, Aaron Mooy, Tahj Minniecon, Dean Heffernan, Josh Barresi
