For Sydney FC, they are used to looking down from the Isuzu UTE A-League summit.
The most successful team in A-League Men history with five championships and four Premierships, the Sky Blues finished runners-up last season.
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But Sydney have found themselves sliding in 2021-22 – Steve Corica’s men in an unfamiliar position as they struggle to inspire.
A 2-1 loss at home to an underdone Perth Glory, who have only placed twice in almost two months, left the Sky Blues licking their wounds after three matches without victory across all competitions.
Up until this point, Sydney have only managed two wins in eight A-Leagues fixtures, while they were beaten in the FFA Cup semi-finals.
For former captain and three-time championship winner Alex Brosque, he thinks there is one glaring issue.
Speaking on Paramount+ post-match, Brosque said: “Watching Sydney at the moment and the season as the games go on… they used to have an aura, up until last season, about them for a number of years where you knew when you were playing Sydney FC, you were playing a big club and team, you knew it would be difficult.
“At the moment, they don’t have that. They’ve lost it… it’s that aggression in midfield (they’re missing).
“The team goes down 1-0 and there isn’t that real fight. Those big tackles, something that you need to inspire the other players.
“They seem to have lost that aura and I don’t know how you fix it.”
Wary of Sydney suffering a similar fate to that of bitter rivals Melbourne Victory, who finished bottom last season, Brosque added: “That would be in their minds not to have a season like that.
“If you look at the quality, there’s way too much to go through a season like that.”
It does not get any easier for sixth-placed Sydney, who face league-leading Victory in Tuesday’s Big Blue at AAMI Park.
After an uninspiring performance, ex-Victory star Archie Thompson warned: “If they’re going to Melbourne Victory playing like that, they’ll get their pants pulled down.”
