With the A-League Men’s top six now set, where to now for the clubs that didn’t make the cut?
In February, KEEPUP picked what every team needed to improve before the end of the season to reach the finals.
Now, with six clubs headed for early holidays, Matt Comito and Tom Smithies identify the pressing issues each club must address to come back stronger in 2022-23.
SYDNEY FC
What we said: “Needs players back.”
What transpired: the veterans failed to fire.
What happens now: In the end, Sydney FC’s fading finals hopes didn’t even reach the final round, and the post mortem on a seriously underwhelming campaign is already underway.
For the first time since 2015-16, the Sky Blues have failed to finish in the top six; some fall from grace for a team that had qualified for the past three grand finals. But the end of a dynasty tends to come swiftly, and an off-season of overhauling lies ahead, from the new CEO down.
The last time this happened, then-Sydney coach Graham Arnold took himself off to Bali for a period of self-reflection, and now Steve Corica faces the first fundamental challenge to his coaching career. Essentially Sydney’s tactics since Corica succeeded Arnold in 2018 have not radically altered, and his recruitment has been patchy, even allowing for a force majeure event such as Luke Brattan’s season-ending injury.
Adam Le Fondre has been an unqualified success, but none of the playmaking additions have looked anywhere near the sort of signing that could lift a team to win something.
Corica will also be painfully aware that several difficult conversations lie ahead with some of his most loyal lieutenants. Alex Wilkinson and Milos Ninkovic are both 37 and off-contract; Michael Zullo at 33 has played little more than half and hour’s football in two years thanks to injury.
Even Le Fondre is 35, and pro rata this was his least productive season in Sky Blue – though that was in large part down to a dearth of chances created.
And therein lies the factor that has to be at the heart of the rebuild. Sydney became far too predictable, lacking both creativity and pace in areas where it matters. Teams knew how to nullify them far too easily, and Corica’s brief now is to reinvigorate both tactics and personnel.
MACARTHUR FC
What we said: “Needs Apostolos Giannou to deliverv.”
What transpired: A misfiring attack to match a team falling short.
What happens now: Neither Giannou or injury-hampered Tomi Juric managed to make an impact at Macarthur this season, with midfielder Ulises Dávila’s seven strikes throughout the season the most of any Bulls player in 2021-22.
Craig Noone (five) and Lachlan Rose (four) were the next-highest scorers at the Bulls. Macarthur’s misfiring forward line was just one of many problems hampering Ante Milicic’s side in a season which fell flat late on.
By the penultimate game of the season, Milicic was “done.. on empty”, The human toll of a taxing decade and a half of coaching in the game coming to a head near the end of a two-season spell at the helm at the Bulls, laid bare in an emotional and frank post-match press conference.
His departure means a fresh start for the Bulls. Bidding farewell to a coach who guided the club through its first two seasons, attention turns to which direction the club goes in his absence. The slate is wiped clean in Campbelltown for a squad laden with talent.
Mariners full-back Lewis Miller is rumoured to be one of Macarthur’s acquisitions for next season; continuing down that line of recruitment will be of benefit to the Bulls considering Miller’s impressive form for the Mariners this season and profile as a developing young prospect. Making minor adjustments to a squad already possessing the star power of the likes of Noone and Dávila could see the Bulls quickly bounce back into finals contention under new management.
NEWCASTLE JETS
What we said: “Needs structure to go with style.”
What transpired: Jets remained plagued by inconsistency
What happens now: after a season of what-might-have-beens, the next stage of the Arthur Papas revolution will get underway imminently. Some patches of beautiful football ultimately weren’t enough to secure finals football, and Papas has some significant personnel issues to address.
The coach’s own future is secure, given a contract extension on the back of some promising signs this season, and it’s true that on their day, the Jets were great to watch. But the fact they scored the third highest number of goals of all teams to date, and conceded the fourth highest number, tells you a lot about the issues Papas had in squaring moments of individual brilliance with whole-of-team defensive structure. The Jets had some thumping wins but also some bruising losses and just one 0-0 draw all season.
From a personnel point of view, Daniel Penha’s loan period is up and with interest from other clubs, the Brazilian genius seems likely to be on the move, leaving Papas to try to find another No 10 to build his team around. Also off contract are stalwarts like Jason Hoffman and Ben Kantarovski, and skilful but inconsistent signings such as Cameroon international Olivier Boumal and Valentino Yuel.
The question for Papas is whether he can get more out of these players next season, or will need a more root and branch overhaul to marry style with success next year.
WESTERN SYDNEY
What we said: “Needs an identity.”
What transpired: Everything changed and yet very little changed.
What happens now: yet another dispiriting off-season awaits for the long-suffering fans of what should be one of Australia’s biggest clubs, and once again the churn of players will signify how the season just finished was another false dawn. In February when we raised the question of what the team’s identity could be described as, Mark Rudan had just been appointed as interim coach; without warning the Wanderers upgraded that to a long-term deal despite inconsistent initial results, but in the face of rumoured interest in Rudan elsewhere.
So now it is the former Western United boss who has to answer the so-far unsolvable question – what is the Wanderers’ playing identity, what is their style, and what players should they recruit to implement that? Carl Robinson signed a host of apparently high-end faces but couldn’t seem to meld them into anything like a coherent whole; just like, in fact, every coach since Tony Popovic walked out in October 2017. Admittedly with an inherited squad, Rudan has not so far found compelling evidence that he yet knows the answer.
It’s a crying shame for the league that a club with such a brilliant stadium, top-quality training facilities and so much success in the past keeps performing well below par; their fans used to set the standard for active support and brought atmosphere to every game.
There will be changes across the board in the next few months; Sunday’s winner-takes-nothing clash with Macarthur will signal the end of CEO John Tsatsimas’s tenure as CEO, while other staff are moving on to mirror the revolving door likely in the dressing room.
Every year the promise is that things will be different, but every year it isn’t. For the fans’ sake, it’s to be hoped this year really is.
BRISBANE ROAR
What we said: “Needs to find some consistency.”
What transpired: Brisbane’s season has subsided miserably, and only for one week did they sit higher than 10th.
What happens now: coach Warren Moon has foreshadowed a major clearout after dropping imports Juan Lescano, Matti Steinmann and Ryo Wada for the last games of the season and making clear his disappointment with his overseas recruits.
Last year Brisbane made the finals; this year they have struggled continually, having won consecutive games only once all year (and only winning six games in total all year). There were bright spots such as the form of youngster Henry Hore, but overall there is a Queensland-sized rebuild coming.
Moon has indicated exactly where his focus will be; the Roar boss believes in general terms his side held their own, but were punished for an inability to convert chances into goals. Certainly the second-lowest scoring tally in the competition confirms the latter part of that is true; but only four teams conceded more goals all season to date, and the Roar have won just once in their last 10 games, with just a solitary fixture remaining in the season.
The plan to keep a Queensland core in the team remains central to Moon’s project, but he also needs a few more leaders to equal Jay O’Shea’s influence on the side (second in the A-League for assists and chances created).
So expect to see the Brisbane boss scouring the global marketplace in the off-season for new visa signings, especially those with scoring potential.
PERTH GLORY
What we said: “Needs a bit of luck.”
What transpired: Chances to steady the ship not taken.
What happens now: Perth did receive the chance to revive their campaign, returning to Perth in March for four-consecutive home games. Richard Garcia’s side collected just one point on that pivotal run, losing a bottom-of-the-table clash with Brisbane Roar 4-1 to cap it off as fan disgruntlement rose above their empathy for the struggling side.
Garcia was out the door on March 19, with Ruben Zadkovich taking over in an interim role as the struggling club collected the wooden spoon.
From the moment Zadkovich took the reins, he blooded the youth. Formerly the coach of the club’s NPL side, the players who impressed in the youth setup were granted opportunities in the senior side. The likes of Jacob Muir, Adam Zimarino, Joshua Anasmo, Tyler Vecchio, Joseph Forde – Giordano Colli, who debuted early in the campaign, seemed like an elder statesman in the squad by the season’s end.
There were gutsy performances, and there were hefty defeats. And now comes an off-season of potential upheaval.
Whether Zadkovich is taken on in a permanent role is yet to be decided, whilst rumours circle about Tony Sage’s continued ownership of the club. Then, there’s Daniel Sturridge. Should he stay on for another season, Glory fans will be praying to avoid a repeat of the season from hell for the star Englishman. Should he depart, and rumours of investment in young stars from rival A-League clubs come to fruition, Perth could have a whole new outlook by the start of next season.
