Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview

[Beejayville]

I did not have the opportunity to follow the A League much in its first Season in Australia, but I am posting a local review of the upcoming season for those interested in Australian A League. After the review i have added last years first season Full table and Home and Away ladder. Sydney FC Coach: Terry Butcher Captain: Mark Rudan (club captain), Dwight Yorke (team captain). Last year: Champion. Second at end of regular season. Marquee player: Dwight Yorke. The 35-year-old's distinguished career peaked during Manchester United's 1999 treble-winning season when he was top scorer in the English premier league but he has had a renaissance at Sydney thanks to a switch from striker to midfield playmaker. Now in the final year of his contract, his confidence is high after a good World Cup as captain of Trinidad and Tobago. One to watch: Alex Brosque. Signed in the off-season from Queensland, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder was joint top scorer last season with eight goals. With the quality of combinations available beside David Carney, Yorke and Saso Petrovski, Brosque is likely to bang them in. Likes to run at players and so should add an extra dimension to the Sydney attack. New faces: Jeremy Brockie (NZ), Alex Brosque (Queensland Roar), Ruben Zadkovich (previously short-term), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (new short-term) Moved on: Andrew Packer (Queensland Roar), Matthew Bingley (released), Steve Laurie (released), Alejandro Salazar (released). Comment: Sydney's squad strength was underlined with a record eight call-ups to the Socceroos training squad in August with representatives from all over the park. An impressive pre-season belied conventional wisdom that a change in manager is destabilising and the switch from German Pierre Littbarski to Englishman Terry Butcher not seeming to have caused any teething troubles - yet. Brosque's flair - with gun striker Jeremy Brockie also waiting in the wings - should help avoid last season's mid-term slump while a Yorke without World Cup distractions should allow for more consistency, which bodes well for Sydney's title defence. Prediction: Champions again. Adelaide United Coach: John Kosmina Captain: Ross Aloisi Last year: Third. Topped the league after regular season. Marquee player: Shengqing Qu. Midway through the off-season it seemed highly unlikely that Qu would return to Adelaide following a first season in which the Chinese international lit up the A League with numerous moments of brilliance. But a deal was signed as the season approached and his return bodes well for United's attacking prospects. One to watch: Bobby Petta. Although he failed to impress the Queensland Roar coaching staff during a try-out, Petta, 32, made a good enough impression with Adelaide to earn a place. A versatile left winger with plenty of goal-making pedigree, Petta was good enough to be a Dutch international squad member during his time with Celtic from 1999-2004, a spell that also saw him impress in the Champions League. After missing out on Stan Lazaridis, Kosmina rates Petta the better player. New faces: Bobby Petta (Bradford City, England), Greg Owens (Sydney United, NSW), Dez Giraldi (Empoli, Italy - loan), Nathan Burns (AIS), Jason Spagnuolo (Metro Stars, SA). Moved on: Louis Brain (released), Chad Bugeja (released), Michael Matricciani (released), Tony Hatzis (released). We say: Apart from a long-term knee injury to midfielder Lucas Pantelis, Adelaide has lost nobody significant over the off-season while also bolstering its stocks with the likes of Petta, Dez Giraldi and Greg Owens. A strong pre-season campaign has been made all the more impressive by the fact that Petta, Fernando Rech and Shengqing Qu are all yet to play, with all likely to cause considerable discomfort for opposition sides and ensure Adelaide is a title contender once more this season. About the only area Adelaide will be disadvantaged is its surprise factor - few sides will underestimate the Reds as they did last time. Prediction: 2nd

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview Central Coast Mariners Coach: Lawrie McKinna Captain: Noel Spencer Last season: Runner-up (lost Grand Final 1-0 to SydneyFC). Third at end of regular season. Marquee player: Tony Vidmar. A significant signing for the Mariners with the 36-year-old Socceroos defender returning to Australia on a two-year deal after missing the World Cup with a heart condition. Will add plenty of experience to the line-up,particularly in defence where the Mariners have lost last season's sensations, Michael Beauchamp and Dean Heffernan. One to watch: Nick Mrdja. Looked set to light up last season's A-League after making a big impression during the pre-season only to miss the entire year with a knee injury. After being only able to watch Central Coast's impressive Grand Final run, the talented striker will be out to make amends this season. New faces: Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, Holland), Bradley Porter (previously short-term), Vuko Tomasevic (Marconi), Jamie McMaster (previously short-term). Moved on: Michael Beauchamp (Nurnberg, Germany), Dean Heffernan (Nurnberg, Germany), Russell Woodruffe (released), Leo Carle (released). We say: Last season's Cinderella story, the Mariners exceeded expectations to go all the way to the Grand Final, losing 1-0 to Sydney FC at Aussie Stadium. Having to deal with higher expectations this season will be one of the club's biggest hurdles, although they again showed their worth in the pre-season cup by qualifying for a fourth straight competition final. The loss of central defender Michael Beauchamp (a Socceroos World Cup squad member) and goal-scoring left-back Dean Heffernan are both major blows, although Tony Vidmar's addition makes up for some of that. After missing all of last season, striker Mrdja willbe a significant addition. Prediction: 5th. Melbourne Victory Coach: Ernie Merrick Captain: Kevin Muscat Last year: Seventh. Marquee player: Archie Thompson. Proved himself the best local player in the A-League with a stunning first half of last season, before protracted loan move to Holland's PSV Eindhoven in January during which he fell out with the Victory hierarchy. But all has been forgiven Socceroo Archie - complete with mohawk - is back to bang in the goals and reclaim his cult hero status. One to watch: Kristian Sarkies. Attacking midfielder and deadball specialist set to become Australian soccer's next big thing. After call-up as a training partner to the Socceroos, Guus Hiddink thought enough of him to keep with the World Cup squad as an unofficial 24th player. But at Victory last year, he was often substituted or left out of starting side entirely. That's set to change. Enjoy this 19-year-old while you can - he'll probably be in Europe next year. New faces: Fred (Tupi, Brazil), Claudinho (Atletico Paranaense, Brazil), Alessandro (Internacional RS, Brazil), Adrian Caceres (Perth Glory), Grant Brebner (Dundee United, Scotland), Roddy Vargas (Green Gully, Victorian Premier League). Moved on: Richard Kitzbichler (Salzburg, Austria), Chris Tadrosse (Uerdingen, Germany), Andy Vlahos (released), Carl Recchia (released), Ricky Diaco (released). We say: Three new Brazilian imports have given far greater depth to a squad which didn't build on its early promise last season. Attackers Fred and Claudinho were hand-picked by coach Ernie Merrick to address a lack of goals. Sarkies is a gun, young defender Adrian Leijer was a revelation last season, and watch for Kevin Muscat to move into midfield to get his toughness closer to the action. The ingredients are there, and Merrick will need early results to quell any uprising from fans calling for his head. Prediction: 3rd.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview Newcastle Jets Coach: Nick Theodorakopoulos Captain: Paul Okon Last season: Fourth (Lost minor semi-final 2-1 to Central Coast). Marquee player: None. One to watch: Joel Griffiths. After scoring on his Socceroo debut in the 5-1 win over Jamaica last year, the 26-year-old attacking midfielder endured a horror stint at England's Leeds United. He will be keen to get his career back on track, which can only benefit the Jets. Griffiths had three European seasons with Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax under his belt and was in the same Young Socceroos team as Jason Culina, Vince Grella and Marco Bresciano. New faces: Paul Okon (Apoel, Cyprus), Joel Griffiths (Leeds United, England), Tony Faria (Marconi), Tarek Elrich (previously short-term), Adam D'Apuzzo (Marconi), Tolgay Ozbey (Blacktown City, NSW), Ben Kennedy (Broadmeadow Magic), Steven Old (Manawatu), Jess Kedswell-Vanstratten (Verona, Ita). Moved on: Ante Milicic (Queensland), Liam Reddy (Queensland), Richard Johnson (NZ Knights), Allan Picken (Walsall, England), Ned Zelic (released), Guy Bates (released), Paul Kohler (released), Mateo Corbo (released), Franco Parisi (released), Brett Studman (released), Andy Petterson (released). We say: The surprise sacking of foundation coach Richard Money led to a mass player exodus and as it may take time for the new recruits to gel, the Jets may be destined for a transition (read mixed) season which is likely to end closer to the bottom than the top. Many new players have been promoted from state leagues, so it may be too much to ask for an improvement on last year's finish. New coach Theodorakopoulos will also want to prove himself in the A-League. But there is some talent and experience - North and Durante are bright sparks while veteran former Socceroo Okon's experience makes up for Zelic's departure. Also, luring Griffiths home in his prime was quite a coup. Prediction: 8th. New Zealand Knights Coach: Paul Nevin Captain: Darren Bazeley Last year: 8th Marquee player: Scott Gemmill. The 35-year-old former Scottish international was recruited in the off-season and brings years of experience gained at Everton and Nottingham Forest. The central midfielder reads the play well and has already assumed an on-field leadership role in pre-season matches. One to watch: Dani Rodrigues. Another new recruit, the former Portuguese under-21 striker's Premier League career at Southampton was cut short by injury. The 26-year-old scored on debut against Queensland in the pre-season and could provide the spark the Knights need in front of goal. New faces: Malik Buari (Woking, England), Che Bunce(Waikato), Matt Carbon (Barnsley, England), Adam Casey (Wollongong), Greg Duruz (FC Thun, Switzerland), Scott Gemmill (Oxford United, England), Richard Johnson (Newcastle Jets), Simi Kovacevic (rookie), Mark Paston (St Johnstone, Scotland), Jonti Richter (Qld), Dani Rodrigues (Englandf), Jonas Salley (South Melbourne), Michael Turnbull (Standard Liege, Belgium), Michael White (Canterbury, NZ) Moved on: Jeremy Brockie (Sydney FC), Ronnie Bull (released), Zenon Caravella (released), Jeremy Christie (Perth), Ben Collett (released), Steven Fitzsimmons (Qld Roar), Danny Hay (released), Naoki Imaya (released), Joshua Maguire (released), Glen Moss (released), Joshua Rose (released), John Tambouras (released), Cole Tinkler (released), Simon Yeo (released, Xiaobin Zhang (released). We say: The A-League's only overseas franchise had a disastrous first season, finishing a long last with just one win. Paul Nevin has replaced John Adshead as coach and a massive turnover of players has seen just five members of the inaugural Knights squad retained. The result is a more competitive outfit, in the pre-season at least, with three draws and two losses, both by a single goal. The Knights lost rising star Jeremy Brockie to Sydney and Jeremy Christie to Perth but have recruited heavily overseas with Gemmill and Rodrigues joined by Ghanaian and former Fulham midfielder Malik Buari, previously UK-based Australian midfielder Richard Johnson, All Whites defender Che Bunce and former Australian junior goalkeeper Michael Turnbull. Prediction: 7th

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview Perth Glory Coach: Ron Smith Captain: Jamie Harnwell Last year: Fifth. Marquee player: Stan Lazaridis. After a tug of war between Perth and Adelaide for his services, the former Birmingham City and West Ham wideman followed his heart back to where it all began. Recruited for much more than just his pace down the left side, the 34-year-old Socceroo has provided the face for the Glory to base its reinvention around. But having been kept on the bench for the entire World Cup by Guus Hiddink, Lazaridis also arrives in the A-League with a point to prove. One to watch: Luka Glavas. The mail on this 21-year-old striker was already good before he scored all four goals in Sydney United's triumph in the grand final of the NSW Premier League. Already a target for Hajduk Split, Glavas' lean frame belies a voracious appetite for goals and he will lend strike power along with the ageing Stuart Young and Bobby Despotovski. New faces: Leo Bertos (Worksop, England), Jeremy Christie (NZ), Luka Glavas (Sydney United), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England), Josip Magdic (Floreat), Mark Robertson (Stockport, England), Mimi Saric (Adelaide Rangers), Ryan Townsend (Burnley, England), Aleks Vrteski (AIS), Adrian Webster (Darlington, England). Moved on: Adrian Caceres (Melbourne Victory), Billy Celeski (Bulleen), Brian Deane (Sheffield United, England), Henry Fa'arodo (Essendon Royals), Matt Horsley (retired), Hiro Ishida (released), Milan Jovanic (released), Steve McMahon Jr (released), Scott Miller (retired), Damian Mori (Adelaide City), Neil Teggart (released), Nick Ward (QPR, England), Daniel Vasilevski (released) We say: After a disastrous first A-League season, dogged by infighting and the acrimonious departure of abrasive coach Steve McMahon, the off-season for Perth Glory fans has been equally traumatic. Issues of ownership dragged on interminably until Football Federation Australia decided they would take charge of the club themselves. This led to the recruitment of Lazaridis as a marquee signing and the appointment of former Socceroo technical director Ron Smith as head coach, and suddenly things look a whole lot brighter. If Lazaridis can stay fit and Smith lives up to his reputation by getting the best out of his mix of veterans, imports and local hopefuls, then a finals appearance is not out of the question. Prediction: 6th Queensland Roar Coach: Miron Bleiberg Captain: Chad Gibson Last year: Sixth. Marquee player: Nil. Have recruited well by securing former Socceroo Ante Milicic, Scot Simon Lynch and Chinese star Yuning Zhang but once again opted against paying up for a marquee man. One to watch: Young Socceroo Spase Dilevski looms as the Roar's headline-grabber but it is under-20 international Dario Vidosic who could be the real surprise packet. Huge things are expected by the Roar of the sharp Croatian-born midfielder. Vidosic is due for some good luck after contracting stress fractures while touring with the Young Socceroos and then being hit by glandular fever. Restarted training only to be hit by a police car in a road accident. New faces: Simon Lynch (Dundee, Scotland), Ante Milicic (Newcastle Jets), Yuning Zhang (Shanghai), Andrew Packer (Sydney FC), Stu McLaren (elevated), Marcus Wedau (VFL Osnabruck, Germany), Dario Vidosic (AIS), Sasa Ognenovski (Victorian Premier League), Liam Reddy (Newcastle Jets), Steve Fitzsimmons (NZ). Moved on: Alex Brosque (Sydney FC), Jonti Richter (NZ), Scott Higgins (Falkirk, Scotland) Todd Gava (released), Michael Baird (Uni Craiova, Romania), Royce Brownlie (Swindon Town, England), Jordan Simpson (Switzerland), Tyler Simpson (released), Reece Tollenaere (released), Warren Moon (released), David Williams (Brondby, Denmark), Karl Dodd (Falkirk, Scotland). We say: Promised more than they delivered last season with an exciting, attacking game which failed to reap many wins due to an inability to find the back of the net. The colourful Bleiberg, who needs a top-four finish to keep his job, is retain to keep his style. His 2006-07 squad has lost some pace but looks to have more maturity and nous, giving a greater expectation. Milicic and Lynch up front are keys. Prediction: 6th That's it for the local review and wish I could have offered my own thoughts. I plan to be watching the A league closely this year and will offer my thoughts when I feel they are useful :) Good luck and good punting!

[ads25]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview Good review beejayville, I can see the Australian title race being between only two teams this year. Sydney & Adelaide. If Melbourne Victory can get their act together though, they also can be up their challenging for the title due to a good recruiting campaign over the summer. Adelaide Utd will field the best team defensively and they will be very hard to beat, especially at home. They should grind out alot of 1-0 or 2-0 wins. Whereas Sydney will be alot more attacking, with the likes of ex-EPL star Dwight Yorke and Jeremy Brockie up front I can see Sydney FC scoring alot of high scoring wins, however their defence can be a bit suspect at times (for example, Melbourne Victory beat them 5-0 last year). Add Alex Brosque (Queensland Roar) to this side and you have a very quality side. The only problem with Adelaide is that they are reknown finals chokers. Not just in soccer, but in all forms of sport in Australia. Adelaide teams usually do all the hard work during the season and then fold easier than origami when pressure is applied in the important matches, so if your thinking of betting on Adelaide id keep this in the back of your mind. The Dark Horse of this league will Melbourne Victory. With the recent signing of 3 brazillian players (Fred, Claudinho & Alessandro) and the likes of Australians Archie Thompson & Kristian Sarkies, Melbourne have now have an attack that will be capable of converting goals which was their main problem in the inaugral season last year. After a great start where they were on top of the table early on, Melbourne fell away terribly and ended up finishing second bottom, so with the addition of these players plus Kevin Muscat & Adrian Leijer holding down the backline, Melb could prove to be very hard to beat. As for the other teams: Queensland, New Zealand, Newcastle, Central Coast Mariners & Perth Glory. I feel they will all be making up the numbers this season. New Zealand were pathetic last year at best while all the inhouse fighting at Perth Glory will probably be their undoing, though credit must go to Perth for some quality signings over summer, but i dont think it will be enough to get them into the finals. Newcastle, Queensland & Perth have all made wholesale changes to their list and are basically new teams compared to last year, so it may take some time to gel and to work out what their form is like. The Central Coast have added Australian star defender Tony Vidmar to their team and he will prove to be a revelation to the side who were overachievers last year. On their day The Mariners are capable of beating anybody and i believe they will be the team who will finished 4th behind Adelaide, Sydney & Melbourne. So my predictions for this years positions are as follows: Sydney FC (Premiers) Adelaide Melbourne Central Coast Perth Queensland New Zealand Newcastle Cheers from Australia!! Adam

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview Table Pos. ...Team ..........G.....W ..D...L....F....A.... P 1. Adelaide United ....24...13...5...6...36..30...44 2. Sydney FC ..........24...12...7...5...40..31...43 3. Central Coast M....25...10...9...6...38..30...39 4. Newcastle............23....9...5...9...28..31...32 5. Perth Glory ..........21....8...5...8...34..29...29 6. Queensland Roar ...21....7...7...7...27..22...28 7. Melbourne Victory ..21...7...5...9...26..24...26 8. New Zealand Kgts ..21...1...3..17...15..47.....6 Home ....Team ..........G ...W...D..L.....F...A .....P 1. Sydney FC ...........13 ...7 ..5...1...17..10... 26 2. Adelaide United .....12...5....4...3...18..17 ...19 3. Melbourne Victory ..10 ..4....3...3 ..15...9....15 4. Central Coast Mar...11...4 ...3...4...19..17...15 5. Newcastle ............12...5....0...7....14..19...15 6. Queensland Roar ....11...2....5...4....11..13...11 7. Perth Glory............11....3...1....7....13..16...10 8. New Zealand Kgts ..10....0...2....8....11..25....2 Away ..Team..............G.....W..D...L....F...A....P 1. Adelaide United ......12....8...1...3...18..13...25 2. Central Coast Mar ...14....6...6...2...19..13...24 3. Perth Glory ............10....5...4...1....21..13..19 4. Queensland Roar .....10....5...2...3....16...9...17 5. Sydney FC .............11....5...2...4....23..21...17 6. Newcastle ..............11....4...5...2....14..12...17 7. Melbourne Victory ....11....3...2...6....11..15...11 8. New Zealand Kgts ....11....1...1 ..9.....4...22....4

[miguel_hamburglar]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview That is good stuff Beejayville, thanks for posting, some more points to add before I head off to the opening game tonight. Last season playing at home was not a huge advantage for any team in the league and early on last season teams were performing far better away and winning more often. It is worth noting that the crowds are only around the 14000 mark per game and at a lot of the grounds the fans are quite a long way from the pitch. Four of the teams (Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Queensland) are fairly close to each other, three in the one state, so travel is not a factor in these games. The Melbourne V Sydney match is built up as the biggest match of the season in a state v state battle however it is the Central Coast V Newcastle match up that has the most passion and tends to draw the most home support (in terms of passion, feeling and noise). 42 out of 90 games went under the 2.5 goal line, only 6 games went 0-0 last season, so there were a lot of goals to be had all round. New Zealand are improved this season after finishing last in 2005-2006 however if they have improved enough to lift themselves is another thing, NZ have the lowest attendance in the league and can look very shaky at times. Perth are in big trouble financialy and on the pitch, they are struggling to get any good signings and field a strong team, I think they will really struggle for consistancy this season with off-field stuff to have a big effect. Central Coast is the best TEAM in the league, they have a good bond and work well together and always seem to rise to the challenge in the tougher matches, so don't be fooled by their line-up that may not stand out as much as the big teams Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melbourne have a good team on paper but struggle with structure and cohesion with in the team, early in the seaon they will be unpredictable and tipping will be based on the opposition more than melbournes form. After a few rounds Melbourne should strengthen up and challenge for the best part of the season. Adelaide are now the WC style counter attacking team in the league, they are very very very strong in defence and take their opportunities when in attack, Adelaide are the sort of team who will get one in front and then shutup shop for the rest of the match, not ever going to win by alot but will win a lot of matches. Adelaide should finish first this season and I think Central Coast will come second, Perth should take the spoon. Best of luck to all who have a punt here, be carefull with large stakes (as with the MLS good money to be had but not many bankers for the season), and be careful in the opening rounds until the league gets into a groove! PS: Round 2 sees Melbourne play Sydney at home but not at their home ground, the game is in Telstra Dome which is having large problems getting the grass to grow and is a very uneven surface that is used three to four times a week for AFL. Be wary of this one, the ground has lowered the skill level in past matches there and is a keepers nightmare.

[meatman]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview thread stickied :ok

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League 2006/2007 Season Preview This looks like a bit of A League fun and something new and different!!! http://www.a-league.com.au/v2/default.aspx