With the other major football codes put to bed last weekend, the A-League has come out to play for its 11th season, kicking off on Thursday in Sydney when the Wanderers hosted the Roar. Neos Kosmos runs the rule over the 10 A-League squads to see how they shape up for the coming season.
Last season the Western Sydney Wanderers captured the Holy Grail of Asian club football, winning the Asian Champions League (ACL) under coach Tony Popovic, but struggled in the league, finishing ninth with just four wins.
Along with Perth Glory, the Wanderers have undergone the highest turnover of playing staff since last season. They’ve picked up 11 new players including the Spanish trio of midfielder Dimas Delgado, Alberto Alguila and Andreu Guerao. Of last season’s ACL winning squad, only skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Mark Bridge and Brendan Santalab remain. The team struggled to find the net last season and have recruited Italian striker Federico Piovaccari as their marquee signing along with attacking mid Dario Vidosic to help boost their attack.
Expect a no-nonsense approach from Popovic’s team, built on a strong defence with some quality and experience in attack.
Western Sydney’s fanatical supporters will be expecting a huge improvement in their league performances now that they don’t have the ACL to worry about.
Their cross town rival Sydney FC will be hoping to go one better after just falling short last season going down to champions Melbourne Victory in the grand final. Graham Arnold’s team made significant gains last season but will be without Golden Boot winner Marc Janko and creative mid Terry Antonis, who left to join PAOK. In comes marquee signing striker Filip Holosko and Serbian International midfielder Milos Ninkovic. Some critics are pointing to a lack of pace in the front third, but expect to see a tactically adaptable outfit.
The team looks like a contender but it will have to negotiate the fixture congestion which comes with ACL cup duties during the season.
South of the border, things are looking bright, with both Melbourne teams having cause for optimism for a serious title challenge. Both teams have had good pre-seasons and will feature in the upcoming FFA Cup semi-finals.

Champion Melbourne Victory is the pre-season favourite to make it back-to-back league titles. Muscat’s squad is virtually unchanged apart from keeper Danny Vukovic who joins from Perth Glory and Socceroo midfielder Oliver Bozanic who returns to the A-League after two seasons at Swiss club Luzern, to replace Mark Milligan. Opposition defences will have to find a way of stopping the killer Bs up front; Barbarouses, Berisha and Ben Khalfallah. Victory’s campaign began yesterday away to Adelaide United.
Cashed-up neighbour Melbourne City has recruited well in the off season with the result that John van ‘t Schip’s squad has greater depth and quality than last season when they finished fifth but lacked consistency. The coach has stated the intention aiming for trophies this season and the importance of a good start. Expect a much more solid defence starting with Danish international and EPL keeper Tomas Sorensen, and featuring Socceroo Ivan Franjic and Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes.
Socceroos Aaron Mooy and Robbie Koren are expected to create the chances from midfield for the forward line led by Uruguayan Bruno Fornaroli. City kicks off its campaign away to Sydney FC today.
Adelaide United won silverware last season with the FFA Cup and enjoyed a strong league campaign, finishing third and winning admirers for its attractive style of football under Spanish coach Josep Gombau. The likable Gombau has moved on and fellow Spaniard and former Barcelona player Guillermo Amor takes over for his first serious managerial role. United have no shortage of skill, particularly in the middle with Marcello Carrusca, Isaias and Cirio. Up front, Eli Babalj joins the team this year from Dutch club Az Alkmaar, whilst defensive mid, Iacopo La Roca comes across from Western Sydney partly to make up for the loss of important ball-playing defender Nigel Boogaard, who has moved to Newcastle Jets. Pre-season saw the team eliminated by Victory in the FFA Cup quarterfinals. With an inexperienced manager at the helm, the jury is out on whether the Reds can emulate the league performances of last season.
Way out west, Perth Glory’s salary cap breaches last league season forced it out of the finals and the exit of several players. Coach Kenny Lowe has been forced to rebuild his squad. The Glory looks strong at the back where they’ve recruited Wanderers’ veteran keeper Ante Covic but they may lack firepower after the departure of prolific marksmen Andy Keogh and Rostyn Griffiths. They’ll be looking to attacking mid Nebojsa Marinkovic, Spanish La Liga import Diego Castro, and Guyon Fernandez to step into the breach. Pre-season form has been good with the Glory to host Melbourne City in the FFA Cup semi-final.
Last season Ernie Merrick’s Wellington Phoenix achieved a top four finish, but may be pressed to repeat that feat having shown inconsistent pre-season form. The big loss from its ranks has been the departure of A-League player of the year, and Socceroo striker, Nathan Burns. Merrick has signed Dutch Ghanaian midfielder Jeffrey Sarpong as the club’s marquee. Roy Krishna is also expected to step up to provide options in attack.
The three teams most pundits expect will struggle this season are Central Coast Mariners, Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets.
Both the Roar and the Jets have been under financial clouds and both have new coaches. Brisbane Roar’s John Aloisi has had to deal with limited recruitment for what many see as an ageing squad. The big loss for Roar is the departure of midfielder Luke Brattan. Aloisi has recruited Spanish midfielder Corona as well as pacey young forward Jamie McLaren.
Newcastle Jets coach Scot Miller is also new to the post and he’ll have the task of ensuring last season’s wooden spooners climb up the ladder. He has added Nigel Boogaard from Adelaide to his squad as well as some late additions to bolster the attack, Leonardo Santiago and Milos Trifunovic. The Jets have the youngest squad in the competition.
Central Coast Mariners coach Tony Walmsley will be hoping his team can improve on its eighth placed finish of last season. But there are question marks over the quality and depth of the squad, particularly in midfield, where it relies heavily on veteran Nick Montgomery. Pre-season form has seen the team concede a lot of goals. Heidelberg United fans will keep an eye on striker Dan Heffernan who joined the Mariners recently.

Round 1 fixtures :
Thursday 8/10/15
Western Sydney Wanderers v Brisbane Roar (Pirtek Stadium)
Friday 9/10/15
Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory (Adelaide Oval 7.40 pm)
Saturday 10/10/15
Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory (Central Coast Stadium 5.15 pm)
Sydney FC v Melbourne City (Allianz Stadium 7.30 pm)
Sunday 11/10/15
Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets ( Westpac Stadium 5.00 pm)