Perth Glory & Sydney FC A-League Preview

Perth Glory

Last Season: The men in purple suffered a yo-yo season, consistency was hard to find with the team unable to string together 2 wins in a row until they defeated Newcastle & Brisbane in Rounds 11 & 12. It wasn't long after these two results that their season turned upside down. A December draw at home against Western Sydney was the start of a horror 8 game run without a victory. A 2-0 loss to Melbourne Heart in Round 20 left the Glory at the bottom of the table and it cost Ian Ferguson his job. Owner Tony Sage turned to Alistair Edwards to right the ship. Edwards made an instant impact as he beat league leaders Central Coast 2-1. They went on to lose just 2 of their last 6 matches, scraping into the finals in 6th position. A controversial loss to the Melbourne Victory saw them dumped out of the finals series in the first round.

In: Perth had a low key transfer window. They supplemented their squad by promoting Matthew Davies, Daniel De Silva & Riley Woodcock from the youth squad. Isaka Cernak is the biggest name to join the club, coming from Wellington. Jack Duncan, Cameron Edwards, Jamie McClaren and Brazilian forward Sidnei Sciola also signed on. Two loan signings were secured, with Ryo Nagai being loaned out to the Glory for a second year, and Ryan Edwards coming from Reading in England. Ljubo Millicevic joined the club, only to leave weeks later after a falling out with the management.

Out: Matias Cordoba went over to Bolivia to continue his career and free up a visa sport. Dean Heffernan was released and he subsequently popped up at Western Sydney. Evan Berger, Nick Ward, Lewis Italiano, Liam Miller & Storm Roux were released or allowed to join another club. Neil Young retired from playing as a result of his facial injury and the subsequent life threatening infection, but has continued on at the club in a coaching role.

Pre-Season: Their long-preseason kicked off with a 3-0 win over Kwinana United and a 9-1 thumping of Gosnells City. A tour of South Africa followed, with the Glory going down in all three matches, against Mpuumalanga, Pretoria University and SuperSport United. After a 2 week break they visited Darul Takzim of Malaysia and won 2-0. Strong victories against a WA State Selection, Cockburn City & Stirling Lions set the scene for their first matches against A-League opposition. They played two games against Melbourne Heart in the space of 3 days, winning the first 1-0 and drawing 1-1 in the second. They faced and defeated a North Western Australia All Stars side and a WA State Amateur team. Their final pre-season match was against Sydney FC in Sydney, and was a victorious 3-0 hammering of the home side.

Key Players: Shane Smeltz is the current A-League all-time goal scorer. Despite suffering an injury that will keep him out of several early rounds his performance will be key to the Glory premiership challenge. Michael Thwaite is the Perth vice-captain, and will want a perfect season to push his World Cup selection claims.

Best Case Scenario: Smeltz tears up the league, ably assisted by speed demons Isaka Cernak & Travis Dodd. Ryo Nagai adds more end product and Jacob Burns manages not to spend most of the season suspended. Tony Sage finally earns some relief after years of heartbreak, allowing the Glory to add an A-League trophy to their NSL championships and premierships.

Worst Case Scenario: Smeltz suffers injury after injury and never gets onto the pitch for more than a few weeks at a time and when he does his confidence has been shattered by his penalty miss that cost the Glory a chance at a semi-final. Dodd, Harold, Sidnei & Nagai suffer in his absence, lacking a fox in the box to aim their crosses at. The loss of Ljubo creates a hole that Thwaite alone can't fill, and they tumble out of the top 6. Tony Sage finally gives up on owning an A-League squad, handing back his license to the FFA.

Prediction: 5th. A solid squad, a young manager on the rise, it's easy to see that the Glory doing well this season. Their 5th place prediction is as much about the 4 teams ahead rather than a reflection of their own talent. Should do well against the lower half of the table and push the top half.

Sydney FC

Last Season: Despite the addition of World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero, having an inexperienced manager in Ian Crook and a leaky defence consigned Sydney FC into a scrap for the 6th and final play-off position. A poor pre-season lead into a poor start, losing the opening two rounds against Wellington & Newcastle. Two stabilising wins were followed by a 7-2 spanking by the Central Coast, followed by collapsing against Melbourne Victory to lose their round 6 match 2 goals to 3, despite being 2-0 up with 10 minutes to play. Ian Crook resigned in the wake of the defeat, and was replaced by Frank Farina after a short caretaker period of Steve Corica. The switch did little to help Sydney FC's fortunes, they remained inconsistent, and finished 7th on goal difference when they failed to win any of their last three matches.

In: Another season of wholesale changes for Sydney. Nick Carle returns after his lucrative loan spell in the UAE. Marc Warren comes from the Mariners. Yairo Yau had his loan extended. Tiago was re-signed after his initial period at the end of last season on a short term deal. Pedj Bojic request a release from the Mariners to join Sydney FC in an apparent desire to be closer to his Sydney business interests. Corey Gameiro ended his years in the loan wilderness, last season he played for Wellington on loan, this season he quit Fulham for good. Richard Garcia left Melbourne Heart. Serbian defender Nikola Petkovic most recently played for Red Star Belgrade. Matt Thompson has been on trial with Sydney FC and he may take a place in the squad.

Out: Nathan Sherlock, Adam Griffiths, Paul Reid, Jarrod Kyle, Trent McClenahan, Kruno Lovrek, Fabio, Joel Griffiths and Lucas Neill were either released or allowed to leave the club.

Pre-Season: If Sydney FC were hoping not for a repeat of last seasons dire preparations, they would have been encouraged up until the point they returned from their tour of Italy. The opening hit-outs were big wins against Belmore & Sydney Uni. Travelling to Japan to play a glamour friendly, they lost 2-1 against Sagan Tosu. A 1-1 draw with Macarthur Rams followed at Campbelltown. A long tour of Italy involved matches against Padova (3-2 loss), Udinese (5-3 win), Vicenza (3-1 win), AS Cittadella (1-0 win), Venezia (1-0 loss) & Reggina (2-2 draw). The return to Sydney heralded immense failure. Unfancied Wellington turned them over 3-0, they played St George and lost 2-1, Newcastle defeated them 1-0 in Wollongong, and ended their pre-season with a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane and finally a 3-0 loss against Perth.

Key Player: It would be simple to say Del Piero, but he scored 14 goals. It's a given that if Sydney FC are to challenge for even a finals spot, they need what Del Piero provided last season and even more. Nick Carle tore apart the A-League in the past, and will want to do so again. There is also the question of their defence. Realistically every single player who lines up in the back 4 for Sydney is a key player, another season of bad defence will leave them struggling.

Best Case Scenario: Carle adds 15 assists, Yau doubles his last season tally of 6, Petkovic provides sorely needed defensive steel at the back. Sydney FC manage not to sack a CEO or manager for the first time in years and actually take a crack at winning a title for Del Piero before his likely retirement.

Worst Case Scenario: Del Piero does his ACL. Brett Emerton doesn't get injured, and stays on the pitch the entire season. Matt Jurman remains Matt Jurman, and so does Tiago. Their poor pre-season compounds into a bad early season in the A-League, they play Newcastle, Brisbane, Western Sydney, Perth & Victory, and every single one of those matches is eminently losable for Farina. The last straw is a 5-0 loss to Melbourne at the Sydney Football Stadium, and Sydney FC sack yet another manager.

Prediction: 10th. This is the year Sydney FC completely implode. Their pre-season was garbage, they are going through an injury crisis before the season even begins properly, and Del Piero is another year older. Farina will be lucky to last 10 rounds.

Overall Prediction:

1. 
   
2. Roar
   
3. Victory
   
4. Mariners
   
5. Perth Glory
   
6. Adelaide
   
7. Newcastle
   
8. Heart
   
9. 
   
10. Sydney FC