Football Season Guide

Massively over-achieved last season by managing to finish second in the A-League table despite barely spending any money pre-season. Once again their academy graduates did them proud, although the team ran out of steam in the end-of-season play-offs. In one sense, this team should be sharper than most others in Australia at the start of the A-League campaign. This is because they're already playing in the Asian Champions League II, having been knocked out of the Asian Champions League Elite in a qualifier. However, it's also difficult to see this season going well for them unless they find yet more amazing talent in their consistently impressive academy. It's a gamble, though. Young striker Burkitt is certainly one to keep an eye on, although his development could be harmed as he's likely to be the main striker with Jovanovic gone, and Riak constantly battling injuries. As always, they lost some big names pre-season. Jovanovic was their best striker, Dukuly was one of their most dynamic creative threats, and even Stefan Mauk, although on loan elsewhere last season, has to be considered a big loss because of the quality and experience he has. They'll have a great sense of togetherness and team spirit this season though; that cannot be in question. Almost all of their players are incredibly familiar with one another by now, and a lot have played together for years. Because of their reliance on youth, their form guide will constantly fluctuate. When they're on a high, they can beat anyone, and when they're demoralised, they can lose against anyone. That hasn't changed in years, and won't change now. RB is their biggest problem pre-season with Madanha gone and Pierias a long-term absentee. Midfielder Barnett does what he can in this position but he's not a natural. Goal-scoring is another concern - as talented as Burkitt is, there's no guarantee that this will be his breakout season. They tend to keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to their prize academy assets. Therefore, anticipating how they'll do over the course of a season is tough. However, generally speaking, they're lacking what it takes to challenge for silverware, and they're not likely to be consistent enough either. Their success this season is likely to hinge on how badly other teams perform, to be brutally honest.