Football Season Guide

Brisbane Roar

In


Carlo Armiento (att), transfer from Perth Glory, Joe Knowles (att), transfer from Oakleigh Cannons, Charlie Austin (att), transfer from Queens Park Rangers, Anton Milnaric (def), loan made permanent, Jordan Courtney-Perkins (def), transfer from Rakow, Riku Danzaki (mid), transfer from HC Sapporo.

Out


Alex Parsons (mid) (sp), transfer to Sydney FC, Luke Ivanovic (att) (r), transfer to Perth Glory, Eli Adams (mid) (sp), transfer to Melbourne Victory, Juan Lescano (att) (sp), released, Nichola Olsen (def/mid) (r), released, Ryo Wada (att) (sp), loan ended.

As always, most of their pre-season transfer activity has centred around trying to find a way to score goals without spending much. They have done some good business; time will tell if it's enough or not. Boss Warren Moon was under increased pressure last season after he started to fall out with certain players. The club stuck with him, but another season like the last may prove to be his final one. In a sense, they shouldn't miss any of the players they've lost. Lescano and Olsen were inconsistent. Wada was omitted toward the end of the season; never settled. Ivanovic was really good for them but always injured so they're used to being without him. Adams and Parsons were good impact players from the bench but struggled as starters. No big losses. Arrivals - good. Austin will be an excellent target man and, with O'Shea's crosses, should score goals. Armiento brings them more width and speed. Milnaric's loan move made permanent plus the return of Courtney-Perkins means that key CB Aldred's injury-prone nature is not quite so problematic. Danzaki's return is a huge boost; he was marvellous for them on loan a couple of seasons back. Intelligent, fast, great presser, good movement. Starting eleven should be pretty strong. Depth is a potential problem, especially in full-back areas. Will lack a goal-scorer if Austin is out. Intriguing to see what happens with Danzaki back as Akbari made the role his own after Danzaki left last time. The team will naturally be better at defending and countering than breaking teams down, although Austin's arrival should help with the latter. Will be very competitive in general; you don't get into a Moon squad without that edge. Should start the campaign strongly enough; settled group/style. Likely key players - Austin, Danzaki, Aldred.

Target


Will want 3-5, but more likely to get 5-7