Football Season Guide

Yet another highly inconsistent campaign resulted in a worryingly consistent outcome: Western Sydney Wanderers embarrassing themselves. They've never short of good signings or lofty ambitions, but the actual execution of such has been poor for a while now. To much to their fans' chagrin, Robinson remains in charge, which is the right call - the team failed last season, not him. He's pushed a lot of players out of the door, most of which won't be missed because of their inconsistency. Mutch and McGowan are the exceptions, although the latter made too many mistakes last season. Kamau is another, very underrated right-sider. As always, their signings look impressive. Hemed is a proven goal-getter at this level. Koutroumbis is a solid enough defender. Traore is a very consistent, powerful left-back. Williams is a monstrous centre-back. Antonis is a brilliant all-round midfielder. Ogawa brings a lot of promise as a creator. Petratos can be fantastic on his day. Weaknesses - too many of these players are individuals. Petratos, Ibini-Isei, Troisi all play as individuals rather than a collective, and that was a huge problem for the team last season, albeit with mostly different players. Real lack of speed in central defence will make playing far up the pitch risky. Strengths - lots of match-winners. Good midfield controllers in Ugarkovic and Baccus. Really solid centre-backs when it comes to marking, positioning, and aerial duels. Russell's marauding runs forward from full-back/wing-back. Irreplaceable players - Hemed, Gordon, Russell.