A-League 2019-20 season preview: What to expect from the upcoming season

Updated

The 15th A-League season is finally upon us after an indeterminably long offseason, with supporters eager to get back into the cut and thrust of regular-season action.

This season marks the first of a new era, with the clubs taking over the running of the competition for the first time and a notable lack of big-name, global stars.

A-League boss Greg O'Rourke said this season was pivotal if the league is to re-engage with the 1.7 million people who play the game at various levels across the country at Tuesday's launch, but the only way to engage supporters is for the action on the field to ignite the passion in those off it.

With a new, free-to-air home and a brand new team entering the competition, this could be the best chance the A-League has to make its mark on the Australian sporting landscape.

We've run our eyes over all 11 teams to give you your ultimate season guide ahead of Friday's opening game.

Adelaide United

Adelaide United have reached their customary FFA Cup final off the back of victories over — but have not been totally convincing during pre-season.

The Reds have now made four of the past six Cup finals, but were perhaps fortunate to get past the Mariners in the semi-finals thanks to a late Riley McGree winner. Both Adelaide's goals came when the Mariners were down to 10 men after Matt Simon had been sent off.

Prior to that, Adelaide scraped past 10-man Newcastle in the quarter-final thanks to an Al Hassan Toure goal, and were embroiled in a ding-dong battle with NPL Queensland side Olympic in the round of 16, progressing thanks to a dubious late penalty in a match that could have gone either way.

The late signing of 31-year-old James Troisi adds quality to the Reds midfield, but will need to ensure one of their young strikers steps up after the departure of last year's top scorer, Craig Goodwin.

Adelaide United Last Season 4th Coach Gertjan Verbeek Player to watch Al Hassan Toure. The 19-year-old from Guinea looked very handy up front during the Reds' cup run and, should he get decent game time, could be a very exciting talent. Surprise stat Craig Goodwin created an incredible 74 chances for Adelaide last year for 9 assists, the most in the league. That he now plays for Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League is a massive blow for Adelaide.

Brisbane Roar

After a season to forget in 2018-19, the Roar have plenty to be excited about in 2019-20.

New coach Robbie Fowler — former goal-scoring 'god' of Anfield and one-time North Queensland Fury import — has made wholesale changes to the makeup of the side, adding a distinctive British flavour to the Sunshine State.

Tom Aldred has been named captain having signed from the semi-tragic Bury (via Motherwell) in the off season and will bring the kind of hunger that can only be cultivated in England's lower leagues — and has already set out his stall with a glorious confrontation with the A-League's key antagonist Matt Simon during the FFA Cup in August.

Up front, the Roar have options aplenty. Irishman Roy O'Donovan, who has 39 A-League goals in 80 appearances for Central Coast and Newcastle, should provide the principle strike power, alongside Welshman Adam Amadi-Holloway.

Add to that the delightful exuberance of Dylan Wenzel-Halls and gloriously talented Aiden O'Neill and you have a potentially potent mix of muscle and finesse that should see the Roar rise once again.

Brisbane Roar Last Season 9th Coach Robbie Fowler Player to watch Aiden O'Neill. Speed? Tick. Skill? Double tick. The Burnley loanee is genuinely exciting and will have the Lang Park crowd on their feet this season. Surprise stat Last year Jamie Young, considered one of the better 'keepers in the league, ranked 10th among regular shot stoppers, with a shots-saved percentage of 58.8 per cent.

Central Coast Mariners

An abject 2018-19 season saw the Mariners win just three league matches all year with very few highlights to speak of — and that includes the near-signing of the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt.

The horrendous 8-2 home defeat to Wellington sticks in the mind as the nadir of pitifulness for the Gosford club.

This season though, things are already looking up.

Former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic's appointment was a bold one, but there were certainly signs of life during the club's FFA Cup run, and an instant imprint of Stajcic's signature style of playing out from the back — although on the evidence of the victory over Brisbane Roar, new goalkeeper Mark Birighitti will need a bit of time to adjust.

31-year-old K-League veteran Kim Eun-Sun joins from Suwon Bluewings to anchor the Mariners' midfield, which could free up Australian youth international Daniel Da Silva to display his undoubted quality ahead of him.

Central Coast Mariners Last Season 10th Coach Alen Stajcic Player to watch Giancarlo Gallifuoco: The Australian youth international returns to the A-League from a stint overseas, but needs to step up if he is to realise his potential. Surprise stat The Mariners have finished bottom of the ladder in three of the past five seasons, finishing 8th the other two years since finishing 3rd in 2013/14, the year after they won the championship under current Socceroos boss Graham Arnold.

Melbourne City

FFA Cup finalists Melbourne City, have looked really quite handy during their FFA Cup run.

Advancing to their second FFA Cup final with a 5-1 demolition job on NPL outfit Brisbane Strikers on October 1, veteran French coach Erick Mombaerts professed to being happy with a "dream" appearance in a final, although adding the caveat, "A final, it's good, but a final is good when you win."

Leading the City line will be Socceroos target man Jamie Maclaren, who was far from electric during his overseas stints with German second tier side Darmstadt 98 (7 goalless appearances) and Scottish Premiership side Hibernian (9 goals in 30 matches) but appears to have rediscovered his scoring boots on home soil.

Maclaren has hit form early this season, scoring 6 goals in 4 FFA Cup matches, and appears to have developed a profitable partnership with Englishman Craig Noone, a signing from Bolton that looks to be another very astute acquisition.

With a list of explosive players guided by a canny coach, this could be the season where the Melbourne City supporters start creeping out of the woodwork as the side mounts a credible title challenge.

Melbourne City Last Season 5th Coach Erick Mombaerts Player to watch Connor Metcalfe: The 19-year-old Academy product from Newcastle is a diamond of a player, scoring the equaliser in the FFA Cup victory over Strikers. Surprise stat Jamie Maclaren scored 37 goals in 53 appearances for the Roar across two seasons in the A-League.

Melbourne Victory

Is the Victory really the Melbourne Victory without Kevin Muscat?

For the first time since 2005, former player and coach Muscat will not be involved with the Victory in any capacity after he left the club last year.

It's not just Muscat who will not be around the club this season. Plenty of players have also moved on to pastures new, including Kosta Barbarouses to Sydney, Terry Antonis to the K-League and Keisuke Honda — who appears to be willing to go to whichever struggling European club will have him, judging by his Twitter account.

The Victory have extensively recruited from overseas this off season, although a number of the faces in the navy blue will be familiar to A-League fans, with Andrew Nabbout and 75-time Socceroo Robbie Kruse returning to the A-League.

The Victory are always there or thereabouts, and this season we should expect nothing else.

Melbourne Victory Last Season 3rd Coach Marco Kurz Player to watch Ola Toivonen: It's not exactly a left-field choice, but Toivonen was a revelation last season. This year he has the captain's armband — and should continue to excel. Surprise stat Victory completed more passes than anyone in the league last season according to Opta stats, hitting 14,977 with an accuracy of 80 per cent.

Newcastle Jets

Just missing out on the finals last year, the Jets will do well to get that close again.

Losing a player to another club is always a blow, as is the case with Roy O'Donovan (Roar) and Daniel Georgievski (Wanderers). Losing one to another form of entertainment could be considered careless.

Joey Champness has left the club to pursue a hip-hop career in the US under the stage name, JOWIC — which is apparently pronounced Joey-Cee.

So instead of dropping passes into the path of the last remaining, tested attacking option the Jets have in Dimi Petratos, he will be dropping rhymes.

That is a blow to a side that has seen its key marquee signing from West Brom, Wes Hoolahan, ruled out for at least the early part of the season.

Newcastle were the least accurate strikers in the competition last season (hitting just 41.4 per cent of their 309 shots on target), converting just 12.9 per cent of their shots into goals, something that needs to improve if the Jets are to up the ante and make the finals.

Newcastle Jets Last Season 7th Coach Ernie Merrick Player to watch Abdiel Arroyo: A 45-cap veteran of the Panama national team, the 25-year-old brings an element of the unknown to the Jets, who need someone to back up Petratos up front. Surprise stat Newcastle scored half of their 40 goals after the hour mark in A-League matches last season, highlighting the Jets as fast finishers.

Perth Glory

Last year's grand finalists and reigning Premiers should once again be a force to be reckoned with under Tony Popovic.

The Glory were by far the best team over the course of the campaign, and have added serious strike power in the form of jilted Melbourne City star Bruno Fornaroli.

The only question is whether the Glory can maintain those high standards into a second year.

In addition to that, Glory fans have a maiden campaign in the Asian Champions League to manage as well, something Asia-centric owner Tony Sage has already expressed a desire for his club to do well in.

Sure, the ACL has not quite garnered the same interest as its European counterpart, neither has it reached the incendiary heights of the Copa Libertadores in South America but, nevertheless, it carries a huge amount of importance to Popovic, who led the Western Sydney Wanderers to ACL success at the first attempt in 2014.

If there is any team that should be used to excessive travel though, it is the West Australians.

Perth Glory Last Season Premiers Coach Tony Popovic Player to watch Bruno Fornaroli: After almost a year in the wilderness after being frozen out at Melbourne City, Fornaroli will be keen to add to his 46 career A-League goals in Perth. Surprise stat Sydney FC were the first team in A-League history to win back-to-back premierships, but Perth did achieve the feat in the final two seasons of the National Soccer League.

Sydney FC

Sydney are another side that should impress again this season.

The champions have lost some key players during the off season, but have simultaneously strengthened and trolled their rivals by signing Alex Baumjohann from Wanderers and swiping Kosta Barbarouses from 'Big Blue' combatants Victory — those derby matches should be very tasty this season.

How Barbarouses in particular links with Adam Le Fondre could mean everything to how the league shapes up in 2019-20.

The strikers notched a combined 33 goals last term, assisting a further five as the Blues took out the championship.

Midfielders Brandon O'Neill and Milos Ninkovic created 81 chances for Sydney last season and their creativity will again be key for the Blues.

Sydney FC Last Season 2nd — Champions Coach Steve Corica Player to watch Adam Le Fondre: Second-season syndrome should not affect the Englishman from Stockport. The 32-year-old scored 18 goals last season, expect him to once again be up and around the top of the goalscoring charts this season. Surprise stat Sydney FC were the only team not to have had a player sent off in the 2018-19 season. Conspiracy theorists, arm your keyboards…

Wellington Phoenix

Wellington had an excellent season last year, but will struggle to make sure that it was not a one-off, with many tipping the New Zealanders to finish bottom in 2019-20.

Mark Rudan's departure during the off season — along with the bulk of their talented squad — could spell disaster for the club that many thought were clinging to their A-League spot by their fingernails, until Rudan sparked a resurgence of epic proportions.

A first-up FFA Cup defeat on penalties to NPL club Brisbane Strikers was not ideal preparation, and although not too much can be read into pre-season, the club has gone winless against A-League opposition in pre-season — although the Phoenix have racked up the wins against an assortment of New Zealand Premiership sides and new National NPL champions Wollongong Wolves.

Entertainment machine Sarpreet Singh has been sold to German giants Bayern Munich in one of the surprise moves from the A-League off season, Fijian Johnny Warren medallist Roy Krishna left to join ATK — Kolkota's Indian Super League team — alongside David Williams, while Filip Kurto and Max Burgess have both followed Rudan to Western United.

Replacements have been summoned from far and wide, but with a list that appears to lack the quality to break open defences, the Phoenix could struggle.

A first up clash against the new kids on the block Western United, complete with Mark Rudan in the box seat, could be tasty.

Wellington Phoenix Last Season 6th Coach Ufuk Talay Player to watch David Ball: The 29-year-old Englishman has big boots to fill, but the hunger he developed playing lower league football in England will be valuable in helping the Phoenix survive what is expected to be a battling season. Surprise stat Wellington faced more shots than anyone last year thanks to their open, gung-ho style. The Kiwis had 462 shots against them, 164 on target, but conceded just 46 goals.

Western Sydney Wanderers

What can we expect from the Wanderers this season?

Well, for a start, the Wanderers will be back playing in their own home this season — namely the new Parramatta Stadium — the gleaming jewel in the crown of Western Sydney that will include safe-standing areas.

That alone should provide a massive boost after three stagnant seasons at the underwhelming and unloved Sydney Showgrounds.

Coach Markus Babbel has also overhauled the squad that so disappointed last season, bringing in eight new players as he looks to improve a defence that conceded 51 goals and kept just four clean sheets last term.

Matt Jurman's signing is an interesting one, as is that of German veteran Alex Meier, but the big news was the season-ending injury to Polish import Radi Majewski, who damaged his knee in a training incident. His absence, combined with the departure of Baumjohann to Sydney, could be crippling from a creativity point of view.

Western Sydney Wanderers Last Season 8th Coach Markus Babbel Player to watch Matt Jurman: The 29-year-old Wollongong-born product returns to the A-League after three years in South Korea and Saudi Arabia, with the aim of strengthening the Wanderers leaky defence. That he last played for Sydney FC in the A-League should add a bit of sport during the derbies… Surprise stat The Wanderers scored 18 goals from set pieces last season, the most in the league, a conversion rate of 42.9 per cent.

Western United

With Mark Rudan at the helm, the maiden season for the newly formed side has the potential to be an awful lot of fun.

With Wellington last season, Rudan turned a side labelled as perennial strugglers a hugely entertaining side, ably led by a front-line packed with talent.

The headliner is the return of serial pest and pantomime villain Besart Berisha, plus former Socceroo and Celtic striker Scott McDonald.

Rudan has assembled a squad that has the potential to be just as exciting as Wellington and could shake up the competition — as well as the Melbourne footballing landscape.

Whether their nomadic existence between Geelong and Ballarat will help or hinder the club in developing a strong, local supporter base in the western suburbs of Melbourne — where the clubs new stadium will eventually be built — only time will tell.

Western United Last Season New team Coach Mark Rudan Player to watch Apostolos Stamatelopoulos: The 20-year-old former Adelaide striker has oodles of talent and could learn a lot from Rudan and McDonald. Surprise stat Kosovan striker Berisha has scored 106 A-League goals in 186 appearances for Brisbane and Melbourne Victory, but did not score in the J-League for Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Any other business?

Off the field, there are a few issues the newly independent A-League needs to address if they are to have the fans streaming back through the gates of stadiums across the country.

The alleged oppressive stewarding of supporters reached a head last season when a Sydney FC supporter was removed from the Kogarah Oval alongside his daughter, flanked by enough security guards to crush the Rebel Alliance.

Additionally, the inclusion of a single team to form an 11-strong league means each club will have a couple of byes this season — something that has not been universally welcomed by fans.

Scheduling in general has come in for criticism.

The Brisbane Roar, for example, has just four games before Christmas — which makes it difficult for supporters to form any real attachment to a particular time slot.

The season kicks off on Friday with Adelaide United hosting last year's champions Sydney FC at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The ABC will show Saturday afternoon's clash between the Wanderers and Mariners at Parramatta Stadium at 5:00pm AEST.

Week 1 A-League fixtures Friday, 7:30pm, October 11, Adelaide United vs Sydney FC

Saturday, 5:00pm, October 12, Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners - LIVE ON ABC HD

Saturday, 7:30pm, October 12, Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City

Sunday, 4:00pm, October 13, Wellington Phoenix vs Western United

Sunday, 6:00pm, October 13, Perth Glory vs Brisbane Roar

Topics: sport, soccer, a-league, australia, nsw, sydney-2000, parramatta-2150, sa, adelaide-5000, newcastle-2300, gosford-2250, qld, brisbane-4000, vic, melbourne-3000, west-melbourne-3003, wa, perth-6000, new-zealand

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