Sydney FC’s star players continue to shine - but their consistent success has its roots off the pitch

Fifteen seasons of the A-League has produced a handful of great teams. Ange Postecoglou’s Roarcelona of 2010-2011, Ernie Merrick’s 06-07 Victory side with that memorable grand final, and Graham Arnold’s 16-17 record points-getters.

But few have boasted the creative guile of Thomas Broich’s Roarcelona as well as the fear factor of Fred, Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson in full flight quite like 2019-20’s iteration of Sydney FC.

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In a spectacular warning shot to the rest of the competition, on Sunday the pretenders to the crown, Melbourne City, came for the king – and pulled up dramatically short. With a nine-point ladder buffer now established, only a spectacular injury crisis or dismal Asian Champions League campaign will prevent Sydney FC from claiming its third premiership in four seasons.

The focus all season has been on the “Fab Four” – the lethal finishing of Adam Le Fondre, the pace and nuisance of Kosta Barbarouses, the sublime vision and skills of Milos Ninkovic and Alexander Baumjohann.

But to focus on just these players ignores at least seven other key performers and more importantly disregards the work that has taken place off the pitch – not just this season, but over the last four-five seasons.

For three and a half seasons Sydney FC have dominated the competition – boasting 65 wins in 92 matches, averaging 2.3 points per game, with a win rate of over 70%. This isn’t flash in the pan stuff – this is the A-League’s first serial win machine. A team that’s the product of legacy planning, sustained investment and more than anything – continuity and stability – within the board and ownership group, the coaching staff, and the playing personnel.

While many clubs have undergone wholescale dressing room change, over the off-season Sydney FC brought in just four new faces – all experienced campaigners and known commodities, all with a proven track record of success. The spine of the team remained, the winning mentality and DNA re-spawned seamlessly.

When Graham Arnold departed few outsiders tipped assistant Steve Corica to fill his illustrious boots. After all, the inherited wisdom of the A-League era is that number twos rarely progress to number ones – especially at so-called big clubs with bigger expectations, despite Kevin Muscat’s notable exception.

Some wobbles emerged throughout 2018/19 – after all, the Sky Blues picked up seven losses en route to their second place finish. But as 2019 draws to a close Corica’s second-season chargers are threatening to stomp the league like few others.

After 11 games Roarcelona weren’t even top – and only three teams have earned 28+ points by this stage of a campaign. Ernie Merrick’s 06/07 Victory, and Sydney FC in 17/18 and 19/20.

Former Sydney FC assistant Ufuk Talay’s departure to Wellington Phoenix has already brought the New Zealand club success, as well as being the only team to have denied Sydney FC a run of eight consecutive wins.

In an appointment that speaks to the intelligent succession planning and continuity inside the club, like Talay before him, Corica’s present assistant, Robbie Stanton, has also been promoted from within. A NSW Premier League championship-winning coach with Sutherlands Sharks, Stanton’s graduation from academy and reserves coach mirrors Corica’s own progression.

And while former coach Arnold famously eschewed young players, it’s the established relationship of coaches like Corica and Stanton that enables Sydney FC to seamlessly incorporate young players like Joel King into their otherwise heavily fixed starting XI.

Youngster Cameron Devlin may have followed Talay to Phoenix to greener pastures, but as the travel and fatigue from the ACL campaign begins to bite, expect players like Luke Ivanovic and Ryan Teague to integrate without detriment to the Sydney FC first team.

Banana-skin fixtures still abound – Sydney FC face two more derbies, two more Big Blues, a visit from Perth and even nearby Central Coast and Newcastle have a nasty habit of rising to the occasion against their more-vaunted neighbours.

On current form though, only two sides look able to stop the Sky Blues. Reigning premiers Perth have overcome their stuttering start and have the collective competitive instinct to force results, while with a seven-game unbeaten streak and Gary Hooper still to return to full fitness, the Phoenix are eyeing a January fixture list that boasts four of the league’s bottom five sides.

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Gertjan Verbeek’s Adelaide have shown promise but are still gelling. The fortunes of Mark Rudan’s Western United seem dependent on the increasingly fractious relations of his aging squads’ big characters. While outside of Jamie Maclaren, the promise of Melbourne City’s talent-laden squad appears as fickle or fleeting as in seasons past.

Having conceded a 16-competition-point lead already, traditional rivals Melbourne Victory will need a January window midfield overhaul to challenge. A championship could still figure – but the premiership is long gone.

It’s a cavalcade of unique problems facing the A-Leagues various would-be clubs. But only one club will enter 2020 a picture of near-fluency. The A-League has seen great one-campaign wonders. But it’s never seen a team as ruthlessly consistent as this.