A-League halfway mark assessment

[David Votoupal]

Taking stock at the midway point of the season:

Sydney FC:
"The best is yet to come" applies here, despite topping the table and some fine performances. Lavicka has managed to achieve a stable team lineup and pattern that Sydney hasn't had for a long time. The defence has been excellent and the front pairing of Brosque and Bridge has worked well.

Melbourne Victory:
Second, look well placed to defend their title, but serious question marks. Not least the poor home form- only two home wins, one of them against Adelaide United- and a defence that is showing its age. Hernandez has stepped up further, but the attack has a different dynamic to it now that Allsopp is gone.

Gold Coast United:
Recent traumas aside, it's still an impressive squad. Bleiberg has managed to get good value out of the squaddies and star men in equal measure, a mix that's needed for any serious title contender.

Central Coast Mariners:
A much-needed overhaul is paying off with an impressive defence and improved midfield- only needing a strike partner for Matt Simon. Never to be discounted.

Perth Glory:
Surely just qualifying for the finals will count as improvement? It's a very good squad, undermined perhaps by coaching, but there's plenty of room to climb up from here.

Wellington Phoenix:
A good attacking force and a fairly miserly defence has meant they've done surprisingly well since losing Smeltz. Have been very hard to beat and this will keep them in the mix.

Brisbane Roar:
A season that's gone haywire. Ange Postecoglou may need time, and rumour has it he's looking to make big changes once the season's out. Still have the attacking talent to cause damage, but will have to ride out current traumas.

Adelaide United:
Uninspiring, dull, whatever you want to call it. It's hard to think of a side in the league at this moment more devoid of any spark or imagination, dreadfully coached and otherwise.

Newcastle Jets:
Which Jets? One that can put on a good showing, or one that will stink to the high heavens. There's talent in this side, but when Branko Culina is your coach don't expect too much.

North Queensland Fury:
More competitive than one imagined since losing the first three games. And two words: Robbie Fowler, who still can finish them off.

 

[tuftman]

From here I wouldn't be surprised if teams like the Fury and Pissant town impact on who makes the finals, as they're the kinda teams you don't want to face should you be trying to scrape into the 6, and should they have a good 90 minutes

 

[Not Aloi$i FC]

Sydney have been the most impressive but often only in half-hour spells (Melbourne, Wellington games in particular, maybe even the first-half in the recent game against the Mariners). Sydney need to find ways back into the game because when they usually concede first, that's when they lose.

Gold Coast have to be Sydney's closest competitors. Melbourne's defence is too poor to maintain their Premiership challenge over the course of the season. Nobody else is really good enough to get close to the top 3.

The Fury and maybe the Roar are the ones most likely to knock Perth and Wellington out of the top 6. I think you guys will get into the finals in fourth due to your good defence and occasionally spectacular attack. You may even get third if the Tards collapse but anything more than that is probably a step too far.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I didnt expect to hate GC as much as I do - almost Scumesque

 

[LFCMariners]

Just you wait until the Scum are doing well again (although I hope that isn't for a long, long time!)

 

[MagpieMariner]

From what I've seen of GC so far, they have a major flaw: cut off the supply to Smeltz & they struggle. He doesn't seem to want to go looking for it if it isn't put on a plate for him and no-one else seems to be able to take his place. Porter is dangerous but hasn't filled the hole so far when they've needed him to.
Nux are the smokies in my book, if they can only learn how to score more than the opposition - they are certainly hard to beat, they have fewer losses than any other team (3) so far. Had they been able to convert a couple of their 7 draws into wins they'd be looking extra good right now.

 

[MagpieMariner]

[snip]
I think you guys will get into the finals in fourth due to your good defence and occasionally spectacular attack. You may even get third if the Tards collapse but anything more than that is probably a step too far.

That's not necessarily correct. if our "spectacular attack" can be a bit more consistant we can go higher. Let's face it, our defeats have only been by one each time, the loss to Sydney would have been at least a draw if Disco had scored the wide-open goal, the Scum only beat us for 15 minutes but we couldn't convert the chances we had. Only the first games against Adelaide & Brisbane were we lucky only to concede one goal.
On top of that our "spectacularness" is becoming more frequent and we have a string of home games coming up. If we can only learn how to score against the Nux we could be looking very good by the end of the year.

 

[midfielder]

The Gold Coast, MV & Flying Circus appear to be the teams to beat ... but the salary cap is a great leveller any team on their given day can win ...

I think the Mariners are the side with the most uptake still to come........Reason the side is I think still coming to grips with how good they are...

We have lost .. Jedi, Tommy P, Grumps... who else of any real class has gone ... TBH Tommy P was out more than he was in and Grumpy kept running out of steam...

We have added to the squad ... Elrich, Huke, Doig, Travis, weeMac & Corwell.... each of these players is comfortable on the ball especially Travis, weeMac, Huke, Doin & Elrich add Matthew Lewis and add to Matty S touch is improving & his turn while keeping the ball  is also improving Add Danny return to top form squad is getting impressive. Essentially we now have a lot of smaller ball players and less big surfies types
Our current squad is better on the ball than it ever has been and the inter play will just improve.

I guess this means that recruiting polices that each club has will have a impact on the season. Sydney has recruited well and its new squad is better balanced.. The Scum well they change ever season .. Perth are far stronger and are also on a steady improve.. so to Nix I think AU, Roar & MV have recruited poorly IMO and are paying the price for it..

I am not sure if SU helped with getting / scouting our replacements but IMO we have recruited better than any other club with Perth then Sydney as I see it.

 

[bulldogmariner]

Midfielder how have Melbourne recruited poorly?

They paid $700,000 to get King Carlos locked up, Sukrat has been great, Moss is steady, Princess Leijer is back to his best and Suttee has looked ok except against us. Only real losses were Allsopp and Theo. They are a better squad than last season but we havent seen them play their strongest team with Ward and Tommy P being out for a long time.

 

[FFC Mariner]

They are in a transition at the back. Musc**t has gone a year too long and Vargas looks poor.

 

[Arabmariner]

Musc**t has gone a year too long

+1

If he was a kid he'd have been dropped yonks ago.

He obviously bullies Ernie.

 

[boony26]

The daily telegraph did one as well. Here it is:

SYDNEY FC
The Sky Blues have their noses in front at the halfway mark. Players responding to coach Vitezslav Lavicka's style and discipline. Creative and slick at times, a lot more resilient in defence but will need to show more consistency to get over the line.

Crowds: Disappointing considering where team is placed. Average almost on par with last season.  Now 12,385. Was 12,375.

Position: 1



MELBOURNE VICTORY
Still play some of the most entertaining football as attacking record illustrates but, surprisingly, have worst defensive record and goalie Glen Moss has definitely lost confidence. Even Kevin Muscat hasn't been his normal dominant self.

Crowds: Still the biggest in the league but down on last season from 24,516 to 20,030. Poor scheduling definitely had an affect earlier on.

Position: 2


GOLD COAST
The newcomers started out with a big bang and had everyone talking with the open brand of football they were playing. If they can put the off-field dramas behind them and Jason Culina and Shane Smeltz hit top form again then anything is possible. Defence needs tightening up to be a real championship threat.

Crowds: Definitely a huge concern. Worst attendance figures in league. Were expecting around 10,000 for home games but are averaging 5145.

Position: 3



CENTRAL COAST
Never write this team off. They always make critics eat their words. More than workmanlike these days. Michael McGlinchey and Nicky Travis have provided a real touch of flair. And can boast the best defensive record. Five of their next seven games are at home which could be a telling factor in their championship bid.

Crowds: Down to 7703. Were 10,465. Big mistake taking two games to Canberra.

Position: 4



PERTH GLORY
The real Jekyll and Hyde outfit of the league - just never know what to expect. They certainly have enough experienced players. Coach David Mitchell will be terribly disappointed if the Glory can't go on with it and make playoffs for first time.

Crowds: Good sign. Fans are coming back. Average 9867 compared to 7942.

Position: 5



WELLINGTON
Looks to be their best chance of making the playoffs. Have had the least number of losses (three) but how coach Ricki Herbert must wish that some of those eight draws could have been wins. Not as boring to watch these days and Paul Ifill is a crowd pleaser.

Crowds: Slightly up - 7450 from 7193 and expected to improve if New Zealand qualify for the World Cup.

Position: 6



BRISBANE ROAR
The Roar have always been entertainers and should have won a title by now. New coach Ange Postecoglou says he's going to change their style a little but it's all about their players keeping a cooler head in front of goal. Lucky to be still in the fight but have the talent to at least make the top six.

Crowds: Taken a huge tumble and the finger has been pointed at ticket prices. Now 9036 compared to 12,995.

Position: 7



ADELAIDE UNITED
Need a real pick-me-up, especially as the Reds will be facing another challenge in the Asian Champions League. Won't be good for their ACL preparation or confidence if they don't make A-League playoffs. Just can't score goals.

Crowds: Healthy gates considering poor results. Up on last season. Now 12,031 compared to 11,712.

Position: 8



NEWCASTLE JETS
Position is very misleading. They have been one of the better teams to watch but have lacked real punch in front of goal. It's still a number of weeks away before Joel Griffiths plays for the Jets again and it will be up to Michael Bridges and Labinot Haliti to be more deadly.

Crowds: Another club hurting badly at turnstiles. Well down. Averaging 6022 compared to 9729.

Position: 9



NORTH QUEENSLAND
Fury were tipped to be the whipping boys but have been very competitive and extremely unlucky not to have won more than three games. Take Robbie Fowler out of the equation and it might have been different. The Liverpool legend's contribution has been fantastic and he's come up with some memorable goals.

Crowds: At least doing better than Gold Coast - averaging 6975.

Position: 10

 

[Jerem]

all in all i think its going well, politics tickets and infighting seems to be the key crowd killers,
theres almost no advertising even in off season NRL etc can pull more adverts than FFA.
has been the most consistent version so far and interesting, can ardly predict winners and losers.
"and thats the way i like them Mark!!"

 

[goingtoadisco]

All this talk of bad crowds is good imo. Might make some Euro Snobs and other part timers feel the need to get involved again so the league does not flop.

 

[bjw]

All this talk of bad crowds is good imo. Might make some Euro Snobs and other part timers feel the need to get involved again so the league does not flop.

???

 

[tuftman]

All this talk of bad crowds is good imo. Might make some Euro Snobs and other part timers feel the need to get involved again so the league does not flop.

no, really, wut?

 

[Sean]

All this talk of bad crowds is good imo. Might make some Euro Snobs and other part timers feel the need to get involved again so the league does not flop.

They're called Euro-snobs for a reason.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Nobody else is really good enough to get close to the top 3.

Is that the top three that includes the Tards who we we have scored six goals against at the Tard dome, with two clean sheets? And would that happen to be the same Gold coat we humbled three zip you are remarking on as untouchable by us?

Yeah I can't see us having any chance of getting close to them  :

CCM, least number of home games out of anyone in the league so far...

5 at home out of our next seven...

Best defence...

Finally hitting our attacking form...

Scraping in fourth you say?

But wait... there is some light at the end of the tunnel for us!

You may even get third if the Tards collapse but anything more than that is probably a step too far.

Ah shucks,  always good to see that the ol Bling arrogance is still so alive and well.

Truth is there's only one missed pen and Mrdja tripping on the ball in front of an open goal, and we would be top of the table on goal difference and above you.

But hey, anything more than 3rd is a step tooooooo far... 

Personally I think we're about to shove our boot up your ass to keep your swollen sky blue head company for awhile.  :-*

But we'll see

I do think your a very well organised outfit this year, and that your coach has instilled a terrific discipline in your side, but that is all. You still are far from convincing as title certs. You were absolute pants against GCU last game.

On the other hand, if we solve our striker problem... which with kwasinaldo coming good and Mrdja finally getting back on the sheet in the 4 nil over MV... it is finally looking promising... And so I feel it is quite possible we are going to make you and all the pundits and mockers, YET AGAIN, look very foolish this year.

As if we already haven't  :-*

 

[Forum Phoenix]

All this talk of bad crowds is good imo. Might make some Euro Snobs and other part timers feel the need to get involved again so the league does not flop.

They're called Euro-snobs for a reason.

 

[Jerem]

+1 FP!
got a good laugh out of that rant