The 20th season of the A-League Men has arrived. Two decades of ups and downs, tears and jeers, laughter and love, heartbreak and ecstasy, and, occasionally, a unique brand of nonsense that gives the league a character that has earned it a place in the hearts of so many.
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But beyond the platitudes, there's football to be played. The stage is set for stars to emerge, dreams to be dashed, some hitherto unknowable crisis to emerge and for someone to lift the A-League title come May 31 of next year.
So, with that in mind, ESPN has run the rule of all 13 teams in this year's competition to see what the future may bring for your favourite side.
Adelaide United
2023-24 finish: 8th | Coach: Carl Veart | Difference makers: Bart Vriends, Stefan Mauk, Luka Jovanovic
Key Storyline: Can the Reds fix their leaky defence and return to finals while continuing the youth movement?
Best case scenario: With Vriends actually able to get on the pitch and stay there, a new-look Reds backline slashes their goals conceded from 53 in 2023-24 to the high 30s. On the attacking end, youngsters Jonny Yull and Archie Goodwin take the next step and new signings Ben Folami and Dylan Pierias thrive in their new home to help cover for the loss of Hiroshi Ibusuki. As the Reds push for a top-four spot, 16-year-old Amlani Tatu becomes the latest breakout star from South Australia and, with Nestory Irankunda kicking on at Bayern Munich, the world's biggest (and richest) clubs zero in on Hindmarsh Stadium as a talent factory.
Worst case scenario: The 15 goals that left the building when Ibusuki departed for Western United and the explosiveness of Irankunda can't be replaced but the porous defence remains, seeing Adelaide slide further down the table. Discontent builds as the club is increasingly seen as being more interested in selling players than winning football games -- Vriends never actually gets healthy enough to play -- and a frustrated Veart walks at the end of the season.
Passing grade: Finals football.The Reds have generally been consistently mid-table since winning the premiership in 2015-16, finishing an average of fifth across the campaigns since. Coming off an 8th-placed finish last season, returning to this level should be the goal, especially given that while the Reds may be known for youth development, they're not significantly younger than the rest of the league these days.
Auckland FC
2023-24 finish: N/A | Coach: Steve Corica | Difference makers: Alex Paulsen, Hiroki Sakai, Tommy Smith
Key storyline: What kind of splash can the newest kids on the block make in their first year?
Best case scenario: After building an experienced side and quite literally getting the rule book re-written to secure the services of the best keeper in the A-League last season, Auckland storms out of the blocks and matches the feat of owner Bill Foley's NHL franchise the Vegas Golden Knights; challenging for the title in their first season.
Worst case scenario: The disparate selection of parts brought together to launch Auckland's Black Knights can't click into gear once the action commences and, after his incredible 2023-24 campaign, Paulsen suffers a regression to the mean. Sakai breaks down and is lost for the season and, as Wellington continues to fire on the other side of the North Island, Auckland struggles to generate traction as they miss out on finals.
Passing grade: Finals. Given that setting up an A-League expansion franchise is such a crapshoot, it's not fair to expect Corica to have them challenging for silverware in year one. However, given the significant investment that's been made into the side and their relatively advanced age profile, making the playoffs should be a goal for all involved -- especially given how ruthless the Golden Knights have proven to be when the NHL offseason rolls around.
Brisbane Roar
2023-24 finish: 9th | Coach: Ruben Zadkovich | Difference makers: Jay O'Shea, Rafael Struick, Thomas Waddingham
Key storyline: Can the Roar break free of the doldrums that have defined their recent history? Or will the best thing about the Roar continue to be their past?
Best case scenario: Waddingham and Struick form one of the most fearsome young strike partnerships that the league has ever seen as the Roar once again feature in finals, with O'Shea pulling the strings behind them and winning the Johnny Warren Medal. Their young attackers move on for significant sums in the offseason but not before steering the Roar to a home final win in Zadkovich's first full campaign in charge.
Worst case scenario: Zadkovich cuts an increasingly frustrated figure as another season comes and goes with the Roar missing finals football, the most notable thing about them being the discussions about what they're not anymore and just how much of a shame that is. As crowds dwindle and Lang Park becomes cavernous, the club desperately searches for more economical options but, yet again, the stadium situation in Queensland continues to haunt. Despite that, Football Australia gives the Sunshine State more Matildas and Socceroos games anyway.
Passing grade: Challenging for finals. To say that the Roar need make the playoffs feels like a bridge too far but, without question, they at least need to be in the mix towards the end of the season to give their fans hope for future campaigns.
Central Coast Mariners
2023-24 finish: Premiers and champions | Coach: Mark Jackson | Difference makers: Brian Kaltak, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Tapp
Key storyline: Can the decimated Mariners pull yet another rabbit out of their hat and keep the magic alive in Gosford?
Best case scenario: Somehow, defying all sense of rhyme and reason, Jackson is once again able to plug the gaps left by a mass offseason exodus of talent and the sudden departure of chairman Richard Piel without missing a beat: overcoming a slow start to their Asian Champions League Elite campaign to reach the knockout stages and making it three seasons in a row with domestic silverware. Kaltak and Sainsbury form one of the most iron-clad pairings in the league, and Alou Kuol rediscovers the form that made him such an exciting prospect in his first stint on the Coast.
Worst case scenario: The departure of Piel hurts, but it's the hits to the midfield that sees the Mariners run aground. One of the league's better coaches, Jackson is still able to spring surprises but as injuries pile up, the depth just isn't there anymore and they miss finals. Kaltak and more young talent leave in the offseason as owner Mike Charlesworth hands back the club's licence to the APL, adding to the spiral and bringing the club's viability under serious doubt.
Passing grade: Top four. When accounting for the talent that has left the Mariners across the past few years -- on the pitch, in the dugout, and the boardroom -- and Piel's sudden move to the exit eve of the season, to demand silverware this season would appear unreasonable. At the same time, however, a team that won a treble last season can't be relieved of all expectations, meaning that a home final that will bring some level of joy and hope to Gosford should still be the goal.
Macarthur FC
2023-24 finish: 5th, quarterfinalists | Coach: Mile Sterjovski | Difference makers: Filip Kurto, Luke Brattan, Marin Jakoliš
Key storyline: Can the Bulls find a way to take a step forward without subsequently being forced to take two back?
Best case scenario: Riding the momentum from their Australia Cup win, the Bulls shut out the outside noise and push for their first premiership. Kurto is named the A-League's best keeper and Jakoliš leads the league in assists as Valère Germain and Harrison Sawyer consistently feed on his balls into the box. Brattan, meanwhile, ably fills the void in leadership left by disgraced former captain Ulises Davila and helps mentor Macarthur's youngsters to new heights.
Worst case scenario: The latest twist in the Dwight Yorke saga drags on, serving as yet another off-field distraction, making the Bulls the butt of yet more jokes around the league and preventing them from bringing in reinforcements in January. With that transfer ban in place, injuries to Matt Jurman and Tomislav Uskok leave them dangerously exposed at the back and, combined with Jakoliš and Germain struggling, they crash towards the foot of the table.
Passing grade: Pushing for top four. The Bulls didn't exactly play the most inspired football on their way to an Australia Cup crown but, under Sterjovski, they're a side that tends to do the basics right and well. And if Danny De Silva and Chris Ikonomidis can get healthy and find form -- yes, very big ifs -- they've got the talent to surprise and improve on last season's showing.
Presenting the Bulls class of 2024/25 🎓
— Macarthur FC (@mfcbulls) October 8, 2024
🏷️ Run with the herd this season by becoming a member! https://t.co/LQLOF9KoMn
#WeAreTheBulls #RunWithTheHerd pic.twitter.com/FG9Ym7v9eZ
Melbourne City
2023-24 finish: 6th, quarterfinalists | Coach: Aurelio Vidmar | Difference makers: Mathew Leckie, Marco Tilio, Nathaniel Atkinson
Key storyline: Were last year's struggles an aberration? Or is the City dynasty coming to an end?
Best case scenario: After getting a full preseason with his side, Vidmar ensures that normal service resumes in the A-League and City sweeps all before them on the way to a fourth premiership in five seasons. Able to avoid injury and string together a consistent run of football, Atkinson and Tilio both earn new European homes while Leckie wins the Johnny Warren medal. Despite missing the start of the season with a broken ankle, Max Caputo scores double-digital goals and secures a multi-million dollar move to Serie A.
Worst case scenario: A heavy defeat to Melbourne Victory in round two of the season augurs a disastrous campaign for City, as an injury crisis and just plain bad form sees them eliminated from finals contention three weeks out from the end of the season. After two seasons to forget, a ruthless City Football Group performs a complete reset of the club's football department and Melbourne City unofficially enters a rebuilding, not reloading, phase.
Passing grade: Pushing for top two. The resourcing and facilities afforded to City, the talent they've got at their disposal -- on paper, they're still one of the best teams in the league -- and their legacy and expectations of success carries with it its own level of expectation. This club expects to compete for silverware year in and year out, so it's only fair we hold them to that standard, too.
Melbourne Victory
2023-24 finish: 3rd, grand finalists | Coach: Patrick Kisnorbo | Difference makers: Roderick Miranda, Ryan Teague, Daniel Arzani
Key storyline: Can Kisnorbo get Victory over the hump and lift silverware, winning over fans along the way?
Best case scenario: Victory becomes an unrelenting, unfeeling winning machine in the vein of Kisnorbo's best sides at City, sweeping aside title challenges from Sydney FC and City to lift the premiership and championship double. Kasey Bos joins his brother as a Socceroo before the season is out, Teague joins him in earning an international call-up, and newly minted international goal-scorer Nishan Velupillay earns a move to LaLiga.
Worst case scenario: Injuries rip apart the backline and midfield and with none of the half-dozen wingers on the books able to play centre-back, Victory can't score at a high enough rate to compensate. Nikos Vergos can't adjust to the Australian conditions and, after being relegated to a back-up role to that point, Bruno Fornaroli struggles to find rhythm or form when the Greek striker departs in January. Sitting seventh entering the Christmas Derby, Kisnorbo becomes the subject of a fan revolt following a heavy defeat to City in that game and leaves before the season is out.
Passing grade: Silverware. The Victory brass have gone all-in with Kisnorbo's arrival, banking that his rich history of success in the league will help last season's beaten grand finalists go one better and, in the process, wash away the "sins" of his connection with City. Anything less than that and it probably won't matter what anyone else says or writes -- the Victory fans will make their voices heard.
Newcastle Jets
2023-24 finish: 10th | Coach: Rob Stanton | Difference makers: Ryan Scott, Clayton Taylor, Mark Natta
Key storyline: With the future now secure (at least in the short-term) can the Jets start to build?
Best case scenario: After seven goals and three assists across the 2023-24 season, 20-year-old Taylor takes his game to a new level and begins to generate Socceroos buzz. So, too, does 21-year-old Natta, who makes the step up to become one of the league's best players. The talented duo secure overseas moves in the offseason -- after Taylor inks extension early on in the campaign -- to bring in some much-needed funds. Scott is named goalkeeper of the year as the club pushes for finals football.
Worst case scenario: With Apostolos Stamatelopoulos now plying his trade at Motherwell, newly signed duo Eli Adams and Lachlan Rose can't bring about their own career renaissances in the Hunter and goals dry up for the Jets. New Brazilian signing Wellissol is largely anonymous, and Taylor begins to experience the same troubles with his body that dragged down Goodwin's time at McDonald Jones Stadium. They struggle to improve on their positioning from last season and ultimately can't avoid the wooden spoon.
Passing grade: Pushing for finals. Given that the league's regulations have been in place to encourage some level of parity, it's almost impressive that the Jets have somehow managed to miss out on playing finals football as much as they have in their existence, only reaching the playoffs once in the last 12 years. Staying in the hunt into the closing days of this season, however, shouldn't be too lofty a goal if Stanton, an underrated coach, is able to get the best out of some of the young players at his disposal.
Perth Glory
2023-24 finish: 12th | Coach: David Zdrilic | Difference makers: Adam Taggart, Abdelelah Faisal, Luis Cangá
Key storyline: Under former Red Bull disciple Zdrilic, can the Gegenglory reestablish themselves as a power?
Best case scenario: After a slow start to the season, the Glory find the form and fitness to start bullying opponents off the park with Zdrilic's fierce pressing style. The team earns a return to finals football as Taggart wins his second-straight Golden Boot and Faisal scores double-digit goals.
Worst case scenario: With Ecuador international defender Cangá's struggles emblematic of their foreign signings failing to settle in, and the young talent they lured across from the East struggling to adapt to being week-to-week contributors, the Glory stumble as the season goes on. With their defence once again proving porous, they find themselves battling to avoid another spoon and there is a glum acceptance out West that this will be a multi-year rebuild.
Passing grade: Moving away from the foot of the table. Understandably, there's a lot of excitement in Perth surrounding their new ownership group and what the highly rated Zdrilic can bring. But while you certainly wouldn't be ruling out the Glory surprising with a sharp rise up the table, making that a passing grade perhaps fails to properly acknowledge how far back they're coming from.
Better Call Faisal 📞💼@PerthGloryFC's new signing wasted no time introducing himself to the home fans ⏱️
— Australia Cup (@AustraliaCup) August 3, 2024
🎥 @10FootballAU #AustraliaCup #MagicOfTheCup #PERvMCY pic.twitter.com/dbdoBPWjXh
Sydney FC
2023-24 finish: 4th, semifinalists | Coach: Ufuk Talay | Difference makers: Hayden Matthews, Patryk Klimala, Léo Sena
Key storyline: With the high-power, high-priced attack, can Sydney return to the top of the mountain?
Best case scenario: As hinted at in their recent Asian Champions League Two games, Sydney's foreign attacking force cooks, with Klimala winning the Golden Boot, Sena winning the Johnny Warren Medal, and Douglas Costa toying with defenders as he whips in delivery after delivery. In his first full season, Talay delivers a premiership and championship double and, after anchoring the defence during this success, Matthews sets a new outbound transfer record with an offseason move.
Worst case scenario: The hard pitches and the hot days of the A-League's summer season, as well as the league's physicality, take a toll on the Harboursiders' new foreign signings and they fade badly as the season goes on. The signing of Costa proves to be a bust as the Brazil international quickly loses interest as the season begins to wane and a few injuries at the back tests their depth to breaking point. They play finals but are eliminated in week one by Macarthur.
Passing grade: Silverware. As the dust of the transfer window settles, Sydney looks to have overtaken Victory as having the best squad in the league on paper and, combined with Talay having had his first proper preseason to work with his team, will enter this season as the favourites for the title. Now all they need to do is meet those expectations.
Wellington Phoenix
2023-24 finish: 2nd, semifinalists | Coach: Giancarlo Italiano | Difference makers: Hideki Ishige, Kosta Barbarouses, Tim Payne
Key storyline: After the best season in the club's history, what do "Chiefy" Italiano and the Nix have planned for an encore?
Best case scenario: Italiano builds upon the core principles that helped lift the Phoenix up the table in 2023-24 while also adding the flexibility and adaptability he has spoken of this offseason, giving him even further ways to beat opponents beyond ruthless transition. Ishige plays every position bar goalkeeper and performs at an above average level in all of them, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues becomes one of the competition's brightest young stars, and new signing Stefan Colakovski plays well enough to earn a call-up to Macedonia. After thumping Auckland FC in all their meetings, the Phoenix reiterate themselves as New Zealand's big dogs by becoming the first Kiwi side to lift an NSL/A-League premiership.
Worst case scenario: The Phoenix are smacked in the face by the regression-to-the-mean shovel and results turn as they're no longer able to outperform their expected goals, as they did throughout the 2023-24 season. The loss of Oskar Zawada and Bozhidar Kraev being felt going forward, they need to win on the last day of the campaign to secure a finals spot but instead are held to a draw and watch the Black Knights overhaul them for the final playoff place.
Passing grade: Top four. The Phoenix haven't lost the same volume of talent that the Mariners did over the offseason -- that's absolutely not to discount the talent that departed in Paulsen and Ben Old -- but with Victory, City, and Sydney all investing in their squads this season, bringing another home final to Wellington would be a good accomplishment.
Western Sydney Wanderers
2023-24 finish: 7th | Coach: Alen Stajcic | Difference makers: Jeong Tae-wook, Nicolas Milanovic, Brandon Borrello
Key storyline: Will Western Sydney finally start acting like the big club they're supposed to be? Will their big offseason recruit Juan Mata actually play?
Best case scenario: Between Milanovic, Borrello, Kraev, Marcus Antonsson, and Mata, the Wanderers develop the ability to blow sides away as the season progresses, leading the league in goals as they stage an assault on the premiership. The loan move to Wanderland reinvigorates the career of Jeong as he ably fills the void left by Marcelo's departure.
Worst case scenario: Yet again, the Wanderers' preseason hype video proves to be the best thing about their season. Stajcic proves no more able to find the promised land than any of the other coaches that have come and gone since Tony Popovic's foundation tenure and, by the end of the season, he's pressed more with battling to avoid a second wooden spoon in as many years, with two different clubs, than pushing for finals. Mata breaks down half an hour into round one's Sydney Derby.
Passing grade: Top four. For years, the Wanderers have come across as something of a trust fund kid. Yes, they carry the name associated with premierships and Champions League success but, in reality, those achievements were secured by a different generation, with those currently tasked with carrying on the name proving better at buying new toys and talking about how important the family is than adding to the legacy. If Stajcic is going to go about writing a new legacy in Parramatta, a home final would be a good start.
Western United
2023-24 finish: 11th | Coach: John Aloisi | Difference makers: James Donachie, Noah Botic, Sebastian Pasquali
Key storyline: Will there be enough improvement in a young lineup to move up the table? And is that stadium ever getting built?
Best case scenario: The veteran core of the Western squad remains healthy, ensuring that Aloisi isn't forced to run out a Y-League outfit as he seeks to improve on last year's campaign. After an injury-hampered preseason, Botić starts slowly but, after establishing a rapport with the newly signed Ibusuki, he catches fire in its second half of the campaign and wins a Golden Boot. Off the field, the much-anticipated stadium finally begins construction and United begins to properly feel like a key part of Western Melbourne's football scene -- beginning investigations about a shift in branding to "Wyndham United."
Worst case scenario: United's veteran core doesn't stay healthy, and having only been able to make two offseason signings, Aloisi is effectively tasked with trying to figure out how to get an academy side competing against seasoned professionals week-in, week-out. That doesn't work and United falls to their first wooden spoon. Off the field, work on the stadium remains unstarted and Aloisi, jaded by it all, departs.
Passing grade: Moving clear from the foot of the table. United has the talent in its roster to make a finals challenge if they all stay healthy, and if its youth can keep developing at the rate they are. Given the lack of depth, however, Aloisi would be performing a remarkable job if he was able to get this side into the playoffs this season.