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The A-League Men’s season came to an exciting end last weekend. With Auckland already crowned Premiers, but ineligible for the Asia Champions League, Melbourne City sealed Champions League football by finishing second, beating Sydney FC who stayed in 7th place and are out of the finals, allowing Adelaide to sneak into the top six.
The finals start this weekend with Western United taking on Adelaide United at Tarneit on Friday, and a blockbuster match-up between Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory in Parramatta on Saturday, with the winners facing Auckland or Melbourne City.
Let’s have a look at the report card for your team over the regular season. The rankings were decided by a combination of factors in no particular order, including but not restricted to: results, table position, playing style, crowds, and young player development. The best young player, and best overall player have also been chosen.
Perth Glory: D-
David Zdrilic’s Perth finished last, won only four games and conceded a whopping 56 goals over the course of their miserable season.
Despite this, Zdrilic is apparently safe in his job. He faces a major rebuild over the off season. Crowds averaged just over 6000, higher than Macarthur and Western United and not terrible considering Perth’s table position. Jaylan Pearman at 19 years old was a shining light and sealed a move to Queens Park Rangers. Adam Taggart while playing in a team that only scored 22 goals all season and came last, still managed to score 10 goals.
Adam Taggart celebrates with teammates (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Brisbane Roar: D
Manager Ruben Zadkovic was just fired, with Michael Valkanis replacing him for next season. Brisbane finished the season strongly with a win against Western United, a draw with Adelaide, and wins over Wellington and the Mariners, which meant the wooden spoon was avoided, but 51 goals were conceded and there were only five victories. Brisbane showed patches of good play, but also at times played terribly, particularly in defence. The biggest positives were the development of young players such as Samuel Klein, who top scored for Brisbane with 5 goals, and 17-year-old Lucas Herrington, who will seal a move to MLS team Colorado Rapids.
Wellington Phoenix: C-
The Phoenix finished 11th and their crowd average was pushed up to just under 8000 by the “derby” with Auckland FC. Despite this lowly league position and mostly dour defensive play over the season, manager Giancarlo Italiano recently signed a new contract. Isaac Hughes at just 21 years old played 24 games, scored 2 goals, and was a rock in defence. Veteran Kosta Barbarouses top-scored with 10 goals and was Phoenix’s only real goal-scoring threat up front.
Central Coast Mariners: C-
To say it was an underwhelming season for last season’s Premiers, Champions, and ACL2 winners would be an understatement. The spine of the Mariners was gutted in the off-season, which resulted in a tenth-place finish in the league, 51 goals conceded, and last place in the Asian Champions League Elite was only avoided by the disqualification of China’s Shandong Taishan. Central Coast finished with no wins and just one draw. Who knows how they might have fared with their ACL 2 title-winning squad? Reflecting this drop, crowds fell from just under 9000 last season to slightly over 6000. The best young player was 17-year-old Haine Eames and Mikael Doka was the team’s consistent star man.
Newcastle Jets: C+
A poor first half of the season saw Newcastle in contention for the wooden spoon, but a revival in the second half of the season saw them with a chance of playing finals football under Rob Stanton, which made it very odd when the club decided to part ways with him after he’d only recently signed a two year extension. Socceroos legend Mark Milligan has just been confirmed as the new manager. Crowds were just under 6,500 which is slightly up from last season. Best young player was 21 year old Clayton Taylor with 7 goals and 6 assists and best overall player was Eli Adams who scored 9 goals.
Macarthur Bulls: C-
Like the Mariners, the Bulls lost some of their best players mid-season which hamstrung their hopes for finals football. Apart from a record crowd of over 9000 in their final match against the Wanderers, crowds remain low at an average of 4,600. Last month, Macarthur launched legal action against Football Australia, alleging they were misled when they applied for entry to the A-League. The Bulls’ best young player was 22-year-old Keely Adamson, who played almost every minute. The best senior player was Croatian Marin Jakolis who is the only player in the league with a double-digit 10 goals and 12 assists.
Marin Jakolis is congratulated by Jed Drew after scoring the winning goal of the 2024 Australia Cup final. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images)
Sydney FC: D-
To say it was a disappointing end to the season would be an understatement. Expectations were high after an expensive array of attackers was assembled, spearheaded by Brazilian legend Douglas Costa. After a good run in the ACL2 they were bundled out in the semi-finals by Singapore underdogs Lion City Sailors and missed out on the riches of the final. Needing only a draw in their last two matches to make the finals, they lost both games and handed a spot in the top six to Adelaide. Defence was poor, especially goalkeeping, with 46 goals conceded. Crowds were good at just over 15K, behind only Auckland. The best young player was 20-year-old Adrian Segecic, who jointly won the Golden Boot with 13 goals. He also gets the award for best overall player, overshadowing marquee Diego Costa and Joe Lolley.
Adelaide United: C+
Earlier this season, Adelaide were contending with Auckland FC for the premiership, but winning only two of their last 11 matches resulted in a sixth place finish and long-serving manager Carl Veart’s sacking. Crowds were good with a 10.5K average at Coopers Stadium, Australia’s most atmospheric, and perhaps best, stadium for watching live A-League football. Adelaide are known for developing youth and this season was no exception with consistent minutes in the first team for Panagiotis Kikianis (20), Yaya Dukuly (22) Luka Jovanovic (19), and Johnny Yul l(20). Archie Goodwin (20), bought from Newcastle Jets in the off-season, was their best young player, jointly sharing the Golden Boot with 13 goals. Stephan Mauk was the best overall player, controlling midfield and contributing 8 goals.
Melbourne Victory: B-
For one of the A-League’s big clubs with probably the most talented and balanced squad on paper, 5th place in the league at first seems disappointing, but a draw against Newcastle Jets in the final game combined with other teams in the top six winning, cost Victory a higher spot. Crowds are still not back to where they were prior to late 2022’s crowd trouble, with an average just under 13,000. Finances were also worrying with a $9 million loss last season, although Brighton’s owner Tony Bloom acquiring a 19% stake has certainly helped allay some of those fears. The best young player was Socceroo Jordan Bos’s younger brother Kasey Bos. Best overall player was Zinedine Machach with 5 goals and 7 assists.
Western Sydney Wanderers: B+
Credit to Alen Stajcic for sticking to his guns and ignoring all the mid-season noise and pressure to start Juan Mata. The Wanderers are currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak, equalling their best run ever 12 years ago, and are one win or draw away from their all-time club record. Attendance sunk to a low of just over 6000 in November, but better results this year have brought the crowds back to an average of just under 10K. Their best young player was defensive beast Anthony Pantazopolous. Nicolas Milanovic was the best overall player with 12 goals and 6 assists, finishing equal 2nd on the Golden Boot.
Nicolas Milanovic of Western Sydney Wanderers celebrates his hat-trick against Jets. (Photo by Damian Briggs/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Western United: B+
After almost getting the wooden spoon last season, credit goes to John Aloisi for Western’s 3rd-place finish this season. Western finished only a point behind Melbourne City with a better goal difference, and if Sydney had beaten City, Western would have finished 2nd. Aloisi has his team playing attractive, attacking football with the youngest squad age in the league at 23.2 according to Transfermarkt. Crowds are still a problem, with the average still under 4,000. Western’s financial situation seems to have stabilised with new American owners found. Their best young player was 17-year-old defensive stalwart Dylan Leonard. The best overall player was midfield general Angus Thurgate.
Melbourne City: B
With premiers Auckland ineligible for the Asian Champions League, Aurelio Vidmar’s team secured ACL football by clinching 2nd place with a 5-1 mauling of Sydney FC last weekend with young guns Max Caputo (19), Marco Tilio (23), and Kai Trewin (23) starting, and coming on as substitutes Medin Memeti (17), Emin Durakovic (19), and Kavian Rahmani (18). This focus on youth combined with a few wise heads like Matthew Leckie and captain Aziz Behich has brought City success this season. Crowds are still their biggest problem, with the average only just over 6000 and this number was bolstered by the Victory derby. As demonstrated over the last few seasons and this season too, on-field playing style and success have not resulted in raised attendances. The best young player was 21-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Beach. An indication of how well City have played as a team, no overall best player was selected.
Auckland FC: A+
What a debut season for Steve Corica’s Auckland FC! Premiers in their first attempt, the highest average crowds of over 18,000, and the best goal difference. Auckland only lost a miserly 3 games all season. However, Auckland definitely do not get a pass mark for playing youth, with an average squad age of 25.9 according to Tranfermarkt. The best young player was outstanding goalkeeper Alex Paulson. The best overall player was Auckland’s inspirational Japanese captain Hiroki Sakai.
What’s your opinion? What report card would you give these teams? Was your team’s report card a bit too harsh? Or too lenient? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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