A-League 13-14 previews: Western Sydney Wanderers
Some people say that the hardest thing in football is to win something twice, and that might prove a challenge too much even for the fairy tale that is the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Tactical Previews
A-League 13-14 previews: Sydney FC
Sydney FC seem to be reverting back to type, both with the ‘Bling FC’ image but also with the disorganised, chaotic attempts to progress towards a more ‘modern’ brand of football, which they attempted to implement under Ian Crook last season – to disastrous effect.
A-League 13-14 previews: Perth Glory
Although he enjoyed a distinguished playing career – including a 93 game stint at Perth Glory – and risen through the ranks of the national team setup as coach, including stints as National High Performance Consultant and FFA Assistant Technical Director, very little was known about Alistair Edwards’ style when he was appointed coach after […]
A-League 13-14 previews: Newcastle Jets
Gary Van Egmond was responsible for Newcastle’s stunning surge to the 2008-09 A-League title, but his return to the club has not inspired them back to such lofty heights. He’s now the second longest serving coach at a current club in the league (behind Graham Arnold), but he’s many people’s choice for first sacked, illustrating […]
A-League 13-14 previews: Melbourne Victory
In his first season at the Victory, Ange Postecoglou quickly established a framework for one of the most intriguing and thrilling tactical systems the league has ever seen. In simple terms, the most advanced players in the 4-2-2-2 formation were a foil for wide forwards Marco Rojas and Archie Thompson, who darted into the space […]
A-League 13-14 previews: Melbourne Heart
Melbourne Heart were underwhelming under John Aloisi last season – their 4-2-3-1, with Fred flanked by hard-working wingers and a fairly basic back six, was tactically uninspiring, while their results were similarly tame: decent at home, poor away.
A-League 13-14 previews: Central Coast Mariners
As always, the Mariners are having to cope with losing key players despite success. Last year’s Championship triumph wasn’t enough to stop five starters from the Grand Final – Matt Ryan, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Pedj Bojic, Patrick Zwaanswijk and Oliver Bozanic – leaving for pastures new.
A-League 13-14 previews: Brisbane Roar
There are effectively three broad phases to the history of Brisbane Roar in the A-League – the pre-Postecoglou era, the Postecoglou era, and the post-Postecoglou era. Their poor results and performances in the phases without him illustrate how important he was to their incredible success during the October 2009 to April 2012 period, and it’s […]
A-League 13-14 previews: Adelaide United
For someone who not many would have known much about – or even heard of – we have come to expect many things from Josep Gombau and Adelaide United this season.
A-League 13-14 previews: general themes
This site will feature in-depth tactical profiles of each of the ten teams for the upcoming A-League season, but first, here are some general themes.
Australia vs. Iraq: tactical preview
Even without the context of a war-torn nation, Iraq would be hugely difficult to summarise – not only have they experienced great turmoil with their coaches, with Vladimir Petkovic seemingly on the cusp of the sack for failing to secure to qualification only months after Zico was fired, but they’ve also lost their two most […]
Australia vs. Jordan: tactical preview
Australia’s task for qualifying for the World Cup was effectively about how they could perform against two different types of opponents.