The A-League kicks off again tonight and Stuff football writer Liam Hyslop expects surprises aplenty this season.
ADELAIDE UNITED
Key ins: Michael Jakobsen (Melbourne City FC), Craig Goodwin (Sparta Rotterdam), Ken Ilso (unattached), Mirko Boland (Eintracht Braunschweig) Key outs: Johan Absalonsen, Ben Garuccio, Daniel Adlung, Ersan Gulum
Last season: Fifth (regular season), lost elimination final
What to expect: Marco Kurz looks primed to build on a promising first season.The acquisition of Socceroo Craig Goodwin appears a good one. Prediction: Fifth
BRISBANE ROAR
Key ins: Adam Taggart (Perth Glory), Stefan Mauk (NEC Nijmegen), Tobias Mikkelsen (Nordsjaelland), Alex Lopez (Sporting Gijon)
Key outs: Massimo Maccarone, Corey Brown (Victory), Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Michael Theo, Ivan Franjic (Glory)
Last season: Sixth, lost elimination final What to expect: Another season rolls in for John Aloisi. Their on-field recruitment has been solid. Prediction: Ninth
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS
Key ins: Michael McGlinchey (Wellington Phoenix), Kalifa Cisse (BEC Tero Sasana), Ross McCormack (Aston Villa – loan), Tommy Oar (unattached)
Key outs: Storm Roux (Victory), Wout Brama, Alan Baro, Daniel De Silva (Sydney FC – loan)
Last season: 10th
What to expect: They could be this season’s Newcastle Jets, rocketing up the table from last year’s wooden spoon. Or they could be the Mariners. Prediction: 10th
MELBOURNE CITY
Key ins: Michael O’Halloran (Rangers), Riley McGree (Club Brugge, loan), Florin Berenguer (FC Sochaux), Richie De Laet (Aston Villa – loan)
Key outs: Stefan Mauk (Roar), Michael Jakobsen (Adelaide), Daniel Arzani (Manchester City), Dean Bouzanis (PEC Zwolle – loan) Last season: Third, lost semifinal
What to expect: Another year into the City Football Group’s Australian project, and this one looks their strongest offering yet.
Prediction: Second
MELBOURNE VICTORY
Key ins: Georg Niedermeier (SC Freiburg), Keisuke Honda (unattached), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse), Raul Baena (Granada – loan) Key outs: James Donachie, Besart Berisha, Rhys Williams, Leroy George
Last season: Fourth, champions What to expect: Solid at the back. Wil definitely be the team to beat.
Prediction: First
NEWCASTLE JETS
Key ins: Matthew Ridenton (Wellington Phoenix), Jair Eduardo Britto da Silva (Yanbian Funde), Mitch Austin (Melbourne Victory) Key outs: Riley McGree (loan ends), Pato Rodriguez Last season: Second, lost final What to expect: The most stable squad of the league, but will that count against them? Teams will know what to expect from the Jets and should know how to counteract that.
Prediction: Eighth
PERTH GLORY
Key ins: Tomislav Mrcela, Matthew Spiranovic, Juan de Dios Prados Lopez (all unattached), Chris Ikonomidis (Lazio)
Key outs: Adam Taggart (Roar), Xavi Torres, Andreu
Last season: Eighth
What to expect: Former Wanderers coach Tony Popovic takes over from Kenny Lowe. He’s lured a host of Socceroos past and present to complement the already talented lineup of Diego Castro and Andy Keogh.
Prediction: Fourth
SYDNEY FC
Key ins: Daniel De Silva (Central Coast Mariners – loan), Jop van der Linden (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Le Fondre (Bolton), Siem de Jong (Ajax – loan) Key outs: Jordy Buijs, Luke Wilkshire, Bobo, Adrian Mierzejewski
Last season: First, lost semifinal What to expect: Coach Graham Arnold has moved on with Steve Corica stepping into the breach. It’s a difficult act to follow.
Prediction: Third
WELLINGTON PHOENIX
Key ins: Steven Taylor (Peterborough United), Filip Kurto (Roda JC), Mitch Nichols (unattached), Mandi (Almeria)
Key outs: Michael McGlinchey (Mariners), Matthew Ridenton (Jets), Marco Rossi, Andrija Kaludjerovic Last season: Ninth What to expect: The real question remains around who will be scoring all the goals with the club lacking a starting-quality No 9. Prediction: Sixth
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
Key ins: Bruce Kamau (Melbourne City), Danijel Nizic (unattached), Patrick Ziegler (Kaiserslautern), Alexander Baumjohann (EC Vitoria) Key outs: Jack Clisby (Mariners), Michael Thwaite (released), Chris Ikonomidis (loan ends), Brendon Santalab (Perth Glory) Last season: Seventh What to expect: Markus Babbel takes over arguably the most difficult job in the A-League.
But the signs are positive enough. Prediction: Seventh.