It’s all about to begin; after what has felt like an eternity, the A-League gets underway this Saturday. Never before has this level of excitement towards a new season of the round ball game been felt by football fans Down Under. Following two seasons plagued by poor crowds and financial troubles, there is a general expectation that this new edition of the competition will move the game in a positive direction, helped especially by the return of  two prodigal sons.

The game in Australia is steadily growing in popularity as the standard of play increases. Season six continued this trend, thanks largely to the Brisbane Roar.  The Side from the Queensland capital stunned the league, setting a new record for the number of games without defeat as they swept the Minor (top of the table) and Major (Grand Final winner) Premierships.  With traditional powers Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory making bold off-season moves, the seventh edition of the A-League promises to once again raise the bar.

While the Roar dominated last season, this season should be a closer competition.  Their talismanic leader, Matt McKay, is now at Rangers, earning the move to Scotland on the back of his A-League and Socceroos heroics. Frontman, Jean Carlos Solorzano has also departed, for rivals Melbourne Victory, and, while Brisbane has recruited well, they may not pack their former punch.

As far as new signings go, it’s nigh on impossible for any Aussie side to match the signings of Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton by Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC, respectively. The two Socceroos’impact on the domestic game is already showing with strong crowds at friendlies involving the clubs, not to mention a larger media presence.

A championship would be the icing on the cake for Emerton, who is happy enough just to have escape what looks to be a woeful premier League Season for Blackburn Rovers.  Meanwhile, Kewell has jumped off the sinking ship of the Turkish Super Lig, which is taking on water rapidly, thanks to a massive match-fixing scandal.  The duo will play out their careers in Australia and, in the process, bring a much needed boost to the game. Kewell and Emerton face off for the first time in the season’s opening round at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne — not Manchester! — this weekend.

While Kewell and Emerton are undoubtedly the headline signings, there are other newcomers who are expected to improve the quality of A-League play. Adelaide United have signed Socceroo Dario Vidosic from FC Nurnberg, while Tiago Calvano has also made the long trip from Germany, signing with Newcastle Jets from Fortuna Dusseldorf.  Perth Glory have brought in midfielder Liam Miller from Hibernian, former Blackburn Rovers striker Maceo Rigters will represent Gold Coast United and Tony Warner, an experienced goalie who as been at Liverpool and Fulham, has joined Wellington Phoenix.

There is one transfer, however, that has raised more eyebrows, especially amongst the Melbourne Victory community, than others, and that’s Melbourne Heart’s capture of Brazilian playmaker Fred. The midfielder, a premiership player at Victory and a former fan favourite has not only joined the Heart from MLS club DC United, but has been handed the captaincy. This move has started rumours that former captain Simon Colosimo is attempting to force a move away from the club with – surprise, surprise – Melbourne Victory actively seeking his signature.

The drama doesn’t end there, with the league rivaling popular soap Neighbours for nail-biting cliff-hangers, stunning betrayals, the writing out of key characters and last minute rescues.

The Wellington Phoenix were, for a while, looking to be in a bit of trouble. Under the ownership of Tony Serepisos, who had fallen into hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, the Phoenix were struggling to keep enough players to meet the minimum requirements set by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA.   The club was rescued in a take-over orchestrated by a group of local businessmen.   Following the coup, the club made a last minute dash in the market, signing a handful of players, but leading many to speculate that the Kiwis will struggle early, while the new line-up gels.

Yet, the Phoenix haven’t quite wrapped up the award for Most Dysfunctional Off-Season. The Newcastle Jets sacked manager Branko Culina last Tuesday in a move that shocked everyone who follows Australian football. Jets owner Nathan Tinkler is said to be furious that Branko signed his son and Socceroo midfielder Jason, on a lucrative contract, despite being aware of his injury troubles. Jason has been ruled out for this season and possibly longer, raising fears at the Jets that he may never play a game in the three years he is contracted to the club. Newcastle is also in the process of looking at ways of canceling Jason’s contract without being forced to pay it out.  Nothing like a bit of nepotism to get the blood boiling.

One has to wonder if the action on the pitch can compete with the off-the-field antics, but the opening match between the Sky Blues and Victory, starring Emerton and Kewell, has the potential to keep the fans riveted.  The pair make their marquee clubs favourites to dominate the competition.  Yet, one player doesn’t make a side, as we all know.  So don’t be surprised if another side claims the Minor Premiership.

Brisbane Roar, despite being somewhat weaker than last season, still have the league’s best manager, in Ange Postecoglou, and will be a force to be reckoned with. The Central Coast Mariners will be desperate to go one better while last years runners-up, Adelaide, have also recruited well and could launch a considerable title challenge.

Melbourne Heart are the great unknown.  Heading into their second season, it’s tough to say whether or not they will be in the finals, with one or two big moves still rumoured to be in the offing. Perth Glory and Gold Coast have enough quality to end up in the finals, although will have to play more consistent football than they have in the past in order to do so. Unfortunately, due to their dramatic build-ups to the season, Wellington and Newcastle must be considered favourites to finish bottom of the table.

Having said that, don’t be surprised if one of the favourites flop and one of the underdogs rise, such is the nature of the A-League.

Whatever happens, the 2011/12 A-League season promises to be entertaining both on and off the pitch. If you haven’t paid much attention to Australian football in the past, now would be the ideal time to change that, it’s going to be a cracker!

A-League

Match of the Round: Central Coast 3-3 Brisbane Roar

The Brisbane Roar came into this game riding the back of a 20 game unbeaten streak and were determined to make it 21. However, they would have been forgiven had they not salvaged a draw in this contest considering many of the traveling squad had friends, family and even team mates who were affected by Queensland’s floods.

The Roar struck first, taking the lead in under 25 minutes, thanks to a brace by Erik Paartalu. The Mariners responded well and equalised, through Adam Kwasnik in the 37th minute. The 1-1 scoreline at halftime set up what was to be a thrilling second half.

Coast's Joshua Rose is brought down in the box by Milan Susak.

The Mariners had a dream start to the second period, when Matt Simon did well to get on the end of a Patricio Perez free kick, handing his side the lead. The Roar, not to be outdone, were persistent and drew even for the second time in the match, this time through Thomas Broich. Jean Carlos Solorzano’s inch perfect pass through the Mariners defence enabled Broich to open his body and blast it into the back of the net.

Central Coast looked to have been handed the game, however, when Milan Susak brought down Joshua Rose in the penalty box and, in the process, picked up his second yellow card. Perez who set up the second goal stepped up and put away the penalty to give the Mariners the lead with only 15 minutes to play.

The Roar’s fighting spirit shone through though and a brilliant strike by debutant James Meyer game saw the scores even once more. Meyer, who came on for Erik Paartalu, took three touches, one to control the ball, one to set up the shot and the third a brilliant right footed drive that sailed into the back of the net.

The final stages of the game were tense as the result could still have gone either way. The 3-3 result was a fitting one and enabled the Mariners to climb above Adelaide into second place.

Other Matches

Gold Coast United 4-0 North Queensland Fury
North Queensland Fury appears to be staggering on its last legs and results like this won’t help at all. The embattled club had no chance against a strong Gold Coast side that welcomed striker Shane Smeltz back into the line up for his first appearance for the club since re-signing last week. Smeltz didn’t let United fans down, scoring two goals and setting up another. Bruce Djite and Chris Harold also found the net in a dominant display.

Perth Glory 1-1 Melbourne Heart

Both these clubs will be happy they didn’t lose, although Perth will be particularly disappointed they couldn’t hold on and win this one. The Glory took the lead in the 34th minute thanks to stand-in captain Todd Howarth. Perth were then denied what they believed was a goal after Scott Neville’s flick on from a Jamie Harnwell header appeared to have crossed the goal line. The match referee Gerard Parsons and his sideline assistant disagreed and play went on. It proved to be a crucial moment in the game as less than 10 minutes later Heart’s Brazilian striker Alex Terra connected with a wonderful bicycle kick to even up the scores.

Sydney FC 1-1 Melbourne Victory

A rematch of last seasons Grand Final promised to be a good game, as any match between these two sides is hotly contested. Sydney had the better of Victory in the early stages but could not convert their dominance into a goal. After numerous chances for both sides in the first half went wanting, it remained scoreless at the main break. It wasn’t until the 52nd minute that Danny Allsopp scored the first goal of the match and his second stint at the club. Victory’s inexperienced defence, missing regulars Kevin Muscat and Adrian Leijer, appeared to be holding together well until Juho Makela arrived in the box unmarked and finished easily in injury time to salvage a point for the home side.

Newcastle Jets 0-2 Central Coast

The Central Coast’s win here cemented their spot just behind the Roar in second place. Matt Simon’s 14th minute strike and John Hutchinson’s coup de grâce, three minutes from time, was enough for the Mariners to see off the Jets who were desperate to get at least a point from this contest. The Jets are fighting it out with both Melbourne sides and the Wellington Phoenix for a spot in the finals.

Brisbane Roar – Wellington Phoenix: Postponed due to flooding

Asian Cup

Tim Cahill continues heading both the Socceroos and the Quuensland aid effort in the right direction.

Game 2: Australia 1-1 South Korea

This was the big one for Australia, a match against South Korea in the group stages was always going to be tough. The Koreans came into the game fresh from a 2-1 win over Bahrain and had a good start to this match. They were the most impressive team in the first half and deservedly took the lead on 24 minutes through Koo Ja-Cheol, after some poor defending by the Aussies. Australia regrouped and swung the momentum in their favour in the second half. Harry Kewell’s shot was deflected out for a corner. The resulting cross found Tim Cahill, whose header floated towards the back post, landing on the chest of Lucas Neill who found himself facing away from goal.  He intelligently lobbed the ball back towards the 6 yard box, enabling Mile Jedinak to climb and head home.The result means Australia needs just a draw with Bahrain to progress to the knockout stage.

News

The highest bid for “The Tim Cahill” experience in aid of Queensland’s flood victims stands at $600,200. Bids of $999,999 and $980,100 were withdrawn during the week. The winning bidder will receive two business class tickets to England to watch Cahill play, from his private box at Goodison Park, as well as an invitation to a training session, an Everton shirt signed by the entire side and a pair of Cahill’s boots. All of the money will go to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Appeal.

Sad news came out this week that the Queensland floods may end up claiming the North Queensland Fury as a victim. The Queensland government was pumping money into the embattled club hoping to keep it alive for at least one more season, while investors are located. However, with a substantial clean up bill expected in the wake of the floods, the money may be withdrawn and put towards the recovery effort, meaning the Fury’s future looks very grim.

Reading’s Aussie goalkeeper Adam Federici has penned a new two-year deal that will keep him at the club until 2013. Up and coming defender Shane Lowry, who was signed by Aston Villa, was sent out on loan to Sheffield United until the end of the season, where he made his debut for the Blades just a day later.

Finally, Gold Coast United has again bolstered their squad ahead of the A-League finals, signing German Peter Perchtold and Korean Sung-kil Kim. Perchtold has made senior appearances for German clubs FC Nuremberg and Stuttgart, while the 27-year-old Kim is a midfielder who previously played for Busan Kyotong.

Next Week

Essential viewing: The Melbourne derby between the Victory and the Heart should be a cracking match. Both sides have recorded a win over each other so far this season so this one is considered to be the decider, giving one set of fans the bragging rights until next season. Kick off is at 7pm local time on Saturday, the 22nd.

See you next week!

The NSL had been the premier Australian football competition for 27 years, although it never gained mainstream acceptance. Clubs came and left, the format was tinkered with time and time again and ethnic tensions made it difficult for the league to establish itself as a competition for all Australians to enjoy, as it so desperately wanted.  The continuity of clubs was never certain.  Teams such as Mooroolbark, Collingwood Warriors and Canterbury-Marrickvale lasted no more than two seasons, while Blacktown City was in and out of the league three times in one decade.

The format of the league was also never settled.

In the beginning, a finals series was played but teams gained more pride from winning the league, so the series was scrapped after seven years. In 1984, a conference system was introduced which saw the competition split into two groups. Teams from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory played in the Northern Conference while teams from Victoria, South Australia and, interestingly, Queensland were grouped into the Southern Conference. The winners of each conference would play off in a two-legged final at the end of the season. This system proved to be unpopular and after two seasons the league became a single division competition again.

In 1990, the league changed from a winter to summer schedule to avoid competition with the other football codes.

Dwight Yorke celebrates, after his Sydney FC win the first A-League Grand Final and hoist perhaps the most unusual trophy in football.

This change also prompted the then governing body, Soccer Australia, to attempt to remove ethnic ties to clubs, which frequently led to tension and drove neutral fans away from games. Ethnic flags were banned from games while clubs changed their names and logos to become more fan friendly.  New clubs were introduced with hopes of spicing up the competition, however, most of them failed to make an impact. The only club that was a hit was the Perth Glory, who won the final two NSL championships and was eventually accepted into the A-League. This neutering of cultural identities was the NSL’s last shot at entering the Australian sporting mainstream

In 2004, after staggering on weak legs for some time, the NSL finally collapsed.  When Seven Network decided not to renew its broadcasting deal with the league, the remainder of its sponsors soon followed suit.  The league’s failure prompted a major overhaul of the Australian football system.

Soccer Australia was replaced by the Football Federation Australia (FFA), in an effort to make the game familiar as football rather than soccer.  The A-League was developed as the new national competition, promising to be a competition that anyone could enjoy. Eight teams lined up for the first season in 2005, including Perth Glory and Adelaide United, the only teams unchanged from their NSL existence. The Newcastle Jets and  Brisbane Roar were born out of the old Newcastle United and Brisbane Lions NSL sides, respectively, while Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC, New Zealand Knights and Central Coast Mariners were all new clubs.

The format of the league was, and still is, nothing like your traditional European football league. Teams play each other three times over the season. In the current 11 team competition, six teams make the finals series. The top two teams clash in a two-legged play off with the winner going straight to the Grand Final as hosts, not just in name but on their own ground. The other four teams play knockout football until one team remains. That team faces the loser from the top two, with the winner going to the Grand Final.  Still with me?  Maybe the graphic, below, of last year’s play-off will help.

This format means any of the six teams can become the eventual champion, though no team from outside the top two has yet managed to go all the way.

Sydney FC won the inaugural title with help from Dwight Yorke, formerly of Manchester United fame, who topped the goal scoring charts. Crowds were decent and the competition was healthy, with none of the ethnic tensions that had crippled the NSL.  The trophy, a uniquely shaped ring, which is a hybrid of the traditional cups and shields found in other leagues, was the victor in an intensely competitive contest, held by the FFA, to design the A-League’s championship prize.  D3 Design, the firm which produced the winning entry, was inspired by the laurel wreath originally awarded to ancient Olympic champions.

Season two saw a boost in crowd numbers, thanks largely to the Socceroos qualification for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the nation’s first real achievement in the sport in over 30 years.  The sophomore campaign also saw the A-League gain its first major TV rights deal, pay TV company Fox Sports signed a $120 million/7 year deal.  It was a controversial move for a fledgling league looking to crack an established market, considering that the PPV set-up would only provide viewing access to proven fans already sold on the product.

Robbie Fowler has made an impact in the A-League but backroom issues have hindered his rising to the heights which Dwight Yorke reached with Sydney.

In the ensuing years, the A-League has seen one club fail, the New Zealand Knights, while the Wellington Phoenix, North Queensland Fury, Gold Coast United and Melbourne Heart have all joined the competition. The addition of the Heart has made football much more popular in Melbourne thanks to the Heart-Victory derby, while Queensland’s three teams have also attracted large turn-outs on derby days.

Robbie Fowler has become the biggest name to venture to Australia, originally playing for North Queensland before moving to Perth to play for the Glory. Other big name players who have joined Australian clubs include Dwight Yorke, Francis Jeffers and the well-travelled Scotsman, Charlie Miller.

In recent years, falling crowds have led to financial troubles for some clubs.  That and the failed Australian World Cup bid have threatened to undo the FFA’s hard work in setting up a top class Australian league. Despite the empty seats and backroom difficulties, the competition on the pitch remains top-notch, with the current 2010/11 season shaping up as the most exciting in the A-League’s short history.

If the FFA is able to secure the future of competition, ensuring no more clubs go out of business and boosting crowd figures, then the Hyundai A-League may one day grow into the most watched competition in the country. Hopefully, we will be able to entice some of our top internationals, like Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Mark Schwarzer into coming home while they still have some matches in them, possibly bringing a few top foreign players with them, to try their hand in a truly unique football league.

The A-League, Version 5.0, is now in its last week of season proper. Out of the 27 games in the regular season 26 have been played and this is how things stand.

 If you’re not familiar with this league this is all a precursor to the finals series and the top six teams get to compete for the major premier crown. Although this means that whoever finishes 6 out of 10 can, in theory go on to win the season’s ultimate honours and entry in to the lucrative Asian Champions League it’s not clear sailing. Coming top is preferable, since it guarantees the other Asian Champions League spot and coming top two gives you a second bite of the cherry.

Put simply the top six teams play off thusly. 1^st plays 2^nd and the winner proceeds to the final. 3^rd plays 6^th and 4^th plays 5^th. The winner out of 3^rd and 6^th and 4^th and 5^th then play off for the chance to play the loser of 1^st and 2^nd. The winner of this game then challenges the winner of the first 1^st v 2^nd  for the major crown. Simple.
Whilst the order of 3^rd-6^th is still to be decided Gold Coast United have secured third no matter what whilst two points separate the top two, Melbourne Victory leading Sydney FC who they visit on Sunday. 26 rounds down and the title comes down to the biggest rivals in the league, a one-off that’s sure to be a classic on a Sydney Football Stadium pitch struggling to recover from the thousands of stamping feet that marched across it last weekend for the military tattoo, a tattoo which exiled the team across the city to Parramatta for its spectacular 3-2 win over the Perth Glory.

What happens below that is much of a muchness, with an Adelaide Utd win and a North Queensland Fury loss the only way to stop the South Australians getting the wooden spoon, but without relegation this isn’t such an issue beyond pride. Which brings us to Nik Mrdja.

The 31 year old striker has played 43 A-league came, scoring 13 goals for the Central Coast Mariners, a rather unremarkable career capped by one 11 minute substitute appearance for Australia against Argentine in 2007. Then he was playing for Graham Arnold and following the Mariners 7^th place finish it’s Graham Arnold who’ll be his manager at the Central Coast next season, Lawrie McKinna stepping in to a management role having helped bring the former Socceroos manager to Gosford. What’s unusual about Mrdja, who’s played for the Mariners this season and will do next season, is that for the remainder of this season, he’s playing for the Melbourne Victory.

Taking advantage of a loop hole that allows temporary outside of the transfer window for emergency replacements the Central Coast released Mrdja from his contract, got him to sign a new contract for next season and then Victory signed him to play for the finals series and beyond, including the Champions League, should Melbourne qualify.

The backlash has been sharp. Gold Coast Utd asked to be allowed to sign Robbie Fowler for the remainder of the season, more in jest than anything presumably, and Branko Culina of the Newcastle jets wondered aloud to the press:

“It’s not outside the rules in what they are doing but it’s not in the spirit of the game that we’d like to see. I don’t see how Nik Mrdja can go out there and kiss the badge if he scores tomorrow when he’s only just got there. Then he goes to the ACL, then back to the Mariners. How do the Central Coast supporters take that on board?”

All good questions. The FFA have agreed to review the rule to prevent this happening, the crux being that by releasing Mrdja the Mariners have made him a free agent. Not that Mrdja minds. Having been part of an underperforming team he now has the chance to clinch two titles by month’s end. And even if they do close the loophole he doesn’t seem concerned about the possibility of a ‘Nik Mrdja rule’.

”That’s always a positive, too – my name is always going to be there as the guy who done it.” He said.

True enough, even if it does leave a bit of a bad taste in some mouths given that he’s come in under the special circumstances injury replacement rule, as a replacement for midfielder Billy Celeski. FFA boss Archie Fraser has agreed to have a look at the rule come the end of the season, but until then there’s nothing to stop him playing against Sydney on Sunday.

I’ll be there, supporting Sydney and hoping that Mrdja plays (with his scoring record I doubt the Sydney back line are concerned) so that I can write all about it next week. Cue ‘Nik of Time’ puns, cue ‘This Game was Mrdja’ puns, cue “Victory for the Victory” or “Defeat for Victory” or “Melbourne Nik Victory” or… You get the idea.

NOTE

It doesn’t fit in here but Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer has been rattling the bars again, accusing the FFA of conspiracy and generally letting it all hang out like he does. Great stuff – read more here

Who ultimately backed the manager they’d appointed to replace Frank Farina following his DUI disgrace. With the sparkling talents of chubby Scot and ex-ranger Charlie Miller twinkling over to Gold Coast United Ange is unrepentant and, obviously, is asking for time.

 ”We’ve made decisions we’ve felt are right. Some people will judge us today on those decisions. That’s their prerogative . Most people will judge us in 12 months time as to whether we’re right or wrong.”

 So long term growth for short term loss it is, even if the signing of Belgium defender Pieter Collen does something to ease the blow, the fact that the ex-international has come from the Belgian second division side SK Beveren means his statement that “I hope to do it better than him – I know he’s a big name and expectations are high,” regards filling Moore’s shoes is firmly planted in the aspirational you would think.

 And that’s not all, for even FFA chief executive Ben Buckley has got in on the action, telling Brisbane to sort out their own backyard, get fans back in to the stadium or risk being turfed out to a smaller venue more fitting for their average fan base.

 This is not helped by excursions on the pitch either, with the Roar losing to Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand, newly arrive strike Eugene Dadi scoring twice for the home side, the first of which a spectacular overhead kick with his back to goal that sailed in to the net, despite not having the cleanest of contacts. The second, a classic poachers finish from six yards was a timely reminder too of the need for a bit of clinical finishing up front, where Paul Ifill, for all his endeavour, has often looked like he’s had it all to do himself, a stretch too far.

 This win took Wellington up to fifth and in to finals contention but given that the top six of  ten are finals places this season, that’s not saying much. Brisbane, to put this in context, are seventh, just one point off sixth (and a finals berth) and indeed every club except rock-bottom Adelaide are within one win of making it there with 8 rounds to go.

 For Brisbane though, next up is Newcastle Jets, a game Postecoglu believes they must win to keep their hopes alive, but that’s no guarantee. The Jets have won five of their last sixth, their only loss following the long slog to Perth, and got the result of the round last weekend. Having gone down to ten men against Champions Melbourne Victory they pushed on, eventually securing a fantastic 3-2 win, hitting the Victory on the counter. Mark Bridges (yes, that one) led the line brilliantly alone, scoring the second the get their noses in front just before half time and keeping them in the games. When Labinot Haliti spun round in the area, caught the ball on the volley and steered it expertly across the keeper and in to the side netting, you certainly felt that it was Newcastle’s day, holding on to stay comfortably fourth.

 All of which gave Sydney FC the chance to extend their lead at the top to six points by beating Perth Glory in Perth. Except Sydney did not, although a respectable nil-nil was enough to give them four points and a game in hand over Melbourne. Next up for Sydney is Gold Coast, the battle of the glamour clubs, made the more interesting by the fact that Gold Coast play Newcastle on Wednesday night, and would be able to leap frog  Sydney and take top spot should they win both fixtures, a tough ask but not impossible for the impressive Queensland outfit. Sydney defender and world cup hopeful Simon Colosimo came out warning danger ahead of the tie.

 ”It really is a danger game. They have the deadliest finisher in the league in Shane Smeltz, but that’s because the service is usually very good from their midfield.”

 Smeltz has already racked up 19 goals this season, more than any player has scored in the a-league in a complete season, and saved the day for Gold Coast, scoring at the death to gain a point for his side. Adelaide, continuing their poor run to just two wins in the past eleven games (otherwise known as half the season) deserved more from the game but are not sitting at the bottom of the table for nothing. Gold Coast coach Miron Blieberg was whimsical about the two points dropped saying 

 ”[Adelaide’s] desperation of such a proud club not to finish last was stronger than our desperation as a young club to take advantage and climb into the top two.”

 A very poetic way of saying they wanted it more.

Sure it started well. Pierre Litbarski had them working well and with the touch of Dwight Yorke class in the middle it was a romp to the inaugural title. It was fun. But how things changed. The Terry Butcher years, John Kosmina, Branko Culina, all promising so much.

But the problem… oh the problem. Players were scouted. They were seen performing well for other A-league teams, teams with a work ethic and organisation. They were purchased. They were shoved on  the pitch and they were left to get on with it. Excellent cogs in well run machines were being dumped in a bucket and asked to tell the time. It didn’t work, it couldn’t work. Until now.

Because  Vítězslav Lavička has come in and turned them in to a team, a team moreover that it more than the sum of its parts, that has a game plan, that uses it’s player to their abilities and, most of all, a team that does not feature John Aloisi. The A-league’s highest paid player gets left on the bench to stew, given a late cameo when the games stretched, a simple and effective indictment of his ability to play as part of this team.

Instead Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge have formed a devastating partnership up front. Brosque is slighter, but he is faster, and Bridge, no slouch, has that extra burst of pace aligned with his more muscular and powerful build.  Given an extended run up front this season they’ve produced some dazzling performances. True, Brosque should score a few more goals, and likewise Bridge should set more up but on current form they’re the most lethal double act going, and both these players having been bought from other A-league franchises, poorly used and both in danger of seeing their natural talents squandered.

A good example was against Wellington Phoenix last weekend. The Phoenix had, in their previous game, thrashed the stuffing out of Gold Coast Utd 6-0 and have, since, comfortably beaten the Newcastle Jets2-0 but in Sydney they were never in the game. First the Sydney front two combined with a neat one-two to set Bridge free and plant a powerful shot just inside the far post with venom. Next up Brosque just refused to give up the ball in the opposition area before finding some space to fizz a favoured left foot shot low at goal which the keeper could only parry before Steve Corica tapped it away and, saving the best for last, Brosque ran half the length of the pitch before delivering the ball in low for Bridge to sweep in to the net. Game over.

There was a scare when Wellington won a dubious penalty but justice was served when it was ordered retaken for encroachment and Clint Bolton got down easily to scoop up the second attempt. Sydney are back. Enjoyable to watch, enthusiastic, looking like they’re enjoying their football and even space in the team for fan favourite and foundation player Terry McFlynn of whom it was announced this week that he’d signed a contract extension keeping his at the club till the end of the 2012/13 season.

Sydney sit atop the table, 1 clear of Melbourne Victory and 5 of Gold Coast, who they face next at Skilled Park. A win will keep them top but also send out quite a message, since it would mark victory over every opponent they’ve thus far faced, and should they follow it up the following week against Perth Glory it will mean a win against every other team in the league. That may be no great achievement, and there’s  sure to be losses to come, but knowing that on your day your team can beat anyone has got to be good for the confidence and with an ethic, a tactic and a well balanced team, that top spot is theirs to lose.

Having moved to Australia just in time to get a season pass to the inaugural season I was treated to a deep lying Dwight Yorke dictating the play for Sydney as they romped to the title under world-cup winner Pierre Littbarski’s management, as the rest of the league struggled to find marquee players of note or a tactical system as rigidly enforced.

With the loss of Yorke, who returned to Sunderland, there were the odd interlopers, Juninho and Romario to name two, but the league was struggling under the fact that in such a small competition it seemed like pretty much any one could lose to anyone on their day and it was hard to imagine any huge talents coming in to the game. Mark Bosnich coming out of retirement to stand between the sticks for the Mariner was notable, but mainly for the schadenfraude prospects.

Partly this is because the salary cap system controls club finances and introduces an upper limit on the skills importable, and partly because the standard, throughout, was simply not that high. This season that’s changed. Things have, without a doubt, got better and it’s looking like now, anyone could beat anyone else and, increasingly, through beautiful goals.

The New Zealand Knights in their time were lamentably bad but Wellington Phoenix most certainly give a good account of themselves and New Zealand. The two new teams have invigorated the league by introducing more competition for the top places, more quality plays in the league and a playing schedule that’s less repetitive.

Admittedly, there’s been a few coups like Fowler and Jason Culina bringing their skills to the league, but more that that, the general level has improved considerably. Last year we saw a youth league and a woman’s league playing concurrent to the A-league with players from the former now breaking through to the first teams.

This means that within two seasons we’ve gone from a situation of players being sourced either from regional clubs (a big leap up) or from overseas to the nurturing of in house talent which can, of course, be custom trained to the necessities of the A-league, which remains a physical league.

So yes, the crowds are down a bit, but once the oval ball seasons are out of the way I’d expect that to change. More to the point, the A-league is beginning to make it in to the public consciousness as the media pick up on it and start running with it further and further up the news agenda. Last weekend’s clash between the Fury and Sydney was widely billed as Aloisi vs God and God, of course, won in the end, but the fact that an A-League match could produce such a headline, or such hyperbole, is a sign of how far it’s come.

Next season will see two new teams with one, based in Western Sydney, touted as being the jewel in the A-league crown even though the complicated bidding process saw a Lucas Neill backed bid fall apart following the murderer of a notorious business man. With no name, players or backroom staff yet in place, the new conglomerate creating this franchise will none-the-less be well placed to bring in some good names to what is one of Australia’s football heartlands if this season, and this league, continue to improve at this pace.

As well as lengthening the season by six games for each side (all teams play each other three times), the new Queensland teams have forced the Queensland Roar to change their name to the Brisbane Roar. Why they didn’t use the opportunity when filling in the paperwork to drop the Roar too is beyond my purview, but possible match-up combinations now include; Mariners Fury, Phoenix Jets (admittedly quite cool) and Victory Roar at the top left of the screen.

Wheeling and dealing has abounded in filling up the two new franchises but with talent streaming in and out of Australia more than ever, every team is coming in to this season with a different feel and look, and, with at least an extra six games each this season, fitness is going to be a telling, maybe a deciding factor. In the first four A-league seasons we’ve had three different premier and grand final champions, only Melbourne repeating either feat. Predictions are bound to be futile.

Other than Fowler signing of the summer may well be Perth Glory’sMile Sterjovski from Derby County.It’s rare to see Premier quality players in the antipodes, and it’s fairly clear from last season that Derby were not premiership quality, but with Andy Todd joining him, as well as Chris Coyne from Colchester and Branko Jelic from Energie Cottbus, who were relegated from the Bundesliga last season, Perth are looking strong contenders for the final series, and maybe one of the major prizes.

Adelaide United obviously thought they’d done a good bit of business having snagged another Colchester boy Lloyd Owusu as a replacement for the retired Paul Agostino and there was a sense that should he prove a suitable foil for the Brazilian Cristiano, they could build up a bit of an understanding. But then Owusu got swine flu and is out till round four at least. Coach Aurelio Vidmar sounded relatively unconcerned about the flu that’s slowly destroying the world as we know it when he calmly stated

“We’re going to be really cautious with him and if it takes us six, seven, eight weeks then that’s how it is.”

Without a marquee player, Adelaide may find themselves pinning a lot of hope on a man who’s career goals to games rations is a little more than one in 3, and scratching around to find goals from elsewhere.

Having progressively got worse in almost every way, year on year since the A-league began, Sydney FC start version five with yet another new coach, Vitezslav Lavicka, who’s looking to instil a new culture in the club.

“I have three parts to my coaching philosophy,” he said. “Discipline and respect, motivation to improve and team unity. Also we must enjoy playing and the work. We must be together for the success.”

That’s the problem with starting a sentence with ‘I have three parts’ when you haven’t thought it out first. Hopefully Sydney can look like they care this season and who knows, maybe John Aloisi will start looking like the star signing he purportedly is, hopefully helped by the undeniable talent of former Sparta Prague man Karol Kisel who’s followed his former coach south.

Sacked former Sydney manager, Branko Culina, meanwhile has taken up the coaching reins once again having been appointed in charge of the Newcastle Jets whilst his son Jason lines up for Gold Coast United following his time with PSV Eindhoven. Tipped generally as the best, most in prime, great player the A-League has ever seen, not a huge challenge to live up to, the battle of the Culina’s proper won’t happen till round four when Jason gets the chance to try his luck against what was a shaky back line for Newcastle last term, bolstered this season by Ljubo Milicevic, who’s year off from football (no, seriously, he took a year off) seems to have changed the man.

“I think for the first time in my career,” he said in an interview, “my heart and my head are going in the same direction and I think for the first time in my life, people are going to see me play at a level that they haven’t seen before.”

Presumably his manager Is just hoping he doesn’t take another sabbatical.

Meanwhile, over at Gold Coast United, Jason is facing up to the prospect of playing under Australia’s closest thing to a sugar daddy. Whilst salary caps and other restrictions mean that huge spending is not really an option, United chairman Clive Palmer is helping in other ways, promising to fly his team to and from matches in a luxurious private jet. A controversial figure, he’s already complained about the state of the pitches, accused the FFA of ‘lacking respect’ for the people of the Gold Coast, aimed to go the whole season unbeaten whilst winning the title and offered Roar supporters a 25% discount to switch allegiance. A colourful character, it remains to be seen whether his team can make a splash on the field with the former Juventus (on loan) keeper Jess Vanstrattan coming out before a ball’s been kicked in anger to inject a touch of pedestrian realism.

“We have to be realistic. We’re a new team and we haven’t played together.”

Melbourne Victory meanwhile, as title holders, are obvious favourites to lead the race early on having a virtually unchanged team, but their last post-championship season saw them fall out of the final series entirely. It would be a surprise if that happened again, but should hit men Archie Thompson or Danny Allsopp get injured there is a lack of quality depth. Kevin Muscat must surely be the most hated man in the A-League ( and let’s never forget the words of Ian Wright regards Muscat: He is a nobody. He knows it, I realise it and a hell of a lot of other people think it.”) but within this league, and this team, Muscat’s without a doubt a force to be reckoned with. The danger is that this could be the year when age catches up with the thirty six year old.

No report on the A-league, Australia’s top flight of football, would be complete without a mention of New Zealand team Wellington Phoenix who had been providing the comic relief in the league before last season finishing a surprising third last. Whether they can repeat that will be questionable, having lost goal-scoring ace Shane Smeltz and replaced him with Paul Ifill, who’s going to have to improve his career strike rate of a goal every six games if he’s to be any use, although playing up front will no doubt help that.

With more teams to be added next year, this is going to be something of a transitional season for the A-league with more grounds to fill, players to pay and matches to watch but it looks set to be the most exciting yet with high profile signings who could either triumph ecstatically or flop disastrously, in either case fascinating for the observers. Melbourne kick off the season against the Central Coast Mariners on the 6th August and Lawrie McKinna’s men will be hoping to finally win their first match of 2009. With Adam Kwasnik back to lead the line up front and Michael McGlincey, who never quite made the grade at Celtic, to sure up the midfield, it’s looking a tough prospect for the Mariners who’ll have to be hoping that Melbourne have a rare off day at home.

Also in round one, Adelaide take on Perth; North Queensland, with six ex-Sydney FC players on their books will be taking on the very same in Queensland; Brisbane will be hosting Gold Coast and Newcastle will be looking to start things up with all three points as Wellington come to town. It’s too early days for results to really matter, but everyone will be looking at the likes of Fowler and Culina to really make their mark from the outset and prove that their expensive additions to the league are worthwhile, and bring in the crowds, since last season was the first that saw a drop in attendances across the board, a state of affairs that would be perilous if repeated in what should be a burgeoning league.