With less than two weeks before our first game, hit us with your predictions for the upcoming season.
Predictions 2019/20 Season
6th place. Still dreaming for 4th place home final win.
I hope the league is more balanced this year, except Bitumens win the wooden spoon.
I would like us to finish top four, I expect us to finish 8th/9th/10th (and would like Western to finish last)
My optimistic prediction
Sydney
Perth
Melbourne Victory
Western Sydney
Melbourne City
Well Phoenix
Adelaide United
Brisbane Roar
Western United
Newcastle Jets
Central Coast
I don't think we have enough depth to finish in the top 4. If things go well, we could end up 5th or 6th. If they don't, it could be the spoon.
Nix 5th, built on a solid defence. Top three for goals against.
McCowatt to be our top scorer this season
waine to start week 1 and go on to be our top striker.
Whatever Jazzy Jazz predicts, and whatever danepak doesn't!
I direct the latter barb, in a kindly manner.
Don't care about the rest; think we'll be 7th or 8th with some good and some bad. I'm OK being patient this season as long as our future is 100% confirmed and the young guys get a lot of time.
Think we're really missing another striker.
TAHW and Tim Payne or Matti Steinmann to finish as our centre back pairing.
And to do ok.
Sotirio will be released before the end of the season
Reckon Payne won't last long either.
Piscopo to get the most Johnny Warren points of any Nix player*.
(*Depending on the quality of the striker-to-be.)
Davila to be the most fouled Nix player
Durante to get a red card for continuallu fouling Waine for running past him.
Good creativity but not enough goals..8th.
The Phoenix defence will be in the top two for least goals against.
The 12 pubs of Tony Lochhead to finally do in my liver this year.
Listen I'd be happy if we finished with 9 points as long as all of them were picked up against Western United. Fire up
McCowatt to be our top scorer
Sail to get the starting #1 spot by season end
Sail to get the starting #1 spot by season end
Maybe even sooner than that.
Sail to get the starting #1 spot by season end
Wouldn't mind that, v good shot-stopper, good with his feet and not afraid to come out still v young for a goalkeeper and has potential to be our number one keeper for years to come.
Prediction for Round 1:
Starting XI: Marinovic - Fenton - Taylor - DeVere - Cacace - Rufer - Steinnman - Davilla - Piscopo - Waine - Ball
Bench: Sail - McGing - Hudson-Wihongi - McCowatt - Sotirio
Left out: Scott, Elliot, Payne, Devlin
We win 3-1
Season predicitions
* We'll make the 6 (just) thanks to plenty of rotation afforded to us by a deep squad
* On the rotation point, we'll see Libby play a few games in the midfield and Louis rested a fair bit as Callan Elliot and Walter Scott turn out to be very hand fullbacks
* The goals will be spread around very evenly - no individual player gets more than 8
* Once he's acclimatised to the league, Ben Waine will emerge as our most exciting player
* Liam McGing will have usurped Luke DeVere as a starting CB by seasons end
* As mentioned by others, Sail beats out Marinovic for the starting keeper spot early in the season and never looks back
* Sotirio, Devlin and Payne struggle to make the squad all year. Payne will be back at Eastern Suburbs by the end of January
A lot of negativity around Payne on these forums already... why?
I think we could see either him or Wihongi as our starting CB's by season end once DeVere gets inevitably injured (hopefully on minor) and they come in to replace him and stay.
Just wasn't impressed with him in the Strikers game. Long way to go, but looked off the pace. TAHW on the other hand looked like he was up to it.
Just wasn't impressed with him in the Strikers game. Long way to go, but looked off the pace. TAHW on the other hand looked like he was up to it.
Feel like he'd be better suited at CB and TAWH would be better at CDM.
I've accidentally written an essay, but since we are 8 days out from the first game, here are my terrible hot takes on the upcoming season.I will preface this by saying I'm completely aware of the blatant bias towards the nix in this table prediction, but as a fan I think it's football heresy to bet against your own team succeeding (especially in an unpredictable league like the A-League). These are my predictions:
- Sydney FC: Smurfs to go one better and win the Premiers Plate. A common trope you hear in the A-League is that you need depth, but I think Sydney and the Vuck have proved numerous times that you can succeed with a disgustingly stacked starting XI. ALF, Kosta, Ninkovic, Baumjohann. O'Neill and Brattan sitting in front of a very good defence. Surprised if they don't finish top 2.
- Melbourne Victory: How the hell do they do it every year. A few months ago they barely had a full XI, now they have a very strong team. Questions over whether their new attacking midfielder Dobras will be good, but the rest of the team is good enough to be fine if he turns out to flop. Toivonen and Nabbout will be scary together, Traore will torch the wings and Kamsoba will have a breakout season in the place of a disappointing Robbie Kruse.
- Perth Glory: Only a very mild case of second season syndrome for Popa. Lowry and Davidson were arguably two of the best players in their respective positions and will be a loss, however their replacements look pretty decent. Everything hinges on what version of Fornaroli Perth have signed. If it's the Bruno of his first A-League season then they could well finish higher, but the jury is still out.
- Melbourne City: The plastics have ridiculous attacking depth - MacLaren is a potent goal scorer and will be fed great service from the likes of Luna, Cabrera, Berenguer. Noone has looked fantastic so far, and Brillante is an excellent signing. Fantastic youth options off the bench such as Najjarine, Najjar, Genreau and Wales. Losing Shenkeveld is rough though and I think they have lost some of their defensive strength in compromise for a far more exciting attacking potential. It's City though, so it could all end up falling apart.
- Western Sydney Wanderers: I think Babbel is one of the best coaches in the league despite last year, and he has made some fairly impressive signings. the back three of Jurman-Ziegler-McGowan will be the new Grant-Lowry-Spiranovic of Perth from last season. Schwegler and Meier are top signings too. I would probably have them higher, but in light on Majewski doing his ACL recently they might struggle at times to link defence with the attack.
- Wellington Phoenix: I've got us here because I'm obligated to as a Phoenix fan. I think more than any team in the league we are a total unknown quantity. In Steinmann and Davila we have two players with lots of potential who could be some of the best in the league, or could be just another pair of average imports.Then you have guys like Piscopo and McCowatt who have never played in the A-League but could be very exciting. Cacace could be the league's best left back. Waine looks like he could have his breakout season. A lot of promise, but a lot of question marks. I don't think we will be close to wooden spooners though, even if a spot in the finals doesn't eventuate.
- Adelaide United: The Reds miss out on finals this season for me. Not a bad side, they've kept their solid defensive line intact and pulled off a big signing in the return of McGree. The loss of Goodwin and Isaias is massive blow though, and I don't think they've replaced them well enough. Still think they lack a good 9, that Opseth bloke doesn't look like he will set the league alight.
- Brisbane Roar: Preseason must feel extra long for the Roar boys, as Fowler signed up his squad pretty early in the peace. Speaking of, why the fudge did they choose Fowler as their coach. Classic Bakries football decision. At least two of their imports will be poor, although they've signed a few good Aussies and ROD always bangs in a few when he gets on the park.
- Western United: Dirty, elderly scum, and I hate them :)
- Newcastle Jets: Moss, Topor-Stanley and Boogaard are another year older and not getting any better. Arroyo doesn't look too flash. Wes Hoolahan was one of their big signings and will miss a lot of the season through a serious pre-season injury. A lot of that core from the 17/18 season is still there though, so maybe they could turn out okay.
- Central Coast Mariners: Of all of these predictions I'm desperate for this one to be wrong, I feel so sorry for what Mariners fans have had to endure over the last three seasons. I don't think they have recruited strongly enough though. Alen Stajcic doesn't suffer fools though, so I expect them to be a far better side than they were under Okon and Mulvey. Tough, but still wooden spooners.
Golden Boot: Can't decide between Jamie McLaren and Ola Toivonen.
Johnny Warren Medal: Milos Ninkovic.
First coach to be sacked: Ernie Merrick.
We will finish in the top 11. Put ya money on it!
Like last season I think Jazzy's predictions will age well.
In reality Nix could finish anywhere in that 5-11 allotment.
Imports, injuries, new coach, lady luck, VAR, the coach's family, import player's families, the shopping in Welly. Who knows for sure.
Like last season I think Jazzy's predictions will age well.
In reality Nix could finish anywhere in that 5-11 allotment.
Imports, injuries, new coach, lady luck, VAR, the coach's family, import player's families, the shopping in Welly. Who knows for sure.
Done forget earthquakes and the climate crisis
Davila should light the league up and carry us to top 6 (8 goal season from him)- provided Marinovic and Ball do mostly good (they are the biggest question marks for me). McCowatt and Cacace to be the best of the young guns. Waine/Elliot probably not ready to have too much impact (both will still play decent in limited minutes) at A-League level but I would love to be proved wrong. Final sticking point is if our center backs have good understanding and communication between themselves or just sh*t the bed every few games and cost us crucial points as I am thinking might happen. Rufer and Steinmann will impress from day one. Fenton might not have as much joy in the new formation but should still be decent. As some before me have said - Sail could well be our number one come seasons end and I really rate him. I have not watched any preseason games this year so could be off on these. Top scorer will be Davila with 8 and then 3 or 4 players with 5/6 goals. Hope Ball knocks in 10 though and I think a goal in the first game will go a longggg way for him.
I predict I will be in trouble with "er indoors" when she finds out I've bought the kids this seasons new tops.
I predict I will be in trouble with "er indoors" when she finds out I've bought the kids this seasons new tops.
Did you forget to buy her one again this season LG?
Nope. Got mine, got Micki's and just got one for Ta because she's been to a couple of games and wants to come along to a few more.
I predict Kanye West's next album will be sharke!
Top scorer will be Davila with 8 and then 3 or 4 players with 5/6 goals. Hope Ball knocks in 10 though and I think a goal in the first game will go a longggg way for him.
Thats only about 30 goals all up.
We got 46 goals last year. CCM scored 31 last year and came last.
I'm sure we can knock in more than that. Really need two players to get into double figures.
But yes be nice to see a few players get off the mark against the bitumens. Ball, McCowatt and Piscopo to get some early confidence.
Top scorer will be Davila with 8 and then 3 or 4 players with 5/6 goals. Hope Ball knocks in 10 though and I think a goal in the first game will go a longggg way for him.
Thats only about 30 goals all up.
We got 46 goals last year. CCM scored 31 last year and came last.
I'm sure we can knock in more than that. Really need two players to get into double figures.
But yes be nice to see a few players get off the mark against the bitumens. Ball, McCowatt and Piscopo to get some early confidence.
well i guess that wouldn't be including goals from defenders and then the odd one from defensive midfielders too so probs take that to 40
Takasaki/Mystery Striker - 10 goals
Davila - 6 goals
Ball - 6 goals
McCowatt - 5 goals
Piscopo - 3 goals
any of Devlin/Waine/Sotirio/Rufer/Steinmann - 4 goals
any of Cacace/DeVere/Taylor/Fenton - 4 goals
that gets us to 38 and I don't think any of those numbers look outrageous. There is scope for Piscopo, McCowatt and Waine getting many more than that too. Ball could also end up doing better. With how good Fenton and Libby are going forward, and how dangerous both Taylor and DeVere are from set pieces the defenders could well score more than that too (Sydney had some fantastic set pieces last year which they scored from, and all were masterminded by Uffie). I might be in the optimistic minority, but I think we have the cattle to achieve 40 goals.