Realistic Expectations 08/09

Realistic Expectations 08/09

The way the squad is shaping at the moment are we getting ahead of ourselves thinking with excitment about making the play-offs in the upcoming season? Looking at our signings can we feel more secure at the back with McKain and Durantee, how much difference will the addition of a quality right back make to the team.

In this league, mid-table is playoffs. Basically.

expecting mid table, would be ok with 5th, hoping for higher!

Mid-table, 4th would be great.

In the top four would be nice. Hopefully its possible with a stronger defense - not so many early goals against us.

I think the squad looks to have a bit more pace this year. IMO that was the biggest thing they were lacking last season.

Definately, squad looking really good. should be a strong season - needs to be to justify our place.

im just hoping for a solid mid table placing, sneaking into the play offs would be a bonus.

yeah, our midfield looks a hell of a lot faster with gao and leo already. things are looking up, and we should definately not finish in the bottom 2

playoffs would be amazing

You guys are gonna kick ass. Perth are becoming the new new zealand knights. Portillo2008-03-20 13:20:38

No they haven't. Only Sydney really.

Newcastle have lost a bunch, Perth have done nothing, Melbourne have signed Celeski who is average and Pondejliak (sp) who will probably break down every 2 seconds. Sydney are the only club who probably can say they have improved greatly. Adelaide a little bit with Og and Ceccoli.

CCM signed Elrich and Caceres
valeo2008-03-20 13:11:33

Alot still hinges on our last two signings (right back and striker) their quality will be the difference between mid table and sneaking into the play-offs, their contributions at both ends of the park will have a massive influence on our fortune. As has been mentioned we do look quicker as a squad across all areas. Waiting with anticipation for the last two signings........

I expect anything 6th or above would be acceptable and doable

We simply must finish in 6th place or above to gain some respect and finally banish the wooden spoon specter of the NZK. We also need to win home games regularly so we can keep the crowd numbers up and thus ensure financial stability. Playoffs would be the fantastic, and I think we may have the squad to do it, but let's wait and see.

I don't think I'll say I expect a high placing on the table this coming season.  We have a great squad now and with pace coming in on attack and the chance of a solid defense, I think we are in a good position to do well.

We do still have to iron out things like letting in early goals and giving away bad balls at the death of games.  With all new defenders its going to be a balancing act to start with... hopefully Durante can take firm control of the backline and we can work our way forward from the back.

I'm not expecting us to win the A-League... I am expecting us to iron out the silly mistakes and look like a solid team.  With the league not expanding this year it gives us a good chance to show just how far we've come from the Auckland franchises, to show that we don't need newbie teams to bolster our position in the A-League.

The way Newcastle and Perth's recruiting is going, if we turn up for each game with a full squad we should easily walk 6th...

I expect the Nix to win. I wont be disapointed though if we make the playoffs

Premiers and Champions.

End of.

What do you guys reckon would justify our place in the league? Would a 5th or 6th place finish comfortably state that a NZ franchise well and truely deserves to be there?

I would love to see 5th or better on the table, an average crowd of 14k to 15k and a record crowd of 20k plus - none of which would be easy but is all possible. I would be ecstatic if we made the playoffs. Whitby boy2008-03-20 17:46:03

realisticly... 1st

I'd be disappointed if we were below 4th.

A more secure defence will be a huge bonus - shipping the easy goals has to stop.

a couple of good strikers will give us more goals - so playoffs a real possibility

Based on the signings so far, I think the table will look like this:

1 Melbourne
2 Sydney
3 Wellington
4 Adelaide
--------------
5 CCM
6 Queensland
7 Newcastle
8 Perth

There's not much separating many teams; a lot of those are too hard to call though I did guess!

Melbourne:
Strengthened their squad a lot during the off season.
Sydney:
Spent lots of dosh, but how about their defence and injury cover?
Wellington:
Good value recruitment without spending as much as Sydney.
Adelaide:
Strong squad but less experienced coach.
Cent. Coast:
Lost Pondeljak, gained A. Elrich, so there's no way they'll do as well as last year!
Queensland:
Lost Reinaldo, no other changes
Newcastle:
Lost half the squad cos the boss is too tight.
Perth:
Recruitment? New players? We don't understand what you mean ...

Of course it's still early days, and this list will need some revising before the season starts.
Bevan2008-03-20 20:07:53

76th..unless we sign another striker to assist Smeltz.

Oops damn gorilla fingers..my bad...6th....
Boro4eva2008-03-22 19:24:55

That'll be interesting, what with only 8 teams in the league.

The other A-League teams have also been improving their squads tho. I'm going for a cautious 6th. phil_style2008-03-21 05:32:12

I'll wait to see who we sign as the second striker and the right-back before making any predictions.

At the moment we are looking way too thin up front to be challenging for a play-off spot.

At the start of last season, there were almost no players who had been playing in the same team recently with any regularity, and there wasn't much time for them to get used to each other - a lot of the stray passes were a matter of the receiver not being where expected as much as the quality of the pass. This year, a large part of the squad have had a whole season (with a whole pre-season to come) playing together, so there'll be a much better understanding there to start with, which the new players will be able to slot into. This should make a big difference.

We certainly have recruited well. We now have depth and quality in CD. Our midfield looks strong and quick and again has good depth. A lot will depend on those final two recruits. If we sign a solid RB and Joel Porter then the potential is enormous.

Until all signings have been finished, its pointless to speculate.

Clubs that finished bottom four this year, will be working hard to get into the top 4 next year.

Newcastle definately haven't. Perth haven't. CCM have only got Elrich (lol) and Caceres who are both average players at best and have lost Aloisi + Pondejliak (sp). Melbourne have only signed Celeski (crap) but I do think they will be a force next year - Hernandez is the best player in the league when in full flight. Have Queensland done anything notable on the transfer market yet? Can't recall it. Think they're losing Reinaldo too. Sydney are the only team that has greatly changed or improved their squad (apart from us).

Anything below 4th will be a complete and utter disappointment. If that happens then Ricki will go.

1. Melbourne
2. Wellington
3. Sydney (great team on paper but will take a while to gel)
4. CCM
5. Adelaide
6. QLD
7. Newcastle
8. Perth Knights
valeo2008-03-22 12:01:42

Caceres average at best? Hmmm, I disagree. He was good last year toward the end of the season IMO, and streets ahead of the way Elrich was playing, I think it's a good signing by CCM.

Melbourne were coming onto form at the end of this year (recent ACL thrashing aside!) and hopefully they'll do well next year. I've only seen Celeski play for Victory v Chunnam but he seemed OK - he's no Kaz Patafta, mind.

QLD have lost Reinaldo (to the K-League :S) and Lynch, and haven't signed anyone significant. Adelaide have a good squad already and have added Ognenovski which is a great signing for them.

I wouldn't write off the Jets but they'd have more luck if they were willing to spend money. Perth has Rukavystya who I think will come on quite strongly this season, but f**k all else going for them.

I'd be very suprised if we beat Sydney.

For my money:
Melbourne
Sydney
CCM
Adelaide
Wellington
Newcastle
Queensland
...
...
...
Perth

Of course I'm no doubt wrong, and feel dirty putting Newcastle and QLD so low when they did so well this season.

Caceres is very overated mate imo (especially by Victory fans). I've been to every Melbourne game and he is ridiculously hot and cold - usually cold, though.

And Elrich..well..the less said about that waste of space the better. Bad attitude, bad crosses, bad fitness.
valeo2008-03-22 13:34:52

Fair enough Valeo - probably a good time to mention I am from Melbourne myself, so may be slightly biased. I don't think he'll be sorely missed at Melbourne anyway - they have a strong enough midfield.

Just looking at the A-League Website, they could've summarised Perth's movements thusly:

Re-signed: Rubbish players

In: No Players

Out: The few good players they had

Kind of feel sorry for them :(