2010/2011 A-League Preview - Part 1 | Thebigtip

As I type this we’re only about a week away from the start of Season 6 of the A-League, and the major talking point is going to be the new team in the Melbourne Heart. Given that I’ve barely seen any A-League news pieces around here, this is going to be Part 1 of a three-part preview of the upcoming season, broken down team by team.

Today, Part 1 is going to cover the bottom 5 teams from the previous season, working from 10th upwards.

ADELAIDE UNITED

Last Season
Played: 27
Won: 7
Drew: 8
Lost: 12
Ladder Position: 10th

Departures
Kristian Sarkies (Melbourne Heart), Cristiano (Released), Alemao (Released), Mark Rudan (Released), Michael Marrone (Melbourne Heart), Scott Jamieson (Sydney FC).

Arrivals
Nigel Boogard (Central Coast), Marcos Flores (Primera B (Chile), Sergio Van Dijk (Brisbane Roar).

Key Player
Sergio Van Dijk – Given their spectacular failure to have any sort of firepower in front of goals last season, Van Dijk’s going to be relied on heavily to score at least double figures.

Overview
There hasn’t been a mass departure from Hindmarsh since the wooden spoon effort in Season 5, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The talent is still there but it just needs a new direction, and with new coach Rini Coolen hopefully the path is a good one. The rumours that the players were strongly in favour of assistant Phil Stubbins being awarded the job isn’t the best of initial signs though, as is the news that Coolen was a scout for Pim Verbeek during Australia’s World Cup campaign. Proceed with caution.

Besides the loss of youngster Michael Marrone to the Heart, Adelaide hasn’t lost anyone that will be a trouble to replace. Boogard will cover Rudan’s role and then some, Flores looked excellent in his Champions League stint, and Van Dijk comes with his own reputation as one of the best marksmen in the league. Even though Jamison is a promising player, last season he was average at best, so now that Cassio can settle down on the left side that will also be a positive.

With a full pre-season behind him, look for Flores to be the star in midfield. As I mentioned before, he looked impressive in patches during the winter, but he was nowhere near match-fit at the time. He seems to have that creative flair that they’ve been lacking for a long while, so hopefully whatever system Coolen decides to play gives Flores the freedom to play those line-breaking passes. I don’t want to see another situation similar to Scott McDonald with the national team.

Even though they picked up Van Dijk, I still think the problem area is up front for Adelaide. Dodd is not a striker and I don’t want to see him played there anymore. Ever. While Leckie was amazingly good last season, I think his best position is just behind the strikers, which I assume leaves a hole next to Van Dijk. Who’s going to fill that hole? Nothing stands out to me from their list, so someone from their youth team is going to have to step up.

There are still a lot of question marks over United, but they surely can’t be as bad as they were last season. There’s a part of me that almost wishes for it just for the hilarity, but they will improve a little bit.

2010/11 Range:

6th-8th

Betting:

Champions - $13.00

Wooden Spoon - $5.50

BRISBANE ROAR

Last Season
Played: 27
Won: 8
Drew: 6
Lost: 13
Ladder Position: 9th