{"id":16485,"date":"2014-10-05T11:07:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-05T01:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=16485"},"modified":"2015-10-07T07:01:23","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T21:01:23","slug":"a-league-season-10-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=16485","title":{"rendered":"A-League Season 10 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/tagfootball.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5928\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/tagfootball.jpg\" alt=\"tagfootball\" width=\"600\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/tagfootball.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/tagfootball-300x37.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/berishavictory.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16487\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/berishavictory.jpg\" alt=\"berishavictory\" width=\"620\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/berishavictory.jpg 620w, http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/berishavictory-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>he tenth season of the Hyundai A-League is almost upon us!\u00a0 After another interminably long off season, Australia&#8217;s premiere national football competition begins anew with Melbourne Victory hosting Western Sydney Wanderers at Etihad Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>As has become tradition on The FAT Website, this season preview will provide some comically inaccurate predictions charting the Brisbane Roar&#8217;s prospects, the fortunes of the other teams in the comp and which individual players will emerge as stars.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Predictions From 2013\/14 Season<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>How did I go with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=11765\"><strong>my picks from last year<\/strong><\/a>?\u00a0 Here&#8217;s what I said would happen:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Western Sydney Wanderers<\/strong> will win the regular season<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the Grand Final<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mark Bridge<\/strong> will be the league\u2019s top scorer<\/li>\n<li>The teams that will qualify for the finals:\u00a0 Central Coast Mariners, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory and Sydney FC<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Heart<\/strong> will finish with the wooden spoon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what happened:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Western Sydney Wanderers<\/strong> will win the regular season\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 They lost in the final to the Roar (so good)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the Grand Final\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 They were defeated in the semis by the Roar<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mark Bridge<\/strong> will be the league\u2019s top scorer\u00a0 <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/strong>He was tied for 17th highest goal scorer.\u00a0 The Golden Boot winner was a dark horse in Newcastle Jets&#8217; Adam Taggart<\/li>\n<li>The teams that will qualify for the finals:\u00a0 Central Coast Mariners, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory and Sydney FC\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 I got five out of six with Adelaide United making it at the expense of Perth Glory<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Heart<\/strong> will finish with the wooden spoon\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>CORRECT!<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Anyway, enough about last year.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Predictions For 2014\/15 Season<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/newroarlogo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16488\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/newroarlogo.jpg\" alt=\"newroarlogo\" width=\"620\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/newroarlogo.jpg 620w, http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/newroarlogo-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>Brisbane Roar<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Mike Mulvey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Mensur Kurtishi (FK Shk\u00ebndija), Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht &#8211; loan), Daniel Bowles (Adelaide United), Jamie Young (Hayes &amp; Yeading United), Devante Clut (promoted from youth team)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Besart Berisha (Melbourne Victory), Diogo Ferreira (Perth Glory), Matthew Acton (Yangon United), Ivan Franjic (Torpedo Moscow), Julius Doe Davies (Otelul Galati)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Champions<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Life after Besart Berisha begins now.\u00a0 The firey Albanian striker has been the X-factor for the Roar since he joined the club three years ago and a significant contributor to their title wins in 2012 and 2014.\u00a0 He scored 48 goals in 76 appearances including 3 goals across two grand finals.\u00a0 Now he has headed south to Melbourne Victory.\u00a0 Where does that leave Brisbane?<\/p>\n<p>By my reckoning, I think there&#8217;s still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the season ahead.\u00a0 The club lost Berisha and Socceroo Ivan Franjic but they have otherwise kept the nucleus of their championship winning team, securing the long term contracts for Luke Bratten and Dimi Petratos in the off-season.\u00a0 Coach Mike Mulvey had to go shopping for a striker in the off-season and although he said he wasn&#8217;t looking for &#8216;another Berisha&#8217;, he&#8217;s certainly invited comparisons by signing another unknown Albanian in Mensur Kurtishi.<\/p>\n<p>The Roar played extremely well without Berisha last season and in fact two of their biggest wins (5-2 vs Sydney, 4-0 vs Sydney) came when the club were playing without him.\u00a0 Having said that, Berisha has been good for roughly 15 goals per season for the last three years so the club will need to find those elsewhere and it will be up to Solozarno, Kurtishi and Henrique to step up and deliver the goods.<\/p>\n<p>There are concerns that tactically, the Roar haven&#8217;t been clicking as well as they would have liked in the pre-season, as they lost 3 out of 4 games against A-League opposition.\u00a0 Just two weeks prior to the start of the season the club held a meeting of the senior players to iron out the kinks and go back to the drawing board.\u00a0 Pre-season isn&#8217;t everything (just ask Manchester United) but the Roar haven&#8217;t enjoyed the fluency of last season&#8217;s pre-season where they were scoring for fun and looking like a tight knit unit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Third<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Adelaide United<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Josep Gombau<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Jimmy Jeggo (Melbourne Victory), Dylan McGowan (Hearts, Scotland), Craig Goodwin (Newcastle Jets), Pablo S\u00e1nchez (Club Deportivo Lugo, Spain), Ben Warland (AIS), Dylan Smith (AIS), John Hall (AUFC NYL)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Michael Zullo (end of loan \u2013 FC Utrecht), Daniel Bowles (Brisbane Roar), Jeronimo Neumann (Newcastle Jets), Jacob Melling (Melbourne City), Jake Barker-Daish (released), Jon McKain (released).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Sixth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Last year it took Josep Gombau ten rounds for his brand of tikki-takka Spanish football to gel at Hindmarsh stadium.\u00a0 By then, their rivals had gotten too far ahead of the pack and the Reds only just managed to scrape into finals contention.\u00a0 This season, you&#8217;d expect a much smoother journey for the Reds.\u00a0 They&#8217;ve looked pretty good in the pre-season and youngster Awer Mabil remains an exciting prospect.\u00a0 Squad depth is probably one of the biggest concerns for Gombau.\u00a0 In short, I don&#8217;t think they have any.<\/p>\n<p>Mostly, I&#8217;m just looking forward to more of Gombau and his whacky antics.\u00a0 Last season he told a local news reporter that his son was a &#8216;shitty goalkeeper&#8217; and endeared himself to the Reds faithful by celebrating goals running up the touch line in his suit with his gut hanging out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Fifth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Central Coast Mariners<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Phil Moss<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Rich\u00e1rd Vernes (Budapest Honv\u00e9d &#8211; loan), Malick Mane (IFK G\u00f6teborg \u2013 loan), Matt Nash (Bonnyrigg White Eagles), Liam Rose (AIS), Anthony Kalik (AIS)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Bernie Ibini (Sydney FC), Marcel Seip (FC Emmen), Marcos Flores (Newcastle Jets), Justin Pasfield (Tampines Rovers), Mile Sterjovski (retired), Adam Kwasnik (retired).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Third<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The most consistent club in the competition, Central Coast Mariners have never failed to make the finals and despite every season having their talent raided by other clubs, they always manage to stay competitive and loom as dark horse title contenders.\u00a0 This year, without Graham Arnold, without their championship winning veterans, without Wee Mac and after suffering a tumultuous off season where they struggled to raise the funds to use Blue Tongue Stadium, I believe they will finally be on the decline.\u00a0 There&#8217;s still a handful of talented players at the club but no other team has lost as many talented players at the Mariners did this year.\u00a0 I know we say that every year but this is it.\u00a0 This year they will finally miss the finals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Seventh<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Melbourne City<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: John van\u2019t Schip<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: David Villa (New York City FC &#8211; guest), Robert Koren (Hull City), Connor Chapman (Newcastle Jets), Aaron Mooy (Western Sydney Wanderers), Erik Paartalu (Muangthong United), Damien Duff (Fulham), James Brown (Newcastle Jets), Jacob Melling (Adelaide United), Marc Marino (AIS)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Orlando Engelaar (released), Sam Mitchinson (Bayswater City), Patrick Gerhardt (released), David Vrankovic (Bonnyrigg White Eagles), Jeremy Walker (Concord Rangers), Harry Kewell (retired), Aziz Behich (end of loan &#8211; Bursaspor)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Wooden Spoon<\/em><\/p>\n<p>New owners and &#8211; as one glance at that massive transfer sheet will tell you &#8211; practically a new team.\u00a0 One of the wildest stories from last season of the A-League was the announcement that Melbourne Heart, one of the smallest teams in the competition, had been purchased by Manchester City and would be ear-marked for the same funding and development that New York City FC received.\u00a0 Hence the new sky-blue strip and the 10 game loan stint for David Villa, fresh from playing for Spain in the World Cup.\u00a0 Fox Sports contributor Simon Hill says the owners intend for City to build a fan base up to 20,000 people (a near 300% increase from where they are currently) and to begin winning trophies quick smart.\u00a0 Rome wasn&#8217;t built in a day however and I don&#8217;t think a completely new team that has a star player who will only be there for 10 games is going to get the job done.<\/p>\n<p>City should be a conduit for attracting plenty of star talent in the next few years though.\u00a0 Plenty of people are predicting that Frank Lampard will do a stint at the club and basically any big name player under contract to Manchester City who is pushing thirty is a chance for playing in the A-League.\u00a0 The owners know that the EPL talent draws crowds so if they are serious about reaching their membership goals, they&#8217;ll need as many as they can get.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Sixth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Kevin Muscat<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Besart Berisha (Brisbane Roar), Carl Valeri, Matthieu Delpierre (FC Utrecht), Daniel Georgievski (Steaua Bucharest), Fahid Ben Khalfallah (Troyes)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: James Jeggo (Adelaide), Adama Traore (Vit\u00f3ria de Guimar\u00e3es), James Troisi (Zulte Waregem), Tom Rogic (end of loan \u2013 Celtic) Francesco Stella, Pablo Contreras (retired)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Fourth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On paper, Melbourne Victory look like the team to beat.\u00a0 After periods of inconsistency last season under new coach Kevin Muscat, the Victory came good towards the end of the season and they haven&#8217;t looked back.\u00a0 After losing a closely contested semi final with Brisbane Roar, the only difference between the two clubs appeared to be Besart Berisha and now he wears their colours.\u00a0 They have been in ominous form in the pre-season with Berisha scoring for fun and linking up well with Gui Finkler.<\/p>\n<p>Honestly, I believe the only limitations for this club is coach Kevin Muscat who I think is an average coach at best.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s not forget last season the club lost back-t0-back five nil games against Wellington and Sydney FC and it was when Muscat persisted with a formation that was getting brutally exposed by the opposition which he stubbornly refused to change.\u00a0 If for some reason Berisha doesn&#8217;t get the service he requires, then I don&#8217;t know how quickly Muscat can find a Plan B.\u00a0 Make no mistake, the club is building their fortunes this season almost entirely around Bess.\u00a0 If it works, they could be unstoppable.\u00a0 If it doesn&#8217;t&#8230;neither Berisha nor Muscat are known for their cool heads and diplomacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Fourth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Newcastle Jets<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Phil Stubbins<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Billy Celeski (Liaoning Whowin), Marcos Flores (Mariners) Jeronimo Neumann (Adelaide United), Sam Gallagher (H\u00e0 N\u1ed9i T&amp;T FC), Adrian Madaschi (Perth SC), Josh Barresi, Edson Montano (Barcelona SC- loan), Jonny Steele (New York Red Bulls), Brandon Lundy (Jets Youth team)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Ruben Zadkovich (Perth Glory), Adam Taggart (Fulham), Emile Heskey (released), Josh Brillante (Fiorentina), Connor Chapman (Melbourne City), James Brown (Melbourne City), (Josh Mitchell Liaoning Whowin), Joey Gibbs (Wofoo Tai Po)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Seventh<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s not much to get excited about in the Hunter Valley if you&#8217;re a football fan.\u00a0 They lost their Golden Boot winning striker and they signed a bunch of ne&#8217;er do wells and no hopers.\u00a0 Ladies and gentlemen, your wooden spooners for 2014\/15.\u00a0 You can put the mortgage, the kids, the family dog and all your worldly possessions on it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Wooden Spoon<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Perth Glory<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Kenny Lowe<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Youssouf Hersi (Wanderers), Dino Djulbic (Al-Wahda) Ruben Zadkovich (Jets), Andy Keogh (Blackpool), Danny Vukovic (returning from loan spell), Diogo Ferreira (Roar), Mitch Nichols (Cerezo Osaka &#8211; loan), Richard Garcia (Minnesota), Jordan Thurtell (AIS)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Jacob Burns (retired), Ryan Edwards (end of loan &#8211; Reading), Darvydas Sernas (end of loan &#8211; Gaziantepspor), Adrian Zahra (Valletta, Malta), William Gallas, Travis Dodd, Steve McGarry<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Eighth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If there was a team that could possibly challenge Newcastle for the wooden spoon it&#8217;d be Perth Glory but to Kenny Lowe&#8217;s credit, he&#8217;s actually signed some pretty handy players for this season.\u00a0 The problem is, he&#8217;s still Kenny Lowe, a coach with one of the worst records in the competition.\u00a0 I think the team have the talent to eventually improve their prospects but it will take time to rebuild after the morale killer that was Jacob Burns and it will remain to be seen who emerges as the new locker room leader.\u00a0 The club needs a serious cultural overhaul.\u00a0 This might be the season it finally happens.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Ninth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sydney FC<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Graham Arnold<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Marc Janko (Trabzonspor), Shane Smeltz (Perth Glory), Bernie Ibini (Shanghai Donya \u2013 loan), Alex Brosque (Al Ain), Alex Gersbach (Australian Institute of Sport), Christopher Naumoff (Promoted from Youth Squad), Anthony Bouzanis (Promoted from Youth Squad)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Brett Emerton (Retired), Terry McFlynn (Retired), Alessandro Del Piero (Delhi Dynamos), Richard Garcia (Perth Glory), Marc Warren (APIA Leichhardt), Blake Powell (APIA Leichhardt), Mitch Mallia (Blacktown City), Joel Chianese (Sydney United 58 FC), Ranko Despotovic (Deportivo Alaves), Matthew Thompson (PTT Rayong), Daniel Petkovski (unattached), Josh Macdonald (Nottingham Forest)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Fifth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In my eyes, the team to be beat and odds on favourite to win the whole damn thing.\u00a0 The club had a horrendous time under Frank Farina and although Alessandro Del Piero was a fan favourite who scored a ton of goals, you can&#8217;t be serious title contenders and build your squad around a 38 year old striker.\u00a0 Enter Graham Arnold, a proven coach with championship winning credentials.\u00a0 He has made the best signs in the pre-season, has an ominous striker force that he has built between Brosque, Janko and Ibini.\u00a0 Even Smeltz is an X-factor that you image could potentially reinvigorate his career under a guy like Arnold.\u00a0 The club used to inexplicably sign a bunch of woeful ham and eggers for their defence but Arnold has all but cleared them out.\u00a0 They had a cracking preseason where they beat West Ham United and Brisbane Roar.\u00a0 Look out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Champions<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Wellington Phoenix<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: Ernie Merrick<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In: Nathan Burns (Incheon United) Roly Bonevacia (Roda JC Kerkrade), Alex Rodriguez, Michael McGlinchey (Vegalta Sendai).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Carlos Hernandez (Cartagin\u00e9s), Leo Bertos (East Bengal), Luke Adams, Paul Ifill, Stein Huysegems<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Ninth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Everyone&#8217;s favourite underdog team.\u00a0 Like Adelaide and Melbourne Heart, the Phoenix had a horrendous opening third to last season taking ten rounds to really start motoring and by then it was too late.\u00a0 Ernie Merrick is a shrewd coach however and he eventually got the team on a run of form that almost saw them storm into the finals.\u00a0 The club has had some good off-season signings if their friendly against Newcastle United was anything to go by and they&#8217;ll be pleased to finally have Michael McGlinchey back at the club after a courtroom battle for his services broke out between the Phoenix and the Mariners.<\/p>\n<p>Travel and squad depth are the perennial bug bears for the Phoenix but as ever, you can never quite right them off.\u00a0 Well, I say that but I sort of am because I&#8217;m predicting they&#8217;ll just miss out on the finals.\u00a0 Again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Eighth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Western Sydney Wanderers<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>In: Vitor Saba (Brescia), Brendan Hamill (Seongnam), Romeo Castelen (RKC Wallwijk), Seyi Adeleke (Biel-Bienne), Antony Golec (From ACL contract to AL contract), Dean Bouzanis (Carlisle United)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Out: Shinji Ono (Consadole Sapporo), Jerome Polenz (Sarpsborg), Aaron Mooy (Melbourne City), Youssouf Hersi (Perth Glory), Michael Beauchamp (PTT Rayong), Adam D\u2019Apuzzo (Retired), Tahj Minniecon (Rockdale City Suns), Josh Barresi (Newcastle Jets), Jerrad Tyson (Sun Pegasus), Dean Heffernan (Bulli)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season:\u00a0 Second<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What other club could lose as many talented players as the Wanderers did in their off season and still be considered genuine title contenders?\u00a0 The Wanderers will miss the flair and talent of inaugural marquee players Shinji Ono and the gritty determination of Yusef Hersi and Jerome Polenz but at the end of the day, the club is still a force to be reckoned with thanks to the peerless coaching talent of Tony Popovic.<\/p>\n<p>The Wanderers become just the second A-League team to make the finals of the Asian Champions League after they beat FC Seoul and Guangzhou Evergrande in the semis and quarters.\u00a0 The Guangzhou encounters were particularly memorable as they are coached by World Cup winning manager Marcelo Lippi and are the biggest club in Asia with a squad worth ten times as much as the Wanderers.\u00a0 The Guangzhou fans took defeat in the first leg at Pirtek Stadium so badly that Lippi ran onto the field to accost the referee and when the Wanderers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/sport\/football\/western-sydney-wanderers-ready-for-tough-away-asian-champions-league-final-tie-with-al-hilal\/story-fnk9bwp8-1227079385279\"><strong>traveled to China<\/strong><\/a> for the away leg, they were purposefully kept awake at night, had cars purposefully crashed into their tour bus (!!!) and had to deal with fans using laser pointers at the players eyes on the field.<\/p>\n<p>The club is a model of consistency and discipline and I think the only thing they are missing is an out and out striker that is good for more than ten goals a season.\u00a0 Last year both Bridge and Juric failed to fire with any consistency and although it got them to the Grand Final, they were unable to go all the way.\u00a0 The club has played two seasons and made two grand finals.\u00a0 This might finally be the season they go all the way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:\u00a0 <\/strong>Second<\/p>\n<p>So my prediction for the league ladder this year looks as follows:<\/p>\n<p>1 Sydney FC<br \/>\n2 Western Sydney Wanderers<br \/>\n3 Brisbane Roar<br \/>\n4 Melbourne Victory<br \/>\n5 Adelaide United<br \/>\n6 Melbourne City<br \/>\n7 Central Coast Mariners<br \/>\n8 Wellington Phoenix<br \/>\n9 Perth Glory<br \/>\n10 Newcastle Jets<\/p>\n<h2>General Predictions<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/general.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16497\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/general.jpg\" alt=\"general\" width=\"505\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/general.jpg 505w, http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/general-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Some final predictions for the 2014\/15 season.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Besart Berisha<\/strong> will be the top scorer in the competition.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Kenny Lowe<\/strong> will be the first coach to lose his job.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">The final will be between <strong>Western Sydney Wanderers<\/strong> and <strong>Sydney FC<\/strong> in a huge NSW derby.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the inaugural FFA Cup<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">The eventual winners of the competition will be <strong>Sydney FC<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;ll revisit this post at the end of the season and we can laugh at how wrong I was again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your annual TFW preview to the upcoming A-League season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2307],"class_list":["post-16485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-preview-and-predictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16485"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16500,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16485\/revisions\/16500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}