{"id":18200,"date":"2015-10-07T06:55:16","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T20:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=18200"},"modified":"2016-05-02T21:11:51","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T11:11:51","slug":"a-league-season-11-preview-and-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=18200","title":{"rendered":"A-League Season 11 Preview and Predictions"},"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\/season11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18204\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/season11.jpg\" alt=\"season11\" width=\"620\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/season11.jpg 620w, http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/season11-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>he eleventh\u00a0season of the Hyundai A-League has arrived! \u00a0After another interminably long off season, Australia\u2019s premiere national football competition begins anew on Thursday with the once mighty Brisbane Roar travelling away to Western Sydney Wanderers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As has become tradition on The FAT Website, this season preview will provide some comically inaccurate predictions charting the Brisbane Roar\u2019s prospects, the fortunes of the other teams in the comp and which individual players will emerge as stars.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=16485\">At the start of last season<\/a> I wrote a blog detailing some predictions for the season ahead. \u00a0Here&#8217;s how I went:<\/p>\n<p><strong>How I said the table would finish<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1 Sydney FC \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>2 Western Sydney Wanderers \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>3 Brisbane Roar \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>4 Melbourne Victory \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>5 Adelaide United \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>6 Melbourne City \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>7 Central Coast Mariners \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>8 Wellington Phoenix \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>9 Perth Glory \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WRONG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>10 Newcastle Jets \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>CORRECT!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Other Predictions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Besart Berisha<\/strong> will be the top scorer in the competition. \u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG<\/span> \u2013 Marc Janko<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Kenny Lowe<\/strong> will be the first coach to lose his job. \u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211; <strong>Mike Mulvey [Brisbane Roar] was the first coach to lose his job. \u00a0Kenny Lowe was not sacked.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The final will be between <strong>Western Sydney Wanderers<\/strong> and <strong>Sydney FC<\/strong> in a huge NSW derby. \u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG<\/span>\u00a0&#8211; I was half right! \u00a0Sydney FC played Melbourne Victory<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the inaugural FFA Cup \u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0<strong>Adelaide United won the inaugural FFA Cup<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The eventual winners of the competition will be <strong>Sydney FC \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WRONG<\/span> \u2013 Melbourne Victory won the championship<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong> \u00a0I am terrible at football predictions.<\/p>\n<p>Now with a new season upon us it&#8217;s time to lay down some fresh predictions and share my thoughts on the season to come.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Predictions For 2015\/16 Season<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><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><strong>Brisbane Roar<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0John Aloisi<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Jamie Maclaren (Perth), George Lambadaridis (injury replacement), Corona (Almer\u00eda)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Kofi Danning (Oakleigh Cannons), George Lambadaridis (released), Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht \u2014 end of loan), Andrija Kaluderovic (unknown), Ben Litfin (Palm Beach), Lachlan Jackson (Newcastle Jets), Luke Brattan (released)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last Season: \u00a0Sixth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Brisbane Roar are a club in serious trouble. \u00a0After four glorious seasons that saw the club win three titles, their fortune came crashing down last season in spectacular fashion. \u00a0Championship winning coach Mike Mulvey was sacked after six games with his dismissal being leaked to the media before he was even told. \u00a0The club had a poor regular season in which they never hit their stride. \u00a0Then in the off-season, things went from bad to worse. \u00a0The club&#8217;s Indonesian owners The Bakrie Group seemingly lost interest in supporting the club. \u00a0Huge debts were amassed and it was revealed that most of the club&#8217;s players and staff haven&#8217;t been paid properly for almost eighteen months. \u00a0One player &#8211; influential midfielder Luke Brattan &#8211; tore up his contract and left. \u00a0Managing Director Sean Dobson was fired for financial mismanagement and for most of the off-season, outgoing chairman Chris Fong promised the FFA and fans that a sale of the club to new owners was imminent. \u00a0After three months of talk, no such sale eventuated and Fong went into hiding. \u00a0The Bakrie Group sent out representatives to Brisbane and during a fan forum held last week they claimed they never had any intention of selling the club, completely contradicting what fans had been told in the months prior.<\/p>\n<p>The club&#8217;s relationship with its fans is in tatters. \u00a0The season membership numbers have plummeted from 0ver 10,000 last season to just 3,000 for 2015\/16. \u00a0The fans don&#8217;t trust the owners of the club and want them out. \u00a0The Fan Forum was an intense three hour evening in which angry supporters vented their frustration and searched for apologies and answers. \u00a0Point blank the representative of the Bakrie Group was asked by club members to apologize for their handling of the club on three occasions and each time he refused. \u00a0Promises were made by the club to clear its outstanding debts to staff by January 2016.<\/p>\n<p>With so much turmoil off field, its impossible to see the club having much on-field success. \u00a0It&#8217;s hard to get excited about playing for your club when you&#8217;re not sure if the next pay cheque will arrive on time. \u00a0New coach John Aloisi has plenty of accolades from his playing career but he is resuming a coaching career from Melbourne Heart where he went fifteen games without a win &#8211; a competition record. \u00a0Last season fans were told Mike Mulvey was sacked because the playing style he wanted &#8216;didn&#8217;t fit the club philosophy&#8217;. \u00a0Since then we&#8217;ve hired a 36 year old midfielder, released twelve youth players and the technical director responsible for that decision Ken Stead is no longer with the club. \u00a0It&#8217;s fair to say that any framework or legacy of the Ange Postecoglou is now gone and the club will basically rebuild itself as something new. \u00a0What that something is is anyones guess.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:<\/strong> \u00a0Eighth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Adelaide United<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Guillermo Amor<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Iacopo La Rocca (Western Sydney), Bruce Kamau (youth team), George Mells (free), Eli Babalj (AZ Alkmaar \u2014 on loan), Mate Dugandzic (Melbourne City)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Nigel Boogaard (Newcastle Jets), Miguel Palanca (released), Cam Watson (Jets), Paul Izzo (Central Coast Mariners), Awer Mabil (FC Midtjylland)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Adelaide United are a club that seem perennially one star player away from attaining greater success in the A-League. \u00a0They ended their trophy drought last season by winning the inaugural FFA Cup but the lack of depth in the squad meant that they fell short in the regular season despite some patches of brilliance.<\/p>\n<p>To be honest, there doesn&#8217;t see to be a whole lot thats changed in the club to sway their fortunes to drastically in 2015\/16. \u00a0I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ll be serious challengers for the Premiers Plate but they are definitely a cut above the stragglers in the competition. \u00a0Comfortably snug in midtable.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m sad to see colourful coach Josep Gombau leave for an assistant coaching role in the MLS during the off season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Sixth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Central Coast Mariners<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Tony Walmsley<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Roy O\u2019Donovan (Brunei DPMM, Singapore), Mitchell Austin (Cambridge United, England), Josh Bingham (promoted), Jake McGing (promoted), Paul Izzo (Adelaide United), Harry Ascroft (VVV-Venlo), Daniel Heffernan (Heidelberg)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Zac Anderson (released), Brent Griffiths (released), John Hutchinson (retired \u2014 appointed assistant manager), Mitchell Duke (Shimizu S-Pulse), Travis Major (released), Richard Vernes (return to Budaoest Honved), Matt Simon (released), Zac Cairncross (released), Dejan Pandurevic (released), Tom Slater (released), Isaka Cernak (released), Hayden Morton (released), Matthew Nash (retired \u2014 appointed goalkeeper coach)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Look at that outgoing player list!<\/p>\n<p>Central Coast Mariners was once a club that was hailed for its consistency and ability to perform at a level well above expectations for a team their size. \u00a0They had been a permanent fixture of the finals season and even won the Premiers Plate two years ago. \u00a0The departure of influential coach Graham Arnold and financial pressures however have taken their toll.<\/p>\n<p>The club had a dismal 2014\/15 season by their standards and if preseason form is any indication, it will be another long season for the Mariners. \u00a0Too many talented mainstays (not least former captain John Hutchison) have left the squad and they don&#8217;t have a seasoned coach to rebuild the squad in a manner that keeps them competitive. \u00a0They are hands down favourites to claim the wooden spoon and be warned &#8211; picking the bottom team in the competition is the only thing I&#8217;ve consistently got right since I started writing these season previews.<\/p>\n<p>On a fun side note &#8211; keep an eye out for Roy O&#8217;Donovan. \u00a0I have no idea who he is but apparently he transferred from Brunei DPMM.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Tenth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Melbourne City<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0John van&#8217;t Schip<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Steve Kuzmanovski (Western Sydney), Ivan Franjic (free), Corey Gameiro (Sydney FC), Harry Novillo (contract renewed), Aaron Hughes (Brighton &amp; Hove Albion), Michael Zullo (FC Utrecht), Bruno Fornaroli (free), Thomas Sorensen (free), Jason Trifiro (Western Sydney)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Andrew Redmayne (Western Sydney), Josh Kennedy (retired), Mate Dugandzic (released), Kew Jaliens (released), Damien Duff (released), Iain Ramsay (released), Robbie Wielaert (released), Massimo Murdocca (Avondale FC), Jason Hoffman (Newcastle Jets)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Surely the most underperforming team in the competition is Melbourne Heart\/City who are one of the richest clubs in the competition, based out of the biggest city in the country and have qualified for the finals (top six out of ten teams) a grand total of two times.<\/p>\n<p>This season they finally look like a club that will hang around during finals football as they&#8217;ve steered clear of hiring aging stars of the past (see &#8211; Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell etc) and recruited smartly with the addition of Socceroos Ivan Franjic and Michael Zullo.<\/p>\n<p>Honestly, the only real weaknesses I see with City is their coach John van&#8217;t Schip. \u00a0I don&#8217;t think he has the tactical nous to win the club trophies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Fifth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Kevin Muscat<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Danny Vukovic (Perth Glory), Oliver Bozanic (free), Giancarlo Gallifuoco (Swansea)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Nathan Coe (released), Andrew Nabbout (released), Jordan Brown (released), Mark Milligan (Baniyas)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Defending champions Melbourne Victory are a club poised to absolutely dominate the A-League. \u00a0They enjoy huge support and boast an extraordinary one third of the entire competition&#8217;s season members. \u00a0They enjoy financial security and a stable squad that includes Besart Berisha, the most fearsome striker in the competition. \u00a0They have also recruited smartly in the off season with the aquisition of Vukovic, Bozanic and Gallifuoco and jettisoned the gaffe prone Nathan Coe.<\/p>\n<p>Its hard to see any weaknesses in the champion&#8217;s armour. \u00a0I believe they&#8217;re a good shout to win the first ever treble in the history of the A-League. \u00a0The change of rules allowing for a second marquee player will only further strengthen their squad in the future. \u00a0They look ominous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Champions<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Newcastle Jets<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Scott Miller<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Nigel Boogaard (Adelaide United), Andy Brennan (South Melbourne), Themba Muata-Marlow (Sydney FC), Mark Birighitti (returns from loan), Jason Hoffman (Melbourne City), Lachlan Jackson (Brisbane Roar), Mateo Poljak (Western Sydney), Labinot Haliti (Western Sydney), Cam Watson (Adelaide United), Leonardo Vitor Santiago (1860 Munich), Milos Trifunovic (Radnicki Nis)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: John Solari (released), Allan Welsh (released), Sam Gallagher (released), Taylor Regan (released), James Virgili (released), Max Burgess (released), Andrew Hoole (Sydney FC), Travis Cooper (Adamstown Rosebud), Edson Monta\u00f1o<\/em><em>(Barcelona \u2014 end of loan), Scott Neville (Western Sydney), Jacob Pepper (Western Sydney), Zenon Caravella (released)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Wholesale changes have been rung in at Newcastle Jets who endured the season from hell last year. \u00a0They still don&#8217;t formally have new owners confirmed although interim caretakers the FFA are promising a sale soon. \u00a0They have pretty much hit the reset button with their squad which they absolutely needed to do. \u00a0Will this new batch of players come together and become serious contenders? \u00a0I doubt it. \u00a0But the only way is up and with the shape that Central Coast are in, I believe the Jets will go up. \u00a0All the way to ninth on the competition ladder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Ninth<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Perth Glory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Kenny Lowe<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Antony Golec (Western Sydney), Jerrad Tyson (Sun Pegasus), Alex Grant (free), Hagi Gligor (Sydney), Ante Covic (Western Sydney), Gyorgy Sandor (Videoton FC), Marc Warren (free), Diego Castro (Getafe), Guyon Fernandez (Breda)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Brandon O\u2019Neill (Sydney FC), Danny Vukovic (Melbourne Victory), Riley Woodcock (Sydney FC), Scott Jamieson (Western Sydney), Jack Duncan (Randers FC), Daniel De Silva (Roda JC \u2014 on loan), Rostyn Griffiths (released), Youssouf Hersi (released), Dragan Paljic (unknown), Jamie Maclaren (released), Andy Keogh (released)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Boo! \u00a0Hiss! \u00a0The salary cap cheating villains of the A-League are back with a new look squad. \u00a0Basically, all their best players are gone! \u00a0It&#8217;s hard to think of such a dramatic talent drain that a squad has endured in a single offseason but I guess thats what happens when you&#8217;ve been fudging the books and suddenly can&#8217;t make good on the extra money you promised. \u00a0McLaren, Vukovic, Keogh, Jamieson, De Silva&#8230;all gone. \u00a0An aging Ante Covic and journeymen like Marc Warren and Jerrad Tyson as replacements. \u00a0It doesn&#8217;t look good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Seventh<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sydney FC<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Graham Arnold<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><em>Ins: Milos Ninkovic (Evian), Riley Woodcock (Perth Glory), Brandon O\u2019Neill (Perth Glory), Andrew Hoole (Newcastle Jets), Mickael Tavares, Jacques Faty (upgraded to full contract), Zac Anderson (Central Coast), Filip Holosko (Besiktas), Milos Dimitrijevic (returns), Matt Simon (uncontracted), Alex Mullen (Mars Hill), Ivan Necevski (returns), Jacob Tratt (Sutherland)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Sasa Ognenovski (released), Nick Carle (released), Hagi Gligor (released), Peter Triantis (released), Bernie Ibini (Club Brugge), Corey Gameiro (Melbourne City), Marc Janko (FC Basel), Nikola Petkovic (KVC Westerlo), Terry Antonis (PAOK)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m a little befuddled by Sydney FC&#8217;s recruiting policy in the off season. \u00a0They released Golden Boot winner Marc Janko as well as Corey Gameiro who was looking sensational until injury brought his 2014\/15 season to a premature end.<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, the club&#8217;s greatest asset remains their coach Graham Arnold whose tactical nous and experience should ensure that the club are one of the few teams that will keep pace with Melbourne Victory during the regular season. \u00a0Should their paths cross in the finals they will be out for revenge after the embarrassing capitulation they endured in last years final.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Second<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Wellington Phoenix<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Ernie Merrick<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Blake Powell (APIA Leichhardt), Jeffrey Sarpong (NAC Breda), James McGarry, Logan Rogerson (both promoted), Troy Danaskos (Sydney Olympic)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Michael Boxall (SuperSport United), Tyler Boyd (Vitoria Guimaraes), Jason Hicks (released), Josh Brindall-South (released), Kenny Cunningham (released), Nathan Burns (FC Tokyo)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As an outsider looking in, my main question for the Nix are where will the goals come from after the departure of Nathan Burns and Kenny Cunningham, two strikers who reliably banged in the goals last season. \u00a0Otherwise, the Nix are a team that will likely build on the unexpected success they enjoyed last season which saw them get tantalizingly close to winning a maiden premiereship. \u00a0Under Ernie Merrick&#8217;s stewardship, the club&#8217;s exciting young talent should be finals contenders for a second year running.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Fourth<\/p>\n<h2><b>Western Sydney Wanderers<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><em>Coach: \u00a0Tony Popovic<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ins: Andrew Redmayne (Melbourne City), Scott Jamieson (Perth Glory), Scott Neville (Newcastle Jets), Jacob Pepper (Newcastle Jets), Andreu Guerao Mayoral (Racing Santander), Mitch Nichols (Cerezo Osaka), Federico Piovaccari (Sampdoria), Dimas Delgado (Recreativo), Alberto Aguilar (free), Dario Vidosic (FC Sion)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Outs: Matthew Spiranovic (Hangzhou Greentown), Ante Covic (Perth Glory), Yusuke Tanaka (released), Jason Trifiro (released), Nick Ward (released), Adrian Madaschi (released), Yianni Perkatis (released), Nikita Rukavytsya (released), Kerem Bulut (released), Tomi Juric (released), Nick Kalmar (released), Antony Golec (Perth Glory), Steve Kuzmanovski (Melbourne City), Yojiro Takahagi (FC Seoul), Iacopo La Rocca (Adelaide United)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Last season was the best and worst of times for Western Sydney Wanderers who had a fairytale run in the Asian Champions League, becoming the first Australian club to win such an accolade. \u00a0It came at a cost though as the players were burned out from a lack of offseason and as a result the club performed dismally during the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, coach Tony Popovic has rung in the changes and with a proper preseason under their belt, it seems safe to assume they&#8217;ll be contenders once more. \u00a0The signing of Dario Vidosic in particular is an exciting proposition. \u00a0They&#8217;ll be in the mix during finals season and I think they are one of the few clubs that will challenge the Victory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction: \u00a0<\/strong>Third<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Standings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. \u00a0Melbourne Victory<br \/>\n2. \u00a0Sydney FC<br \/>\n3. \u00a0Western Sydney Wanderers<br \/>\n4. \u00a0Wellington Phoenix<br \/>\n5. \u00a0Melbourne City<br \/>\n6. \u00a0Adelaide United<br \/>\n7. \u00a0Perth Glory<br \/>\n8. \u00a0Brisbane Roar<br \/>\n9. \u00a0Newcastle Jets<br \/>\n10. \u00a0Central Coast Mariners<\/p>\n<h2><strong>General Predictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Besart Berisha<\/strong> will be the top scorer in the competition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tony Walmsley<\/strong>\u00a0will be the first coach to lose his job.<\/li>\n<li>The final will be between <strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Sydney FC<\/strong>\u00a0in a grand final repeat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the FFA Cup<\/li>\n<li><strong>Melbourne Victory<\/strong> will win the treble &#8211; the minor premiereship, the grand final and the FFA Cup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Season 11 of the A-League includes some familiar names, clubs in financial strife and a player transferred from Brunei DPMM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2307],"class_list":["post-18200","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\/18200","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=18200"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19784,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18200\/revisions\/19784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}