WestSydneyFootball.Com Season 2012/13 A-League Team Preview
Adelaide United
Last year was an abysmal showing for a team that many predicted to go all the way to the Grand Final. They sold key attacking midfielder Marcos Flores to Henan Jianye for a reported fee of $500,000 but added Dario Vidosic as their Australian Marquee and declared the squad had been strengthened across the board. What followed were mixed results from their first 3 matches before a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the 31 game unbeaten Brisbane Roar team set the tone for their campaign.
Wins were few and far between. The lack of success cost Rini Coolen his job as Manager after losing a home match against the lowly Gold Coast. Under newly appointed ex-manager John Kosmina the Reds threatened a brief revival during the holiday season but that soon faded away, taking only one victory from their last thirteen matches to finish 9th only 4 points ahead of now defunct Gold Coast United.
One major positive was their continued good form in the Asian Champions League, where they progressed from group E on top, and despatched Nagoya Grampus 1-0 at home.
To replace those losses Iain Fyfe moved in from South Korea, Daniel Bowles and Barker-Daish rose from the ashes of Gold Coast United. Teeboy Kamara was promoted to the full squad but has subsequently suffered a mysterious illness that will stop him playing indefinitely. Foreign spots were taken by the introductions of 29 year old Marcelo Carrusca and 26 year old Jerónimo Morales, both from Argentina. The final position was filled by 23 year old Portuguese ex-Chelsea youth product Fabio Ferreira.
Adelaide are a club that have kept a stable first choice line-up for some time now but are still suspect defensively. John Kosmina will keep his players motivated, which is something that will help in their ACL campaign. There are questions on his ability to gain tactical advantage over rival coaches and with his squad management over the entire season. I believe they will rely too heavily on their midfield for goals and their defense will continue to leak goals.
The season proper for Adelaide kicks off earlier than the other teams as they face a home/away Asian Champions League Quarter-Final tie against Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan.
The fixture list for Adelaide gives them a mixed bag of difficulty in their opening matches. An away trip to Newcastle is first, followed by their home debut against the Wanderers. The Melbourne Victory grudge match will be one of the travelling highlights of the season for their fans. Wellington at home and Roar away will seriously test their finals credentials. Adelaide will need to convert more draws into 3 points to stand a chance of finals contention and the club, players and supporters will expect nothing less a finals appearance. I do not share that optimism. The club is treading water and will need a cleaning out at the end of the season.
I predict that Adelaide United will again finish the season in 9th position.
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