A. LEAGUE REBOOTED
“God” has descended on the Sunshine State; an ambitious, new A-League club kicks off in Western Melbourne’s heartland; Western Sydney Wanderers return to their spiritual home, while pantomime villain Kevin Muscat has exited stage right. Changes are afoot in the A-League.
What’s more, we will see the most significant structural change in the history of the league.
A newly independent A-League sets sail for its first summer without Football Federation Australia (FFA) at the helm. With the national governing body now at arm’s length, the crucial question is: how will the competition’s independent, club-driven structure fare? And will it make any difference to crowds, ratings, investment and excitement?
There’ll be soft reds, top goals and coaching blow-ups, as the weekly news cycle drives engagement, but the broader narrative is the league itself. Can the competition’s new guardians execute a disruptive game plan that repositions the A-League in hearts and minds in what is an increasingly crowded and digitally diverse fan landscape?
Fortuitously, a clutch of intriguing sub-texts should keep the fans and media engaged this summer. The marquee Sydney Derby at the stunning new Bankwest Stadium is poised to write a ripper new chapter in Western Sydney Wanderers versus Sydney FC history. Then there’s Robbie Fowler.
The Liverpool FC legend, one of the English Premier League’s greatest modern-day strikers (183 goals in 369 matches for the Reds) is back in town. Will “God’s” return to Australia in his first serious head coaching role prove a stroke of genius at three-time champions Brisbane Roar?
And Alen Stajcic is back on the national scene. Could he be the one to resurrect Gosford’s wooden-spooners after his extraordinary sacking by FFA from the Matildas coaching gig last January?
THERE’LL BE SOFT REDS, TOP GOALS AND COACHING BLOW-UPS AS THE WEEKLY NEWS CYCLE DRIVES ENGAGEMENT, BUT THE BROADER NARRATIVE IS THE LEAGUE ITSELF.
Another question soon to be answered: is ambitious Victorian outfit Western United FC – who has
