We’re now two months into the A-League season, and the struggles of Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar have been well-documented, with pressure ramping up on David Zdrilic and Ruben Zadkovich as both clubs remain winless going into Round 9.
As poor as those two sides have been, however, Sydney FC and their marquee stars are hugely underperforming, relative to pre-season expectations. The glamour club have never been to shy to leverage their financial advantage over the majority of the competition, and the last off-season was no exception.
Ufuk Talay almost completely revamped his foreign contingent, bringing in ex-Bayern Munich star Douglas Costa, classy midfielders Leo Sena and Anas Ouahim and striker Patryk Klimala while retaining Joe Lolley, one of the A-League’s premier forwards.
With that kind of investment comes pretty large expectations, and so far the Sky Blues are bumbling along with a 3-0-4 record that leaves them outside the top six.
Individual performances have certainly been a problem, as Talay cited following their latest defeat, a 4-3 shootout at Allianz Stadium last time out.
The manager didn’t call any players out by name but Rhyan Grant and Douglas Costa were among the worst performers, making Sydney’s right side an easy target for Western’s forays forward.
Like most clubs, there are some regressing players on the wrong side of 30 on Sydney’s roster. Andrew Redmayne and Grant have been stalwarts at Moore Park but had there been more pressure on their positions in the team, they likely would no longer be guaranteed starters every week.
Spending much money on your back-up goalkeeper is not necessarily a good investment, but going cheap can be risky, too. Harrison Devenish-Meares has had a bumpy road to the A-League and should Redmayne’s form dip, I’m not sure the 28-year-old could carry the load for a title contender.
Anthony Caceres and Adrian Segecic. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
As evidenced by his Socceroos call-up, Anthony Caceres is still a quality player but needs to be deployed in a more attacking role to show his best. Screening the back four is not really in his wheelhouse.
The Sky Blues boast some of the best youth talent in the country with the recent emergence of Tiago Quintal and Wataru Kamijo adding to the likes of Hayden Matthews, Adrian Segecic and Jaiden Kucharski who are all 23 or younger.
On paper this team should be mixing it with Auckland and Adelaide at the pointy end of the ladder but an alarming lack of discipline combined with Talay’s tactical rigidity have mired Sydney in mediocrity.
Sydney’s aggressive press often leaves them exposed, Michael Ruhs’ late winner last Saturday being the perfect example as just one pass was enough to get the striker in behind the defence and while there was work still to do, it was a simple finish one-on-one with Redmayne.
Sticking with your footballing philosophy no matter the outside scrutiny is to be admired but the truth is such an attacking style is rare to see in modern football for good reason. Followers of Ange Postecoglou’s current plight in north London will know very well just how stubborn a manager can be when urged to make a tactical change to mitigate risk.
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Russell Martin, this week dismissed by Southampton after the Saints’ awful start to the EPL campaign, is perhaps an even more extreme example than Big Ange and ultimately he paid for their poor form with his job.
Of course, this isn’t England and there’s no relegation. Talay may not be in any real danger yet but a trip to high-flying Adelaide and a Big Blue either side of Christmas could certainly turn up the heat if results don’t go their way.