Our series of 2015-16 A-League mid-season reviews continues with a look at Perth Glory.
The Story So Far
They were predicted to sink rather than swim in preseason, and for a while the Perth Glory did just that. After just one win and seven goals from their opening eight games, the Westerners found themselves rooted to the bottom of the table. Things looked grim, in spite of an encouraging run to the FFA Cup Final and unfortunately, they were comprehensively beaten by Melbourne Victory 2-0.
However, over the last month, the Glory have managed to keep the seemingly sinking ship somewhat floatable. They began a four-game unbeaten run, beating the Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory in back-to-back, before earning deserved draws against the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Victory. Despite losing their next two games to Brisbane and Adelaide, the recent on-field performances have been enough to suggest they are capable of another unbeaten run.
The defence has been strong, the 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Melbourne City notwithstanding. Josh Risdon has again put forward his case for the mantle of the league’s best right-backs, while Michael Thwaite has been excellent at centre-back. Dino Djulbic’s strong start to the season was derailed by injury, but youngster Alex Grant has stepped in and done a great job replacing him. Unfortunately, left-back has been a problem area all season, with neither Marc Warren or Antony Golec convincing.
The engine room in the middle of the park has spluttered at times, although there have been some good aspects. Gyorgy Sandor has been a strong signing, his excellent distribution and composure welcomed by the Glory faithful. Nebojsa Marinkovic and Diogo Ferriera have had their moments, although inconsistency has plagued them and youngster Mitch Oxborrow has made a solid, if unspectacular, impression. Captain Richard Garcia continues to work hard and lead from the front, but the brightest spark has been the recent performances of Diego Castro. After a slow start, the Spaniard has hit sparkling form and become Perth’s main man.
It has been a different story up front, although there are hopes better times are just around the corner. Chris Harold, Sidnei Sciola and Guyon Fernandez have all lead the line and all failed to be the answer to the club’s goal-scoring woes. The latter two players being shown the door tells you how dire the situation was for long stretches. However, it is not all bad – last season’s star man Andy Keogh has returned to the club after a stint in Thailand, although he is lacking match fitness. Meanwhile, the emergence of 17-year-old Jamal Reiners up front has been a pleasant surprise, with the young gun doing just about everything but scoring since joining the club.
Star Player – Josh Risdon
There are a few candidates for Perth’s best player. Castro and Sandor have been great additions to the squad, with the former in particular impressing in recent weeks. Thwaite has lead by example at the heart of defence and if the rumours are true and he leaves in January, Perth will be weaker for it. But based on work ethic, the Glory’s best player this season has been Risdon.
The right-back has further cemented his status as one of the league’s best, with another season full of quality performances. The 23-year-old began the season with a poor performance against the Central Coast Mariners, but since then has gone from strength-to-strength. Combining dangerous attacking runs with impressive defending, his energy and consistency down the right-hand side of the pitch has marked him as Perth’s best player so far this season.
Risdon’s performances have won him the adulation of Glory’s fans, and they are not the only ones impressed. Ange Postecoglou, a keen admirer, called him up to the Socceroos squad for their recent World Cup qualifiers. The Bunbury product was handed his full starting debut in Bangladesh, a fitting and with his contract set to expire soon, it remains to be seen whether he sticks with Perth, or heads to Europe.
[interaction id=”569712946f21c9dc056e2449″]
The Manager
Kenny Lowe came into the season with, it is fair to say, middling expectations from fans. Whilw he had taken the team to the top of the league last season, he had seen almost half of his starting XI, along with some handy reserves, depart in the wake of the salary cap scandal. As a result, fans were interested in seeing whether he would be able to perform similar feats with a weaker squad. It looked unlikely over the first quarter of the season, as Perth found themselves outmatched and outgunned.
Lowe’s greatest strength as a manger has always been his motivational skills, and over the past month they have come to the fore. After falling to the bottom of the table, Lowe roused Perth to a four-game unbeaten run, claiming come-from-behind points against the Mariners and the Victory in Melbourne. The team has looked more confident since the run and while he is not the only reason for Perth’s recent good form, the coach deserves some credit.
His offseason signings have been a mixed bag – Sandor, Castro, Grant and Ante Covic have been successful, but the jury is still out on the likes of Warren and Golec and Fernandez will go down as one of the most underwhelming foreigners ever to wear the purple shirt. However, Reiners and Aryn Williams have both proven Lowe’s decision to sign them during the season was a good one and Keogh’s return to the squad should be beneficial.
Second-half Prediction
It is anyone’s guess what could happen here. Their performances over the last month have given fans hope the Glory can push for a finals spot, especially given they are only five points off the six with 13 games still to play. However, there is also the possibility the team loses key players in the January transfer window, as has been rumoured, and returns to their early-season form.
Keogh’s return should alleviate some of their goal-scoring problems, while Djulbic is a few weeks from returning to the fold. Castro, Sandor and Garcia are primed for big second-halves of the season, having looked strong in recent weeks. If the club can keep hold of Risdon and Thwaite, the subject of recent transfer speculation, and young guns like Reiners, Oxborrow and Jacob Collard continue to build on promising showings, there is no reason why this Glory team can’t scrape into the finals. Whether it comes to fruition is another question, especially with sixth placed Adelaide in impressive form.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
