Fan issues, ratings and administrative bungles have dominated the conversation circles in Australia football so far this season.
After the dizzying highs of the Asian Cup, the code has crashed back to earth in a less than satisfactory manner.
But there has been some fantastic stories on the pitch and some narratives that have been lost in all the static and noise. Eleven weeks into season 11 seems like a genuine place to take stock of what we have learned so far.
Ben Cuzzupe analyses how things stand team by team.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Tony Popovic has never claimed a stake in playing pretty football. But nor are the Wanderers on the Helenio Herrera end of the dark arts scale.
Popovic has built a squad and a side that adheres to two principles shared by another black-clad manager in Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid – discipline without the ball and taking your chances when they arise.
The Wanderers find themselves rightly on top of the table playing sharp football.
Whereas once upon a time, attacks would lob out the back to Shinji Ono, who would play through Youssouf Hersi who would cross into the box for a waiting Tomi Juric or Mark Bridge. They are still looking to catch opponents on the counter, but they are not afraid to manufacture with a little flair either.
An engine room of Dimas, Andreu and Dario Vidosic looks to turn their opponents and open up play with ranging passes that put Mitch Nichols and Romeo Castelen into positions that make opposition defenders wobbly.
Announcing your title credentials early is entering into a dangerous game of chicken, as the crosshairs are firmly on your back for the rest of the season. It has ended badly twice for Western Sydney – perhaps the third time is the charm.
Brisbane Roar
Not many expected John Aloisi to continue on the bright, attacking post-Postegolou tradition at Brisbane Roar, but he would just about be manager of the season if the award was being handed out tomorrow.
The attacking quintet of Thomas Broich, Brandon Borrello, Jamie Maclaren, Dimi Petratos and Henrique was always going to keep the Roar ticking over on the scoreboard and send frantic defenders scrambling. In the middle of the park, Aloisi has found a high-quality deep-lying player in Corona.
To borrow a frequented saying, defensive midfielders are anti-highlight reels. Snuffing out opposition attacks and positioning in front of the back four is hardly riveting viewing. But watch Corona disarm, shift around an opposition player and open up the play to put McKay or Lustica into a position to thread the ball through.
Jack Hingert, Daniel Bowles and Jade North without being sensational defenders, are disciplined to the upmost degree. While the Roar are yet to have fired a warning shot, they are arguably one of the more well rounded squads in the league. Expect them to be there when it counts.
Melbourne City
No moment is more of a microcosm of Melbourne City’s evolution than an off-camera incident during Saturday’s pulsating Melbourne Derby. As Fahid Ben Khalfallah went to turn Socceroo Ivan Franjic and make a breaking run, he caught him flush on the head with seemingly deliberate elbow.
The full-back collected himself and then remonstrated with Khalfallah, getting in his face and defying the opportunity to be bullied by a more high-profile opponent. This is the new Melbourne City, who might still be blitzed sometimes, but refuse to give up their ground.
There are more highlights to their season so far than Aaron Mooy’s supernova or Bruno Fornaroli’s deft touches and turning ability. The youthful trio of Stefan Mauk, Paulo Retre and Jacob Melling offering a mixture of attacking verve and solidity in midfield. Connor Chapman (who now will unfortunately take time off with a knee injury) had been forcing the best attackers in the league to produce their best to beat him. Harry Novillo is certifying himself as a ranging threat out wide.
John van’t Schip still has some tasks to complete to turn this into a championship-winning side. They successfully grinded out a result against Victory, but there are many more games against physically imposing opponents who are much more defensively disciplined. Have more of a showing in those contests and who knows how far the ride can go.
Sydney FC
Graham Arnold has every right to carry on like a man who is minutes away from a Michael Douglas in Falling Down mental collapse. It would be putting it kindly to say that this team is playing below itself.
Losses of concentration whether in build-up play or in defence has this team playing in its shell. Perhaps this roster of very talented individuals has bought too deeply into Arnold’s team first mantra, uneasy and are patiently waiting on others in the side to grasp games by the throat.
Eleven goals in 11 games is an abject failure for a team that boasts Matt Simon, Shane Smeltz, Alex Brosque, Filip Holosko, Chris Naumoff and Andrew Hoole across the attacking line. On the other hand, the impressive performances of Alex Gersbach and Brandon O’Neill should calm fears about local talent supposedly thinning out post-golden generation.
Arnold was poached to deliver trophies to Sydney FC. With their crosstown rivals rising again and its arch-nemesis down south sitting on all three available domestic silverware, the Sky Blues’ relevance is under threat if they fail to kick-start their campaign.
Melbourne Victory
Victory were always designed to be a high-wire act. With the Balkan Energiser Bunny in Besart Berisha leading a line of Kosta Barbarouses, Archie Thompson, Khalfallah and Gui Finkler, this team either had to keep scoring goals or its defensive frailties were going to show it up.
In the last month, exactly that has happened. The moment scoreboard pressure evaporated, they would be found out. Finkler’s limited output without the ball, the loss of Mark Milligan and injury to Carl Valeri meant when the ball would be turned over, Victory would be swamped. Considering Daniel Georgievski and Jason Geria are just as much drivers of play when overlapping the wingers, the ageing Matthieu Delpierre and utility Leigh Broxham were going to find themselves exposed to incredible pressure.
The question is how they fix it. The Melbourne Derby shows they have regained the fire in the belly, but there has to be some tinkering. Olly Bozanic has to play more long passes to Barbarouses or Khalfallah, something they have missed in Milligan’s absence. The slower build-up has caused all that space Victory’s triple threat found behind defences last year to disappear.
Victory’s high-risk, high-reward game plan was always going to hit stumbling blocks eventually. It is how they re-group that hinges on how they contend at the end of the season.
Wellington Phoenix
Even as an aside to the FFA’s utterly ludicrous way of framing the discussion around the future of the club, Wellington have given us all more questions than answers.
Is that Roy Krishna-Jeffrey Sarpong-Michael McGlinchey triple threat lacking a number nine/central forward? How does Roly Bonevacia not get more acclaim for his Herculean midfield efforts? When will they sign a bloody centre-half?
Ernie Merrick was never known for his flexibility at Melbourne Victory, one of the eventual reasons why his tenure came to an end. It was refreshing to see such an old dog attempt to learn new tricks and show a dexterity we never knew he had.
Three at the back on the odd occasion, players in rotating positions and some possession-based play is not Ernie as we knew him.
The Nix have been tinkering, but just lack a defensive edge. Louis Fenton continues to impress and Albert Riera is quality, it is just they are very slow centrally at the back.
It would be a shame for them to go out this year, but at least it would be out with a bang.
Newcastle Jets
Bar the calamity against Melbourne City two weeks ago, this Jets team, despite lacking any names or expectations, has done well for itself under Scott Miller.
It squeezes and forces out results robotically, focusing on snatching points here and there to hopefully have an outside tilt at a finals appearance.
Leonardo, Milos Trifunovic and Enver Alivodic are not exactly the creative beacons that visa players are at other clubs, but their work ethic is second to none. David Carney is having a brilliant season while Ben Kantarovski is finally getting on the park and showing why the club stuck with him through injury.
Finals hinges on what they do with the import spot freed up by the departing Lee Ki-je. A successful attacking purchase may give them another edge and gear to find.
Perth Glory
For a club that is still picking up the pieces from an embarrassing salary cap scandal, you would take a cup final appearance and the fleeting signs of cohesion as a pass mark.
This team still has the core of what took it to great heights last year, before reality and the rules intervened. Josh Risdon, Michael Thwaite and Nebojsa Marinkovic is a strong backbone to build a team off, it is just their attack has been found lacking. Chris Harold is no Maclaren and one of Diego Castro, Guyon Fernandez or Sidnei will be punted for Andy Keogh (who was in riveting form before, well, he broke the rules).
Perth are more than capable of making finals, but they will need more from the likes of Diogo Ferreira, Gyorgy Sandor and Dino Dulbic if they are to return to the highs of last January.
Adelaide United
The crisis may have eased, but the Reds would still be wondering how they got here. Twelve months ago, they came off a cup final victory and were pushing top with a rollicking style.
After a trainwreck start to the season, the defence, with its still very soft underbelly, is starting to function and the midfield is beginning to lose its ‘deer in headlights’ look without the ball.
Adelaide still have a quartet of classy players that would have one or more get into any A-League side – Sergio Cirio, Marcelo Carrusca, Pablo Sanchez and Isaias. Jimmy Jeggo is finally evolving from fringe dweller to starting contributor and there is some promise in Bruce Kamau.
Their fortunes can very much be turned around, but it hinges on Eli Babalj getting on the pitch and Bruce Djite breaking his duck for the season.
Central Coast Mariners
For a team that is dead last and has comfortably the worst squad in the league, they are actually not that bad. Bar the two Melbourne City debacles, the Mariners have been in with a chance in most games this season.
Tony Walmsley has toned it back from the opening two months of helter-skelter football, but they still insist on being fluid, even if they do not have the squad to play that sort of brand.
Even if they are not Newcastle of last season uncompetitive yet, how long before all that effort for no result breaks the back of the side and it is shipping four or five every week? Nick Montgomery and Fitzgerald are the clear standouts, although it is still unclear who else in that team is an out and out match-winner.
Still a work in progress and will not play finals, but could steal points off teams who are not careful.
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