A new beginning heralds familiar feelings for the Western Sydney Wanderers

The Western Sydney Wanderers’ preseason began in July against amatuer side Mt Druitt Town Rangers, three years after the side’s first-ever game against Penrith Nepean United.

Last Tuesday night, Tony Popovic’s team officially began 2015-16 with a game in the FFA Cup against Brisbane Roar, who are now under the management of John Aloisi.

In many ways it was a new beginning, but with the game ending in a 1-0 win to Wanderers courtesy of Golgol Mebrahtu, it was the same old feeling – more a reaffirmation than a rediscovery for a club that has made a habit of establishing records ever since its foundation. Only three original players – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Shannon Cole and Mark Bridge – remain at the club following the departures of Mateo Poljak and Labinot Haliti. Just one of those, Bridge, played in the Cup game. No less than five of the new signings – Andrew Redmayne, Jacob Pepper, Scott Jamieson, Mitch Nichols and Andreu started, while Italian striker Federico Piovaccari, whose scoring record suggests he could cause trouble in the A-League, did not figure. Brisbane had their chances through the game, and Western Sydney improved after a lacklustre first-half. Defeat in the cup may yet be the least of Brisbane’s worries going into the new season.

Hence this is a Wanderers side unrecognisable from last season, to the extent there was even a coherent team at all. If the general consensus is that only Romeo Castelen and Brendan Hamill were up to scratch out of all the players signed in the previous year, and that many established names had reached the end of the line, it is hard to say that radical change was not for the best. Yet, despite (or perhaps because of) all this, it looks like the Wanderers style of old, and they looked far closer to the side that established the club as an A-League force in the first two seasons than the disjointed affair of 2014-15. Signs are that a new direction in style of play may not be ruled out.

[interaction id=”55d3505f85f6552d75103e9b”]

If there is any continuity, it is that players such as Mitch Nichols are in the same position as many of the foundation members (not least Bridge) had been in 2012, namely pthose who were looking to relaunch sagging A-League careers. It would have been difficult to imagine that piecing together a side out of such talents would turn into a winning combination, yet even in the very early days it was evident that something special was being created. In that first season, the spectacular run of form that catapulted the team to top spot after a slow start really only seemed like a matter of time, as quality was evident from the very first game.

The fact that over 15,000 have already taken out memberships suggests that the fans are responding positively to the prospect of a renewed Wanderers team expected to make 2014-15 seem like an aberration. Enough was shown against the Roar  to suggest this should be the case. Western Sydney’s passionate support, both loyal and expectant, seem to be responding well to the opening of the next chapter in the club’s history.