Perhaps the Central Coast Mariners weren’t the champions the A-League Men deserved after all the nonsense that gripped its 2022-23 season. But as Danny Vukovic lifted the league’s trophy aloft, surrounded by not just his teammates but also the friends, family and staff who had helped underpin the unlikely title win, there was a sense that, from a footballing perspective, they were the one it needed.
Not only did a fairytale narrative mark its conclusion as confetti rained down at CommBank Stadium, but the manner in which it was attained felt almost alien in the modern football context. The first team from outside the Sydney and Melbourne duopoly to win the championship since 2015-16, the Mariners had triumphed not because of any fiscal or resourcing advantage (they’d just beaten the league’s most blessed outfit 6-1) but because they were a smartly constructed, well developed, purposeful and effectively-coached football team.
It’s a benign enough piece of analysis to almost feel insulting to read. Good team is good, wins title. But sometimes it really can be that simple – even if in practice it was anything but.
Be it shopping from the bargain bin, making do with limited facilities, developing their players or utilising their academy, the Mariners had to get it all right simply because they didn’t have the safety net that money and resources bring others. But when they did, it demonstrated that, for now at least, the ALM has yet to succumb to global trends of largess. If the penurious Mariners can win a title, anyone in the league can.
But as the Mariners subsequently discovered, being rich in ideas means that sooner or later, others with more tangible offerings come knocking. It’s not so much selling as others buying into what you accomplished. On the eve of the new season, coach Nick Montgomery is now at Hibernian, striker Jason Cummings is with Mohun Bagan, Nectarios Triantis is at Sunderland, Sam Silvera is with Middlesbrough, and Béni Nkololo at Al-Orobah. Former Leeds assistant Mark Jackson has been entrusted with demonstrating that whatever lightning in a bottle found in Gosford last season isn’t now sitting on a shelf in Easter Road.
Hard as it is to say goodbye, though, they can perhaps take solace from hardly being alone in losing players during the off-season. Many youngsters, but also some of the competition’s more bonafide performers, have departed Australian shores. Beyond the Mariners contingent, for instance, Melbourne City’s Jordan Bos and Marco Tilio broke the Australian transfer record as part of the massive turnover at the three-times defending premiers, helping to make it the most lucrative offseason in the league’s history.
And as much as moves such as Adelaide’s favourite son Craig Goodwin (to Al Wehdaa) spur heartbreak amongst supporters, the ability to monetise these moves is a significant step in the maturation of the league; players sales are one of the most lucrative and largely untapped revenue sources for clubs. Further, the fact that Australian players can elicit transfer fees and be empowered to find destinations suited to their ongoing development is a potential boon to the Socceroos.
A focus on developing young Australian talent over signing ageing marquees has been earmarked by the league as its preferred strategy going forward and while the fiscal benefits of such a move are obvious, it’s also a strategy that can help spur much-needed connection between clubs and fanbases. One of the most notable takeaways of the recent David Beckham documentary series, beyond how Diego Simeone missed his calling as a Bond villain, was the powerful connection that exists between players brought through an academy and their club, and the reciprocal feelings amongst fans.
It’s the local boy made good – a Nestory Irankunda at Adelaide or Archie Goodwin at Newcastle, or even someone like Calem Nieuwenhof, who moved from Sydney to Western Sydney. It’s a player that supporters can see is far too talented to stick around forever but will always be from their backyard. It’s the romantic notion that immortalises teams such as Celtic’s group of Lisbon Lions, who won the European Cup in 1967 featuring a squad with 13 of its 15 members born within 10 miles of Celtic Park.
When the new season begins this weekend, the likes of City, Sydney and the Wanderers will commence as favourites. Brisbane Roar under new boss Ross Aloisi and Melbourne Victory might loom as potential upstarts. But until proven otherwise, any team that’s brave enough and smart enough is in with a shot. And as Montgomery showed, the kids have what it takes if you’re good enough to get it out of them.
