The Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season is fast approaching and clubs are busy ramping up their preparations ahead of the big kick off.
With that in mind, aleagues.com.au caught up with three-time Championship winner and Network 10 pundit Alex Brosque to discuss one big issue at each club heading into the new season.
In the final instalment of our three-part series, Brosque looks at what could well be the main talking point heading into the new season surrounding the remaining four clubs: Perth Glory, Sydney FC, Wellington Phoenix and Western Sydney Wanderers.
If you missed part one, then simply click here to read Brosque’s thoughts on Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane Roar and the Mariners.
Or if you missed part two, which featured analysis on Macarthur Bulls, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets, then click here!
Glory head coach David Zdrilic heads into his second season in charge of the club having unfortunately claimed the wooden spoon at the end of what was his first campaign as an Isuzu UTE A-League head coach.
Like plenty of other clubs, there’s been plenty of ins and outs at HBF Park during the off-season with Zdrilic opting to move 13 players on from last season’s squad including the likes of goalkeeper Oli Sail, Jaylan Pearman and Nikola Mileusnic.
However, the Glory have certainly caught the eye with some of their recruits ahead of the new campaign with Brian Kaltak joining from Central Coast Mariners and defensive duo Sam Sutton and Scott Wootton swapping Wellington Phoenix for Western Australia and it’s in defence where Brosque believes they simply had to improve.
“The way they started last year was embarrassing, and they never recovered,” said the three-time Isuzu UTE A-League Champion.
“So they definitely need a good start. I think bringing in (Scott) Wootton, (Sam) Sutton, (Brian) Kaltak and even Mark Birrighiti is a show of where their failings were last year.
“The defending last year was amateur at times so I think what these guys bring and the signings they’ve made, you know, bringing a lot of experience at the back, that should fix that problem.”
Whilst things did improve for Glory towards the end of the campaign they were ultiamtely found wanting at both ends of the pitch, with Zdrilic’s side boasting both the worst defensive record as well as scoring the fewest amount of goals during the 2024-25 campaign.
In a bid to rectify the issue at the top end of the pitch Glory have brought in former Sydney FC forward Jaiden Kucharski whilst also prising talented young forward Arion Sulemani away from champions Melbourne City.
Add in the fact Lachie Wales has also put pen to paper on a new contract and it seems as though Zdrilic has finally added some support for the ever-present Adam Taggart in attack.
“Going forward, I’m excited to see Kucharski getting more game time. I’m surprised Sydney let him go, given all the players they let go.
He continued: “You’ve got Taggart who will always score goals if given the opportunity so for me, there’s definitely enough there.
“Again, the issues last year were defensively. They seem to have fixed that so how that sort of translates and how quickly these new defenders gel together at the back, we’ll see.
“I’m definitely assuming that Perth will have a much better season this year – it can’t get much worse, to be honest. But Zdrilla will be under pressure to get this team starting well.”
Sydney FC: The Sky Blues have done a lot of business, but have they strengthened in the right areas?
The Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season promises to be an intriguing one at Sydney FC.
Having missed out on playing finals football last season, the Sky Blues also suffered heartbreak in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League Two when they were defeated over the course of two legs by Singaporean side Lion City Sailors FC.
All of that led to intense pressure on head coach Ufuk Talay who, coincidentally, was also out of contract at the end of the season meaning the Sydney FC board had a big decision to make; do they renew their head coach or look for someone new. The answer was renew.
Following those two disappointments the Sky Blues set about dismantling their squad and there’s certainly been plenty of remodelling. Of their five via players from season 2024-25 only Joe Lolley remains with Leo Sena, Anas Ouahim, Patryk Klimala and Brazilian star Douglas Costa all departing while Socceroos midfielder Anthony Caceres left to join Macarthur and last season’s Golden Boot winner Adrian Segecic joined English side Portsmouth.
“Last season was extremely disappointing to say the least,” said the Sydney FC legend and Network 10 pundit.
“It was arguably Sydney FC’s strongest ever squad, particularly in that front line and midfield, and for them to not even make the finals was unacceptable, really.
“I think it’s hard to point the finger at the back four specifically, because I think it’s the way in which they defended, as opposed to the players themselves. The back four, man for man, were very, very good players. So it’s just the way in which they defended.
“When possession broke down, their transition was poor. So that’s more an area they need to work on. But looking at the squad in general, you know, all the foreigners bar Lolley have gone, a whole heap of new foreign players have come in and there’s a whole heap of youngsters that I’m excited to see.”
The Sky Blues have certainly been busy when it comes to bringing players in though. Young Australians Al Hassan Toure, Rhys Youlley, Akol Akon, Paul Okon-Engstler and Abel Walatee have all joined, while academy gun Mathias Macallister has also signed a first pro-deal.
Meanwhile, former Western United captain Ben Garuccio has joined on a two-year deal and three of their available four visa spots have been filled by experienced central defender Marcel Tisserand, exciting Peruvian attacking midfielder Piero Quispe (loan) and former La Liga striker Victor Campuzano.
“There’s been a shift towards young players and I think that shift started a couple of years ago. But Sydney, in reality, needs to be a team that does both, you know.
“They bring through the best youngsters in the country because they have the best Academy in the country that they integrate into their squad year on year, and either keep and and grow or sell.
“But they should always have a mix of good quality foreigners, good local Australian players, and the best youngsters in the country coming through given the academy that they have. So this year, no different.
“But it is a big year for Uffy (head coach Ufuk Talay) in getting this team and club, challenging for the title again, because there’s plenty of quality.
“But I think defensively they need to be a lot stronger than what they were last year but otherwise, on paper it does look quite exciting.”
Wellington Phoenix: How does Giancarlo Italiano make the Phoenix better to watch?
Having competed for the Premiership in the Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 campaign, Wellington Phoenix then suffered a huge drop off last season.
Ultimately finishing in 11th place, Giancarlo Italiano’s side looked a shadow of their former selves in 2024-25 and drew criticism from both media and their own fans over the team’s style of play.
However, much like the Central Coast Mariners, Wellington lost a lot of quality players from that 2023-24 squad as clubs from overseas picked off their best talent and the club ultimately paid the price, as they struggled for results both at home and away.
Heading into the new season, the Nix have farewelled defensive duo Scott Wootton and Sam Sutton, while fan favourite and their chief goalscorer, Kosta Barbarouses, has joined Western Sydney Wanderers.
Coming in to replace those outgoings are Nigerian striker Ifeanyi Eze, former Brisbane Roar winger Carlo Armiento and ex-Perth Glory man Nikola Mileusnic while Canadian defender Manjrekar James will hopefully add some steel to a backline that still looks quite light on numbers.
“With Wellington, they were very disappointing last year. I think from what we saw with Giancarlo Italiano in his first season, you know, we hoped that he’d built on that last year, but it didn’t work out.
“I think they just didn’t strengthen enough in that front line last year to really do any damage going forward. So, you know, this year they brought in Mileusnic and Armiento to add to what they’ve already got and what was a pretty poor attack last year.
“They’ve got (Hideki) Ishige (but) I think Eze is going to be pretty much the lone source of goals for them, which, again, spells a bit of trouble for me.
“Unless they share the goals around, I’m not overly excited with the signings that they’ve made. In losing Scott Wootton, Sam Sutton, Kosta Barbarouses, three big players for them last year in what was a fairly thin squad and not really replacing them with all that much.
“They’ve brought in (Manjrekar) James so we’ll see how he goes and Ramy Najjarine comes in as well. But, yeah, I just don’t see that there’s enough in the signings that they’ve made to really build on last year.
“So I think it’ll be another tough year for Wellington and Giancarlo Italiano.”
Western Sydney Wanderers: How do they cope after losing the goals of Milanovic and Sapsford?
The Western Sydney Wanderers looked to be a real threat heading into the business end of last season, but ultimately bowed out of the Finals Series at the first time of asking, leaving a somewhat bitter taste in the mouths of supporters.
In what was the first season in charge for head coach Alen Stajcic the Wanderers became a formidable force as the campaign went on, one which saw them rack up a 12-game unbeaten run whilst also smashing their own record for most goals scored in a regular season (58).
Two key figures in both their unbeaten run and goalscoring feats last season were Nicolas Milanovic, who chalked up 12 goals and six assists, and Zac Sapsford, who scored nine goals and also registered four assists, however both players have since departed the competition to join Scottish side Aberdeen and Dundee United respectively.
Replacing those two in attack are two players familiar to Wanderers fans in the former of ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol and former Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory forward Kosta Barbarouses.
Another player to head through the exit door at CommBank Stadium was Spanish World Cup winning midfielder Juan Mata, who ultimately joined Melbourne Victory for the coming season, however Stajcic has brought in two A-League ready midfielders in the form of Steven Ugarkovic and Angus Thurgate as well as Phillip Cancar to add depth to their defence.
“Ahh my favourites, the Wanderers,” quipped Sydney FC legend Brosque, “No look, I think they had a good season last year. They finished very, very strongly and (it was) disappointing that they weren’t able to make more of the Final Series, or go a little bit deeper in that.
“But looking at their ins and outs, there’s some interesting signings. They lost Milanovic and Sapsford from last year and Marcus Antonsson as well, who were pretty much their go to players in attack.
“They’ve still got Borrello, who’s big for them, and they bring in Barbarouses and Kuol, who needs to have a big year. I think he was very, very quiet last year.
“But Angus Thurgate is big for them. I think Thurgate coming in, Ugarkovic coming in, I definitely think they’ve strengthened with what was already a very, very solid squad.
“Thurgate sort of gives you a little bit more of that go-forward approach where you’d imagine someone like (Josh) Brillante sits in and does all the dirty work and allows Ugarkovic to also play. Then you’ve already got (Bozhidar) Kraev, who’s a good player and Borrello too.
“So really for the Wanderers, it’s just building on last year. I think they started quite slowly. There was the Juan Mata issue that they had to deal with, or Staj had to deal with, which, you know, look, going into this season, they’re a fairly settled team.
“Staj has definitely put his imprint on this team. He’s recruited well, so I’m guessing that the Wanderers will be even stronger than they were. I mean, just in looking at this squad, not only are they strong across the park, but they’ve also got a lot of depth.”
