Football Season Guide

Last season ended terribly for Macarthur FC following their 4-0 Elimination Finals hammering by local rivals Sydney FC, and then the betting scandal where key creator Davila as well as midfield regulars Lewis and Baccus were arrested in a yellow cards betting investigation. Regular wide player Millar was not charged but was accused of being involved. Unsurprisingly, most of the four players have since left the club. Lewis remains, but has not played in the Australian Cup so may be frozen out until his contract ends. Cutting loose all four players was the morally and legally correct thing to do but it destroyed their midfield ahead of this campaign. Midfield regular Daniel de Silva left at the end of the season only to return before the start of the season once again, most likely as a cost-cutting measure, so that's something at least. Their midfield is going to take some rebuilding, although bringing in Brattan was one hell of a step in the right direction. Still, the early signs are encouraging, having beaten Melbourne Victory to win the Australian Cup ahead of the A-League campaign. Sterjovski's football hasn't been amazing to watch but they've become ruthlessly efficient, and that tees them up nicely for a good campaign, assuming of course they remain injury-free. Aside from their midfield disaster, only the predictable departure of Borges and Lachlan Rose moving on were noteworthy losses, and both can be replaced well enough - and have been. Both have been replaced by far more experienced and complete footballers - Ikonomidis and Jakoliš. Both have had their troubles (poor form & simulation) but are very good players on their day so their attack should be stronger now. Bernardo on the cusp of becoming lethal too. This looks a very complete squad. May struggle for goals if Germain is out but they look really strong otherwise. Only big concern is FIFA banned them from signing any new players until they pay Dwight Yorke's compensation fee, and given the high turnaround in A-League players in general as well as diminishing income, it could take them a while to do so. Ban lasts until June 2026 if funds not paid. Likely key players - Germain, Brattan, Uskok.