Football Season Guide

Were superb last season, finishing second behind a very good Mariners. Were too fatigued to make a game of it against Victory in the semi-finals though, and disappointingly crashed out after their best campaign in years. As ever, their pre-season transfer activity looks incredibly underwhelming, especially when you consider that their new rivals Auckland FC managed to loan Phoenix's former wonderkid goalkeeper Paulsen from Bournemouth. However, it pays not to underestimate this team - they're very well-drilled by Italiano, and they're good at finding solutions via youth players. They're going to need to be very creative in that regard though, having lost highly-rated CB Surman, striker Zawada (the star of two years ago), and star creator Kraev. They're used to chopping and changing at this club but they're big losses all at once, especially when you then consider that ageing David Ball has been told he won't be part of their project this season. Fortunately, "Kiwi Messi" Rojas is back in town, and that's a big boost to their attack. Colakovski joined just before the start of the season too, which should be another good boost. They're going to have to rely on Salas more, and hope that new recruit Nagasawa hits the ground running. They've always had a threadbare squad but this one is even moreso than usual with potential gaps everywhere really. Replacing Paulsen with Oluwayemi is one hell of a risk, and it remains to be seen how that will work out. Their Japanese imports should do well but this is a limited group. You never know which academy players can make it, although Sloane-Rodrigues and Hughes are certainly ready for more game-time. It's a bit of a coin toss season ahead for Phoenix - it could go splendidly, or it could be a disaster, depending on how their imports adjust and academy players progress. Gut instinct says they'll miss out on the top 6 but it'll be close. Likely key players - Wootton, Barbarouses, Rojas.