If someone had said to me back in February that Melbourne Victory would sign Harry Kewell for season seven of the A-League, naturally, I wouldn’t have believed them. Now that we’re just over 24 hours away from our first game of the new campaign, with Kewell in the team, I still have to pinch myself.

Its been such a remarkable turn around this off-season given the disappointments of 2010/11. The Club desperately needed an overhaul and thats exactly what it got. We were beginning to fall away from the pack both on and off the pitch, but the new board has gone to great lengths to put us back in a position where we can not only challenge for the Championship but have a genuine crack at winning it – and thats where we stand ahead of the new season.

Now lets look at the squad position by position:

GOALKEEPERS

OUT: Michael Petkovic (retired), Sebastian Mattei

IN: Tando Velaphi, Lawrence Thomas, Ante Covic

As we enter the new season the goalkeeping situation is an interesting one. We initially recruited Tando Velaphi from Perth Glory and young Lawrence Thomas from Sheffield United. I don’t know too much about Thomas but he looks to be one for the future and will hopefully develop into a good prospect under the guidance of Steve Mautone.

As for Velaphi, well, he’s been criticized in the past but I think that if he can overcome his weaknesses – and going by his performances so far he is well on the way to doing so – he can develop into a great goalkeeper for us. Unfortunately though his progress has been halted by an injury which will see him out of action for up to ten weeks.

Coming in to replace Velaphi, as we learned this week, is Ante Covic. The Club were obviously not confident in throwing Thomas into the deep end right away and have opted for some experience in Covic. Even at 36, I think he’s still a decent goalkeeper and should be able to do the job for us, fingers crossed. He does have A-League experience on his side though which will benefit him. Given the circumstances its hard to gauge just how strong we are in this position but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

 

DEFENCE

OUT: Kevin Muscat (retired), Surat Sukha, Evan Berger

IN: Fabio Alves Macedo.

The defence is still the most concerning area of the squad. From what we’ve seen of him so far, Fabio looks to be a good replacement for Sukha. The emergence of Youth players Petar Franjic and Matt Foschini will provide good cover and the experience of Leijer, Vargas and Kemp will be valuable. Having said that though, the fact that we haven’t signed the extra centre-half we so desperately need is worrying but there’s nothing we can do now. Since Ante Covic has taken the last squad place due to Velaphi’s injury, we just have to hope that the defence will hold up. One positive is that Franjic should now get more chances to impress which would be great to see. I just pray that our inability to add some more experience at the back won’t be too costly.

 

MIDFIELD

OUT: Mate Dugandzic, Marvin Angulo, Geoff Kellaway

IN: Isaka Cernak, Marco Rojas, Harry Kewell

As we move up the pitch we’re spoilt for choice. In the central and defensive positions Brebner, Broxham and Celeski offer experience with Diogo Ferreira and Jimmy Jeggo providing some depth. Since his knee injury in early 2009, Celeski hasn’t been able to find his old form. I think we’ll see Ferreira and maybe even Jeggo take his place in the pecking order this season. Given the new system Durakovic has implemented it will be interesting to see how our midfielders perform under it. I’m particularly interested to see if it has the ability to transform a player such as Broxham into a more dynamic midfielder.
Out wide…..hang on, we have width? Yes! Two new additions in Cernak and Rojas will surely add a lot to this team and really complement our new playing style. Looking at our more attacking options, Carlos Hernandez and Harry Kewell are two players of immense quality and choosing between them will be a big headache for Durakovic – but a good one to have. As long as we can get the midfield clicking I think we can be very dominant in this area of the park.

 

STRIKERS

OUT: Robbie Kruse, Ricardinho

IN: Solorzano

Many are expecting us to outscore our opponents this season and with the attacking options available I can see it happening regularly. So far in pre-season Archie Thompson looks to be getting back to his best. He has adapted well to playing out wider, on the right under Durakovic and he’s no doubt still got an eye for goal. Danny Allsopp can always be relied upon for hitting the back of the net and new signing Jean Carlos Solorzano has already proved himself in the A-League, scoring ten goals last season with Brisbane. When you also consider Kewell’s ability to get further forward and score and the danger that Hernandez can pose we should have no trouble getting on the score sheet.

The Final Verdict

This squad isn’t without its problems but there’s no reason why it can’t be a successful team, especially when you consider the amount of firepower up front. Although we mustn’t  underestimate our opponents, winning the title is a very realistic target this season. It will require a lot of hard work, dedication and a little bit of luck but I think we’ll at least make the Grand Final. There are no guarantees of course but what we can expect is some very exciting football and a very memorable season ahead.

Last season: 5th

This Season’s Prediction: 1st

 

I’ll be back tomorrow with a preview of the big opening game against Sydney. Talk to you then.