Whether it was Dwight Yorke or Benito Carbone, Kazu Miura or Alessandro Del Piero, Sydney FC has always loved a big name.
Yorke aside, the name – and its importance off-field in terms of marketing and media cut through – has rarely correlated with on-field success. And rather than get caught up in the celebrity arms race for a Tim Cahill or Michael Essien, after a torrid last season Graham Arnold has diligently recruited a bunch of names, but not one big name.
In a league that charmingly accommodates back up goalkeepers masquerading as guaranteed starters, Danny Vukovic has already reminded us of the importance of a custodian of undisputed quality.
His key contributions against Wellington, in the Sydney derby and even against Newcastle have not just galvanised his defence with well-founded confidence, his very presence within the Sydney goal acts as a kind of protective amulet – “none shall pass” is the whispered message that grows with every clean sheet.
Between Vukovic and Alex Wilkinson in front of him, Graham Arnold has snapped up 440 games of A-League experience – the league’s most experienced keeper and third most experienced central defender. Such is the demeanour of the former Mariners captain you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Wilkinson has been to a World Cup and handled himself commendably marking Alexis Sánchez, Robin van Persie and Fernando Torres.
Go through the list of Sydney FC players position by position and you’d note that every new face – six in the starting XI – constitutes a significant improvement on the player they’ve replaced or displaced.
It hasn’t been just a case of opening a chequebook – any player coming in has not just been an improvement in themselves, they’ve also brought out a new dimension in existing players.
That Bobo was once part of a prolific striking duo with Filip Holosko in Turkey has been well-documented – as the Sydney derby showed, with Bobo, Sydney FC have signed not just a quality striker but an understanding. His chemistry with Holosko is evident and their understanding makes the latter a noticeably more dangerous player in comparison with last season.
Similarly, a player like Joshua Brillante is important not just in and of himself, but for how he changes the role for an existing player like Miloš Ninković.
With the vastly experienced but slowing Mickaël Tavares and Miloš Dimitrijević operating in tandem last season, Sydney’s engine room at times lacked dynamism. Even with Brandon O’Neill in for one of these two the expectation was still that Ninković would be required to do his fair share of leg-work.
With Brillante and O’Neill third and fourth in the league for recoveries (ie. winning back the ball) it gives the talented Serb greater licence to focus on attacking duties, and with two goals and two assists in four games it’s a role Ninković appears to be revelling in.
More than just matching round pegs with round holes, Arnold’s squad this season boasts tremendous balance. If Michael Zullo is a fullback who looks to attack at any given moment then Rhyan Grant on the opposite flank is the type of player who’s more than comfortable focusing strictly on defensive responsibilities.
Matt Jurman may have been Sydney FC’s player of the season last year but he’s still far from an imperious centre-half in the mould of Matthieu Delpierre or Matt Spiranovic. With Wilkinson alongside, however, it’s a combination of world class experience and unfinished ability. The pace of the latter accommodates the waning speed of the former, the mental diligence of the former aids the occasional lapses of the latter.
And like the facile political slogan, Sydney FC embody “change with continuity”. Much maligned players from last season like Matt Simon could well have been shown the door after the calamity of horrors that was 2015-16. And while neither Simon nor the departed Shane Smeltz impressed as 90-minute players last season, the Mariners all-time top goalscorer has demonstratedly in 20 and 30 minute cameos how important he could prove to a potential title tilt.
The Sydney defence has received early plaudits for its flawless start to the season, but as Graham Arnold explained after Saturday’s game with Newcastle, this is an indication of the work his team is carrying out higher up the field.
“That’s what we worked hard on in pre-season,” said Arnold. “The boys are getting fitter and fitter as we go, obviously as the season goes on we’ll be able to do it even more.
“Having the luxury of bringing [David] Carney off the bench, Matty Simon off the bench for the last 20 minutes to continue the press, it keeps [the other team] under pressure, keeps them away from our goal.”
No strangers to cynicism or false hope, Sydney FC fans could be forgiven for not quite yet buying into the hype. Not without good cause, as at Halloween in 2015 the Sky Blues were flying high, top of the table and undefeated after four rounds – only to then record their second lowest season points tally (in a 10-team competition).
Neutrals might also point to the fact that in playing last season’s eighth, ninth and 10th placed teams as well as their bunnies of recent times, cross-city rivals Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney have arguably had an armchair ride so far in comparison with others.
But while Sydney rode their luck (and the linesman’s flag) at times against Wellington it was the emphatic nature of their demolitions of both Wanderers and Mariners that marks the improvement of this squad.
Ominously for rivals, Graham Arnold is adamant there is more to come from his side, especially in the final third.
“It’s round four,” said Arnold. “For me there is so much more potential in this team. When they are starting to believe more and more in the quality of this team and what it can do, we’ll evolve more and more as the season goes on.
“It’s still disappointing for me that we’re not finding Bobo when he’s ready – Bobo is making fantastic runs into the box or in behind and we don’t see him; the crosses are too late for him, or we take one touch more than we need.”
There’s still Bernie Ibini to factor back into this squad – a future headache for Arnold, assuming his front four all remain fit.
But rather than sweating on the form of one player – a Marc Janko or Yorke – with their greater balance, with specialists in almost every position and able cover waiting in the wings, this 2016-17 squad are starting to resemble a most un-Sydney FC characteristic – they look like a team.
