Season 3: Adelaide

Squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Bajic, Daniel Beltrame

Defenders: Angelo Costanzo, Michael Valkanis, Cássio José de Abreu Oliveira, Richie Alagich, Robert Cornthwaite, Isyan Erdogan, Milan Susak

Midfielders: Travis Dodd, Jonas Salley, Bobby Petta, Jason Spagnuolo, Diego Walsh, Kristian Sarkies, Lucas Pantelis, Shaun Ontong, Matthew Mullen

Forwards: Paul Agostino, Nathan Burns, Bruce Djite, Dez Giraldi

Vacancies: 1

Player Movement

In: Agostino, Salley, Cássio, Sarkies, Erdogan, Susak, Ontong, Mullen

Out: Fernando, Carl Veart, Matthew Kemp, Greg Owens, Ross Aloisi, Shengqing Qu, Kristian Rees, Aaron Goulding, Adam vanDommele

Comments

Key Man: Dodd - runs a bit hot and cold, but if he can get on fire on a more consistent basis Adelaide is going to bring serious intensity through to the final whistle with their speed, strength, fitness and depth in midfield.

High Expectations: Agostino - with the Reds mobile service platform looking incredibly strong there's a clear and patent need for an experienced big man up front; nobody expects Agostino to create 15 goals for himself, but his presence and running could be huge.

'X' Factor: Cassio - perhaps opposition teams will learn to deal with his dangerous free kicks and long-range bombs, but the crossing game and natural adventure of the fullback will still have to be dealt with; he could be instrumental for the Reds.

Young Gun: Djite - it's take your pick really, with Burns, Sarkies, Cornthwaite, Giraldi and, at 24, the somewhat mature Spagnuolo all hoping to make major impacts this season, but Djite may be the greatest beneficiary of the half-eyes being kept on strike partner Agostino.

Consistent Performer: Salley - an awesome pick-up, probably the best of the intra-league off-season acquisitions; brings gravity to the holding position rather than the pent-up aggressive mayhem of Aloisi.

Problem Child: Bajic - still hard to fathom why he thought he could get away with lashing out at Fred last season, a bizarre How Do You Do side-kick that effectively ended his productive stint as the No. 1.

Prediction

1st.

They have been the quiet achievers of the A-League, which all too often - and I realise I'm a culprit of this myself - is focused on the east coast and particularly on Sydney and Melbourne. There're a few reasons why I think Adelaide will do very well again. They were slammed in the final last year, but will be the better for it mentally. They have excellent depth and competition for places all over the park, even in goals and especially in midfield. The Asian Champions League experience has kept the players in touch during the off-season, as have the Olyroos excursions - both competitions have fast-tracked the development of the younger lads in relation to the other A-League teams with a bit of a youth focus. Finally, the recent pre-season victory indicated all of the above.