02/10/2022【Feature】Heskey: AD1 pre-season analysis

Emile Heskey - AD1

Emile Heskey played for Leicester, Liverpool and Aston Villa in Premier League. And he also had a spell in AD1, playing for Newcastle Jets for two seasons.
I’m really looking forward to the start of the new season because I think it could be one of the most exciting campaigns in many years. A number of teams could be in the hunt for the title, while there are several big-name arrivals who I hope will deliver the goods in Australia.

Melbourne City show firepower
After finishing top last season, I see Melbourne City as the team to beat. They scored the most goals in the past 3 regular seasons. And they’ve got huge potential with players such as youngster Marco Tilio likely to keep improving while Mathew Leckie, Andrew Nabbout and, of course, the league’s best goalscorer Jamie Maclaren make them a formidable force going forward. Expectation and pressure will be high, but I’d tip them to win the league.

Western Utd strong at home
Western Utd were outstanding last season and had a good home record, coming third in the league but ultimately winning the biggest prize – the Grand Final. Their manager John Aloisi is a winner who has passed on invaluable knowledge from his playing days to his team, and their progression has been exceptional. He’ll push the side hard again and I think they’ll be near the top, but I don’t see them winning it.
Sydney FC had a rare poor campaign last time, finishing as low down the table as they ever have, but I predict a much stronger showing this time in which they challenge for the title. The signing of Jack Rodwell from Western Sydney Wanderers is interesting; when he was fit he actually performed well in his first season in Australia, but injuries were his biggest problem.

Melbourne Victory good in away matches
Then there’s Melbourne Victory, who made by far the highest-profile signing of the off-season in former Manchester Utd player Nani. Nani is undoubtedly the biggest name to move to Australia in a long time and it’s a massive signing, not just for Melbourne Victory but for the league as a whole. These are the kind of players I think the A-League could – and probably should – be attracting more regularly.
Looking back on the past 15 years, he had to step into Cristiano Ronaldo’s boots at Manchester Utd and, even though he was not at the same level as his countryman, he did very well. He was also part of Portugal’s success. At 35, he’s now in the latter stages of his career, but he looks after himself and I think he’ll be a fantastic addition who’ll score plenty of goals.
The Portuguese star adds further quality to a side that already features exciting young prospects such as Nicholas D’Agostino and Ben Folami, as well as experienced players like Joshua Brilliante, so I expect another strong campaign and have good performance in away games.

New arrivals to raise profile
Charlie Austin’s move to Brisbane Roar could be the ideal fit – they were the league’s second-lowest scorers last season, but he has scored goals throughout his career. I recently saw a video of him doing finishing practice with young players and was very impressed, so I think his experience and advice could really help and may even lead to a coaching role in the future.
I’m also interested to see how Dwight Yorke does in his first managerial role at Macarthur FC. He’s returning to a league where he previously played with Sydney FC and I’m expecting big things. I think he’ll bring new ideas to the club, and the players can learn from his experience. He’s played at the highest level, winning the treble with Manchester Utd, so will demand a lot from his new side.
From a personal perspective, I always look out for my former team Newcastle Jets. I love the club, I’ve got them on the “favourites” on my apps so their results always flash up, but I see it being a tough season. They can’t compete financially with the bigger teams so I don’t see them making the play-offs, but I hope they keep producing good youngsters because that’s one of their major roles.
And then there’s Adelaide Utd, who had a strong season last time, with one of my former Newcastle Jets teammates, Craig Goodwin, doing great things there. He’s like a fine wine, gets better as he gets older, and will be targeting a place in Australia’s World Cup squad. If he maintains his form, they should certainly be good enough to at least make the play-offs.