The Nix Fix: Back at it again

The Nix Fix is back for the 2016/17 A-League season!

After a failed attempt to lure us away to another site, we’re proud to say that you’ll be able to find us right here on From The Stands for the duration of the season.

This season looks to be a promising one for the Phoenix with a bunch of promising new signings and a near perfect preseason under their belt. Although it must be noted that I was just as optimistic last year about our chances of pushing for the title and we ended up finishing second to last.

Key Signings

Ernie Merrick has added genuine strength to the Nix attack with the signings of Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler from Melbourne Victory. Kosta was last seen in Nix colours in 2010 before deciding to cross the ditch to link up with Brisbane. Last year he scored 10 goals across all competitions for the Victory and his ability to beat players and put his team in scoring positions will be welcomed at the Nix.

Finkler has been with Melbourne since 2012 where he made 93 appearances and scored 20 goals. He would often take free kicks and corners for the club, clocking up a number of assists. Barbarouses and Finkler paired with the likes of Krishna and McGlinchey make up arguably one of the strongest attacking lineups in the league on paper. Hopefully it translates to the field.

Perfect Preseason

This year’s preseason has been one of the best in the club’s history. After warming up with matches against local club sides, the Nix have gone on to register wins over Central Coast, Beijing BG and Melbourne City. The latter being the most impressive when after going behind early to a Tim Cahill header they responded with four goals of their own with Finkler and Krishna grabbing a pair each.

While preseason results can never be relied on to judge how a season will play out, it’s hard not to get a little carried away with the team’s performances heading into the beginning of the season.

Pesky Internationals

Once again the Nix are going to be heavily affected by international matches taking place during the season. This is no more evident than this weekend when the All Whites are away in the USA for matches against the host nation and Mexico. Unlike most other major leagues in world football, the A-League does not recognise international breaks and no club is more disadvantaged by this than the Nix. They will be without a number of players including captain Andrew Durante, McGlinchey, Barbarouses, Louis Fenton and Matt Ridenton.

This won’t be the only time the Nix will be disadvantaged by international fixtures with more All Whites matches scheduled for November and May, including crucial world cup qualifiers. There is no reason why the A-League cannot make space to accommodate these windows even if it means teams playing a catchup game later in the season. David Hards makes some great points in his column which you can read here.

Defensive Issues

Yet again it appears the main issue going forward this season will be defence. The club has signed impressive Italian Marco Rossi who will fill the gap left by Ben Sigmund’s departure. However the rest of the backline is very inexperienced and is once again going to be filled at times by young debutants as gaps appear due to injury and international commitments.

Final word

Even with the mentioned defensive issues the new look attacking lineup should be more than enough to get the Nix back into the playoff picture. I’m expecting a regular season finish of fourth or fifth, maybe higher if we can pick up some results during the international windows.

Come On You Nix!

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