2005–06 Perth Glory FC season

The 2005–06 Perth Glory FC season was the club's 9th season since its establishment in 1996. The club competed in the A-League for the 1st time.

Perth Glory FC
2005–06 season
ChairmanNick Tana
ManagerSteve McMahon
(to 7 December 2005)
Alan Vest
(from 8 December 2005)
A-League5th
Pre-Season CupRunner-up
World Club QualifiersSemi-finals
Top goalscorerBobby Despotovski – 8 Goals
Highest home attendance13,157 v Sydney FC
Lowest home attendance5,033 v Adelaide United
Average home league attendance9,734
Biggest win5–1 v Newcastle United Jets
Biggest defeat0–4 v Central Coast Mariners

Review

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In 2005, it was announced that former Liverpool and England star Steve McMahon would be appointed as coach. The new season saw a complete overhaul of the playing squad, with Simon Colosimo and former Sunderland and Leeds striker Brian Deane as key signings. Other notable signings included future young stars Nick Ward and Billy Celeski.

Early results in friendlies against local opposition were not great, but Perth became the first team to defeat Sydney FC, winning 1–0 in the semi-final of the 2005–06 Pre-season Cup before losing in the final 0–1 to the Central Coast Mariners. Perth's woeful recruiting strategy was soon evident with the early departure of star import Brian Deane after seven games. Another McMahon recruit, Northern Ireland junior international Neil Teggart, quit the club prior to the start of the regular season. Deane was replaced by Damian Mori, a former Perth Glory striker. Originally on a three-game temporary contract, after some impressive performances Mori stayed for the rest of the season and finished with seven goals.

However, the club continued to be dogged by problems which would only be later revealed to the public. Steve McMahon was subject to constant media criticism over his coaching style and was accused of nepotism by signing his son, Steve McMahon Jr, who was of questionable talent. Rumours also surfaced that players were planning to stage a revolt against the coach. On 7 December, the club reported that the parties had "amicably" chosen to go separate ways.[1] On 9 December 2005, the club announced that assistant coach Alan Vest would move into the head coach role for the remainder of the season, with striker Damian Mori taking on a dual role as player-coach after being named as his assistant.[2]

The coach's departure was merely a symptom of deeper troubles. Poor performances saw Perth miss out on qualification for the finals for the first time since 1998. Dwindling support from chairman Nick Tana, as he looked to sell his 75% stake in the club, seemed to underpin a general decline in club fortunes. After the Round 20 match against Sydney FC, Alan Vest hinted that the current player group were incapable of achieving anything better and stated that "cliques" had been formed undermining club harmony. To cap off a bad season, Western QBE announced they were withdrawing as major sponsor after being associated with the club for 8 years.

Players

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First team squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   AUS Jason Petkovic
2 DF   AUS Matt Horsley
3 DF   AUS David Tarka
4 MF   AUS Simon Colosimo
5 DF   AUS Jamie Harnwell
6 DF   ENG Steve McMahon Jr
7 MF   AUS Scott Miller
8 MF   AUS Nick Ward
10 FW   AUS Bobby Despotovski
11 FW   NIR Neil Teggart
12 MF   JPN Hiroyuki Ishida
13 DF   AUS Ante Kovacevic
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF   AUS Jamie Coyne
15 MF   AUS Billy Celeski
16 FW   ENG Brian Deane
17 FW   ENG Stuart Young
18 FW   SOL Henry Fa'arodo
19 MF   AUS Naum Sekulovski
20 GK   SRB Milan Jovanic
21 MF   AUS Adrian Caceres
22 FW   AUS Damian Mori
23 DF   NZL Danny Hay
24 DF   AUS Ryan Townsend
25 MF   AUS David Micevski
26 MF   AUS Brendan Ross

Matches

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2005–06 A-League fixtures

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26 August 2005 Round 1 Perth Glory   0 : 1   Central Coast Mariners Members Equity Stadium, Perth
20:00 UTC+8 Report
Summary
Spencer   66' Attendance: 11,113
Referee:   Ben Williams
4 September 2005 Round 2 Melbourne Victory   2 : 2   Perth Glory Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10 Kitzbichler   11'
Muscat   85' (pen.)
Report
Summary
Caceres   40'
Despotovski   56'
Attendance: 17,960
Referee:   Matthew Breeze
10 September 2005 Round 3 Perth Glory   2 : 1   Queensland Roar Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8 Despotovski   54', 72' Report
Summary
Moon   76' Attendance: 8,509
Referee:   Simon Przydacz
17 September 2005 Round 4 Perth Glory   1 : 2   Adelaide United Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8 Valkanis   20' (o.g.) Report
Summary
Aloisi   32'
Qu   65'
Beltrame   67'
Attendance: 8,052
Referee:   Matthew Breeze
1 October 2005 Round 6 Perth Glory   1 : 2   Sydney FC Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8 Despotovski   40' Report
Summary
Petrovski   48'
Yorke   65'
Attendance: 13,157
Referee:   Matthew Breeze
8 October 2005 Round 7 Newcastle Jets   1 : 5   Perth Glory EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
19:30 UTC+10 Parisi   72' Report
Summary
Mori   33', 62'
Harnwell   46'
Despotovski   52'
Sekulovski   80'
Attendance: 5,868
Referee:   James Lewis
16 October 2005 Round 8 Central Coast Mariners   4 : 0   Perth Glory Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+10 Petrie   14', 48'
Heffernan   85'
Spencer   90+3'
Report
Summary
Attendance: 6,494
Referee:   Ben Williams
23 October 2005 Round 9 Perth Glory   2 : 1   Melbourne Victory Members Equity Stadium, Perth
17:00 UTC+8 Deane   22'
Sekulovski   55'
Report
Summary
Thompson   39' Attendance: 12,312
Referee:   Mark Shield
29 October 2005 Round 10 Queensland Roar   0 : 0   Perth Glory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:30 UTC+10 Report
Summary
Attendance: 13,685
Referee:   Simon Przydacz
6 November 2005 Round 11 Adelaide United   2 : 4   Perth Glory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
16:30 UTC+10:30 Veart   13' (pen.)
Rees   53'
Report
Summary
Mori   9', 34', 45+1'
Despotovski   39' (pen.)
Attendance: 10,868
Referee:   Ben Williams
11 November 2005 Round 12 Perth Glory   3 : 0   New Zealand Knights Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Ward   69'
Sekulovski   25'
Despotovski   12'
Attendance: 9,667
Referee:   Craig Zetter
19 November 2005 Round 13 Sydney FC   0 : 0   Perth Glory Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 16,242
Referee:   Matthew Breeze
25 November 2005 Round 14 Perth Glory   0 : 1   Newcastle Jets Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Coveny   47' Attendance: 7,921
Referee:   Simon Przydacz
4 December 2005 Round 15 Perth Glory   2 : 2   Central Coast Mariners Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Ishida   65'
Ward   54'
Petrie   12'
Hutchinson   8'
Attendance: 7,428
Referee:   Mark Shield
29 December 2005 Round 16 Melbourne Victory   2 : 2   Perth Glory Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
Allsopp   45'
Thompson   23'
Ward   67'
Mori   5'
Attendance: 14,754
Referee:   Peter O'Leary
7 January 2006 Round 17 Perth Glory   0 : 2   Queensland Roar Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Baird   80'
Reinaldo   10'
Attendance: 11,087
Referee:   Peter Green
12 January 2006 Round 18 Perth Glory   1 : 2   Adelaide United Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Ward   86' Aloisi   71'
Qu   3'
Attendance: 5,033
Referee:   Matthew Breeze
19 January 2006 Round 19 New Zealand Knights   1 : 4   Perth Glory North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
Emblen   7' Harnwell   78'
Coyne   14'
Sekulovski   11', 42'
Attendance: 3,024
Referee:   Neil Fox
29 January 2006 Round 20 Perth Glory   1 : 2   Sydney FC Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Despotovski   53' Zadkovich   23'
Rudan   14'
Attendance: 12,796
Referee:   Craig Zetter
5 February 2006 Round 21 Newcastle Jets   1 : 3   Perth Glory EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Coveny   34' Mori   71'
Picken   58' (o.g.)
Ward   9'
Attendance: 9,232
Referee:   Matthew Breeze

Ladder

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United 21 13 4 4 33 25 +8 43 Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Sydney FC (C) 21 10 6 5 35 28 +7 36
3 Central Coast Mariners 21 8 8 5 35 28 +7 32 Qualification for Finals series
4 Newcastle Jets 21 9 4 8 27 29 −2 31
5 Perth Glory 21 8 5 8 34 29 +5 29
6 Queensland Roar 21 7 7 7 27 22 +5 28
7 Melbourne Victory 21 7 5 9 26 24 +2 26
8 New Zealand Knights[a] 21 1 3 17 15 47 −32 6
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Awards

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Perth Glory Most Glorious Player

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2005/06 A-LeagueBobby Despotovski

References

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  1. ^ Glory and McMahon part ways Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.perthglory.com.au, 7 December 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2006
  2. ^ Vest and Mori to take Glory forwards Archived 24 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine www.perthglory.com.au, 9 December 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2006