After the failure of our foolishly optimistic predictions ahead of the 2021/22 season, the Talking City crew returned again in September 2022 to ponder the season ahead, with 12 contributors aiming to improve on the campaign prior.
Giving predictions across four categories (POTY, Breakout Player, Best Young Player, and one unrestricted bold prediction), some of our contributors were (unfortunately) spot-on and some were laughably off the mark with some apologies owed.
Armed with the hindsight of another season come and gone, let's launch into a review of our pre-season predictions, starting with the three major awards.
Note: All stats per FBref.com.
Overall
Player of the Year
Who we predicted: Valon Berisha; 5 votes (Jamie Maclaren, Mathew Leckie; 2 votes)
Who it actually was: Mathew Leckie
The Berisha hype train was at full steam when he signed in September, with the Kosovan not only tipped by almost half of our contributors to win our Player of the Year, but even heralded by some as our first Johnny Warren medallist in waiting.
In reality, Berisha's on-pitch performances weren't backed up by goal involvement numbers until the second half of the season, with the loanee eventually posting a modest tally of one goal and five assists.
A valuable contributor, sure, but far from the unstoppable force that some were expecting.
Credit instead needs to go to Matt and Rene, who correctly tipped Mat Leckie as our Player of the Year. The 31-year-old Socceroos veteran finished the season with six goals and five assists, and at times put the team on his back to single-handedly rescue results.
Also coming close to individual honours in the Johnny Warren Medal race, Leckie has well and truly allayed the concerns that some City fans had following a slow start to life in 2021/22.
Fiercely challenging for the title of City's best player, Leckie will be an invaluable asset to have heading into a significant rebuild.
Young Player of the Year
Who we predicted: Jordan Bos; 10 votes (Callum Talbot; 2 votes
Who it actually was: Jordan Bos
A resoundingly accurate prediction from the majority of the TC crew, the rise of Jordan Bos was arguably the story of City's season.
Beginning 2022/23 as a promising deputy to Scott Jamieson and tipped by many to succeed his captain by the end of the campaign, none could have predicted just how quickly Bos would smash every target laid out before him. He was a starter by Round 1, had pocketed Nani by Round 3, had become the league's premier left-back by halfway through the season, was a Socceroo by April, and then became Australia's most expensive outbound transfer in May. For good measure, he also became the second Melbourne City recipient of the ALM Young Footballer of the Year award.
Headed to a great stepping stone club in KVC Westerlo, there is no telling the magnificent heights of Bos' trajectory from here.
Breakout Player (Most improved)
Who we predicted: Callum Talbot; 4 votes (Aiden O'Neill; 2 votes)
The only major category that we can't reference an official club award for, there are several candidates for Breakout Player of the Year.
The most popular tip for this category, Callum Talbot, was solid in his first campaign in City blue, but didn't quite nail down the right-back spot as some had hoped for.
Marco Tilio is one of four stronger candidates. The youngster had a career-best return of nine goals and five assists but was plagued by inconsistency. Focusing especially on the 'most improved' aspect, it is difficult to look past the wildly contrasting form of 2021/22 Tom Glover vs 2022/23 Tom Glover, with this redemption arc becoming one of the feel-good stories of the season. Another popular tip, Aiden O'Neill, was finally able to show the City faithful what he can do in an injury-free season, single-handedly winning matches and becoming one of our most important players.
In all honesty, though, it's hard to beat the incredible rise of Jordan Bos.
It's a little boring to have a player dominate multiple awards categories, but when there is an argument to be made that Bos is the A-League's breakout player of 2022/23, then he can only be the same here.
Shout out to Josh (Tilio), BT (O'Neill), and Regan (Bos), but especially to Matt, whose call of O'Neill as our Breakout Player is close enough to being correct that we'll credit him as the only contributor who was correct in all of his predictions. Naming Leckie, Bos and O'Neill in the three major categories, Matt also correctly called the 2023 Grand Finalists for his bold prediction (see below).
Whilst last season's bold predictions were brimming with optimism both on and off the pitch, you can certainly notice a more apprehensive mood that took over at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. As a result, many of the tips fell into the category of entirely foreseeable, so whilst the team got an impressive 5/12 predictions correct, there were few that were happy to be right.
We asked each contributor for their reaction after being reminded of what they had said seven months ago:
Christian: We're not going to make it a Plate three-peat. WU know the right way to expose us and don't seem to have lost any of their key players from last season. Sydney have recruited well enough to finish ahead of us too, which isn't to say we haven't done the same, their front three just looks too scary.
"'I'm a complete f***head' ... Oh, is this going in an article? ... In that case, 'we all get things wrong.'"
Matty B: City win a third straight Premiership but fall in the Grand Final again.
"Yay... :'( "
Tom: Tom Glover will win the Golden Glove.
"Glover’s rise is entirely thanks to me. You’re welcome Socceroos"
Angus: Probably not bold, but we will win the plate at a canter and lose in finals. It's the CFG way.
(Saturday night): "I am a genius. CFG football doesn't work in Finals. See 2021 Champions League. See 2022 ALM Grand Final. See tomorrow morning (Champions League Final)*."
*Editor's note: That panned out well. Truly a genius.
Josh (Gribling): Tilio to provide most assists in the league and secure that long-awaited European move at season's end.
"Even if he gets the move, I still feel double wrong. The original statement was less about actually topping the charts (hi, Craig Goodwin) and securing a transfer than it was about finally becoming a dominant force in the A-League, and I'm not convinced he's done that."
BT: Perth to go through the season with fewer than 10 points
"Testament to Ruben Zadkovich, because I thought he got a terrific return out of an awful squad."
Matt M: City vs CCM Grand Final
"It's hard being right all the time."
Jessee: PK final season as coach. Either we will be found out with no Plan B again or he will secure a move overseas after winning the GF. Both options entirely plausible.
"Well in the end this aged well. We still don’t have a Plan B and PK secured his move overseas."
Regan: Richard VDV will be another benchwarmer. Pucci 2.0.
"I’d like to personally apologise to the Dutch De Bruyne. Though he didn’t start consistently due to injury, he scored some important goals and absolutely proved me wrong."
Rene: We’ll have a slow start to the season but finish with a wet sail and pinch the Premiers Plate on the last day.
"As per usual, I got it wrong... and by an 11-point margin."
Lachlan: This will be PK’s final season as coach — either he’ll do well and get a move to Europe or we’ll grossly underperform and he’ll move on.
"Called it, but wouldn't have ever predicted he'd have a Heart-era winless run in Europe, get relegated and keep his job."
Jo: Jamie to score two goals at the World Cup. Tom Glover to have 10 clean sheets for the season.
"I had hopes of goals at the World Cup for the Aussies, I just should have said Leckie instead of Jamie. And I think young Tom fell short thanks to some mistakes and at other times lackluster defending."
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