Poletti 
Macarthur FC 2024/25 A-League season preview. Photo: Texi Smith. Design: Round Ball Australia
After claiming their second Australia Cup in three years with a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory, Macarthur will play continental football next season, but they have an entire domestic campaign to focus on first.
It will be a tough campaign with some squad turnover to navigate in key areas of the pitch, following player departures, but the incoming recruitment will go a long way to cancelling that turnover.
Macarthur’s last Cup victory (2022) saw the side change coaches mid-way through the season, with Dwight Yorke being replaced by Mile Sterjovski, who is still at the helm, and it ended in a wooden spoon, a feat Macarthur will be keen to avoid repeating.
The Manager: Mile Sterjovski
Into his second full season as coach, Sterjovski has already delivered silverware in the Australia Cup, and is well liked at Macarthur, so do not expect to see him under pressure unless the results are incredibly horrid, but with Macarthur’s squad, that would be unlikely.
A strong coach who is underrated by fans, Sterjovski has shown adaptability when required, either by force or choice, both in squad formation and tactically, which was seen most recently in the 2024 Australia Cup on both fronts.
This season also has the potential to be a breakout year for Sterjovski.
He has flown under the radar in some respects since his arrival, but he is developing well as a manager.
His cool, calm, and collective nature does not stand out when compared to other managers, which would be in part why he has flown under the radar, but if Macarthur’s on-pitch performances continue to impress and bring results, he will not be able to do that for much longer.
The Squad
It was a big off-season for Macarthur, with the likes of Ulises Davila, Kearyn Baccus, Matt Millar, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Ali Auglah, and Lachie Rose all leaving the club, with several of those being forced and in impact positions on the pitch.
Sterjovski has however recruited rather well to replace these key absences, and it should see a change in style from the South-West Sydney side.
Luke Brattan, Marin Jakoliš, Chris Ikonomidis, Dino Arslanagic, and Harry Sawyer all join the squad, with Brattan and Jakoliš already delivering for Macarthur during their Australia Cup campaign.
While Ikonomidis, Arslanagic, and Sawyer are yet to pull on a Macarthur jersey in competitive competition, expect them to be game-changers for the side, and help raise the bar and expectations, with their arrivals creating competition for key spots in the starting side.
Their arrival also allows Sterjovski and Macarthur to be a lot more flexible with their personnel decisions and formational and tactical approaches to games.
A strong midfield core could see a 3-4-3 to take advantage of the wing presence of Jakoliš and Jed Drew, or a 4-4-2 with Sawyer and Germain up top, or a 4-3-3 to solidify the midfield with the three strongest players and allowing for defensive cover.
Losing a high quality player like Davila, who Dwight Yorke once called the best player in the league, is never easy to deal with, especially when that player is also a fan-favourite, but Sterjovski might have found a way to do so, and that should excite Macarthur fans.
The Off-Field
The big off-field story impacting the club will continue to be the gambling scandal which saw Davila and Baccus depart the club, while Clayton Lewis is still under-contract but under a no-fault suspension by Football Australia as the case is still ongoing.
It is a story that will not go away until it is concluded, but will it distract the club and the playing squad every time it gets a mention in the news cycle?
If the squad can shut out the noise it creates whenever there is a new development reported, then they will go a long way to ensuring it does not become a distraction and hindering success for the club this season.
The other story that is slowly taking place in the background is the ongoing lack of development of the clubs own training facilities.
The site identified in Cawdor, 20 minutes away from Campbelltown Stadium, is still yet to be developed (or even had a shovel put in the ground), which means the side are still training primarily at Fairfield Showground, almost 40 minutes away from their stadium.
If the club can make some in-roads on that development, it could see the side climb to new heights in the coming years, but the positivity that news would bring would have an instant impact amongst the fanbase.
Expectations
The expectations for Macarthur will depend on who you ask, but winning a finals game should be the pass mark for the 2024/25 season.
It is also an entirely reasonable expectation, following last year’s 4-0 loss to Sydney FC in the elimination final, as Sterjovski continues his journey as Macarthur’s coach.
It is also something the side did in its inaugural season when Ante Milicic was in charge, defeating Central Coast Mariners, before losing to Melbourne City a week later.
Fans will likely have the expectation of additional silverware, but that is a lofty ask with the strengths of other teams they will be directly competing against for top spot, including the Mariners, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, and Wellington.
With the finals series also being unpredictable, a grand final appearance would be nice, but it should not be banked upon as an expectation.
Some hindrance to reaching that expectation will include the squad turnover and the loss of key players, although Sterjovski has recruited rather well to cover those departures.
On the optimistic side of things, the crowds continue to grow in Sydney’s South-West, as fans continue to develop a connection with Macarthur, and a stronger crowd presence at games should help an already motivated playing squad continue to grow that motivation.