Macarthur FC 24/25 A-League Men Season Review

Before the season began, if you had told Macarthur fans they would win the Australia Cup, but miss finals after the departure of key players, or that they would get knocked out in the Round of 32, but make finals with no promise of silverware, the level of responses would be surprising.

For Macarthur, their season consisted of the former, and with finals a clear expectation at the club, it could be considered a disappointment. However, a trophy is a trophy, and it gives Mile Sterjovski’s side a crack once again at continental competition.

Season Grade: C-

Because of the Australia Cup, this season can not be considered a failure by any stretch, but to go from a spot well inside the top six to being on the outside looking in as the season’s end crept closer is not a good look.

It will not go down as one of the great seasons in Macarthur FC’s short history, but it might go down as an important one if the side has success next season.

January departures

The season was going incredibly well for Macarthur before January. After the transfer window opened however, it went from incredibly well to decent to bad to worse in the space of a month.

Ariath Piol, Oliver Jones, and Jed Drew all departed in the space of several weeks for transfer fees, but it looked like that was going to be it following Dino Arslanagic’s contract termination in December.

And then arguably the biggest departure of the lot happened. Valère Germain.

The likes of Piol and Jones were depth pieces, and while Drew was a quality starter and a promising young talent, Germain’s departure saw the club lose its captain and goal scoring threat at striker, which the club was not able to replicate to the same levels with a mix of Harry Sawyer, Chris Ikonomidis, and Marin Jakoliš.

Had Germain not left, the club might have been able to sustain losing the other three players because of his goal-scoring prowess, but once he transferred to J-League side Sanfreece Hiroshima, it was like Macarthur were playing a rigged game of Snakes and Ladders, that changed to only snakes halfway through the game as they slid down the table.

When you throw in the fact that Oliver Randazzo, Frans Deli, Dean Bosnjak, and reserve goalkeeper Alex Robinson were all in China for a month for the AFC U20 Asian Cup, which Australia won, perhaps Macarthur can be forgiven for missing finals with nearly a third of their squad from the start of the season absent in a key period of time.

Cross-town import

The arrival of Luke Brattan in the off-season, who wore the armband for the Australia Cup final, and doing so again when Germain left, was one of the biggest recruits in the off-season for Sterjovski, who praised Brattan in an interview with Round Ball Australia, saying the club brought him in because they needed a leader who knows what it takes to win things.

It was something the fans noticed as well, as Brattan was voted as the Members Player of the Season at the Macarthur FC awards night.

The other major off-season recruit was Marin Jakoliš. After a loan at Melbourne City last season from Angers SCO ended, he completed a transfer to Macarthur, and dominated in his first season at the Bulls, winning the clubs golden boot medal, while also racking up double digit assists, having one of the best ever assist seasons in A-League Men history, and one of the rare few to have double digits in both goals and assists (fact check, might be the first?).

Should Jakoliš stick around, with contract negotiations still under-way between him and Macarthur, another massive season would undoubtedly be on the cards.

What does next season look like?

With Mile Sterjovski locked up for another three years, he has the job security to take the Bulls to the next level.

With the Australia Cup, A-League Men, and Asian Champions League Two all to manage, it will be a long season for Macarthur, but if the club can put the transfer fees it received for the four departures in the middle of the season, this squad will bounce back, even with fan-favourites like Ivan Vujica and Jake Hollman departing the club.

But make no mistake about it, silverware or not, the Bulls must charge into finals in season 2025/26.