Jacob Stevens 
Perth Glory 23/24 Season Review. Photo: Perth Glory. Design: Round Ball Australia
The Glory’s season was one with greater focus on off-field issues than performances on the pitch – and for good reason.
Perth finished dead last, four points behind a Western United team that couldn’t get going.
The season started slowly, but gradually grew into a mid-season charge that saw them earn an outside shot for finals, before late-season capitulation saw them lose seven of their last eight games. Perth fans instead found their joy from happenings elsewhere.
In the 2022/23 offseason, Tony Sage announced his decision to step down as owner of the club, leaving the Glory in ownership limbo.
But this season, having had his deal for Adelaide United rejected, in stepped Ross Pelligra with an upfront purchase price of $1. Granted, this deal came with a commitment for further spending and the concession of an equity share in the A-League, according to the West Australian.
Immediately the buzz returned to the west, as Pelligra implemented ticketing schemes to boost crowd numbers at home games.
So there’s reason to be optimistic that at least the future of the club has been secured, despite missing finals for the fourth straight season.
Season Grade: F
Even with a new and dedicated owner on board, it’s hard to reconcile that with the team’s performances on the pitch.
After that mid-season run where the club felt borderline-unbeatable at home, it’s certainly a profound disappointment that the Glory finished with their second spoon in three seasons.
The team’s veterans stepped up big time: David Williams and Adam Taggart in particular, making their presence known, the latter winning the league’s golden boot.
But, as other A-League clubs have shown, defending your own goal is even more important than scoring in the opposition’s.
And that’s exactly where Perth struggled. 69 goals conceded in a 27-game season. Need more be said?
The issue is that no one specific thing, person or idea is to blame.
Head coach Alen Stajcic’s tactics were hit-or-miss all season, holding the Phoenix to a draw at home, but only a week later losing to then-bottom of the table Western United.
Similarly, the personnel were not up to standard. Kaelen Majekodunmi made headlines with his two late goals but was rarely used as a starter.
Meanwhile, experienced centre back Aleksander Susnjar looked checked out for most of the season, with lazy defending more frequent than his moments of class – such as his wonder goal against the Wanderers.
It really was a season to forget.
Highlight: Bought for a Buck
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever seen at a dollar store? Because whatever it is pales in comparison to an entire football club.
While the exact fee paid by Pelligra is undisclosed, it is believed to have been of merely token value, with Pelligra himself making assurances that there will be annual multi-million-dollar investments.
Pelligra has said that the three core underpinnings of his ownership are to be successful, sustainable, and to re-connect with fans and the community.
That’s the most exciting thing about the new owners: yes, it’s great that the league has avoided another Jets situation, but the three-point plan is a fantastic dose of optimism for the fans that Pelligra is taking this seriously.
Lowlight: 7-1 Loss on the Final Day
There were plenty of bad moments to pick for Glory’s season.
And to be honest, it was close between the club being forced by the APL to loan Salim Khelifi to the Victory and their final round defeat to Sydney FC.
By this point, their season was well and truly over. The little run they’d put together sputtered back to mediocrity and the club was looking at another wooden spoon.
But even then, a 7-1 loss is … really quite bad. None of the players looked like they had any desire to be there – no fighting for their contracts, no passion.
Oh, and they’d lost 8-0 to City only a couple of weeks earlier. Which makes the fact they didn’t bother trying to avoid another such defeat look even worse.
A Statement of Intent
Pelligra has stated his intentions and thrown down the glove, with some quick decisive moves already in the fledgling offseason.
The Glory have an ageing squad, albeit with some quality still there: the likes of Taggart and Williams (who has recently re-signed for another year) were pivotal for the club throughout last season.
A number of players were not retained, including Susnjar, Kamau and Stefan Colakovski, who decided to look for an opportunity overseas.
Joshua Rawlins returned to his parent club in Switzerland at the expiry of his loan and the club terminated Salim Khelifi’s contract.
But, with lots of holes to fill, the club has already jumped on the opportunity to snatch up some players while other teams are still figuring out their core squads for next season.
Experienced veterans Josh Risdon and Brandon O’Neill signed two-year deals, both returning to the club where they got their first A-League starts.
Joining them is Belgian defender Anaz Hamzaoui, Phoenix hot-shot Nicholas Pennington and a group of talented youngsters including Adam Bugarija, Abdelelah Faisal, Nathaniel Blair and Zach Lisolajski.
There is more work to be done to solidify the Glory squad for next season, but there are already promising signs that the club and its new owners are looking to be proactive in the market while other A-League teams sit on their thumbs and bide their time.
Individual Performers
It’s easy to wax lyrical about a goal-scoring striker, but you also have to remember that Taggart won the league golden boot with 20 goals while playing for the team that finished bottom.
He was helped along the way by the evergreen David Williams, who on occasion turned back the clock to put in masterful performances off the bench to keep the Glory’s season alive.
Then there was young Daniel Bennie, who scored his only goal of the season in Round 22 against the Victory, but showed enough promise to be rewarded with a move to English Championship side, Queens Park Rangers.
- Most Glorious Player: Adam Taggart
- Players’ Player: Adam Taggart
- Members’ Player of the Season: Adam Taggart
- U23 Player of the Season: Daniel Bennie
- Golden Boot: Adam Taggart
Conclusion
Nothing is ever a given in football – and especially so in Australia: the future of a club, the status of players, the likelihood of performances.
The Glory struggled on the pitch. Majorly.
But they’re still around, still kicking, and are the first club to show real signs of life this offseason on the transfer market.
It’s not a guarantee that they’ll magically win it all next season and they could just as easily win another spoon.
However, there’s reason to be optimistic. The Mariners have shown what can happen if you build towards a proper goal.
If they can do it, surely anyone can, right? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.