Sydney FC - Where did it all go wrong?

This is the question all Sydney FC fans are asking themselves. Sitting at the bottom of the table after 22 matches and only winning 4 of those, it is fair to say that all hope of a finals place for the side are gone and buried.

The issue now is how the club are going to solve their problems and find some form before heading off for their Asian Champions League campaign.

The problems for the club started at the end of last season, after winning both the premiership and the championship. Without the help of the spine of the side; Clint Bolton, Simon Colosimo, Steve Corica and John Aloisi, there is doubt that Sydney would have performed as well as they did. Three of these players signed contracts with new side, Melbourne Heart, whilst club legend, Steve Corica decided to hang up his boots and move into the realm of coaching.

During the off-season, the club came out saying they wanted to lower wages and the average age of the club, therefore replacing Clint Bolton (35) with Liam Reddy (28), Simon Colosimo (31) with Sebastian Ryall (21), Steve Corica (37) with Nick Carle (29) and finally John Aloisi (34) with Bruno Cazarine (27).

As much promise and enthusiasm as these players were destined to bring to the club, they lacked the experience that Sydney has always thrived on, leading to the demise of leadership on the field. Club captain Terry McFlynn undoubtably puts in more effort then any one else in the side, however its hard to say what position he should be playing. Stephan Keller had the defensive leadership thrown upon him, however he is no where near as vocal as he should be. And with Mark Bridge only having scored 1 goal so far this season, it is obvious things for the club are not going as planned.

The Asian Champions League kicks off in March and Sydney are up against Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China) and the yet-to-be-announced Emperors Cup Winner (Japan). It has now come to the point to ask whether or not Sydney had planned all along to focus purely on playing in Asia, sacrificing results in the A-League or whether things in the club really are as bad on the inside as they look from the outside.

For Sydney to return to glory, it is the spine of the team which will get them there. A vocal and experienced goal keeper, a strong defender with good distribution, a solid midfielder who controls the pace of the game, and a traditional centre forward who only worries about putting the ball in the net and nothing else.