2020–21 Western Sydney Wanderers FC season

Western Sydney Wanderers
2020–21 season
ChairmanPaul Lederer
ManagerJean-Paul de Marigny
(to 12 October 2020)
Carl Robinson
(from 15 October 2020)
StadiumBankwest Stadium, Parramatta
A-League8th
Top goalscorerLeague: Bruce Kamau (9 goals)
All: Bruce Kamau (9 goals)
Highest home attendance20,336 vs Sydney FC
(1 May 2021)
Lowest home attendance4,976 vs Melbourne City
(2 March 2021)
Average home league attendance8,062

The 2020–21 Western Sydney Wanderers season was the club's ninth season since its establishment in 2012. The club participated in the A-League for the ninth time.

Pre-season

The Western Sydney Wanderers started the season with Jean-Paul de Marigny as their head coach after he was appointed in July permanently, following an interim session after the sacking of Markus Babbel.[1] Three months after his appointment, Wanderers announced de Marigny's sacking with no explanation.[2] On 15 October 2020, the Wanderers announced the signing of Carl Robinson from Newcastle Jets as de Marigny's replacement.[3]

Players

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Scotland SCO Ziggy Gordon
4 DF Australia AUS Dylan McGowan (captain)
6 DF Australia AUS Tass Mourdoukoutas
7 FW Australia AUS Bruce Kamau
8 MF Australia AUS Steven Ugarkovic
9 FW Australia AUS Bernie Ibini
11 FW Australia AUS Kwame Yeboah
12 FW Australia AUS Mitchell Duke (on loan from Al Taawoun)
13 DF Australia AUS Tate Russell
14 MF Australia AUS James Troisi
17 MF Australia AUS Keanu Baccus
18 MF Scotland SCO Graham Dorrans
19 MF England ENG Jordon Mutch
20 GK Australia AUS Vedran Janjetovic
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF Australia AUS Kosta Grozos
25 DF Australia AUS Phillip Cancar
26 MF Australia AUS Jarrod Carluccio (scholarship)
27 FW Germany GER Nicolai Müller
29 DF Australia AUS Daniel Wilmering (scholarship)
30 GK Australia AUS Daniel Margush
33 DF Australia AUS Mark Natta (scholarship)
34 DF Germany GER Patrick Ziegler
36 MF Australia AUS Alessandro Lopane (scholarship)
39 DF Australia AUS Thomas Aquilina (scholarship)
40 GK Australia AUS Noah James (on loan from Newcastle Jets)
50 GK Australia AUS Oliver Kalac (scholarship)
77 FW Australia AUS Scott McDonald
— DF Australia AUS Mohamed Al-Taay (scholarship)

Transfers

From youth squad

N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
33 DF Australia Mark Natta 17 2 year scholarship contract[4]
36 MF Australia Alessandro Lopane 16 2 year scholarship contract[5]
32 DF Australia Jarrod Carluccio 19 1 year scholarship contract[6]
39 DF Australia Thomas Aquilina 19 2 year scholarship contract[7]
MF Australia Mohamed Al-Taay 20 1 year scholarship contract[8]
37 FW Australia Stefan Nikolic 17 2 year scholarship contract[9]

Transfers in

No. Position Name Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
24 MF Anthony Lesiotis Unattached Free transfer 2 years 5 November 2020 [10]
18 MF Scotland Graham Dorrans Scotland Dundee Free transfer 2 years 9 November 2020 [11]
30 GK Daniel Margush Unattached Free transfer 2 years 11 November 2020 [12]
25 DF Phillip Cancar Croatia Hrvatski Dragovoljac Free transfer 1 year 15 November 2020 [13][14]
14 MF James Troisi Adelaide United Free transfer 2 years 15 December 2020 [15]
2 DF Scotland Ziggy Gordon Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 2 years 17 December 2020 [16]
9 FW Bernie Ibini Newcastle Jets Free transfer 2 years 17 December 2020 [17]
40 GK Noah James Newcastle Jets Loan 1 year 30 December 2020 [18]
19 MF England Jordon Mutch Unattached Free transfer 6 months 5 January 2021 [19]
12 FW Mitchell Duke Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun Loan 6 months 1 February 2021 [20]
77 FW Scott McDonald Unattached Free transfer 2 months 28 April 2021 [21]
8 MF Steven Ugarkovic Newcastle Jets Free transfer 1.5 years 7 May 2021 [22]

Transfers out

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
19 MF Switzerland Pirmin Schwegler Retired 13 July 2020 [23][24]
– MF Poland Radosław Majewski Unattached End of contract 3 August 2020 [25]
7 FW Mitchell Duke Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun Free transfer 20 August 2020 [26]
40 GK Nicholas Suman Macarthur FC Free transfer 7 September 2020 [27]
6 DF Matthew Jurman Greece Xanthi End of contract 25 September 2020 [28][29]
16 DF Mathieu Cordier Unattached End of contract 16 October 2020 [30]
22 MF Nick Sullivan Unattached End of contract 16 October 2020 [30]
50 GK Tristan Prendergast Unattached End of contract 16 October 2020 [30]
1 GK Switzerland Daniel Lopar Unattached Mutual contract termination 11 December 2020 [31][32]
28 MF Fabian Monge Unattached Mutual contract termination 29 December 2020 [33]
31 DF Noah Pagden Unattached Mutual contract termination 29 December 2020 [33]
35 FW Sudan Mohamed Adam Unattached Mutual contract termination 29 December 2020 [33]
37 FW Stefan Nikolic Australia Marconi Stallions Mutual contract termination 22 February 2021 [34]
24 MF Anthony Lesiotis Unattached Mutual contract termination 7 April 2021 [35]
5 DF North Macedonia Daniel Georgievski Melbourne City Mutual contract termination 29 April 2021 [36][37]
8 MF Jordan O'Doherty Newcastle Jets Mutual contract termination 6 May 2021 [38][39]
10 FW Republic of Ireland Simon Cox Unattached Mutual contract termination 12 May 2021 [40]

Contract extensions

No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
23 Kosta Grozos Midfielder 1 year 16 October 2020 promoted to senior contract[30]
27 Germany Nicolai Müller Winger 1 year 16 October 2020 [30]
7 Bruce Kamau Winger 1 year 23 November 2020 [41]
29 Daniel Wilmering Defender 2 years 25 March 2021 promoted to senior contract[42]
13 Tate Russell Right-back 2 years 21 April 2021 [43]

Pre-season and friendlies

14 November 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 2–0 Australia Blacktown Spartans Australia
 Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
21 November 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 12–2 Australia Macarthur Rams Australia
13:00 AEDT
Report
  • ? 13'
  • ? 27'
 Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
27 November 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 2–3 (a.e.t.) Australia Central Coast Mariners Blacktown, Australia
 Report
Stadium: Wanderers Centre of Excellence
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
7 December 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 0–2 Australia Adelaide United Sydney, Australia
17:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: Valentine Sports Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
12 December 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 1–3 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
 Report
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
19 December 2020 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 4–0 Australia Blacktown City Australia
 Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss

Overview

Competition Record
P W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 26 9 8 9 45 43 +2 034.62
Total 26 9 8 9 45 43 +2 034.62

Updated to match played 30 May 2021
Source: Competitions

A-League

Main article: 2020–21 A-League

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
6 Macarthur FC 26 11 6 9 33 36 −3 39 Qualification for finals series[a]
7 Wellington Phoenix[b] 26 10 8 8 44 34 +10 38
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 26 9 8 9 45 43 +2 35
9 Perth Glory 26 9 7 10 44 44 0 34 Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[c]
10 Western United 26 8 4 14 30 47 −17 28
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. ^ The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
  3. ^ The top 8 teams qualified for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participated in a playoff round.[44]

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
26 9 8 9 45 43  +2 35 6 2 5 26 18  +8 3 6 4 19 25  −6

Last updated: 30 May 2021.
Source: Ultimate A-League

Matches

The 2020–21 A-League fixtures were announced on 24 November 2020.[45]

30 December 2020 1 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–1 Macarthur FC Sydney
19:10 AEDT Report Milligan 72' Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 10,128
Referee: Kurt Ams
8 January 2021 3 Newcastle Jets 1–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Newcastle
19:10 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 5,374
Referee: Daniel Elder
16 January 2021 4 Sydney FC 1–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
17:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Stadium Australia
Attendance: 14,402
Referee: Alex King
19 January 2021 4 Central Coast Mariners 0–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Gosford
19:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 4,659
Referee: Kurt Ams
29 January 2021 6 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Newcastle Jets Sydney
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 6,896
Referee: Ben Abraham
6 February 2021 7 Macarthur FC 2–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
19:10 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 4,723
Referee: Shaun Evans
10 February 2021 7 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 5,376
Referee: Alex King
21 February 2021 9 Wellington Phoenix 2–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Wollongong
18:10 AEDT
Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 3,383
Referee: Alireza Faghani
27 February 2021 10 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–3 Adelaide United Sydney
17:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 8,456
Referee: Adam Kersey
2 March 2021 10 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–2 Melbourne City Sydney
19:05 AEDT Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 4,976
Referee: Shaun Evans
7 March 2021 11 Western United 0–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Ballarat
18:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,142
Referee: Alex King
15 March 2021 12 Western Sydney Wanderers 4–3 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 5,477
Referee: Shaun Evans
19 March 2021 13 Western Sydney Wanderers 3–0 Perth Glory Sydney
19:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 6,012
Referee: Daniel Elder
26 March 2021 14 Melbourne City 4–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,388
Referee: Alex King
3 April 2021 15 Brisbane Roar 1–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Brisbane
19:10 ACDT
Report
Stadium: Moreton Daily Stadium
Attendance: 4,952
Referee: Alex King
6 April 2021 15 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–2 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
19:05 ACDT
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 9,755
Referee: Chris Beath
10 April 2021 16 Adelaide United 1–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Adelaide
19:10 AEST
Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 6,787
Referee: Daniel Elder
16 April 2021 17 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Brisbane Roar Sydney
19:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 8,251
Referee: Alex King
23 April 2021 18 Melbourne Victory 5–4 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
17:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 3,235
Referee: Alireza Faghani
1 May 2021 19 Western Sydney Wanderers 3–2 Sydney FC Sydney
19:10 AEST
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 20,336
Referee: Shaun Evans
8 May 2021 20 Western Sydney Wanderers 5–0 Western United Sydney
19:10 AEST
Report Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 7,539
Referee: Daniel Elder
16 May 2021 21 Perth Glory 5–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Perth
18:15 AWST
Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 4,510
Referee: Daniel Elder
23 May 2021 22 Sydney FC 1–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
16:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 17,121
Referee: Chris Beath
26 May 2021 22 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 5,068
Referee: Kurt Ams
30 May 2021 23 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0 Brisbane Roar Sydney
16:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 6,531
Referee: Alireza Faghani
3 June 2021 24 Adelaide United 2–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Adelaide
19:35 ACDT
Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 6,103
Referee: Alex King

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.

As of 5 June 2021
No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals
2 DF Scotland Ziggy Gordon 26 2 26 2
4 DF Australia Dylan McGowan 17 0 17 0
5 DF North Macedonia Daniel Georgievski 2(1) 0 2(1) 0
6 DF Australia Tass Mourdoukoutas 9(4) 0 9(4) 0
7 MF Australia Bruce Kamau 12(11) 9 12(11) 9
8 MF Australia Jordan O'Doherty 2(6) 0 2(6) 0
8 MF Australia Steven Ugarkovic 5(1) 0 5(1) 0
9 FW Australia Bernie Ibini 14(12) 4 14(12) 4
10 FW Republic of Ireland Simon Cox 8(6) 2 8(6) 2
11 FW Australia Kwame Yeboah 4(14) 4 4(14) 4
12 FW Australia Mitchell Duke 15(2) 6 15(2) 6
13 DF Australia Tate Russell 17(4) 1 17(4) 1
14 MF Australia James Troisi 19(5) 4 19(5) 4
17 MF Australia Keanu Baccus 19(5) 1 19(5) 1
18 MF Scotland Graham Dorrans 23 4 23 4
19 MF England Jordon Mutch 4(9) 2 4(9) 2
23 MF Australia Kosta Grozos 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
27 FW Germany Nicolai Müller 6(12) 2 6(12) 2
29 MF Australia Daniel Wilmering 12(2) 1 12(2) 1
30 GK Australia Daniel Margush 26 0 26 0
33 DF Australia Mark Natta 18(1) 0 18(1) 0
34 DF Germany Patrick Ziegler 7 0 7 0
39 DF Australia Thomas Aquilina 18(5) 0 18(5) 0
77 FW Australia Scott McDonald 0(7) 1 0(7) 1

Disciplinary record

As of 5 June 2021
Rank No. Pos Nat Name A-League Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
1 18 MF Scotland Graham Dorrans 11 0 11 0
2 6 DF Australia Tass Mourdoukoutas 2 1 2 1
33 DF Australia Mark Natta 2 1 2 1
3 2 DF Scotland Ziggy Gordon 5 0 5 0
4 4 DF Australia Dylan McGowan 4 0 4 0
17 MF Australia Keanu Baccus 4 0 4 0
5 14 MF Australia James Troisi 3 0 3 0
19 MF England Jordon Mutch 3 0 3 0
6 7 FW Australia Bruce Kamau 2 0 2 0
10 FW Republic of Ireland Simon Cox 2 0 2 0
13 DF Australia Tate Russell 2 0 2 0
7 9 FW Australia Bernie Ibini 1 0 1 0
12 FW Australia Mitchell Duke 1 0 1 0
27 FW Germany Nicolai Müller 1 0 1 0
29 DF Australia Daniel Wilmering 1 0 1 0
34 DF Germany Patrick Ziegler 1 0 1 0

Clean sheets

As of 5 June 2021
Rank No. Pos Nat Name A-League Total
1 30 GK Australia Daniel Margush 6 6

References

  1. ^ Bossi, Dominic (14 July 2020). "'The biggest club in the league': Wanderers appoint de Marigny as head coach". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ Bossi, Dominic (12 October 2020). "Wanderers sack head coach Jean-Paul de Marigny". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ^ "Wanderers announce Carl Robinson as head coach". Western Sydney Wanderers. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Natta Promoted". Western Sydney Wanderers. 15 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Wanderers promote 16-year-old Lopane". Western Sydney Wanderers. 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Wanderers promote Carluccio". Western Sydney Wanderers. 8 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Aquilina promoted". Western Sydney Wanderers. 30 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Wanderers continue to promote from within". Western Sydney Wanderers. 30 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Nikolic Promoted". Western Sydney Wanderers. 10 September 2020.
  10. ^ Rupolo, Nicholas (5 November 2020). "Former Victory A-League midfielder signs for Wanderers". FTBL.
  11. ^ "Wanderers sign former Premier League midfielder Graham Dorrans". The World Game. SBS. 9 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Margush signs". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 November 2020.
  13. ^ Lewis, Dave (15 November 2020). "Wanderers lock in highly-rated teenage defender, Celtic academy midfielder on trial". The World Game. SBS.
  14. ^ "Cancar signs". Western Sydney Wanderers. 16 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Troisi is Red & Black". Western Sydney Wanderers. 15 December 2020.
  16. ^ Jackson, Ed (17 December 2020). "Wanderers pounce to sign Gordon and Ibini". FTBL.
  17. ^ "Wanderers secure Ibini". Western Sydney Wanderers. 17 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Wanderers secure loan signing of Noah James". Western Sydney Wanderers. 30 December 2020.
  19. ^ Rugari, Vince (5 January 2021). "Wanderers bolster ranks with another ex-Premier League midfielder". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ^ "Wanderers announce the return of Duke". Western Sydney Wanderers. 2 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Wanderers sign McDonald". Western Sydney Wanderers. 28 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Ugarkovic comes to Western Sydney". Western Sydney Wanderers. 7 May 2021.
  23. ^ Wegmann, Michael (13 July 2020). "Pirmin Schwegler wechselt nicht zum FCL – Abschied in Sydney". Blick. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  24. ^ Rugari, Vince (12 August 2020). "Schwegler retires a winner as Wanderers, Victory end woeful seasons". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Radosław Majewski do wzięcia za darmo. Piłkarz odchodzi z Western Sydney Wanderers - Polsat Sport". www.polsatsport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  26. ^ Bossi, Dominic (20 August 2020). "A-League: WSW lose bidding war for captain as Mitch Duke seals move to Saudi Arabia". The Age. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Macarthur FC Strengthen Keeper Ranks". Macarthur FC. 7 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Jurman departs". Western Sydney Wanderers. 25 September 2020.
  29. ^ Oglos, Peter (25 September 2020). "Socceroo star Matthew Jurman reportedly set to join Xanthi FC". The Greek Herald.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Wanderers squad update". Western Sydney Wanderers. 16 October 2020.
  31. ^ "Lopar departs Wanderers". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Goalkeeper Daniel Lopar departs Western Sydney Wanderers". The World Game. SBS. 11 December 2020.
  33. ^ a b c "Wanderers confirm departures of Adam, Monge and Pagden". Western Sydney Wanderers. 29 December 2020.
  34. ^ Stavroulakis, Mark (22 February 2021). "NPL 2021 Men's 2021 season preview". NPL NSW.
  35. ^ "Wanderers confirm Lesiotis departure". Western Sydney Wanderers. 7 April 2021.
  36. ^ "Wanderers farewell Georgievski". Western Sydney Wanderers. 29 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Melbourne City FC signs Daniel Georgievski for remainder of A-League season". Melbourne City. 29 April 2021.
  38. ^ "O'Doherty departs Wanderers". Western Sydney Wanderers. 6 May 2021.
  39. ^ "O'Doherty joins Jets in Ugarkovic trade". Newcastle Jets. 7 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Cox returns to UK to reunite with family". Western Sydney Wanderers. 12 May 2021.
  41. ^ "Wanderers re-sign Kamau". Western Sydney Wanderers. 23 November 2020.
  42. ^ "Wilmering signs first professional deal with boyhood club". Western Sydney Wanderers. 25 March 2021.
  43. ^ "Russell signs two-year contract extension". Western Sydney Wanderers. 21 April 2021.
  44. ^ "FFA Cup to introduce Hyundai A-League play-off process from 2020". Football Federation Australia. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  45. ^ "Wanderers to open 2020/21 season". Western Sydney Wanderers. Football Australia. 25 November 2020.