7. Josep Gombau

Jeez it’s been a season of mixed-emotions in Wanderland. First, the club had to balance Popovic’s sudden desertion with the huge impact he’d had on the club. Then, they had to judge Foxe’s undefeated interim period under the guise of their even-bigger ambitions.

Finally, they had to deliberate on Josep Gombau, which was ultimately was too much to ask.

Despite the Spaniard’s record at Adelaide, the Wanderers board couldn’t be convinced that Gombau burnt slow but created a bigger flame when he couldn’t reach the finals with one of the A-League’s most talented squads.

Similarly, he lost more points from winning positions then any other A-League coach – a double edged sword for someone managing a team he had zero part in putting together.

With Tony Popovic lurking in the wings, it seems there was just too-bright-a-light on the horizon. But for the Wanderers, there’s a lot of unanswered questions to wade through first.

6. John Aloisi

This isn’t the first time Aloisi’s coaching career has come back from the brink.

The magician that once turned 12 winless matches and the sack at Melbourne Heart into a third-placed finish with Brisbane Roar is back, this time wowing us all by transforming three wins in 13 matches into seven in 10, sixth place and finals.

How does he do it? Well, put simply, he learns from his mistakes. Brisbane were too outgoing at the beginning of the season for an ageing squad but as soon as Aloisi transitioned them into the crafty, counter-attacking outfit they were born to be, they began to dominate matches.

They’ve beaten Sydney, Victory, Adelaide and the Wanderers to secure their spot in the finals, so watch out because Aloisi’s most-recent illusion could get a whole lot more real. 

5. Marco Kurz

If it wasn't for Besart Berisha's acrobatics, Kurz would have placed before Muscat on this list. While Adelaide have been inconsistent at times under the German, the former Bundesliga coach has created a great atmosphere within his playing group, which has translated into a hard-working, hard-to-beat Reds outfit.

Although 11 wins, 6 draws and 10 losses isn’t a ground-breaking record, his quick impact at the Reds with a young team and many new players, combined with his penchant for developing youth has seen rumours that Kurz could be off to Sydney FC next season.

The Sky Blues should have been impressed that in their 0-0 draw with Adelaide in January, the Reds had 11 South Australian players in their team, six of whom were under 20-years-old. Not bad for a fifth-placed side.

4. Kevin Muscat

Despite signing a new contract at the Big V this season, Musky’s so far had one to forget. An ultimately disappointing Asian Champions League campaign (Victory still haven’t won a single away game in 16 ACL attempts) capped off a disappointing fourth place for the Championship-winning coach.

It’s also the first season they’ve finished below Melbourne City - despite winning two of their three encounters – due to problems in every area of the pitch.

Besart Berisha is becoming increasingly wasteful, Carl Valeri has been battling poor-form, Matias Sanchez is hugely inconsistent and Rhys Williams wasn’t quite the force Melburnians were hoping for.

If it wasn’t for the inspired signing of Leroy George and the prodigal effect he seems to have had on fellow winger Christian Theoharous, things could be a lot worse for Muscat.