The Roar
The Roar

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If I was A-League King for a day of Glory...

Roar Rookie
30th November, 2015
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Perth head to NZ to take on the Phoenix. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Roar Rookie
30th November, 2015
6

Regardless of your chosen code, most fans have at one point in time voiced their opinion of how they would run things if given the job.

While in reality this usually ignores some minor hurdles such as limitless funding, the commercial legal code governing sports admin in this country, or the reputational damage which would probably prevent you ever doing business again, these don’t seem too hard to overcome after a few pints of Dutch courage.

The fan walkouts witnessed over the weekend in the A-League have highlighted the disconnect between the administrators of our game and the fans.

My own club, Perth Glory, has seen crowds drop significantly this year as a result of dissatisfaction with both the FFA and club management. This got me thinking what I would do, given the capacity.

I doubt Tony Sage or Peter Filopoulos would read this, but even if they did, what will they do? Ban me?

Branding and marketing
Unlike Melbourne Victory or Western Sydney Wanderers, whose troubles flow from fans in the stadium, Perth’s troubles are based on the complete lack of fans in the stadium.

While the FFA upset a few people over here when they denied Perth the FFA Cup final despite having qualified for the second year straight, I can see the rationale in their argument. The interest in football is definitely here, just not in the Glory.

It’s a sad state of affairs for a club which was once the benchmark of club football in this country. This will upset a few people, but given the chance I would put the Glory out of its misery and start fresh.

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Ditch the American-style team name (I’ve never been a fan of names like Glory, Roar, Jets, Mariners etc.) and adopt a proper name. It’s a football team, it’s from Perth, so Perth FC or something maybe slightly more creative (acknowledging that there is already a Perth FC in the state league).

Purple was originally chosen to differentiate the club from any ethnic origin, but I would also look to change this. The football landscape has changed since 1996 and a more visually attractive kit would go a long way to help the club’s marketing drive. Basically, it needs to look good with jeans if you want people to wear it outside of game day.

Other ideas to help rebuild the interest in the club include a massive billboard at the nearest train station (or perhaps even seeking to get it painted in club colours. The council wouldn’t mind as it has to beat the current look of graffitied white and steel), free tickets to under 10s if they are accompanied by a paying adult and an active involvement in the kids leagues across Perth.

Completely and unashamedly ripping off the marketing plan of successful Western Australia AFL clubs like the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers probably wouldn’t hurt either as they have obviously done something right to engage the community.

Staffing
We’ve had multiple marquee players in the history of the A-League with mixed results, but I would like to see a club take on a marquee coach (minimum three-year deal). Pim Verbeek famously upset a lot of people by saying that it was better for a player to be training in Europe than playing in Australia.

While Verbeek never bought into the Australian spirit and has also since retracted that statement, the benefit of an internationally experienced manager (and his staff) could also be extended to an Australian assistant manager groomed to take over after three years.

In terms of players, I would leave this to the manager.

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Other initiatives
It is common for clubs to award bonuses based on goals scored, games won, position on the ladder etc, however I would put the focus on fan attendance.

Based on some predetermined benchmark, a 10 per cent increase in average fan attendance over three games would result in a general bonus of x amount of players and staff members’ regular salary.

(Yes, I would extend it to non-playing staff and no, I don’t know if this would breach salary cap rules given the pay is outside the standard salary, but that’s why I am not running the club.)

I hope this article has got you thinking, and about more than just how glad you are that I am not running your club. What would you do if you were in charge of your club, or even the FFA now that Damien De Bohun’s head appears to be on the chopping block?

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