When Perth Glory owner Tony Sage secured Chris Coyne, his third Socceroo of the pre-season, he was confident that the general Perth public would be right behind him. But it didn’t happen.
When Sage organised to bring two English Premier League sides to come to Perth, the best standard of football this State has seen in the past ten years, he’d been hopeful that Glory memberships would have been snapped up.
But it didn’t happen.
Late last week Sage revealed the latest Glory membership numbers. At this point last year 3,654 memberships had been sold.
Sage was hoping for 7,500 for this season. However, despite all the positive moves the club has made, only 2,936 had been sold.
Does this mean that Sage has wasted his money? Of course not.
It just proves what a lot of wise (and not so wise) people have been saying all along – four years of disappointing football on the pitch can’t be erased by three months of positive moves off the pitch.
Hopefully this is not construed as a dig at Sage, because it isn’t.
To the full-time Perth Glory supporters (not those who drift in and out), the current administration has been a breath of fresh air. Last week, the club held the first meeting of the Perth Glory Supporters Association.
Say those fourteen words two years ago, and you’d probably get some weird stares, if not a couple of frustrated chuckles.
Without Sage, Perth Glory would be up a well-known river without a paddle.
But unfortunately, Sage is fighting the current of another well-known river – the fickle public who crave results and nothing else.
There are those out there who still call this sport ‘sawkker’ and probably couldn’t name a professional player apart from David Beckham. They aren’t going to get all excited because Coyne, Sterjovski and Burns have returned to Australia.
But what about those who don’t develop an American accent when referring to football? The English ex-pats who packed the Shed to the rafters when the Glory were one of the best NSL teams?
These are the guys (and gals) who remember four years of disappointing results, years of the FFA running the club into the ground, the years of frustration and despair.
So what can the club do to regain the support of the Perth public?
Apart from all the good work the club is doing at the moment, the only solution is success on the pitch. The Glory need to become more successful in the A-League and they have to make it to the finals this year. When this happens, the crowds will return.
Which is what makes the Glory’s first few games all important.
It doesn’t help that a number of players have suffered injuries at the worst possible moments, the weeks leading up to the first game. It doesn’t help that the club have had less pre-season games then some of their other rivals.
It doesn’t help when, in another bit of FFA shenanigans, Perth will have to travel to go to Adelaide and Wellington in the first two rounds.
The pressure is on. The Glory have already spent a lot of money and will continue to spend more on wages.
Perth need a good start in order to create momentum for the rest of the season.
Usman Azad
Guest
Hi Guys, Thanks for all the comments, it's been interesting to read them over the past couple of days. Usman
ME
Guest
This year I bought my first ever season ticket to any sport and it was for the Glory. I have followed the Glory since the NSL days and remember the crowds. I looked at it like this - If I don't support the Glory when they go out of their way to make a good fist of it then as a club they may well disappear and no longer will Perth be part of any national league - nothing for our kids to aspire to and beyond, the Glory is a stepping stone for some kids. I sincerely hope that those who are Glory supporters venture to a few more games than they did last year...show our support and appreciation for at least an attempt to move in the right direction. If results come on the pitch - the crowds will come - Perth is fickle.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I think the potential is there in NZ, it just hasn't been manifested correctly. Similar to Perth Glory. My mum's side of the family (in NZ) were all into Rugby league but they played Football as well and that was fairly normal. On my Dad's side they were mainly into Football and Cricket (because of their smaller builds) and even the Dairy farmers who lived in areas where you would only play Rugby would watch the FA Cup final. It's a bit behind Australia and they haven’t had their moment (like OZ qualifying for Germany) but hopefully they get the mix right (stadium and location) and finally start to play an attractive brand of football using kiwi players. Football is the only sport where I catagorically say I support Australia rather than NZ and that’s because when I was a kid Australia were often underdogs but beat Argentine 4-1 with some of the best goals I had ever seen and they had real footballers like Yankos, Farina and then Zelic. Meanwhile NZ played awful cynical football and the coach made a racist comment about one of my favourites Farina. At the time I lived and played football in Greystanes (most of our team was Maltese) and that comment made me realise NZ wasn’t my home anymore. They were just so hard to like, they have progressed a bit but style wise it’s not very appealing football.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
md you and I both! by the way, Jacob Burns just announced as Perth captain.
md
Guest
I don't see what the issue is. Could it be that I am the only one that thinks of NZ in the same terms as Victoria; they are a bit different, but basically OK? ;) Cheers md
Towser
Guest
Tend to agree with RealFootball about football support in Wellington. Not just Wellington, NZ generally. Whilst I sympathise with the view that we are helping NZ footballs development & we cant ignore the 4 million market, I've yet to be convinced that were succeeding & our support is advancing crowds through the gate. In my opinion NZ needs to be a constant top 4 team year in year out in order for any momentum to gather strength. Being a seperate country the football dynamics driving the game forward are unlike us just not there,so if there to come from the A-league they need to be succesful all the time.
Realfootball
Guest
Great news about the stadium upgrade. That should really give Perth Glory a boost. I think the issue with NZ comes down the fact that Oceania is not a viable federation and FIFA needs to step in and put it to sleep. Agree that it is hard on the Nix not to be able to aim for ACL. However, the issue of the Nix's long term viability with their small freefalling crowds is probably the key issue for them. Does football have enough support in Wellington to sustain them? Current indications are No.
Greg
Guest
In regards to the stadium, last weekend the local government committed to a $100 million renovation to Member's Equity, the initial proposal looks pretty impressive and I can't wait to see the plans/drawings of what it will look like.
Greg
Guest
Very good point, if NZ do beat Bahrain or Saudi Arabia it will be in no small part to the fact that it has a franchise in the A-League and its players are playing at a much higher level than would be otherwise afforded to them. 6 of its 23-man squad plays for the Phoenix with another 3 having played for them in the past. Another 3 also play in the A-League in spots which they may not have been offered if they had to be listed as foreign players.
Mick
Guest
Some people could be missing due to any of the following, The old shed used to hold 3,000 people, the new shed hold 700 to 800. The old family stand used to hold 1,000 to 2,000, the new family stand exposed to the weather probably only gets 500 people in it now. Maybe the facilities are so poor and you can watch it live now. The other thing maybe is the season used to start in October in the nsl & perth people are used to that, in the a-league come October the season for perth glory is over. Security trying too stop klids banging on the fence. In the nsl beer etc came in cans, a-league as plastic cups . I suspect what worked in the nsl the ffa do not permit in the a-league
Gloryous
Guest
A good read. Yes, membership numbers are down on last season, but I think the tickets bought at the gate will be on the up and increased from last season to make up for it.
dasilva
Guest
Well Mexican teams compete in the Copa Libertadores since 1998 despite being in a different confederation. It is not unprecedented
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I don't think a regular season campaign where they run 6th is going to excite anyone though. Maybe if they then make the Grand Final it will help next year but it's hard to get excited by a team thats only winning about a third of their games (what you need to finish 6th)
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Art I know a lot of aussies dont care, but I just dont see it as a big problem what confederation their in. I think there happy to compete even if they are told they can never have an ACL spot (if they dont agree then bunt them) as this is the Kiwis best chance at professional football. If there is one team in Australia that plays and can't compete in the ACL then who cares. Not a drama ther not hurting anyone. In singapore all sorts of funny stuff goes on with the make up of their league. Instead of seeing this as a negative the AFC should be saying "look at us, we are helping out the poor oceania competition" give us more money fifa! The only problem is in about 6 months NZ will be playing Bahrain or Sauda Arabia. But once NZ lose then there shouldn't be any issues with us helping NZ. If they win we could be in a spot though......
md
Guest
It's not just developing nations. English team Berwick Rangers FC have the same problem as the Canadians and chose to play in Scotland :). Great article & analysis. Not sure it is worth sledging the FFA though - the fact they were prepared to step in and run the club was huge. Sure, they were probably less than perfect club owners, but could you imagine that happening in the NSL? I think Tony Sage's investment will pay off for him this year. Remember - you only need to finish 6th and suddenly you are playing finals football!!! Cheers md
Art Sapphire
Guest
Andyroo- Canada and the US are in the same confederation. Hence there is no conflict. Israel are in UEFA. Even though Syria and Lebanon are geographically closer to Europe than Israel, I don't see UEFA handing out invites to them to play in UEFA competitions. The problem is NZ are not in Asia. I agree with you Andy "Borders, national lines and confederations are man made problems" but the kiwi's football problems are not top of my agenda.
Art Sapphire
Guest
Canada and the U.S are in the same confederation. CONCACAF Israel is in UEFA. Syria and Lebanon are closer to Europe than Israel, but because they are in the Asian confederation their teams, if required have to travel to Japan and Australia for ACL games. I don't see UEFA handing them invites to their competitions. The problem is that NZ are not in Asia. What incentive is their for a NZ team to do well in the A-League when they can't even qualify for the ACL. I feel sorry for the owners as they have been dudded big time.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
But I see a Canadian team in the MLS because there both Developing nations and Canada isn't capable of producing it's own fully professional league. I also see an Israeli team in the Uefa cup and I see Welsh teams in the English League. Why cut off the dream because it's unusual or odd. Borders, national lines and confederations are man made problems that man can fix :)
Art Sapphire
Guest
Pip - stop asking rhetorical questions :)
Art Sapphire
Guest
Its got nothing to do with the man and everything to do with logic. I don't see any Morrocan teams in the European Champions League and they are only seperated from Europe by the Straits of Gibraltar.