Big Wednesday was a great success for the A-League and the FFA. Twenty three goals were scored and solid attendances at all matches except for the last one, Perth.
On The Roar on Tuesday night, I was keeping tabs on the crowd figures in all of the A-League games played on Big Wednesday, just to see if this novel concept was worth a try. What I found from the crowd figures is that teams from regional areas in NSW, like Newcastle and Central Coast, drew larger crowds than Perth Glory, who represent not only a capital city, but a state no less.
The Jets and the Mariners drew 9,311 and 12, 284 respectively, while Perth drew only 6,912.
Perth weren’t playing a team coming last; they were playing the defending premiers in the Brisbane Roar.
Suffice to say, that crowd figure is indicative of where Perth Glory are at the moment. A week or two ago, Perth Glory owner Tony Sage threatened to quit the club after been booed and abused by fans after Perth got beaten 2-1 by Melbourne Heart at NIB.
Then he retracted it by saying that he will stay at the club.
Tony Sage, owner of Perth Glory since 2007, has put in over $10 million of his own money just to keep the club solvent and competitve.
A couple of key problems Perth need to sort out:
1. Their stadium deal at NIB stadium.
Perth need to restructure their current stadium deal, so that they could attract sponsors, new members and new revenue streams. In recent times, ticket prices have risen, which hasn’t been popular amongst fans (no surprise) and with it comes a substantial loss of revenue every time they play at home.
Perth have also signalled they were looking at alternative venues if things at NIB don’t improve. There was talk that Glory would move to a State and Netball Hockey Centre. But whatever the outcome, Perth need to sort out their stadium deal to make Perth Glory financially viable and less reliant on Tony Sage.
The other key problem is:
2. Perth Glory’s choice of football managers since their A-League inception.
Steve McMahon, Alan Vest, Ron Smith, David Mitchell and Ian Ferguson are the men who have taken charge of the Glory, whether it’s in a permanent or care-taker role.
Not exactly an inspiring list.
You tend to think it’s more “route one” football, rather than trying to take the game to the next level. Perth would’ve loved to have had a coach like Ange Postecoglou, John Van Schip, or Graham Arnold, as those coaches have improved or educated themselves so that the football they coach is not only at a higher level, but is also attractive to watch.
Actually, Perth should get John Kosmina over there.
Just get some passion back in the joint.
But I do think the next manager of Perth should be highly credentialed and educated.
In the old NSL, Perth had former East German manager Bernd Stange in charge, and with it, a change in style on how they played before. Maybe Perth need something similar, very soon.
Perth Glory were the flag-bearers of the old NSL in the late nineties and early 2000s. regularly getting 15,000 people to their games and winning titles. Since the A-League started, Glory have only made the finals once.
That was in season 2009/10.
To me, that makes Perth Glory the A-League’s biggest under-achievers.
When you consider clubs from other capital cites, like Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar, who have won premierships, while Adelaide have made A-League grand finals and an ACL final, it does make Perth Glory’s achievements, or lack of them, pretty ordinary.
There has been a lot of focus and attention on teams like Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, but we need Perth Glory to fire! We need a strong Perth Glory. The A-League needs a strong Perth Glory.
We want Perth to get back to their glory days (pardon the pun)
Glory have the potential to be a powerhouse in this competition and be up there, as far as crowds are concerned, with the likes of Melbourne Victory.
Hopefully in a future Big Wednesday, Perth gets more people to their game than Newcastle and Central Coast.
PeterK
Guest
Fowler was a bit of a dead loss at Fury too -- though I must say Fergie did get us closer to the top 6 in his season with us. There were flashes of brilliance from Fowler, but in general he did not fit the team-mix, and tended either to wait for service or if he retreated to get the ball seemed to have little idea of how to get it forward to where someone could shoot. I think if we do manage (one day) to get Fury (or a resurrected version thereof) up and running again, then we would not want Fergie back.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Yeah, Jamie Harnwell is currently responsible for the FootballWest women's setup and Gareth Naven is NYL coach for the Glory. Spoke to one of the Glory youth players recently who spoke very highly of Gareth and his coaching.
Daniel
Guest
Alister Edwards, Gareth Naven, Tony Franken and Sampson SiaSia have all experienced a reasonable degrees of coaching success although I'm not aware of their formal qualifications. Bobby, Mori, Harnwell and Murphy have either tried and failed or are still working at the lower levels of coaching. Truth is, every coach we have had since Ron Smith has been our promoted assistant coach. Sage has spent millions on players, but without the experienced football guidence this article is calling for will never hire a reasonable coach unles we just get lucky. Sage is a business man not a ex-pro footballer.
JohnB
Guest
Over in the west there is little or no build up on any game - free to air that is; that would not be so bad if someone on the TV evening sports segment actually announced there was going to be a game the next day. I'm sure quite a few people here would not be aware Glory had even been playing until the result is trotted out the following evening.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
The ultimate humiliation Football coverage following after the Turf Racing results. Yes I know what you mean..
JohnB
Guest
The uncaring sporting media here WA are no help with blanket AFL or cricket coverage. Sokkah gets half a page on Glory and half on the EPL in the West Australian right after the racing pages at the very front of the sports section. The news on Glory is the bare minimum. OK they are getting lousy results, though the last game was a big improvement on performance, but there has been lousy coverage and negative reportage for years. You get twice as much column inches on any Melbourne AFL team.
mintox
Guest
The Glory fans have been served up almost constant dissapointment from the first season of the A-League with the only respite being the half season in which an on loan Danny McBreen gave their attack some focus and they managed to scrape into the finals. Before Sage's ownership we were an embarrasment, poor players, poor coaching and a poorly organised club. Much of this has improved under Sage and he should be credited for that aspect of his ownership. However as huge as his effort and financial contribution have been it's been slightly misguided. Instead of exciting youngsters playing good football for an intelligent coach we've seen a host of has-beens and never-were's wearing the purple shirt and an equally large number of talented youngsters who've never been given a chance to show what they are capable of. Sage doesn't seem to understand that big names will only bring you crowds for one or two games (as evidenced by Fowlers stint in the team), what brings a sustained increase in numbers at the ground is an exciting team playing good football EVEN IF they lose. The two most enjoyable games this season were a 1-0 loss at home to Sydney and Wednesday nights game against Brisbane. In both games we played some good attacking football, created plenty of chances and on both occasions the fans were happy apart from the result. I was am no fan of Fergie but the last game and the first half against Newcastle were excellent which shows that he can at least improve what the Glory are doing. However he will never be a title winning coach and at the end of the season he has to go and someone brought in that can emulate what Brisbane and Central Coast have done at their clubs without the big names that we so often chase after.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Its annoying that Glory have taken their eye off the ball and a number of state league teams have forged direct links to overseas clubs instead of Glory *sigh*
Nathan of Perth
Guest
That isolation also meant for much of history until easy reliable transit in the 70s, we were a limited part of the national scenes of most sports, even cricket. But I daresay that going without the Western Warriors in the cricket could never be countenanced. In a similar vein I don't think the A-League could safely ignore Perth in the new professional age. Afterall, imagine how Foxtel would squeal at the loss of that timeslot. FootballWest is in rude health, and Glory is rebuilding their links with the state structure. This season the semi-pro State League is moving to a third division, so interest in the code is increasing not decreasing. The club still has the potential for not just sustainability but to be a powerhouse again. These are all management issues. And given how the western sydney bid went last time, closing down the Glory in favor of something like that holds little promise of anything different!
jamesb
Guest
SVB thats a great point when you mentioned about Perth or WA producing future socceroo players in Herd and Rhys Williams. You might also add Williams' younger twin brothers as possibles in Aryn and Ryan Another good reason why perth should still be in the comp. Also Dylan and Taylor Tombides are another pair to look out for. PS: speedy recovery for Dylan tombides.
SVB
Guest
Honestly James B. When you look at the history of soccer/football in this country, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have contributed the most. In the past 5 years or so Brisbane has began to step up, and will grow further in the future. Apart from a few good years by the Glory, Perth is seemingly absent. It is like the sport is way down on the pecking order there (even below basketball and rugby union) Although I do take hope that some future Socceroos in Herd and Rhys Williams (who are both from Perth) will install some provide in the local football scene there. But you are right that they won't ever get rid of them if they don't have to. But they will struggle until they market and advertise the sport/team better and get some results playing something other than English/Scottish route one football.
jamesb
Guest
Hi SVB I don't think getting rid of Perth will ever happen. We all know that as a city, Perth can be isloated, however they do have a population thats growing and of course WA has the mining resources as well. Like i said in my article, they need to sort out their stadium deal and also picking the right coach. What I forgot to mention in my article, is for the Glory to try and engage in the community, especially in areas where there's alot of ex pat poms.
SVB
Guest
It appears there are a lot of ex-pat Poms who follow football from Perth, who somehow think they are above the a-league. I just don't think there is that much support there for the local competition. There is not the buzz you get from the other East coast cities (plus Adelaide) when their teams are doing well. Even in NZ when the Phoenix are doing well they can get decent crowds, and the support is loud and boisterous. Give them a few more years, and if they are still struggling get rid of them and put a team in West Sydney where local football is appreciated. Maybe being so far from the other cities they are immune to the buzz that can happen between teams in Adelaide, Melbourne, NSW and QLD. They just don't have any real rivals. The only thing they have got is the NSL years to ponder about.
Kasey
Guest
I for one hope Glory can find a way to return to their former er, glory. I remember in the dying days of the NSL, the glory were the bright shining hope that provided proof that top level professional football could exist in this country and if done correctly could engage with the wider Community. I think there are many fans out there in HAL world that owe the existence of their current teams to the example set by Nick Tana and Perth Glory. I know that when my team was kicking off 9 years ago, the club they talked of emulating with regards to engaging a city wide supporter base was Glory. In the end I think we've done that and although nothing can take away the 2 national titles they have I would say that they have seriously underperformed in the HAL era and are now the 2nd smallest club of the league. That's no consolation when the smallest by a long way is Gold Coast Utd:) If anything a strong Glory would force lazy Eastern states football journos to get off their arses and leave NSW/VIC for a football story:)
TW
Guest
First up I am a AFL supporter who has a general interest in all sport and have watched various sports come and go in Perth. Perth Glory has rock solid baseline support which will be reflected in their onfield performances - If they are going well their crowds rise along with the general interest in the media. Their current crowds are their base support. Radio 6PR has stopped broadcasting their matches this year for the first time in a long period - Apparently the financials were no longer attractive considering that 6PR is part of the Fairfax Empire who were considering flogging off their Radio interests but reversed that decision recently. Perth has a large British expat population who would you would think get behind them but only if they are travelling well it appears. Where I live in the northern suburbs there are heaps of poms and Soccer Football Clubs, and one of my neighbours who is English and his family are MU Fanatics and just laughs at the A League in Perth. He said all his friends only follow the EPL through Foxtel. A tiny sample I Iknow but never the less it may mean something. The NBL Perth Wildcats are going well again and the crowds are up again over their baseline support and will likely move into the new 14000 seat Entertainment Centre this year. Their current small stadium is packed every home game ATM. The Super Rugby Western Force also have a rock solid base support and if they get to the finals the crowds will rock up. They with the Glory share NIB Stadium, which is about to get an upgrade in stages to 25000 from the State Govt. I think the first stage of the upgrade is getting closer and may get underway this year. The hold up has been the local Town of Vincent. Link to original stadium article.- Notice the links to Rugby League and NIB. The mooted Perth NRL team will be based there as well eventually and will come in with a minimum of fuss and none of the vitriol being directed at GWS by the naysayers. http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/nib-stadium-the-new-name-of-former-perth-oval-20100609-xvj5.html Perth is starved of sport and entertainment so everybody gets a go and support - If they are good enough.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
The rose-tint in your glasses, mate, that's just the rose-tint in your glasses. Can't cast a shadow on anyone from the VPL.
MelbCro
Guest
I can feel the burn coming from you Nathan, its intense. I remember in 1996/97 going into the final round of the season, playing your lads at Somers St. Glory needing only a draw to make the finals in their inagural season. We smashed you 3-1, dumping you out of the top 6. Oh and of course lets not forget the 2000/01 season where we knocked your boys out of finals over 2 legs. I bet you still have nightmares mate. Always in our shadow.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Well the Jets have really made some very good progress with an owner who has appointed a Football Committee. Now the crowds have increased dramatically, a good coach (exSocceroo) has been appointed who comes from the area Newcastle. They just beat my team GCU who has a owner/leader that wants nothing to do with democracy and has done everything his way a coach that never played at a top level in a known Football League. Not that I hate Clive, and Miron their hearts are in the right place, Clive has the money to keep us afloat, but now idea how to run the club successfully---that's leadership for you.
striker
Guest
Yes i agree along with Gold Coast there hurting the league baddly with there shocking attendencies.
Voice of Reason
Guest
Hmm, not sure a change of manager/coach would make much difference with the current playing staff. I certainly feel there has to be a change in recruiting policy, definitley too many older players who weren't exactly top class at the peak of their powers. The most telling indicator of the standard of A-league football for me has been Matt McKays inability to even get in a thread bare squad at Glasgow Rangers (3 apps). Perhaps, dare I say it, Tony Sage walking away might be a good thing for the club and force change. Without his cash they would be forced to build from the ground up. I admit I don't know anything about the youth setup at Glory, but I would love to see young local and possibly inter-state players in the first team supported by a back-bone of experience. Surely Glory needs to look at long term investment and progress through youth development instead of having a gang of mercenaries come and go each season. Michael is right, Glory generally provide poor entertainment, at least having some locals in the team would perhaps give us a reason to support them.