A-League fans of west Sydney, as a Canberran I’m currently feeling a great deal of jealousy of you and all the excitement surrounding your shiny new unnamed A-League club.
You have many exciting times ahead. Derbies, goals, rivalries, big games laced with heartbreak and elation. These are some of the things that help forge a club’s identity over time, but there’s more to it than that.
The FFA has taken the decision to delegate the naming and team colours of this new club to the fans, and with this decision comes great responsibility. A team’s name is its identity, and if chosen well should represent the values, history and people of the represented region.
I write this blog as I’m a little concerned with the way this decision is heading.
While new names will still be given consideration, a short-list of five has been drawn up after the series of fan forums undertaken by the FFA in the west Sydney region. These names are: Athletic, Wanderers, Strikers, Wolves and Rangers.
I ask, what do any of these names have that represents the people and region of Sydney’s west? Anything? Or have fans just scoured the lower divisions of British football for names to tack onto the end of ‘Western Sydney’?
I think it would be a mistake to choose any of these names. It’s a dilution in brand value that leaves behind the one chance this club will get to create, rather than recycle, an identity.
I’m not from western Sydney, I don’t know what makes the region tick, but I do think the Americans do sports branding best.
Sticking with football, take a look at what they’ve done at Philadelphia Union, using the history and values of the city to drive the club’s branding. The result is a team name fans feel is theirs, they have a connection to it.
Seattle has done well, too. The name ‘Sounders’ might sound stupid at first but it obviously resonates with the city (it was chosen in a fan vote not dissimilar to this west Sydney one), and is now synonymous with Seattle in a way a recycled name never could be.
‘Galaxy’ is the same. When you hear that name, every football fan in the world thinks of LA. ‘Rangers’ or ‘Wanderers’ will never do that for you.
What people need to get past is that every original name will sound questionable at first, but offers better club identity in time.
Think about Gold Coast United. Last season if you had overheard two guys in a Gold Coast bar talking about the “United game”, would you assume they were talking about Gold Coast? Manchester? Or some other United?
However, if you’re in Melbourne and overhear two people talking about the Victory game, you know exactly what they’re referring to.
While obviously there are a lot of other factors at play, I felt part of the reason Gold Coast United went under was that they chose poor branding with weak identity.
Where the AFL Suns have it right and get crowds even while consistently losing (again with many other contributing factors).
So choose wisely people; you’re only going to get one shot at this, and I for one would be disappointed to see this club make a bad decision based on fans that can’t separate football culture and England.
It’s not too late to have a rethink, but it’s getting close, and a bland homogenous identity looms on the horizon.
Nello Pellegrino
Guest
The Team shal be call south west Sydney FC , be course Parramatta, Fairfield, Liverpool, Banckstown , and I think Campbeltown. Is part of the South West ! I Hop this will get u thinking Regards N Pellegrino
Nick
Guest
Call the team western Sydney elite Like Melbourne victory Perth glory Brisbane
luke
Guest
yer i agree with wayne but i do like the name FUSION
wayne
Guest
i think we shouldnt get black,red and white it would look like st kilda... ps strikers sounds awful
luke
Guest
I think the name should be Western Sydney FUSION, i think black-white-red colour on jersey
DemonJuju
Guest
Actually I was under the impression that the red and black were chosen tin reference to Blacktown City. I'm a big fan of black and white halves ala SK Sturm Graz a few years back.
K55
Guest
Let's go with the West Sydney Magpies in black and white stripes - the biggets football club in Australia; the Man U of Australian football etc etc - let's face it the Western Suburbs were once magpies and those currently pining for that title simply can't replicate the international competition that would allow them to come close it! The WS Magpies and black & white stripes would sure get some airtime too, eh Eddie!
Julz
Guest
West Sydney red bellys. There's your Red and black kit.
Realfootball
Guest
Wombat. Slow, nocturnal grass eater. Numbat. Small, almost extinct anteater. Yabbies??? At least suggest something hefty with large teeth. Which rules out all native Aussie fauna.
Marcel
Guest
+1 Vas When I was a kid growing up out west, representative teams in the region where known as Cumberland and their colours where Blue and Yellow.
Alex
Guest
Western Sydney Wanderers 1880 Or Western Kings 1880
Jon
Guest
Western Sydney Wanderers 1880 FC.
Jon
Guest
What better overseas branding is there than 'WEST SYDNEY', they know exactly where we are from and where we are located without the need for something like 'wombat' stuck on the end.
Jon
Guest
The more I think about it the more I would be happy with just - WEST SYDNEY FC In time the fans would probably develop a nickname like clubs in other countries. I would hate this new club to become all Americanised and I couldn't disagree more with the original article. I HATE the Americanisation of football, I hate names like Galaxy, the team songs and the cheer squads. I would love this club to be seen as a traditional football club with passionate vocal supporters rather than the plastic fans and plastic experience at Sydney FC. As for the club colours / strip. I would prefer red and black stripes like AC Milan rather than red and black hoops which belong to rugby in Sydney, that is the strip of the North Sydney Bears which will return as Central Coast Bears in the next few years I suspect. If we go with red and black hoops we will look the same as them.
Jon
Guest
Red and black hoops belong to the North Sydney Bears RUFC which will probably return to the top comp as the Central Coast Bears RUFC. When I see red and black hoops in Australia I think the Bears. I would prefer red and black stripes in the AC Milan style. As for the name, so what if we copy the UK names. I would much prefer to use the UK names than the American names. American 'soccer' (hate that term) to me scream plastic clubs and plastic fans. We are trying to build a 'football' club in western Sydney with traditional values. Strikers is the old Brisbane name isn't it? I think Brisbane anyway. Wolves is the old Wollongong name. I like Wanderers and we will make it our own if this is to be the name. We don't need any Americanisation with team songs and cheer squads, I really hope this doesn't happen. I want a traditional FOOTBALL club with vocal supporters on the terraces.
PeterK
Guest
I love the tradition involved in "Wanderers 1880".
PeterK
Guest
OK, the Cumberland Plain Kings! But of course it's not up to us who don't live there.
PeterK
Guest
Or the Hume-Highwaymen! But then that bit of road goes all the way to Melbourne I'm told! Or, because the Wanderers played against Kings, they could be called the Kings!
PeterK
Guest
I, in NQ, hope so, but I'm well aware that many locals here do not. (I think they want to see a clear break from our painful past -- a past which was only painful towards the end.) Yes, when "Fury" became our name at first, it seemed a bit peculiar, but we soon got used to it. And I suppose if we ever did re-enter the national comp but with a name different from Fury, we'd probably quickly get used to that new name. I still think "Broncos" is a very "unAustralian" name, but have to admit that if you say Broncos to me, then I don't need the word Brisbane to tell me what you're talking about. I feel much the same about the name "Cowboys" which to me sounds very American.
chindi
Guest
If a club aims big ,ultimately it wants a name people around the world will identify with.Adopting a unique name even if it sounds lame to begin with much better than adopting a copied name.You limit expansion of the club brand overseas when you adopt a copied name. What I don't understand is that there are so many unique names to chose from.What is the obsession with copying insipid overseas names? How about an Australian name.:Goannas,Geckos,Yabbies,Monitors,Copperheads,Pythons,Lizards(Frillies),Wallaros,Numbats. All better than the five listed.