Less than a year has passed since former national coach Ralé Rašić labelled the FFA “suicidal” for attempting to establish a new A-League club up in just five months.
Indeed it was a case of crash or crash through, and the initial success of the Western Sydney Wanderers has got football fans punch-drunk with joy.
As the team proved they weren’t just making up the numbers, the naysayers turned into cautious optimists. After the Wanderers twice defeated the reigning champions Brisbane Roar, and then beat their cross-town rivals Sydney FC in round 11, the caution was thrown out the window, replaced by uncontrolled adulation.
Indeed, it’s been a dream start for the fledgling Wanderers. On field and off – to borrow a line from Alec Baldwin – their existence has been one unbroken boulevard of green lights. They have, amazingly, won over the most sceptical of opinion makers as they continue their climb up the competition ladder.
But every boom is followed by a bust. Eventually, the Wanderers will be forced to slow down for a red light.
There has been plenty to like about the way the Wanderers have packaged themselves. They are perhaps the first club in the A-League to truly push the multicultural angle, and they seem genuinely interested in engaging their constituents in Western Sydney.
Even the name is fitting. Filled with journeymen footballers who had been cast-offs from other A-League sides, they are Wanderers by name and Wanderers by nature. Between them, captain Michael Beauchamp and his defensive partner Nikolai Topor-Stanley have played for no less than six A-League sides in just eight seasons.
Particularly impressive has been the realisation that a franchise can only become a football club if the fans feel like they belong. On game day, big banners surround Parramatta Stadium, each with the faces of all the locally-born Wanderers players and the suburbs they come from. It’s a nice touch, and a real statement of intent.
But there is a tendency for we football fans to get carried away with any signs of success. It’s the flip-side of our persecution complex.
As John Huxley wrote back in 2003, “no other sport in Australia has seen more false dawns, no game slaughtered so many last chances, no sleeping giant slept through so many wake-up calls than Australian soccer.”
It should make us a little more wary about predicting such big things for the game in this country. But we never learn.
Already, we’ve got Mark Bosnich talking about the Wanderers becoming a powerhouse in Asia, and Lyall Gorman likening the side to AFL giants Collingwood or the Brisbane Broncos in rugby league.
A few weeks ago, Gorman even suggested the club might look at capping memberships in coming seasons to ensure members don’t outnumber seats at Parramatta Stadium.
Someone should remind Gorman that when you’ve got just over 6500 members and 22,000 seats to fill, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.
Yes, they have attracted thousands of fans in season one, but these numbers tend to plateau as the novelty wears off.
And please, let’s just give the other sports a rest. No self-respecting football fan wants the Wanderers compared to the Broncos or the ‘Pies. It’s unnecessary and reeks of desperation. We don’t need validation from other codes of football.
Similarly, talking about any A-League side becoming a powerhouse in Asia is just plain silly. Until the salary cap is lifted there will be no Australian football powerhouse, period.
It’s understandable to plan ahead and commendable to aim high, but it’s still very early days for the Wanderers. Indeed, some of their biggest challenges lie ahead.
So much of the Wanderers success has hinged upon the FFA’s strategic vision for the club, which has revolved around grassroots engagement and creating a visible and attractive identity.
But, to state the obvious, the FFA can’t fund the club forever. Prime Minister Gillard’s $8 million gift to football in Western Sydney was a one-time offer. Sooner rather than later, a buyer will have to be found.
And while we all hope that whoever purchases the franchise from the governing body will be keen to keep the existing structures in place, it’s by no means guaranteed they will.
Similarly, rookie manager Tony Popovic has impressed us all with his astute tactical awareness, clever recruitment and brave squad management, but it seems only a matter of time now before he is poached by a bigger overseas club.
Which is also true of the players. Popovic – like Graham Arnold at the Central Coast and Ange Postecoglu at Melbourne – has gotten the very best out of his squad. It’s a mark of a special coach. But in the A-League, the better the players, the more likely they are to be put in the shop window.
How will the Wanderers respond to new owners, a change in manager and the inevitable turnover of players? They’ll all come eventually.
Setting up an attractive team, in fact, is the easy part. But properly managing the transitions is the key to ensuring stability and long-term success in the A-League.
What happens when they have a bad season? Or an extended run of injuries? The Red and Black Bloc have already shown themselves to be a volatile bunch, and every supporter group goes through periods of division and faces crises of identity when the team is not performing.
The Western Sydney Wanderers deserve this year’s A-League title. It would be folly for football fans to wish any ill will on the club. Their success, at least for the next few years, will be intertwined with the overall success of the competition.
But it’s far too early to judge the success of the club as a whole. Football fans are desperate for success stories, but the true identity and resilience of a club is often best seen in hard times, not good times.
steven
Guest
new stadium... just need a new coach now.
steven
Guest
yeah, it's a pity that article wasn't a little more positive, though :)
langou
Roar Guru
Yeah some really good points to think about. The ownership issue is something I havn't thought about much. There is no doubt that next year with a new stadium shapes as maybe the most important year in our history and could make or break the club.
Joe Gorman
Expert
I'm not suggesting for a second that WSW will fall in a heap. And I never said having the FFA was a disadvantage, in fact I wrote "So much of the Wanderers success has hinged upon the FFA’s strategic vision for the club". But even the FFA admit that they'll have to find a buyer at some point, and that raises new challenges.
Joe Gorman
Expert
i'm in full favour of the salary cap, and thanks for those comments James
steven
Guest
I reckon you should publish the thesis on Amazon!
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Joe, don't agree with the tone of your article and think you are wrong. There are several A-League clubs who would fall in a heap before WSW did. Think Melb Heart, Wellington, Adelaide, Perth etc Being bankrolled by the FFA is s strong advantage, not a disadvantage. Their football acumen and management experience is worth a lot and talented people like Gorman and Popovic to guide them, they will continue to shine.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
#11 AFL Media Rights ($1.25 billion)
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Don't stop there, Collingwood are the biggest AFL club in the whole world, the whole universe even.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Middy More reason for A-League clubs to really take the ACL seriously. From: http://www.the-afc.com/en/media-releases/40917-acl-tv-viewership-soar-by-53 * 2012 TV ratings for AFC's ACL rose to 262.4 million – a 53% increase on the previous year * Total ratings increased by 90.5 million: Australia, China, Japan and Korea Republic combined to contribute 224.7 million viewers. * Adelaide’s run to the quarter-finals also helped Australia enjoy an increase of 96% compared to 2011, with the average audience rising by 60%. * 6 matches exceeded 10 million viewers; another 9 matches had more than 5 million viewers * Guangzhou Evergrande v FC Tokyo (Ro16 match) had the highest TV audience of 19.2 million .... So, the largest TV audience for an ACL match was nearly as big as the whole population of Australia!!
james rosewarne
Roar Guru
Another brilliant article, Joe. The game needs your writing. Not sure however if you were having a crack at the salary cap. I guess I just get a little sensitive whenever it's not given its full due. But again, keep up the brilliant work. Also read your article on Pep today which was predictably excellent too.
j binnie
Guest
dinoweb & Peter - For your information. Go to "THE AUSTRALION NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE" and under the website ---- www.ozfootball.net/ark/NSL/NSL.shtml--- you will get every game listed that was played in the NSL,from 1977-2004 , with teams, scores,scorers,coaches and in most cases, attendances. Yours jb
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Someone's got to crow about Football .. heaven knows, we can't rely on the Media ;-)
nordster
Guest
Grows the brand and ...yay ...now they are also more keen on fixing our games which goes hand in hand with betting...we can take over from europe ...yay! You doth croweth too much sometimes dear Fuss...:)
Midfielder
Guest
Fuss What is funny ...... is how other codes know all this ..... the blue sky above football in Asia is huge .... Fuss no inside knowledge and please no one read this as fact, rumour or from any source just two guys talking on a forum and saying what if this , what if that ... REPEAT this is just talking on line it is not happening ... Fuss now imagine this where to happen with the Asian investors in the Mariners... What if the mooted Asian investors are from, say... Qatar. They're coming with petrodollars and looking to do an antipodean Paris Saint Germain with the Mariners. They put the Qatar Foundation on the front of the shirt and all the rest, and start using us as their eyes and ears for talent to take over to Europe and on the business front keep eyes and ears on both potential property developments and potential resource developments. While the salary cap rules out them turning us into a superclub (something that frankly I'm happy about - I would hate dollars simply destroying the competition) it would set the cat amongst the pigeons ....
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
Well as a Glory fan myself all i would say is just don't take it for granted,i was there in the "glory" days and back then we all thought "it will always be like this".Poor coaching,poor on field performances,mismanagment can happen to any club,even in footballs heartland.I wish the WSW all the best though and the foundations are extremely strong.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Middy A-League is gaining more and more exposure in the lucrative Asian market. In today's Age, it has been reported that Asian gamblers had bet a total of over $40 million on just ONE A-League match recently! Our time zone is far more friendly than the Euro time zones and this sort of exposure will continue to grow the A-League brand.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Upon some research of my own, the Glory haven't had it easy since Nick Tana handed back the licence to FFA in 06. New owners were found in the form of Tony Sage, Brett McKeon and John Spence, but even since then a connection with the public seems to lack commitment and this is evident as two of the Co owners have walked away and Tony Sage at one stage threatened to leave to. I know Tony is fairly committed but on numerous occasions has he ventured to vent his frustration at poor treatment in regards to ground costs, the amount he is losing overall, having to cut costs etc. It's only a matter of time until he eventually walks. If Glory can't build on this season with a revamped stadium, salary cap costs covered and a sense of footballing direction, then I think one of the big stories next year will be trying to find new owners for Perth glory. I think all this perhaps adds to the decline in attendance and community connection. That was recollections of events I know and knowledge gained through research, would you believe i've somewhat nailed it on the head? Will more problems surface? What are you thoughts Langou?
Punter
Guest
Another positive comment on football from the football guru!!!! here's Johnny!!!
Ballymore
Guest
Do advise if this occurs.