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The A-League has had so many great success stories in its first decade.
Melbourne Victory took the league by storm with their memberships and attendances, averaging over 20,000 per game in six out of the first nine seasons, and also having over 20k members for many of those seasons.
The Wanderers have came in like a second Victory, with a massive fan-base, a very good team on the field, and they’ve re-energised the sport in the ultra-competitive Sydney sports market in just two seasons.
Brisbane Roar lifted the entire league up a couple of notches over the last five years with their style of play, and their uncanny recruitment of quality players from overseas without the huge price tags. As a result they have won three grand finals and effectively got their coach promoted to the Socceroos job. The fact they’ve just cracked 10,000 members for the first time in their history this offseason is no coincidence.
Sydney FC were massive early on, bringing in Dwight Yorke and having the ‘Bling FC’ tag. They went through a lull for a few years, but have been improving the last couple, and will no doubt be contenders this season with Graham Arnold at the helm. Not to mention they’ve spent massive amounts of cash, more than any other club, most notably in bringing Alessandro Del Piero to these shores, putting the A-League on the map all over the world.
Newcastle and the Mariners have both won the A-League, and both do pretty well considering their population sizes. The Jets have had their well publicised issues with Nathan Tinkler, but have had around 10,000 members for the last four seasons.
Melbourne City will be better this season – they have to be – and have just gone over 8000 members on the offseason, a good sign that they’re finally getting there as a club. And we all know their new owners have the means to keep them growing, especially with good and proper management. There is certainly enough room and support for two teams in Melbourne.
Adelaide United have really turned things around from the Rini Coolen era, and are one of the favourites for this year’s toilet seat. With Josep Gombau in his second season, and Hindmarsh Stadium getting a small facelift on the offseason, things are definitely looking up in SA. Plus Adelaide City are doing really well in the new FFA Cup.
The Phoenix are still trying to get their act together across the ditch, both on and off the field. Unfortunately football as a code in New Zealand isn’t growing at the same speed as in Oz. It needs time. But with this season’s roster the best they’ve ever assembled in Wellington, and with Ernie Merrick settled in, they have the best chance of moving up the ladder and making the finals.
Which brings me to the last club of the competition, the Perth Glory. And sadly, the word last is exactly how I view this once-great club. In the NSL Glory was a power club, with great fans, great home game atmospheres, an intimidating place to play at for opposition sides, and crowds constantly topping 15,000.
Now the club is seriously lagging behind in the success stakes.
I can count on one hand how many times Perth Glory have had crowds in excess of 15k in the last decade. They’ve had no on-field success, and that’s translated to a reduction of crowds and a shrinkage of their fan-base. They’ve lost touch with the football community of WA, which is a real shame.
Their owner Tony Sage has poured millions into the club, year after year, and for that he should be commended. But he needs to pull his head in and keep his comments to himself and out of the paper.
For whatever reason, the club has just never got going in the A-League era, on or off the field. They’ve had many CEOs, and not all of those with a footballing background, which you’d think would be essential, particularly for this club which needs to reconnect with their fans from the past and also attract new blood through the gates.
And the figures don’t lie. They’ve never averaged over 10,000 crowds for any season, since the beginning of the A-League, and have never had a home gate larger than 20,000. Their best home crowd was 16,706 in the 2012-13 season.
Granted, their crowds have grown slightly in the last two seasons, but are still nowhere near where they should be. Adelaide United, who trade in a similar sized market in terms of population, have always been able to pull five-figure home crowds.
An update this week on all clubs’ memberships in the A-League had Perth with 4500 memberships sold for the coming season. This number should be more like 6000-7000 by now. Clearly, there’s still a lot of work to do.
Hopefully one day they can get back to their Glory days, as the A-League needs a healthy Perth Glory.
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