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I’m a Perth Glory fan, and along with a lot of other Glory fans, I have witnessed a lot of lows.
There was that grand final in the 2011-12 season when Besart Berisha was awarded a dubious penalty and slotted a goal with seconds to go.
I also had to witness the 2014-15 salary cap scandal that had us kicked out of the finals, fined $269,000 and lose star striker Jamie Maclaren.
Now, in 2018, Perth Glory are having a great season, there’s no doubt about it, with five wins, two draws and the top spot on the ladder after seven rounds.
What I don’t like about this club at the moment has nothing to do with on-field performances – I am pumped about it; it’s the first time I get to see the Glory labelled as one of the best teams in the competition.
The issue is the culture. It’s gone, and it was gone almost immediately.
The culture I and a lot of other fans liked at Perth Glory was the ‘west versus the rest’ attitude.
The Glory is the only professional West Australian football team, making the team the pride of Western Australia – but the Glory are losing that.
The most recent game, against Melbourne City, saw the team consist of four players from New South Wales, four players from Victoria and four players from Western Australia.
Should a team with four players from the team’s home state be counted as a team representing that state? I don’t think so.
Going back to the 2016-17 season against Melbourne City, the Glory had six players from WA, including my two all-time favourite Glory players; Adam Taggart and Josh Risdon.
I see South Australia and Western Australia as very similar states with similar cultures.
In Adelaide United’s 2-0 loss to Melbourne Victory, Marco Kurz put 11 South Australians in the 16-man squad.
The only non-South Australians in that team were Ben Halloran, Isaias Sanchez, Vince Lia, Scott Galloway and Michael Jakobsen. Credit to you, Adelaide.
So how did the Perth Glory lose this culture? Tony Popovic.
A Glory fan complaining about the great man? I know, I know – but he has had a huge impact on the culture.
Let’s go back to Kenny Lowe. Although he is an Englishman, he tried to make the club more West Australian.
He was the one who developed and played a big part in Adam Taggart playing for the side, and he developed Josh Risdon and a lot of others.
I know it’s only early, but Popovic has no trust in the young West Aussies.
Where is Jacob Italiano? Unless he is injured, he should be playing.
Popovic decided to bring along other players from other Australian states, like Jason Davidson and Ivan Franjic.
Although they are playing well, they also have a big impact on the loss of the ‘west versus the rest’.
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
So how can this issue be resolved? Popovic is too good to lose, so sacking him is not going to be an option.
In an interview earlier this year, when he was announced as coach, he stated there is a lot of good young talent in Western Australia that he wanted to work with.
Do I see any NPL signings? No. I’d like to see some in the next January transfer window, though.
One option would be Inglewood United striker Christopher Jackson, who scored 24 goals in 24 games for a team finishing tenth.
Or maybe 23-year-old Harley Orr from Perth SC, who finished fifth in the NPL Western Australia best and fairest. Those are just two of the many players who could be considered.
I believe the best way to do this would be to get Adam Taggart and Josh Risdon back, but that would not be impossible.
I would like to see some replacements for some of those non-West Aussies.
Maybe we could convince Storm Roux to come to the place he developed as a player and replace Dino Djulbic – although Djulbic is kind of a West Aussie.
This is maybe a step too far, but Brandon O’Neill was born and bred in Perth and could replace Juande, even though he just joined.
We convinced Spiranovic, who is rated highly, why not O’Neill? These two players could make a huge difference.
I will confess that, in the A-League, it is obviously very hard to get contracted players because of the no transfer fee system.
I have no issue with change – change is good and we wanted change at the Glory – it’s just that change has happened too quickly on the culture side.
A side full of east-coasters, a coach and his assistant also from the east coast – it just doesn’t feel like Perth Glory.
So what do you think, Roarers? Would you care if your team sacrificed the culture you like in order to achieve success?
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