The confirmation of Western United FC and their colours of green, black and white is a fantastic day for the rest of the A-League.
This is a club with a vision and commitment to bring forth a competitive side to the next season.
Josh Risdon is a quality signing, although I hope it does not set a precedent for this club to continue recycling players from other clubs in the future. The appointment of John Anastasiadis brings me hope that this won’t happen, as he brings expertise over the NPL due to his success with Bentleigh Greens.
While the marquee for next season, Panagiotis Kone, is not the big name many people where expecting, his experience for Bologna and the Greek national team should prove quite popular with the fans.
I have seen complaints over the name, Western United FC, however.
Admittedly, this is not the name I would have wanted from West Melbourne Group (did anyone else want Western Rangers FC?), but there is a significant meaning behind it. It is not a ‘uniting’ of clubs, but it is the ‘uniting’ of the Western regions of Melbourne.
I would have wanted them to include ‘Melbourne’ in the name for the sake of clarity, so people do not confuse it with a Western Australian team, but if this was the most popular, then so be it.
The colour scheme – a proposed striped black and green home kit, and a white away kit – sounds unique and, perhaps crucially, distinguishes themselves from the rest of the A-League. The last thing that the league needed was another team in blue, and we do not have a club that plays in green (North Queensland Fury the exception).
Further separating themselves from the rest of the league is the presence of their own stadium and complex, a crucial component of their appeal.
If this stadium is successful, they will have another difference over the rest of the league – home games in an intimate setting with fantastic atmosphere.
Still, the hardest part of the bid is now to come.
They are claiming that the Western region of Melbourne contains 1.6 million residents, yet many do not know that this club exists yet. More importantly, most would not care either. United now need to focus all their efforts in making people want to sign up for memberships.
Josh Risdon (Supplied: Nike)
For what it is worth, here is why I have swapped teams to support Western United.
I was originally an Adelaide United supporter. A few years ago I moved with my parents to Melbourne and, because of the intense rivalry Adelaide has against the Victory, I could not switch allegiances to them.
As for why I could not support City, my earliest memory of football is watching Manchester United drawing against Blackburn Rovers in the 2010-11 season to win their 19th Premier League title. There were many celebrations in my house that day, as both my brother and my father were diehard United fans. Supporting the City Football Group would not go down well.
In the four years I have been living in the western suburbs of Melbourne, I have been to approximately three Adelaide United away games. Obviously, I would’ve liked to go to more, but A-League tickets are expensive, and I had other commitments.
I missed the home atmosphere, and as time progressed, I felt my connection to Adelaide diminish. I feel more Melburnian than Adelaidian today, and I want to follow a club that represents that.
Of course, I will always have a soft spot for the Reds, but the appeal of being with a brand new club, and saying that I was there when they played their first game, is not lost on me at all.
This provides a blueprint as to what Western United need to do to recruit more members.
The west of Melbourne is a large place, but for the new franchise to even take a fraction of the available support, they need to aggressively campaign for members. I am talking about setting up booths in shopping malls, billboards everywhere, television advertising, and public appearances by players, all covering as much ground as possible.
They must also target those who have become disillusioned with City and Victory – go into the CBD if necessary, and advertise there too.
They need to boost their online presence as well. The official Western Melbourne Group Facebook page left a lot to be desired in terms of fan content, so now that Western United FC is up and running, there needs to be much more engagement.
Many clubs struggle with boosting memberships, but can be accused of not trying hard enough. The A-League is not the AFL, and because of its relatively short history, it cannot rely on generations of support to drive memberships.
Western United are in an even riskier position because they are brand new. While this can be a selling point, it also means they must physically go out of their way and engage people.
There is so much potential in Western United, but they must seize on the opportunity presented. Performances on the pitch will obviously go along way towards attracting support, but there needs to be an initial base to start.
Early signs suggest this will be less North Queensland Fury and more Western Sydney Wanderers, but we will know by October 2019 whether Western United will be a successful football club for generations.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
“… the first of the younger generations … Never give up, never give in, support your club.” Which club will that be now? Obviously not Adelaide United. How long will his support for Western Melbourne last? Depends upon success and the price of tickets I guess!
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Good luck with WU, Luke. I cannot help but surmise that many of the derogatory comments regarding WU eminate from fans of clubs with bases a little closer to the Melbourne CBD.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Luke Pity your article came out so late in the day. Good luck with your team, and I hope they are a huge success. Some hard liners on here giving you a bit of stick .... well you tell to stick it where the sun don't shine young man.
Christian
Guest
The origin of all Football is England. All those Italian and Spanish teams took English names too, I think AC Milan was a cricket club and they have a big St Georges cross for their logo
alexp
Guest
we all remember how stupid and inane criticisms of the greater western sydney giants name got (amongst league and soccer fans alike) .... its only fair we share some of that stupidity around and examine the thinking behind the naming of this venture
Luke Karapetsas
Roar Pro
Appreciate the kind words Football is life, to answer your question I am almost 18. A lot of my friends follow football, can’t say many are active members of A-league clubs though, hopefully that will change shortly! :)
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Great piece of work. Can i ask how old you are? You get it. It's what I comment about time and time again. Engagement!! Son you get what support is about, you understand what football community means. Have you got mates that think like you? If you have you are the first of the younger generations that will make football what it truly deserves to be. Never give up, never give in, support your club. Football is a lifestyle not an interest and you have the gift of understanding that. Spread the message mate. Well done
Waz
Roar Rookie
but, but, ... people might have been confused they were an athletic club? And people in the west not from Wyndham might have been confused that the team was called “Wyndham” and so not support them? C’mon, you’rs just complaining for the sake of it aren’t you?
Waz
Roar Rookie
C’mon, the origin of F.C. and Athletic is England. The fact they’re used all over the world is irrelevant.... they’re still English in origin, just like United.
Axl
Guest
Good luck to them - I hope it all goes well. My personal concerns: Stadium - they don't have one (and like Team 11), their supposed temporary stadium is a vast oval, not especially conducive to the best spectator/fan experience, and it's in Geelong. It might be better for them to add some temporary stands to an existing, accessible football ground (in Wyndham) to build a sense of atmosphere and belonging from day one. A la WSW in their early days - they owe a lot to their immediate growth to the fan experience of Parramatta Stadium. The colour thing - perhaps it's an Aussie thing, but football supporters are usually not especially disparaged by the sameness of colours in the league - what is green about Western? It seems the only reason the colour was chosen was because no other clubs had chosen it. That's a bit too easy. Maybe there is a reason other clubs did not choose it? It's the colour of referees and golakeepers, maybe?. A big bold red (with blue-white cat trimmings), maybe even Roma-esque maroon, could develop a red vs blue rivalry with the light and dark of the Victorian teams? Western United and Adelaide united are (the article writer aside) not necessarily competing for the same fans. And the name - pretty basic but makes sense, but does Geelong identify as the West? 'Wyndham and Geelong Rangers/United/Athletic' anyone?
Nick Symonds
Guest
"In the four years I have been living in the western suburbs of Melbourne, I have been to approximately three Adelaide United away games. Obviously, I would’ve liked to go to more, but A-League tickets are expensive, and I had other commitments." - It'll cost you a lot more for WU season tickets than to watch 3 AU away matches in 4 years. Are you sure you want to watch more matches? It'll cost you.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Given that their stadium will be called "Wyndham Stadium", I think that a much better name for the club would have been Wyndham Athletic, if they wanted to avoid using "Melbourne" in the title.
Nick Symonds
Guest
OTHER ENTITIES* THAT WESTERN UNITED MIGHT BE CONFUSED WITH Collins Dictionary - "An entity is something that exists separately from other things and has a clear identity of its own" AS FOLLOWS: WESTERN UNITED SOCCER CLUB (Charlotte, U.S.A.) WESTERN UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB (Waikato, NZ) WESTERN UNITED A.F.C. (Hamilton, NZ) WESTERN UNITED TIGERS (Far West Football League, AFL – Ceduna, SA) WESTERN UNITED PIONEERS (Ludlow, Massachusetts) WESTERN UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB (Surat, Queensland) WESTERN UNITED FC (Perth, WA) WESTERN UNITED WOLVES (Newfoundland, Canada) WESTERN UNITED F.C. (Solomon Islands) WESTERN UNITED NETBALL CLUB (Auckland, NZ) "All teams play at Netball Waitakere facilities in our club colours - black, green and white" WESTERN UNITED FC (Victorian Churches Football Association - Tarneit) https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/directory/western-united-football-club WESTERN UNITED ELECTRIC SUPPLY CORPORATION (Rocky Mountain Region) WESTERN UNITED DAIRYMEN (Modesto, California) WESTERN UNITED LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY (Spokane, Washington) WESTERN UNITED REALTY (Laramie, Wyoming) WESTERN UNITED FISH COMPANY (Redmond, Washington) WESTERN UNITED COMMERCIAL INSURANCE SERVICES (San Clemente, California) WESTERN UNITED FINANCIAL SERVICES (Perth, WA) https://westernunited.com.au/ WESTERN UNION (Colorado, USA)
lesterlike
Roar Rookie
Hardly. Athletic and Football Lub are used all over the world, not just in the English Language.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“... or boring overused names taken straight from English Football” ... and yet the two examples you gave are right out of English football (F.C. and Athletic)
lesterlike
Roar Rookie
"It is not a ‘uniting’ of clubs, but it is the ‘uniting’ of the Western regions of Melbourne." Bleagh, spare me. Every single new franchise called United, both here and abroad have used that tacky line to justify the decisuon and it still doesn't hide the fact that its just the first name off the rank for lazy suits who don't have have any imagination to pick a proper name. Something simple but different like Wyndham FC or West Melbourne Athletic FC was what was needed. No vague geographic areas or boring overused names taken straight from English Football. Western United is a nothing name for a club that is being built top down by corporate interests rather than bottom up. Southerner Expansion would have been more appropriate for this lot.
Franko
Guest
"here is why I have swapped teams to support Western United." "I was originally an Adelaide United supporter...." Whoa mate, whats the matter with you? Stick with United, Cup specialists, youth factory and the best stadium in the country. Kids these days....