The Western Sydney Wanderers will be heading into season X with plenty of expectations.
The previous nine years have been a rollercoaster for any fan wearing Red and Black, but the last four have been spent at the bottom of the ride.
No finals for the A-League team, a number of coaching changes and significant player turnover has hurt a club that is one of the most popular in Australia.
The W-League team have only ever made the finals once in their nine seasons, and that was two years ago.
However, the fans have still shown the faith.
Last season, over 18,000 members still signed up and the Wanderers led the league for average crowds, with 8062 in the A-League.
These healthy numbers are a testament to the loyalty of the Wanderers fans but also to the engagement of the club’s marketing and membership department, who have always been outstanding in customer service and approachability.
With the Wanderers’ milestone tenth season approaching, the club has planned a number of initiatives to thank their loyal fans and re-engage the ones who have gone missing.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The club has promised to bring in new and innovative membership packages. Last season, they had one of the cheapest in the league in the family zone, and this is expected to continue into 2021-22.
The easiest thing to do to bring back fans, of course, is to win. It’s that simple.
The Wanderers’ fans have been spoiled for success. Three grand finals in the first four years, a Premiers Plate and, of course, the Asian Champions League title.
This all happened at the peak of the rollercoaster, and the fans now want more.
In Carl Robinson, the A-League team have a coach that is calm and collected in his thought process and knows what it takes to win.
Robinson has made it clear he knows who he wants in his dressing room. Throughout normal press conferences last season, he constantly spoke of the need for more vocal leaders.
He has backed his words up by going and signing Rhys Williams, Terry Antonis and Tomer Hemed. All three are experienced and have leadership qualities which Robinson will lean on next season.
Terry Antonis celebrates a goal with fans in his Victory days (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
The Wanderers actually scored the second highest number of goals (45) last season behind eventual runaway champions Melbourne City. With Hemed set to provide another avenue to goal, this part of the field looks even more promising for the Red and Black.
The defence is what needed tweaking and so far the club have signed former Newcastle Jets defender Johnny Koutroumbis. The club also have youth products Thomas Aquilina, Mark Natta and Daniel Wilmering, all of whom will be another year older and wiser.
There are more exciting signings yet to be announced, but the A-League team is taking shape and a more solid campaign is expected next season.
During the heydays of the A-League, the Wanderers would regularly bring in record crowds, not only for themselves, but for opponents as well.
It was not uncommon for Sydney derbies to regularly have 40-60,000 fans pack in.
A successful Wanderers A-League team, and what they bring to the competition, is important as we head into a new broadcasting era under Channel Ten and Paramount, who have promised to invest millions into growing the A-League.
The W-League team has a new coach in Catherine Cannuli. The former Matilda has been an assistant for three years now and is ready to take the next step.
Western Sydney may have missed the finals last season but they had arguably the most exciting young team in the competition. The likes of Sarah Hunter, Bryleeh Henry and Margaux Chauvet performed strongly.
While the club has not yet made public their signings, word from within the league is the Wanderers are determined to bring in quality and push for finals, and maybe even more.
In Cannuli, they have one of the best young coaches in the country and someone who connects well with players.
With women’s football thriving at the moment thanks to the Matildas, it is important that one of the W-League’s biggest clubs starts performing on the field.
The Wanderers had more Thursday night games last season than any other club, a testament to the TV audiences they bring.
Winning will see more fans actually attend games as well, and the colour and vibrance Wanderers fans bring to football is something the W-League would desperately love.
Membership renewals for the Wanderers will commence on 16 August, while new members can sign up from September.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Waz, I do agree with the statistical analysis despite my lack of belief that stays don’t lie. However, in the first three seasons there was an amazing number of games that you could not get tickets for and “sold out” signs were up. I had visitors on numerous occasions that we wanted to take along but no tickets even though there appeared to be plenty of empty seats. There again, I got tickets for an nrl game earlier in the season and the official line was that there were only single seats available yet on the night there were whole groups of vacant seats and a crowd of 25000…go figure!
Buddy
Roar Rookie
He can talk the talk but he can’t “walk the walk”. I just can’t see what his plan is but at least he let Dylan McGowan go..that was a tick in my book!
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Waz - apologies for late reply. Covid here has changed a lot including my working day and time to read. The one part I’d disagree with is on the subject of corporate. WSW are hellbent on attracting corporate dollars and all their efforts appear to be going into putting bums on seats on the western side of the ground. Lederer doesn’t care about the rest, certainly into the active support, nor the run of the mill either and many of us have had enough. This isn’t what we signed up for and my family aren’t renewing this year and yes- you guessed it, we sit on the western side anyway. One advantage of being a fan when there’s a bigger stadium is that you can pick and choose the games that suit and I’m not talking derbies either. Last season was awful for my family as fixture changes clashed with work shifts etc and no time to change them so we didn’t get there. In essence I’d say the club management has made it hard to be a fan, and hard to really like the club as it is these days. Back to grassroots for me if it ever comes back.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
You don't know that given Cov and besides its long term for Football not whats best for the Drive Bys its that kinda thinking that has held Football back... Self Interest i.e. whats best for my team has plagued Football in this country...
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Yeah the active were chanting for the full 90 minutes for most games. The best it's ever been in the clubs history.
Grem
Roar Rookie
The Wanderers also have a good school program, too.
Grem
Roar Rookie
They have a good school program and some kids in schools are starting to wear their merchandise and follow them but they need a lot more supporters. They need to double their home support next year.
Grem
Roar Rookie
The population of both areas should see both teams well supported and a good rivalry. There is room for both.
Grem
Roar Rookie
And the Melbourne City atmosphere was definitely growing last year - even during a pandemic.
josh
Guest
I disagree Middy, the area should have been for a 'let's see how big WSW can get' scenario. It's no surprise SydneyFC wanted Macarthur in, half of the Bulls members are former WSW fans who couldn't be bothered going to Parramatta. The area has failed to take to the Bulls too, you just don't see anyone wearing their merchandise here.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
AAMI now use safe smoke at the start of the game and at half time. Also flames.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Or maybe higher quality on pitch football played by WSW so they can compete with Sydney FC :silly: . Marketing wont solve that.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Campbelltown is IMO one of the best decision made in team selection. The obvious is they have access to a nice stadium Second they have a very supportive local council. Third it is a young area with massive population growths predicated They are the obvious... the not so obvious is the AFL had one area in Sydney it was gaining traction it was this area... they had no Union team, League only came sometimes and they wanted a team for their area... It was IMO a very smart long term play ...
Waz
Roar Rookie
They do have the potential, and if we take Gallops war on fans out of the equation they might have reached their potential. But as of now they are a club that averages 12-14k a year.
Waz
Roar Rookie
I think my point was merely to challenge the urban myth that Wanderers had out grown the capacity of old Parra, they hadn’t. Even that one year they had a 17k average it was boosted by nearly 62k at ANZ Stadium leaving a para average of 14,350 including one derby. WSW have great support, I’m not questioning that - but when people look at the new stadium and wonder why it’s not full it’s worth remembering what their long term average is.
Grem
Roar Rookie
If we can get on top of the pandemic The Wanderers v Sydney derby should fill it. If it's not full our marketing people will need a kick up the backside.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Good on them for the 10 year celebrations, while things haven't gone there way the last few years they are def looking better for the new season ahead. Always enjoyed going to Parramatta to watch WSW vs Nix live, good atmosphere and enjoyable fans both sides of the stadium.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Its a great achievement by the club as not all A League clubs made it to their 10 year anniversary. Who would have thought that on field performance relates to crowd numbers which relates to revenue and commercial realities of the club:silly: .
josh
Guest
In the short term WSW need to heal the rift with the most passionate supporters. Next step is to take back Campbelltown, there is no South-West Sydney it's just West. Then get serious about the A League, then sign the same quality players for the W League as 2 seasons ago, those Americans were fantastic. Then the fans will come back, the memberships will go back up and the stadium will be full again.
Pete78
Guest
The Stadium is terrific but smaller intimate stadiums are always better for atmosphere. Derby games will still get 20,000 plus. Western Sydney has long been a political hot spot. They needed a new stadium to get votes.