The Western United Thread

[Colonial]

The murmurings about being behind a pay cycle are starting to get louder. This isn't going to be good for the A League if they fold.

Actually it’s an easy out.

Western die, the clubs who now control the A-League can say that the decision was from old management and bring in either Sth Melbourne, Canberra etc etc and it’s no harm no foul.

It can be played.


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[Blackout]

Actually all they had to do was follow the afl expansion process in South Australia.

The Adelaide Crows and Melbourne Victory were set up to unite the 2 respective cities behind one team. When it was time to introduce a derby they brought the established Port Adelaide to be the crows rival. The ffa similarly could have brought in South Melbourne. What on earth was Melbourne heart meant to be? Never mind western United, expansion in Victoria was botched a decade ago.

Expansion was botched well-before Heart were even conceived. Giving Victory exclusivity over the entirety of Melbourne has essentially knee-capped any future Melbourne side and was sheer idiocy by the FFA - especially when the Crawford report (correct me if I'm wrong) stated that Melbourne should have 2 teams at the inception of the A-League.

If the A-League started with 2 Melbourne teams I don't think expansion would have been anywhere as problematic as it has been.

 

[giggler99]

Actually it’s an easy out.

Western die, the clubs who now control the A-League can say that the decision was from old management and bring in either Sth Melbourne, Canberra etc etc and it’s no harm no foul.

It can be played.


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Image if WU decide to merge with the Knights To save face (long shot but a possibility) to become the Western Knights! powhhh..imagine the hurt from the South Melbourne fans!

 

[Kangapirate]

Image if WU decide to merge with the Knights (long shot but a possibility) to become the Western Knight! powhhh..imagine the hurt from the South Melbourne fans!

Knights are a proud stand alone club they would never entertain a merger. They will outlast Western United as well.

 

[Colonial]

Image if WU decide to merge with the Knights to safe face (long shot but a possibility) to become the Western Knights! powhhh..imagine the hurt from the South Melbourne fans!

Actually I like this better. Would be hilarious.


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[giggler99]

Knights are a proud stand alone club they would never entertain a merger. They will outlast Western United as well.

yeah I agree it would be more a take over of the licence than a merger, through doubt the FFA would allow it to happen. But if it means upgrading and playing at somer street well...

 

[craigos]

Actually it’s an easy out.

Western die, the clubs who now control the A-League can say that the decision was from old management and bring in either Sth Melbourne, Canberra etc etc and it’s no harm no foul.

It can be played.


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The biggest issue here would be from Fox Sports and the broadcast money paid, they wanted another Melbourne team and they got it. That contract would have to be renegotiated and it wouldn't be for more money, that's for certain.

 

[Colonial]

The biggest issue here would be from Fox Sports and the broadcast money paid, they wanted another Melbourne team and they got it. That contract would have to be renegotiated and it wouldn't be for more money, that's for certain.

Did they though? Word was they were pissed that Melbourne wasn’t in the name (though they were happy with the MacArthur name strangely enough).

Bringing in South or Team 11, which you would think would use Melbourne as part of their name, wouldn’t upset them.


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[giggler99]

Rudan's true colours coming out!

 

[giggler99]

Western United seek alternatives after last match in Geelong
Michael Lynch



Western United are gearing up to play their final home game of the season against Central Coast Mariners at Geelong's GMHBA Stadium on Sunday - and it could be their last for some time.
Next season's plans for the A-League new-boys are in flux.
Other western suburbs venues closer to Melbourne - including the Whitten Oval and Melbourne Knights Stadium in Sunshine, perhaps even the Melbourne Showgrounds - are being floated as potential venues as the club seeks to strengthen its identity and attract supporters as it awaits construction of its planned stadium in Tarneit.

Western's final two home games this season - against Western Sydney Wanderers at the end of March and Melbourne City over Easter - will be played at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
Club officials are currently in talks with the Kardinia Park Trust over their deal, but it is thought unlikely to continue in its current form as several matches in the men's T20 Cricket World Cup are due to be played there at the start of the next A-League season.
Fans, media and almost everyone in the game regard this debut season in Geelong as a massive disappointment, with poor crowds and a lack of visibility for a club which was expected to generate interest and excitement in a struggling A-League.
Western did create more atmosphere and a higher profile when it played one game - a seven goal thriller against Adelaide - at Whitten Oval.
Chris Pehlivanis, the club's CEO, says a number of ideas are being considered.
''We are working through things (at GMHBA) and we will see how that can shake out. We are also looking at other venues in the west. The Cricket World Cup will make it difficult in Geelong early next season. The Whitten Oval worked well when we played Adelaide there.''
Pehlivanis would not be drawn on the likelihood of using the Knights ground, but many fans in the west regard that as the ideal scenario.
Talks had taken place between the two clubs before this campaign began but foundered amidst disagreement over costing and the amount of work needed to be done. But given the experience of the last 12 months it would not be surprising if discussions were begun again to consider the NPL side's Sunshine venue.
Pehlivanis also urged clubs and the sport's governing body to work together to breathe new life into the A-League, which has been struggling to maintain its profile in the past few seasons.
"Lets get the game to be sustainable. We have to find a financial model for clubs that is sustainable for the whole game. We need to walk before we can run.''

Western United seek alternatives after last match in Geelong

Club plays its last game for the season in Geelong on Sunday, and plans for next season are in flux with venues in inner-west Melbourne favoured over GMHBA Stadium.

www.theage.com.au

gee.. really? I think all the predictions where exactly that. Only the incompetence of the FFA couldn't see it.

 

[Quivorir]

Casey Fields and all their new soccer fields are free

 

[burge13]

Rudan's true colours coming out!

Wasn't he popular in Wellington last year?

2 has beens and a never was upset with him is no big deal here. I'm no Rudan fan but who cares what Gulum & McDonald say?!

 

[Minidisc MD]

Melbourne Showgrounds would be unreal.

I've walked past before and actually dreamt up how good an A-League club there would be. at the front, there's this perfect pitch-sized patch of grass and brand new little grandstands all around. reminds me of a modern League Two stadium.

and the inner north west there is a real heartland for the sport, suburbs like Brunswick and Essendon are big migrant areas and the kids there still love it. train line directly behind, tram out the front.

 

[giggler99]

Shock horror! This club has just been a massive waste! FFA ****ed up big time!

Pandemic preventing Western United from tying up new ground share deal

All A-League clubs will be waiting expectantly to hear from Football Federation Australia chief executive James Johnson the road map for when the competition might finish this year - and when it might start next season - when Australian soccer's governing body reveals its next short-term plan on Wednesday.

But no club will be keener to learn what Johnson and his management team's plans are during and after the coronavirus pandemic than this season's A-League new boys Western United, whose search for a new ground to call home has been thrown into chaos by the uncertainty surrounding the competition's future.

Western say they are still committed to building their own stadium in Wyndham, the development which was a key part of their pitch for A-League membership when they were chosen to be the competition's 11th club in December 2018.

But Western are well aware that their first season playing home games at Geelong's GMHBA Stadium was little short of disastrous where attracting crowds were concerned, with disappointing numbers turning up to the bulk of home games.

The team's on-field results were good and they are keen to create a better atmosphere and attract more fans by playing in another venue for the next couple of seasons while they look to try and make good their pledge to build their own ground.

However, the uncertainty over the timetable of the current season and how and when the 2020-21 campaign might begin has made discussions with four potential new landlords - Melbourne Knights, The Showgrounds, Whitten Oval and Werribee VFL club - fraught with difficulty.

Talks have been taking place with all four potential hosts says Western United CEO Chris Pehlivanis, but the fact that there is no definitive route out of the crisis makes it very difficult to come to any agreement.

''We will still play one or two games in Geelong as we are the team of the western suburbs and districts, but we do want to play eight or nine games elsewhere close to a supporter base in the west,'' he says.

''The problem we have is that we really can't negotiate anything definitive until we have more idea of what we can and can't do and when we might be playing - and the other competitions.

''We need to know when the Knights are playing their NPL games, would the Whitten Oval be in use in the spring if the AFL or Women's AFL was playing there, same question for the Werribee VFL ground.

''Hopefully the meetings on Wednesday (at which Johnson will liaise with the clubs) will give us some clarity or at least an idea of what the FFA might thinking is possible and their potential schedule.''

Pandemic preventing Western United from tying up new ground share deal

 

[Quivorir]

Meanwhile the temporary home that team 11 would have played out of is looking sweet and the permanent stadium would have been on its way.

 

[Colonial]

Stunned. What an absolute * up.


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[Kappa]

Another dead A League team.

 

[Colonial]

Another dead A League team.

Is it dead?


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[Kappa]

Is it dead?


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No support, no home ground, given the license base on bullshit, in a dying league. Yeah its pretty dead.

 

[giggler99]

Another dead A League team.

No support, no home ground, given the license base on bullshit, in a dying league. Yeah its pretty dead.

Is this all your own speculation (granted not hard to work out) or do you have an legitimate source?

 

[Kappa]

Is this all your own speculation (granted not hard to work out) or do you have an legitimate source?

My opinion

 

[giggler99]

My opinion

I think they are safe 'for now' now that FOX have paid the rest of the broadcast installments. But if Fox decide to withdrawl the rest of the Broadcast deal they along with a few other club too will be in big trouble in order to survive. Best thing for them too do is to strike a deal to play at Somer street for the next couple of season and try and solidate a fan base. No more gypying around the state! until or if that stadium ever gets built.

 

[Colonial]

No support, no home ground, given the license base on bullshit, in a dying league. Yeah its pretty dead.

So your speculation not actual fact.


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[Kappa]

I think they are safe 'for now' now that FOX have paid the rest of the broadcast installments. But if Fox decide to withdrawl the rest of the Broadcast deal they along with a few other club too will be in big trouble in order to survive. Best thing for them too do is to strike a deal to play at Somer street for the next couple of season and try and solidate a fan base. No more gypying around the state! until or if that stadium ever gets built.

Fox have already said they're going to massively cut their budget for non-AFL/NRL sports in the future, no other broadcaster is going to pay similar money for the A League. Once this broadcast money runs out, what next? Western United has a couple of thousand fans at most and it's stadium was a lie or a pipedream at best.

 

[giggler99]

Fox have already said they're going to massively cut their budget for non-AFL/NRL sports in the future, no other broadcaster is going to pay similar money for the A League. Once this broadcast money runs out, what next? Western United has a couple of thousand fans at most and it's stadium was a lie or a pipedream at best.

Well the whole league will be in trouble not just WU if the broadcast money is substantially cut.
I agree at the Western United stadium being a pipe dream one that the FFA got sucked in too by a bunch of corrupt property developers.