Western Sydney Wanderers leave NRL for dead

[214Four]

ive seen one years ago that was worse. Parramatta Eels fans verses bulldogs fans in the early naughties. fans were fighting all around parramatta, the cops even closed the station

[Raiderdave]

ive seen one years ago that was worse. Parramatta Eels fans verses bulldogs fans in the early naughties. fans were fighting all around parramatta, the cops even closed the station

theres about 6 serious incidents involving police every year in the A League
about 40 in just 7 years

I can recall.. just 1.. the above... in my 40 years of following the NSWRL/ARL/NRL

every sport has its crowd problems
but Soccer is the only one that has organised supporter group V supporter group violence & trouble
soccer fans attempts to claim other sports have issues like this are not only wrong .... but pathetic & pitiful as well

it is unique to soccer
it is time this sport sorted out this type of fan & this type of behaviour & stop claiming everyone else is out to get them.

[Jez]

Love playing soccer. Worst and most boring game to watch...It's little wonder the crowds play up.

All these soccer types are just in denial. Just accepted it like very other code does and move on! What to be gained by claiming it's all the medias fault??

[ParraEelsNRL]

Ya, not much violence at the games, well a scuffle here and there between a few idiots who can't handle the grog, but never on a mass scale.

And the bulldogs are a bit different, they don't tend to fight with opposition supporters as much these days, they'd rather burn trains and shit instead.

(stands back and waits to see if a bullfrog supporter jumps in) Hehe.

[ParraEelsNRL]

Oh, and bullfrog supporters tend to like shinny things like mag wheels on cars, so don't park your nice car near Bullfrog supporters, the buggers don't even bother to leave the thing on blocks.

[AFLcrap1]

Wow, Wanderers killing NRL clubs in western Sydney. Parramatta Stadium to be upgraded for soccer not rugby league. Who'd have ever thought that was possible in western Sydney.

RL heartland.

Western Sydney Wanderers leave NRL for dead in sales and membership

John Lehmann Editor at Large
The Sunday Telegraph
November 30, 2013 10:00PM

A-LEAGUE newcomers Western Sydney Wanderers have become so hot that they're already selling more football jerseys and recruiting more members than popular NRL clubs like the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers.

In only their second season, the Wanderers have become the envy of many sporting clubs as they tap into the power of multicultural western Sydney to convert their on-field success into financial strength.

At their most recent home match, played against Melbourne Victory on a wet and blustery Saturday night, Wanderers fans spent a cool $95,000 on new jerseys, scarfs, flags and footballs at stalls around the ground. Sales included 119 jerseys, 70 hoodies and 577 scarfs.

It wasn't a one-off - fans purchase an average of $80,000 worth of Wanderers gear at each home game and the club is on track to smash through the $2 million mark in merchandising sales this season.

Children's lines this year have been the fastest selling, while a women's range of clothing is being developed for next season.

In comparison the Eels and Tigers, two of the most popular NRL clubs, sold $1.75 million and $1.2 million in merchandising in the 2013 season.

"The Wanderers appeal to a broad base of fans right across western Sydney, whereas more established clubs in other codes operate in isolated pockets,'' said Football Federation of Australia chief executive David Gallop, the former NRL boss.

The Wanderers have also wasted no time converting their giant-killing debut season into corporate support, growing their revenue by 140 per cent in a year to more than $4 million this season.

Although this is still shaded by the Tigers and Eels, the Wanderers corporate backing is believed to be stronger than the glamorous cross-town rival Sydney FC and only bettered in the A-League by Melbourne Victory.

"They are one of the first entities to actually call themselves western Sydney and people are identifying with that and responding to their success,'' said University of Western Sydney Chancellor Peter Shergold, whose organisation is sponsoring the Wanderers.

It is understood that global financial services group Pepper will be announced this week as the latest corporate supporter, joining heavyweight backers NRMA Insurance, Nike, Westfield, Mitsubishi Electric and Primo.

The Wanderers success hasn't just happened by chance. Wanderers executive chairman Lyall Gorman said the club's foundations were built to truly represent western Sydney's two million residents.

The club's name, colours, values and culture were only decided after seven supporter forums were held in Mount Pritchard, Parramatta, Rooty Hill, Penrith, Castle Hill, Campbelltown and Bankstown.

The FFA also ran two online surveys in which more than 15,000 people devoted 25 minutes of their time helping define the spirit of the west.

The brand and image documents created to portray the Wanderers are world-class - they are not dissimilar to those which lie behind global sports biggest brand, Manchester United.

"This is not just a football club, it is a community asset and we are joined together at the hip with the community,'' said Mr Gorman, a former boss of the A-League who grew up in Bankstown.

"One of our major goals is to be a catalyst for true social change across western Sydney. Part of that is inspiring the young people of western Sydney to be the absolute best they can be.''

The multiculturalism of western Sydney is reflected in the Wanderers staff and supporter base. Twenty-five different cultures are represented among the club's 93 players and staff, while the accents singing out from the famous Red and Black Bloc supporter group include Sudanese and Indians.

The club's board includes distinguished Australian-Chinese businessman Benjamin Chow and influential Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine.

The Wanderers had to halt ticketed memberships at 16,400 due to the present capacity of Pirtek Stadium at Parramatta. Another 1000 people are on a waiting list and the club is putting in place a scheme enabling fans to buy tickets from members who can't attend games.

The Tigers have 11,500 ticketed and non-ticketed members, while the Eels have just over 14,000 ticketed members.

"We've been on board since the start and don't miss a game - we love Shinji Ono,'' said Jack Ong, of The Ponds.

Partly due to the Wanderers' success, the federal government has granted $20 million to upgrade the stadium and increase capacity to 23,500 although Mr Gorman's longer-term goal is to further lift capacity to about 32,000.

Mr Gorman said the club had knocked back sponsorships of up to $400,000 a year because they didn't share similar values as the Wanderers.

"The wrong partnerships will hurt you over time,'' he said.

But he has a bit of free advice to businesses who haven't yet embraced western Sydney: "Businesses who don't see the potential of western Sydney will suffer for it over time.''

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n ... 6771396553

At their most recent home match, played against Melbourne Victory on a wet and blustery Saturday night, Wanderers fans spent a cool $95,000 on new jerseys, scarfs, flags and footballs at stalls around the ground. Sales included 119 jerseys, 70 hoodies and 577 scarfs
there must be some mark up on the merchandise >

to waste 20 million on a suburban stadium is a waste of money, when there is a perfect 80k seater stadium up the road with surrounded buy better infrastructure,

Oh my look what I found .


Read it again Dingbat .
Your own words .
So how do you explain WASTING 65mill on a Showgrounds rebuild .when the midgets could have played at a PERFECT 80 k stadium .

[notaleaguefan]

Anz stadium is usually been booked buy the nrlol or arl

The Showgrounds stadium was a three way venture, including afl chilling in for a chunk of the money!

I see a perfectly good stadium of parramatta! Those minnows only half full on average is getting a total rebuild! At the cost of several hundred million to the sax payer!

When they should have just demolished or left it and let games be played at anz

[AFLcrap1]

Lol smashed by your own self ownage .

according to you 20 mill is a wastage .
But not when it's spent on an AFL ground .
Fucking hypocrite .
According to you anz is a perfectly good stadium .
Yet somehow it's only perfectly good for RL .

Once again .absolutley smashed by yourself .
I'd say give yourself an uppercut but you already have

[notaleaguefan]

Lol smashed by your own self ownage .

according to you 20 mill is a wastage .
But not when it's spent on an AFL ground .
Fucking hypocrite .
According to you anz is a perfectly good stadium .
Yet somehow it's only perfectly good for RL .

Once again .absolutley smashed by yourself .
I'd say give yourself an uppercut but you already have

So your logic the 300odd million being spent at parramatta full rebuild is a waste as well

Usual self ownage at its finest

So your words that of a basement dwelling reality dodging loser “give your self an uppercut”

[AFLcrap1]

Nope .
You have no understanding of self ownage .
In fact you have little understanding of anything .
In fact you're dumber than dog Shit

You in one thread claim spending 20 mill is nothing it's fine
Also that ANZ is a perfectly fine stadium .

Then here you're saying 20 mill is a wastage .
& you can't seem to say that ANZ is fine for AFl .
Oh dear .

If you can find where I've said the same about Parra
SFS or ANZ then you may use the self ownage line .
But for now you have no fucking idea about what it means .