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The health of A-League markets is always an interesting watch and the appalling crowd at CommBank Stadium to watch the Wanderers turn on the style and smack the Jets 4-1 last Friday night was instructive.
It was the latest reflection of a disastrous slide for the club. Once the place to be, the small number of folk remaining committed to Western Sydney is not the situation hoped for when the team was established back in 2012.
When A-League teams enjoy sustained periods of success, the foundational support that football has in Australia is evident and once the tide turns after a run of poor seasons, the fringe fans re-emerge from the woodwork. Sadly for Western Sydney, it has been a mighty long time since either has happened and the remnants look like a decimated club.
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We have seen fluctuations play out in Newcastle, Central Coast, Wellington and Perth, four markets that possess a bedrock of support that has wavered at different times. When the good times roll, the fans re-emerge, rather cynically really. Yet in the competitive modern sporting landscape, it is the nature of the beast and maintaining relative parity and competitiveness across the league is a vital component in keeping as many fans as possible interested at any given point in time.
Early in 2024/25, it looks like being an exciting time in Adelaide, and Perth appear almost certain to face a stormy short-term future off the back of a disorganised team that possesses very little defensive commitment.
The new markets in Auckland, Macarthur and Tarneit will continue to be interesting watches. The New Zealand commitment by the APL looks a no-brainer at this early stage and there are clear signs of growth in the other two, despite Western United struggling to contend since the championship of 2022.
Brisbane grows ever concerning; a massive market with football culturally engrained and people desperate to have a team representing the city with far more success than recent incarnations. Stadia continues to be all the talk and perhaps better decisions in that area would play a role in re-energising a market that adds plenty of punch to the A-League when humming along off the back of consistent performances.
The Sydney and Melbourne markets have been traditionally solid for Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory alike, yet expansion in both cities has not brought about the mirroring of the bigger club and another capable of threatening and taking over the position.
Melbourne City remains a problematic situation, a ‘nepo baby’ if you like, making the club something like the Lance Stroll of the Formula 1 world. City’s crowd numbers are always distorted by Melbourne Derby clashes with Victory and attendances as low as two and three thousand last season remind us that the club was built on very little.
Whilst there are concerns and issues across all markets, the one of most concern to the APL should be Western Sydney, a team that many assumed would be the biggest team in the land in the long term. And there have been times when it did appear that such an ascension was possible, yet where the club stands right now is more reflective of the reality and the hoodwinking that took place early in its existence.
The RBB cheer on their team. (Image credit: Texi Smith)
The 2024 SBS documentary ‘Came From Nowhere’ was a quality production, re-telling the stories behind the club and capturing the passion of the real fans who lie at the heart of the organisation. Sadly, there were very few of them, with the majority of the people flocking to the old Parramatta Stadium there more for the event, the party and the feelings of belonging, and not the game of football.
The ground was full or near full back in the heady days, yet after an early draw in the 2024/25 season and a frantic seven-goal thriller that saw Alen Stajcic’s team go down to Adelaide just a week earlier, Western Sydney drew just 6,220 people to CommBank Stadium for their third home match of the season.
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I was stunned at the number. Sure, as teams slip away from finals contention and lose competitiveness late in seasons, the crowd figures will be clearly reflective of that. However, for a team that as recently as 2015/16 was drawing near 15,000 to the Parramatta venue before its rebuild, one simply has to wonder where the so-called fans have gone.
Personally, I’ve long held the view that the title of the aforementioned documentary is one of the core issues lying deep within the club. Creating something from thin air is a dangerous way to approach things. Considering Sydney FC had been long established in the city, I always wondered why the Wanderers fans, had they been true supporters of football, had not hitched their wagons with Sydney back in 2005.
They of course spoke of wanting their area represented and a pride in the western region of Sydney that is very different to the east, north and south, yet were quick to jump ship. Issues with the police are real, but as is a considerable number of lost fans that have exposed the rather small number of real Wanderers people that remain.
The situation is not what was planned when the team was formed. Football wanted and needed a powerhouse in the west of Sydney. Now, they have a team pulling just a couple of thousand more than expansion team Macarthur, with a potential changing of the guard about to take place in terms of who becomes Sydney FC’s more meaningful nemesis.
There are plenty of healthy things happening in the A-League this season, with Perth and Brisbane areas of clear concern. Yet long term, the situation at Western Sydney might be the most concerning.
One wonders what a winning team might do for the numbers and whether people will return off the back of success. Or perhaps they have been lost to the A-League forever.