WSW 18/19 & 19/20 Club Thread

[Taurus]

On 21/07/2019 at 4:58 PM, matty said:

Oh no. Expect more media pandering from the club. Who made this decision? 

CEO 

[matty]

1 hour ago, Taurus said:

CEO 

Makes sense then 😒

[Taurus]

2 hours ago, matty said:

Makes sense then 😒

Don't be negative, Gatty is an excellent off field signing for us this season.

[StringerBellend]

Gatty is clearly a football guy and knows the media what’s not to like 

When the next banner / flare gate thing comes up he’ll earn his money 

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by StringerBellend

[matty]

19 hours ago, Taurus said:

Don't be negative, Gatty is an excellent off field signing for us this season.

I'll trust your judgement buddy, of course I hope you're right but my impression of Gat is that he's very very conservative and actually struggles to understand active support culture. 

Anyway, here's hoping 👍

[Zelinsky]

41 minutes ago, matty said:

I'll trust your judgement buddy, of course I hope you're right but my impression of Gat is that he's very very conservative and actually struggles to understand active support culture. 

Anyway, here's hoping 👍

His job is not to defend active support in the public but to get WSW into the papers for the right reasons. Saying that: the madness of policing football games has not escaped him. It was him who tweeted how police and security were searching the journo facilities for flares at Spotless a few years ago.

[matty]

1 hour ago, FCB said:

His job is not to defend active support in the public but to get WSW into the papers for the right reasons. Saying that: the madness of policing football games has not escaped him. It was him who tweeted how police and security were searching the journo facilities for flares at Spotless a few years ago.

I'm giving some background and an idea of my perspective on him. I know his job won't be to defend active support, that was an example. 

As I've already said on this thread, my concern is he is generally conservative and tends to tow the easier, 'status quo' (corporate side) of Australian football. Having him around the place (or on speed dial) , he will have influence in the way the club deals with the media. The club has already been too corporate and 'family friendly' in its communication to fans and media. My fear is that won't change with someone like Gatt around. 

Read the thread, I know his job is not to defend active support. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by matty

[Zelinsky]

On 28/07/2019 at 7:12 AM, wendybr said:

 

 I haven't always liked what MB has had to say, or thought  his words were particularly well chosen, but I do like those!

Thanks for helping to keep our spirits up FCB!  

 

Critique of a system tends to emerge from outside of the system.

The HAL is too cozy. Young players don't have to push themselves, and eventually join the player recycling merry-go-round. And it does not stop there. Guys who played in this mediocre environment become coaches, and once they stop playing or coaching they become media commentators. And so the merry-go- round continues. Those who created and shaped this system are responsible for it's maintenance. They are incapable of questioning it.

Another serious problem is that Ange arguably is the sole quality Australian coach (Yokohama are currently coming 2nd in J1).  Apart from Popa, the players of the golden generation are yet to make a meaningful contribution as managers. That Arnie and Popa lasted five minutes when going overseas says a lot.

WSW looked for a solution in Germany, and they found someone who has no problem putting the finger in the wound. And apart from those who work with him, not many liked what they are hearing. There is no doubt that Kurz in Melbourne has come to similar conclusions, and going by this first press conference there is structural change on its way at VIC as well. No surprises there.

Other than that: I do not understand why our spirits should be down. As tabled by Mack, last season we conceded way too easily, and we didn't put the sitters away. Looking at the squad, this has been addressed, even though we are yet to sign a CF. Also: we are not going to play a tougher opponent than Leeds all season. Considering were Leeds and WSW were in pre season, we did very well.

 

 

[Zelinsky]

13 minutes ago, matty said:

I'm giving some background and an idea of my perspective on him. I know his job won't be to defend active support, that was an example. 

As I've already said on this thread, my concern is he is generally conservative and tends to tow the easier, 'status quo' (corporate side) of Australian football. Having him around the place (or on speed dial) , he will have influence in the way the club deals with the media. The club has already been too corporate and 'family friendly' in its communication to fans and media. My fear is that won't change with someone like Gatt around. 

Read the thread, I know his job is not to defend active support. 

Gatt joined the team, and a few days later there is an update about Duke's injury status on the web site. If this was Gatt's work then we can expect more long-overdue transparency.

What is "too corporate" for some is "just right" for someone else, and "not enough" for the next person. Any football entity that does not accept the commercial aspects of the professional game is scheduled to vanish into the lower leagues, or disappear. It's a balancing act.

On a side note: Bayern supporters have the opportunity to compare their club with the local rival 1860. Even when Bayern in the 70ies won the Europe Cup three times, 1860 was still considered the club for the masses. Then Ulli Hoeness took over as GM, and while Bayern became a powerhouse, they maintained being a sporting/family club at heart. In contrast, at 1860 they argued about the soul of the club, and they took it apart in the process. They are currently in BL3, and they are still arguing.

 

[Taurus]

10 hours ago, matty said:

I'll trust your judgement buddy, of course I hope you're right but my impression of Gat is that he's very very conservative and actually struggles to understand active support culture. 

Anyway, here's hoping 👍

Guys, guys, guys 

Ray has been employed as an advisor, he's not paid to be our Media & Communications mgr

His experience in the Oz sokkah media should be useful & he appears genuinely enthusiastic about having the opportunity to assist & mentor those staff currently employed by the club.

If the the injury status report on Mitch Duke is a sign of the type of content we can now expect to receive from our communications dept, I'm a happy wanderer 

[Erebus]

Gatt was also extremely vocal in his disgust and push for answers re stajic. For some things he may be conservative but in others he actually pushed the limits of his influence and position. He never held back in the FFA Congress saga either. 

[matty]

On 29/07/2019 at 12:08 PM, FCB said:

Gatt joined the team, and a few days later there is an update about Duke's injury status on the web site. If this was Gatt's work then we can expect more long-overdue transparency.

What is "too corporate" for some is "just right" for someone else, and "not enough" for the next person. Any football entity that does not accept the commercial aspects of the professional game is scheduled to vanish into the lower leagues, or disappear. It's a balancing act.

On a side note: Bayern supporters have the opportunity to compare their club with the local rival 1860. Even when Bayern in the 70ies won the Europe Cup three times, 1860 was still considered the club for the masses. Then Ulli Hoeness took over as GM, and while Bayern became a powerhouse, they maintained being a sporting/family club at heart. In contrast, at 1860 they argued about the soul of the club, and they took it apart in the process. They are currently in BL3, and they are still arguing.

 

As I said in the line you half quoted; corporate refers to communication 👍

[CaptainJess]

I think people need to realise, that yes it's a football team, but it is also a commercial entity. There are vested interests and various stakeholders that they need to consider. 

Many people don't see the other side of the business and don't understand the lines that sometimes have to be toed. You will fail to exist very quickly if you ignore this side to your club.

This is what I do for living. I would love to tell some idiots in my community and fan-base to **** off. Some contentious issues like rules and regulations, scheduling and selections are handled in a specific way due to the direction of our board or CEO. These directions are usually based off commercial factors, risk mitigation and internal factors.

For instance, my organisation take one of our tournaments to a specific area in NSW. We've done so for the past two years because of a very lucrative agreement with the council. When we announced we were taking it there again this year, there was a huge backlash from our community who want it taken somewhere else. This venue agreement benefits our community significantly, who have to pay less fees overall to play in the tournament. So even though we were accused of not listening to our members, we actually have them at the fore-front of mind. But unfortunately, you just can't put out a communication saying we're taking it here because we get paid a lot and it means your fees are cheaper. Either way we lose. We take it somewhere else, costs go up and people complain. We take it to the other venue and people complain they don't like it. 

Sponsors also play a big role too. It's quite easy to say "screw the sponsors" but their money allows the club to run events, clinics, build facilities, employ more staff and do a lot of things that aren't possible without financial support. So if a sponsor is worried about their association with your organisation or has a specific focus, you need to take that into account with your communications.

I agree that they could look at their strategy and consider some changes, but they will never go full '**** everyone' like some people want. The injury update is a good start at being more transparent, but I appreciate that sometimes there is only so much transparency you can provide.    

[Hughesy]

Problem is, there’s this unwritten rule within football culture that you aren’t a genuine fan unless you just abuse and hate all ‘suits’. In some circumstances it is justified but there’s a lot of people who just blindly follow that mindset like sheep and have no rational thought system.

I agree that the family friendly, PC dialect is trivial and cringeworthy but at the same time - there’s people who follow WSW who wouldn’t be satisfied until Lederer stood on top of BankWest stadium showering the masses in blank cheque’s while JT ripped a flare beside him singing ACAB...

[Zelinsky]

37 minutes ago, hughsey said:

Problem is, there’s this unwritten rule within football culture that you aren’t a genuine fan unless you just abuse and hate all ‘suits’. In some circumstances it is justified but there’s a lot of people who just blindly follow that mindset like sheep and have no rational thought system.

I agree that the family friendly, PC dialect is trivial and cringeworthy but at the same time - there’s people who follow WSW who wouldn’t be satisfied until Lederer stood on top of BankWest stadium showering the masses in blank cheque’s while JT ripped a flare beside him singing ACAB...

The notion of football being "family friendly" did not emerge out of nothing, and there is nothing wrong with it. In many Italian grounds one would have to think twice about taking wife and kids to a game, let alone an active bay. Those who were inside the Melbourne pub when it was ambushed Dec 28th 2014 would also appreciate a "family friendly" environment. 

The issue is that the custodians of the game in Australia did not speak up for football, for whatever reason, but tried to make it look and feel like NRL and AFL instead. 

[StringerBellend]

3 hours ago, FCB said:

The notion of football being "family friendly" did not emerge out of nothing, and there is nothing wrong with it. In many Italian grounds one would have to think twice about taking wife and kids to a game, let alone an active bay. Those who were inside the Melbourne pub when it was ambushed Dec 28th 2014 would also appreciate a "family friendly" environment. 

The issue is that the custodians of the game in Australia did not speak up for football, for whatever reason, but tried to make it look and feel like NRL and AFL instead. 

When I went back to UK what was noticeable was how relatively few kids at the games. premier league is so expensive that family’s can’t afford it, while the lower league clubs struggle to attract kids to the game when the can watch premier league on tv 

I love that there are so many families at Wanderers games 

your spot on the main problem is the league has been ran by people who don’t actually understand football 

thats not just “actives” even the family experience for football is different too

club has a hard job defending football in an environment where you have an at best indifferent media (at worst hostile)

[Taurus]

10 hours ago, hughsey said:

Problem is, there’s this unwritten rule within football culture that you aren’t a genuine fan unless you just abuse and hate all ‘suits’. In some circumstances it is justified but there’s a lot of people who just blindly follow that mindset like sheep and have no rational thought system.

I agree that the family friendly, PC dialect is trivial and cringeworthy but at the same time - there’s people who follow WSW who wouldn’t be satisfied until Lederer stood on top of BankWest stadium showering the masses in blank cheque’s while JT ripped a flare beside him singing ACAB...

Then maturity kicks in & when they have responsibilities, they mellow in their view of the world

[Zelinsky]

Mo Adam: "Markus [...] really puts a lot of trust in the young players. He doesn't really care if you're 18 or 34. As he says, if you're good enough, you'll start playing. So, I feel that's a really good confidence boost, and I feel very honoured."

A 16 yo publicly refers to the gaffer as "Markus". There is a message in this: MB empowers the kids. At the members forum, JT made reverence to the rapport between coach and team, and Mo's comment is a reflection of that rapport and trust. Popa would have put him in the dreaded naughty chair and chewed his head off. 

More importantly, the youngsters know that being given a chance is not just lip service. And the established players will need to be on their toes, otherwise they'll lose their spot. Healthy competition around. We won't see a repeat of senior players slacking off. Mind you, the guys we signed so far are all seasoned pros, they won't do that anyway.

[Taurus]

I didn't take much notice of the content of this letter to members back in Jan 2019, but in hindsight, the ownership group are starting to deliver.

They can do no more except find us a striker!

A letter from the Chairman - Western Sydney Wanderers FC Jan 3, 2019

A letter to Wanderers members from Chairman Paul Lederer. 

Dear members, 

As we begin the New Year, I am excited by the opportunity we have in front of us for 2019 and beyond. What we as a club have worked for over the past three seasons will become a reality with the opening next month of our new training facility and administration headquarters in Blacktown and later this year the opening of our new stadium in Parramatta.

As a club we know full well the responsibility we have to our community and rest assured, we will be the leading football club in this country once again.

The $30m investment we have made into the Wanderers Centre of Football is a significant one that will be a game changer for our club. Mark my words, my fellow board members and I have ensured that our future is set on a solid foundation of infrastructure and planning. Nine pitches, a training and administration headquarters and gymnasium is just the first step in our plans for the Western Sydney Wanderers footprint in Blacktown. Supported by Blacktown City Council we are ensuring that this investment is for the future - our next generations of male and female players.

In the last year alone we have seen 11 players progress through our Academy to join the first team squad with many making their Wanderers debut including Nicholas Suman, Tass Mourdoukoutas, Tate Russell, Marc Tokich and Matthieu Cordier and Kosta Grozos in the FFA Cup. The pathway is set for these players with the reality of their progression coming to fruition.

Ensuring that our Academy players could play fee free is another example of the focus we have on the investment in this club.

While we have an enormous opportunity ahead of us to not only help develop the next generation of footballers from Western Sydney, we are also keenly focused on the challenge of our current circumstances.

Being Wanderers, for the past three seasons in the truest sense, has created some hardship for our club – the members and fans that are so integral to the club have had to endure this most noticeably. Many changes have had to be managed and borne by all involved, but the payoff will be immense. A new world-class stadium in the heart of Parramatta is an incredible prize to secure and this has been done through sacrifice and resolve.

As a passionate football fan for over 70 years I have witnessed difficult moments time and time again. Seasons of apprehension, seasons of adjustment and seasons of complete euphoria. This is the curse of the football fan and one I am happy to bear as the rewards always overshadow the difficulties along the way.

But to all of the Wanderers members and fans I will say this – we have not taken our eye off the prize.

At the start of this season we met with over 14 potential international coaches across Europe. We met these men face-to-face and from these meetings Markus Babbel, a world-renowned player and coach, shone out as the man to lead this club forward. Aided by an excellent backroom staff including Jean-Paul de Marigny and an impressive strength and conditioning coach, Marcelo Martins (former Bayern Munich and USA national team), we have a coaching group that is more than capable and will take our team forward this year.

Along with an outstanding coaching staff, with the best training facilities we will attract quality players, with our new stadium we will recreate our fortress – our return to Wanderland. With our Academy we will create the club, and our hope, the national team players of the future and we will ensure our coaching staff has every opportunity at every level to learn, develop and grow.

These plans are in place, this work has been admirably executed by our management team and staff. Western Sydney football people through-and-through who fight and advocate for this club at every turn in any forum.

From my discussions with members, fans and my management team I understand and acknowledge the difficulties we have had along the way. The past two seasons have been below the standard we have set for this club and we all share every loss, every misstep, like a stab to the heart.

We are focused on our squad development and see the light at the end of the tunnel that this team will continue to build to reflect the passion and will to succeed that all of our members, fans, staff – our club – has inside each and every one of them.

It is my absolute belief that what we are doing will create a future that will reaffirm your loyalty to this club and the promise that was made at its foundation, to be the club that truly represents the people and football culture of Western Sydney.

Now is the time to regroup and to fight. As a club we must come together and drive forward with purpose and belief.

The hard work on-and-off the pitch will continue, we trust that your support will too.

Paul Lederer
Chairman
Western Sydney Wanderers FC

 

[Hughesy]

Everything on the up at WSW. Life is good.

These must be tough times for those at the Lederer Tightarse party HQ 😂

[tyson]

There comes a time when true leaders lead the club forward, its true you have made great strides forward in all aspects ,stadium,training ground, coaching team ,junior development,etc, it speaks volumes for your ability, passion ,kindness,resolve, management,wisdom, your a good man Paul  ,  As an admirer of your leadership, and team and your ability to fix any weakness in the club ,my hats of to you sir,  but there is still something that bothers the clubs supporters and hurts your attendance and membership drive,  that is the focus on the cream players the ones that will make the difference the ones that will make the team great again,pick the markees you want and tell your ceo don,t come back without them ,  that is the only thing holding us back ,  the investment you make on  the next 2 players will give an overall boost to your coach, players ,staff ,supporters ,rbb  ,membership, and in the stands [12th man]  only you can do this   , Thats the missing key to the trophy cabinet   we won the competition the first year we were born,  PUT that smile back on our faces, 

[StringerBellend]

It looks good and we are getting long term foundations in place but I’ll wait until we snot east Sydney all round the park in round 3 before getting too excited 

[Taurus]

Consider it Done, Done, Done even if we're only operating at around 84% in 10 weeks time.

Treejack will go into hiding whenever Ninkovic isn't on the pitch. 

 

[Erebus]

Problem is. ABJ will now get the feeekicks called for him since he is wearing sky blue 

[StringerBellend]

1 hour ago, Erebus said:

Problem is. ABJ will now get the feeekicks called for him since he is wearing sky blue 

He twats most of them into the stand anyway 

[Paul01]

4 hours ago, Erebus said:

Problem is. ABJ will now get the feeekicks called for him since he is wearing sky blue 

Not with Wilson gone from FFA

[Taurus]

Frkin Mental Giants

What a banner, this is what Babbel feels & is trying to impart at WSW

[Zelinsky]

MB: "The biggest difference to last season is the team spirit, there is a different atmosphere in the team."

McGoan: "I have spoken to Markus and the message from him was to make sure this club gets back to where it belongs and where it has been in the past, and that starts in the change room."

 

[mack]

https://www.wswanderersfc.com.au/video/press-conference-26-august-markus-babbel

[MistahCampoy]

Glad to hear he was able to have a chat to Klopp while OS to rub some of that mentality this way