The Western Sydney Wanderers have announced 6 pre-season friendly matches.
With the Western Sydney Wanderers entering their pre-season preparation, the club have confirmed a half-dozen pre-season friendly matches.
- Macarthur Rams - Wednesday August 7 - 7:30pm Kickoff - Campbelltown Stadium
- Canberra Olympic - Wednesday August 14 - 6:15pm Kickoff - AIS Athletics Field, Canberra.
- Wellington Phoenix - Wednesday August 21 - 6:15pm Kickoff - Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills.
- Adelaide United - Sunday September 22 - 2:00pm Kickoff - Centrebet Stadium, Penrith.
- Melbourne Victory - Sunday September 29 - 2:00pm Kickoff - Kingston Twin Ovals, Tasmania.
- Bankstown City Lions - Thursday October 3 - 7:15pm Kickoff - Jensen Park, Sefton.
Opinion:
There are some stand-out issues I can see with this schedule. The first is that there is a month long gap between the Wellington & Adelaide matches. It seems extremely odd that a club will start by playing three pre-season matches, then simply stop for a month.
The second is that the Western Sydney Wanderers have snubbed the three major New South Wales Premier League teams that exist in South-Western Sydney. Marconi, Bonnyrigg & Sydney United all exist in an area that has major support for the Wanderers. Club Marconi has the largest section of local support when the Wanderers play away matches for example. If Sydney FC can arrange to play Marconi, how is it that the Western Sydney Wanderers cannot?
My final consideration is the quality of the clubs being faced is not particularly high. While the quality of Melbourne Victory is clear, both Wellington & Adelaide are undergoing rebuilding phases under new management, and the three other teams are all outside the NSW Premier League. Sydney FC had their season start incredibly poorly due to a badly mismanaged pre-season campaign, and they have chosen to undertake 15 pre-season matches this year. I hope that the Wanderers are not repeating the mistakes other clubs have made in the past.
I hope that the month long gap is being prepared for a tour of some kind, or for friendlies yet to be announced. Pre-season is vitally important in getting the A-League season proper off to a good start, and getting it wrong could derail our campaign to retain the Premiership before it even begins.
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