A bulk of their early identity and fandom ‘success’ came from:
a) ‘Not being Sydney FC’ and
b) ‘this is real support by real football people. i.e. The Heartland paradox’.
Both failed them miserably when:
a) Sydney FC appointed Arnold and became dominant not only in derbies but also the most successful team in the league for an extended period of time
b) A lot of these ‘real football’ people discovered just how hard it is to actually support a football team week in week out as opposed to watching highlight packages from leagues half way around the world, especially when things get a bit ‘tough.’
The ADP / Farina era defined Sydney FC’s identity just as much as the Yorke / Vitje / GA era’s as it forced the club into an identity reckoning, one that they successfully navigated and actually learnt from - out of the ruins of the ‘rot’ came a club with a pretty defined identity and successful mode of operation.
WSW haven’t learnt from anything… Their early success was built on cap exemptions, squad allowances and being owned by the FFA. Since those were taken away, they have struggled and made poor appointments ever since. Once the hype of their ‘fan culture’ disappeared, they were just like any other club in the league, something that would have shocked a lot the support I think.
I know a lot of people who were fans of WSW, some with family memberships and I know that many commented to me that the ongoing behaviour of the RBB stopped them going to games, I get the impression that a lot of ‘regular sideline types’ got very hump with the protests and signs and the idea that the RBB claimed to be representative of the club and fanbase… when most fans were just like most A-League fans, happy taking their kids to a game of football or a simple day out with friends - the RBB and their ‘ethos’ couldn’t have been anymore removed from these people if they tried.
This game in Newy is a must win for both teams, looking forward to how Westys play.
Whether its the RudanRocket style of the 2nd half against Western,or the CarloCrap of that first half.Each game is a lottery, its their turn to win but Newy CAN play.
Absolutely. I also know a a couple of guys who had younger families at the time and loved going to WSW games (much to my frustration) and stopped because of the RBB. They don’t have memberships anymore and have become disengaged with the A-League.
The only thing that prevents him being sacked by Xmas is the likely schedule due to a stupid fucking mid-season World Cup (I assume the league will have a break during it).
He did decent with Western United but he is one of those boring A-League merry go round managers/players. If we ever appoint someone like that as a manager I’d be disappointed. Then again they’re just about tried everything at this point, I guess they are out of ideas.
I think Rudan is decent as a tactical manager, but his “man management” skills are clearly lacking, and he has a track record of establishing toxic relationships with players. Western Sydney’s biggest problem at the moment is cultural, so it’s such a strange appointment given that what they really need is to bring in someone who can restore some level of cultural harmony.
But good managers learn as they face new challenges, and each club and, at each moment, presents a quite different set of challenges. e.g. everyone always bagged John Aloisi here including for his time at Heart, where a string of more credentialed managers did no better than him until CSG finally figured out how and who would fix their brittleness. I always thought Aloisi was a pretty good manager if a bit naïve in the way his teams shipped goals. He has clearly learnt his lesson VERY well.
Rudan will learn and progress too if he can keep his ego and vanity in check.
Ego and vanity have always been Arnie’s Achilles heel (believing your own propaganda). When he managed to get over that problem at SFC, things went really brilliantly. I think they have a lot to do with how badly the Socceroos have done in recent matches after that ‘world record run of victories’ against … Nepal, Taiwan etc
