I think most Sydneysiders, even those from the western suburbs, would agree the word 'west' can have negative connotations.
The biggest thing though is why limit your market? Can only people from the west support this team? If you make boundaries around the team then you potentially exclude fans. It's alright to say Sydney FC represents this area and the new team will represent that area, but the real rivalry will be when you have family members, neighbours, mates etc following different teams. Like it is in Manchester and Liverpool and Milan and Madrid, and yes even in Melbourne.
For examples outside of football, does it matter that the Yankees and the Mets are both 'New York'? That the Lakers and the Clippers are both 'Los Angeles'?

The best rivalry is when both clubs claim to own the same patch of the city.

A Sydney street might have supporters from either club.

No good to call the new club 'west' Sydney because it comes across as Diet Coke instead of Coke (Sydney FC).

I've explained it often before but for you I will do it again. Historically i.e. developed over nearly 2 centuries the term west or western was used as a derogatory term by people from the inner city area to describe the people from the outer areas to the west of Sydney who really weren't a part of Sydney in their eyes but a "servant" location providing goods for the city. A hundred or more years of urbanisation has seen the boundary blurred and the functions of the parts of the city change but the stigma still remains and is part of the divide in the city. Only in recent years has the term been included in official titles like the Office of Western Sydney but the term still evokes a strong response amongst some of the long term residents and the older generations in the area when used by people not living in the area. Why would you want to include a term that has these negative connotations in a significant part of your target audience? The reality is if it plays in the region, connects with the clubs, district associations and football fans in the region the club will be adopted as their team whatever it is called but a name that matches the aspirations of the people in the region would be more appropriate. In the large scheme of things they see themselves as Sydney just like any other part of the city. Call them that or give them a name that identifies where they are without the tag.



Edited by gyfox: 22/3/2012 10:42:30 AM

Fair enough

Because 'west' Sydney is generally seen as the bad part of Sydney and is associated with high crime and shit. Thats why people might not want to support it.

Actually they avoided "West" because they didn't want to 'alienate' people from outside those areas. Or people who didn't think they were "West".. I guess people in places like Pennant Hills who are too 'upper class' to consider themselves Westies, or people from the Southern areas, all people who might be considered 'West' by people living in Eastern Sydney but not the actual people themselves.

Love the claims that "Rover's consortium sought counsel from the public regarding the 'west' in the name".

There is no evidence ANYWHERE that they asked anyone that question. It just came out in a press release one day when they announced the name.

I don't believe they did anything. They didn't approach us.

Everyone I know wants "west" or "western" in the name of the club. People are proud to distance themselves from our rich friends in the city.

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=19448

isnt this club suppose to be appealing to WESTERN sydney. so what we are either now to embarassed to use that term in OUR teams name, or we dont want to offend other people who MAY support our club. stuff that. this is our club representing our area. not a club offering a different option to syd fc. this is the difference between heart and a WS side.
as for those that were hinting it doesnt want to offend or not appeal to those outside of western sydney, well thats great, lets choose a name to appeal not to those that the club is representing but to those that the club doesnt represent.

also i should add, if they choose the name cumberland ...... then im fine with it. i just dont want sydney .....

Plus if they have "west or "western" in the name, they MUST play in west, not ANZ. If they do...well, they can expect prompt response.

Plus that guy that said they asked people in Menai, Cabramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, and Kuringai about the name... That's a joke. They might as well go to Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and Lismore next time. Or even Koala Lumpur or Montreal. None of those areas are known for football except for Blacktown. Majority of support will be from Liverpool (and surrounding suburbs), Fairfield and Blacktown. I doubt they asked anyone. All their shit was convered with lies.

You don't know much about football in Sydney it seems. For starters Menai is part of the Sutherland Association which is the biggest in the state at over 17k players, Ku-ring-gai is the 3rd biggest association in the state with over 15k players, Nepean has 12k players, while your notable Blacktown only has 9k players. In case you didn't know Cabramatta is part of Fairfield and teams there play in the Southern Districts Association which is slightly smaller at 8.5k players so the suburbs you note as being the main drawing area are the ones with the lower number of registered players in the region. Why wouldn't they ask people in the areas with the higher concentration of players and potential fans?

Although technically not part of Greater Western Sydney the parts of the Ku-ringai and Sutherland associations that have close transport links with the west may well identify with a team based at Parramatta than at Moore Park. The same goes for the Gladesville/Hornsby Association.

Edited by gyfox: 22/3/2012 11:55:46 PM

I lived in the area for 40 years up to 1990 and people of my generation wouldn't want western Sydney. We would rather Sydney than that. More preferable of course would be a local name we could identify with that doesn't have the stigma that goes with being labeled as the other bit of Sydney that people don't want to know about. The younger generations may feel different.

Guys there is a new forum up and running.
http://www.westsydneyfootball.com/
check it out

Homebush is actualy inside the GWS zone, but anyway, it's simply a case of opportunity - there was an opportunity to turn the Showgrounds into an AFL standard stadium at a relatively low cost, and it was taken.

The Giants can't train at Blacktown during the Summer because it's used for cricket - it's a shared facility, as many ovals are through much of Australia.

People make too much of a big deal about the location of grounds. In Melbourne, 9 AFL clubs share two stadiums - now people from outside might bitch and moan about that, but in reality, it's a business model the generates great wealth for the game.

The team is operating in the Sydney market and anyone who understands the Sydney market knows the fans want their team to play where they live. Clearly the AFL and you don't understand the market.


Ok... enough stirring but we all know the real story behind it where the AFL tried to muscle in on the proposed WC venue at Blacktown and the NSW government said no.


Edited by gyfox: 23/3/2012 10:34:45 AM

i get what your saying, but say for example the team is named sydney rovers. even if they played out at parra, would this be a team representing a demographic area or just providing another option to those that dont support sydney fc.
thats the different between heart and WS. heart are there to provide to those that didnt support victory, yet they are still fighing support from the same area.
while WS are not there primarily for those that dont support sydney fc. WS is there for those people in Western Sydney. why would they please those that dont support sydney fc rather than please those in the area that the club is representing.
if the majority of those living in western sydney dont want 'west' or 'western' in the name, and the club doesnt put west in the name due to this, then i will have no issues whatsoever. however if the majority of those living in western sydney do want 'west' or 'western' in the name, and the club doesnt include west in the name to please those who may support the club that dont live in western sydney, then it would clearly appear that the club is already ignoring those that it claims to represent.

Could go back to olden days and just name it "Sydney SC"

Any chance Sydney United can revert to the 'Croatia' suffix so the W.Syd team can call itself 'Sydney United'?

hahaha no chance.

^

pregame GWS V Swans derby, the crowd looks like its going to be fairly poor, it could just be ANZ though.

Ten was spruiking 40k sold

commentator says looks to be about 30K

Watching the GWS game, god the atmosphere is so poor and even though there may be 40000 there, it still looks empty as politics. Say NO to the bid playing out of ANZ.

the game is pretty good but i think we can come to the conclusion that 10k at anz stadium = no atmosphere.

This is exactly why we cant play out of ANZ.
yes football supporters would create more of an atmosphere, but still over 30K and its shit.
Any bidder that wants to play out of ANZ is just doing it to save money, no other excuse

Doesn't mean derbies and finals can't be played at ANZ though.

so great, lets go from a guarenteed sell out parra staduim with a crazy atmosphere, to a dead ANZ.
and why should the WS team loose its advantage in the derby so it can be played at ANZ?
No to ANZ