No doubt they will use his knowledge of the NPL to sign a few locals.

I'm glad he might get a shot eventually.  Long overdue.

they have been saying they will be giving opportunities to NPL players. lets hope its true instead of recycling has-been HAL players. 

Good to see this appointment of JA to the assistant role.....not the Aloisi variety. The Vic NPl players should lift for the coming season to earn a shot with new boys.

I’ve been checking out pics of when MV have played at Simonds....I see that they push the pitch into the corner of the largest grandstand with a fair bit of space on the opposite end and side. So the majority of supporters at one end and one side (makes sense)

As much as I would like to see them utilise Knights stadium (a 15min walk from home for me) the playing surface might not be up to Scratch ? As well as the backdrop not being ‘pretty enough’ for televising ?

Would be good if they could play a couple of matches there against interstate clubs to at least to grow the supporter base....I would certainly attend.

This new franchise is the one Steve horvat is involved in right ? There are a few articles claiming they planned to build the new stadium in Geelong.....I’m assuming they scrapped that in favour of tarneit cause I’m not aware of two bids in the west of Melbourne that were planning to build and own their own stadium.

https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/GOAL/a6/bb/melbourne-victory-v-newcastle-jets-a-league-02012017_eefahb776vve11ct4skn6hapg.jpg?t=-1847619022&quality=60&w=1600

Stadium design looks good. Steep terraces, close to the action. Will be an awesome atmosphere if they can connect with the area.

https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/21587952fb2f62e2a9c27c6de465bebf?width=700

Apparently the francise also own the land on which sayers rd train station will be built....so that shouldn’t be a problem you would think. Main man behind the group is Lou sticca - man behind the old Carlton NSL club and he runs a player agent busines...interesting.

I just wonder if they actually have a solid agreement in place with Simonds stadium....what are the chances of it falling through....might be better off just investing some money into upgrading/polishing up Knights stadium.... but perhaps not feasible.

How many supporters from the west will want to actually travel to Simonds for the first two years and how many supporters from Geelong will want to travel to tarneit after that period.... seems a pretty risky move. Guess it depends on how well they perform on the field and engage the local community i suppose.

Best thing is to finally have a modern world class 15,000 capacity proper football stadium owned by its club. May we have more along with pro/rel and a 2nd division. But next time admit the club ONCE the stadium is built.

Been reading through the name suggestions for this new franchise on this thread .....Chicken Tikka FC......haha!

Like others, it’s diffuicult to fathom the decision(like most FFA decisions) and what identity this club/franchise will have and what area it will actually represent. But what’s done is done and I really hope they don’t become another Gold Coast United. Will be interesting to see if they can pull it off with so many question marks surrounding their inclusion and actual identity.

Their name will be key to their success/survival. Names thrown up include;

Western Plains FC, Wyndham Vale FC, Three Rivers FC, Yangs FC.....aren’t too bad. My suggestion;

Yangs Park United
Named after the ‘You Yangs Regional Park’ of course; a neutral common uniting theme

And when Geelong have their own team
Barwon River FC

Thoughts ?

According to Val, they are close to signing Isaac Richards and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos. As an Adelaide fan, I'd be pissed if they leave, especially AP.

However, they will be good signings for them. Richards could well be the their first choice keeper while AP has a lot of potential and would be a good sub.

You can't name the club Wyndham vale. As it's not based in Wyndham vale .

I like reflecting the You Youngs in the name a lot. It's unique sounding and is clearly a significant landmark for that region (including Geelong).

I'm also a fan of Western Plains or perhaps the Zebras to reflect the nearby Open Range Zoo.

Does anyone know when the club plans to commence the engagement process to a select a name (also colours and badge)? They'd want to get cracking.

Jermain cole

“You can't name the club Wyndham vale. As it's not based in Wyndham vale . ”

****

What are you talking about....the new stadium resides within Wyndham Vale council territory. It’s too mundane of a name anyway......

Yangs Park United is the go!

Wyndham Vale is one suburb inside the City of Wyndham LGA. The new stadium is going to be in Tarneit, which is also in the City of Wyndham.

Dude it's Wyndham city council. Wyndham vale is a suburb.  I should know I used to live in Wyndham  vale .I now live in werribee which  is part of Wyndham city council

Yang just sounds weird. Definitely going to have the mickey taken out of it.

It will likely have to be something quite generic like Western United, Victoria Western FC or Western Victoria FC.

The issue with using Melbourne or Wyndham in the name revolve around their catchment area being far broader than that, and playing 2-3 seasons in Geelong makes such an idea even harder to imagine working.

Still haven’t heard much from them in terms of community engagement. Honestly, this has failure written all over it if they don’t pull their fingers out soon and actually engaging, via fan forums and club visits.

It’s like they are shocked they actually got chosen and have to be ready in less than 12 months!

Still don’t know how SWS wasn’t the first cab off the rank.
They were the most ready to go infrastructure and facility wise.

Jermain Cole

“Dude it's Wyndham city council. Wyndham vale is a suburb. I should know I used to live in Wyndham vale .I now live in werribee which is part of Wyndham city council “

****
Right so it should be Wyndham City FC then(sounds better)......and not Wyndham Vale.....why didn’t you say so earlier......

Heart Fan

“The issue with using Melbourne or Wyndham in the name revolve around their catchment area being far broader than that, and playing 2-3 seasons in Geelong makes such an idea even harder to imagine working.

Still haven’t heard much from them in terms of community engagement. Honestly, this has failure written all over it if they don’t pull their fingers out soon and actually engaging, via fan forums and club visits. ”

****
It sure does. They have created an awkward dilemma for themselves a bit there ....and yeah they would want to get moving with engaging the community otherwise they will be grounded before take off.

The council might be called Wyndham City, but let's be honest, it's more of a vale than a city.

Huh? The city of Wyndham is one of the fastest  growing growth areas in oz. 

Impressive.

I can see this folding as quick as the Gold Coast . If it was an area crying out for a team like western Sydney by all means go ahead . Any bid that was approved should have been based on what they brought to the game when the enter not pie in the sky stuff 5-10 years down the track.
The owners are property developers, now with downturn in property next couple of years , let's see what money they will have to throw around . Property developers are generally the worst , they constantly go bust and are dodgy f***.

Anyway I don't see the stadium being built and I bet the funding for it will be dependent on developments from other land in the region that owners have made deals with council to obtain , by then they will go bust or sell off stake in club and stadium won't be built

Fastest growing area means nothing , I have heard that about Gold Coast and central coast , Gold Coast always a basket case for sports teams and what have the mariners done . Corporate dollars are all in the major cities.
Also with any growing area , its means that it will have the numbers 20-30 years down the track . The people moving to the region now won't support them just because they live in region , it will take a new generation born. Can the club sustain itself u til the area goes from fastest growing to grown region ?

Apparently they want Rudan as head coach. Rudan + Anastasiadis (and Hutchinson I suppose) could be a great coaching unit

Wonder how they are going to deal with fixture. If they do their usual "start the season with a bang" with a big early derby, it's going to be a disaster that will invite an unneeded focus on comparisons to the existing teams.

Imo an early game against Victory is not going to do them any favours, especially if it is in Geelong and a huge number of fans are travelling to support MV.

Give them at least 6-8 games against interstate teams and let the supporter base build as quick as it can before putting everyone under the spotlight with a Derby. 

If it was up to me, WM would play their first derby against City at Kardinia Park and play Victory away at Etihad as late as possible to give them a far chance at establishing themselves without the pressure of looking outnumbered at home derbies. 

All logical but Id be shocked if they play City and Victory very early on- if not in their first 2 fixtures then definitely play both in the first 3-4. 

they are very, very well prepared. 


lol. we'll see mate, we'll see. 


i believe their preference is a "soft" start. no home derbies early in the peace. 

There are no Western Sydney type areas for the taking so population growth areas is the logical solution for future prosperity.

Please do not compare to a tourist area like the Gold Coast where sport is way down the interest pecking order.

Some of you expect the impossible.

They need to e really smart about setting up this club and establishing an identity that resonated with the people of Melbourne's west. Unfortunately rolling with a single council's name is not going to cut it. We will end up with West/Western Melbourne. 

Fuck them:

Sydney Home
Perth Away
Wellington Away
Victory Home

First 4 rounds sorted - they can sink or they can swim.

That's the wrong attitude to have. If I were them I'd be praying for a round 1 derby against MV. Victory always start poorly for the first few rounds. Way easier to beat MV round 1 than it is at round 6. Beating (or even drawing) MV round 1, would create massive confidence within the squad as well as generate fan interest. Facing the tougher opponents early should be preferred. They wanted to be in the HAL, that means matching or exceeding clubs like MV or SFC. 

Haven't heard shit about community engagement at all. A couple of assistant coach announcements, thats it.