So with the first week of the finals done and dusted – just four teams remain, each with their own special reason for wanting to get their hands on that trophy.

Brisbane want to go back to back, Central Coast just want to win it. Wellington have visions of spiriting the trophy out of the country altogether, while Perth would love to see the glory of winning the national competition return to the west.

It’s been eight years since Glory have celebrated such a feat. Perth was the last team to lift the trophy in the National Soccer League. Twice, in fact – after taking out the 2002-2003 title, they went back to back in the competition’s final match (final in every way) in 2004.

Now in 2012, they are poised to once again make their mark on the national stage.

The last coach to take a football trophy back to Western Australia as coach of Perth Glory, was Mich d’Avray, now development coach at Bloemfontein Celtic in his native South Africa.

Despite the distance, Mich has not lost his affection for the club. Speaking after the Glory’s 3-0 win over Melbourne Heart, d’Avray was full of confidence that this could be Perth’s time once more.

A visit back to these shores over the Christmas break gave him the chance to see Glory play live again.

As he sat in the stands at NIB Stadium watching the Glory do battle with Brisbane Roar, he observed that his former team was matching the defending champion in every way.

“And that was without Shane Smeltz. The club was under the pump, there was pressure on the coach, but they took the game to the Roar in what ended in a 3-3 draw. I thought then, that with all their key players available, there’s no reason this Glory side can’t go all the way”.

With fans in the west still celebrating a Shane Smeltz hat-trick, d’Avray who had prolific scorers such as Damien Mori and Bobby Despotovski in his side, acknowledged the New Zealand striker was peaking at the ideal time and was full of praise for the marquee man.

In fact, he would like to have had Smeltz in his current set-up, if they had had the funds to lure him to South Africa.

“In 2010, we spoke to Shane’s manager about the possibility of him coming to our club – I would have taken him without blinking an eye. Unfortunately we couldn’t afford him,” d’Avray said.

“Football is always crying out for goal scorers, and Perth must be delighted that they paid the money to the right man. He is certainly delivering for them at key moments."

A lifelong fan of English Premier League side Liverpool, he muses on the comparable lack of return the Reds have seen for their investment in Andy Carroll. As if to underline his point, on the TV screen behind me, Carroll is booked for diving against Newcastle United.

Being a Liverpool supporter, d’Avray is also au fait with the cyclical nature of the game.

“Teams have their winning times, and Perth have certainly had theirs. Football can be a lottery, but Perth are in it and they can do it again. For their next match they have home ground advantage and even more importantly home ground support."

He recalls with great fondness the impact of “The Shed”, the hardcore supporters who turned out in fine voice week after week.

“Our success meant a lot to the people of Perth, we had the best supporters in the land – people would come to the games in part to see them chanting, singing and dancing. It was a wonderful spectacle for the neutral – everyone wanted to be part of ‘The Shed’."

“They’ll be out there again on the weekend, everyone will be behind the team."

 
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not reflect those of Football Federation Australia.
Poll
Who was you man of the match against Iraq?





Comments (9)
 
Andrew, Thanks for the response. I did see the stats and thanks for providing them. I'll be honest and say that I have only been a member of PG since the inception of the A-League. I did make the GF in 04 as I was on holiday in WA but only moved here in 05. The whole 'fan' thing in WA has always perturbed me. Individuals who do not put their money where their mouth is and attend games, feel they have some kind of inalienable right to criticise sporting clubs (of any code). You point this out yourself when you say "I don't watch the Glory by and large", but feel you have a right to criticise Ferguson and his style of football. I do not understand why the crowds have failed to return to PG despite finishing in 3rd this year (it could be the WA disease of looking back and thinking everything was rosier in the past) and it worries me that the supporter base hasn't increased but I believe Tony Sage has recognised it's a long-term project owning PG and that perseverance will win in the end. I agree with your assessment that Brisbane Roar playing the way they are (they are the best team I have seen at NIB Stadium this year, even better than Celtic!) it's unlikely that PG will win the GF. However, the onus is now on PG and others in the league to step up their game in order to challenge for honours. PG have slowly built towards a challenge, but this year may be too early and its likely that next season will be better. I still believe that we can get to the GF as neither Wellington or CCM are any better than us, coupled with the fact that Smeltz seems to have found his scoring boots at exactly the right time. Andrew, do yourself and Glory a favour and buy yourself a Season Ticket next year, then you can see the PG project at first hand and really look to the future. Cheers, KP.
KP  |  
4 Apr 2012 02:49 PM
 
 
KP, I was merely replying to Steph's title that Perth may return to the Glory days of DAvary. Did u not read the stats I provided(they r available on the net). I am more interested in your thoughts as to why the crowds almost halved when D'Avary took over from Stange whilst winning 2 Grand Finals as opposed to Stange not winning any. Also curious to know your thoughts as to why Perths crowds have barely increased this season even though they finished 3rd as opposed to 2nd last the season prior. You r right though, football does have a variety of styles, and the boringtiki-takka Barca style that you loathe I just happen to love. And whilst I do enjoy following some of the EPL teams, the vast majority of them bore me to death with their ping pong hoof and hope style of play. I don't watch the Glory by and large, but neither do most people in Perth. Football can afford to be results driven in countries where it is the number one sport, but not here KP. Only 1 team can be victorious, but what about the other 9 teams. Unless they r playing an attractive brand of football then they will not attract a broader mainstream supporter base. The Roar have not dominated this season like the last and have relinquished their minor premiership to the CCM ( in other words, in terms of results thus far, they have gone backwards), yet their average attendance of 13,157 is up 42% from the previous Season. This means their tikka takka style of play has attracted more supporters to their games, REGARDLESS of results. This coupled with a new stadium deal requiring 11,000/game to break even will mean the Roar might actually turn a profit this season. IMO, Perth will not win the GF this year b/c the Roar r too good, but if they somehow did win, my bet is their average gates next season a will still be in the region of 6-8k. Don't forget, Tony Sage is a business person first and foremost, and sooner or later he will Have had enough of losing money b/c the coaches he has employed have failed to produce a good enough standard which will attract more supporters to the club, and will then give his licence in to the FFA.
Andrew  |  
4 Apr 2012 08:39 AM
 
 
Best of luck from ABu Dhabi , go Glory. Just need to find somewhere to watch the game!
tony  |  
3 Apr 2012 07:13 PM
 
 
Andrew, I have to disagree with your point. Ferguson's tactics have improved the balance of the side no end. We play attacking football that brings results. The problem with most 'fans' in Perth (and I use that term very disparagingly!) is that if a Perth team isn't winning they want to whinge and moan about it but not get behind their team. The quality of football has improved, the standard in the A-League gets better and better. Football is a wonderful sport because of the numerous different tactics teams can play. The EPL wouldnt be half the league it is if all teams played boring tikki-takka style Barcelona football. Football has every tactical nuance under the sun and that is why it is so passionately loved by its true followers around the globe. Andrew - If you don't like the way Glory play, if you don't want to watch a team on the up, if you don't want to watch passionate skillful players 'having-a-go" then please don't come and watch the team play and keep your whining to yourself!!
KP  |  
3 Apr 2012 02:31 PM
 
 
Stephanie, Ive been following football since the late 80's and I can quite clearly recall Perth's entry into the NSL under Nick Tanas ownership. When I discuss the 'glory' days of Perth with fellow supporters, we often refer to the clubs first five years under Marocchi and Stange as coaches. Interestingly, they did not win any Grand Finals in this period yet had the highest avg attendances in the clubs history. This is b/c the 2 coaches mentioned above Produced quality football, even though the competition was at amateur or semi-professional level. Why is it that when D'Avary took over as coach from Stange the crowd avg almost halved, yet he won 2 Grand Finals in his time. Why is it that the crowd averages this season are similar or only slightly above last season, although Ferguson has them finishing 3rd as opposed to second last the season prior. Ferguson can win the next 10 Grand Finals in a row as far as I'm concerned, but his quality of football will still only attract a majority British following of about 6-8k per week and will not be good enough to attract the mainstream Perth population in order to grow the club. With only 1 AFL team to compete with amongst over a million residents, the club has a wonderful opportunity to attract new followers, bit this will not occur with the likes of Ferguson, Mitchell, McMahon or D'Avary at the helm IMO.
Andrew  |  
3 Apr 2012 07:20 AM
 
 
My wife and I have been members of Glory since day one. We never miss a game. Imagine our disappointment when we could not get our usual seats for last Sundays game. We were able to get 2 seats in W10 row B so we were happy with that. Now the bad part. I tried to get seats this morning only to be told I had to go to gate 1 at the ground to get tickets up to 1.00pm. Not all of us members can get to the ground. I started trying to get seats from 1 minute past 1.00pm. The ticketmaster site would only allow me to get General admission tickets at$ 32.00 I phoned Ticketmaster waited 25 minutes to speak to someone. I eventually spoke to Xavier who was BRILLIANT I explained my problem and he checked and told me there were only a few single seats left in W blocks. How come? You have obviously handed out seats to people who are not entitled to the seats booked. So much for loyalty to long standing club members. First time in 8 years we have had something to get excited about we get shafted by the club. WHAT A SHAME
John  |  
2 Apr 2012 05:35 PM
 
 
all this talk about Perth Glory already having qualified for next year's ACL is a bit premature. It will only happen if a) Glory wins the grand final, or b) the AFC keep our qualification spots at 2.5. It is quite possible we may only get the 2 full spots next year - that won't be decided for quite some time.
Matilda Maniac  |  
2 Apr 2012 03:52 PM
 
 
One-man team! You're just a one-man team! Not disputing Smeltz's brilliance but Glory look very ordinari if he's not scoring. They don't have what it takes to win the GF.
King Kevvy  |  
2 Apr 2012 01:10 PM
 
 
Smeltzy will take Glory all the way to the premiership. He's on fire and won't be stopped!
Zac  |  
2 Apr 2012 09:48 AM
 

Stephanie Brantz

Respected journalist and broadcaster Stephanie Brantz has worked with some of the biggest names in Australian sport and is currently host of the Westfield W-League highlights show on ABC TV.