Much of the club’s success has been attributed to the coaching staff. However, behind the scenes, executive chairman, Lyall Gorman, who has occupied a number of senior corporate roles in the last 30 years has methodically planned and implemented the strategy which is the envy of the other A- League clubs.
In this interview, WSBA contributor, Roger Sleeman examines the man behind the Wanderers, the success of the club and its future plans.
RS: What is your background in sport?
LG: I grew up like most Aussie kids playing cricket, rugby league and football at school and with local clubs on the weekend. In 1967, I was graded in football for Corinthians in the NSW State League. After this, I played a high level of competitive sport at amateur level for many years. My background in education involved me in school sports where I did a lot of coaching and I was instrumental in setting up the NSW Combined Independent Schools Sports Council (C.I.S.) for which I subsequently became the CEO. I was fortunate to be invited by the Mariners Board to become the Executive Chairman in 2005 where I remained for six years before running the A- League for two years. When the opportunity arose to command the helm at the Wanderers, I didn’t hesitate.
RS: In hindsight, with the unprecedented success of the Wanderers, why did the FFA wait so long to install an A-League club in Western Sydney?
LG: They didn’t wait because when the A- League commenced there was a franchise awarded in Sydney to Sydney FC and the club had a choice as to where it would operate and they chose Allianz Stadium. On the back of the Crawford Report, a five year exclusivity clause existed where no other team could set up a competing franchise in their area. After the five year period, a provisional eighteen month licence was awarded to the Sydney Rovers who failed to meet the capital requirements and with the demise of Gold Coast United which created a nine team competition, the opportunity for a western Sydney club materialised in April, 2012.
RS: Your supporter base has been one of the major higlights of the recent season. What is the demographic of these supporters?
LG: They represent a vast number of nationalities which reflect the diversity of modern multi-cultural life, representing different occupations from barristers to school teachers and ordinary families who are totally engaged with the western suburbs and their football club.
RS: There have been suggestions from some quarters that your support is a grab for power from some of the ethnic groups which previously supported the former National Soccer League clubs in the west. What is your opinion of this line of reasoning?
LG: This is not the case. If you go round our home games, you will observe a multitude of multinational groups but there is not a dominance of any particular group. There may be many former NSL people following the team but critically they’re all football supporters who now have something to hang their hat on because they now have a team they can call their own for the first time since the end of the NSL in 2004. It’s a strong football area which draws on a catchment of two million people, including numerous state league clubs and seven junior associations who are totally united because they were given the chance to support a holistic brand.
RS: Only the Melbourne Victory has achieved such a strong fan base before the Wanderers. Can you explain?
LG: Victory has certainly been the benchmark on and off the field but now the Mariners with four grand finals in eight years have changed that. Victory have truly focussed on community engagement which encouraged us to conduct seven public forums where we gave ownership to the community about colours, name , coach, style of football and venue. We physically engaged and empowered the community to allow them to be part of the decision making process when the club was in start up mode.
RS: Was the 6-1 home win in round one against the competition leaders, Adelaide United, the turning point for the club?
LG: It was an amazing result but we were competitive from day 1 when we drew 10,000 to Parramatta Stadium and filled the ground for the first derby match against Sydney FC. We had been talking with Tony Popovic that if we played a certain style of football, a result like this would occur and to achieve it against the leaders was a great feat. I do agree that after this we confirmed we were offering a product that people wanted to support and be a part of.
RS: You’ve made more impact on the game in one season, than Sydney has in seven seasons. Why?
LG: To be fair, Sydney FC has achieved by winning two grand finals and this year they had average crowds of 18,000 which was reasonable on the back of the investment in Del Piero However, stability is an issue with seven coaches and seven CEO’S in their A- league history compared to the Mariners who‘ve only had two chairmen and one CEO in the last eight years. Stability is the key to success in professional sport so they must harness some of the gains and retain the supporters they’ve acquired due to the Del Piero factor. Also, we can’t be complacement and must examine our strategies every day or we’ll hit a wall.
RS: Was the selection of the excellent imports a key ingredient to your success?
LG: As coaching standards have improved, so have scouting and recruitment.You can do a global search and remove the risk nine times out of ten of recruiting poor players. Certainly our foreign players have made a big impact on our playing record.
RS: Australians worship their locally produced players in all sports. When will you start to introduce young local talent into your first team, and why aren’t Youth League games played before A- league matches like in all other codes and the former NSL?
LG: We’re only one year young and we have a commitment to developing elite talent pathways and increasing talent identification. Notably, all our youth league players are from the western suburbs because we understand the development of a local pipeline is more economical than buying players. Regarding, the Youth League matches as curtain raisers, it’s merely a matter of cost.
RS: Don’t you think you might attract more spectators if they can see the up and coming players from the Youth League performing on the big stage like the NSL?
LG: Our current research hasn’t indicated that but they may be keen to see a woman’s match as a curtain raiser on match day.
RS: Like Manchester United and Liverpool FC are you going to market the Wanderers brand into Asia?
LG: We’re in the Asian Champions League next season and with Asian icon, Shinji Ono, in the team again next season , we see great commercial opportunities but we don’t want to jump in too quickly.
RS: Are you aligned with Parramatta Leagues Club in anyway or has the club other plans to develop a licensed facility?
LG: We have very good ties with both the Leagues club and Paramatta Eels but there’s no formal agreement. We see within three to five years that we can generate income streams from some form of licensed facility but it’s still early days.
RS: There has been a lot of publicity regarding the possibility of a shareholder scheme available to members. How long away is this?
LG: As you would be aware, the FFA owns one share in the club and the sooner a structure is formed where ownership is taken away from the governing body the better: whether its community ownership, private equity or a combination of both will be the final decision to be made.
RS: Wouldn’t it be offered to the highest bidder?
LG: The highest bidder mightn’t represent the right party to take over the club so a serious caveat would have to be in place to protect the brand equity and to ensure that the current model is retained indefinitely. At the moment our baseline across membership, match day attendance, sponsorship, corporate hospitality and merchandise is very strong so we don’t have to make a hasty decision about future ownership. I firmly believe if we can maintain the current model, this club can become as big as Collingwood, the Broncos or St George Illawarra Dragons.
RS: Thanks so much Lyall.
