WA soccer glory is for all

It has become a strong trend in this office on Monday mornings in summer.

With little or no AFL news - although those days are fewer as the league commands the spotlight with or without a ball being kicked - sports tragics need something else to talk about after the weekend.

In recent years the sports topic du jour during this period has been the English Premier League.

Today was no different.

As soon as a couple of features writers had been scanned through security, they were talking about David Silva's winning goal for Manchester City over Arsenal. Or they were discussing another touch of skill by Wayne Rooney.

And that is a problem for Australian soccer.

Even today, as the game in WA reels from the news broken on thewest.com.au regarding the pending exit of Perth Glory owner Tony Sage, more round-ball aficionados wanted to discuss Tottenham's rise up the EPL totem pole.

That is the biggest challenge facing any owner of an A-League club. No matter what you do, the product you are putting up for punters isn't up to the level of what they can see, via TV, from White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

Why settle for second, or third, best?

Well, for WA soccer, it is the best we have got. But the Glory still haven't been good enough.
However, in recent years the State hasn't felt like the Glory has been its team. That is what happens with private ownership. No matter the financial support provided by philanthropic owners, if the fans can't have a strong input into the club's affairs they feel disenfranchised in times of trouble.

The Glory needs to be a WA team for it to again thrive. The club has to be incorporated in an overall structure for the code across the State for the public to again feel that all-important attachment. They want to see young Sandgropers being given the chance to rise from the backyard to the best possible team this side of the border.

The most successful results in sport are achieved when everyone works for the common goal.

While Perth's A-League team will never be at the top of the world game, the public have to feel as though they are in someway associated with the action.

It still won't be the best. But it is the best the game here can do. And everyone is united in a sense of pride at the outcome.