Attacking football will be the focus of the new Sydney club says new executive chairman Lyall Gorman.
Former Head of the Hyundai A-League and now executive chairman of the new Sydney Club Lyall Gorman may be getting less sleep then he is used to, but if the result is a healthy strong club that plays attacking football then he believes he will have done his job.
Gorman revealed in an exclusive interview that his aim is to provide western Sydney with a club who play attacking football at any cost, whilst also engaging the community and making the community proud of them, as well as maintaining a good reputation, saying no matter how good the footballer, he would not be signed if he was not a “good person”.
“On a daily basis, domestically and internationally, we are being contacted by players and player agents who want to become a part of the club, and expressing great excitement about the opportunity to be part of the birth of something new and becoming part of a club that is in the football heartland of Australia,” Gorman said.
“We have then got to take the time to work through that and make sure we give the club the best birth possible, and the integral part of that from a recruitment point of view is that whether it be a player or staff member is that they fit the culture of the club.
“The very first question Tony and I ask each other when looking at players is ‘are they good people?’
“After we ask the question of whether they are they good people, we have to ask ‘do they fit the playing style-? And that playing style will be one very much of attacking crowd-pleasing, entertainment-based football.
“ We want to be playing with an attitude of winning. We would rather win or lose 4-3 then draw nil-all.”
The focus on attacking football has been brought about thanks largely to the wishes of those fans who attended fan forums throughout Sydney-s west and had their say on what they wanted to see from the new club, proof that this club is being built on strong community roots.
Gorman suggesting all the important decisions will see the thoughts of football fans carefully considered and that some of the announcements about the future of the club will be coming shortky.
“There are a lot of ducks you need to get in a row around branding,” Gorman said.
“We have done the seven fan forums in the western Sydney area and we want to honour the commitment we made to build this club from the bottom up through the people.
“And that is the major focus for us at the moment, getting all the feedback from those forums and the online survey we have had which has given us feedback on things like culture, colours, team name and preferred venue and playing styles.
“When it comes to announcing colours, venue and branding we will look to do that in the next two-three weeks.”
One question on the lips of many might be will the club sign a marquee player? Especially with someone like Carlos Hernandez now on the open market, but Gorman insists marquee players are not necessarily the biggest focus.
“It-s not in the current plan,” he said.
“You never say no to those sorts of things but the fundamental principal here is that we will have a squad of 21-23 and every single player will be integral to the success of that squad rather than trying to build the club around one player”.
Nor will the club be built on shaky foundations, with Gorman adamant the key is making sure the football club is still going strong long after he and inaugural head coach Tony Popovic are gone and that has become his immediate focus.
“The immediate focus is putting in place the foundations that will ensure the club-s ultimate future.
“We-re not going in with false expectations, I can tell you anyone we engage in this club has absolute focus on success and nothing else.
“If we can get that framework in place and surround ourselves with the best possible people and the best possible strategic partners, getting all that infrastructure in place and sitting above that is being able to articulate the decisions around the club and the core values.”
