As the Premier League roadshow moves onto Perth, David Weiner reflects on the last week as debate over the value of these tours continues to surface, along with questions over the way they are promoted, with other codes looking to capitalise on football’s global appeal.
“Where are you going?” “Who are you?” “Let me check.”
It isn’t every day Brisbane Roar’s training venue, alongside Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, is surrounded by beefy security guards on each corner.
While Warren Moon was putting his side through their paces on a glorious Gold Coast morning, Aston Villa officials were sweating on every external move as Gary McAllister laid out his mannequins for Steven Gerrard’s next training session.
This is the Premier League behemoth. And this is their way.
Such is the world of the glamorous pre-season international world tours; with the Premier League bringing their rarefied bubble to the other side of the planet, incongruous in normally more relaxed surrounds. Manchester United alone bring some 150 staff with them, bulldozing into markets across the planet.
Clubs are travelling across the world to “give back to their global fans” – or cash in on commercial opportunities with their travelling cavalcade – while football departments juggle the realities of pre-season punctuated by flights across continents driven by those off-field demands. Australia, despite the distance, is a preferred destination thanks to the climate and facilities, with a conduit to the all important Asian timezone and an engaged Premier League fanbase.
For A-Leagues fans, it is bonus content in the middle of a long off-season, and a great incentive for players at the start of an arduous pre-season. For the rusted-on fans of the travelling clubs, it is a fantasy – able to savour their club in the flesh, and at a normal hour!
Beneath this is the serious business of football. Manchester United have closed off all their training sessions to give Erik ten Hag the platform to lay his foundations. David Moyes, infamously, bewildered United heavies with the way he seemingly underestimated his new side’s gravitas in Sydney on his first tour in 2013. Ten Hag is not making the same mistake as he lays his imprint.
The global football news machine travels with it too. In front of a handful of journalists in Queensland, Jesse Marsch’s pre-emptive comments around Raphinha went viral across the planet. Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence has overshadowed every Manchester United press opportunity. The Melbourne Cricket Ground press box was jam packed, filled with globetrotting reporters from The Athletic across the spectrum to The Sun.
Ten Hag, Gerrard and Marsch are all getting their first pre-seasons with their sides. Double sessions have been in place; Villa players were being put through lung busting paces in the Gold Coast sun in the afternoon after footballing matters in the morning. Emiliano Martinez explained that their Townsville clash came after a double session the day before, and a session on the morning of the match.
“For a lot of these teams that are coming out to Australia, one of the biggest challenges is finding the days to train because, you lose so much to travel games, recovery,” explained Roar assistant Scott Guyett, who returned to Australia last year after a decade running Crystal Palace’s strength and conditioning’s program.
“That’s one of the biggest challenges. I think it’s great bringing the teams out here, but the downside is that you lose so much time to travel.”
He explained: “There is that commercial element to it, of course. And you have to keep that in mind when you plan. So whenever we used to sit down and discuss pre-season, it was always, we’d have the commercial team in, we’d obviously have the manager and sport science medical team.
“It was a joint sort of venture as such. Everyone had to have their say in how it was going to work. The manager’s key. He needs to have enough time on the pitch, first and foremost. But then we’ve got those obligations from a media point of view as well.”
Marsch gave a fascinating insight into his balancing act; when the likes of Daniel James only played 30 minutes against Brisbane, he explained, it was because they were going to get flogged at training the next day.
“I think that what’s been nice is to actually work with the group in a way where we’re not under constant pressure to perform at every weekend or every third day, and we can focus more on our process,” he explained.
“It’s not like we’re starting from square one. We’re starting from square ten maybe, or step ten, and we want to get to step 1000. So I feel like the work’s been really good. Working with this team in this club, it has really brought a lot of passion out of me because the people are so great, the players are so adaptive and eager and hungry.”
He explained: “We’ll play different players who are at different stages right now. So the demands for what’s necessary for each player is a little different. But certainly we want to, again, fitness wise, move each each player along so that we’re closer and closer to 100%. And then also reinforce all of the tactical themes.
“If you look at the end of last year, we were introducing tactical themes, but it was so much about just managing the game to get as many points as we can. And really, I hate that, right! I’m much more about a process and developing a team the right way and I’m less about trying to win right in the moment.
“But relegation demands that you do that. So I’m proud of our team for for the way that they performed. I’m proud of the team for the way they stuck together. And now we need to play a better football and maintain that mentality and belief and commitment from the group. And we will.”
While players get stuck into those training plans, one way the clubs dodge media pressures for them is by bringing out legends as ambassadors to entertain that task. Andy Cole, Brian Robson, Dennis Irwin, Michael Bridges, Tony Dorigo and Ahmed Elmohamady have that role here on this trip.
Aston Villa’s Elmohamady said that the bonding experience of the time away is critical to the dressing room, as much as the tactical and fitness priorities.
“It’s massive,” he said.
“When you get them together, this is the most important thing for the manager as well, especially when the new boys come into the team. So, it’s it’s been great so far.”
While the stars largely kept at arms length, there are also genuine moments of aspiration. Brisbane youngster Jesse Daley bumped into his childhood hero Gerrard at their Gold Coast training HQ. Veteran Jack Hingert described himself as a “kid again”. Jerseys are swapped and veterans like Jay O’Shea, and Tommy Aldred, are enjoying the chance to test themselves against opposition they probably thought they left behind when they moved across the planet.
Moon and Marsch, meanwhile, had a genuine exchange of ideas in his office, including discussing the challenges of building sides in Australian and American football.
“What stood out was his interactions with us on a human level,” Moon said.
“He took time…to talk to our staff and casually chat and spend a great deal of time in our offices yesterday. We really appreciate that.”
For the likes of Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory, these matches present fabulous stages – also requiring tests of character, as well as ability, given the timing of the matches out of season.
Speaking on Network 10, Mark Bosnich, who played for two of the touring sides, Manchester United and Aston Villa, said: “In terms of us, as a sport, sometimes we’re a little bit insecure…
We have our place in the world, we know where it is and it is why these games are so important.
“These are amongst the best teams…in one of the best leagues in the world and it is good to have a yardstick…
“(When Celtic and Everton come in November) maybe we will see a little bit different in terms of going and having a bit of ambition going forward from Sydney or Western Sydney Wanderers. Let’s do a little bit better, step by step.”
Indeed, youngsters like Luke Ivanovic, Henry Hore and Daley got to get a whiff of the levels to which they aspire, and beyond, admitting the movement and intensity, even in pre-season, was eye catching.
The clubs can also build momentum following the arrivals of Nani and Charlie Austin – both of whom seem acutely aware of the responsibilities and opportunities of their elevated status – while the Isuzu UTE A-League finds itself in the middle of the global football ecosystem.
For Australian football, these tours need to be about embracing and harnessing being a contemporary in the global game, not embarrassed by it. Indeed, the players do get that; the youthful enthusiasm in the competition for jersey swaps after the matches is indicative of that.
“We’re realistic what this is, a pre-season game albeit against high profile opposition, which we were delighted to play – it is a big buzz for the club, the fans and even the staff,” Moon explained.
Like with the All Stars against Barcelona, perhaps those who saw the way Brisbane rallied against Leeds might take a second look next time a Roar fixture pops up.
Or the millions – literally, millions – who have watched Ben Folami set up Chris Ikonomidis to score against Manchester United might think differently about the domestic league, especially those who arrived in the stadium with red eyes only.
“I think we gave them a good show tonight,” captain Tommy Aldred said after the Leeds game. “Not just Brisbane, but the A-League itself. A lot of positives moving forward for us.”
Ikonomidis said: “It showed that we can score against clubs like that and builds a bit of respect for the A-League – shows that there are good quality, talented players who work hard and can compete with elite athletes like that.”
At times, these tours can be a bit of a travelling circus. Marcus Rashford is talking about Tim Tams. Leeds United pose with the Wallabies. Philippe Coutinho is cuddling a koala. For the states the are part of the initiatives, it draws tourism dollars – a surprising amount have even made the way from the UK for the adventure as well.
It doesn’t help when a sporting ecosystem, that has railed against the local domestic competition suddenly become sycophants, grovelling for media and social exposure when the global powerhouses roll in.
The A-Leagues clubs need to be a part of the marketing and promotion, and not just the sideshow, so that when the Premier League roadshow moves on, there is some tangible flow on, for example, through memberships, awareness and media coverage.
Nevertheless, 70,000 fans turning out – twice – to relatively meaningless games in the off-season, featuring one of our own, is just another reminder of the football force to be harnessed, and leveraged; for a social media imprint to be built on, and re-targeted. No other game offers that.
