New Team for Western Sydney

OK, admittedly I'm horribly behind on A-League matches, but I'll catch up soon.

Anyway, in the mean time, Western Sydney have *finally* been granted an A-League license for the 2012-13 season, which kicks off in 6 months time.

There is a lot of optimism for this side, due to the huge amount of talent present in what is known as "football's heartland in Australia", but also a lot of pessimism following the failiure of the Sydney Rovers franchise, which fell apart before it could even begin a couple of years ago.

This coupled with the speed it seems the decision was made have made many people unsure about the viability of the side. Indeed the TV contract renewals are up soon, and the league needs that all important 10th side (assuming GCU drop out) to ensure they get a good deal. Toss that in with the possibility of 3 Sydney derbies each season, and you can hear the A-League bosses licking their lips.

I hope this AU$8m investment in men's football in the area from PM Julia Gillard works. It'd be great to see another derby match following the success of the Melbourne franchises. It also has a further AU$1m for the development of the women's game in NSW - essentially setting up a Western Sydney side in the W-League.

I'm not sure if this means there will definitely not be a Canberra side - I hope there is, I come from a country with a lot of teams in each league, so having 10 - or 11 - sides in the league seems silly to me. I know they teams have to be viable, but seriously, get some good derbies going. Stars like Lucas Neill and Scott Chipperfield have also expressed interest in the expansion side - Marquee players anyone? Presumably they'll be playing in Parramatta stadium, which for those of you not in the know (I just looked this up) was the home of Parramatta Power, an old NSL side. 21,000 capacity...It'd be nice to see it filled, and the community spirit in Western Sydney is strong (so I'm told), so I think this will be a good addition to the league.

I'll keep y'all posted, now on to some match reports.