that's not Kurto yeh?
Hard to gloat, not at all a first WU team. Kurto was about half our team last season!
Surely Durante won't be a starter?
Western United - The Bitumens
that's not Kurto yeh?
Hard to gloat, not at all a first WU team. Kurto was about half our team last season!
Surely Durante won't be a starter?
Quit a trashing. Time for Rudas to create some fake Twitter accounts to steer the narrative.
that's not Kurto yeh?
Hard to gloat, not at all a first WU team. Kurto was about half our team last season!
Surely Durante won't be a starter?
Didn't look convincing in those highlights.
He didn't look that convincing for us. That 5th was classic Durante, caught back peddling and just outpaced.
that's not Kurto yeh?
Hard to gloat, not at all a first WU team. Kurto was about half our team last season!
Surely Durante won't be a starter?
Didn't look convincing in those highlights.
He didn't look that convincing for us. That 5th was classic Durante, caught back peddling and just outpaced.
Jeez, I just watched that. Those goals are horrendous. That doesn't look like a team playing for each other or their coach.
that's not Kurto yeh?
Hard to gloat, not at all a first WU team. Kurto was about half our team last season!
Surely Durante won't be a starter?
Didn't look convincing in those highlights.
He didn't look that convincing for us. That 5th was classic Durante, caught back peddling and just outpaced.
Jeez, I just watched that. Those goals are horrendous. That doesn't look like a team playing for each other or their coach.
Here's hoping!
If we nailed 6 past them on the 13th, Nix fans would go into delirium and rightly so.
This Friday's friendly against @SydneyFC will be streamed live on our Facebook page.
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) September 25, 2019
Details ?#WUFChttps://t.co/URf8EHf1DU
SFC 2 WU 1
SFC 2 WU 1
Thats a much better result.
SFC 2 WU 1
Thats a much better result.
Maybe Sydney are shark this season?
Or maybe they're just pre-season friendlies the results of which mean SFA in the grand scheme of things.
It's official, they got Berisha. I feel sorry for Durante.
Dura v Berisha on the training pitch.
Dura v Berisha on the training pitch.
they'll be best mates by mid season
Dura v Berisha on the training pitch.
they'll be best mates by mid season
Could be interesting at any corners.
We welcome our new CEO of the Football Club, Chris Pehlivanis.#WUFChttps://t.co/jilDzPIbnp
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) October 1, 2019
We welcome our new CEO of the Football Club, Chris Pehlivanis.#WUFChttps://t.co/jilDzPIbnp
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) October 1, 2019
Dura v Berisha on the training pitch.
Apparently Scotty Mac has been a complete cod on the field too; may be interesting. Lots of explosive personalities in that dressing room.
Can we rename this thread the "Son of a Bitumens"? T -7 days and counting.
Diamanti named as WU captain. Interesting - I believe Gulum was captain for pre-season matches?
https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/diamanti-takes-the-armband-532082
We have to beat #Nix
⚠️ Membership offer ⚠️
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) October 29, 2019
Buy a ticketed membership before midnight Friday and receive a complimentary ticket to Saturday's derby against Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium!
Join ? https://t.co/DT0gO7Qw7L #WUFC pic.twitter.com/wiNWvbzsnn
Despite the best efforts of Australian football's relentless rumour mill, the jewel in the crown of the A-League's newest club is coming.
That is, at least, what competition boss Greg O'Rourke firmly believes after catching up this week with Western United powerbrokers, including club chairman Jason Sourasis and chief executive Chris Pehlivanis.
"It's all positive. Now they're in the final preparations for the submission stage," O'Rourke said.
Wyndham City Council director Kate Roffey, who was part of the club's original expansion bid, told this column the project remains totally on track.
So close is the green light for Western United's proposed $150... that O'Rourke has spoken to the club about how to manage the "shovel moment" – as in, who to invite and how to engage media to appropriately cover the turning of the first sod at 1160 Sayers Road in Melbourne's outer west, which will probably happen early in the New Year.
full article https://www.smh.com.au/sport/s...
An update on our new stadium: ? https://t.co/xs91y7jA8X #WUFC #ForTheWest pic.twitter.com/LjfD6Vj8rP
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) December 6, 2019
Western United they stand in soccer’s field of dreamshttps://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/united-they-stand-in-soccers-field-of-dreams/news-story/fab6ed1f0817681c545cf66d8ce0f09bThey’re the trio of 40-something schoolmates from Melbourne’s northwest trying to pull off a first in Australian sports business: a privately owned $180m stadium surrounded and funded by more than 40ha of residential and commercial property.
A-League soccer club Western United have huge plans, and quite a few sceptics who say they will never see a shovel in the ground on what is currently a cow paddock and that the A-League’s newest club is a disaster in the making.
Yet Western United chairman Jason Sourasis is adamant he and his team, who this week marked 12 months since being awarded an A-League licence, have the nous and funds to pull off what would be a groundbreaking Australian sports project.
In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Sourasis reveals for the first time some of the investors behind the fledgling club include prominent AFL footballer and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury, North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell and NBA basketballer Dante Exum.
A-League soccer club Western United have huge plans, and quite a few sceptics who say they will never see a shovel in the ground on what is currently a cow paddock and that the A-League’s newest club is a disaster in the making.
Yet Western United chairman Jason Sourasis is adamant he and his team, who this week marked 12 months since being awarded an A-League licence, have the nous and funds to pull off what would be a groundbreaking Australian sports project.
In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Sourasis reveals for the first time some of the investors behind the fledgling club include prominent AFL footballer and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury, North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell and NBA basketballer Dante Exum.
Along with Sourasis’s fellow club directors John Tripodi and Levent Shevki — the trio attended the Melbourne private school, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar, together — Sourasis and his investors have so far put $30m into Western United.
Eventually at least $100m will be raised in total from wealthy investors and family offices to kickstart a residential property project that will ultimately help underpin the construction of a 15,000-capacity soccer-specific stadium built by construction firm Probuild and designed by architects Populous, all part of a private-public partnership with Wyndham City Council.
In a country where all the big arenas are owned by state authorities bar the AFL’s Marvel Stadium in inner Melbourne, Western United plan within five to six years to control their own stadium, and all the revenues associated with it, and be surrounded by several new apartment blocks, housing lots, a large hotel, commercial office space, shops, bars and parkland.
Sourasis insists the project in Melbourne’s western suburb of Tarneit, about 30km from the CBD, will gain the necessary government planning approvals — and raise sufficient capital — to build a huge mixed-use project with an end value potentially in the billions of dollars on more than 60ha that he hopes to have under construction by the middle of next year.
“We acknowledge the enormity of this project and some people may find it difficult to get their head around it,” Sourasis says.
“The development plan we’ve proposed, and the way we are executing that plan, has not been undertaken before in Australian professional sport. The reality is that projects of this scale are never easy or straightforward. We are well aware of the tight timelines around stadium design and construction, and I’m pleased to say that we are on track and progressing to plan.”
Sourasis and his two fellow directors head the private investment fund that owns 85 per cent of Western United, with founders Steve Horvat, a former Socceroo who is head of football, former KPMG partner Maurice Bisetto and football agent Lou Sticca each holding 5 per cent stakes.
An investment adviser who has made good profits on several commercial property deals in recent years, Sourasis is a one-time owner of a sports management agency who heads Jaszac Investments, which has clients who have invested in sporting, property, marketing and entertainment assets.
Tripodi is the chief executive of the Twenty23 marketing and media agency, which has Eddie McGuire and Paul Dainty among its board members, while Shevki is a commercial lawyer and partner of law firm Cornwall Stodart and director of AFL club Western Bulldogs.
Sourasis says the trio has long either played soccer or been fans of the sport and kept an eye on the A-League as it has grown and more recently hit some significant hurdles. The three were introduced to the investment opportunity before Western United was awarded an A-league licence by Football Federation Australia 12 months ago.
The $30m raised from investors helped pay the $18m expansion fee to FFA and working capital for the current season — during which the club is playing home games in Geelong and Ballarat and is likely to lose at least $5m — and beyond.
While Sourasis and his directors have mostly avoided the limelight in the past year, he says they have been busy behind the scenes working with Wyndham Council, with which they have struck a deal for the parcel of land (he will not reveal terms) and last week achieved a major step with the completion of site inspections including soil tests, fauna and flora and geotech analysis.
Besart Berisha of Western United gets the ball past Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas earlier this month in Geelong, Australia. Picture: Getty ImagesBesart Berisha of Western United gets the ball past Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas earlier this month in Geelong, Australia. Picture: Getty Images
Next comes gaining planning permissions, works permits and finalising a draft masterplan for the precinct. Sourasis says his group will either raise funds to build the project or could sell a stake to a property developer.
That would release funds to build the stadium, which they hope to be in within about three years, and a commercial precinct that could include a hotel, shops, restaurants and bars, as well as a training centre for the club and potentially an indoor sports arena.
If it sounds far-fetched in an Australian context, Sourasis says the Western United group is merely borrowing a model common in the US, where club owners across major sports such as American football, baseball, basketball and soccer own their venues and have developed a range of revenue-generating property projects on surrounding land.
Even so, there have been rumours of cash flow problems that have seen players paid late this season — Sourasis denies this — and that Chinese money or even Middle Eastern investors are ultimately behind the project.
Sourasis says all the investors are Australian, though the original concept was worked on by a Hong Kong consortium before they withdrew from bidding for a licence last year.
Ultimately, Sourasis insists sufficient funding will be raised.
“Football has a long history of naysayers that are driven by their own agendas,” he says. “I acknowledge what we’re attempting is not an easy task, but we are having a go. I would not have involved myself in this transaction if I thought it wasn’t a good deal.”
We understand that Scott McDonald has asked for an immediate release from his contract at @wufcofficial with other players set to follow. Join us tonight from 8pm on #SST to hear the latest.
— Soccer Stoppage Time (@SocStoppageTime) December 16, 2019
Did he refuse Rudan a handshake and now he's on the outer.
There have been reports of financial issues at WU. Could be that the players aren't getting paid.
Which would be great karma for Rudan, but terrible news for the league.
cracks beginning to show behind the scenes? perhaps Rudan is the great man at creating a dream environment after all? Not that he can do much about the players not being paid if that is the case.
There whole bid was based of a lie, I think they will fold in 12 months or unless the new independent HAL clubs bale them out.
There whole bid was based of a lie, I think they will fold in 12 months or unless the new independent HAL clubs bale them out.
The ironly is finding Rudan out of a gig. I would also smuggly giggle at Durante as well.
Last Twiiter post from WUFC is 3 hrs ago. So no defence yet
Rumours help to push advertising clickbait via website banners. Any gossip is a good gossip.
Tony Rallis aka @SocStoppageTime is Rudans agent?
Trouble in paradise?
Tony Rallis aka @SocStoppageTime is Rudans agent?
Trouble in paradise?
That appears to be a bit of an understatement haha. He absolutely unloads on Rudan on this show (skip to 26mins in). They cover the Scott MacDonald thing too. Not a wages story by the sounds.
https://twitter.com/NewEntertainme7/status/1206501340618227714
PS. Long time listener, first time caller. COYN!
Wow unloads on him is an understatement.
Wow unloads on him is an understatement.
Haha wow indeed, the hosts were left literally speechless. He comes across as a likeable guy but there's clearly something not quite right with Rudan. Maybe we dodged a bullet with him leaving after a season and getting Ufuk onboard.
All is not well in the state of Denmark....
Wow unloads on him is an understatement.
Haha wow indeed, the hosts were left literally speechless. He comes across as a likeable guy but there's clearly something not quite right with Rudan. Maybe we dodged a bullet with him leaving after a season and getting Ufuk onboard.
Wow, the guy nails him.
Rudas is a toxic guy, no one should believe anything he says.
They also play boring football, at least they entertain us with their off-field performance.