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Sage, who partly funds Perth Glory Women with Football West has threatened to pull the funding of both the W-League and National Youth League teams.
As one could imagine, the initial reaction has been one of outcry and panic, with the thought of losing another W-League team (Central Coast Mariners pulled out ahead of Season Three, again due to lack of funding) as thoughts of the competition folding and/or the lack of support for women's football come straight to mind.
And although you never want to see a club fold, especially one in a young, developing sport such as women's football, if you can think outside the square, and look around the mainstream view, there is a possibility that the W-League losing Perth Glory might not be as bad as first anticipated; in fact it could even be a benefit.
The most obvious benefit of Perth Glory withdrawing would be the removal of a large chunk of spending needed to send teams on away trips to the West Coast. Flights to Perth are the most expensive in the league, and coupled with accommodation costs for each team (sometimes including two nights if the time zone changeover makes it impossible to fit in the flight after the match) the dollar factor certainly rises when all added up.
The removal of such an expense will mean the league will be concentrated on the East Coast where ease of travel makes the league much more affordable.
Although simply 'saving money' may seem superficial or even appear to be the reasoning of cold-hearted administrators, it's an importance positive that cannot be under-estimated. Running a W-League suddenly becomes much more viable, which can lead to more commitment from owners and helping to seal the long-term security of the clubs and league.
Losing Perth can also lead to some other positive, and quite viable, aspects. The best of which and possibly the most important is that the money saved by their withdrawal could then be put towards solving the biggest criticism of the W-League; the fact it isn't a full home and away season.
As it stands, each club gets to play four teams twice while playing the rest only once - meaning the luck of the draw could have a very big effect on the top four.
This short season is a direct result of having to cut costs; making the league affordable so that it can exist, and while the reasoning is fair enough it does not hide the fact that not being able to play each team home and away is recognised amongst both players and fans as the league's biggest fault.
With the removal of Perth, the team causing the highest cost to the league, there is suddenly room in the budget to spend on something else, and as one less team would mean a six team competition and this would allow a 10 week home and away season to be put in place.
Another minor benefit which would result from the withdrawal of Perth would be the concentration of talent in the remaining teams resulting in a stronger overall competition. With less spots available, teams will be picking the best of the best; meaning each week players will be playing against higher quality opposition, speeding up the development of our players and making them of higher calibre.
This is a point that Glory striker Kate Gill herself acknowledged when asked about the threat of Perth no longer existing. Combined with the potential full home and away season is enough to show that the positives would quite possibly outweigh the negatives if Perth leave.
Realistically, apart from sentimental value the only legitimate reason for keeping Perth Glory in the competition is so that women in Western Australia have a dedicated pathway to elite football; something we can all agree has merit.
Unfortunately though, as it currently stands - Perth isn't playing that role anyway. Since the inception of the Westfield W-League Glory have not exactly been a shining example of the player development model; refusing to provide the team with a competent coach has been the biggest problem.
No matter who is in charge they are adamant that playing long balls as well as constantly shouting at the players from the sideline throughout the match is the way to go. These are outdated tactics and do not result in improved performance, skill enhancement or overall player development. In fact, players have often come away from Perth Glory worse off than when they initially joined.
If the team was successful in bringing talented youth though to the Matildas then there would be a hesitation to accept their withdrawal - but as it stands, they are not doing their job in that regard and don't look to be rectifying the problem.
Since inception, Glory have only brought through one West Australian into the Matildas; Sam Kerr. And while we have to commend them for that as she is a very talented individual, we have to ask why there has only been one when other clubs have supplied above and beyond that.
It is either a case of the talent pool not being in Western Australia in the first place or the club not doing it's duty properly. The talent pool argument seems to dwindle with players such as Kate Gill and Lisa De Vanna coming out of Western Australia before Glory were established while the appointment of coaches determined to play barbaric football makes the club not fulfilling it's duty to be the more likely scenario.
Either way it is not good enough.
While distressing to see clubs and owners not committed to the idea of funding women's football, if we can take the emotion out of losing a W-League club and look at the facts for what they are - it could well be that the Perth Glory women's team pulling out is the best thing they will ever do for the well-being of the Westfield W-League.
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