Perth Glory

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**Perth Glory Football Club** is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia.[1] Founded in 1995, Perth Glory is one of three A-League clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL). Glory entered the A-League competition for the inaugural 2005–06 season, eight years after the club's formation in 1995.[2] Perth won three league Premierships and two Championships in the NSL.

The club plays at Perth Oval, currently also known as *nib Stadium*, with a seated capacity of 20,500. A youth team competes in the National Youth League. A women's team competes in the W-League. Both the youth and women's team play at various locations across Perth, most played at Ashfield Reserve and nib Stadium.

## History

### Background, 1977–95

Perth first showed interest in joining the National Soccer League
 (NSL) prior to its inaugural year in 1977. However, a series of
logistical problems and financial concerns meant that the league was not
 keen to include a Western Australian (WA) side. While the state
representative side continued to perform well in national and
international cup competitions, WA continued to be unrepresented at a
senior club level until 1994.[3]

In 1994, a group of businessmen led by Joe Claudio formed the Perth Kangaroos IFC. The club competed in the 1994 Singapore Premier League along with the Darwin Cubs.
 At the time, there were visions of establishing an Asia-Pacific Super
League which could become a sporting and financial empire in the east.
It turned out to be something of a farce. The Kangaroos finished the
league season undefeated and easily won the Singapore league title.
However, with dwindling support and resources, the experiment proved to
be a financial disaster and Perth Kangaroos IFC soon folded.[4]

### Early seasons, 1995–98

On behalf of
myself and my board, we thank you and WA for your years of patience, and
 we invite you to celebrate with us the birth, of what will be a very
exciting future for Western Australian soccer.

In 1995, another consortium led by Nick Tana made a bid for entry into the National Soccer League. Perth Glory was subsequently licensed to join the 1996–97 NSL season
 and on 1 December 1995 the club was officially launched. From a
relatively unheralded start, the club would develop beyond all
expectations and help commercially re-establish Association football in a state where Australian rules football dominates the media and Rugby league was commercially about to fail.

Former Adelaide City player and Perth Kangaroos coach Gary Marocchi
 was appointed coach for the first two seasons and won many fans with
his bold, attacking style. Initially believed to be nothing more than a
token participant, Perth surprised many by only just missing the cut for
 the finals; finishing 7th and 8th in 1996–97 and 1997–98 respectively.
The exciting style of "you score three, we score four" drew fans –
including many British expatriates.

Players like NSL-title-winning sweeper Vinko Buljubašić, Perth-based striker Bobby Despotovski and young local star Vas Kalogeracos were brought into the team and achieved cult status. New Zealand international Gavin Wilkinson was also signed while local midfielder Gareth Naven was appointed captain.

In their first match in the NSL, Perth Glory lost to Sydney Olympic 4–1, with veteran Scot Alan MacKenzie scoring the first goal for Glory and Doug Ithier
 winning the first Man-of-the-Match award. Large crowds and good results
 soon followed with an exciting win over defending champions the Melbourne Knights thrilling a huge crowd.

Glory needed only a point in their final match of the season but were defeated by the Knights
 and fell just short of making the finals. Glory midfielder Paul
Strudwick was sent off during the match in controversial circumstances
while trouble in the crowd also marred the match.

In the 1997–98 season, despite again narrowly missing the top six and signing more high-profile players like Ernie Tapai, Danny Hay and Nigerians Samson Siasia and Peter Anosike it was a disappointing season for the Glory.

### Stange era, 1999–2001

Fan support was further consolidated in the era of Bernd Stange. The former East German
 national coach became a media star after replacing Gary Marocchi who
was sacked and finally took the team into the competition playoffs. The
success of the team created record attendances along with record
exposure in the local media. During Stange's reign, Glory competed in
its first-ever NSL Grand Final in 1999–2000 after having already won the League championship.

In his first season, Stange had taken Glory to their first ever
finals series the previous season and had fallen in the preliminary
final against Sydney United. With new signings John Markovski and Con Boutsianis fitting straight into the side, local player Jamie Harnwell
 started to develop into a key defender and made the step to replace the
 injured Vinko Buljubašić. Unfortunately a horror form slump at the
height of summer denied the Glory a top two place but massive crowds
still attended their two home finals at the WACA Ground against Adelaide City and Marconi Stallions.

The following year, Glory recruited young players Ivan Ergić, Jason Petković and Olyroo Kasey Wehrmann. The 1999/2000 grand final is remembered as one of the most thrilling matches in NSL history. Earlier in the Championship Playoff series, Perth had narrowly beaten the Wollongong Wolves
 in a two-legged Major Semi Final – needing a dramatic 80th-minute
penalty and goal in extra time to advance (Ergić drew the penalty and
scored the golden goal). In the grand final, Perth again faced the Wolves and led 3–0 at half time against a miserable Wolves outfit; thinking the game was won, Stange substituted key Glory players Scott Miller, Bobby Despotovski and Ivan Ergić. Yet, the Wolves
 rallied superbly and Perth experienced a series of defensive blunders
to be pegged back to 3–3 at full-time. Perth subsequently lost on
penalties, but this defining moment galvanised the team and would be a
motivating force for years to come. James Afkos, a young defender and
son of Glory co-owner Paul Afkos saw his penalty saved, which gave the
win to the Wolves. The Wolves side also featured players such as Scott Chipperfield, Sašo Petrovski as well as Matt Horsley and Stuart Young
 who would go on to play with the Glory in later years. The loss was a
crushing blow to Glory but the team had done well despite problems
Stange had with stars such as Vas Kalogeracos and Con Boutsianis
 who had both left the club. Stange had also been told midway through
the season that his contract would not be renewed—but well-organised
supporter protest and media pressure forced Tana to change his mind and
publicly announce the U-turn before a home match against the Canberra Cosmos.

In spite of the loss, Stange was popular with the public but his
time had come by the end of the 2000/01 season. Glory was too
inconsistent during the season, suffering from more player disharmony
involving Stange's tactics, and falling just short of a top-two spot.
Glory had at times played good attacking football but proved unable to
do so consistently.

In the finals series the Glory once again came up against the Melbourne Knights and drew 0–0 in Melbourne despite having Jamie Harnwell sent off. Following the match Melbourne Knights fans attacked the team and their bus as they tried to leave Sunshine Stadium. It is believed that the fans were angered by a Serbian salute made by Bobby Despotovski towards Melbourne Knights fans, a club who traditionally has a large Croatian support base.

In the return leg Glory were eliminated following a 2–2 draw. The Knights had gone into an early lead with goals in slippery conditions before two late goals to the Glory but it wasn't enough with the Knights winning through the away goal rule. Despite signing high-profile recruits such as Damian Mori (who had formed a prolific partnership with Bobby Despotovski up front) and Brad Maloney while also holding onto young star Ljubo Miličević the Glory had underachieved and Stange was sacked by Nick Tana.

### D'Avray era and end of NSL, 2001–04

Despite the flair of Stange's reign, it would take the more tactical approach of Mich d'Avray
 to finally win the NSL Championship. While less flamboyant than his
predecessor, d'Avray successfully transformed the team with a different
strategy to the previous coaches. The attacking 5–3–2, which saw almost
as many goals conceded as scored, was replaced with a 4–4–2. Some may
argue that the team began to play a less attractive form of the game,
but nobody could argue with the results. In 2001/2, the team nearly went
 the entire season undefeated with a side that only had former Adelaide City
 midfielder Brad Hassell as a major addition. After scraping through in
the second leg of the major semi final against Newcastle, Glory faced Sydney Olympic in the grand final at a sold-out Subiaco Oval.
 While the 2000 Final was one of the great games of domestic Australian
association football, the 2002 final was a tight and tense affair with
Glory hardly getting a shot on target due to the fact that they lacked
any bite in the midfield and had their two strikers marked out of the
game. Ante Milicic
 was on target for Olympic though and his goal early in the second half
was enough for Olympic to win 1–0 and break the hearts of Glory fans
once again.

Maloney left the club at the end of the 2002 season but his
replacement proved to be a key in Glory finally getting that elusive
title. German midfielder Andre Gumprecht
 was brought into the club thanks to Stange and made an instant impact.
With the NSL disintegrating around them, Glory and Olympic were the only
 two semi-decent teams still left in the league to galvanise their
midfield and fought it out for top spot all season. Glory missed out on
the league title, finishing one point behind Olympic. In March 2003, the
 NSL stripped the club of three points after ruling that Gumprecht had
been played before he had been registered.[5] Glory picked up Socceroo Simon Colosimo
 halfway through the season and eventually won the right to host the
2003 Grand Final after coming out on top of a new, confusing and
convoluted league table finals format that had dragged a poor season
out. In the Grand Final Glory took the game to Olympic and following a
headed goal from in the first half from Harnwell it was all over late in
 the match when Mori saw his shot dribble over the line in dramatic
fashion. 2–0 was the end result and d'Avray had delivered the Grand
Final victory Glory had yearned for.

In the final NSL season in 2003–04, Glory only had Parramatta Power as a huge threat with the Western Sydney club buying up big for the season. Players like Fernando Rech, Michael Beauchamp and Ante Miličić
 were brought in along with Glory midfielders Gumprecht and Colosimo in
what seemed to be a huge blow to the champions. In response to the
plundering of their engine room d'Avray signed up Sydney Olympic title
winners Tom Pondeljak, Wayne Srhoj and Jade North while also getting former Socceroo defender and West Australian Shaun Murphy back from the United Kingdom.

In a season where Glory again went head to head with a team from
Sydney, Parramatta beat the Glory at home 4–2 and then away 2–0 to host
the final ever NSL Grand Final. Glory thrashed Adelaide United in the preliminary final and faced Parramatta at Parramatta Stadium
 to try and go for back to back victories. In pouring rain, Parramatta
were brought down to the level of their opponents and scrapped for every
 ball in a match devoid of many chances. Mori wasted two sitters before
young striker Nick Mrđa nailed a shot past Clint Bolton to claim the golden goal and win the match for Glory and their second NSL title.

In the 2005–06 season d'Avray was the Glory's director of football but after the club decided to hire the coaching services of Ron Smith and David Mitchell his services where no longer wanted within the club for the 2006–07 season.

It was around 2001 that the league showed signs of significant
deterioration. A combination of central mismanagement, conflicts of
interest and poor sponsorship would eventually lead to a government
inquiry and the removal of the leadership of Soccer Australia. Eventually, the relaunched and renamed Football Federation Australia announced the creation of the A-League in 2005. The financial backing and business nous of chairman Nick Tana
 had ensured the viability and success of the club during the earlier
dire times – and ensured it a place in the future of the game in
Australia.

### First season in the A-League, 2005–06

In 2005, former Liverpool and England star Steve McMahon was appointed as coach. The 2005–06 season saw a complete overhaul of the playing squad, with Simon Colosimo and former Sunderland and Leeds striker Brian Deane as key signings. Other notable signings included future young stars Nick Ward and Billy Celeski. Early results in friendlies against local opposition were not great, but Perth became the first team to defeat Sydney FC, winning 1–0 in the semi-final of the 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup before losing in the final 0–1 to the Central Coast Mariners. Perth's woeful recruiting strategy was soon evident with the early departure of star import Brian Deane after seven games. Another McMahon recruit, Northern Ireland junior international Neil Teggart, quit the club prior to the start of the regular season. Deane was replaced by Damian Mori,
 a former Perth Glory striker. Originally on a three-game temporary
contract, after some impressive performances Mori stayed for the rest of
 the season and finished with seven goals. However, the club continued
to be dogged by problems which would only be later revealed to the
public. Steve McMahon was subject to constant media criticism over his coaching style and was accused of nepotism by signing his son, Steve McMahon Jr,
 who was of questionable talent. Rumours also surfaced that players were
 planning to stage a revolt against the coach. On 7 December, the club
reported that the parties had "amicably" chosen to go separate ways.[6] On 9 December 2005, the club announced that assistant coach Alan Vest would move into the head coach role for the remainder of the season, with striker Damian Mori taking on a dual role as player-coach after being named as his assistant.[7]
 The coach's departure was merely a symptom of deeper troubles. Poor
performances saw Perth miss out on qualification for the finals for the
first time since 1998. Dwindling support from chairman Nick Tana,
 as he looked to sell his 75 percent stake in the club, seemed to
underpin a general decline in club fortunes. After the Round 20 match
against Sydney FC, Alan Vest
 hinted that the current player group were incapable of achieving
anything better and stated that "cliques" had been formed undermining
club harmony. To cap off a bad season, Western QBE announced they were withdrawing as major sponsor after being associated with the club for 8 years.

### Ownership troubles, 2006–09

On 1 May 2006, Football Federation Australia relieved owner Nick Tana of ownership and management of Perth Glory.[8] The 2006–07 season saw a host of changes. In July 2006, Australian international Stan Lazaridis signed a two-year deal.[9] This was quickly followed by the appointment of Ron Smith as head coach and Michelle Phillips as CEO on 26 July.[10] Unfortunately, star youth player Nick Ward did not honour his two-year contract and defied the advice of the FFA and left for Queens Park Rangers in England.[11]
 In a major bonus for the Glory, longtime partner and sponsor Western
QBE Insurance gave a show of faith and signed on as the club's major
sponsor in round 18, until the end of the 2007–2008 season. Western QBE
had previously been sponsor of the club since 1998, but decided against
resigning a deal at the start of the 2006–2007 season, leaving the
Glory in a very tough situation- without any sponsor or owners. But in
December 2006, signs were shown that owners had been found by the FFA,
and so Western QBE were reinstated.

The FFA (holders of the Perth Glory licence) announced on 23
February 2007 that the Glory was to be handed over to a triumvirate of
owners: Tony Sage, Brett McKeon and John Spence. This announcement ended almost a year of uncertainty.[12]
 The new Glory owners were ambitious in their plans, bringing new hope
to a club that was somewhat poor, both off the field and on, in 2007–08 season.

On 2 March, it was announced that former Perth Glory players Anthony Danze and Billy Celeski had rejoined the club, along with new signings Dino Djulbic and AIS graduate Jimmy Downey. It was also announced that Naum Sekulovski had agreed to a new one-year deal with the Glory. On 21 March, Perth Glory announced the signing of former Perth SC and Young Socceroos Goalkeeper Tando Velaphi. This was followed on 27 March with the signing of Nikita Rukavytsya, also from Perth SC. Nikolai Topor-Stanley joined the club after Sydney FC's Asian Champions League campaign finished. On 19 May, Perth Glory announced that Milton Keynes Dons F.C. winger Nick Rizzo had signed a two-year deal with the club. On 24 May, the signing of little-known Croatian striker Mate Dragičević was announced. Dutch veteran Michael Mols was expected to sign as a Glory player for the 2007–08 season but rejected the offer to sign for Feyenoord. Hayden Foxe and Mitchell Prentice were later added to the squad, and the signing of striker James Robinson
 was also completed. Probably the biggest coup for the Glory for the
2007–08 season was the signing of a one-year sponsorship deal with Singapore listed steel manufacturer Delong Holdings, worth A$750,000, one of the biggest in the A-League, who featured on the back of the Glory jersey. On the front of the Glory jersey, long-serving major sponsor Western QBE signed a one-year deal worth A$500,000, with an option of two years after that.

In the 2007 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup,
 the Glory surprised many by making the Final against Adelaide despite
not playing a single game in WA. In the first round in Port Macquarie,
Glory beat Newcastle United Jets FC
 1–0 to lead group B from the outset. In the second round, in Adelaide,
Glory took the lead through young sensation Nikita Rukavytsya, but were
held to a draw by United after a 35-metre wonder strike from Reds
defender Cassio. Going into the final group game, against Premiers and
champions Melbourne Victory FC,
 Perth needed a positive result to progress to the Final. In Darwin, in
what the FFA designated as a home game, Melbourne scored first through
Costa Rican sensation Carlos Hernández,
 a 35-meter cracker. But the Glory equalised and then took the lead
through goals from Harnwell and Nikita Rukavytsya. Unfortunately in the
other game, United thrashed unfortunate Newcastle, who had to settle for
 third place in the group, by 4 goals to 1, meaning Glory would have to
face Central Coast, winners of the other group and in ominous form on
the back of two wins and a draw. Glory, however, played amazingly well
and were victors 3–2 in Gosford. Unfortunately, again United beat their
opponents Queensland by 3 goals to two in an absolute cracker of a game,
 meaning United would host the Grand Final. This was Perth's second
chance at the Pre-Season silverware in the A-League. Prior to the match,
 Socceroo Simon Colosimo was handed the captaincy and the job of
steering Perth back to former Glory. Perth eventually lost after leading
 for a large part of the match, again to a Cassio wonder strike, the
final score being 2–1 to United. Many people put this down to the travel
 that the squad endured throughout the campaign for the laps in the last
 20 minutes.

The new league season started poorly though for the Glory,
winless after 12 rounds and attracting only four-figure attendances. As a
 result, Ron Smith came under increasing pressure from fans and the media to deliver results. The team struggled to score goals, with Mate Dragičević
 in particular becoming a figure of derision. Glory legend Bobby
Despotovski publicly called for Smith to be replaced, and on 4 November
Smith was sacked as manager. David Mitchell
 was handed the caretakers role for the rest of the season. The bold new
 era of Perth Glory began the same day, when it was announced the Glory
were forming a strategic alliance with English Premier League club Manchester City.
 Results and crowds immediately picked up. A 4–1 thrashing of Newcastle
in Mitchell's debut match bode well for times ahead, with Glory's first
win at home in a year against Melbourne and Glory's first-ever win over
Sydney. Mitchell won four and drew two of the remaining 10 games of the
2007–8 season. The club's playing staff drew controversy as the season
ended, with news that Simon Colosimo had agreed to join Sydney FC at the end of the season. The story was published in the Sunday Times newspaper and resulted in Colosimo being jeered by sections of the Shed crowd during the round 18 loss to Queensland Roar. Colosimo later strongly denied any deal was done, but admitted that the crowd response made him less likely to stay at Perth. [1]
 Colosimo was dropped for the final two games of the year for "tactical
reasons". He completed his move to Sydney FC at the end of the season.

The 2008–09 season
 preparations began much earlier than past seasons, with Perth Glory
going on a three-game tour of China in March, consisting of matches
against Changchun Yatai, Changsha Ginde and Guangzhou. The tour was used as an opportunity for the club to assess potential signings, including state league players Josip Magdić (Floreat Athena), Mark Lee,
 (footballer, now coach at Pro Football Training) (ECU Joondalup),
Callum Roberts (Fremantle) and Marc Anthony (Stirling Lions). Eugene Dadi, whose mooted move to the Glory last season was stalled due to Hapoel Acre's
 refusal to release him, also made the trip. The Glory lost all three
matches; the first match went to Changchun 3–0, the second match to
Changsha 2–0 and Guangzhou won the final game 3–1. Callum Roberts scored
 the Glory's only goal on the tour. Perth Glory also made four new
signings in their off-season. Eugene Dadi was granted release from his former club to sign for Perth Glory.[2][*permanent dead link*] Adriano Pellegrino and Adrian Trinidad joined the club in early May.[3][4][*permanent dead link*] Jimmy Downey also had his contract extended by a further year. Josip Magdić and Naum Sekulovski had also re-joined the Glory for season 2008/09. Stan Lazaridis
 is the most notable departure, having been told by the club he is no
longer required after two seasons hampered by injury, suspension and
poor form. In July 2008, Glory announced the signing of Brazilian
international midfielder Amaral. The defensive midfielder has played with some of the great clubs around the globe including Brazilian giants Palmeiras and Corinthians, perennial Portuguese championship contenders Benfica and successful Italian Serie A outfits Parma and Fiorentina. He has also represented Brazil 31 times during a long and successful career before joining Perth on their pre-season tour of Indonesia.[13] Glory had been keeping a close eye on youngsters Scott Bulloch (Sorrento), Anthony Skorić (Western Knights) and Andrija Jukić (Perth SC) who were all up and coming players in the WA State league. Bulloch signed with the Glory's senior team in August, while Skorić and Jukić joined Glory's Youth Team. In September, Wayne Srhoj
 returned to Australia after five seasons in Romania, to sign with the
Glory for the rest of the season. Perth finished the season in 7th
place, with 22 points. Glory once again started the season poor, though
they did however finish the second half of the season strongly, winning 4
 matches and drawing 3, securing 15 points in the last 11 rounds since
November. In November, Head Coach Dave Mitchell signed a contract
extension securing his services till the end of the 2010/11 season.[14]
 Mitchell's contract extension, despite Glory's slow start, showed the
new direction Glory's club was heading, of vision, but built on stable
foundations. Promising signs on and off the field were shown this season
 and things progressed further with Tony Sage taking sole ownership of
the club at season's end.[15]

### Back to Glory, 2009–10

Former
 Perth Glory co-owner Brett McKeon sold his shareholding in the club to
Tony Sage in February 2009, making Sage the sole owner of the club.
Following this Sage has invested money into the club for the 2009–10 season including a number of wholesale changes to operations, marketing, players and staff.[16] As part of Glory's pre-season campaign, the club hosted English Premier League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Fulham FC as well as new A-League franchise North Queensland Fury
 for friendly matches in Perth in July. Although Glory went down 1–0 and
 5–0 to Wolverhampton and Fulham respectively the event was a success
attracting an average of 13,000 fans to Perth Oval
 for both matches. Perth Glory continued their pre-season in Mandurah
with a 1–0 victory against North Queensland Fury featuring Fury's
marquee signing Robbie Fowler. For season 2009–10, Perth Glory have undertaken an overhaul of the club badge and playing kit, which includes vertical white and purple stripes on their home kit for the first time in the club's history.[17] Tony Sage's promise to invest in the club by spending the full amount of money on players allocated under the A-League's salary cap rule had eventuated with the club making key signings. Victor Sikora was signed in February 2009[18] following a short term stint at Glory on loan from FC Dallas
 during the latter part of the 2008–09 A-League season. Further
international players were added to the squad with Serbian striker Branko Jelić signed on a 3-year deal from Energie Cottbus[19] and Englishman Andy Todd joining from Derby County.[20]
 Following up on an early season promise by Tony Sage to sign Socceroo
players, Perth Glory have successfully secured the services of Jacob Burns.[21] In June 2009, in a bold move to attract attention for 2010 FIFA World Cup selection, Mile Sterjovski joined the club on a marquee contract,[22] while Chris Coyne also announced his intentions by returning to his hometown club.[23] Perth Glory's first match of the 2009–10 A-League season was played away at Hindmarsh Stadium against Adelaide United on 7 August 2009. This was the first season that Perth made the finals series.

### Ferguson era, 2010–13

At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, Perth signed ex-North Queensland Fury manager Ian Ferguson as the assistant coach, despite rumours circulating that Ferguson and new Glory signing Robbie Fowler had a bad working relationship whilst at North Queensland Fury. After the resignation of David Mitchell, he became the head coach on 12 October 2010.[24]
 Glory signed veteran Jamie Harnwell to a new one-year deal for the
2010–11 season. The club also went on to sign Perth products Jamie Coyne and Todd Howarth to contract extensions, before signing left-back Josh Mitchell and striker Michael Baird, who had played together for Romanian club Universitatea Craiova.[25] On 27 April 2010, it was announced that Fowler had agreed to become part of Glory's squad for the 2010–11 A-League season.[26] Fowler reportedly rejected offers from Middle East clubs to stay in Australia after enjoying his time in the country.[27]
 After an initial strong start to the season as equal-top after a 5-game
 undefeated streak, Glory lost four matches in a row forcing David Mitchell to step down as coach, assistant coach Ian Ferguson became his replacement.[28]
 After the managerial change, Glory lost another game 3 games, to make
it 7 losses consecutively. Glory finished second last in the season
after losing their last 5 games.

Perth Glory's 2011–12 season
 featured several high-profile signings with Ian Ferguson signing a
large number of overseas and local players including former Adelaide
United player Travis Dodd, former Gold Coast United players including Dutch international Bas van den Brink, NZ international Shane Smeltz, Brazilian player Andrezinho, Irish international Liam Miller and former Ireland U21 player Billy Mehmet. Several players were let go including Robbie Fowler and Jamie Coyne. In the pre-season, Perth glory played Scottish giants Celtic FC in front of 15,000 fans; however Glory lost 2–0, Perth ended their Pre-Season campaign with a 2–2 draw against Sydney FC. Perth Glory's first match was against Adelaide United at nib Stadium which they won 1–0. They later went on to defeat Wellington Phoenix
 1–0, to make it three in a row, Glory again slumped, winning one out
of their last 9 matches including 7 defeats. With pressure mounting on
coach Ian Ferguson, on 19 December 2011, Glory Owner Tony Sage threatened to leave the club at the end of the season,[29] however, after apologising and dismissing his threats as an emotional outburst,[30]
 Glory went out to win 9 of their last 15 and finished 3rd on the ladder
 and qualified for the finals for the second time in their A-League
history. Glory's finals series kicked off with a 3–0 victory over Melbourne Heart
 in a match at nib stadium. The semifinal was against their rivals
Wellington at nib stadium, Glory won 3–2 in extra time. Glory then went
to Bluetongue Stadium to play Central Coast Mariners in a Preliminary final, Glory won 1–1 (3–5) on penalties and for the first time in A-League history Perth Glory were in a Grand Final. Against Brisbane Roar, in front of 50,334 people at Suncorp Stadium Perth went up 1–0 however Brisbane's Besart Berisha equalised at the 84th minute, Brisbane roar won in the dying seconds of the game after a controversial penalty. Jacob Burns was awarded the Joe Marston Medal for player of the match after it was accidentally awarded to Brisbane player Thomas Broich.[31]

For the 2012–13 season the Perth Glory owner, Tony Sage, put several players on reduced deals in order to save money.[32] However some players, such as Andrezinho and Scott Neville, did not accept the offers. Perth Glory also embarked on signing youth,[33] players Chris Harold and Adrian Zahra were signed, while Brandon O'Neill and Ndumba Makeche were promoted from the youth squad. Perth Glory also won the Grand Final re-match, One goal to Nil, in Round One of the season to hand "revenge"[34] to the Rado Vidošić led Brisbane Roar. A string of poor performance throughout the season saw Ian Ferguson sacked and replace by former Perth Glory player Alistair Edwards. The club would then produced a string of good performance to make the finals before being eliminated at the hands of Melbourne Victory 2–1.

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, the club decided to dedicate the number 12 shirt to the fans by not registering it to a player and having it listed as 'Glory Fans' when the squad is announced on match days.[35] Alistair Edwards was sacked as Manager on 17 December 2013, and replaced on an interim basis by Kenny Lowe.[36] Many fans blamed Jacob Burns for the sacking of Alistair Edwards (with rumours of him being the leader of the uprising against Edwards).[37] The club would finish 8th in another disappointing season, with at one stage, the club was sitting at the bottom of the table.

### Lowe era, 2013–18

The 2014–15 season showed much signs of promise. Irish international Andy Keogh, Dutch international Youssouf Hersi and returning goalkeeper Danny Vukovic
 joined the squad in what would be Kenny Lowe's first full season as
coach. Glory started the season on a high, quickly becoming league
leaders and managing a run in the inaugural 2014 FFA Cup that reached the final.[38]
 Although they lost the cup final 1–0 to Adelaide United, it did not
diminish their efforts in the league. However, the season quickly turned
 sour when Fairfax Media reported Glory had gone over the salary cap.[39] Football Federation Australia investigated the claims before finding that the club had breached the salary cap by $400,000.[40]
 As a result of the salary cap violations the club received a $269,000
fine and was disqualified from the 2015 finals series (resulting
compulsory 7th-place finish despite ending the season in third place).[41] On 16 April 2015, Perth's chief executive Jason Brewer announced his resignation.[42] He was replaced by Peter Filopoulos.[43], [44] The 2015-16 season was mostly a success, with the newly signed Diego Castro winning the Johnny Warren Medal for the A-League best player. The club finished 5th, before losing 2-0 to the 3rd place Melbourne City FC away from home. In the FFA Cup the Glory again made the final, before going down 2-0 to Melbourne Victory FC. The 2016-17 season started well with the signings of defender Rhys Williams from English club Middlesbrough and promising 19-year-old midfielder Brandon Wilson,
 as well as the resigning of reigning Johnny Warren Medalist Diego
Castro. After an inconsistent season the club finished 5th, with Castro
sharing the club Golden Boot with Andy Keogh and Adam Taggart. They again faced Melbourne City in the elimination final, with the club shock winners 2-0 away from home to set up a semi-final with the newly-crowned A-League Premiers Sydney FC.
 Sydney took a 3-0 halftime lead which they never relinquished, the
Glory falling one game short of their second A-League Grand Final. The 2017-18 season got off to a very bad start, the club losing 1-0 in the first round of the FFA Cup to NPL Victoria club Heidelberg United, despite twin Spanish signings of Andreu Guerao and Xavi Torres, as well as Mitch Nichols and Scott Neville. After slumping to a 6-0 defeat mid-season at the hands of Sydney FC the Glory, and with mounting pressure on coach Kenny Lowe after entering into a battle for bottom spot on the ladder, the Glory signed Neil Kilkenny
 from Melbourne City who's arrival provided much needed strength in the
midfield and coincided with a positive turnaround in form. After
defeating eventual Grand Finalists Melbourne Victory FC and Newcastle Jets FC
 in the closing rounds, the Glory entered the final round with a win
against the Brisbane Roar at home netting them the last spot in the
finals. The Glory went down, slumping to 8th position on the ladder.
Following a mostly unsuccessful season coach Kenny Lowe was removed as coach [45] and CEO Peter Filopoulos resigned to move back to Victoria to take up the CEO role with Football Federation Victoria,
 but not before (alongside Head of Football, Jacob Burns) overseeing the
 appointment of new Head Coach, Tony Popovic. During Peter’s time as
CEO, membership grew by 50%, the club moved into a new training and
administration HQ sharing with Western Force and the club business
operations improved significantly [46]. Kenny Lowe took up a role as technical director of the club's junior academy.

### Popovic era, 2018–present

Glory began the 2018–19 season with a pre-season friendly loss against Chelsea FC, with the match ending 0-1.[47]
 Popovic's first competitive game in charge was an FFA Cup fixture in
the Round of 32 against Melbourne Victory, where the Glory lost 0-1.[48] Perth started the regular A-League season strongly having not lost their opening three fixtures.

In November it was confirmed that former player Steven McGarry will become the Technical Director within Glory's youth structure, at the same time leading the Under-18 team. Former player Richard Garcia was also confirmed as Assistant Coach of both the senior and youth teams.[49]

## Name, colours and badge

When
 Perth Glory was formed (in 1996), the club felt it important to create a
 logo and name with no ethnic overtones and which symbolised the rebirth
 of soccer in Western Australia[*citation needed*]. It was felt the name **Perth Glory**
 had broad appeal and a sense of history. The sunburst in the logo is
characteristic of Perth in summer, while purple was chosen as the main
colour and orange and white as the secondary colours, they were chosen
in contrast to the more traditional combinations (generally white, red
or blue).

Perth's kit
 is mainly white, with purple stripes on the front of the jersey, purple
 and white shoulders with orange triming, purple shorts with white
trimming and purple socks. The away kit consists of a white jersey with
an orange and purple stripe down the center, and white shorts and socks.

In 2005 when the A-League
 was launched, the club decided a new logo was needed for the new era of
 Perth Glory. The new logo retained the small 'Perth' in an arc above
the larger 'Glory', with the letter 'O' still represented by a soccer
ball. The orange and purple colours still stayed as did the sun rays.
The previous logo had been used since the club's inception in 1996 in
the old NSL.

During the FFA's administration of the club, they indicated an openness to changes to the Perth Glory name and colours.[50]
 Even though this move was welcomed by many long time supporters who
remember the original motives of the Nick Tana led consortium in the mid
 1990s to purchase the naming and livery rights and all other historical
 assets related to the oldest (albeit with a non-continuous history)
Western Australian football club, Perth City FC, resulting in being
rebuffed at the final minute, this was still not a popular move amongst
the bulk of paid-up Perth Glory members who have grown accustomed to the
 current name and colours thus closing the door on any popular
compromise.[51]
 Thankfully for said members, the new ownership triumvirate consisting
of Messrs Sage, Spence and McKeon stated that the colours will certainly
 not be changed under their reign.

In April 2009 a new shield logo for the club was unveiled.[52]
 Though completely divergent from previous designs, the new badge has
been received well in the general public. The change is viewed as the
step to a new era of Perth Glory, attempting to appeal to fans.

In what was seen as something of a tribute to Glory's past, the
2009–10 strip reverted to the vertical stripes, similar to what can be
found on Glory's jersey of 1996–97.[53]

In June 2011 Perth Glory celebrated the 2011–12 A-League season with a one off new logo to commemorate the club's 15th anniversary.[54]

On 23 October 2011, Perth Glory wore a predominantly blue jersey
in recognition of the 125-year anniversary of their major sponsor, QBE Insurance, in a match against Wellington Phoenix.[55]

## Stadium

The club played their first match in the National Soccer League
at the ground in October 1996. For the first several seasons of the NSL,
 the club ground-shared with East Perth Football Club, a local Australian rules football club. A number of proposed permanent homes for the Glory were suggested in the late 1990s. As part of Multiplex's contract to build the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre,
 the construction company was required to build a rectangular stadium.
The company was released from their contractual requirement after
then-Glory chairman Nic Tana decided to proceed with a redevelopment of Leederville Oval.[56]
 The Leederville Oval option was ultimately unsuccessful in the face of
community opposition. In 2002 East Perth agreed to move to Leederville
Oval and the state government agreed to turn Perth Oval into a dedicated
 rectangular venue.[57][58]

The record attendance for an A-League match is 16,707 set when
Glory hosted Adelaide united fc rd 27 2012/2013 season The largest
average season attendance in the A-League for the Glory is 9,374 in the
2005–06 season, while the largest attendance for any association
football match at the ground was in November 1998 when 18,067 fans
turned up to see a top-table clash with arch-rival South Melbourne FC.

With the arrival of the Western Force in then Super 14 Rugby competition
 there was a push to have a 30,000+ capacity rectangular stadium in
Perth. Western Force and Perth Glory joined forces to lobby the Western
Australian Government for a ground of this size. The Force previously
played games out of the 40,000-seat oval-shaped AFL ground Subiaco Oval,
 which hosted several Glory games before, generally NSL Finals games,
most notably the 1999–2000 season NSL Grand Final when an all-time NSL
record crowd of 43,242 fans saw Wollongong Wolves
 beat Glory on penalties following a 3–3 draw. With the Force moving to
nib Stadium prior to the 2010 Super 14 Season a small increase in
capacity was made to the ground, increasing capacity from around 18,000
to 20,500 increased corporate areas.

A major redevelopment occurred at Perth Oval starting in June
2012 replaced the southern and eastern stands with permanent structures.
 During the redevelopment, capacity was reduced during the 2012–13 A-League season.
 It was completed in September 2013, with a capacity of 20,441. There
are plans to add a cover on the southern stand at a later stage.[59]

## Supporters

Perth Glory supporters prior to the 2012 A-League Grand Final

Perth Oval has two dedicated active support areas: the Shed, which is
 a covered terraced standing area at the northern end of the ground, and
 the Terrace at the southern end.

The original Shed was located on the hill at the northeast of the
 ground. The redevelopment of the ground in 2003 led to the relocation
of the Shed closer to the playing surface. The Shed is home to the
supporter group, Glory Shed Supporters Club (GSSC).[60][61][62][63]

The Terrace is an active supporter area at the southern end of the ground.[64][65]