The team will take pride in their status as outcasts. Credit:Brendan Esposito In football, it's not just about supporting your own team. Often emotion is expressed in negative terms. You are sometimes driven by a desire to see one club fail even more than your own succeed, depending on the circumstances. Which is why the team we all hate is so important. As a youngster growing up in England in the 1970s, Leeds United fitted the bill perfectly. I was a Tottenham fan (still am), but it didn't matter who you supported. You could always feed your ancient grudges on a diet of anti-Leeds sentiment. (Anyone who wants some good background on why should read The Damned United, or watch the film, in which Leeds plays a small but hugely significant role in the torrid life and coaching career of Brian Clough).

They were from Yorkshire, a county with which no one (bar Yorkshiremen and women) wanted to admit any connection. Dour, grim, humourless, smug and cantankerous - that was the image of Leeds under its ultra-superstitious boss Don Revie. But was it successful? Oh yes. Was it feared? Without doubt. Was it respected? Grudgingly. Was it admired? Only in a highly technical way. It was possible to be enthralled at times by Leeds' prowess, but never in the way that made you want to praise it as you knew that there was a dark underbelly, a cynicism and ruthlessness to its game which could burst out at any moment. Dirty tricks, studs-in challenges when the ref was blindsided, shirt-pulling, ''professional'' fouling before people even knew what a professional foul was. Leeds played a crucial role in the English game - providing a team to barrack against.

We need one of those teams in Australia, one we can all love to hate. The hated side has to be from Sydney - you shouldn't have to ask why. And Sydney FC is just too inept to qualify. So my vote goes to Western Sydney. It checks off on a number of criteria. Good? Well, it played off in the championship final in its first season. Tough? Have you seen the size of those blokes, particularly the defenders? Efficient? Is there any better team in the league for squeezing the life out of its opposition, taking whatever chances come its way, and then shutting the game down. Ruthless? See above. Large fan base? The stands out west speak for themselves. Most home games are chock full of supporters. Here's another thing. Western Sydney has perpetrated a bit of a trick on the media and the public. Everyone raves about its success, its huge fan base, and the noise and colour and the fact that it is somehow supposed to be an organic expression of the love for the game inherent in those who live in the west.

But it is really a giant statist entity, a head office-backed behemoth. It is a creature of the game's governing body, a Football Federation Australia bankrolled giant which has been given advantages that no other side has. So there you have it. Western Sydney Wanderers, take a bow. You've earned the enmity of a nation. You should feel proud to be hated … you know it's only because you are good.