Notes from the 2022 AGM

Another year, and another delayed AGM, this one even more delayed than the one before. For whatever reason, the interest of our ordinary members on such matters remains weak; the less said about the non-existent interest from parents of the juniors, the better. Maybe some people prefer it that way. At least the attendance was much better than last year's effort, which is not saying much; but we should grab onto whatever positive that we can.

Those who did turn up were engaged, and asked some good questions. There was better attendance also from board members and/or directors, though no note was made of those who were apologies. Officially facing up to the members were secretary Skip Fulton; chairman Bill Papastergiadis; president Nick Maikousis; and former club treasurer, and now merely the club's accountant, Mario Vinaccia. I'd say it's difficult to keep track of who is and isn't on the board these days, but that's more of an ongoing problem.

I think I tend to note most times when I post one of these reports that I'm apparently morally obliged to not reveal every little detail that was revealed on the night, but instead to keep it informative but general, if not vague. Sometimes there's even hostility at revealing any detail about what occurs at our AGMs. But this year there's even a Neos Kosmos article about the AGM, including incorrect info about new directors being elected to the board, where they were actually merely appointed; it is not an election year after all. There was even a cock-up where our financials were sent to categories of people that they shouldn't have been, but for me that's more of a database issue (one that we just will not solve).

Besides which, I don't see the point in hiding our finances - if they're bad, they're bad, if they're good, they're good, and it doesn't really make a difference who sees them. But that's probably a minority view, based at least in some part on my not understanding financial reports. In any event, the club's finances at the moment are apparently good, so there's probably less angst about the accidental disclosure than would ordinarily be the case.

First up was the South Melbourne Hellas AGM, which took up most of the night; the SMFC AGM was pretty much just the playing out of the necessary legal formalities. Naturally, coming through the other side of the lockdown years coloured pretty much everything. The club's on and off field achievements over the past year were listed. The senior men finished top of the table, the boys 21s won their grand final, and the women's department continues to develop players for higher leagues. 

The financial position remains relatively strong, with the club recording another surplus. This was helped in the relevant financial year by the Australia Cup match against Melbourne City, the hiring out of the futsal court to the combat sports group, and increased sponsorship. Then again, the fact that the Melbourne City game of 2021 is being talked about in 2023, shows how out of date some of this information is. Along with pandemic crowd capacity restrictions, the filming demands of the host broadcaster also took their toll on revenue that day; corporate box related revenue made up for that in some respects.

The club's government stipend has recently reduced in size, as per the terms of the lease agreement. Overall wages across the organisation remain stable, including for coaches and players. Sponsorship continues to improve, thanks to increased networking efforts from the top brass, but also because of our work with the blind and powerchair teams. While these teams are worthwhile ventures in and of themselves, their presence gives the club as a whole a more diverse public face, opening up the range of grants and sponsorship opportunities available to the club. Though the state Labor government has remained in power, there has been a change in the local member of parliament, with Martin Foley retiring, and being replaced by Nina Taylor. The club is also nurturing relationships with the new federal Labor government.

The club has cleared its bank loan debt, which was taken out after the heirs of the late Tony Toumbourou asked for their father's club saving loan to be paid back. In order to avoid a similar fate reoccurring with extant directors' loans, the board is looking into the process of arranging for those debts to be dealt with; one suspects that more info will be provided on this at the next AGM, whenever that is. Aside from removing a tangible financial liability hanging over the club's head, it would also look better for our National Second Division bid to be coming in without those kinds of debts, even if they were for the time being merely theoretical, in that none of the current directors with loans would act upon them. 

The National Second Division process continues as before, with the club expecting news of the next bidding phase (the second of three phases) to be made soon. The board noted that there remains uncertainty around key elements of the competition - principally how high the degree of overall professionalism, and thus cost, will be. The board claims that the club would be able to successfully participate in both higher and lower-end NSD models.

(this is me editorialising here somewhat - the problem is that pushing too hard for a higher-end, higher-cost model would potentially leave the NSD without enough viable teams; push too low, and the enterprise will come across as cheap and second-rate, as opposed to just being second tier)

The expectation remains that the NSD competition will be ready to go in March 2024. The club has created (or rather, adapted from its most recent A-League bid) a legal entity under the broader umbrella of the South Melbourne Hellas group, in the event that the club secures participation in the NSD. After a question from the floor, the club acknowledged that while now five years out of date, the club was able to use at least some of the work done in the preparation of that most recent A-League licence bid, as part of the club's bid for an NSD licence.

(one may recall that even among those more skeptical about the club's chances of securing that A-League licence back then, that there was nevertheless the belief that the process was useful from a reconnaissance and educational point of view; even in failure, the club gained a degree of knowledge and information that would become useful at some indeterminate point in the future, a point in time which just so happens to be now)

There was also an update (prompted in part by a question from the floor) about facility upkeep and improvement at Lakeside. The function room upstairs has had a refit of sorts, and there have been improvements made to the corporate spaces. The scoreboard has received a software upgrade, and may even have its screen replaced at some point. There is no news on whether things like proper permanent camera/media positions will be installed in the near future. No, the Puskas statue will not be relocated to Lakeside, a matter which is out of the club's hands. 

Little mention was made of the current state of the relationship between the club and the Trust which manages the stadium. The exception to that is that the club is exploring its options in terms of being able to get more control of venue operation and management of the stadium on our match days. In other Lakeside news, the organisers of the grand prix are attempting to exclusively commandeer the precinct for longer and longer periods in the time around their event. Where the usual expectation has been that we will be barred from the stadium for about two weeks, the attempt now is to exclude us for four. The board is attempting to use its political networks to prevent that from happening.

The Greek national day parade which was held at Lakeside this year (following its forced removal from the Shrine of Remembrance) was deemed a success, but with many unspecified lessons to be learned. A complex logistical operation in its own right, there is no firm indication that the club can or will seek to integrate a high profile Greek derby match into the event, an idea which has been raised by a number of people.
 

The now formalised partnership with Yarraville is apparently off to a good start, with last week's triple header at McIvor Reserve being considered a success. The board also confirmed that our two senior mens' home matches in early July against Hume and Oakleigh - unable to be played at Lakeside, due to the stadium being used exclusively as a training venue for the Women's World Cup - will be be played at McIvor Reserve. Special dispensation has been made by Football Victoria to allow for the lack of certain facilities at McIvor Reserve - a protected players race for example - though who knows if we will make an attempt to provide scaffolding for the media.

(The under 21s will be playing their matches after the senior men, which makes you wonder if the lights at Yarraville are good enough. The senior women will be on the road during this time, with their opponents being more accommodating in switching their fixtures).

Overall, the club finds itself in a reasonably strong position off field, albeit much of this seems unduly dependent on those currently on the board, and the sponsor and political networks that they have cultivated. It remains of concern that this approach seems quite top-heavy, and that there is always a risk that if the top two or three people go, that the sponsorship and influence that they bring will go with them. Without an increase in membership at the bottom end, successful generational renewal at a fan and board level remains at risk.

While not a distinct topic in itself, a common theme ran through much of the night, as it has done for much of the past 20 years - that the dissolution of the National Soccer League and the change in local soccer governance structures didn't mean just mean the material exclusion of our club from the top-flight; it also initiated the sudden onset of a loss of relevance at a political level. The project of keeping the club alive since the end of the NSL has not just been a material concern - paying our way, not going broke, etc - it has also entailed the necessity of rebuilding the club's reputation almost from scratch, as well as rebuilding the club's networks and sphere of influence.

Back then, as a mainstay of national league soccer and before that, a leading Victorian club, the club could count on an assumed level of social status, and a certain degree of deference from other soccer bodies (club and federation), as well as the Greek community. It could also count to a degree on club alumni to if not outright push South's interests, than to at least be a reminder of our influence on Victorian soccer. So much of that influence was lost when the NSL died, when we went into administration, and especially when FFA and the A-League (initially) prospered as if we never existed.

But the future lasts a long time, and the local soccer environment changed again, as is its wont. Sometimes all you need to do is hold on, and wait, and especially out-wait those tasked in part with keeping you down. That time spent waiting doesn't mean being inactive; rather it is time to be spent improving yourself for when an opportunity might arise. In a variety of ways, the club hasn't improved as much as you'd like it to have done during this time, even taking into account the many obstacles placed before it. And yet we are told, and I suppose there is enough evidence to suggest, that there has been enough progress made over the last little while - pick your own numbers of years of when you think it might have started turning - that we are now reasonably placed to take up the opportunity for "something better", assuming that "something better" actually materialises.