And boy, didn't our president have something to say about that.
It's the funniest thing; I used to get warned by well-meaning people, and have been chewed out by others who were not so well-meaning, not to post things on here that were confidential, or which were negative, or which would make the club look bad. And then someone with much more authority than I blurts out something more than bit inflammatory in front of a few dozen people, including members of the press, at an official club function. And I wasn't even there to witness it first hand!
Also, just because he shouldn't have said, doesn't mean he's wrong.
It's like that bit in Pleasantville where colours start seeping through the monochrome world.
So, after all that, we are on our way, slowly. There were rumours about ten teams, twelve teams, not enough teams; a Monday announcement, an April start, a summer comp; and somewhere in the middle of all this, one particularly belligerent-verging-on-vengeful state federation.
Wait, didn't we do this a few weeks ago? Perhaps. Well, we were told that the second division is coming in 2025, and now we have been told of eight teams that will be in it, seven of them exceedingly familiar (ourselves, Preston, Marconi, APIA, Sydney United, Sydney Olympic, Wollongong), and also Avondale.
I mean, why not Avondale? This is a league for aspirational clubs, no? Avondale's inclusion does add a touch of novelty to a list that otherwise doesn't exactly scream broad-based and compelling. While "compelling" is in the eye of the beholder, it's hard not have a massive dose of déjà rêvé; seven ex-NSL teams which have achieved little meaningful demographic renewal over the past 20 years suggests not enough people have been compelled. But they very well could be, and indeed they must be for the National Second Division to work.
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| This map conveniently covers the ethnic background of every NSD team. Handy! |
Another semi-good point that was made somewhere was "where are the non-Anglo/non-efffnik clubs?", to which one can answer, well, South Hobart were classed as not quite good enough, and the Queensland bids have trouble with the Queensland fed, and of course Newcastle is weak, and Blacktown thought they should be in, and... well, all those people who have an A-League team don't really need an NSD team now, do they? Let us not ignore that this is our vain attempt at making ourselves relevant again by raising ourselves just above the rest of the stagnation.
Meanwhile, closer to home, two clubs (Melbourne Knights and Heidelberg United) made if not quite pointed public statements, then at least self-justifying ones about why they won't be participating in the NSD, at least not immediately. And really, why not self-justify? Ain't nobody else going to do it for you. Each to their own, to look after their own. If they don't feel comfortable charging headlong into a new oblivion, preferring the oblivion they're in now, then they shouldn't be compelled to do so. But oh man, when this thing takes off, they're going to look pretty stupid that they didn't take that chance.
Pricey and lacking in tangible extras compared to what's available from some other clubs, but you get 10% off the regular price if you buy before 2024, which is what I did.
2024 NPL fixtures
Fixtures have been released for the 2024 season. Frank Holohan Soccer Complex returns as an away match venue, and we'll be visiting Petty's Reserve in Templestowe for the first time. Well, by "we", I mean other people; I ain't taking public transport to that public transport desert. The most inexplicable senior men's away fixture goes to Green Gully, which will be on at 1:00pm on a Saturday afternoon, followed by the under 21s at 3:30.
Home match wise, we're mostly Friday nights, with the odd Sunday. Sunday just didn't work in 2023, no matter how much people allegedly preferred it. Once again we've an Orthodox Easter Saturday home match. Our under 21s home venues are almost completely "TBC", except for the final round. There are also three NPLM/NPLW double-headers. Here's to having all our home matches at Lakeside, and here's to people making all sorts of excuses for why they won't go to any of our home matches, no matter what day or time they're played.
Public transport guide
But where will we watch them?
At the grounds, duh. But what if we're not at the grounds for some reason? Cluch, the company which operated the NPL streams (and streams for many other sports operating at a similar level) has gone into administration. Even funnier, an article in the Courier Mail noted that:
According to a statutory report the administrator lodged with the corporate regulator, Cluch had been trading insolvent since at least November 2021 and incurred debts of $1.9 million after this date. No action has been taken against any individuals involved with the company.
Pre-season friendlies
We've knocked up three of them already (Springvale White Eagles, Werribee, Kingston), mostly on short notice and/or in accessible (to me) locations and/or behind closed doors. Wouldn't read much into any of these matches of course. We've also lined up an away friendly in January against Sydney Olympic, the first time we'll have played each other in a similar fixture since 2016.
2024 ins
So many new ins, it's hard to keep track, unless you try. I'm not going to try, because apparently there's even more signings to come. Whether you rationalise it as trying to build a team for 2025, or doing whatever it takes to get Old Mate over the line, we have splashed the cash for 2024. The pendulum constantly swings between cutting costs and blooding youth, and then panicking and spending up and bringing in the name brand players. One thing I will say based on the club's little Christmas video (which I fancy was half-created just to get an Efi Thodi song up on our socials), is that we're going to have a lot more people who can say Feliz Navidad than Καλά Χριστούγεννα; nothing wrong with that of course, but certainly a sign of how times have changed.
Ruthless outs
And the club goes bang! Ben Djiba, Perry Lambropoulos, Josh Wallen, Lirim Elmazi, Patrick Langlois and Alun Webb, all gone. Probably some others, too, that weren't worth a press release. I could say good and bad things about all of them, but I'm not necessarily shocked by most of these, except for Djiba - that's a surprise because of how much game time he got in a position where we had a lot of options.
Going their own way outs
Ajak Riak has signed with Indonesian side PSS Sleman, avoiding the question of whether we should discard him. Good luck to him.
After 300 odd games, captain Brad Norton gets to go out on his own terms, instead of being pushed out. Would we have wanted a happier ending? Sure, but back-to-back grand final disasters aside, we had some good times. And it was time. Brad's joined Essendon Royals, recent layover for several South players as they wind down their playing careers. I wish him all the best, and expect to see him around the traps at Lakeside from time to time. For whatever reason, there doesn't seem to be a testimonial event on he horizon.
Meanwhile after 180 games or so, vice-captain Marcus Schroen doesn't quite get to go out on his own terms. Would we have wanted a happier ending? Sure, but we had some good times. No one can take his double in the 2016 grand final away from him. But it was time. Maybe Marcus didn't think so, and that's fair, but few are those who get to choose the time of their departure; we once got rid of the Socceroo captain, don't forget. Marcus has linked up with Preston for 2024, which... look, they wouldn't be my first choice for anything, but it's not completely without antecedent for a former South player to end up there.
He Won't Be Missed (Because He Was Never Really Here) outs
Nathaniel Hancock has signed at Port.
But the man remains
Confirmation that Old Mate will still be senior men's head coach for another season. Former South coach Johnny Anastasiadis had been rumoured to have been under some sort of consideration for the job, a fact which emerged from Johnny A's own mouth in a Neos Kosmos article; an article which doesn't exactly articulate why he chose (his word) the Bergers over South. It's a curious detail to omit.
Vale McKendry, Xanthopoulos, Nestoridis
Speaking of people who have coached both South and the Bergers, Len McKendty, the coach of our first NSL championship winning side, passed away recently. He gave Ange his first start, which is what seems to have caught the most attention in the posthumous social media angles, but he was a formidable coach in his own right, at least from a Victorian perspective. I'm not necessarily going to say he was a players' coach, but he certainly wasn't a spectator's coach - check out Paul Wade's book for insights into McKendry's attitude to winning and who he was beholden to.
Early 1960s player Takis Xanthopoulos also passed away recently; apparently he was still at least a semi-regular attendee at Lakeside. And Con Nestoridis, the legend of AEK and Greek football who spent two seasons with us in the twilight of his career in 1966 and 1967, also passed away. Which brings to mind this question: where are football's folk heroes today? Where are the players that would inspire a crowd to such a feeling of tears and emotion, that they would be chaired off a ground? (and I wonder if anyone wrote any poems for Nestoridis in Melbourne's Greek papers?) Back then, so much of what people would have known about any given footballer not within their immediate locale would have been second or third hand knowledge. Footage was rare; glory had to be transmitted via print or word of mouth.
So many Greek migrants to Melbourne, even those who knew football, likely would have never seen Nestoridis play in Greece. But they would have known a name, a story, a legend. And all of a sudden, here he was, well past his peak, but nevertheless all of a sudden in the flesh and tangible; and what's more, not just competent, but clearly superior to so much of what was around him. How blessed was the local game, and our club specifically, to have someone like that? The old timers tell the story of him scoring two corners in a row, the first of which was disallowed. But speaking with former players of his era, they remember not just the skill, but also a gentleman off the field, who could stay up late playing cards, and still run rings around younger opponents.
Name a player who attends our games from the post 60's era.
ReplyDeleteFeliz Navidad .... my niece and I were singing it today for completely non soccer related reasons.
It hasn't been unusual to see some of the Chris Taylor era crew at South games in recent seasons. Tim Mala, KK, Leigh Minopoulos.
DeleteI'm sure they've been largely there to catch-up with the likes of Norton and Schroen, and with their departure I would expect we don't see those faces at Lakeside too often.