Injury Time Pandemonium - Southern Stars 2 South Melbourne 3

At halftime, I'm not embarrassed to say that I'd written the team off. They had played terribly, gave up a softish goal, and didn't look remotely like being in the game. Well, in this game at least, they proved me wrong, with three second half goals - including two in injury time, to Steve Burton and Nicky Jacobs - pulling us out of the mess we'd made for ourselves.

The result shouldn't paper over the method however, which left a lot to desire. We fell behind twice, and seemed to be making much the same mistakes we have all season. Undermanned though we were, it's always disappointing to change the personnel and still make the same errors.

Still, when the winning goal went in, it created 'AWOL' celebrations among the faithful (and the dutiful; one bloke had ducked out of his nephew's birthday for this), with one person slipping over on the wet grass, and the usual random array of hugging, jumping, yelling, fence thumping etc.

And the winner for best dressed squad goes to...
Southern Stars, who look very sharp in their gray suits, with white shirt and red patterned tie combination. Too bad we haven't got a photo to go with this award.

Fernando De Moraes
He may be getting to the end of his outdoor career, and I haven't been alone in writing him off, but last night he stepped up with his leadership, chasing and tackling, doing all those things that he's never been associated with. Showed a lot of character, and a lot of leadership.

Getting the Ball Back to the Middle After a Goal
Fascinating, maybe just to me, to see none of our players go anywhere near the ball after we'd scored the 2-2 goal.

I Still Don't Know...
Quite how any of our goals were actually scored. In that, yes, I did see the majority if not all of of the sequence, including the balls crossing the line, but that they didn't quite make sense wgen looked at rationally. The first took a deflection and seemingly rolled in; the second was hit well and hard, but hit the post going across the face of goal getting me all confused before eventually crossing the line - I had started celebrating before it had even gone in I think, and then managed to contain myself, then celebrate again all within a very short space of time - our last trip to Kingston Heath, where everyone had thought we had scored the goal of the season before the ball was cleared off the line from point blank range makes such situations very difficult. The last goal was created from sheer will and created utter pandemonium. I'm still buzzing.

Jason Trifiro
Has gone to Western Sydney Wanderers (horrible, Anglocentric, Anglophile name, but I suppose there's a tasty irony in it being the name of the team for all the disenfranchised wogs) so get your 'now who will his brother pass to?' jokes out of your system as soon as possible (I much preferred the line about how it was the Wanderers fans' to say 'he would have scored that at Northcote). For help on speculating on how much he was transferred for, see this link, especially if you're Steve from Broady.

Marinos Gasparis
At halftime, my comment on his entire career was the rather unsubtle, 'stick a fork in him, he's done'. But his second half was decent enough that I was compelled to reconsider that position, albeit on one proviso - that he should never, ever be allowed to pass the ball backwards again. Hell, there should probably be a moratorium on him even passing it sideways. If he sticks to forward passes, no matter how outlandish, he just may have some sort of future at South.

Next Week
Hume City at home, hopefully at least a couple of players back. Of course it's all one week at a time and all that, but they're three points ahead of us in sixth place - a win here could be useful. But before that, tribunal showdown to see if we can get Trent Rixon's suspension reduced, as well as Gus Tsolakis fronting the tribunal to see what punishment, if any, he'll get for his dismissal into the stands against Richmond.

Fresh from scoring the winning goal, Nicky Jacobs waits for his
turn to be interviewed by the SMFCTV. Photo: Gains.

Nicky Jacobs
Just remember, I saw him first. There's no need to go completely over the top with the plaudits and calls for him to be put into the starting eleven, especially when he's still only 17 years old and reportedly focusing on his schooling this year. And it was a bit of a right place. right time scenario (admittedly a skill in itself). Still, it did reiterate that there are worthwhile players to be found in our youth ranks, and while you don't have to give them a starting gig, the occasional decent spell off the bench does not always go astray. Good to also see Trent Rixon giving Nicky instruction from over the fence.

Play the Whistle
I don't know whether Stars' first goal was offside. Certainly our defenders seemed to think so - but that was no reason to stop and call for it, allowing the opposition to waltz through on goal unattended. That kind of stuff pisses me off when I see it at state league two ressies level, not need for that crap in the VPL.

Under 21s
Also 3-2 winners. Had been leading 2-0, until two quick fire goals in as many minutes saw Stars level in the second half, only for a late goal from South.

Zenith

And another thing

This is the last word I'll have anywhere online about this. From here on in, just look it up yourselves.

The so called $3000 rule, as it stands, is a myth.

It does not relate to transfers. It relates to development fees, the regulations and gradings of which are implemented by FIFA.

Depending on whether a player signs their first or second professional contract, $3000 or $5000 is split between the clubs they were at between the ages of something like 12 and 21.

Transfers in Australia are capped at 50% of what's remaining on the player's contract. So hypothetically if Carl Recchia (for demonstration purposes only, snigger) signed with us on a 1 year contract at $1000 a game, and an A-League club wanted to snare him 4 weeks before the end of our season, the maximum we could ask for is $1000 - half of what is left due to him.

In reality, it really is just an update of what Paul Wade did back in the day - he'd demand 1 year contracts with a maximum transfer clause - with the added assistance of the Bosman ruling and an over supply of dumb clubs overspending on over the hill park footballers and their counterpart greenhorns who are rightly milking the cash cow for as much and as long as they can.

And just how stupid can these clubs get? Well apart from board member and pleb fan alike still running an incorrect line 5 long years after it all went to shit, there are clubs who still insist on paying their players under the table payments, which in the event that a player is picked up by an A-League club, they can't sell him for what they're actaully paying him! It's fucking genius stuff.

Stay focused, please

In Sagan's name, I wish I could ignore this, but it appears we're obliged to offer some intellectual rigour to it. I suppose Carl wouldn't have wanted it any other way


NSL giants back second tier

FOOTBALL Federation Australia's decision to investigate a national second-tier competition has sparked intense interest among the game's traditional custodians after years of being frozen out by the game's governing body.

The FFA revealed last week that it was forming an eight-man taskforce to consider the practical and logistical implications of a proposed "second division", which would derive the majority - if not all - of its teams from the existing state leagues around the country.

Those teams most likely to be in the running are those who previously participated in the old National Soccer League, many of whom have returned to their state league roots with varying degrees of success.

Since the demolition of the NSL and subsequent creation of the A-League in 2003-04, relations between the powerbrokers of "old soccer" and "new football" have been frosty to say the least, with many feeling the FFA had unfairly distanced themselves from the game's somewhat rocky past.

Until now, little effort has been made to end the stand-off but the FFA has recently shown signs of wanting to reconnect with the storied clubs of yesteryear instead of continuing with its policy of isolating the A-League.

A national cup competition might have been postponed but will almost certainly take place in the next year, while alterations to the transfer system - including removing the $3000 transfer cap for players moving from a state league to the A-League - are being considered.

As arguably the nation's most successful club, boasting four national and eight state league titles, South Melbourne initially felt aggrieved at being overlooked for the A-League but said they would love the opportunity to return to the national stage.

"We're definitely interested in playing at a higher level and the ambition of South Melbourne will always be to compete on that kind of stage," said South Melbourne director George Triantos. "It would be a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our great club once again. We've been part of football in Australia for 50 years."

While many clubs remain bitter about the nature of the NSL's demise, South Melbourne have gradually moved on and have tried to position themselves not only as a Victorian power but as a club willing to work within the constraints of "new football".

"We've always wanted to stay relevant, and we understand that means embracing a new direction. After all, we host Socceroos training here when they're in town, the Melbourne Victory's women's team and youth teams, so we think we're a part of it," Triantos said. "Look at how we compare to other Victorian clubs in terms of the number of full-time staff we have, the training and stadium facilities, the way we present ourselves in a corporate sense, in the media, with our marketing and so on. Many other clubs don't have that.

"Are we too big for the state league? I wouldn't like to say. But you'll find that the bigger clubs are looking for either reform or something else altogether."

Should such a competition prove to be financially viable, the biggest stumbling block to bringing clubs in remains the delicate prospect of promotion and relegation and whether there was a possibility of winning a place in the A-League.

"Most clubs would look at having promotion and relegation as very important," Triantos said. "Would we enter that competition if we couldn't get in the A-League? I don't know. .. You'll find most clubs aspire to play in the top level."


First up, can I just say that George Triantos is obviously enjoying himself in this little article.

Are we too big for the state league? I wouldn't like to say.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. The things we can and can't say, and the things we choose not to say, fascinating stuff. How convenient also that we could list all those things that we've contributed to pitching in for the New Dawn revolution... despite the displeasure of some people out there.

But the most important thing to remember in this situation is that this is all highly speculative, and the really big thing to do, that is being done, and should be done until it is finished, is secure the future of this club with the Lakeside redevelopment project, so that whatever happens, this club is in the best possible position to meet those challenges, and take those opportunities. B, V, E and Z Leagues are all fine and dandy, but there's no point in getting distracted by them at the expense of the main game.

Pumpkin Seed Eaters episode 8 - Special Edition

Highly recommended episode (best so far...), revolving heavily around an interview with FFV CEO Mark Rendell. If you can't be arsed listening to it - and you really should - here's the gist of it. Apologies for the messiness of the summary.

• FFV/Foxtel Cup promotions - no idea how to effectively use their spending money.
• FFV has no money because all money gets sucked upwards. That may change in a few years if the FFA gets better sponsorship and TV deals.
  
• Victory influence - sit there and take it.
• 2008 Preston/South incidents - not our responsibility, and besides, inside was all fine! Really!
  
• Summer League - went around and talked to lots of people, and it was the stakeholders who asked for it. Specifically who asked for this stuff is not made clear.
• Summer League clubs will not receive transfers and such... duh.
• They more or less expect clubs within the designated regions to fund it. In effect, still a lot of dithering going on, largely clueless.
  
• Basically the FFV believes that the 20-30 clubs within a zone, and their supporters, will support the representative zones.
• Clubs will not required to participate in the Summer League, and there is flexibility in how much they may participate.
• FFV to A-League transfers - it's being looked at - lalalalalalala...
• The $3000 rule has been ratified by FIFA.
• Dockerty Cup, lack of a suitable financial model.
  
• Mark Rendell has a voice which could send anyone to sleep.

Final word from me. The FFV is fond of passing the buck. To the clubs. To the fans. To the FFA. Take little to no responsibility for their own fiefdom. Essentially saying, we are powerless, do it yourselves. Rendell may very well have gone in to this with the best of intentions. as a way of communicating the FFV's stance on a number issues directly to the fans, and not appearing as some mischievous clandestine organisation. But always, in the back of my mind, the attempt to neutralise any backlash by tackling it head on, and therefore taking the sting out if it.

It is quite sad that the Pumpkin Seed Eaters are taking what appears to be a near permanent hiatus. The reasons for this, whether due to legal or time constraints or both and other things, are unknown to me. I've given my fair share crap towards the Pumpkin Seed Eaters, as well as praise. They could've gone in harder at times, and occasionally went in on the wrong target, but the show improved just about every episode. They had a style that saw them reach out to the disenfranchised and captured the imagination of the haters alike, and achieved a rarity in local soccer in managing to unite, for around 40 minutes every fortnight, the disparate and mostly self-interested fans of the local scene.

In closing... thanks for the plugs... the site hits went up considerably whenever South of the Border got a mention. It was nice to contribute some material for the show occasionally... even if it wasn't always intentional. Here's to the future... fight the power. Vale PSE, for now at least. 

If someone wants a copy of the episodes... I have all of them, just ask and ye shall receive.