December 2014 digest

Memberships are available
The usual deal. Head here to make your purchase. Support your club. Good to see that entry to all home league and potential Dockerty and FFA Cup games is included.

In...
Dane Milovanovic, most recently of some mob in the Maldives.

and out...
general manager Peter Kokotis. Or at least that's the word on the street. Interesting to see if they choose to replace him, and if so with who. And to think I still haven't managed to get that Yarra Park Aias photo with the team list off him. Score that as a failed KPI target.

and no word yet...
On who'll be keeping for us. Will it be Peter Gavalas? Nikola Roganovic? Chris Maynard? And what about who'll be the technical director. Because you can't have your senior coach also be your technical director.

In case you missed it... 
The fixtures for the 2015 season are out. Here are some of the issues of slightly lesser importance. First, finals are back, which is good for people who get bored when their teams are out of the ruuning five minutes into the season, but bad for those people who hate finals in soccer. Worse, FFV have inexplicably decided to use the A-League top six model, which is a straight knockout affair, with the only benefit to the top two teams being a week off. That just ends up making the finals series even more of a who's in form at the 'right' time of the season lottery.

There's at least a couple of new venues to visit this year as well, of a sort. We'll be visiting North Geelong Elcho Park for the first time (as far as I'm aware) in round 2, and in round 23 we'll be playing at the revamped CB Smith Reserve for the first time (as well as the first time at that venue since the 'why' game in 2008), as Pascoe Vale have moved their senior matches there for 2015. Avondale Heights - who have re-branded themselves as Avondale FC, which I won't use - are listed as playing out of Doyle Street Reserve, which falls well short of the requirements of the NPL for senior matches, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out.

For some inexplicable reason most of our home games are on Fridays, which without a social club seems to be a rather daft decision, but one that's still apparently subject to change. The club even held a survey asking for feedback about preferred times. I reckon Sunday 3:00PM is best. It will be interesting to see what arrangements are made for the home game against Melbourne Knights, which reportedly falls on Orthodox Easter week.

But back to the social club for a moment...
The fashionably late 2014 South Melbourne AGM will be held on Thursday January 29th, at 7:00PM in the President's Room. Unfortunately, your correspondent will almost certainly miss the affair. The reason for this is that around that time I'll be having laser surgery to remove a blister on my non-functioning left eye, which I anticipate will see me out of action for a few days at least. If anyone attending would like to do a write up for the blog, please get in contact with me.

Adelaide trip 2015
Which doubly sucks because it's been said that we'll be going to Adelaide in the first week of February to play one or two games as part of the pre-season, with one of the games definitely being against West Adelaide. Let's just hope they get around soon to booking the tickets and accommodation.

OK, here's the problem
I will be attending seven Asian Cup matches during January, as well as a local academic sports conference, eye surgery and whatever else may come up during January and February. This will mean that I will miss several South Melbourne pre-season friendly fixtures. So I'm looking for people that will be going to these and related events to maybe pitch in and provide some short reports, otherwise the quality of the South related content during January may well and truly suck more than usual. Send all your inquiries to the usual address. Especially keen on someone covering the prospective Adelaide trip.

The house (aka Eddie McGuire) always wins
So the Socceroos won't be training at Lakeside, but rather at the hollow shell of what Eddie 'sometimes I love soccer, but most of the time I don't because it's played by wogs' McGuire turned Olympic Park into. I think Lakeside might be hosting Uzbekistan instead. If someone could get me access to the latter's training sessions, that would be nice.

Some thoughts on getting ahead of ourselves (but not really)
I was going to write some sort of brief spiel about the ramifications of the move away from small markets in the A-League and what that might mean for us, but then I figured that since we're never going to be in the A-League anyway, that the point was probably moot.

Nick Jacobs, Memphis Tiger
An interesting post was recently made on smfcboard - and then followed up by George Kouroumalis on the official site - alerting people to the fact that former player Nick Jacobs, who reportedly retired from soccer following a long lay off with injury, has surfaced in the US playing college football for the University of Memphis Tigers, where he is also studying engineering.

It seems like the guy who used be to the punter for them, the highly rated Tom Hornsey (another Aussie), had been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys (and since released as a free agent), and that Nick has managed to dislodge Hornsey's replacement as the first choice punter.

Good job Nick Jacobs. Every punt inside the 20. One on the 1yd line! @ProkickAus #memphisfootball #aussiesdoitbetter pic.twitter.com/idLIEmRCLh
— Tom Hornsey (@tom_hornsey) September 21, 2014

Jacobs has been averaging around 33 yards per punt (with a season long of 42), which isn't great (I think NFL punters aim for around 45 yards net gain?), but on the other hand Jacobs hasn't had to make too many punts either, which is generally a sign that the offence is doing its job - and those punts he has made have invariably ended up inside the 20.

Now I'm hardly an expert an college football - the bowl election process and the random ways One HD would show games made it terribly confusing - but Memphis appear to be one of the more minor teams in the top NCAA divisions. Still, they've done well this season going from a 3-9 season in 2013 to a 9-3 record in 2014, and even reaching a bowl game, which is a rarity for them and a fair reward for their reversal in fortunes. Their conference record of 7-1 saw them win a a share of the conference championship, their first championship of any kind since 1971.

Memphis won their bowl match against Brigham Young University 55-48 in double over time, a game which also included a massive on field brawl. It was Memphis' first ten win season since 1938.

Mandatory Frank Lowy succession comment
Here are some of the things that are bothering me about this process.

• People using legalistic arguments as opposed to ethical ones in order to justify the potential hiring of Steven Lowy as Frank's successor.
• The continuing and fervent apologia hinting at, or openly appealing to the abstract notion of 'the greater good'.
• The fact that we apparently have such a lack of capable people to call upon in the game that Frank's boy seems to be the 'most obvious' candidate, even as we conduct another patented Australian soccer world wide search.

The moment where FFA does or doesn't choose Steven Lowy as Frank's successor is almost irrelevant. It is the process which allows that to even be a possibility that's a concern. But what to do about it?

Labored analogy based upon an old review of Eels' Daisies of the Galaxy album.
Sometimes I feel like my writing on the game has becomes so insular that I can't come out, and that only the existing members of my hard won and loyal audience can possibly continue traveling with me on this mildly eccentric faux indie ride.

Delivering a service of sorts

How could I forget about this? We love constructive criticism on South of the Border, and we love a good, honest debate as well. Sometimes these things get a little heated. Last year, the closer we got to having to vote on the Lakeside redevelopment deal, the more angst was thrown about amongst the supporter base, and smfcboard was no exception. The lack of detail given out by the board was a major factor in this - and their reasoning of confidentiality, and the importance of only social club members, was not to the satisfaction. This is an example of one such exchange, between myself and a forumite named Puskas (whom I have never met personally, but am assured by someone who knows him that he's a good guy, and I believe that to be true). The reason I put it up is because of the last line, as you'll see. Did he end up following through with his threat of voting against the proposed deal? I don't know. The members were pretty much unanimous in giving their assent, and in such cases, for better or worse we see the function of a member run club being played out. 

Puskas: But then again the majority of the members here bent over willingly and copped it up the arse by Lowy and his FFA mafia.

Me: And please us how the majority of members here took it up the arse but you somehow stuck it to the man? What did you do?

Puskas: The board and members could've made a lot more noise when we lost our status within the football hierarchy of this country. The board should've bombarded the media. The board should've been in everyone's face. Instead it was just a yes man to Lowy. Lets not forget Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane were with us in the NSL and now have A-League status. This club has lost all chance of ever being in the elite competition. Unless the A-League collapses we are doomed to play VPL forever or until we get relegated. Tell Eddie and his Athletics Victoria board to go fuck themselves and I will be voting for that at the AGM. Why don't you stick that in your blog faggot.

Con Anthopoulos on Millionaire Hot Seat! And you missed it!

I was watching Millionaire Hot Seat earlier today. Contestant number six was none other than former South Melbourne, Carlton and several other no name clubs superstar Con Anthopoulos! On getting his mug on national television (for a 2nd time on a quiz show - he'd been on Temptation before and won a holiday or something) Con's past as a former pro soccer player was brought up, including his time in the Young Socceroos, but no mention of South, which is a pity.

For those who want to know how he went, keep reading. His first question was with whom is actor/singer Vanessa Paradis in a relationship with, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Con guessed Johnny Depp, and moved one question closer to heaps of money.

Alas, the next question brought our hero undone. Asked with which part of your body would you genuflect, he answered wrist. Poor Con, the answer is of course, knee. So Con bowed out of the running and I stopped caring.

Murney, Schwab, Nestoridis and International Jewry

So me and Ian Syson went out to Hugh Murney's place today, to talk about Max Sterne, the noted Australian stamp dealer and oldest registered soccer player in the state still going at 80 something (and not the Italian vet who developed an anthrax vaccine), but as sometimes happens we ended up going off on a few tangents, and we got to learn a fair a bit about Hugh's football story. And soccer-forum got a mention as well, for the North Caulfield on Sundays saga, whereby every team that plays against North Caulfield Maccabi must play even their home games on Sundays.

For those like myself, unfamiliar with Hugh Murney, he was a Scottish footballer who came out here to play for Hakoah in the mid 1960s after having played all over the place in Scotland, and then also played or coached at many places, and so I enjoyed having my knowledge of obscure and now defunct Melbourne soccer teams validated, as we talked about Albion Rovers (before the Turks took over), Kew Park Rangers, Sunshine City etc. One of those rare occasions where all that time spent working on OzFootball didn't go waste.

And we also talked about the great characters he's met along the way, Eddie McGuire tucking into a Scottish breakfast at Hugh's pub before the Scotland/Australia game in the 1980s, Manchester United, England and Scotland touring teams, with plenty of stories about drinking and tongue in cheek jokes about the meanness of the Scots and the Jews. And an unprompted bit about Kostas Nestoridis, and him scoring two goals from corners in one game, after having been drinking and playing cards the previous night until well into the next morning. Oh, and Footy Show (co)creator Harvey Silver's involvement in local Jewish football.

There's a hell of a story in there, or at least, hundreds of anecdotes worth collecting and preserving. But he gave us the name of one bloke writing a book, called Michael O'Hara, who's written this bizarre book about his time in MI6, of which the segment I've chosen talks about the great Hakoah side of the mid 1960s, and some other stuff. Fascinating game, Australian soccer.

Tit For Tat

Stateline segment on Lakeside redevelopment

I'm a bit worried about anyone who spends their Friday nights watching ABC1's Stateline program, but in this case it's probably a good thing. Thanks to Diagoras off the main South forum for alerting South of the Border to this piece by the said program, which comes almost entirely from the Athletics Victoria point of view.

It goes to show that it isn't all strawberries and cream, and that Athletics Victoria will quite likely become the key tenant, with expectations of the privileges of such an arrangement. While the fairness of it all may be something left to desire, considering all the money that we as a club have invested in the venue, it may be the obvious way things were due to turn out, after all, they're probably going to get higher crowds and more event use out of it than we will. Also shows what happens when governments cave in to people like Eddie Everywhere, instead of following a pluralist approach to this kind of thing.

Also note that the 1926 stand is not slated for demolition as hinted in Neos Kosmos English Weekly earlier this week - rather, it appears that it will be converted into the headquarters for the Victorian Institute of Sport. Again, drip, drip, drip, information coming out so slowly. And lastly, where are we? Why aren't we in the segment, as in like, ask us our point of view? Should we have started a brawl first in order to rate a mention?


Victoria's Athletics community lament football's takeover of Olympic Park

Broadcast: 09/05/2008

Reporter: Kathy Bowlen
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RON CLARKE, FMR WORLD CHAMPION: The only world record set in Australia on any track that's still there was set at Olympic Park.

JAMES MERLINO, SPORTS MINISTER: You don't see as many athletes training at Olympic Park. You don't see as many schools using Olympic Park.

ANNE LOVE, ATHLETICS VICTORIA: There's lots of school events that are conducted here at Olympic Park, training most nights, athletes come in to train. We hold - over the summer - we hold all our championship events here.

JANE FLEMING, FORMER HEPTATHLETE: I just think it's really sad. I mean, Olympic Park has been the home of athletics for 50 years.

KATHY BOWLEN, PRESENTER: For the girls competing at this week's Secondary Catholic Sports Association at Olympic Park, there was plenty of history to inspire them. This is the track where Kathy Freeman first ran under 50 seconds. Raelene Boyle, Jane Fleming and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor competed here. Going back further, it was here that John Landy stopped running to help a fallen Ron Clarke before going on to win the event. And some of those champions are among the most strident critics of the Government's plan.

RON CLARKE: It's always been in that area and that city precinct. And so many memories, so many traditions, so easy to get to. And how it can't be combined with everything else they're doing now, I don't know. It just seems strange.

JANE FLEMING: One of the reasons that athletics thrives in Victoria - most of our national teams are made up of more than 50 per cent Victorians - is because of Olympic Park's location. It's very, very central. And I think by moving it to anywhere else, we're going to lose that to start with and we're also not in the middle of the major sporting precinct of the major, you know, of Australia's sporting capital any more.

KATHY BOWLEN: Jane Fleming, who's expecting twins next week, lives in Sydney these days, but she's horrified by what she sees as a blatant disregard for the sport's tradition.

JANE FLEMING: People within athletics are very emotionally attached to that track because of all the history. And, I think that, you know, whilst the Government might have all sorts of, all sorts of reasoning behind what they're looking at doing, I think they need to put a value on the history and the emotion.

JAMES MERLINO: I can understand the heritage argument, but if that's the only basis on which that sport stays at Olympic Park, I don't think it stacks up in terms of the benefits we're gonna see down the track.

KATHY BOWLEN: James Merlino, who's been Sports Minister for 18 months, inherited the plans for Olympic Park. Nevertheless, he's committed to what he says is the future of athletics at Albert Park.

JAMES MERLINO: All of the principal Olympic sports will be based at Albert Park. So, you'll have track and field at Lakeside Oval. At MSAC, you already got the principal aquatic sports, so swimming, diving, water polo - all of those sports based at MSAC. In addition to that, we'll have the VIS base there. So, we'll have a new purpose built facility for the VIS based in the old 1926 grandstand, so that's gonna be completely renovated. We've also got sports medicine Australia, a number of state sporting associations based in that precinct. So, we're creating something quite special.

KATHY BOWLEN: Negotiations have been going on for well over a year and Athletics Victoria is cautiously optimistic.

ANNE LOVE: In a perfect world, no, we'd probably stay at Olympic Park. But, as I said, we've got to do the right thing by our members and our past members as well as our present members and to move the sport forward and to get a better deal for our sport is what we're after. And that's what we're working closely with the Government, you know, towards that. They've been terrific. And we have no doubt that they'll deliver on their insurances.

KATHY BOWLEN: The plan would see athletics share the lake side venue with the South Melbourne Soccer Club, who are also part of the negotiations. The plan is to provide another two ovals so their junior and women's teams can be based at Albert Park, giving the club a proper home. Their lease runs for another eight years, as does the sponsorship deal, which names the venue the Bob Jane Stadium.

The Minister concedes it's an odd name for an athletics stadium.

JAMES MERLINO: So, it's Bob Jane Stadium for a period of time, but what is absolutely crucial to athletics and I agree totally is that this is to be known as the State Athletics Centre or the Victorian Athletics Centre and we're completely in agreement with that. And we'll make sure that athletics gets the recognition that it deserves in this facility.

KATHY BOWLEN: When Melbourne staged the Friendly Games in 1956, Olympic Park was the home of our swimming, cycling and track and field teams. It was the warm up track for athletes competing at the MCG. At the conclusion of the games, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne pledged that the area would always be kept for amateur sports. That hasn't happened. The area now plays host to the Australian Open tennis, the Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Victory and perhaps most controversially, the Collingwood Football Club.

Collingwood now trains at Gosh's Paddock on Punt Road, but when Olympic Park is pulled down it will have a purpose built training facility, right next door to the club rooms.

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire is also a board member of Athletics Australia. Many in the athletics community believe he has a conflict of interest when it comes to dealing with what's best for athletics.

RON CLARKE: I'm flabbergasted why they should even do it. I spoke to Eddie McGuire and - some time back - and he was assuring me that they wanted to retain Olympic Park, they wanted to retain track and field there. And I really can't understand the big change-about. Either - I don't know if this is the State Government or driven by Collingwood themselves.

JANE FLEMING: The Storm and the Victory have been able to share the venue, and it's only really the AFL clubs. And I feel like saying to them: "Don't you have enough already?" You know, in comparison to the amateur sports.

KATHY BOWLEN: Businessman and former decathlete Rob Fildes chairs the sport's governing body in Australia and invited Eddie McGuire to join the board. He says the Collingwood President has acted in good faith.

ROB FILDES, ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA: It hasn't been a big issue at the board level. At our last board meeting, we did however raise it with Eddie and we went through any questions that there might be. And from his point of view, when he comes to athletics he's been very supportive of our sport.

KATHY BOWLEN: As a successful international businessman, Rob Fildes has a pragmatic approach to his former sport and believes funding of athletes and coaches is far more crucial than where they train. But as our competitors invest heavily in their sporting futures, will we come to regret relinquishing the connection to our golden era of track and field?

JANE FLEMING: I just want the Government to think about the next time they want to have a photograph taken with a Cathy Freeman or a John Landy or a Ron Clarke or at the Premier's fundraising for the Olympic Games team about removing piece of integral infrastructure to the history and success of our sport.

Eddie Everywhere's eviction notice to himself

The latest episode in the Olympic Park precinct restructure saga

Olympic Park grab for Collingwood

Right off the bat, I'll make it known that I am a keen Collingwood fan. Don't get to enough games (usually 4-5 a year), but in action it's quite obvious I'm far more a South fan (nearly every game, plus an assortment of pre-season stuff and miscellaneous events). Unlike a majority of Collingwood fans, I have a massive problem with Eddie's many conflicts of interests, though not in the way that was most reported, in terms commentary bias, but rather the blurring of the line between 'journalist' and 'club official'. See his covering up a few years ago of the story of Collingwood players trashing a hotel up in Queensland during the mid-season break as one example.

Now for those not up to speed with the whole situation. A few years ago, Collingwood deserted their home of over a century, the legendary but rundown Victoria Park, to move to a new purpose built centre next to Olympic Park. They train on the former site of Olympic Park ground no.2, former greyhound track and home of Brunswick Juventus. But the government is now building the new 'Bubbledome' stadium, where the Victory and the Storm will play. Collingwood and Melbourne aussie rules club, (who also train there) have been pretty much asked to train 300 metres further east. Not really such a big ask. But because Eddie is not only president of Collingwood but also on the board of Athletics Australia, he's basically trying to evict the organisation he is supposed to be looking after the interests of, and who don't want to move from Olympic Park, so they can be replaced by his other, bigger interest.

Why the heat is not being applied with the most massive fucking blowtorch in the universe by local journos is a disgrace but not exactly unexpected. The AFL gets a dream run in the local media, and anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way will get short shrift. Let us not also forget the (now apparently aborted) push from the Sydney Swans, even supported by dickhead Victory supporters, to get evict us. I don't have a problem with a running track around Lakeside. It's not ideal, but if it secures our tenancy there for a long time and by extension our future, then that's the most important thing. But the way Athletics Victoria and South are being treated is nothing short of disgraceful. More comment to come as the new stadium gets built, and a decision has to be made.