Cryptic - South Melbourne 7 North Geelong 1

On being mistaken for first a Xavier, then a Carey Old Boy
On the day of this match (but not at the match), after being introduced with some keenness to someone by someone else, I was told in no uncertain terms by one of those someones that teams like South Melbourne being pushed out of the top flight was the best thing that ever happened in Australian soccer, because teams like ours had held the game back. Meanwhile the person who said this... no, actually forget them. They're busy destroying Australian soccer in their own way.

Being South Melbourne Hellas' Veronica Guerin, without trying to trivialise the life and work of the real Veronica Guerin
Presidents, board members, former board members, friends of players, former players, people who don't like reading long pieces - at one point or another, all of these groups have voiced disapproval of this blog. Apart from providing me with sleepless nights while I nurse my fragile ego, these moments of disapproval have also broken the self-satisfied nihilist delusion which I hold so dear to my heart that no one actually reads this stuff. Despite the crowd at this fixture being a mere 350 according to my regular informant, the evidence from the hits received here nevertheless suggests that I should dispense with my delusions of failure.

JERRY: She wants to talk.
GEORGE: She doesn't want to talk, she needs to talk. 
JERRY: Nobody needs to talk.
GEORGE: Who would want to.
And thus I had been forewarned that some people, who I shall not name, have been unhappy with things that I have written in recent times, and one by one they came to me to discuss the matter. Happily, it was mostly done in good spirits except by one person who... never mind. While thinking of the whole situation, I was reminded of an interview former Mr Bungle and Faith No More guitarist Trey Spruance did, where he remarked of an absurd (in the existential sense) experience he had, 'it didn't make me bitter. I guess I was lucky because I’d read enough Kierkegaard to enjoy the irony', which is kind of how I felt (except for having read almost no Kierkegaard, except for that one time), including Spruance's finding the whole situation utterly hilarious.

Blatherskites
So the thing is I guess that I want... well, I suppose I want lots of things, while acknowledging that I don't need those things, and that having those things will not make me any happier. But what I want is for an Australian soccer version of AA Philips' 'relaxed erectness of carriage', even if that ethos is apparently 'manifestly bourgeois and masculinist'. Some people can't enjoy even the simple pleasures that life provides.

Facile pondering of how a group became a toponym, or how a toponym became a group, and how an individual moves in between those spaces
I am sometimes Clarendon Corner, but mostly Clarendon Corner is the location and whoever happens to be inhabiting it at any given time, I think.

The first half
While it would be wrong to say that North Geelong offered little resistance - despite being down 1-0 early, they still had some good chances to equalise against the sometimes makeshift and porous defending - once they went 2-0 down, everything seemed to just fall apart, as can often be the case. That first goal was farcical, as it seemed to just trickle through into the back of the net. Also Epifano was the scorer. That was also the only goal up until half time, before we had to endure the half time entertainment.

A: The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other.
Q: What is perspective?
They had some hapless contestants kicking balls from the middle of the field towards a tyre located roughly on one of the penalty spots, Not providing the marshals with any sort of measuring equipment was a stroke of genius, as was having the ball kids moving the balls around. All of this reached its apex of hilarity when the illusion of perspective (even worse for the depth perception deficient) made it seem like one contestant's ball was clearly closer to the target than another. At least the crowd got involved.

Second half
Leigh Minopoulos scored a tap in, then Andy Brennan ball hogged his way to a goal, which lead to some amusing chants.

Wishful chants of "Newcastle is broke, Newcastle is brokkkke, Andy Brennan, Newcastle is broke!" hahah. #PS4NPLVIC

— Steven Chang (@Gixibyte) May 29, 2015

I think the bloke next to me, who'd had way too much bourbon before the game, missed that goal because he was too engrossed in Adam Goodes' brilliant heel turn. Andy Kecojevic, Chris Irwin and Minopoulos added more goals, before the visitors scored from a penalty. and then Iqi Jawadi restored the six goal lead. In amid all that, there was a brilliantly botched breakaway attempt, as Epifano refused to come back onside and Minopoulos was too desperate to be nice, and instead of just putting the damn thing in the back of the net decided to offload it to Epifano. For the most part people did what they had to do, but no one shone, because it was a classic case of downhill skiing.

The important things
Did Epifano make an obscene gesture to the crowd late in the game after he put in a poor cross, or was he merely gesturing towards Iqi Jawadi? If it was the former, who should get the credit for getting that response out of him? That there were wilful arguments about that last point says something important about this situation, though I'm not sure what. For whatever it's worth, I had my head turned when the gesture (whether malignant or benign) was made, and didn't see it.

Next week
Friday night Dockerty Cup match against Melbourne Knights.

Vale Nick Spanos
Long time volunteer Nick Spanos passed away this week, and with his passing so, too, goes another link to the club's earliest days, but also evidently a lovely human being. I think the most eloquent thing said about Mr Spanos was by George Koukoulas on smfcboard:

There are on field club legends and off field club legends.  

He was possibly one of the greatest off field legends that has ever served our club.  

Nick Spanos was there when SM United, Yarra Park and Hellenic amalgamated in 1959. 

He was such a lovely and gracious man that he had a calming influence on everyone that he came into contact with.  

He used to coach the club goalkeepers back in the day and never stopped volunteering and helping the club in any capacity he could.  

Post NSL, I remember he would turn up every Thursday and do whatever he could do to maintain the stadium and keep the club going.  

On match days, one of his tasks was to raise the club flags on the flag poles and he even did that with a sense of purpose and pride.  

He was such a wealth information and great story teller.  

The club has lost a historic figure that will always be a part of our club.  

People like him helped build and sustain our club with integrity, loyalty and hard work.  

May he rest in peace.

Transfer window summary part 1: South Melbourne
We ended the transfer window with the signing of Kingston City goalkeeper Fraser Maclaren, the son of 1991 championship goalkeeper Bruce Maclaren. Should Fraser Maclaren take the field for South, he'd become just the third (as far as I'm aware) father-son playing combination in the club's history, following Manoli and Peter Tsolakis, and Savvas and Kosta Salapasidis.

We also apparently took a stab at signing former captain Ramazan Tavsancioglu, and depending on who you believe out there, either told us politely that he felt obliged to help Dandenong Thunder avoid relegation, or told us to get fucked. Anyway, to sum up:

IN: Nick Morton (Melbourne City, NPL 1 West), Chris Irwin (Avondale FC), Andy Bevin (Napier City Rovers, New Zealand) and Fraser Maclaren (Kingston City, NPL 1 East), Lachlan Jackson (Brisbane Roar, A-League), Thomas Lakic (Melbourne Victory, NPL).

OUT: Peter Gavalas, Bonel Obradovic (Northcote City, NPL), Chris Cristaldo, Yiannis Avramidis (20s, Moreland City), Ryan Babare (20s, Springvale White Eagles), Peter Constantinou (20s, Brunswick City) and (eventually, probably) Andy Brennan (Newcastle Jets)

Transfer window summary part 2: Not South Melbourne

Oakleigh Cannons' transfer activity is making a mockery of @footballvic's self serve PPS policy. #ps4nplvic pic.twitter.com/btBcG2w4Nj

— Paul Mavroudis (@PaulMavroudis) May 26, 2015

Transfer window summary part 2: Formerly South Melbourne

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT! We are delighted to confirm the Signings of Massimo Murdocca & Francesco Stella! #ForzaAvondale! pic.twitter.com/WgDV8rOeL2

— Avondale FC (@AvondaleHSC84) May 25, 2015

Borrowed Sepp Blatter commentary no. 1

#FIFACongress #FIFAelection pic.twitter.com/pPsegJszL3

— Adam Howard (@adamOsaussies) May 29, 2015

Borrowed Sepp Blatter commentary no. 2

"Yo, Mr Black, another brandy!" "Gentlemen, to evil." #SeppBlatter pic.twitter.com/ATBxRHorl8

— SimpsonsQOTD (@SimpsonsQOTD) May 29, 2015

Did you know...
That when you use the #smfc hashtag on Twitter, you'll also come across stuff from Scotland's St Mirren? Maybe time to start a Twitter sister club relationship or something.

So, um...
How's that Nick Epifano vs Cliff Hussey investigation coming along?

Around the grounds
Footy!
Me, I was looking at my phone intermittently for footy scores. Some of the reserves after their match were checking footy scores as well as Supercoach updates. One of the officials came out during half time and asked us what the score in the footy was. The old bloke on the phone talking to a mate? He wasn't checking out footy scores - he was more interested in talking about racing. The game itself saw mid-table Altona East host bottom and winless Corio, who lined up with a keeper that got rejected as a reserves keeper during East's pre-season a couple of years back when they copped 7 or 8 from Melbourne Uni. Two goals in the second half were enough for East to win this one fairly comfortably.

Paul Mavroudis, Emerging Writer
As part of the 2015 Emerging Writers Festival, I will be part of the 'PWE Readings Extravaganza' (a free event) on Monday 1st June, at Thousand Pound Bend, 361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Basically, it's a program showcasing the work of about 20 current and former professional writing and editing students from across several tertiary institutions in Victoria, with each person getting about 3-4 minutes to read out a piece of work. I don't know what everyone else will be doing - hopefully not twenty dark and sombre mood pieces - but I'll be reading out a piece from my Shoot Farken Heavy Sleeper collection which looked at the most inconsequential game of the 2014 World Cup,

Final thought
How the hell is a dog meant to use a MadMex voucher?

AGM 2012 - Onwards Toward the Final Victory!

One could argue that I'm here to provide a public service. But at the same time, the AGMs are for members only, so why should we spill all the beans to those who aren't members of the club, or who can't be bothered making the effort to turn up?

Anyway, yes, the Australia Day long weekend was a crap time to host this delayed event, but the turnout was still made up of pretty much exactly the same people you'd normally expect to see, give or take a couple of people on holidays and one or two who slept in and missed it.

Money
The club recorded its first profit since the Brazil adventure. There was no applause for this milestone. A sign of maturity from the members?

Social Club
Will it be ready by the time they want? Have to wait until FA Cup night. Here's hoping for a Brentford vs Luton final.

Women
The club as usual claims progress is being made. I get the feeling that the two parties are still on very different wavelengths.

National Competitions Review
Not much change from the last time we talked about this. The FFV and FFA insist it will go ahead in 2014. Off the record, one proponent suggests that most of the VPL clubs acknowledge this fact, and that they are beginning to at least consider applying for an 'elite' licence. George Koukoulas, who is a member of the FFV men's standing committee, claims the opposite, that most of the clubs are still fundamentally opposed. South claims it is prepared for either eventuality. The FFV comes put with its next stage of recommendations and and possibly bidding process information in two weeks.

Vote Early, Vote Often
An election is due at the next AGM. Unlike all the post-NSL elections, which have seen no rival tickets showing their hand (despite murmurings at the time that there would be), we could see some more action for two reasons.

Firstly, this will be the first elections after the FFV's constitutional reforms which saw players and parents of junior players added automatically to the list of people who can vote. In our case, we have been assured in previous AGMs that these people will only be eligible to run for SMFC and not SMH (the SC got dropped off the end of SMHSC at the previous AGM)

Secondly, there is the obvious dissatisfaction with the current regime shown by former(?) board members George Koukoulas and Lucky Chrisomalidis. Will this be enough to get them to start their own ticket? And who would be on it? Whatever happens, I hope that there is at least some sort of opposition, not because I think the current board are doing a bad job, but just to see a different set of ideas so we can weigh them against what we have now.

Ruthlessness
The club needs to be more ruthless in vetting who is a member and who isn't, and in which meeting they should be in, and if they should in a meeting at all. Having the SMFC and SMH AGMs on separate days seems like an obvious solution to at least one of these issues.

Apparently Melbourne Knights are far more thorough with their arrangements, not even allowing notes to be taken (there goes my question sheet!) and all documents given out during a meeting to be returned at the end of the meeting - and if that doesn't happen, no one goes home. Sounds like another level of fun to be added.

Not Around The Grounds
I was disappointed with the representatives of the football department, when it came to explaining their attitudes towards going to watch other VPL and state league matches.

You see representatives of other clubs at grounds all the time, in their thick, club branded tracksuit jackets. I even made the quip (which got a few laughs!) that I see  Heidelberg coach George Katsakis at so many games that I sometimes think he's stalking me.

Yes, I have no life, and that is why I can be seen at 1-2 games a weekend which don't involve South. But I would expect to see South football department people at other games every now and again, instead of rarely. It's not just about scouting players and reconnaissance - it's about being seen mingling with the hoi polloi. It may not mean that we won't be seen as aloof, but at least they'll see us being aloof.

Farewell, Steve O'Dor
The rumour circulating during the off-season has been confirmed - Steve O'Dor has apparently retired, at least from VPL football. Work commitments appear to have taken their toll.

The Best Question
Someone, I assume new to this whole experience, asked about a rumour he read on the internet about whether we were going to take over Melbourne Heart. This is what happens when you let your children read FourFourTwo forums unsupervised.

3XY Radio Hellas stick to its guns...

... and fires a few more shots across the South Melbourne bow.

Last night's sports program on 3XY Radio Hellas was some of the most incredible radio I've ever heard. Among the many feelings the program evoked were fascination, disbelief and incredulity. It was also often an unnerving listening experience. The stakes have been raised.

Throughout the extraordinarily lengthy coverage given to the issues covered in the Ta Nea's recent articles - I would hazard that at least 70-80 minutes of their alloted 130 minutes was spent on the matter - there was the constant and very defensive catchcry about the lack of a personal agenda in pursuing these matters.

What was particularly mind boggling to them (and to me, although for different reasons) is the way that the Ta Nea articles have created a sense of panic among South's supporter base. They're confused because they believe they are reporting the truth - however I'm confused as to why they're confused about the panic that's spread which is an inevitable result of the articles they've written.

The great swathe of South supporting family, for better or worse, relies on either the South official site or the local Greek press for its information. The former has been near silent on the issues as covered by Ta Nea, excluding whatever material they've published before. The latter saw a chance for some cheap thrills, and have run with it.

The net effect? People brought up in a culture where corruption from authority figures is seen as de rigueur - indeed those who are not corrupt are as σουρδοι, a word from Kozani meaning naive, innocent, with an unusual negative attachment to it - buying into these conspiracies.

One major breakthrough is that the Greek Media Group, in one of its guises, finally put names to the disaffected former committee members. These are now confirmed to be George Koukoulas, Lucky Chrisomalidis and Tom Karatzas.

Among the other claims that the program made either directly or indirectly:

• That the club disrespected the two people who loaned the club money back in 2004, Chris Christopher and Tony Toumbourou.
• That the club has disrespected former president Leo Anezakis and his family.
• That the club was being run like a dictatorship.
• That anyone who agreed with the board is a sycophant. 

Prominent longtime supporter George Karantonis (who also hosts a Greek sports radio show on community radio station Southern FM) was also on the show. Karantonis is a regular contributor to the 3XY sports program. He complained about:

• The fact that South no longer controls Lakeside.
• The $2.50 Ticketmaster ticket surcharge on games at Lakeside.
• That South is the only club not working with the other clubs to, I assume, oppose the NCR reforms (an approach other supporters are also concerned with).
• Treatment of life members (one of his favourite causes)
• Regarding the $300,000 annual government stipend (I suppose about it not being used correctly), acting as if it that money is clear profit.
• About the changes to the junior academy, berating both the costs, while claiming that the club will pocket about $30,000 profit from the program.
• Smoking bans inside the stadium on match days (though he was corrected by one of the hosts, who mentioned that this is no different to AAMI Park or the MCG)

Another longtime supporter and volunteer, named Argiri, was also given time to air his grievances. His main complaint was that the club's plans for the social club would be disastrous, having being attempted before under previous administrations with no success. This was the same position he took at the meeting where the club's plans for the social club were detailed - for details of that meeting, see this post.

There was no mention however, that rightly or wrongly, most of the supporters in attendance were supportive of the club's direction on this matter. The way the matter was presented on the show was thus incredibly skewed toward Argiri's (and George Koukoulas') minority position.

Equally, when they had asked people to call in, the reaction to those callers (all off air) that seemed to criticise the Greek Media Group's approach was noticeably hostile. If this is the 'Greek community's team' (a laughable and long outdated notion), surely those who support the current committee have just as much right right to have their views heard fairly as do the naysayers?

The presenters and contributors also asked what the board have achieved in the past seven years. The focus was often on on field results, and well, who hasn't been annoyed by them? Equally they could ask their frequent guest Aki Ioannas of Oakleigh what they've achieved in the same time period. Or any of the big spending clubs who haven't managed to snare a title.

If we're talking about off-field issues though, well, including those persons who are now on the outer, the board has actually done a pretty decent job of keeping the whole thing afloat for as long as they have, to the point where it seems we've turned things around and are ready to build again instead of just survive.

What's odd though, is that despite all the problems and mistakes the club has made over the past seven years, and all the enemies and enmities that they've racked up, that not one of those three aforementioned persons, who have spent varying amounts of time on the committee since the end of the NSL, are apportioned any of the blame for these failures.

I Hope You Guys Know What You're Doing Department
The relative silence on all these issues being undertaken by the club is intriguing, and not without risk. By not responding, they're obviously taking the chance that the momentum of this anti-committee campaign will eventually run out. Combine that with a belief that the proof will be in the pudding - Toumbourou's sons dealt with, social club and lease sorted, balance sheets in the black - and the hope that news of these possible successes will filter through to the hoi polloi.

Mud sticks. But I suppose getting dragged into a street fight isn't worthwhile either - you end up lowering yourself to the level of those making vague accusations, hiding behind phony anonymity, and you lose anyway. And what chance is there of actually changing people's opinions, when people would rather believe the worst?

The notion that 3XY/Ta Nea has offered an opportunity to the board to tell their side of their story, and that they've knocked it back, won't play well in the sticks. But if the board wants to stick to their approach, especially after reportedly being black banned from the program for about a year anyway, that's their prerogative.

Here's hoping that it all goes to plan.

Ephemera
Also interesting was later on they had a representative from Bentleigh Greens on the show, who was at a loss to explain the poor crowds his team got in 2012 despite playing well, making finals etc. He seemed to put the blame squarely on Joe Public (and in my mind, not necessarily without good reason), but I couldn't think of why the hosts let him get off so easily for making that call, and especially how $12 was not expensive in terms of ticket prices, when earlier assertions were made that South's current committee were to blame for poor attendances since the end of the NSL, and that the Ticketmaster surcharge, which the club does not control nor receive, was somehow excessive.

Lastly, Hellenic Cup committee chairperson/president (and a 'χωριανό' of my dad) Jim Massis stated that the Hellenic Cup would not be held next year, as the organising committee had not received any expressions of interest to host the event. He appeared to apportion blame towards the restructure of the league system, rather address the issue of host clubs not making any money from the competition. Is this the end of the tournament? Wait and see I guess.

Late, sloppy rundown of last week's club meeting

With apologies for the very large delay in getting this post out.

Last week's meeting had much to recommend it. The club explained its plans for the social club, elaborated its approach to the FFV's establishment of the National Competitions Review recommendations and sought to explain how our academy system would fit into those plans.

The presentations mollified a lot of the hostility that had been building up with regards to our engagement with the NCR process in particular. Yet there are still questions which remain unanswered, and troubling questions about the conduct of certain board members and their affiliates.

Social Club
The social club plans were the first point of discussion. The lack of a social club facility was a bone of contention among many supporters, for two reasons. Firstly because maintaining control of that space was meant to provide the club with susbtantial income independent of football, and secondly because it would provide the club with a sense of place and ownership over at least part of Lakeside Stadium. Quite a few supporters have made the observation that the venue does not feel like it is 'ours', and the line that it was better to do things right rather than quickly were beginning to wear thin.

Previous presentations on the matter had suggested that a privately operated restaurant/bistro would be accompanied by corporate suites and offices. The plans presented last night were substantially different. While maintaining the bistro element of the original plans, the corporate suite option was excised in favour of a futsal court. I must admit, I was not the only one with significant concerns about this change.

The questions from the audience were obvious. What benefit would we have in operating a futsal court in a precinct which already had five futsal courts? Why go from the corporate suites to the futsal court option? The answers were illuminating, and satisfactory to me at least, though not without concerns about how we go about our day to day business with regards to our presence in the venue.

According to the board, our lease stipulates that we must use our exclusive areas for football purposes. Thus, the option of renting out our revamped facilities to entities such as medical centres etc would be prohibited. A futsal court, which would not only be useful for our juniors, would also be able to exploit the apparently bursting at the seams situation down at the pit lane facilities.

Not everyone was satisfied with this plan, even after the explanation. One time board member George Koukoulas was particularly vocal in his opposition, both to the futsal court itself, and the rationale behind, arguing that the restrictions that the board claimed somewhat forced them towards their direction were not true. He seemed to lose the public battle on that front, for the time being at least, his approach falling flat with much of the membership.

The club is looking to run the futsal and bistro operations itself. One older gentleman objected to this arrangement, claiming that the club had tried taking this route before and it hadn't worked. It didn't seem to wash with most of the attendees. The club is also apparently not looking to borrow any funds beyond the government grant to fund the redevelopment, which raised a few eyebrows.  The board believes its revenue estimates are relatively conservative - opinion on that matter differed within the audience.

Being dependent on a government grant, the plans had to be audited by the relevant authorities. The board stated that contracts have been signed, work is ready to go within two weeks, and they are hoping for a March completion date. I asked if the basic plans/drawings could be put up online, they said yes, but we'll see ow it goes I suppose.

National Competition Review
There has been much exasperation about the board's apparently full steam ahead approach with the NCR. The board reiterated that they would prefer to work inside the tent and assist the FFV is creating a workable reform process. In addition, the board claimed they would not sign anything unless changes were introduced which were in line with our expectations of the future working of this new era.

They claimed that 4-5 other clubs were also taking up discussions with the FFV, though they did not specify which clubs were doing so. I had also heard this rumour before, with several names being bandied about, but with no way of actually confirming the validity of that rumour. If it is true, it seems to be that one club from state league 1, and four or so clubs from the VPL are trying to engage with the FFV. Considering that there have been meetings between the other 11 VPL clubs and an apparent unanimity in opposing the FFV's NCR reforms, that bloc of 11 may not be so united.

We'll have to wait until December/January for the next stage to be clearer about what form this new competition will take, and whether the club will support it.

Additional Concerns
Within what I considered the mostly good news being delivered, I was concerned about several issues. Firstly, that the issue of integrating women's football into the academy system, a key component of the 'Elite' program requirements, was not broached at all. In fact, women's football and our attempts to try and build a bridge with South Melbourne Women's Football Club did not rate a mention. Hopefully there are some significant updates on this matter by the time the AGM comes around. This saga has been going on too long.

The academy system will favour the wealthy. It is hard to know how we will attract the best talent with costs of around $3000, regardless of the possibility of two or three scholarship positions. The board made the reasonable comment that the costs were influenced by the lack of money coming from the top. In Australia, this kind of system of four days a week training, with all the trimmings, is a new concept. The hope was that once the club renovation took place, and surplus money started flowing in, that costs could be lowered. That sounds great, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for costs to fall.

If the club chooses to head down this path, it needs to commit to it for a good five years at the absolute minimum. It's likely that we won't get to see the fruit of this labour for some time, until players that have come through the system in its entirety are being produced. Only then can we really ascertain the program's success. In an industry and in a club culture of very short term goal setting, it'll take some holding of their nerve to make it that far.

The attempt to if not shut down debate, then at least try and insinuate that negative or critical comments made on internet forums, did not sit well with me. The club does not and should not control the opinions of its membership. Yes, often times the discussion from the supporters can get out of hand, misrepresent an issue, or paint the club in a negative light - but that's the modern age. If the club seeks to fight back on foreign media soil, it would be best to do that openly, and not hiding behind aliases especially while threatening to reveal the identities of your average supporter. Unfortunately, this subject was also not covered to my liking.

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere Department
Lastly, I was very surprised to see Tom Kalas use a portion of a blog post of mine - from the infamous Kubler Ross Model spectacular - as part of his presentation. It kinda made my head spin for a little bit, not for the fact the he reads this blog, which I was already aware of, but that he saw fit to use it for the purposes of selling our reincarnation, re-interpreting the depressing missive into a justification for change. When Gil Scott Heron said that the revolution would not be televised, some forty odd years ago now, I doubt that he had in mind that it would be blogged instead.

Jerry's Final Thought
I expected a much more hostile and heated meeting. It got tense at times, there was shouting, people talking over one another, but that's not unusual for something like this. To my surprise, most of the attendees seemed open minded about the proposed changes, even if they weren't necessarily convinced by all of them. If that's the least that comes of out of this process, maybe this club does have a worthwhile future.

Still can't beat them - South Melbourne 0 Heidelberg United 0

At the start of the match, what with all the results going our way more or less, and with the fact that we hadn't beaten this mob during the season since 2006, only a win would have been acceptable. But by the end of the game however, after being reduced to 10 men for the last 30 minutes or so, a draw seemed acceptable, if not exactly palatable. That's football in a nutshell I guess.

The first half was dreadful. Comparatively, Heidelberg were slightly less dreadful than we were. Sure, the wind played havoc with both sides, but there was scarcely anything worth remembering from the first half, which would have been tolerable if it was two sides at the foot of the table, but it was two sides in the top half of the ladder. And I couldn't understand our reluctance to cross or shoot early instead of holding the ball for too long.

The game received a certain jolt of interest when a stray cross which was heading into goal was tipped over the bar by Griffin McMaster. The officials surprised everyone by calling for a goalkick, leading to Jesse Krncevic being sent off for dissent. Now I don't know what he said - he certainly didn't seem to be yelling or remonstrating in any obvious manner - but considering the poor tackles that go unpunished every week in this league, which sees the few genuinely talented players that give us some sort of joy in this cesspool receive no protection, surely cutting down swearing and dissent should be at the the bottom of the list of priorities?

Krncevic sees red; Vasilevski is shocked. Photo: Cindy Nitsos.

Anyway, the game livened up after that and we put in a decent effort, though it was helped by Heidelberg seemingly playing for the draw even more than we were. I felt we looked most dangerous from set piece situations, but a win after Krncevic's dismissal was always going to be a longshot. So while we're still winless against this mob in five years of league action, at least we haven't lost to them this year. It's a very small thing to appreciative of, I know.

Next Game
A tough midweek Mirabella Cup game against Port Melbourne, before we head over to Singapore. Recchia didn't get off the bench yesterday, which may mean we'll only get to see him play a bit part during our midweek cup clash. With Jesse missing for another few weeks, it'll at least mean he's less likely to get injured before Singapore.

Have you seen our dog?
Recent signing Jean Charles Dubois has apparently either done a runner to trial in Thailand and won't be coming back, or he'll be playing for us in the Singapore Cup after said trial. This is the risk you take when you sign up players on amateur contracts, and Knights fans, who were burnt in the same manner by the same player, are justifiably having a good laugh about the situation. Still, apparently we've signed a replacement from Hume, one Stephen Weir, who scored twice against us when we were down to nine men during the recent Anzac Day match. Take that whichever way you will.

Heidelberg Harisimidis (and friends) Watch
No sign of that lunatic running up and down the wing yesterday for some reason, which surprised me. Steve from Broady in particular would have been pleased with his absence, after Heidelberg Harismidis, without invitation, started eating Steve's chips at the Hungry Jack's inside Melbourne Central.

And a big shout out to the Heidelberg fans who tried to get in for free at the back gate. Three of you made it through, but the rest of you who tried didn't have so much luck once George Koukoulas came around and locked the gate. The reason that gate was unlocked in the first place? So stray balls that ended up over the fence could be retrieved. When Heidelberg sent one over during their warm up, the poor lad sent to get it couldn't get through.

Still, we should have had a marshal there in the first place, but it was funny seeing three Bergers fans make their way towards that gate after probably being tipped off about it and having to turn back. That's not to claim some sort of moral high ground - quite a few clubs around the place have supporters who will try and find ways around paying at the gate, ours included. But there was a small measure of justice yesterday.

It's not cajun, it's burnt

OK, so I ripped that line straight from Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, but it doesn't lessen the impact of that pearl of wisdom - that there is a difference between a smoky charcoal flavour and carbon. Otherwise the food at last night's gala ball was good, helped by the fact that I am now becoming accustomed to the smaller portions dished out at these events.

Anyway, enough about the food. Board member and Jimmy Armstrong endorsed 2004 saviour of the club George Koukoulas decided that there was no better opportunity to rip out some killer dance moves, and good luck to him for doing so. Sure, there's the quote by Cicero that 'sane men do not dance', but Cicero was apparently also a terribly inconsistent and malleable piece of work; whose rhetoric and reputation was tarnished even in contemporary times for being prone to constantly changing his opinions to suit the prevailing political winds. Am I headed that way too? Perhaps.

Crown Casino, in its quest to have everyone become lost in its labyrinthine mess - and preferably in the gaming room part - doesn't seem to provide floor maps of its extensive facilities. I was able to find out that Studio 3 was where the old Heat nightclub used to be, but of course that means nothing to me. Whatever, I managed to find the place easily enough. Just another razzle dazzle function room with staff who struggle to hold their drinks even before patrons get to the trollied stage. As a person who generally abstains from drinking, it's no skin off my back. I'm more concerned about the staff member who took away a friend's main course from right under his nose, without asking him if he was finished, and even as said friend was still had a mouthful of food. Is this what we paid so much for?

Anyway, there the usual retrospectives of the season, Jimmy Armstrong talked about the club's London trip to receive our Oceania Club of the Century award, and there was also a recap of the Singapore adventure. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of two Sam Papasavas Awards, for outstanding service to the club, to Michael Dimoudis and George Kouroumalis. Both have worked tirelessly especially in the fields of media and promotions. The tv show, the youtube stuff, enhanced marketing, website renewal, radio, membership, databasing and so much more, all of these things would either not have happened or would have been in a far more parlous state had these two not given their extended time and efforts in these areas.

Should one be listening to Tasmanian black metal this early on a Sunday morning? Could be worse I guess - I could still be back in Studio 3, or at any of the after parties, listening to Apollo knows what kind of hellish music, unsuitable for moderately pretentious indie ears. Anyways, a good time was had, and congratulations to Michael and George on their achievements.

Politically Correct MVP night

An enjoyable evening was had last night at Honey Bar, with the usual and requisite personal quibbles. Fernando won the golden boot award of course, as well as the Theo Marmaras award for player of the year. What was perhaps a little surprising to me was how close it was - he finished up with 63 votes, just four ahead of Steven O'Dor and Peter Zois, and only overtaking those player with a nine point haul in the final round against Sunshine. I suppose it summed up the kind of year it was, where we flirted with both finals and relegation at various times during the year, playing at the extremes of appalling and brilliance often withing minutes of each other.

Fernando gave quite an emotional speech. The thing that was only semi-danced around, and not very well for most of the night, was the six point deduction. No sign of Horsey there - the rumours of his being sacked have been very strong, but nothing has been confirmed yet, no matter how strong the rumours are of Eddie Krncevic making a return to the South helm are. The notion of hiring of 91' championship hero Joe Palatsides has been been been buried - he's been having too good a time of it apparently coaching lower leagues sides in Greece, mostly recently at Karditsa in the Greek second division.

Lots of thank yous dished out. Echoing somewhat the omission of Kevin Nelson's name from the 2006 championship commemorative t-shirt, David Lugli didn't get mentioned. Maybe I don't have the stomach for such political antics, maybe he committed war crimes in the Sudan or something, but it seemed awkward. As did the somewhat cocky attitude of the players towards the Singapore Cup tie against Bangkok Glass - me, I don't know, maybe I read too many south-east Asian football blogs.

I was also offended by one George Koukoulas more or less accosting me and then berating me for not knowing about previous winners of our best and fairest, and then asking me what kind of club historian I am. Well, I'm not the official club historian, John Kyrou is - maybe Mr Koukoulas should check the South website. And considering the appalling record keeping of such matters within the club (with the exception of certain isolated individuals over the years, and the recent great work of John Kyrou), I don't see how it could possibly be my fault that I only know Steve Iosifidis won the award I think in one of our back to back seasons. It was hard enough even finding that out

But to focus any more than necessary on such small, petty individuals for too long is tiring. Back to the coaching situation. Some people seem convinced that a decision has already been made, and that they know who will be coaching us next year, maybe even this year. In better news, there's word that memberships and merchandise may very well be available even as early as this year, towards December of course. Now that's a level of progress that was mooted early this year, but seems to have much more to back it up this time around. I didn't dare ask about whether we could have a shirt with hoops though - I doubt it'd get up anyhow.

Part 2 of Gala Ball interview compilation

Notes from the 2009 Grand Final

I was convinced by the opportunity to catch up with a few South fans - as well as my media pass granting me free entry - to turn up to this yesterday. Dandenong Thunder had streaked the league, four or so games clear by the end, but that counts for nothing when you have finals. Their opponents wee Altona Magic, defending champs, third grand final in four seasons - never having finished first on the table though in any of those years.

There was plenty to see and a few surprises as well. Altona Magic's main cash cow Melissa Fischer-Massa came out of hiding - she's been scarcely seen at a VPL venue since allegations of the abysmal financial state of her nursing homes came to light. The Albanian contingent seemed in reasonably strong presence, air horns and all. The Magic's fans had some presence, but mostly elderly and as usual a small group of young people for whom this is probably their first Magic game of the season.

As per usual, the PA system at Lakeside was a mess - the national anthem was half done before anyone realised it was on. Now, I'm not a huge fan of national flags and anthems, ut I don't believe there was any disrespect meant by people not singing or standing to attention - and besides, isn't that what's so great about a country like Australia? That we don't have to have guns at our heads making us pay our respects? It used to be like that I reckon, but perhaps my memory is faulty. The next surprise was the start of the 'Vou-vou-voulgari' and 'Tsi-tsi-tsigani' chants from the Albanians directed towards the Magic fans. A Heidelberg fan next to me attempted to note the irony of it all.

The game itself was lacking in any sort of cohesive quality. There was at best, an implied edge, that there was something bigger than three points on the line, but the game never really lifted in tempo or quality throughout its torturous 120 minutes plus several stoppages for injuries. The Thunder took the lead in the 2nd half, a saved shot ricocheting into the path of Thunder's captain who headed home. Altona leveled from the penalty spot, after a long range shot hit the arm of a defender. The young Magic fans bring out their ethnic flags, and the police and security move in, eventually. Reports soon spread that a guy had collapsed in the stands. The medics worked hard to revive him - and they do - but ultimately it is to no avail; he doesn't pull through. Three ambulances turned up in total. For some it put the game in perspective - it is just a game after all. But the game went on.

The penalty shootout saw the Thunder fans move behind the goal, and that's when the flare show started, and the FFV brought out the receipt book. If a flare lit is worth a $1k fine, then that's $7k at least that Dandenong will have to find from somewhere. At least a couple of flares were thrown back into the grassy area behind the scoreboard, which started a small grass fire. South board member George Koukoulas added Fireman Sam to his list of roles played at the club by putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher from inside the social club. The fire brigade turned up eventually, but they didn't have much to do. Bottles were also thrown from the grandstand onto the field.

After the game, the Thunder contingent left peacefully - leaving pretty much no one on hand to witness the Magic raising their fifth Victorian championship cup. A couple of us inspected the damage after the show, taking photos for the benefit of the FFV who'll have to pay up for it. Quite a few grandstand seats damaged in the sections the vocal Thunder fans were in, as well as some damage behind the goals where they'd moved for the penalty shootout. It's not the final game at Lakeside as we know it, but we're getting there.

South Melbourne feature club in Goal Weekly

If you pick up a copy of Goal Weekly this week, you'll get a nice double page spread dedicated to South. There's some nice photos, and some commentary from Ramazan, Jimmy Armstrong, Michael Michalakopoulos and George Koukoulas about what it to be part of the greatest football club in the world. It's pretty cool.

Damn post-agm angst

So some you want more detail. Seems like initiating helpless infants into fringe Medditerrean cults is more important than turning up to super cereal meetings.

Anyway, we have a new football ops due. Ange Dallas is his name, been arpund the club for like, years man, and we've gone about signing up and re-signing players. Most of our squad seems to have be re-signed or has agreed to terms. This is where we say goodbye however, to Sam 'Rockem Sockem' Poutakidis, whose second stint at the club has come to an end, as he has been released.

Venue management was the big ticket talking point, with an increase on venue hire being made, as well as the prospect of future increases next year. Greg Kaias was also the recipient of some negative feedback, for his Melbourne Hearts thing. And the Lakeside thing is still being negotiated. Chances are we won't play out the entire season at Lakeside. 

Farewell Deano, one more time.

Now Cliff already talked about it in his match report, but last Sunday was Deano's last game in the Blue and White. And what an emotional experience it was. The man himself had a blinder, saving us from a relegation dogfight in the last round. Quite a ways from the NSL glory days, or even two years ago where he lifted the premiership cup, but inspirational stuff nonetheless.


This is what's it's all about people. Later a small ceremony was held in the social club, where Deano got to have his say, and even brother Johnny got to share the limelight as well, with a lovely little video sequence was played on the big screen showing some of Deano's classic saves, scoring in a penalty shoot out in the old NSL can't have draws days, holding the VPL trophy aloft with his brother. Which leads me to my next point. Johnny A could have easily been left out, or felt marginalised, but two little acts showed that some in the club don't want to burn bridges. First was straight after the game, with our former coach waiting outside the changerooms entrance, almost seeming a little unsure... until one George Koukoulas invited him in... later on that same courtesy for a long time and magnificent servant of our club was initiated by George Triantos. Lovely, small gestures which say a lot.