2012 Mirabella Cup entries open

Much the same format as last year. In the press release I was forwarded, there was no mention of whether our beloved A-League brethren would be participating this year.

Seemingly inevitable - South Melbourne 1 Port Melbourne 2

Might as well keep this short and sweet.

I don't care how many coaching licences one has, nor what the technical pedigree of the players is.

Superstars who only hold that title at training sessions are useless. I'm tired of hearing how sharp they are at training.

I know players don't go out to lose a match. But maybe sometimes they don't really go out to win as hard as they should.

Before one masters the more difficult aspects of the game, one must do the mundane and basic things over and over again.

Correct passing. Correct decision making. Winning the first ball. Failing that, winning the second ball. Filling the spaces, cutting out the angles.

Suffice to say that football isn't much fun at the moment, and I'm not sure that it has been for some time.

Hilarious - Victory and Heart forced out of Mirabella Cup

First the article from Michael Lynch on the matter.

Clubs told not to play in state cup
Michael Lynch
May 19, 2011

VICTORIAN state and lower league clubs' hopes of taking on Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart in an FA Cup-style knockout competition have been shattered after the game's governing body forbade the A-League clubs taking part in the inaugural Mirabella Cup.

The competition was launched this year to replace the Dockerty Cup, with around 150 clubs statewide looking to pull off the ultimate giant-killing act against the A-League sides, who were given a bye until the quarter-finals.

That stage of the tournament has yet to be reached, but Victory and Heart will not be there after Football Federation Australia ruled that they should not be involved.
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The peak body fears that its own efforts to set up a nationwide FFA Cup - modelled on the English competition - next year could be compromised by the Victorian tournament. It doesn't want the Victorian competition to erode its chances of gaining significant sponsorship revenue and media coverage.

Football Federation Victoria went ahead with its concept after initially being given the go-ahead to include the two local A-League teams, but an FFA spokesman yesterday said that the situation was now different.

"Since the initial discussions about Victory and Heart participating in the Mirabella Cup, the landscape has changed significantly," he said.

"Having one state and two A-League clubs pre-empt a truly national cup competition is liable to erode the work that has been done and diminish that essential ingredient [the shock value of David v Goliath clashes].

''Many stakeholders want to see the FFA Cup come to life and we need to give the idea every chance of success."

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This is absolutely hilarious.

There are many things now to consider in regards to this tournament, many of which have already been brought up by the diligent citizens of the Victorian soccer public, and I combine many of these considerations with some of my own.

Firstly, because of the absence of these two sides, the draw is now stuffed. We currently have 24 sides left. After the next round it will be 12. Then 6. And that's where Heart and Victory were supposed to come in. How will the FFV work their way out of this one? Perhaps they will make use of a lucky loser system - but then which losers to choose? I doubt they would resort to using Western Suburbs and Richmond - the only sides from the top two divisions who didn't enter - but you never know with this mob.

From the same people who were spreading the rumours for some weeks that the Heart and Victory would pull out, come the rumours that the total prizemoney has been reduced from $50k down to $30k or $25k, but the FFV have come out and guaranteed the $50k amount will stand. But it does raise questions about the future of the tournament - Mirabella would have invested in this competition to the extent it has precisely because of the involvement of the A-League sides.

There would no doubt also have been teams who were tipped over the edge into paying the entry fees with the hope, however remote, that they might score a fixture against one of these two sides and rake in significant money at the gate and canteens. And what about those entry fees? Any chance of at least a partial refund to clubs who were promised something which will now not come to fruition?
 
And what's with the FFA using the FFA Cup line? Memo to FFA CEO Ben Buckley - the FFA Cup doesn't exist yet. So where's the interference? It also demonstrates to an extent the lack of autonomy that A-League franchises have over the running of their daily affairs and even pre-season playing schedules. In addition to that, there's also the matter of how the state and national bodies deal with each other. It would be staggering, but not at all surprising, if the FFV didn't somehow manage to get an ironclad guarantee from the FFA that Heart and Victory would participate. Maybe they didn't even check with the FFA, thinking that the Heart and Victory could decide for themselves.

Personally, I say good riddance to Heart and Victory's participation anyway. While I understand the benefits and interest that many people were looking forward to having injected into the local scene, but for several mostly petty reasons, I was never for their inclusion in such a competition, nor did I hold much hope of a regular re-introduction of a cup tournament reinvigorating much of anything, so therefore it's not too much skin off my back. I actually find this entire situation quite hilarious, just something else to add to the glorious history of Australian soccer administration.

And to be fair to the FFA, why would you want to be associated with the bloodbath that will be Preston vs Heidelberg in the next round?

Highlights from Mirabella Cup mauling of Yarraville Glory

South opens Mirabella Cup account with easy win - South Melbourne 14 Yarraville 0

Nicky Jacobs adds to the torrent of goals. Photo: Gains

Possibly several records broken today - most notably, it might have been South's largest ever win in a competitive fixture. It was 4-0 at halftime, with a bundle of squandered chances for South. In the second half, Yarraville gave up the ghost entirely. The match was played at very leisurely pace - I was informed by someone more knowledgeable on the matter that Yarraville had a nearly full strength squad out on the park today. For our part, it was a mixture of some senior heads and some youngsters that got a run. Jacobs, Russell, Sardelic, Treloar, Simmons, Deroune (the so called Moroccan keeper, who I haven't seen seriously tested yet) and Vandermay got a bit of a run, as did Gianni De Nittis. It was a mess of a day really. Even when Yarraville managed to get an all too rare chance, they managed to squander it by going round in circles. Next game should be more difficult, assuming that Port Melbourne do the business against South Yarra.

South Melbourne vs Yarraville on Easter Tuesday, in the Mirabella Cup

South Melbourne finally enters the Mirabella Cup in round four, where we will play Yarraville Glory, or Doxa for all you old school types. The match will be held at our temporary home ground of John Cain Memorial Reserve, and will be on April 26th, with kickoff at 3pm,.

Yarraville progressed through the opening three rounds by knocking off Yarra Jets 6-0, Collingwood City 3-2, and Old Melburnians 2-0. All of these opponents have been from division ranked lower than Yarraville's state league 3 position, but as with all prospective opponents, should not be taken lightly.

The official South site has indicated that this fixture is not free for members. Costs are $5 adults, $2 concession. Chance to bring out the old media pass.

... but on the plus side

my media pass just became even more valuable. I guess somewhere deep beneath my anarchist exterior beats the heart of a Scrooge McDuck capitalist. Or maybe I just like sticking it to the man.

Mirabella Cup announced by FFV - requisite whinge follows

So the good old FFV managed to pull a surprise out of the proverbial hat by announcing the return of a cup competition to the Victorian season. Details are still fairly sketchy, but here's what we know.

• According to the FFV, it will be open to all clubs - I assume this will also include regional areas, considering the emphasis on 'statewide' - but clubs must choose to enter the competition, and there are entrance fees involved.
• The amateur clubs - that is State League 2 and below - will sort themselves out first, with the semi-professional clubs - State League 1 and the VPL coming in at stage 2.
• The competition will include Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory, who will come in at the quarter final stage.
• It has half decent prizemoney - $50,000 apparently, though I'm not sure how that will be divided.
• It's not the return of the Dockerty Cup - it will be something that 'builds on the traditions of the Dockerty Cup', whatever that means.
• Apparently Mirabella International, global leaders in the manufacturing of light bulbs, have committed to support the competition for ten years.

And now for my complaints.

• Short notice much?
• Where are these games going to be held?
• When are these games going to be held? 
• What happens with postponements? 
• Why couldn't they keep the name Dockerty Cup with the sponsor's name attached at the front?
• If Victory fans screw up, will the fines go towards the FFV coffers or FFA ones?
• Gate money? Security? Referees?
• Will members of the amateur VicSoccer system, which is not affiliated with the FFV, be allowed to compete?
• Why couldn't this have been organised before the fixtures came out?
• Seeing as every club in the FFV system is being asked to pay a fee for participating, are the two A-League outfits also being asked to contribute?

There are people out there that are saying we should be glad that this sort of thing is back at all, and I suppose they have a point. I just wish it had been done in such a manner that all the details could have been made available on announcing this initiative, and not have people scratching their heads as to how it was going to work.

That, and keeping the Dockerty Cup name and trophy. Oh, well.

Dockerty Cup Quarter Final 1995 vs Preston

Here's a treat folks. For a little while now there's been discontent that the Dockerty Cup has been discontinued for so many years. I agree with that sentiment, and the recent and seemingly credible talk that it may be brought back has gladdened my heart somewhat.

However, that enthusiasm includes a couple of caveats. Firstly, I would not include the Victory or the Heart, as I don't think they have a place in this competition - apart from the disproportionate strength of the sides, they are meant to sit above everything below them - that is, they've been set up as 'representative' teams inclusive of 'everyone', which doesn't suit the divided and diverse environment that the rest of the Victorian system entails. It's not perfect logic, but it's the best I could come up with at short notice.

The other concern that I have is that people who want this competition back will think that it will be some kind of boon to crowd numbers. It may do so initially, but I doubt it will last. As evidence of that fact, look no further than the near permanent discontinuation of the competition since 1996. And look at the crowd in this clip of what used to be a heated rivalry between South and Preston. It's 1995, and the crowd is worse than a 2010 VPL crowd.

Still, enjoy the trip down memory lane, courtesy of our friend Boo. Amongst the the other things one may notice are.

• The error made in the intro that the quarter final stage was when the NSL teams entered the competition. They actually entered in the previous round (round 3). We beat Port Melbourne 2-0 in that round.
• The young players like Con Blatsis and Tansel Baser making their first steps in senior football.
• The dreadful offside trap set up being used by South.
• Vaughan Coveny scoring a goal in the manner he almost always did. If you can find his highlights/tribute package out there, it is without doubt the most dull and pedestrian highlight reel of all time. Which is not to say they should count for less than spectacular goals, just that it paints a certain picture of the kind of striker he was.

First half



Second half