Hellas sells out to multiple enemies in the name of solvency

Well as most of you are aware, recently South's been making a tidy sum - at least we hope so - in hiring out the ground to both our real and imagined enemies, including such worthwhile organisations as the FFV (summer league and VPL finals), the Victory (their youth team) and the FFA (W-League). Now we've apparently gone one step further, by accepting moolah from our oldest and most shameless competitor, the AFL. Add to that there being an ad for financial services company Colonial First State also incorporating footage of rugby training and running up the terrace steps and you start wondering why didn't we make the most of this asset until so very recently? It does your head in.

 

Sneak peek reveals gridiron theme to new AFL promo

Chris de Kretser

February 17, 2009 12:00am


THE AFL's promotional ad this season includes an American football theme and is filmed in a soccer stadium.

Brisbane Lions strongman Jonathan Brown will run through a team of linebackers in full regalia, with refs wearing black and white stripes ready to call the shots. 

Bob Jane Stadium was taken over for the shoot yesterday by a convoy of trucks carrying props and film gear. 

Brown looked on as his stuntman stand-in bowled over a field of burly gridiron tacklers. 

In the morning, Hawthorn star Lance Franklin, St Kilda big man Justin Koschitzke, and North Melbourne's Daniel Wells also filmed segments. 

"It's a closed shoot," declared AFL brand manager Jane Ballantyne. 

She suggested yesterday's filming was only one part of the ad and that the league preferred to release it in its entirety to the media.

Attention People Hitting This Blog Looking For Summer League Fixtures

I don't have any, and there will not be any, unless South is in somehow. This is not an apology, more so a friendly piece of advice to direct you away from here and towards places where you may find them. Have a swell day.

Jumbled notes from listening to the radio

The message on the forum went out, Southern Cross is going to be discussed on the radio, 3XY Radio Hellas to be exact, at 8:30pm. So I switch it on, and hear that they're going to be talking to Aki Ionnas and Johnny A', who actually got the coaching job at Oakleigh don't ya know, replacing another one of our ex-coaches Stuart Munro. Anyway, rather bland interview that, though one had to chuckle when the host was talking about how players were hard to keep at South during Johnny A's time at the helm, specifically mentioning the A-League, but not his current employer's love of taking on anything to do with South Melbourne, player, fan, coach, sponsor, you name it.

Anyway, the following notes were done on the fly for those without 3xy access or maddd greek skillz bro.

Leo Athanasakis and George Parthimos were representing the club and/or Southern Cross FC, at times the lines were a bit blurred.

Host opened up with a retarded question about the coaching change - Leo sounding like he's at a kafeneio - which'd be ok if he was at a kafeneio, but he's not. Host also didn't realise at first that we'd missed the finals two years in a row.  Leo mentioned that we signed up Micky M for two years. But you already heard that here second.

There was some crap about the summer league, nothing new, usual innuendo about South being in it as itself and not as part of a consortium.

Lakeside talk followed, with nothing new really, just general agreement that it's a good thing and talking about details everyone knows about, except for the social club revamp, which people might not. Still thoigh, nothing earth shattering revealed.

A-league stuff finally came about- I'm not sure even they know how the relationship between Sexy FC and SM Hellas will work - they know it will be separate but beyond that nothing new.  

George Parthimos wished his dad a happy name day. Meh. Chit chat about McNamee and Murray - about how they wouldn't put their names to something without substance. No decision yet on South's percentage .

Assorted crap about Melbourne Heart - bagging it, saying that it has no football peerage, trying to dance around Greg Kaias possible involvement with the Heart consortium, but being ultra carful not to mention his name, like he's Yahweh or something.

Sexy FC rreckon they've shown that theirs in the best solution for the 2nd licence. 

Then I kinda fell asleep for a moment. 

Minor talk about the A-League getting boring with the same old teams, and the difference in demographics between Sydney and Melbourne. Talk about Sexy FC being broadbased, not Hellas based, and how the FFA are talking to us, they're not locking us out.

Conclusion: It's not South Melbourne, FFA rules need it to be 'broadbased' and based on private capital - talking about the difficulty of being a member run club these days.

Cue Ricky Martin's Maria

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.

Trapped around the heards

Players changing numbers? Allegedly, Gianni De Nittis and Nathan Caldwell have swapped numbers. Pointless exercise or a signal of intent by the coach? Is the curse of the number 9, famously worn by Trimmers for so many years, finally going to be over?

Players sweating at training? Apparently it's all the rage these days down at Lakeside. Make of that what you will.

Angry beavers? An undisclosed amount of --- ----- have apparently told the --- to stick their new ------ ------ up their arse unless their ---------- are ---, and the ------- seem to be we won't help you unless we ---- --- -----. Or something like that. See what happens when silly people tell you what essentially anyone could have guessed anyway, and I assume was no secret in the first place?

And where the fuck is South going to find the money for all these players they're wanting to sign? And will some people just grow the fuck up? Hopefully something more substantial tomorrow. No guarantees though.

South of the Border has an impact in the 'legitimate press'.

In yesterday's Neos Kosmos English Weekly (you know, the free supplement that is about 7.3 times better than the Greek content), there's meant to be a debut article by one of the rising stars of Australian sports journalism, talking about the new Summer League the FFV has pulled out of its arse to seem as if they're actually doing something. Haven't bought a copy myself to see if it's in there, but let's take it for granted that it is. Anyway, unlike that editorial vandal Ian "I don't get what you're trying to say in the 2nd last para'" Syson, NKEW Sports Editor James Belias has a far lighter and more appropriate touch. What can I say, the bloke seems to know how to appreciate good work. And when he eventually learns that short sentences suck, and that I should be allowed to ramble as I wish, then he'll rise even higher in my esteem. For those who don't have the courage to steal a copy from their local newsagent, here is the unadulterated piece, which had its genesis here, because this way I can save drafts and not forget to take them to school.

The Football Federation of Victoria have launched an ambitious plan to reinvigorate football in the state, with the goal of quadrupling participation numbers across the board by the end of 2011.

The cornerstone of their new plan is to create a zone-based summer competition going all the way from the seniors down to under 12s, including the women's game. This is in line with the FFA and national technical director Rob Baan's goal of having the country's best players playing 35-40 games a year. At present, most players at the Victorian state level will play at most a total of 30 competitive games a year.

Eight of the zones will be located within metropolitan Melbourne, with the remaining four to come from regional areas, in an attempt to promote top level football in country areas. The zone system could also be a handy mechanism in promoting senior football in metropolitan areas in which it is struggling, particularly in the eastern suburbs, who haven't had a serious contender in the Victorian Premier League since the late 1980s in the form of Croydon City.

The 12 sides to participate will all be new franchises, though so far there is no indication of who will fund these new operations. The FFV hopes to use the state's premium football stadiums, such as Lakeside, Knights and Epping stadiums, as well as its own headquarters at Northcote, to also use it as a launching pad to source funding from councils and government to upgrade facilities across the state.

Players for the senior men's competition will be sourced from the various VPL clubs, as well as recruiting from regional areas and interstate. It is expected that players who participate will still be the nominal property of their 'winter' clubs, so that in the event of them being transferred to the A-League or overseas compensation would be paid to those clubs.

While the changes have been warmly received in some quarters, principally from those in regional areas and those who believe the Melbourne Victory model of broadbased franchises can work at a state level, many supporters of VPL clubs are sceptical about the changes.

Their concerns range from the practical, in terms of players lacking pre-seasons and the possibility of injuries to their players, to the more ideological, with some seeing it as a further attempt to marginalise the traditional ‘ethnic’ clubs by adding another tier in between the VPL and the A-League.

Their doubts also take into account the previous mooted and never actedon reforms of recent times, principally the so-called V-League, which was supposed to be introduced for the 2008 season. That plan which was also meant to overhaul the way clubs operate, essentially by compelling them to produce women’s and junior teams, as well as upgrade their facilities in order to participate at the highest level, was eventually delayed and then shelved.

The other side of the "Summer League" debate

It's fair to point out that not everyone's against the FFV's new direction. Lance Jenkinson, a sports journo from the local Fairfax media has a different spin

Summer league sets some ambitious goals


Of course I disagree quite a bit with his opinion piece, feeling that it is far too optimistic, uncritical and contains a fundamental misreading of Victorian senior soccer, as well as not taking into serious account the logistical requirements. Sticking to the proposed men's senior comp for the moment, because I wouldn't know where to start with the womens and junior stuff.

You have to hand it to the Football Federation Victoria and its proactive board.

Proactive? Ambitious? You bet. On that point one must agree, considering a lot of the stalling done in the past to prevent change happening. But why this sort of change, why not what was proposed in the past? And what are the contingencies if this fails? Or is this an all or nothing approach? Who's going to pay for all this? Why aren't they contributing to the game now if they aren't already? What's in it for them?

What was so impressive about the project launch was the FFV's ability to cop criticism on the chin and learn from past mistakes.

Where have the FFV shown the ability to take criticism and learn from their past mistakes? A lot of people keep banging on about how they keep making the same mistakes over and over, and can't even do the basics right.

It is an ambitious plan - but one that has been meticulously planned with a lot of input from people outside and in the FFV.

And yet a lot of people seem to know very little about what's going on at all, with seemingly quite a few people alarmed at the lack of information and consultation provided. On the same token, it appears as if some VPL boards (and there is reason to believe South is one of them) who are much better informed and seem to have far more input.

Integration: Can the FFV successfully use the 'Melbourne Victory model' of creating a team from a blanket region instead of a suburb or ethnic background?

Melbourne Victory works because it is at the top tier. Interest in top tier sports pretty much across the board is at a high level. Yet interest in 2nd tier sport is falling, with clubs merging and some disappearing altogether. Market correction perhaps, in that there are too many entities to sustain at a senior level? Possibly, but I think the trends show that people care about junior sports, top-tier sports, but care less and less about the in-between stuff.

Crowds: Will the supporters embrace the new league with the understanding that it will not affect their support of established clubs such as South Melbourne, Melbourne Knights or the Fawkner Blues who will still form the Foxtel Cup?

On the one hand, with the crowds that most VPL clubs get, does it really matter? Then again, the majority of the VPL clubs for a long time now have been located in the northern and western suburbs - the eastern suburbs haven't a serious senior contender for many years. It could be argued that there is a serious problem with senior soccer out in the eastern suburbs, will this kind of thing help reverse that trend? Hard to say, but I'm doubtful.

Facilities: This could make or break the FFV's plans. Will it find the dollars and the government backing to upgrade facilities in the next four years to be able to establish the mooted centres of excellence?

This is a good point he brings up, but what kind of efforts are the FFV putting in now to secure upgrades to VPL venues? Or to secure the future tenancy of clubs at venues? Or to help clubs at all levels g4et equal treamtent from council's compared to their aussie rules counterparts? How will their bargaining power change?

The player development point is a red herring. Your Joe Spiteris and Michael Curcijas are not the future, and yet, with the A-League's youth competition due to start this year, that also means that another batch of players, supposedly the next in line for top-tier senior selection and recruitment, will also be unavailable. So who will the players be that will be called up? And will they get better? If so, how much better? Can players have the option of refusing to participate? What if a lot of players refuse to participate? What happens to pre-seasons?

Most of the reactions I've read lean towards the negative, with responses ranging from the hysterical, the cynical, to the just plain unsure. In writing that opinion piece, not only has Jenksinson put forward the first overwhelmingly positive view that's I've seen (which is a good thing in the sense that it's interesting to see another side of the coin, apart from one associate of mine), but he appears to have a lot more more faith in the FFV than most people.

Walking, After Midnight

efils good and the time is right / i'll bundle up and slip away
the count is down and the drip is up / it's time to split this hunk of clay

Eels, Efil's God


So it's come to this. A new twelve team summer competition, with all new regionally based and privately backed franchises (or in some cases quite possibly, regional federation backed), using existing VPL players (as well as ring-ins from wherever) under some scheme where if they get picked up by an A-League side, VPL clubs will get compensated, watched and paid for by whom exactly I'm not sure of, but what the hell do I know. I just follow South after all, and who can say what turns the game will take in these heady times.

Some might say this is the game running before it can walk, others a long overdue move and bound to succeed thanks to the soccer boom led by the success of the Socceroos and the Melbourne Victory. Good luck to them. Unless you want to argue the point for some reason, we're pretty much third tier now. What this also means is that the FFV has effectively given up on Old Soccer too. Maybe they're right to do so. Hell, most people jumped off that ship fairly quickly, to be brutally honest. Why shouldn't the FFV be able to do what even most of its constituents have done and focus on development pathways for players to the top, rather than the sad little dreams of 60 year old migrants who still turn up long after their friends bailed or died, 20-25 year olds rusted on to an antiquated belief in club loyalty, and money men (and one woman) throwing cash at the blackest of black holes, the VPL, and Victorian senior soccer in general.

Let face it, it's all about the juniors today people. The usual whiny minority aside, it's been evident for enough time now that no one gives a stuff. And yes, all you people still attending and supporting the club your forbears, or your mates forbears built, or some schmo who just wanted to have a place where his mates could have a kickaround, you are no one. You are no longer important. The FFV have looked into the FFA's crystal ball, and seen the future, and it looks kinda like this. Heaps of juniors across the land, playing 'football' so they wont get fat or seriously hurt, and helping to fill the coffers quickly while taking little out. The creation of a well oiled machine, to pump out thousands of little champions, who after the various squad cuts throughout the years will become bigger champions, who can pass with both feet, know dozens of moves, be a library of tactics, and be more or less exact clones of each other. Senior soccer at the lower levels if it still exists (and it probably will) will be almost completely amateur, and will be based amongst localised suburban competitions ala aussie rules comps, probably on unenclosed public reserves.

As the history of the local game pre-World War 2 has been forgotten, so will the history of the last 60 or so years be forgotten. Few will rejoice or despair; the great games, clubs, players and administrators, except in the cases where recorded and maintained on little visited websites by bleary eyed trainspotting nerds, will be as if they never existed. A bit of lipservice, and then scorched earth, clean slates, c:/format, and off into the bright happy world of tomorrow. A world in which well 'ard ultras protest against 'modern football' while supporting Evil Geoff Lord's franchise, and aussie rules families, safe from reminders of what multiculturalism is, clap and cheer politely while they firmly believe that their little Anglo-Celtic world is diverse because the people around them look different, while clutching their meat pies and super dogs (thanks to Pavlaki for that phrase).

In retrospect the signs were all there. Not just in the big things, but the little things too. Every half competent person leaving the FFV for greener pastures. The almost determined incompetence of running senior competitions, including the pisspoor prizemoney. The clandestine season launch in which the state's only dedicated local soccer publication wasn't invited. People like 3XX wanting to broadcast games and the FFV not wanting the publicity. The endless delays and changes to what would eventually become the V-League, or whatever they're going to call it. And on it goes. But don't complain. This is market forces we're talking about - wait sorry - this is what Victorian football's constituents want in order for the game to progress in this state. And they shall have it.

So what now? Easily combustible members of a certain club which wears royal blue and white and once won four national titles in a fantasy comp called the National Soccer League have variously called for action to be taken, protests, sabotage, breakaway leagues, playing in Asia or New Zealand, complaining to FIFA, the FFA, the courts, whoever will listen, calls for an Apocalypse Now themed ending, (surely we could hire a helicopter to fly over the top at least for a little while), banding together with our disenfranchised brethren/enemies or going at it full bore, riots, flares, everything that we've held back on, everything they said we did to ruin the game because we were selfish.

Well, so let's be selfish. In some of my more despondent moments in recent years, my idea went something like this. South is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. There's no hope for a better future, we have nowhere to go, the standard will keep falling as more and more players are used for the higher tiers, and there's little replenishment of support. Verily, it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees. The club's dignity must come first. So flares at every game. Pitch invasions every game. Streamers and banners on full bore, confetti to piss off the constabulary who hate the sight of litter so much. Every game to be a raucous wake not just for South but the local game as a whole. The team not to be made up of players with aspirations of playing for the chance to join a team which competes to win a toilet seat, but the best players out of the fans that are left, who will play for free, for the simple honour of the shirt. And then at the end of the season, we burn the whole stadium down, burn that shit heap remnant of the aussie rules stand, just another monument to a time when all of this sort of thing had some sort of meaning, when we weren't the walking dead. And as a bonus it'll be an easier cleanup job for when they build that athletics track that's going to go round Lakeside anyway.

In time, one may calm down, see it all differently, accept, acquiesce, adapt, find the niche that may exist, and go on regardless of whatever the great dreamers of dreams will dream up, and let the focus groups and demographers advise the new world order of their every move. Sometime later, I might come to my senses and may even write something sensible on the situation. For the moment though, in the words of FFV CEO Mark Rendell, "let's suck it and see".