Luck (and good goalkeeping)'s a Fortune - Oakleigh Cannons 1 South Melbourne 2

Usually this fixture is played on a Friday night, but due to Oakleigh's lights being in an apparent state of disrepair, we had the unusual situation of playing this game on a Sunday afternoon. Playing at Jack Edwards in the daytime is weird, especially if you get there early enough to see juniors and their parents leaving the carpark having finished their games. Why didn't they stay for the main game? Too long too wait through the reserves? Probably just didn't care. Take note FFV.

The ground was its usual crappy self. That's not to blame the Oakleigh people for anything, it's just been a fact of life for years now, and you almost feel sorry for the home team's players and coaches who have to play a style of football that's not as easy on the eye as they would like it to be,

For those unaware of the typical state of Jack Edwards Reserve, one word sums it up: sand. You knew it was bad when Gavalas, when taking an early goal kick, kicked up a massive slab of sand like he'd just come out of a bunker from nearby Huntingdale.

This game was also messed up by a strong wind going towards the railway end, to which Oakleigh were going towards in the first half. Still, as is usually the case when these two sides play, the contest was very entertaining, and provided enough heart attack moments to keep everyone on edge for most of the game.

Goran Zoric provided one of those moments early on, when he had a one on one opportunity to open the scoring. In typical Zoric fashion though, he hit it straight at Gavalas who made the first of several good saves.

Pressure up the pitch lead directly to Trent Rixon opening up the scoring. A poor Oakleigh backpass - and any backpass is a risky enterprise on a ground in such poor condition - was intercepted by Rixon, who slotted the ball home to continue his late season revival and take up his season's tally to five goals.

Nick Epifano almost made it 2-0 - nay, should have made it 2-0 - when another errant pass in Oakleigh's defensive area saw him with the opportunity to score, but his shot went wide.

South lucked out at the other end though, when an Oakleigh shot across goal, which looked like it was going out, took a leg break off the pitch and ended up hitting the base of the post and going out.

Despite South having the wind advantage in the second half, it was Oakleigh who dominated proceedings going into the wind. They had several good chances to score, but could not make them count - some desperate defending and great goalkeeping from South keeping them at bay.

Not that South was without chances - Rixon should have done better on several occasions - but a soft penalty to Luke Hopper, which he converted himself gave us a little bit of breathing room. It was most un-VPL penalty if you like, or at least, according to my memory, it was the of penalty we never get called in our favour.

Brad Norton wasn't at his best yesterday - I felt he was playing far too narrowly on an already narrow pitch and so far away from the Oakleigh right winger - but he did manage to put in a great cross to Rixon, who should have done much better with the header to make it 3-0 and ice the game.

Nicky Soolsma needs to learn to use his left foot. If continues to favour his right foot so much, he'll become predictable, and less effective. It was fair to say that after several good games, his second half in this match was less than stellar.

Oakleigh, with their already faint finals aspirations on the line, deservedly got a goal back from a goalmouth scramble following a failure to deal with a corner. No clean sheet again! Chris Taylor won't be pleased with that, and I wouldn't blame him. Conceding goals from set pieces has been a persistent problem, and one that needs to be sorted out soon. As an aside, even by Oakleigh standards there was little celebration of their goal.

Oakleigh's goalkeeper Lewis Italiano managed to cripple himself on the shoddy turf, but we couldn't take full advantage of that. The last ten minutes of this match from us was better, even as it went into a five minute spell of injury time. There was more no nonsense play, and getting and keeping the ball at the end of the ground that we needed to, grinding out the result in the manner that we should have when we went 2-0 up.

Up and over! Trent Rixon evades an opponent. Photo: Cindy Nitsos.

Apart from the set piece issue, there are other defensive issues to be concerned about, with Shaun Kelly seemingly the main target of the fans' frustration at the moment. He especially needs to get the ball away from danger more quickly. Brad Norton's defensive form has slipped as well, making him a prime target for the opposition.

On the plus side, Iqi Jawadi had a good game, as did Brian Bran at the back. Most pleasingly, Trent Rixon is not only looking like he's re-found his form, but he also looks like he's enjoying being out there, which is great to see. He could have had a hat-trick today, but at least he's still scoring- and the partnership with Hopper up front looks promising. Peter Gavalas was man of the match though, without a doubt, making several clutch saves.

What this all means is that we're now in fifth place, with four games to play.That means nine points behind faltering ladder leader Northcote, and while you'd like to think we could overhaul them, we've left our run for that far too late. It means we're six points behind second place Melbourne Knights, three points behind third place Bentleigh and two points behind fourth place Port Melbourne. The beauty (and the terror) of that situation is that we play three of those teams - Northcote, Knights and Port - in the last three rounds.

But we also have to keep ahead of the teams behind us. Hume, who look like they're falling apart somewhat, are still level on points with us, albeit with a decimated goal difference. Gully are only a point further back, with a game in hand against an Oakleigh side who might not have much incentive by the time the catch up game comes around. And four points behind us are Dandenong Thunder, still in with a shot courtesy of their game in hand, though they would be closer if they didn't have that three point deduction.

Steve From Broady's under 21s report
South Melbourne's under 21s were away to Oakleigh Cannons on Sunday afternoon, looking to avoid a fourth loss in a row and entering the bottom four. South kicked off and it was a very scrappy start to the game on a poor pitch - the first 15 minutes were very even, and it took until the 19th minute for the first clear cut chance of the game, when Oakleigh Cannons caught the goal keeper out of position and fired home to give them a 1-0 lead. The rest of the first half was fought out in the midfield and both teams struggled to make any more real chances at goal. 1-0 Oakleigh lead at the half time break.

Oakleigh kicked off the second half and only 10 minutes into the second half Baggio Yousif found his way through the defence and he fired home to level the scores. Only three minutes later Baggio found himself in another goal scoring position and he converted with ease to give South a 2-1 lead 60 minutes in. Oakleigh dominated the rest of the half and 15 minutes from time Oakleigh equalised and 2-2 it finished, another disappointing result for South. Pascoe Vale at home next week, let's see if they can improve, until then, get around it

Steve From Broady's Canteen Report
I was at the Oakleigh Cannons canteen on Sunday afternoon. Not expecting much, I went and had a souv and I must say I was surprised the Valkanises now running the Oakleigh canteen, remembering that they used to run the old South canteen, and it was a trip down memory lane with stringy lamb, heaps of tzatziki and a crunchy roll. It was a piece of food that shit all over most of the shit food that had been dished up this year at canteens. There was also heaps of other great food at the canteen, such as calamari, saganaki etc. I didn't get to try it all, but I must say the Oaks' canteen is the best for variety. I give Oaks' canteen a 9.5 just falling short of Pascoe Vale's canteen.

1. Pascoe Vale 10/10
2. Oakleigh Cannons 9.5/10
3. Hume City 8/10
4. Bentleigh Greens 7/10
5. Richmond 6.5/10
6. Northcote City 3.5/10
7. Southern Stars 2/10
8. Green Gully 1/10
9. Dandenong DQ 

South food truck

• Week 1 - 4.5/10
• Week 2 - 7/10
• Week 3 - 8.5/10
• Week 4 - 5/10
• Week 5 - 5.5/10
• Week 6 - 9/10
• Week 7 - 6/10
• Week 8 - 7.5/10
• Week 9 - 8/10

Next Game
Dockerty Cup semi-final against Gully on Wednesday, at Port Melbourne. Won't have many of the team that lined up against Oakleigh, as they're cup tied, so much of the side will be made up of the gang that's been here since the start of the season. A chance for Fernando and Meredith to shine? Here's hoping. Not super confident about this, but in a one off game, anything can happen, right?

Burst of sunshine breaks through late at Moreland. Photo: Ian Syson

Around the Grounds
Went out on Saturday to Campbell Reserve to watch Moreland City take another step towards the State League 2 North West championship. Preston, fighting for second place and a playoff spot, were their opponents. Preston had the better of the first half, except for the 15 minutes leading into halftime. Moreland opened the scoring during that period. Preston again the better team during the second half, but a dreadful defensive error gifted Moreland their second goal. It ended 2-0 to the home side.

Rather than the feeling that anything was accomplished or lost, there was a feeling of doubt among the crowd. Moreland still not quite there, eight points clear on top with five games to go. Preston on the back foot now, five points adrift of second place Keilor Park. Situation compounded by the uncertainty created by the impending implementation of the NPL in Victoria. A championship is still something to cherish, but what if a playoff spot doesn't actually exist, because everyone will just get sorted into a State League 1 North-West and State League 1 South-East?

NPL Victoria Latest

Richmond pull out, after their members voted against applying. All of this after Anti-NPL Victoria peoples claimed they were out before they'd even had that vote, let alone made a public statement. FFV claims 15 groups have put in bids for licences. Anti-NPL Victoria people make fools of themselves, and alienate others, by making up a nonsense list of applicants. As for the court proceedings, someone on smfcboard has said to mark August 26th in our diaries. If true, here's hoping for a morning session, so it doesn't clash with the class I teach.

Well Thought Out Analogies Department
The Stamoulis run/owned Ta Nea newspaper made a jibe about our crowds, by taking an out of context and narrow crowd photo during our game against Hume City last week, and basically calling us irrelevant, and asking how we could possibly take on the FFV and NPL Victoria with such little support.

As part of their 'mirth' making, they claimed that even Leonidas (of the Battle of Thermopylae fame, natch) had more followers. Never mind that the 300 Spartans also picked up a few thousand soldiers from other Greek city-states to fight for a united cause, when so often these same city-states were more interested in warring against each other.

Having said all that, the comparison to Thermopylae is of course an interesting one, in that while the outnumbered defenders failed in their initial objective, the greater battle was won soon afterwards, making possible the Golden Age of Classical Greece! So thanks, Ta Nea, for offering a timely dose of inspiration to the Anti-NPL Victoria forces, with your welcome analogy.

And I wonder who's playing the role of Ephialtes?

Final Thought
There was something thrilling about having four games on the same time, and enduring the nerve wracking game that we were at while also keeping an eye on the scores from around the grounds.

SM Crisis 2012 - Sandy Island Edition (with bonus whinge)

Ever heard of the island that didn't actually exist, and yet no one can quite figure out how it got onto maps?

For once a short and sharp media release.

South Melbourne FC advises that it has settled its dispute with Wellington Investments (Australia) Pty Ltd. Accordingly, the County Court Trial which was scheduled to commence in early December 2012 will now not proceed. The club will provide further information to its members in due course.

I suppose the members will find out in due course what this settlement actually means, and how it was brought about. No point in speculating until such time arrives, but if you, loyal reader, want to go for it, the comments page is there for your amusement.

It'll be interesting of course to see how the Greek Media Group goes about reporting this. We already know how Neos Kosmos feels - they don't care. And not because they don't think it's an issue - rather, because sports editor Elias Donoudis both claims not to have have any expertise on legal and financial matters, but also because South isn't important enough to talk about any more.

And not important in large part because according to him, we're not the real South Melbourne. The real South Melbourne was the one that was winning national championships. It was the South of Puskas, Anezakis, Papasavas and Vasilopoulos.

It's a gripe he has made frequently in his little Thursday column, perhaps most notably when some members of the post NSL committee (along with Paul Trimboli and Jimmy Armstrong, who still attend matches) attended the London ceremony where South was awarded the Oceania Club of the Century award.

Donoudis was appalled that Vasilopoulos and other assorted former committee members weren't representing Old South, instead of these charlatans who were pretending that Old South and New South were the same thing.

Frankly, it's a shit argument. The majority of people supporting South now would not be supporting it if they didn't feel it was a legitimate continuation of the old South. Legally, financially and historically, since we didn't go broke and start again, it is the same enterprise.

But what about socially? Well, there you may well have an argument, albeit a weak one. But just because most of our fans, as is their right, have abandoned ship in the post NSL era, it does not mean that those who stayed behind should also be required give up the more glorious parts of the South Melbourne story.

The successes - and failures - of South Melbourne Hellas do not belong to any one individual. They belong to the club. And as long there are even a smattering of recalcitrants who want to keep South Melbourne alive - and that includes all 53 years of our history, and whatever we can steal from before 1959 - then the club will continue, and so will we hope, a view of history that sees itself as part of a continuum.

If some of our former supporters want to assuage their guilt by coming up with the Old South/New South model, they can do that. But to those of us who are still here, it's offensive when they try and force that view on everyone else.

And really, I would like to see Donoudis try and tell Preston North End's supporters (for example) that their club has no relation to the one that won English league championships and FA Cups so long ago that most of their fan base has no recollection of them, that they are not the same club.

South Melbourne Crisis 2012 - Another SMFC Media Release

The latest salvo fired in this saga - my brief thoughts at the end of the media release.

Media Release - South Melbourne FC Supporter Update

Friday, 16 November 2012 9:39 AM

Whilst the off season may appear to be to be a quiet time at our Club, the Board has been busy addressing the many, mostly exciting and positive, off field issues currently affecting the Club.

As most of you are aware, at the recent Information Evening held at the stadium, the Board informed our Members of our Club’s response to the NCR, its advanced and progressive junior program and the redevelopment of its social club together with the rest of the space it occupies exclusively at Lakeside Stadium.

The Board has also been finalising the Leases and other Agreements which the Club will enter into with the State Sport Centres Trust and Parks Victoria, respectively, as required by our Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Victorian State Government. The process involved in negotiating and completing these agreements is a long and laborious one but is progressing well and is almost completed. The Club has appointed independent external Solicitors to assist it with this process and to ensure that it achieves the best outcome. Whilst the Lease and related agreements in relation to the stadium are almost completed, the Club is also close to finalising arrangements for the newly constructed pavilion in Albert Park to be open for our use next season.

In light of the above positive developments, the Board was bemused and puzzled, to say the least, to read the two recent articles published in The News Weekly, which is the English language section of the Ta Nea Greek language newspaper. The breathless attempt by The News Weekly to conjure a story from thin air was surely not worthy of even the most desperate journalist. Then again no journalist put his name to their articles which whilst not surprising is hardly acceptable.

The newspaper itself characterised the “information” contained in the articles as emanating from “unnamed callers” and it essentially comprised of a series of allegations, questions and rumours. The articles are ill informed, badly written, defensive and simply embarrassing to read. The Club was even more surprised, therefore, to then find that radio station 3XY devoted most of its Sunday Sports Program last Sunday night to the “issues” raised by The News Weekly articles after not covering news from the Club at all over the last year. 

The Board is far too busy to even try to understand why that may be the case but we are sure that many of our supporters and members will have their own views.

Nevertheless, the Board is conscious that some of our supporters and members may have become concerned by this recent persistent and misleading media coverage, bordering on a campaign. For that reason, we thought it appropriate to update our supporters and reiterate the things I have said above in relation to the Club’s progress on off field matters.

Last, but not least on the positive news, is our most passionate subject and the reason for our existence; our football team. The Board continues to work constructively and progressively towards building a top class and successful football team. You will see evidence of this during the summer and hopefully, conclusive proof next season! Our forthcoming end of year social function, which will have a different feel and emphasis this year, will no doubt be a chance for all those who attend to have a great night whilst discussing the season just passed and our prospects next year.

Sadly, however, the Club is also involved in one less pleasant development. It is true that the Club has been sued and is presently defending an action brought against it by Wellington Investments (Aust) Pty Ltd in the County Court of Victoria at Melbourne. Wellington Investments, as many of you will know, is a Company with which Messrs. Tony Toumbourou and Chris Christopher, two great Club benefactors, were previously involved and which is now run by Mr. Toumbourou’s sons, Messrs. Peter and Jason Toumbourou. 

The claim by Wellington Investments relates to the sum of $120,000 which Messrs. Tony Toumbourou and Chris Christopher pledged in the middle of 2004 and which Wellington Investments subsequently paid to assist the Club to raise the sum of $450,000 required by the Deed of Company Arrangement (“DOCA”) which it entered into when it went into voluntary administration after the disbandment of the NSL in 2004. Most of the sum of $450,000 was contributed by many concerned supporters of the Club with the balance of $120,000, paid by Wellington Investments. With the eleventh hour contribution of Wellington Investments enabling the Club to reach the target of $450,000, the Club was able to emerge from administration and to enter into its new era.

Recently, Wellington Investments has demanded repayment of the whole of the sum it advanced to the Club comprising the amount of $120,000, plus interest, bringing its total claim against the Club to $200,000. It also seeks its costs. Wellington Investments has demanded immediate payment of the money and refused to accept the Club’s offer to pay it $150,000 in 5 quarterly instalments commencing earlier this year. This offer was made some months ago.

The Club is protecting its interest and those of its members and supporters in the County Court litigation. In preparing its case for Court, the current Board has formed the view that whilst the sum of $120,000 was certainly advanced by Wellington Investments for the benefit of the Club, which the Club has always acknowledged and been grateful for, the terms of the advance were such that the Club is not liable to pay Wellington Investments the sum it seeks. It is also important for our supporters and members to know that in the course of this Court proceeding which was commenced by Wellington Investments in order to establish that the Club owed it money, and before the Court has decided the case, Wellington Investments threatened to appoint a Receiver to the Club. It became necessary, therefore, for the Club to seek an injunction against the appointment of a Receiver to prevent the Club from disappearing as we know it and in all likelihood, losing all its entitlements under the MoU with the State Government. The Court granted the injunction after it was strenuously opposed by Wellington Investments.

The Club would prefer not to be involved in Court proceedings if it can avoid it and to that end, it has proposed and will continue to propose what it considers a fair resolution of the claim by Wellington Investments and to consider any reasonable settlement proposal put to it. Everyone should bear in mind, however, that the reference in The News Weekly to “and a number of business men”, is in fact, a reference to Mr. Peter Toumbourou. Further, the reference to “loans of almost half a million dollars” is entirely false as even Mr. Toumbourou alleges only a loan of $120,000. The Club will continue to keep its members and supporters informed of the progress of this Court action which is presently due to be heard in December 2012.

Finally, our Board and the Club understands that not everybody will always agree with every decision nor with every direction it adopts. People are entitled to voice their opinions and criticism and the Club welcomes constructive criticism and accepts that opinions of all sorts, constructive or otherwise, will be freely expressed. Our Club will object, however, to articles purporting to report news, being comprised of nothing more than the opinion of an unnamed few, causing unnecessary concern amongst some of our supporters. 

The Club’s volunteer Board and overworked General Manager are busy enough with their many responsibilities without being at the beck and call of whichever media organisation sees fit to publish or air unsubstantiated and misleading information. The Board has in the past and will continue in future to make its various members available to engage in constructive discussion in relation to our Club and the same in general, including answering relevant questions and dealing with constructive criticism. 

There is much more positive and constructive news to come, so stay tuned … to us.

Nick Galatas

Chairman

It's about time the club put out a more definitive statement. Would it have nullified a lot of the 'debate' had it been put out earlier? That's hard to say, and my guess would be 'probably not'. But it may have helped at least steer the debate towards a more factual direction.

Certainly, it's great to see a no nonsense naming of the disputed loan figure and the attempts to resolve the issue. Not that this means that South is guaranteed a court victory, but get it out in the open about where this situation came from and where it's going and why.

It's also good to see some more elaboration on the process of doing the final sign off regarding the Lakeside lease, though to be fair, this was also covered in the Neos Kosmos English Weekly article.

Joe Friday agrees, all that's needed are the facts.

One thing I must take umbrage with, is that they should have avoided getting personal with those they're disagreeing with. These sections come across as unprofessional and petty, even to those who would likely agree with those sentiments. Leave that stuff to the blogs and forums.

And while it's understandable that they would want to pump their own tyres, feeling proud and excited about the coming season and the corner we've been told we've turned, a 'just the facts ma'am' approach would have been more suitable.

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.

More on Ta Nea's South Melbourne 2012 Crisis

Following last week's article on the Wellington Investments loan debt, Ta Nea has followed it up with another piece on what they're calling an 'exclusive exposé on the South Melbourne Football Club'.

Now I'd put up a scan of this latest article as was done for the previous effort, but I couldn't come up with an image capture that I felt was of adequate quality. In other words, it was too pixelated and grainy and stuff.

This time the article starts off with a justification being made as to why they're reporting on this issue, with a heady dose of emotion thrown in. I'm not too fond of the emotional blackmail attempt, because as a news service they have every right to report on South Melbourne or any other issue they want to.

As with last week, they list a series of issues or questions they believe the club needs to answer, this week using a numbering system as opposed to the infamous letter based method which saw 'point c' fail to show up (or point γ for γαμώτο as recently tweeted by Athas Zafiris).

The first point covers much the same ground as the first point covered in last week's article - namely, the status of the Lakeside lease, and why the final papers haven't been signed yet. Which is odd because South president Leo Athanasakis addressed that issue in the Neos Kosmos article, which only came into being because of Ta Nea's original article.

What's strange is that later on in in this week's Ta Nea article, there is reference made to the aforementioned Neos Kosmos article, but more on that later.

I'm not sure if this is deliberate misinformation or just poor wording, but they also write that South relinquished Lakeside Stadium, when in fact South relinquished the remaining six or so years of its exclusive lease - lest there be any confusion on the matter, South never owned Lakeside or any portion of it.

The second question is an intriguing one - 'are there any disgruntled suppliers of the club?'. I would have loved to seen some elaboration on this question from Ta Nea, but alas, the question just dangles there, only partially formed.

Their third point asks why SMFC does not contribute financially to the South Melbourne Women's FC. If I had to answer that, I'd probably say it's because the two clubs are separate entities, who are still (reportedly, anyway, though progress has been so slow as to make you wonder), trying to reach agreement as to how to move forward, hopefully under the same umbrella. I was under the assumption that this was fairly widely known. I wonder if SMWFC were asked to comment on this article?

Question four is more or less a repeat of last week's point 'd', asking where the $30,000 a month received from the government is going. Mismanagement is certainly being implied here, but nothing specific is detailed, and I really wish there had been. This kind of vague writing does no service to the issues, nor to Ta Nea. What's worse, if the implied mismanagement allegations are not true, will they be corrected in a prominent manner?

Question five actually tackles the issue of the juniors revamp in a relatively half decent manner. The price hike is quite significant, and it means that there will be talented players for whom South Melbourne will not be an option. One wonders though, again, how much research Ta Nea conducted on this matter? Did they attend the club's info night? Did they read my report of that info night?

Which brings us back to the Neos Kosmos article and the issue of the club's lease. One detail not brought up by either Neos Kosmos, or Ta Nea in its two articles, is the apparently imminent beginning of South's social club redevelopment, which will be entirely funded (at least according to the board) by a government grant of about $900,000. If the lease was on such thin ice, wouldn't it be worth reporting on that matter also? Or is it only access to the Lakeside Stadium playing field that is in doubt?

Now, I'm all for the protection of journalistic sources, and especially of corporate or government whistle-blowers, who need the protection of anonymity. But when Ta Nea identifies the positions that their sources have held at South, the anonymity of these sources is pointless, and only hurts the credibility of their reporting. Also problematic is that once again, there is a lack of a byline on the article.

I'm also interested in Ta Nea's sudden interest in the decline in South's membership numbers and attendance at AGMs. Again, if they had done even the most basic research, they would find two very obvious reasons for this. In terms of South's AGM numbers, since attendance is open only to social club members and life members, and not to season ticket holders, naturally there will a lower turnout for these things.

Is it the right approach? I'm not so sure. I think season ticket holders should be allowed to attend, though they should be barred from voting on matters relating to South Melbourne Hellas Soccer Club, which is the umbrella group which runs everything else. Melbourne Knights reportedly allow all of its members or season ticket holders to attend their AGM. But our arrangement is not unusual. Melbourne based AFL clubs use much the same system as we do.

In terms of membership numbers, blaming this board (or any board, for that matter) for that is ludicrous. I'd ask them to name just one sporting team in Australia, that's fallen permanently from the top tier, who have retained a significant amount of their top tier supporter base. Their assertions early on in the article, about the community supporting the club through the glory days of the 1970s, 90s etc, somehow fail to mention the lack of support the community has given to the club since the club returned to the VPL

When someone claims to be conducting an exposé, I want something substantial, something that will genuinely uncover gross incompetence or corruption. These articles have done neither. Frankly, half-arsed reporting like Ta Nea's recent articles belongs on blogs, not in the 'legitimate press'.

Ta Nea, Toumbourou and the administration legacy - UPDATED

Some people may not be aware that when the club went into administration back in 2004, one of the ways we avoided going under was due to a loan by Messrs Christopher and Toumbourou.

The nature of that loan has been subject to some conjecture over the years. While we're not going to speculate on the exact details - because at this blog, we don't know what they are - the general perception (rightly or wrongly) among those who know of this loan have seen it as a non-interest loan, to be payed back when the club got back on its feet.

Seeing as the club has seldom if ever made a profit in its 53 year existence, even in the good old days, the debt has hung over the club like a sword of Damocles. This loan debt has been mentioned at every AGM I've been to since 2006. I'm not able to recall the exact figure of the debt, but an amount of $120,000 gets thrown around a bit.

Despite being donated by two individuals, the debt was consolidated under the company name Wellington Investments. It now appears that one of the parties who made the loan, the son of Mr Toumbourou, has asked for the debt to be repaid.

It is my understanding that there are disagreements about the nature of the loan between the club and Mr Toumbourou's son, and that thus far, mediation has failed to resolve the issue. Mediation attempts are apparently still being made, but failing that, the two parties may be heading to court in December.

All of this has not been helped by the following article published in Ta Nea last Wednesday:

Now I have no qualms with any media outlet reporting on this issue, but this is such a terrible article on so many levels.

• Who wrote the article (the byline is not visible on this version)?
• What's with the poor expression found in the article (though goodness knows how many times we've been guilty of that)?
• Which VPL clubs operate on a budget of $150,000 to $200,000?
• The predictably uninformed understanding of the club's deal with the government, especially when it comes to the $300,000 annual renumeration figure.
• The vague allegations of the club being 'in strife'. What does that mean exactly?
• Why not name the two 'disappointed businessmen'? If their motive for the imminent return of their money has been the poor management of the club, why have they not made their concerns public at an AGM?
• Whether one agrees with it or not, the issue with the $3,500 charge for juniors has been well covered, so I'm not sure what rumours they are referring to.
• Where is point 'c'?

There are also bound to be insinuations made from our supporters about the fact that this was published in a Greek Media Group publication, which also owns and operates Greek community radio station 3XY Radio Hellas. Owned by Melbourne Victory shareholder Harry Stamoulis, people will see this as another part of the conspiracy against South Melbourne.

It does not matter whether it is a personal or institutional crusade against the club, but when added to previous behaviour from that organisation - reputedly being blackballed from 3XY Radio Hellas' sports program, the lack of coverage of Melbourne Heart in Ta Nea, Stamoulis affiliations with disgruntled former supporters/sponsors etc - it does not paint a pretty picture.

The club responded to the article with this media release, the entirety of which follows:

South Melbourne FC wishes to inform its members, supporters and sponsors that the article titled, “Sth Melbourne F.C. Appearing in court in November”, which appeared in The News Weekly section of the Ta Nea newspaper contains numerous inaccurate statements.

Preparations to enter into the agreements for the Club’s long-term use and occupation of Lakeside Stadium following the Memorandum of Understanding the Club entered into with the State Government are progressing as scheduled.

The Club is in a sound financial position and will publish its financial accounts prior to the end of the year in accordance with its long-standing practice.

Whilst the Club has been sued by Wellington Investments, the company previously operated by club benefactors Messrs Tony Toumbourou and Chris Christopher and run by Mr Toumbourou’s sons, the Club does not wish to comment on the detail of the case. It wishes to note only that the claim relates to a time when the club was placed into administration following the disbandment of the National Soccer League. The Club is protecting its rights and those of its members in the course of the litigation. On a more serious note, the Club is unfortunately forced to investigate its legal options in respect of this error – riddled and misleading article in order to protect its well - earned good reputation within the community.

More positively, mention is also made in the article of the Club’s junior program of which the Club is very proud. All places in its Youth Development Program have been filled for next season and the Club looks forward to the development of its future stars.

For all media enquiries, please contact Nick Galatas on admin@smfc.com.au

It's a confident response, and from what I can gather, the club seems more confident of winning this battle (should it go to court) than our previous court date with the FFV from 2010 (which of course predictably won the battle, though not the war). Me, I'm never confident when it comes to court cases, especially with the sort of hubris our club is prone to suffering from.

It'll also be interesting to see how Ta Nea's rival Neos Kosmos deals with the story. There may have been something in their English language supplement last Saturday, but it's not online yet, so we can't gauge their angle. Whatever happens though, we at South of the Border will try and keep up to date with this issue, possible court dates and speculative potentially libelous innuendo included.

UPDATE - NEOS KOSMOS JOINS THE FRAY
It appears that Neos Kosmos have decided to get in on the act. Here is their article on the matter.

A prominent Melbourne businessman is taking South Melbourne FC to court over a loan secured in 2004. It is alleged the terms of the loan included time limits and a debenture charge over the assets of the club, and they have since been breached.

The money, he claims, is in excess of two-hundred thousand dollars. Although negotiations for repayment had started several years ago, they have since soured and there is current legal action afoot. The club has been a flag bearer for Hellenism in Melbourne and Australia in general and now finds itself on the brink of receivership, should the court action prove successful. 

Further, it is understood that the club entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Government of Victoria in 2009 where the club received payments in excess of $25,000 per month. This MOU facilitated the creation of a lease, ensuring the long term tenure at Lakeside Oval. To this date, it is understood, that this lease has not been executed by all sides. 

All of which the club categorically denies. Leo Athanasakis, the club's president, assures that the club is in no economic strife. "The Club is in a sound financial position and will publish its financial accounts prior to the end of the year in accordance with its long standing practice," he said. 

"The club has no debt other than this liability now to him. The club owes nothing to players, owes nothing to other creditors." In fact, he says, the club will be "declaring a profit of close to $150,000". The president explains the delay is normal, with most sporting clubs waiting six months for the government's approval. 

"The Lease has now been signed six months ago and it's currently within parliament as the process dictates with other leases that involve crown land. It happens with bowling clubs, tennis clubs or any other club that signs a lease with the government, they go through the same process and they all take about six months before they come back. 

"So it has been signed by South Melbourne and the government and they go through parliamentary process, red tape in other words," he says. 

The club will also be seeking legal advice over what he calls "riddled and misleading" article published in Ta Nea. The article only uses unnamed callers to back up its claims the club is in financial turmoil and blames the club of unfairly raising the cost of subscription for juniors to $3,500. The subscription, the president says, is not for juniors, but is a highly intensive training regiment for 14-21 year-olds. 

The program has already sold out, offers 5 days training a week and has full time staff outside of the normal teams.

Like the Ta Nea article, there is no byline. Also like the Ta Nea article, it does not name the businessmen involved who are seeking to take South Melbourne to court. It is also concerning or intriguing depending on your point of view, to see such wildly different numbers being talked about in terms of the loan. Ta Nea says $120,000; Neos Kosmos says in excess of $200,000.

At least the article goes to the trouble of further investigating some of the claims made in the Ta Nea article. It elaborates on the juniors situation, and goes into some detail about the Memorandum of Understanding with the government on our lease arrangement.

Lastly, for now, I'm interested to see the claim made by Athanasakis that this is the last remaining debt that the club has on its books. If true, that'd be a pretty good turnaround in such a relatively short space of time.

A plea for patriotism from the unpatriotic

In last Thursday's Neos Kosmos, tucked away in the sports pages, there was an editorial cum letter from a Melbourne Heart fan, Dimitris Konteleon. In this piece, he lists the reasons for his supporting the Heart - their colours match his first love Olympiakos, and he wanted to belong to a club here in some fashion.

Calling himself a Heart member since their founding, he goes on to lambaste Neos Kosmos' main rival, Ta Nea, for ignoring Heart entirely, and focusing exclusively on the Victory. The insinuation is clear - that Ta Nea's owner, the Greek Media Group, in turn owned and controlled by Harry Stamoulis, who also happens be a Melbourne Victory shareholder/owner, is deliberately starving the Heart of coverage.

Kontoleon goes on to talk about how discussions he had with one of Heart's admin personnel, a Mr Kentel, which included measures designed to attract members of the Greek community. He came out of these discussions slightly disappointed, as there was no follow up, though he was glad that his idea of regional games was taken up, as well the handing out of free tickets to youngsters.

He finishes up by talking about the quality that Heart has on the field, hopes they finish in the top six and that their coach is in the top five coaches in the league, if not the top one, (with a probably unintentional nod to Brian Clough). Somehow, when you have only ten teams, finishing in the top six is still considered a significant achievement.

To some of his other points - Heart played a game in Morwell because every club had to play at least one game in regional areas. Despite Morwell's soccer past, Heart still managed to get less than what most South games in the area would get back in the day. As for calling himself a member, it just goes to show how far this new notion of membership has carried - there are no members at A-League teams - only season ticket holders. Still, that lie will persist, another victory of marketing over reality.

What really grinds my gears with his letter was what was all too predictably absent. Where was South Melbourne? Where was Heidelberg? Where were all the other tinpot Greek community clubs?

As a reluctant nationalist as the very best of times, I'm uncomfortable with making appeals to patriotism in the name of South Melbourne, or indeed, Heidelberg or other once high profile Greek backed clubs across Australia. So I seek to turn the focus away from peasant nationalism to the sense of community. After all, there are many opportunities to be Greek outside of soccer clubs in Melbourne.

What I, and I imagine that many other South fans would have liked to have seen happen, is to have been proven wrong. That when the club was in its greatest hour of need, that people wouldn't abandon what they perceived to be a sinking ship. That a sense of belonging, of community, even of duty would have prevailed instead of the bandwagon cliche that has attached itself to the Greek-Australian nationalism of convenience.

So many people put so much money into this club, so many hours, to build it up from nothing to something remarkable, in spite of its many faults. And these people that have turned away from the club are ignoring that sacrifice, one that was made by people that they likely know.

Also confusing is Kontoleon's assertion about the need to attract more people from the Greek community. As a mainstream franchise, why should Heart seek to isolate ethnic groups like that? As much of a furphy as Heart targeting Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs was their apparent targeting of fans of the former NSL clubs. Every man and hos dog knows that those left at those teams are few and far between on all but the most special occasions.

It's a fair bet to say that most of the Heart's support is made up of Victory bitters. People who for whatever reason supported the Victory or went to their games, until such time as there was an alternative that was even remotely more pleasing to them. Sure, they may have picked up a few odds and ends of people from a club like South, who were able to convince themselves that the Heart are an entirely different ideological beast to the Victory, but there's no real benefit in targeting such a small spectrum of soccer supporters.

I've often wondered about the notion of club ownership and belonging - not in the sense of being a financial member, but that 'sense' that the club belongs to you and vice versa - and I've always been flummoxed by the notion that there is more scope for that sense of ownership to exist at something like an A-League franchise. While arguments have been made as to why people can't or couldn't support one of the ethnic teams - some of them quite sensible - I have not been able to understand this new found sense of increased ownership when there are heightened significant barriers to the club's management structure, less history to attach oneself to.

That lack of history, politics and specificity may just be the lure though. A clean start, and less responsibility for a club's success or failure. No clubhouse, no trophy room. And the illusion that you're at the forefront of something new and exciting. But we're now in the era where even the local Greek press, whose priority should be local Greeks and their institutions, are more worried about, in a sporting sense at least, those entities established to eclipse the social place of our community organisations.

Twenty years ago it was a fight between South and Heidelberg for press coverage. Now it's a fight between tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum franchises on our back pages. Says something about the Greek community and its sense of loyalty and kinship in this matter.