The Dimi Hatz Show - South Melbourne 2 Oakleigh 1

First up there was a minute's silence for Tony Toumbourou, who as was reported recently, passed away after a long illness.

Games between these two sides usually provide the goods in terms of a spectacle. The most notable exception to that off the top of my head would be the finals match we lost to them a couple of years ago. For my buddy Gains, it was a bit more obvious - the dour 0-0 draw at Lakeside in 2009 that was his first South Melbourne experience. Thankfully, this game had its fair share of action, and regardless of the result was the kind of game that would have the punters coming back for more.

Perhaps a little unusually, I hadn't seen Oakleigh play at all this season, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Their form hasn't been great, and thus there was the coaching change with Miron Bleiberg now at the helm. A few people have said that it was the worst Oakleigh side they've seen for a long time. I'd disagree, but I don't think that I can. I didn't think Oakleigh looked too bad going forward, and they probably should have opened the scoring about 15 minutes in - Peter Gavalas pulled out a terrific save after bolting off his line.

Matthews was making his first start in several weeks, after having broken his arm in a work related accident, and thus Dimi Hatzimouratis was moved further upfield to a more suitable midfield position. Rixon started again. There was no Van Eeken, and no Fernando. Apart from a brief period early on, and the last 10 minutes or so perhaps when we went into our sehll, we dominated this match. Our midfield was well on top, moving the ball quickly, winning the 50/50 challenges, and opening up the oakleuigh defence almost at will.

All that was needed was the goal, and eventually Hatzimouratis drilled one home that left everyone stunned, not least Italiano in the Oakleigh goal, who stood rooted to the spot. One observer reckoned that it must have taken a deflection for the keeper to stand still like that. I suppose we'll see when the video comes out. Hatzimouratis' second goal looked so easy, I was wondering how we didn't stuff it up. Some good team play exposed Oakleigh out on their righthand side, and the ball was cut in without much fuss for a simple finish for the goal. 2-0 up at halftime and looking good.


Those wackly ballboys! Photo: Cindy Nitsos.


The second half was more of the same, only without us being able to really put Oakleigh to the sword as we should have done. That wasn't helped by Rixon being shirtfronted on the goal line when it looked like he would have scored an easy header to make it 3-0. It was about a billion times the penalty than the one he received last week. Italiano's rugby tackle - outside the box! - not being punished was just hilarious. Not so hilarious was Gasparis being injured, and hobbling off. I've really enjoyed his play this season, and hope that this doesn't derail his season. Rhys Meredith's miseed opportunity will be hard to beat this season. With so many options available - most notably to either go around the keeper or pass the ball laterally for the supporting player - he decided to try and tuck it past Italiano who made a good save.


A half decent crowd was in attendance. Photo: Cindy Nitsos.

 Oakleigh started to make some inroads towards the end of the game, mocving away from the fancy stuff they'd favoured for the most of the macth - and usually thwarted by a poor final pass or masses of South defenders - and tried a simpler approach. It piad off in the 91st minute when new recuirt Alex Smiht scored, but we managed to hold on for the win. Why Tsolakis didn't make any subs, especially for an obviously labouring Rixon, I don't know. He didn't even make a sub for the sake of running down the clock. It was quite frustrating, especially watching the team fumble its way to what may have ended up being an unjust result.

Still, it would be unfair to focus on the negatives too much, because for the most part we looked good out there, even if the opponent was not at its best. Rixon had a much better game than last week, and looks to be getting his touch and match fitness back. Kelly was fearsome with his tackling. Matthews, while not faultess, also looked to be on the improve from his scratchy form in the seconds. An interesting middle portion of the season coming.

Steve From Broady's under 21 report
On Sunday evening South Melbourne's under 21s took on Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside Stadium. South, who were coming of a poor result last week, kept their squad unchanged. The game started off very slowly and it took 10 minutes for the first bit of action to occur when an Oakleigh defender appeared to swing a fist at Anthony Giannopoulos and started a minor scuffle. The ref ran in quickly and broke it up but to the amazement of the crowd the Oakleigh defender managed to stay on the park.

After that Oakleigh Cannons pushed forward and tried their luck taking a shot from 30 yards out and finding the back of the net to give them a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes. In a half that was very even South Melbourne's Solano picked up a yellow card just before half time for a rash tackle. Oakleigh went into the break leading 1-0.

South come out attacking early in the second half, dominating the game for a long period of time with no reward. The South coach made a very attacking move putting on a third striker, Sebit Moun, early in the second half. As the second half started to come to an end another South player found themselves in the ref's book. In the final stages of the game Oakleigh thought they were on their way to three valuable championship points before an Oaks defender brought down a South striker in the box and the ref awarded a penalty to South in the dying seconds of the game.

Anthony Giannopoulos stepped up to the spot and smashed the ball into the back of the net to earn South a 1-1 draw in what was a disappointing showing from South this afternoon who are starting to fall behind in the league now dropping into the bottom half of the table. Next week South play Pascoe Vale away and they must be going there for a win if they're serious about wining the championship this season.

Steve From Broady's Canteen Review
South's canteen was in the spotlight for the second time this season and must have taken the advice on board about making their souvs better with the South canteen taking their souv up a notch this week with a very nice serving of good meat and garlic sauce evenly portioned through out the whole souv. I give this week's souv a 7 well done South food truck.

1. Hume City 8/10
2. Bentleigh Greens 7/10
3. Southern Stars 2/10
4. Green Gully 1/10
5. Dandenong DQ

South food truck

• Week 1 - 4.5/10
• Week 2 - 7/10 

Three Prawns are Hardly a Galaxy!
At least Gary Coleman managed to get three prawns. I only got two in my nasi lemak at the Mamak outlet on Lonsdale Street. This was somewhat made up by Steve from Broady getting a nose bleed. Could it have been from the food being too spicy? I don't really know about such things, but for some reason it was funny. How very immature of me.

Chants
You're supposed to be in church!

Around the Grounds
Altona East 0 La Trobe 0. Fairly forgettable game. At least last season East were able to eke out a few 1-0 wins - on Saturday, outside a five minute period in the second half where they had a couple of good chances, they never seriously looked like scoring. Had a few corners and frees around the box, but for the most part delivery was atrocious. La Trobe defended well enough and looked disciplined, but it would have been nice to maybe see them chance their arm a bit, and play with an extra man up forward.

Next Week
Pascoe Vale away. They toweled us up during the pre-season, were apparently atrocious at the start of the season, but have since picked up somewhat, and are coming off a 2-0 win away at the Thunder.

Final Thought
It's a few weeks late, and I'm not really much of a metal fan, but RIP Jeff Hanneman.

Vale Tony Toumbourou

This was a bit of sad news. Toumbourou had reportedly been ill for quite some time. I never met the bloke, nor any one of his family, but the donation he made along with Chris Christopher when we were about go under in 2004 were critical in saving the club. Though that donation/loan became a contentious issue later on - far too many entries from last year to single out - hopefully that contribution is not forgotten by current and future generations of South supporters.

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.

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.