A Tale of Two Federations

First up, a press release from the FFV:


COMMUNITY Football in Victoria received a boost with the announcement of a $750,000 commitment from the Victorian Government on Tuesday at a pressconference held at Telstra Dome, one of the first steps in Football Federation Victoria’s Strategic Plan for 2008-2011.

A host of Melbourne Victory stars were on hand at Telstra Dome as Football Federation Australia, FFV and the Victorian Government, through its Department of Sport and Recreation, confirmed the funding.

Victorian Minister for Sport, Recreation and Youth Affairs James Merlino made the announcement alongside FFV CEO Mark Rendell, FFA Head of Game Development Matthew Bulkeley, and Melbourne Victory CEO Geoff Miles. Rendell said the financial commitment fell directly in line with the initial stages of the FFV Strategic Plan for the next three years.

“We believe the funding made available by the Victorian Government will have a direct impact on football in this state,” Rendell said.

“We outlined in our Strategic Plan earlier this year the need to generate additional revenue to invest in the growth of Victorian Football, and this falls into line with that.

“The commitment of $750,000 from the Victorian Government is a great start to what we are trying to achieve.”

The funding has been allocated to initiatives and programs that will benefit Victoria’s football community, both in a club and school context, and has provided the FFV and Melbourne Victory with a unique opportunity to conduct new and exciting projects.

The new projects, which include the Melbourne Victory Schools 5-a-side, a Volunteer Recognition Program, Grassroots Certificate Training and Small Sided Games Communication Strategy, have already received excellent feedback throughout the state.

FFV has been a major force behind the success of the projects, which also aim to strengthen the connection between Victory and Victoria’s football community and encourage participation in school football by teachers and students alike.

“We are excited about the opportunity to be involved in grassroots football through the Melbourne Victory Schools 5-a-side,” Miles said.


Next up, an open letter from the CEO of Football NSW, Michael Quarmby, to his constituents.


There has been a lot of talk recently on the viability of clubs competing in the Premier League. Football NSW (FNSW) itself is receiving a fair share of criticism in this regard. While we do not have any control over the spending of clubs, we do have a level of responsibility to help clubs compete with an economically sound model.

The biggest expense item is players salaries. As an ex player many years ago it was nice to receive hundreds of dollars per week but the reality today is there is not enough revenue streams for clubs, ie. supporters and level of sponsorship, to sustain the costs of players wages and the rest of expenses that go towards putting a team on the park.

Part of our responsibility to help the clubs is to have the highest level of promotion that we can do. The one thing I am sure you will agree is that this level of promotion has increased dramatically over the last few years. The players and clubs are promoted on TV (Football Stars of Tomorrow), magazines (FourFourTwo), newspapers (The Daily Telegraph, Australian British Soccer Weekly, local Cumberland and Fairfax papers), radio and our website.

We receive fees from each Club for the conduct of the first grade and Under 20 competition. However, these funds fall well short of the expenditure incurred in the administration, marketing and promotion of the TeleChoice Premier League. As part of our overall responsibility to the game, Football NSW underwrites the gap between fees received and expenses. This underwriting is made possible from commercial revenues generated by Football NSW from activities separate from that of the TeleChoice Premier League competition. With the administration costs of running the League (ie. Referee fees, processing registrations and contracts, general daily correspondence and communications, match commissioners, judiciaries, fulfilling media commitments above including journalists, staff etc), there is a significant net cost to FNSW that we budget for each year in the interest of the competition and the pathway to the A-League for the players and coaches.

As I mentioned earlier, our responsibility is to help minimize the costs of clubs. The Premier League Standing Committee represented by all Premier League clubs and our competitions department are assessing all income and expenses in this regard. They are currently working on a player points system linked to a salary cap which would help in financially running their clubs for next year.

I expect that and other initiatives from the committee over the next couple of months in order that they may help the clubs for next season.

I intend where practicable to make this a regular column where I can address your issues as well as communicate initiatives we are working towards. So please do not hesitate to speak your mind in relevant issues affecting our game.

Next week a snapshot of Football NSW and what we do….


Notice any difference? Now, one wouldn't want to generalise about other federations and their motives, and make grass is greener statements. There's plenty of hatred directed at Football NSW from its own constituents to make that mistake. But look at the first article. Pay attention to how Melbourne Victory is mentioned no less than six times in about a dozen sentences. Then see the other piece and how it's all about promoting the local scene, minimising costs for clubs etc. Take note FFV. The Victory is not your concenr, They run themselves, for a profit, and will use any means and anyone necessary in order to attain it. You are there to support the people who pay your wages. Comprehende?

Minor changes in linkage

Just a note alerting people to some minor link updates. The Rank and Vile blog by Gweeds has moved and is now known as the Accidental Australian. The South Women's site has another sister site, a blog which has so far mostly provided senior scores, links and increased neatness. And also the Supermercado Project has changed addresses, and due to its appalling lack of anything South related even in terms of linkage, has been moved to the miscellaneous section in this blog.

Comments on Eels at The Palais

Yeah, this was on Saturday night. Better than their previous show, but didn't blow me away like their Hamer Hall show (best gig ever). The documentary at the start was ok, but I'm not quite sure what everyone was raving on about. People who pay $72 only to get drunk and thrown out for being dickheads should probably reconsider how they spend their leisure money. Palais is a nice venue, but the crowd was quite disappointing in numbers, and of course there's always people talking during at least some part of the show. I'm not quite sure why Eels, a fairly non-confrontational, indie geek orientated band attracts such an aloof and unappreciative audience.

Best songs, Flyswatter, Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor and previously unplayed (and long awaited from my point of view) Strawberry Blonde. Eels need to release a new album though, because this is the third tour in a row now without one, and people perhaps are getting restless and jaded with having the same songs played over and over without any new material. Can we have Bad Dude In Love, License to Eel and Kennedy's Curse already?

Well that sucked - Altona Magic 1 South Melbourne 0

We had more opportunities, played the better football for the majority of the match, and yet still cop the loss, thanks to an own goal. But still more or less the same problems persist. Long balls from the back. Can't keep a clean sheet. Can't hit crosses above knee height. Can barely score against teams which aren't in the relegation zone. Will the transfer window opening up help? Am I overreacting seeing as actually we were the better team, and perhaps we were just unlucky? But we are in general playing a lot better than under Johnny A', and anyone who thunk otherwise is only looking at results and not the games themselves. Anyway, tough ask against Richmond this week Sunday at home, we'll see how we do.

Clarendon Curva Confirmed?

According to reports posted by certain people who heard it on the radio apparently, James Merlino, the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Youth Affairs, has made the announcement that Lakeside will be shared by South and Athletics Victoria, with the running track to be built within two years or something like that. Still too early to know exactly what the details of the arrangement are, but I'm giving it my conditional approval, if it secures the club's future for a very long time. Looks like Eddie's got his way, but more details as they arise. I'm off to Paisley Park.

You give em a plug (reprise)

South Women's Thirds lost 6-0! Bah, I'm off that bandwagon. But I am back on the WVPL team bandwagon, with both Seniors and Reserves getting results against once upon a time Women's game powerhouse Casey (nee Cranbourne) Comets. Seniors had a scoreless draw breaking a long running losing streak, while the Reserves got their first points of the season with a 4-2 win!

A bit late, but it's something

Footage of the first goal from last week's game against Fawkner... once again, not the best footage - sitting right behind the goals on the same elevation as they play is not a great idea - but at least you can see the ball a bit in this clip, and get the gist of what happened. Thanks to Cliff for the footage, and thanks to me for providing a medium for it to be uploaded without failing.

Women's Thirds team kick off season today

Good luck to one of South of the Border's favourite sources of information and mirth, the highly flammable Cindy and the rest of the team as they kick off their season today in the State League 3 South East division. And kill those Albert Park WSC feckers in the derby game in a few weeks..

South of the Border haiku edition no.4

Another one of those I had published last year, so once again, a little bleak. Also prone to hyperbole, in line with the sense of futility often prevalent in these times, and with more than a hint of desperation, reminiscent perhaps a little of Sun Tzu's reference to 'death ground'.


On death ground
We demonstrate
The desperateness
Of the situation


Strictly speaking from a haiku rules perspective, I'm unhappy about this one; it's over the top, it lacks a 'season' word, and it has a morbidity which frightens me. And yet this heaviness, the contrast between the weight upon everyone still supporting the club and the fact that this has been caused by a lessening/lightening of numbers, in some slightly perverse way works rather well. Can you believe though that I had a far more ridiculous haiku ready to go in its place? This one seems perfectly rational in comparison.


deserted and scorned
defenders of the true faith
we still battle on

My brother's about to start playing World of Warcraft - Round 10, Altona Magic vs South Melbourne

There is a park that is known
4 the face it attracts
colorful people whose hair
On 1 side is swept back
The smile on their faces
It speaks of profound inner peace
Ask where they're going
They'll tell U nowhere
They've taken a lifetime lease
On Paisley Park

Prince, Paisley Park


Ah Prince, you crazy mf. Would he have adopted the name Paisley Park for the song and recording studio if he knew of the Australian soccer complex next to the oil refinery? I guess we'll never know the answer to that question. Will South ever earn a point out there? Turn up on Monday to find out.

Last time they met

Round 23, 2007, at Paisley Park

Altona Magic 1 South Melbourne 0

Thoroughly dull match, in which a defensive lapse in concentration saw the Magic take all three points. Michael Curcija was the goalscorer.

Preview
Altona almost without doubt now are the biggest spending team in the league. It's only got them barely in the six so far, but with some of the absolute quality they have in there, and the fact that they've never dropped a point to South in the VPL regular season, means they should consolidate their position. So far this season South has gone L, L, W, L, L, W, L ,L, W, so that means a loss is due here. Or a draw. But we won't win. The end. Not much of a preview, I know, but I'm feeling sick at the moment. And only two days before the Eels show at The Palais. Sucks bad.

South Melbourne Hellas video goldmine

It's often been a difficult task getting to see South on the tv... whether that was because of bad broadcasting deals, Sydney bias, of simply not being on the big stage anymore, sometimes all one has are one's memories. Well, of course that's where youtube (and to a lesser extent, photobucket) comes in. Typing in South Melbourne or Hellas brings up a huge array of videos from days of yore. The quality varies of course, but most stuff is perfectly clear. Myself and another bloke have uploaded a selection of clips that we received from the legendary South fan known as Banger, but there's something about the collection of videos uploaded by 'smscmaster' (also known as 4Flares and a Souvlaki) which is quite exemplary. There's training clips including an aussie rules scratch match, footage from the stands, a friendly against the then powerhouse Victorian club Port Melbourne... so much stuff, that it makes 4Flares my favourite South fan that I've never met. I hope the acquaintance will be made one day, but for now enjoy rifling though his collection, and try not get distracted by the non South stuff if you can.

http://www.youtube.com/user/smscmaster

Blues Give Blues The Blues - South Melbourne 6 Fawkner 2

Now, I already did a whole entry on this game, see? It had the title 'Downhill skiing in April'. But for some reason it's disappeared off the face of the earth. Nevertheless I will attempt to replicate and improve upon the original as best as memory allows, in a more succinct manner.

Players played in their correct positions! South scoring from 2, yes 2 corners! South still conceding goals like a sieve! Jimmy Armstrong making a Clarendon Corner cameo! Staccato renditions of Vamos al a Playa! Diaco scoring his first of the year and celebrating like he won a free cheeseburger! Pasi Schwalger in a ridiculous pink top! Yianni Galanos being replaced by John Butler! Heinous in-jokes! Lights being turned on for all of 5 minutes! References to the late 1980s cartoon series M.A.S.K.! There was something for everyone there, and if you missed it, well, South is still around for at least one more week, so come on down and support the team!


- and cut! that's a wrap. that was good. see everyone next week.
- you didn't think there were too many exclamation points?
- nah, she'll be right, and besides, the 10 people who read the damn thing probably didn't even notice it was missing in the first place.
- yeah, you're right
- anyways, we've done our job, wasn't out fault we had to do it twice over, and now we've got a nice break until Monday
- what you doing for the weekend?
- me? not much mate, probably just kicking back. how about you?
- going to see Eels on Saturday at the Palais.
- Eels? never heard of them.
- yeah, sort of an indie band from the US, I'm a big fan.
- right...

scene disintegrates into various banalities

Fernando going to Greece? Again?

Every now and again, someone puts up a crazy rumour on smfcboard. Most of the time these turn out to be crap. But regardless, here's one that has stirred up minor ripples on the forum. Dedicated fans may recall that during the 2006 season midfielder Fernando De Moraes, then in super hot form, went over to Greece to trial with then 1st Division club Egaleo. It didn't work out, he came back, kept up the good work and helped us win the title as well as nabbing himself the Jimmy Rooney medal for best on ground in the grand final.

After his unsuccesful stint in the A-League with the New Zealand Knights, and pretty average 2007 season, and now 28 years old, one would have thought that interest from overseas clubs would have been over by now, but enter apparently Ange Postecoglou and Panachaiki, according to someone not widely regarded as a reliable source, with Nando set to go to Greece to trial in about a months time. This would be after the AFC futsal championships - the squad of which one would think Nando would be a part of - but some people have questioned the veracity of the rumour, claiming to have had it confirmed that Nando is not going anywhere. We'll keep you posted on any developments, or the lack thereof.

Round the grounds

The Women's Seniors lost again, this time to Box Hill Inter 3-1, but according to South of the Border's on the spot reporters (thanks Josie and David) they more than held their own. South has played all four of the top four, and therefore one would think if they could take some of that form into games against the lower sides, they'll do alright. The Reserves are still struggling though, copping a 7-0 thrashing. There's no score on resultsvault to indicate what the under 21s did; rumour has it they were down 3-2 at one stage. And the under 18s boys, previously unbeaten, lost 3-2 to the Bulleen Lions. For once it was the Senior Men's team leading the way it seems.

Round 3, 2008 - Altona East 3 Ballarat Red Devils 1

East dominated the first half almost absolutely in both territory and possession. For the first 20 minutes the visitors struggled to even get out of their own half. Slowly played their way into the game after that, but the midfield failed to deliver anything remotely resembling decent supply. East's final balls let them down, there was a crossbar hit, but on the half hour mark Gaffar strolled in and finally gave East the lead they deserved. East scored again just before half time, Alghazaly getting that goal.

2nd half quite different. Ballarat came out with a higher level of intensity, East a little all over the place in midfield and defence, the attacks from the visitors looking more promising as the half wore on. They had a freekick well saved, and then received a penalty which was very well taken. Game on and both sides looking for the goal, with rushed end to end stuff ensuing, before late in the game Gaffar met a cross at the far post and headed over the keeper for 3-1 and the win.

Overall, this game was a bit of a wakeup call for both sides. For East, hopefully they've learnt that playing one half, even going up 2-0 is not enough, and that the game is 90 minutes long, not 45. For the Red Devils, that perhaps state 2 won't be a stroll in the park, and that against the league's better teams you better have your a-game right on from the start. By all rights they should have been out of the game at half time, but they ended up doing well in the 2nd half, and a draw would not have been a harsh result for both sides, but you always have the upper hand if you have the lead, which was a problem for East last year, often falling behind.

South of the Border Haiku edition no.3

This is a rather unsatisfactory piece in my honest opinion. It lacks genuine flow and lightness, rather being dragged down by a lack of rhythm. Anyway, following last week's almost ethereal poem, this is one is grounded in the very earth itself. Back when Middle Park was still around, my father, perhaps of his support for Heidelberg, would never park inside the adjacent parking lot; instead we'd park some distance away, and walk through the then quite neglected Albert Park. Eventually we'd reach the ground, a little oasis of life amidst the neglect.

When we left and moved further north, these cross-country journeys were over, and indeed, made impossible not just by the relocation but also the complete makeover the precinct received. Still though, if you happen to venture down by where the pit lane is, near where we used to live, the earth, perhaps because of the drought or perhaps because of some sort latent memory in the place itself, still has that sandy, uneven, and familiar quality. Many a South fan has made mention that however nice Lakeside is, it's not Middle Park; and that the club was forever changed tangibly and intangibly by the move; and I'd agree with that. It was home after all. Going back there now, even without signposts, I reckon I can still feel the presence of the past, and rather predictably, wonder what will come of the future for South.


over the wasteland
of gravel, grass and sand
Middle Park was home

Let's try this again - Round 9, South Melbourne vs Fawkner

Last week was fine, but last round's consideration of adjustment/motivational response game is gone. Done and dusted. The real stuff starts this week, again. Can we finally get this season started well and truly? We're a third of the way in now.

Also, sincere apologies for the drop in quality as evidenced in yesterday's piece, and over the past 2-3 weeks in general. Hopefully all South of the Border's troubles will be over soon.

Last time they met
Round 22, 2007, at Lakeside Stadium

South Melbourne 0 Fawkner 0

In a largely even and uninspiring contest, Fawkner managed to squeeze out a point under then new coach Vlado Vanis, and may have had a goal denied by the linesman adjudicating that a shot had not crossed the line. Otherwise, this was essentially a contest between one side intent on throwing away their finals aspirations, and one side trying desperately to survive relegation. Both ended up succeeding

Preview
Fawkner were just about everyone's pre-season relegation favourite even before it was realised that four and not two teams would be relegated. And yet, even though they're in the relegation zone, they're still fighting on, and even managed to take maximum points away to Heidelberg. So they're not necessarily the easybeats their position has them to be. But really, South should belt this mob. Their playing stocks are weak, they're scoring at less than a goal a game while conceding two, and it's about time our side, with it's many talented players finally clicked into gear and showed a signal of intent that they will not meekly acquiesce, but fight on, and play football in the traditional South Melbourne Hellas fashion, one of feverish, relentless attack. To say that's all we ask for is perhaps an indication that we've moved away from the win at all costs mentality of yesteryear; but these are strange times to be a South fan, and while the club must look to the past for inspiration and guidance, there is also another chapter that needs to be written in an unfamiliar new era. South by 2-3 goals.

FourFourTwo's recent South obession continues

South: 'We Must Evolve For A-League'

South is struggling at the wrong end of the Victorian Premier League after a stuttering start that saw coach John Anastasiadis – an NSL winner with the club as a player – depart Bob Jane Stadium two weeks ago following a 3-0 home loss to Green Gully.

Michalakopoulos, 38, was installed soon after but could not stop the slide as high-flying local rivals Melbourne Knights beat his outfit 2-0 last weekend at Somers St.

South Melbourne now sit third bottom on six points while the Knights sit atop the VPL with 18 points from eight rounds.

But Michalakopoulos, a former 1992 Olyroo, is still upbeat that his side can claw its way into the six. “I’m positive and excited by what I’ve seen so far,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“It’s still early. We’ve got 18 rounds to go. But what I’d like to bring in to the side is a more free-flowing style.

“I like having two wide men aside of the striker almost as a three-man strike force.

“There is certainly enough talent in this squad to turn it around.”

The new South coach will get a chance to turn things around when second bottom Fawkner visit Bob Jane this weekend for a cellar-dwellar dog fight.

And Michalakopoulos is hoping his time as a player under legendary South coach – and Hungarian football icon Ferenc Puskas – will stand him in good stead.

“I was part of that golden era when we won the old NSL at South under Ferenc. That was back in 1991. I learnt a lot from the great man.”

As for the other hot topic bubbling around South Melbourne FC – the club’s stated desire to put an A-League bid together in three years – Michalakopoulos said the club needs a measured approach.

“Look, this is a big club," he said. "And we have a great junior set up. But an A-League bid needs to be done right.

"There is a good committee at the club and they are on the right track. But this needs a lot of work.

“We need to evolve as a club, however, still have some links with the current set up.

“Melbourne needs a second team. For South, perhaps an image change would work. We should be prepared to do what it takes.”


So M&M puts in his two bob. And the world keeps turning. Firstly, let's deal with the minor issue, the team's performance. Puskas is long gone, the mainstream didn't care when he was here, and his memory and the part you played in it and the things you learned aren't going to be of much use here. Because memories of the Galloping Major aren't going to make the team complete simple passes, shoot away from the keeper but into the goal, or make Deano stop flapping his arms and punching away high balls that he should easily catch. Sad but true. This isn't a go at Puskas' time here; indeed the fact that he was here at all is still treated as if it didn't happen or meant anything of importance by almost everyone in Australian soccer. Rather it should be noted that perhaps the most relevant advice for these difficult times can be found in the words of former Melbourne Croatia player Joe Biskic: 'Put ball in goal'. 'Nuff said.

As for the A-League stuff... now I don't know if M&M was put up to this by the board, or whether the people at FourFourTwo Magazine are that desperate for content during the Z-League's 23 month off-season that anything to sell a a few more copies of their rag, using the faint and distorted collective memory of South Melbourne Hellas as an important entity. Anyway, is there anything there that hasn't been regurgitated by the fifty-four stomach cow that is the Melbourne Victory forum, by those for, against and middle? Not that I can see. In fact, unless I see concrete evidence of anything, and I don't mean half-arsed press releases used to jazz up fading interest - which I used in a media writing class (to much amusement and astonishment) as part of an example of how effective baseless press-releases can stir up all sorts of unnecessary and unsolicited reactions - I mean actual, nuts, bolts, etc stuff.

Now I've heard rumours from reliable people of equally reliable people preparing a bid. Seen sketches of what 'our' logo may look like. But nothing made of bricks and mortar. Admittedly, Melbourne Victory had even less than what we have, mostly Geoff Lord lying about how much money he had, Tony Ising's fantasy (see the relevant entry on here for how that turned out), but when it comes to South, people reckon we've already had our chance, and with the addition of the faulty collective memory of our past, as well the blotting out of Geoff Lord trying to destroy Hawthorn... anyway, kinda lost my train of thought there.

Basically, M&M should focus on winning games, FourFourTwo should try harder to come up with articles, - perhaps trying to figure out why Puskas' time here gets ignored by everyone - and all those people spreading Z-League rumours, could you please stop? My life's depressing enough without this bullshit getting an airing every few months. Thanks.

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.

Alleged future stars of the club doing quite well for the moment thank you very much

The men's team is in the relegation zone. The under 21s are scraping draws. The senior women are playing with heart, but just aren't getting the results, and the women's reserves are also having a tough time. But there is one mob down South Melbourne way kicking arse early on in their season. The under 18s have won both their matches so far, with scores of 4-1 and 4-0. Of course, whether they continue on this form is anyone's guess, let alone how many of them will make the step up to the under 21s and senior ranks, but at least something is going right on the field somewhere at this club. Intermittent updates throughout the season hopefully.

Correction re: Tosic's loan

I could have just gone back and edited it and acted as if nothing was wrong, but well, anyway. It was previously reported here that Mladen Tosic had gone on loan to Westgate. He has in fact gone to Kingston City. The error was made a sub-editor, who has been counselled.

Scotty Mac, coming back?

South of the Border has overheard, or even perhaps been told directly, that 2006 South championship player and current Oakleigh Cannons mercenary Scot MacNicol may be on his way back to Lakeside. Unhappy with the limited game time he's been getting, there's apparently an offer to come back during the midseason transfer window. Indeed the deal may already be done. I'd welcome him back to be honest, despite the obvious reservations one has about players who leave for certain reasons that certain people construe as being against the spirit of the game, even in a (semi) professional age. In 2006, he worked hard, scored some goals at crucial, and was obviously an important part of that team. And South certainly needs that kind of grunt man on the middle. We'll see if this comes true.

Meh - Melbourne Knights 2 South Melbourne 0

Coach needs time, defence needs overhaul, we need a central midfielder, need to take our chances, Deano's well passed it, Perry Mur should be shot, Knights fans shouldn't take themselves so seriously. We dominated play, they were as bad as us if not worse, yet they sit in the top three and we're going to get relegated if we don't turn it around. But I reckon we'll survive. Not much of a review I know, but when more or less the same things keep happening, there's not much point in being descriptive.

South of the Border Haiku Edition no.2

Technically the following isn't South related; but being a sports fan isn't just the experience of the game, or the remembrance of it, but also in the pilgrimage to the ground. Now that most major sporting clubs in this city play at centrally located venues, the journey is overlooked; next week's edition will deal with my route of reaching Middle Park, but for now, something from a more post-modern time.

I travel to Lakeside via tram, catching the 112 from the corner of Collins and Spencer streets. The inspiration for this week's haiku came before last week's match, while waiting for said tram to come. It was the day after daylight savings ended, and therefore 3pm was all of a sudden 2pm. The sun was hidden behind some buildings, but somehow standing apart from the sunlit and shadowy areas at ground level, the tram stop itself was bathed in this eerie pale blue light. The poem deals with the notions of light as fluid, change and fluidity, nature vs structure.


autumn, Collins Street;
Light curled around skyscrapers
bathes the ground in blue

Yay, more meaningless accolades

Pumpkin Seed Eaters aren't the only ones with cheap labour... one of South of the Border's own worker chimps (ok I read it off smfcboard) has alerted everyone that FourFourTwo Magazine has done anther of those lists, er, listing the best players outside the A-League. Apparently in this 'top ten' list, South's Hamlet Armenian is the only Victorian based players in there that isn't playing for the AIS, and one of the few not playing in New South Wales. Not sure how they've figured that stuff out, but anyway, good on him. I'd rather three points this week though. And can we have the NSL back already? It was the VPL with the illusion that it all mattered somehow. I guess I just wasn't made for these times.

New coach, same players, same performance, or different? - Round 8, Melbourne Knights vs South Melbourne

Last time they met
Round 21, 2007, at Knights Stadium

Melbourne Knights 0 South Melbourne 2

In a tight and tense struggle, South rode its fair share of luck, including the Knights' Mate Dugandzic missing from point blank range, to register a gritty but ultimately well deserved 2-0 win. Goals from Billy Natsioulas and Nathan Caldwell within 5 minutes of each other sunk the home sides hopes, and saw Hellas win once again on its old rivals turf.

Preview
Croatia doing alright. Hellas not doing too good. But Croatia not have good record against Hellas. Hellas have good record against Croatia, and good record at Croatia ground. Not lose game there since start of stupid, pointless, VPL journey, including semi-final against Altona Magic in 2006. Will new coach make difference for Hellas? Maybe yes, maybe not. Only one way to find out, go play game and see. Everyone should support Hellas in this big game. Not go watch Blues and Magpies. Watch Hellas beat farken Croatia, like always (except for that stupid time in the mid 1990s when they had that wretchedly and awfully talented team). Forget the piponi for one day, come watch the soccer. Hellas new coach, he fix team. Has stupid texta on his face, under his mouth, but that is the modern style. I think silly, but no matter, if he get results, is enough. South win 4-1 or 4-0, you see. I tell you now, Hellas start playing good soccer from here, win cup, you see.

Pumpkin Seed Eaters episode 5

Episode 5 now out. Petty milestone, really. Ah, I remember the 5th entry on here. Anyway, it includes a fairly silly telephone call to the FFV, a rather unfunny bit with Archie Thompson, an unnecessary and poorly researched swipe at Gamba Osaka - not named after 'some car company', but rather a clever combination of the Italian word for 'leg' and the Japanese phrase meaning 'stand firm' or 'do your best '- a very interesting Poulimeno of the Week, and bonus! a segment dealing with feedback from the Victory forum to their 'ethnic cleansing' editorial from the previous edition, provided by research monkeys working for less than minimum wage in their offices.

Recipe for a lazy autumn day - or how to get everyone else to do your work for you, and lift your sales a bit in these hard times for the print media

It's a lazy autumn day, the sun shining through the kitchen window heats up the whole room, and you really can't be bothered doing anything of importance. So here's a wonderfully self-indulgent recipe perfect for the occasion.

* Start off with about two months worth of off-season boredom. Adding more gives it a stronger flavour.

* Add 1 cup bored Sydney soccer journos gracing us Mexicans with their presence. Currently in season, so make the most of it.

* Combine with 1 cup of reactionary response from vested interest; disguise the taste of fear with essence of 'in the game's interest'. This product is now widely available in supermarkets and from the AFL.

* Add about 10 pages worth of assorted hysterical ramblings off the Victory forum. Bought separately, these come in racist, fascist, hypocrite, noob and other varieties, but I find that mixing them all together creates the best results, and you can buy them in mixed preparations now.

* Add 2 heaped tablespoons of 'South Melbourne Hellas dreams'.

* Mix it all together, and it's ready to digest. As an optional extra, serve with the comments from FourFourTwo's forums. A warning though, that first time users may feel a little nauseous and/or overwhelmed at first, while prolonged and frequent use can cause depression and boredom. This is strictly a sometimes treat!

Michalakopoulos takes reins

As widely predicted, South has turned to former striker and Australian soccer journeyman Michael Michalakopoulos to take over from John Anastasiadis who resigned earlier today. Strong information circulated last year that Michalakopoulos was almost certain to take the reins at the end of last season, only for the board to give Johnny A' the benefit of the doubt. As well as being a former striker for Hellas in the early 90s, Michalakopoulos also spent stints at various clubs, including Heidelberg, where he scored a brace in their last away win against South a long time ago.

As a coach he's had stints at clubs including Whittlesea Zebras and Essendon Royals, leaving both under seemingly less than cordial circumstances. At first he'll have to deal with the squad he's been handed, but come the transfer window, he'll be able to start moulding his vision of the team. That may well mean the departure of certain players, perhaps even popular players, and the arrival of players rumoured to be wanting to come over now that the coaching change has been made. Anyway, for those not familiar with M&M, here's some footage from the early 90s to bring you up to speed.

Against Preston



Scores the 2nd goal against Olympic



against PAOK

Anastasiadis, Gabrielson, resign - search for new coach begins

Finally, after last year's end of season dithering (strong rumours circulated that a coach had been lined up, but that the board was divided), and the awful start to this year, Johnny A's out the door. It was, to be brutally honest, inevitable. The team was on a downward spiral from the middle of last year, and apart from glimpses of their ability, the trend has continued into 2008. Rumours of player divisions; the anger of the fans; the poor results; few can withstand all three together. Some would stick it out, but seemingly for the betterment of the club, John's fallen on his sword.

Before becoming coach in 2005, Anastasiadis was already a South legend, after being a key component of the great Hellas sides of the late 1990s, scoring in both grand final wins against Carlton and Sydney United, as well as in the 2001 losing side against Wollongong Wolves. And of course, as the first Australian to score in the World Club Championships, against Necaxa, he sealed his reputation as big game player.

After his retirement, he coached Yarraville Glory for two seasons.,The first as player coach saw them get relegated, but in his second season as non-playing coach he saw them clinch the State League Division North-West 3 title and subsequent promotion. When South was in its hour of need in 2005, Johnny A' put his hand up when few else would. Starting with a squad of only 3, just weeks before the season, and with relegation widely tipped, John managed to steer his squad of veterans and no-names to 3rd place, and within a penalty kick of the grand final.

In 2006, Anastasidis claimed his greatest triumph, clinching the championship, South's first in all competitions in 6 years (the Oceania Club Champions being the previous title), as well as the pre-season cup against Fawkner-Whittlesea with a very young squad. Playing the sort of attacking football that South has always played, it was an enormous achievement, perhaps the most heartfelt win in the club's history. In 2007, a win in the Hellenic Cup final over Oakleigh, and with seemingly a much improved squad to work with, the results and consistency just never came. The 2nd half of the season typified the mess the team had got itself in, playing brilliant and at times gritty football to beat Oakleigh and the Melbourne Knights, but in general struggling to score goals, failing to score in 10 of the last 13 games. With the 2008 season not starting any better, the Preston win could have been the turning point. In the end, it was the exception not the rule, and the Gully game was the deal breaker. So ended one of the longest coaching stints at this club, and when put in perspective, one of its most successful.

South of the Border wishes both men all the best in their future endeavours, and thanks them for their long service to the club. While there has been a lot of argle-bargle, it should also be remembered that, apart from Ian Dobson, who took time off for family reasons in 2006, Anastasiadis has been the only coach who has remained at the same club and uninterrupted from the post-NSL era. Considering that in 2006 alone about 10 clubs changed managers, that is phenomenal longevity. As to who will replace him, that's a story for another day. For now, let us remember the good times.

I prefer building snowmen myself - South vs Gully up on GGVision

Download and play the video of our latest game, courtesy of the Green Gully site. Shame we don't have our own video service, but maybe someday.

Green Gully's GGVision highlights of Sunday's game

South of the Border, your no. 1 choice for South related news

Two prime cuts of news meat for you to sample on from the weekend, which you probably won't hear anywhere else.

Firstly, young and often unfairly derided goalkeeper Mladen Tosic has been loaned out to Westgate Sindjelic in State League 1, where he'll get more senior game time as well as being away from the bright lights of the VPL. Westgate didn't get off to a great start on the weekend though, copping a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Kingston City. Anyway, good luck to the lad.

Secondly, apparently Japanese side Gamba Osaka will be training on Lakeside today or this evening in preparation for their Asian Champions League match on Wednesday. While watching the under 21s meekly succumb 1-0 to Green Gully, three Japanese (or at least very fluent Japanese speakers) took up a position alongside the fence next to me. After making my inquiries, found out one was a team official of Gamba Osaka, and that they would be training there. So good on the board for getting that done. Conversation also went towards my thoughts on the Victory, NSL/A-League history, asking me if I would be at the game (which included a rather meek attempt to wrestle a free ticket out of them), and so forth. Nice people. Told them to kill the Victory. I think they appreciated the sentiment.

Sometimes, the world is black... - South Melbourne 0 Green Gully 3

Circle complete, everyone can go home now

While South is and always will be number one, I do enjoy heading down to the Paisley Park Soccer Complex every second week or so to watch my most local team Altona East take the field. At one stage I was going to pad out certain Saturdays with Altona East writeups, but this is a South blog, and thus it will remain. Anyway, good win for East today over local rival Altona City, with a healthy scoreline of 5-0. What has this got to do with South? Well former South youth team player Lester Abalos made a great debut for his new team today at right back. For those very few who were right there at the beginning, you'd perhaps remember that Lester was the catalyst for this blog starting up all the way back in December 2007. Don't believe me? Well then take a trip down memory lane via this link and see for yourself

Zeus induces Chronos to vomit up his children

Still haven't got myself a logo yet :p

Round 1, 2008 - Altona East 5 Altona City 0

East came out firing in the opening 10 minutes, with only some great goalkeeping denying them, before one of the worst goals you'll ever see, from both a defensive and attacking point of view, ball sort of knocked around aimlessly and toe poked in eventually. City worked their way into the game after that, but didn't really create too many quality chances, though there was one chance, a shot over the bar, which should have levelled the scores. East scored again on about the half-hour mark, ref could have given the penalty against the keeper but played the advantage instead, and it was 2-0. Penalty late in the half against the City keeper had him sent off, 3-0, game just about done and dusted. Not sure if it was a penalty, too many bodies in the way for me to see.

2nd half, City fought and scrambled in defence and occasionally got some decent moves on the counter, but on the whole East on top again, had quite a few chances go begging, some really bad misses, but also a cracking long range shot which smashed against the post. East got the 4th and fifth goals in the last 5 minutes or so, Bobby with a hattrick, Tolli and Gaffar scoring the others. Apart from the penalty/send off, which as I said I'm not sure of the correctness of, I thought the ref was fantastic.

East looked good, when they were 'on' (the game lost much of its sting in the 2nd half) they looked comfortable working as a unit, and former South player Lester Abalos played very well, will be a great addition if he keeps up that kind of play. No Freddy Pedrotti or Zoric today either. City disappointed me today, they seemed startled by how East came out all fired up, but on the whole there seemed to be a general lack of direction on their part, but I reckon it was just an off day for them, and falling behind so early and then having 10 men for 45 minutes doesn't help either. Not sure who if anyone was missing for City today, but I reckon they'll bounce back.

Reserves game was a little farcical, East having only 11 players to start (coach refusing to play 3 or so unregistered players, and rightly so of course), and lost one of those 11 to injury 5 minutes in. Finished 3-0 to City, but in all honesty, based only on the 2nd half i saw, this was a really high standard game for state 2 ressies, there was a lot of neat passing from both sides, and lovely movement off the ball and on it.

I suppose some of the City people like Roger can come and give the story from the other side of this game, be interested to see their point of view.

South of the Border Haiku Edition no.1

This blog needs more culture. And no, not World Game Forum Crayshan style 'kulcha', but more ivory tower, completely up yerself, yes I am better than you because I write faggy poetry culture. And how much more ivory tower and pretentious can you get than haiku? Anyway, I had several South Melbourne related haiku published late last year in the venerable Seed Magazine, albeit not exactly with the title I asked for and presented as if it was just one regular poem rather than seven separate haiku.

For those not familiar with the form, haiku are Japanese poems with 17 'on' (meaning 'sounds' but often erroneously called syllables in English), essentially seperated into three lines, in a 5,7,5 form. Traditionally haiku is a rigid form, very serious, and with the poem requiring a so called 'season' word. Me, I like free-form haiku (not so much worrying about syllables) and haiku's non-serious relation 'senryū', which deals with human concerns rather than with nature. So here is an example of one I did last year and had published, and I'll try and make this a weekly segment wherein I publish one every Saturday. Once again, contributions are most welcome, with a short explanation or background piece highly encouraged, but not necessary.

As noted earlier, the first haiku in this series was written last year. Thematically, it is closely related to most of the other South haiku I had written around that time, pondering the obvious decay our great club had and has seemingly found itself in, on and off field, generally drawing on some aspect of the 'life force'. But this one seemed to stand out to me, particularly in its depiction of blood, the portrayal of the physicality of the life force itself, rather than the more symbolic allusions in some of the others.


mangled hearts bleed blue;
dreams of a happier time
are no elixir

Two victories for the price of one

Ok, so you missed the Victorian Football Show on Wednesday night for whatever reason (probably watching Spicks 'n' Specks. You make me sick.). And you're thinking that you didn't miss much, because you got the gist of the Ross Alatsas slight against South fans from me, and you've rationalised that you can always download the Green Gully - Coburg United highlights off the Green Gully site. Well then you probably don't know that the South Women's first round victory was the opening game on the highlights package. So watch it for that. Wonder how Spiranovic wasn't given the penalty to take to complete her hat-trick. Marvel at how John Vithoulkas is allowed anywhere near a microphone. Then settle down by watching the Box Hill and Heidelberg women's game. And then, finally, with a mug of warm cocoa, watch the Men's big win over Preston. Revel in how awful the surface at BT Connor looks. Be amazed at how the self-professed 'best supported club in the state' can only muster 2,300 fans to the biggest day in these miserable people's lives. Keep playing over and over Ross Alatsas' 'all fans let in' slip up until you work yourself into a Killing Joke style frenzy of persistent drums, cascading guitar lines, and a bass sound that's not very powerful because the mix is far too thin. Then pray to your chosen invisible friend (mine's the goddess Fortuna) that we play a shitload better than that this week because playing like that week in week out isn't going to get us too far.

Channel 31. Click on the FFV bit of the watch it now or whatever they call it. You're smart, you know how to do these things.

Purple Monkey Dishwasher - Round 7, South Melbourne vs Green Gully

Now that we have your attention, we can move on from the adrenaline soaked heroics of last week's match, get back to reality and see if South can make it two in a row, and get some real momentum going forward into the early middle part of the season.


Last time they met
Round 19, 2007, at Green Gully Reserve

Green Gully 0 South Melbourne 0

A fairly even game, in which South worked themselves back in after being on the back foot for awhile. Good goalkeeping and poor finishing combined to see the game end scoreless. This was the fourth consecutive game in which South had failed to score, which typified the 2nd half of the 2007 season.

Preview
Green Gully are hardly playing inspiring football from the footage I've seen, but they keep getting the points, which is what counts. Despite being earmarked as a struggler this year, their only loss so far has been to the rampant Richmond, and that was all the way back in round 1. Certain folks on certain forums have been critical of the lack of youth and goalscoring ability in this team, perhaps best exemplified in the continuance of talented young striker Matthew Sanders being overlooked for starting 11 duties, but on the flipside, they appear to have a fairly miserly defense to compensate. And with one of Australian football's best coaches in Ian Dobson still at the helm, Gully should never be written off.

For South, last week's win just may be the impetus which sets up the rest of their season. Coming from behind, against a bitter foe on their own turf, and with a reshuffled 2nd half line up which included Shane Nunes playing in defensive midfield, there's an opportunity here to at last settle on the line up that will take South on a journey up the table and nearer the finals spots instead of hovering far too close to the relegation zone. South also has a rather mixed record against Gully in recent times; in eight matches between the two, South has only scored in two of those, the 3-0 win home win in 2006, and the later in the year in the elimination final at the same venue, by the same scoreline. Back then it had seemed that perhaps South had thrown some kind of monkey off its back, after having failed to score in all three of their contests in 2005, only to get that monkey straight back on in 2007 with two uninspiring performances against Gully. I can see South winning this, but equally a side that can grind out results like Gully can should not be underestimated, and therefore South will do well to get a draw. But here's hoping.

Ross Alatsas, I reject your reality and substitute my own

Ok, so I'm watching the Victorian Football Show on Channel 31 for the first time since we beat Western Suburbs - I don't watch replays of any sporting team I follow if they lose or draw (which is not being fickle, but rather shows my dedication in that I can't stomach non-victories) - and was slightly miffed at host Ross Alatsas' little intro comment that 'wasn't it great that the doors were open to all supporters for this game'. Now maybe Ross lives in a little media pass bubble, maybe his glamorous managership job at Stars Receptions has clouded his judgment, or maybe he just wasn't there, didn't know, or no one told him, but if he likes we could go together to BT Connor Reserve (or as it also known, Lions 'Stadium' snigger), and I could show him the view about 40 of us had after we weren't let in, because Preston said they couldn't guarantee our safety. Then again, maybe we weren't let in because of our giant swastika banners (which looked oddly like our regular South Melbourne banners), our rocket flares (which when released appeared to the untrained eye as multi-coloured streamers), and off key singing of songs from the classic musical The King and I (which were so off-key, they came out sounding like our regular South chants). Or maybe we were let in, and since the game was so boring, we all had a simultaneous hallucination of being discriminated against because we were all far too good looking and would intimidate all those 1980s tracksuit wearing Preston fans. What do you think Ross?

Can you help? George Campbell

I have recently received an email from the son of former South forward George Campbell asking for some help. He would like to know if there is anyone out there who has footage of his dad playing for South (1978-82), Preston (1983-84) or Green Gully (1985-86). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

In the interests of freedom and plurality

My less tolerant side says not to give right-wing pricks any sustenance. But there's two problems with that. Unlike them I genuinely love freedom; and I've already given enough plugs and valuable oxygen in the way of criticism to those who eat pumpkin seeds, so really, it'd be a double standard of sorts. And I don't usually go in for that kind of thing. Besides, having being listening to Fantomas also means that I'm a state of confusion which will almost certainly lead to make a bad decision. I saw Fantomas once back in 2003 at the sadly departed Palace. Man, they were good, though I never could understand how someone could mosh to scattergun jazz-metal. Tomahawk were better though, bloody scary good. Maybe you were there? Or perhaps you attended on the other night they played? If so you'd know what I mean. So anyway, there's a new South Melbourne Hellas forum. It promises to be more democratic than smfcboard, which I suppose wouldn't be hard. But by virtue of the fact that it's also being run by and for predominantly people of a right wing Greek nationalist persuasion (from moderates to extremists), it'll be interesting to see how truly democratic and open it can be. As well as in the long run watching how much of it has to do with South at all. Already plenty of the videos posted there are of the Hellas Fan Club rather than South. And who exactly is running it? My guess has it narrowed down to probably 1-2 people who would make the effort, not taking into account the possibility of it being a non-South supporters prank. And what are their rules? Will they be really strict? How much leeway will there be for people whose opinions they dislike? Policy on opposition fans? How much will they clamp down on libelous statements? How will they deal with the smfcboard gimmicks, who may see an opportunity to cause havoc? Also, am I on there? If not will I be on there? Would I post? How long before their open house dream starts falling apart? Will it even get to the stage where heaps of people will sign up? Time will tell how successful they are I suppose. Link on the right hand side.

While searching through my archives...

...for a particular edition of Mad Magazine, I happened upon the sports section of the Herald Sun the day after we won the 1999 title. One day I'll scan the photos and articles, but for today here's snippet from the scores lists. Ah for the days when we were winning national titles and Heidelberg were two divisions below us.


Also check out the AIS goalscorers. Good to see someone made it out of that era in better shape, and on to bigger and better things

Answer to yesterday's question

No, Johnny A' hasn't walked. What he did do, according to reliable sources, is hand over the reigns for the 2nd half to his assistant John Gabrielson. Johhny A' walked in at half time, said 'that was shit', told Billy Nats and Hamlet to get off, Caldwell and Zoric to go on, and left it up to the players. As far as crazy out there tactics go, it worked. Now for the rest of the season.

Has Johnny A' walked?

Strange rumours flying around yesterday seemed to indicate that Johnny A' had quit halfway through yesterday's match. No confirmation yet as to the truth of that claim, but if anything happens, I'll keep you updated.

South Women lose to Preston 1-0

You give 'em a plug and... oh well. No match report up yet anywhere, so hard to say what happened. Better luck next time I guess.

Comeback kids - Preston 1 South Melbourne 2

Well, I would give you an in depth match report - ok probably not in depth, but a match report nevertheless - had I been able to actually get inside the ground. The Clarendon Corner contingent which had organised collectively to do things by the book, did so, and were refused entry, for our own safety allegedly. So our view was eventually the limited one behind the goal at the far end, not really ideal.

What I did manage to see was Deano pulling out a ripping save from a freekick, only to later screw up and hand Preston a goal on a plate. Our 2 goals, in the space of 3 minutes in the 2nd half, I did not see, but really that's not the point - the point being that they went in, and Zoric and Caldwell were the deliverers of sweet justice, or whatever the fuck you want to call it.

As for anything else you may have heard. The people that were there know what happened. Full respect to everyone that came from beginning to end. And a big fuck you to the FFV for letting a club dictate terms to them, when the same excuse for us wanting a members only game against the Knights was knocked back with that reason. And don't believe everything you read.

Press Release from Hellas Fan Club, not turning up tomorrow

Not something I would've liked to have seen come out before this game, and from one of my least favourite sources at the moment, but we can't just report good news can we? I suppose they could've not turned up and not said so, and let their absence speak for itself, but they're well within their rights to let everyone know anyway. Whether this means that people who are HFC members will turn up 'unofficially' is anyone's guess, as you would expect. I do disagree quite strongly with much of the content of the press release, but the South of the Border readership are a fairly clever bunch, and could probably guess for themselves where I think they're wrong. As for their beef with President Leo, I've said my piece already, no need to add anything further. So with the intro out of the way, I'll hand you over now to the Hellas Fan Club.


HFC Press Release regarding this match:

MEDIA RELEASE - Round 6 - Preston Lions FC vs. South Melbourne –

The Hellas Fan Club Melbourne (“HFCM”) have advised its members not to attend Sunday’s clash against arch Rival Preston at BT CONNOR RESERVE.

The HFCM refuse to show support for a sporting club that constantly fails to take responsibility for its deficiencies. The purpose of this release is to ensure that the HFC and HFCM are not used as scapegoats by South Melbourne Football Club, or subjected to any further inaccuracies which have caused great distress to many members of our club and our image, in recent times.

The HFC and HFCM are hopeful that the events of 2005 are not repeated, and that both clubs work co-operatively to ensure a safe environment for all supporters.

The HFC & HFCM wishes SMFC fans the best of luck, and hopefully it is a incident free event.

In further news, The HFCM can confirm that legal advice has been sought and a potential action is being considered against Mr Athanasakis (current President of South Melbourne) in relation to defamatory comments made against Mr Chris Vlahogiannis in January 2008.

South Melbourne Women get new site

As mentioned in the entry 'Things learnt while sober', the South Melbourne Women's team were due to get themselves a new website. Well, regular blog correspondant on the women's division 'anonymous' has informed South of the Border that the new site is up and running. Needs a bit of work from a layout point of view, but it has up to date info, a photo gallery, a bravenet counter like the one at the bottom of this site, and a link to this blog, which is very much appreciated. Of course this doesnt mean that I'll stop providing updates on the women's team occasionally, but for more in depth coverage there's now a far better alternative. And if anyone wants to vent their spleen at something to do with the women's game, with particular reference to South Melbourne, just give us a bell and I'll add you to the contributors list. Also, one more thing, it's probably superfluous but a forum would kick arse. Also, quite clever to make the South of the Border link go directly to everything under the 'SMFC Women' category.

Singapore vs Lebanon, Part 3

ok, also now the addition of the 2nd half, Duric features in the early part of the clip hitting the post, also at the 4:00 minute mark missing from point blank range



Excuse me if i come across as a bit obsessed :P

Duric scores against Lebanon part 2

Below is footage of the first half highlights of Singapore vs Lebanon. It's the Duric goal that's relevant to us here, and that comes in at about 2:55. But also check out the very wonky singing of the anthem by the home fans, the impressive roar (no pun intended) when the goals go in, the 2nd goal at about 5:40, the odd placement (to these Euro-centric ears) of the basketball 'defence' chant and overall, for any South players reading this, how to set up opportunities, if not how to finish them off necessarily.

Johnny A's last stand? - Round 6, Preston Lions vs South Melbourne

Last time they met
Round 12, 2007 at Lakeside Stadium

South Melbourne 3 Preston Lions 3

Through two defensive blunders a and stunning strike from Marino Gasparis Preston found themselves 3-1 up with less than 20 minutes to play. But a fierce fightback from the hosts with two goals from Billy Natsioulas almost saw them snatch the game at the death, the late heroics of Preston keeper Lou Acevksi denying South a memorable victory.

Preview
Another in the endless procession of 'derby' games the VPL throws up. Preston's form so far this season has seen them take a fairly linear and yet nevertheless bizarre arc. They were belted by early pacesetters Richmond, drew with the struggling Zebras, squeezed past the Pines, clawed back a 0-2 deficit to draw against the more than competent Heidelberg and last round thumped big spending Coburg 4-1. So which one is the real Preston? I can't answer that, and I don't think this game will either. Preston isn't quite the side that took the title last year, but at the very least they're heading in an upwards direction. The forecast of showers for Sunday will also mean that players from both sides won't be able to play their natural games. Or more likely, it'll make the game way better, with balls and tackles flying every which way. They really should bring back the shoulder charge, would suit a game like this.

As for South, well, the real South is probably easier to pin down. Haphazard long ball attacks which will not be finished off by the strikers. A loss here, and really, it should be all over for Johnny A'. I mean, how much more would it take? South may get O'Dor back from suspension, which will help the defense somewhat, but it's the lack of fight that's troubling fans at the moment. Then again, it'll allegedly be captain Dean Anastasiadis' 150th league match for Hellas, and that might fire them up up a bit. I can't rally pick the result of this one. Stupid derby, rain, two average teams, you name it, of anything has 5-5 written all over it.

Oh, and in further evidence of this blog's impact on the real world, the official South site has partly adopted South of the Border's use of the 'last time they met' device, which admittedly I borrowed off The Age's aussie rules previews.

Duric scores in Lions win over Lebanon

While I was fighting a losing battle to watch the China-Socceroos match over a P2P stream (come on TPG, get that damn ADSL2 here already!), and with no radio broadcast either meaning having to follow crappy minute by minute texts, there was another game played by Singapore against Lebanon. Our ex-defender Alex Duric got the opener in their 2-0 win, which apparently should have been more. Alas, there isn't a video online yet of his goal to savour, but here's the utterly ridiculous, utterly brilliant tv promo for this clash of the titans.

Pumpkin Seed Eaters Episode 4

So episode 4 is now available, download here. Usual shenanigans which, again, I'm not necessarily comfortable with or agree with, in particular their continuing smart-alecky take on our 2nd meeting, - our first meeting by the way was in a churchyard where they told me of their plans for the show - but there is the addition of a very important element, a lengthy editorial. It focuses mostly on the post-NSL era treatment of the ethnic clubs. I agree with much of it, disagree with other parts, worry about many of the generalisations and there's stuff that I would contest the accuracy of, but above all, it is mellow, measured and something which should definitely be heard. Now, will they make the transcript available? This way a proper round debate and analysis can be set up, and hopefully some good points will come out of it. I for one would appreciate the opportunity to give it the once over on here, without fear or prejudice to anyone's feelings.

Correspondance FFV Style

Here's a bit of a treat loyal readers. In case you didn't quite pick up the public relations basics in this earlier entry, one of South of the Border's informants/raconteurs has provided this email back and forth he had with the FFV over the state of the game, in particular the Federation's kowtowing to the Melbourne Victory without receiving anything in return. We'll keep you up to date with any updates on this. Enjoy.

Subject: Straegic Vision query
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:27:02 +1100
From: Jim
To: info@footballfedvic.com.au

Can I ask why the Melbourne Victory are part of the Consultation and planning process ? http://footballfedvic.com.au/strategic/consultation.php

The Melbourne Victory is a private footballing entity owned by a private business man, for the sole purpose of making a profit. The Melbourne Victory is not a club working in the interests of football in this state.

I would like a reply to this email...an explanation if you will as to why a private business venture is part of the consultation and planning process of football in this state !

regards
Jim

FFV Response

Dear Jim,

Thank you for you enquiry and interest in the FFV Strategic Plan. On behalf of Mark Rendell, CEO, FFV, please find below some feedback concerning your enquiry.

Your query in relation to Melbourne Victory's involvement can be answered simply in that the Melbourne Victory currently provides a pathway to young men in the state of Victoria to play A-League football. Currently over 26 Victorians are playing in the A-League competition throughout Australia some of which who originate from Victoria and have gone through the "Victorian system". As the state governing body we want to ensure these numbers continue to increase and that we provide the best opportunities for Victorians to play at the highest level possible.

It should also be noted that we have engaged the VIS for the same purpose, to provide opportunities for Victorian players to represent their state and country and create the best possible opportunities in representative football.

Without the support or engagement of the Melbourne Victory and VIS it is difficult to present a continual pathway for game development to players as I am sure you can appreciate.

Thank you once again for your email and we hope you will find the forthcoming developments in the game throughout Victoria of interest.

Regards,
Belinda Wilson

Jim's Reply 24/03

Dear Belinda.
Thank you for your prompt reply regarding my enquiry. You say that Melbourne Victory currently provides a pathway to young men in the state of Victoria to play A-League football. I fail to see this point, when the Melbourne Victory's squad currently consists of only 8 Victorian players out of a squad of 25. They are also yet to open their doors to Victorian trialists.

Belinda, i'm not going to sit here and badger the Melbourne Victory, because simply you will fail to respond to my emails. My point is simple. The Melbourne Victory is a private business NOT working in the interests of football in this state. I believe it is wrong for the FFV to be even advertising the Melbourne Victory on their website. FYI there is no FFV advertisement on the Victory website is there ?

As the state governing body you should be supporting and ensuring numbers increase at local level, rather than at the National Level. The FFA can do that on their own. Instead of assisting in the slow death of football in this state, it is your organisations responsibility to enusre the wellbeing of the sport at local level. The sport at local level is slowly dying. I invite CEO Mark Rendell to see the state of the local game when the state leagues kick off in 2 weeks. When teams are struggling to find grounds suitable for competition, where is the FFV ?

I can tell you where the FFV is. The FFV is too busy worrying about Geoff Lords Melbourne Victory...not the states ! Melbourne Victory will never represent this state in the A-League. The belief that it does is a figment of the imagination of the un-knowledgeable. When you have been following football in this country for the last 26 years, you get to know what's right and what's wrong with it.

Regards
Jim

FFV Response

Hi Jim,

I have passed your email on to FFV CEO, Mark Rendell as he is always happy to hear the opinions of the membership, especially those who have been involved in the sport for many years like yourself.

The FFV will continue to work towards setting up the right environment for Victorian players from the grassroots up as this is our primary business as you know and should be our focus going forward.

We do value your opinion and thoughts on how we are going about this and will certainly take your points below on board.

Thank you again for your correspondence.

Regards,

Belinda Wilson

SMWFC kick off season with 6-1 win over GSL

Last year the women's team was pipped at the post for first place by the Gippsland Soccer League combined team. So it's with no small amount of pleasure to hear of their thumping of that same opponent 6-1 last night at Darebin in the opening round of the WVPL. The following is a guide to what will likely be required to avoid relegation, and the points required to make the finals.

In 2005, Ballarat Districts finished with 1 point, and Melbourne University with 12. In 2006 the bottom two sides, Brimbank and South, finished with 2 and 13 points respectively. In 2007 Geelong Region earned only the one point, while Melbourne University were relegated with 12. While it does show that the difference between the top and bottom sides in the WVPL is fairly large, it also shows that South has probably already avoided finishing last this year. Looking further ahead, in order to almost definitely make the finals a total of about 38 points will be needed, going by the last three years. Good luck to SMWFC as they take on Preston this week at Lakeside on Sunday.

Keep up with Postecoglou's Panachaiki adventure

As reported some time last week, Ange Postecoglou is having a Greek adventure at Con Makris' Panachaiki. So there are a couple of new links on the right-hand side, which will be there for as long as Ange has the job.

There's the official site with an awol flash intro, it's in Greek by the way, so get someone to translate for you. Or I'll do it for ya on request.

The other link is for the UK based Panachaiki supporters. It's available in English and Greek, there's two forums as well, mostly in Greek, with a single English section.

By the way, he's off to a reasonable start, a 2-0 home win and a scoreless draw away, albeit to one of the bottom teams.

Masochism for beginners

Thanks to those who took these videos. This time Cliff had no trouble with being potentially hit by the ball.

First up, from right behind the goals.



And from a slight angle.



Better luck next time, I guess. Tomorrow's lesson will be on how to correspond effectively with your constituents.

Disappointing - South Melbourne 0 Australian Institute of Sport 2

I wish I could write more, but after deliberately waiting until the day after, so as to be calmer about the whole thing, this is just about all I could come up with. That these days, every loss is like a little death. The club's heart is fragile, and while the core will always be there, their willpower becomes weaker and their enthusiasm becomes drained. That kind of performance, lacking energy and direction, is not necessarily just a one off on the field. It's the kind of performance that could perhaps define us as a club; tired and without a sense of purpose.

And despite the lack of intensity and the general lack of method, we still created chances enough in the first half. Had a penalty. Could have taken the lead. But perhaps it's better that we didn't. To keep the game going at 0-0, to see what we would do in that situation. As expected, not much. I was an advocate of removing Johnny A' at the end of last season. To me, it had been obvious that part of the cycle had run its course. Leaving aside Green Gully's Ian Dobson, who took time off for family reasons, we're the only club who hasn't changed coaches in the three and bit years if post-NSL VPL. There was a case for giving him another year, in that he had won us the championship in 2006; but for mine it was better to nip the downward spiral in the bud. Some may say it's only been 5 weeks, but it's been more like 18 weeks. How much longer? And even if we do win the derby against Preston this week, will that be a one off or a true return to form. I suspect the former.

South Melbourne kick season off tomorrow evening

Today's game will be dealt with tomorrow. For now, here's something that was going to be posted tomorrow but will now be done today because today's men's performance needs time to be written to give it proper justice.

The women's team kicks off proceedings tomorrow night against fellow promotee - and the team that pipped them at the post for first place last year - Gippsland Soccer League, at FFV HQ. I had my doubts about how the women would do this year, seeing as there is quite a gap between the top and bottom sides in the WVPL, but their performance in the Hellenic Cup final against reigning champion Heidelberg leaves room for optimism that survival is certainly within reach and perhaps an outside chance of reaching the finals.

Now, I know that the women's team is hardly the priority for much of the South Melbourne family, but anyway, if you find yourself with a free weekend, check out a game. The fixtures will hopefully be up soon on their site. They play four games at Lakeside in the early part of the season, with the remainder at Albert Park Field 13, an unenclosed pitch near the grand prix pits. Some of their game days clash with senior men's fixtures (particularly and peculiarly away games), but speaking for myself, I'm going to try and make an effort to see at least 4-5 games this year. Good luck ladies! And hopefully later in the year I (and my team I suppose) can repeat our trivia night victory of last year.

Things learnt while sober

Saturday was eventful, and if I wasn't sober I wouldn't be able to relate all the following items to you. So here's to sobriety, it helps you remember the good times.

* What the fuck is with people wearing soccer jerseys to AFL games? Not the first time I've seen this, and Aussie Rules courtesy of its very confused and diluted supporter culture, with its giant inflatable novelty hands/fingers, soccer style scarves and unnecessary touches of grey in polo tops, but at yesterday's game, I was still perplexed at the thinking that goes behind wearing a Juventus or Newcastle United top to a 'Pies game. Sure the colours match, and there's nothing wrong per se with supporting more than one code, but is there some sort of cultural cringe at not wearing actual Australian supporters gear? And why are there still far more people wearing foreign soccer tops as opposed to local ones? Are the latter only for game day, or has the game not made the leaps and bounds into the public consciousness as has been claimed?

* South Melbourne will have a new website by the end of the year. Was supposed to be launched by the start of this season, but whatever. I've been nominally commissioned to do the history section

* South Melbourne's Women's team will also get a new site, soon allegedly. Might explain why the current one, which takes awhile to load even on a half-decent connection, is not being updated.

* Very likely I will soon have my own Peter Buljan General Diagnostic Laboratories mouse pad. I've been wanting one of these ever since I learned of their existence, irrespective of the fact that mouse pads are useless now that everyone's shooting lasers with their fifty button mice.

* I've been promised my own sort of vintage 'Pies flag from an ex-fan.

* A step in the right direction has been taken into the production of the season 2007 DVDs. Hopefully they become available soon.

* There's been a shuffling of roles amongst the inner sanctum of the South board and in general operations. These relate mostly to merchandise and the website, and suffice to say at this stage it comes across as a welcome change. Time will tell on how well it all works out, but so far the signs are good.

* Learned that a certain South board member, known for his high level of education, handsome appearance, ability with the ladies and his hatred for all things Heidelberg, has Heidelberg supporting friends. Bit disillusioned to be honest.

* A Global Positioning Device is pretty much useless if you don't know what you're doing or where you're going.

* A sole piece of paper on a bit of street furniture is probably not the best way to inform people of the change in location of the Nightrider bus service.

* Lastly, Happy Birthday to Yianni and Dubs, Greeksta relax, and Cliff show yourself on Monday and no one will belt you. Honest.

For Football In The Capital - South Melbourne 3 Canberra Cosmos 1, NSL Cup Sem-Final 1995/96

In the spirit of waiting for this fucking game with the Canberra based AIS to get here, thought we'd have a little look back at the 2nd last NSL Cup tournament ever held. That's Canberra Cosmos in grey by the way. Interesting to note how the reporter doesn't bother to mention who actually scored for them. That perhaps should've been a hint to their fans. Anyway, we went on to win the cup the next week against Newcastle Breakers, a video I may upload someday, but the clip I have doesn't have all the goals. Enjoy Eamonn!

Barbecue Day! Free Ladies! South Melbourne take on AIS on Assimilated Pagan Festival Monday

I think it's fairly safe to say that most people will turning up for the free BBQ, a select few because it's 'ladies day', and everyone else, probably parents of the AIS lads.

Last time they met:
Round 9, 2007 at Lakeside Stadium

Australian Institute of Sport 1 South Melbourne 2

South were fortunate to take all three points from this match. They scored first, but the visitors leveled within a minute. South managed to sneak a second in before the break, and after that, despite outrunning, outplaying and outlasting the 'away' team, the AIS couldn't put the ball in the back of the net, and therefore the goddess Tyche smiled on Hellas for once. The Institute had a highly competent team on the park, but ultimately lacked players with the x-factor.

Preview
The AIS are one of the better teams thus far. Three wins, a draw, and another three points here will send them top of the table. It seems they're actually taking the competition seriously this time around, not chopping and changing their squad week by week. But we are only five rounds into it, so there's time to go back to old ways. But really, what do the AIS offer Victorian football? High costs to host them since they bring zero fans. High costs to travel to Canberra to play them. Taking the spot of a local team. A team which does not have the same costs of facilities or player payments, has different transfer rules, and which should realistically be playing in the new A-League Youth, er, league, and leaving us alone to play with our stupid wog hobby horses.

As for South, they need to start winning games. That's about it. You want more in depth? Buy Neos Kosmos. Better yet, buy The Age, that great sporting paper, which would never, ever cover 2nd tier sport, unless it was aussie rules, in which case let's go down all the way to whatever level of the Under The Table Ammos or Bumpkin River District League you can find results on. Anything so you-know-who won't have to get up off the couch and report on something other than what some third rate aussie player had for breakfast before taking his position on the pine for some division 50 club in Engerlund. And let's keep those wire services going as a financial concern with crusty day old results from Portugal and Spain, which anyone who actually gave a toss would already know because of something called the Internet. Because what exists here and now, during the time when the magnificent Alpha-League is in the phase I like best, its 23 month off-season, is not worth reporting on.

By the way, South'll do well to get a draw out of this one. The way we're going, I just hope the snags are good and I don't get food poisoning.

To Morwell it is - AIS away match venue settled

While the Shepparton trip seemed like a good bet at one stage, turns out that one of the other suggestions from my part of that link has come true, and South will be heading to Morwell and Falcons Park for the first time in 7 years. As seen on Soccer-Forum:


Institute pours cold water on cup game plans Teo Pellizzeri

Cobram Victory and Shepparton South have been denied the chance to host Foxtel Cup Victorian state league games after proposed plans fell through at the Australian Institute of Sport's end.

After passing a ground inspection last week, South was hopeful of playing host to a match between AIS and former National Soccer League champion South Melbourne, while Victory had Whittlesea Zebras lined up.

But left with a choice of Morwell or Shepparton, South Melbourne opted to return to La Trobe City Sports Stadium where it played various Gippsland franchises in the now-defunct national league.

Victory's plans were scuppered by an overseas tour for the AIS to the Hong Kong Sevens tournament on what was the proposed weekend for the match in late May.

Football Federation Victoria operations manager Tony Persoglia said the South Melbourne match had been keenly sought after and ultimately it was the club that turned down Shepparton in favour of Morwell.

``It was the fixture every rural association wanted,'' Persoglia said.

``The AIS and our chief executive Mark Rendell struck a deal for four games to go to rural Victoria and this has left Shepparton with the one game.

``There were issues for the AIS trying to raise the funds to continually travel around rural Victoria and also clashes with the international calendar.''

Mercury Dve will host AIS' match against defending Foxtel Cup champion Preston Lions, with Shepparton playing Tatura as the curtain raiser on July 19.


Should be fun, though being on a Saturday it means that there'll South fans playing games who will miss it. Will they also put on a curtain raiser? Also interesting to see that we were highly sought after by the various regional centres. Perhaps we should listen to the Victorian Government's advice and relocate to Provincial Victoria, where we can build a nice house, take heaps of holidays, find plenty of work and take up whatever other hokey promises they've made in their ads. Goodness knows our current inner city lifestyle ain't going too flash.

Also changed the blog's font, should be easier to read now. Times New Roman, what was I thinking?

Sponsors of yore - Southern Motors

Something a little different for today. For those not in the know, Southern Motors were a sort of large car dealership owned or operated or both by a bloke called George Kotses. Back in the day they were noted for sponsoring quite a few Greek backed soccer clubs in Melbourne, including Heidelberg and South (even being the major sponsor in our championship year in 1998 for example). The company eventually went broke I think, and Kotses started a new dealership somewhere out in the arse end of Brooklyn (and that's saying something) called New Concept Car Sales, the new concept probably being, well, not going broke.

Anyway, the ad below is from happier times, sometime in the mid 1990s. In the clip, Kotses seems happy, Frank Arok is Frank Arok but much quieter, and there's some really random and quite fast Greek being spoken which combined with the dodgy animation of the ball flying all over the place, gives it a fucked up Japanese TV/Mr Sparkle kind of aesthetic. I'm not sure if that was their intention, but hey, just roll with it.

VPL needs more Xinlisupreme

A minor tremor has been set off by some VPL fans about the playing of music before games and during the half-time break. More specifically, the playing of ethnic music, imitation John Lennon tunes from Manchester not fitting into that category. The two main culprits at the moment seem to be Coburg and Heidelberg, playing Turkish and Greek music respectively. The specific FFV regulations on this are as follows:


12.3 No Club may distribute, disseminate, broadcast or publish by any means whatsoever whether electronically or otherwise any material in a language other than English, with the prior written consent of FFV to do so.


This also brings up another problem in regards to Coburg, as they have a fair bit of Turkish language content on their website as well, as part of an obvious attempt to appeal to its core Turkish-Australian fanbase. So the questions which must be asked are: did the FFV allow this, or as usual have they not been paying attention? If they have allowed it, why put in any restrictions at all? Where does one draw the line between what is acceptable ethnic content and what is not-acceptable? Are ethnic names and foreign languages on official merchandise ok? Foreign language advertising boards, say for non-English newspapers?

For what it's worth, I reluctantly agree with the outright bans on ethnic insignias and flags, in the sense that they're unfortunately used by a significant enough minority as part of something other than football. But this sort of half-half approach to non-English communications and content just doesn't seem logical or workable. The FFV need to either get serious and clamp down on all of it, or celebrate the diversity and let clubs try and attract whoever they want. If they do anything, I can only see it being the former, as per the John Howard 'ok, we're all different and that's good but can we please all act in an Anglo-Celtic manner because otherwise we'd have to come up with a new and relevant Australian identity' legacy.

For the record, I'd rather not have that sort of music played, as a matter of taste. A bit of Xinlisupreme on the other hand is always welcome. Ignore the clip, it's the music that's important.



Hmm, would they allow a track called Kyoro? Sounds a bit ethnic to me.

Flashback to 1991/92 - Preston 1 South Melbourne 2

Seeing as South actually gets to travel with fans to BT Connor in a couple of weeks for the first time in many years, and as per requests to review classic games and players from days gone by, I thought it'd be good to upload something specifically for that occasion. The clip below is from season 1991/92. South were reigning champions with a great squad, Preston were pretty much on their last legs NSL wise after their 1980s heyday, and they were only to last another season after that before dropping into the VPL. There's a good crowd, a lot of fierce attacking play, one time Socceroo Andrew Zinni running amok, superb goalkeeping by McLaren, Trimmers flattening an opponent, a bushfire in the nearby scrub, hypnotic scenes of waves of people jumping up and down, and Kyle Patterson narrating the highlights. Enjoy.

Yusef Yusef does ACL, out for season

Sad news this Sunday, as it is confirmed that South winger Yusef Yusef has injured his anterior cruciate ligament, the injury suffered during the loss against Oakleigh in round 4. The injury will sideline him for the rest of the season. As a player who can play on both the left and right side, his versatility as an attacking option will be missed. South of the Border wishes Yusef all the best in his recovery. Thanks to Mildura Vasili for obtaining the news.