Women's Seniors and Reserves end home and away season with losses

1-0 and 4-0 respectively to Sandringham. The reserves will finish mid table after being starting off the season rather well. The seniors have blown any hope at getting the double chance. They have a bye this week, and will face either Casey, Ashburton or Sandringham in an elimination final in couple of weeks time. Video courtesy of FootballChaos.

On sportsmanship and such

Predictably, and not entirely without good reason, Fernando De Moraes' sneaky goal against Sunshine George Cross has raised all sorts of ethical questions and complaints.

Within the context of the behaviour expected by years of unspoken soccer precedent, De Moraes' actions are not justifiable. Within the actual rules of the game, there is nothing wrong at all; nothing for a referee to deal with except to signal a goal and get on with the game. And thus both sides of the issue have their merits. Ultimately though, the incident speaks to a deeper problem within the game, that of exalting one type of sportsmanship to the exlcusion of all others.

Throughout our post NSL existence, the era of the club I have watched with the most attention by far, I have seen the following. Hideous tackles, both deliberate and otherwise; frequent disrespect for referees; inciting of crowds; deliberate handballs; and perhaps worst of all, the condoning of all such behaviour under the guise of 'it's a man's game', or 'it's a passionate game', but mostly because people are prejudiced towards their clubs, against other clubs, but who need to appear unbiased to give themselves some sort of credibility.

To be perfectly blunt, this sort of sportsmanship nonsense irks me no end. If a player is seriously injured the referee has discretion to stop the game. Most of the time though, these instances contain at best very minor injuries, sometimes even to the extent that players will deliberately exaggerate their injuries to curb the other team's attacking momentum. The point being that, really, play should continue until such time as a natural stoppage comes up, or the referee deems the injured player's health to be in such jeopardy tha the game should be stopped.

For the record, yes, I cheered for the goal. It was no 'Hand of God' moment. Neither will it go down as one of the greatest moments in South history; I certainly hope it doesn't, anyway. And I'm not sure how Fernando will feel about it in years to come. But as someone who has for a very long time actively disliked these phony and mostly unnecessary stoppages of play, I hope that it may finally put an end - at this level at least - to the whole charade. Somehow I doubt it though. The hypocrisy the outrage is built on has been built up over many years, and its cultural foundations run deep. This incident will be a one off. The other types of poor sportsmanship - the lack of duty of care to fellow players, disrespect to the officials, taking advantage of the laws of the game for purposes other than which they were intended - will be repeated week in, week out, and barely a whimper will be raised in the manner it was raised for this incident.

South sneak through to finals, literally - Hellas 1 Georgies 0

You think you've seen it all in (genuine) Australian soccer, and then something like this happens.



Away to Hume next week. Zoric had missed a sitter before that goal, Sunshine showed very little, the wind played mayhem with the keepers and general play, but Sardelic replacing Tommich in goals did more than enough for me for him to keep his place. Not heading into the finals with anything remotely like devastating form, but all that's behind us now, and who knows what will happen from here on in? The first disaster was averted, that of missing the finals for the third consecutive year and in our anniversary year too. The next phase begins now.

It was a simpler time

Push for dual-code venue at Albert Park

Could South Melbourne's Bob Jane Stadium become the home of Victorian soccer, rugby union and even rugby league?

South Melbourne's new president, television newsreader George Donikian, reckons it can - if the State Government gets together with the sport's controlling bodies and unites to give the Albert Park venue a multimillion-dollar make-over to increase its capacity and refurbish its office and entertainment areas.

Donikian, who recently took over the top job at South as part of a wholesale revamp of the club's management and committee, says a refurbishment program at the South Melbourne ground would add significant value to an existing community resource.

It would allow it to be used as a multisport venue and come at a much cheaper price than a redevelopment of Olympic Park, the other stadium that has been mooted as a candidate for a rework to accomodate the likes of new A-League soccer club Melbourne Victory or a rugby Super-14 team.

"I have approached Ron Steiner at the Victorian Rugby Union and talked to him about the possibility of playing at Bob Jane if the stadium was upgraded and reconfigured for rugby as well as soccer," Donikian said yesterday.

"Might it not be worth looking at the possibility of spending, say, $35 million, on turning this ground into a 25,000 to 30,000-seater venue for soccer and rugby rather than spending a lot more at Olympic Park?

"The atmosphere would be very good, Melbourne Victory would find it a better fit for them in the new A-League than Telstra Dome. I am approaching Craig Bellamy (coach) at the Melbourne Storm to see if there might be interest from rugby league.

"The way we used to do business at this club (South) is long gone.

"We need to go forward, find ways to make better use of the facilities, attract new supporters and improve the place so that clubs like Melbourne Victory could also look at playing here.

"Let's not worry about the development of footy grounds like Punt Road and Optus Oval. We need a ground like this to be improved and it has a lot of advantages. It's in a great location - Albert Park is right near the centre of the city, has tram and light rail links, is close to Clarendon Street and its shops.

"Why couldn't this become another sporting precinct. We could upgrade and build administrative offices here, put in a sports medicine clinic, build a new grandstand on the far side of the ground, put boutique-type stands up behind the goals.

"It's already very close to Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, so the links could be further developed."

While it is the new A-League club Melbourne Victory that will be the city's premier soccer side, Donikian and a host of new South Melbourne committeemen say they are determined to ensure that South's future does not lie all behind it.

The club - along with another former NSL side, Melbourne Knights - will make its Victorian Premier League debut in January and its new administration is adamant its long-term aim is to rebuild South, so that, if and when the Australian Soccer Association decides to expand the A-League, it is at least in a position, both financially and on-field, to lodge a credible bid for inclusion. That may be in five or 10 or 15 years, but, insists the new president: "We are not just going to be satisfied with trying to win the Victorian Premier League all the time.

"What we did in the past, how we marketed and sold the club, was not good enough.

"If it was, we would be in the A-League ourselves now, and we're not. So everything we do now has to be based on the committed premise that we eventually want to be in the A-League.

"That has to be our main ambition long-term, how we keep the fire in the belly of players, administrators and supporters."

As part of its new branding, the club has made a small but subtle change. No longer South Melbourne Hellas, or South Melbourne SC (for soccer club), it has changed its name to South Melbourne FC (for football club).

Because of its financial problems earlier this year, it has been unable to retain many of its former stars so new coach John Anastasiadis - himself a former NSL title winner with the club - is being forced, in the main, to rely on youngsters such as former Melbourne Knights player Billy Natsioulis and leading Victorian junior Evan Karavitis, an under-17 Australian representative.

Last roll of the home and away dice - Round 22, South Melbounre Hellas vs Sunshine George Cross

Last Time They Met

Rounnd 11, 2009, at Chaplin Reserve

Sunshine George Cross 1
South Melbounre Hellas 1

The pitch was a mess, which suited the home side whose physical style got them an early lead. South hit back not too long afterwards though, and the rest of the game was mostly a dour midfield stalemate.


Preview

It's pretty much like this. Shamelessly stolen from the South official site.

With all sorts of combinations possible, the scenarios have been broken down below with the VPL ladder.

2. Hume City - 37 points +24 GD
3. Altona Magic - 37 points +10 GD
4. Green Gully - 35 points +7 GD
5. South Melbourne FC - 34 points +18 GD
----------------------------------------------
6. Heidelberg - 34 points +10 GD
7. Sunshine GC - 32 points +1 GD

South will finish 2nd if:

* South beat Sunshine by 3 goals or more
* Hume loses to Oakleigh by 3 goals or more
* Altona loses to the Melbourne Knights
* Green Gully draws or loses to Richmond


South will finish 3rd if:

* Hume draws or wins against Oakleigh
* South beat Sunshine
* Altona loses to the Melbourne Knights
* Green Gully draws or loses to Richmond

South will finish 4th if:

* Hume and Altona draw or win their matches
* South beat Sunshine and Green Gully draws with Richmond

OR

South draw with Sunshine and Green Gully loses to Richmond

South will finish 5th if:

* Hume and Altona record a point in their matches
* Green Gully, South and Heidelberg all win or draw their games

OR

Green Gully earns at least a point and both South and Heidelberg draw their matches

South will MISS the finals if:

* Sunshine beats South

OR

South draws to Sunshine and Heidelberg defeats Dandenong

Michael Lynch does what Michael Lynch does

Or, Three Years Tops

Or, The Law of Diminishing Returns

Or, If replying semi-curtly once a year to a jaded VPL fan who has just snapped his journalistic undies is as hard as it gets, then Michael Lynch's job perhaps isn't that hard after all.


 Every now and again, The Age and other newspapers likes ot have a bit of an online blog thingo where peeps send in questions and others answer them. Apparently The Age's soccer and motorsport writer Michael 'Glenda' Lynch had a go today. He got the following question from a South fan. Before you get to read it, let me just say that it doesn't differ much from the answer he gave to an angry tirade of mine that I sent to him some time back.

In fact pretty much the only difference is the mentioning of the online stuff - which considering we're in the year 2009 CE, just goes to show that in addition to providing only a very narrow - albeit popular - range of news and information, that the dinosaur print newspapers still haven't come to grips with the possibilities of the information age.

 You know, I have nothing specific against the print news media - rather it's a long list of socialist cliche complaints - but it's not like I'm itching to see them die. But die they will. Because, if they haven't twigged yet, people, especially younger people, are aware that they have the ability to choose their own information. Choose what is relevant to their needs. And whatever the ethical implications are of that, chances are the oldschool print media will suffer.

And in a small way, not giving people want they want will have been a part of their downfall. 




Hi Michael

Did you realise that the VPL still is being played in Victoria?

Thanks for the continued coverage, all clubs appreciate it! NOT!

Yes, I am aware. One of my good friends has coached the club that has set the pace all season.
I would like us to cover the VPL, but it suffers the same fate as so many second or third tier competitions in the Australian media.
Firstly you have to understand that Aussie Rules will be guaranteed to take up half the space available, at least. I don't like or agree with that, but its not my decision. (The proportion is pretty much the same at the Herald Sun too, if not even more sometimes).
That means everything else, from F1 to world championship boxing, Football to Rugby Union, Rugby League, cricket (even the Ashes is subordinate to the demands of footy), horse racing, tennis, golf (even the Masters and British Opens) etc all have to be squeezed into the other space.
Effectively, that means second tier competition is not covered. We don't cover the District cricket. We don't cover the second tier basketball. Huge as footy is, we only give a cursory wrap to the VFL. And space means we haven't got much, if any, room, for the VPL. We hardly cover boxing, kick boxing, polo, three day eventing, motor sport (bar the V8s and F1) either.
Online does represent an avenue for coverage, and I will try to ensure we get some VPL stuff up online during the finals and perhaps next season on The Age.com.au Its just a question of resourcing.
Hopefully your sardonic mood is now mollified slightly. You might not be any happier, but you may be wiser.
- Michael Lynch

Ten South rumours I'm starting just for the hell of it

1. Ricky Diaco did not eat all the pies.
2. There are still Peter Buljan/General Diagnostic Laboratories mousepads in existence.
3. Neos Kosmos does not require secret cash payments in order to boost the coverage of your club in its pages.
4. There are not dozens and perhaps even hundreds of South trophies and other artefacts in people's houses across the country, which were allegedly looted at various stages of the club's history.
5. The overwhelming majority of South fans would be happy to pay $2 for a copy of a matchday programme.
6. Old Greek guys drinking coffees at cafes in Oakleigh/Northcote/Yarraville/insert own proximate centre of local Hellenism are the best source of information about the inner workings of South Melbourne Hellas, especially if they haven't stepped inside the place since 1998.
7. People would like Jimmy Armstrong more if he was Greek.
8. You cannot make another search so soon after your last.
9. Hulk Hogan got to be the way he was by doing his exercises, taking his vitamins and saying his prayers
   
10. South Melbourne Hellas is the biggest soccer club in Australia.

Rambling Mildura Story

Or why does the Mallee have no local orange juice when it has so many oranges?


The really good thing was that I got to choose the vast majority of the music - shame about the bass on Ian Syson's car stereo being adjusted to such an extent that it was negligible, and thus the poorly recorded bass part for The Autumns' emo/dreampop/shoegaze anthem Embracing Winter didn't have the requisite effect.

Anyway, we drove up to Mildura primarily to investigate two points of interest. One, the state of soccer up that way, and two, to investigate more closely, by way of examining cenotaphs and such, names, deaths and records of war service of local soccer players in the First World War 1. I'll say this for roadside country cafes along the road though. They obviously don't think they can make any money on a Sunday morning, because most of them are closed, and those that are open, seem to be run by people who are confused by the very notion of customers.

The eight or so clubs that make up Football Federation Sunraysia almost all train and/or play on the eight or so fields of their local soccer complex. They're the first soccer grounds we've seen in the 600 kilometres we've driven. They're in decent nick considering the amount of use they get - helped by the use of reclaimed/recycled water. We get there early enough to see several juniors and womens games in action. It's apparent pretty early on the piece in that even the senior game or two we're going to see are going to be largely participatory events, with few spectators. Our discussions with the majority of locals with though are eerily positive, as if not to be is somehow sacrilegious. Thy don't get much money or respect from the local council, but they're happy with what they have - but still harbour resentment at what some other sports get. Crowds are virtually non-existent, but participation numbers are 'good'. It's only in hints within lengthier discussions that different feelings emerge. The tyranny of distance from Melbourne, and from any other footballing centres is palpable. Senior competition is limited - opportunities for talented juniors are negligible, except with the undertaking of high risk and drastic options such as moving an entire family closer to Melbourne.

The summer league - or champions league as it's calling it self now - doesn't do the job required. There is scant funding for the substantial travel costs required. The local federation has considered fielding a combined side in the metro leagues, but concerns about resources, the integrity of the local competition, and the ability to compete are high. But again there is a dogged optimism - the game is stronger than it's ever been. There are constant references to the absence of ethnic clubs - all of the local essentially having lost or thrown out any ethnic baggage or history, or had it negated by the original club creators.

So after watching few of the early games, we get taken on a bit of tour of some of the spots we're interested in. One is the possible location of the first soccer venue in Mildura, next to railway track. And then to various cenotaphs, looking for names of fallen soldiers - there are plenty of these monuments, but they each seem to specialise in a particular sort of list making enterprise. The are odd inclusions and exclusions, strange omissions of entire wars, and perhaps most strange, the inclusion of a guy our records say made it out of the war, but whom one of the local plaques has as dead.

We make it back in time for what is to be our feature match, Irymple Knights - nee Zagreb Soccer Club - against Three Colours, a southern Italian mob by birthright, but as mentioned earlier no longer very much aware of concerned with its origins - something seen as a strength by the locals. The ages of the players have great variation. There are older heads, and there are those who are comparatively still wet behind the ears The standard veers between kick around amateur and something provisional - but the very essence of its player make up, the narrow field, and the lack of any tactical orientation makes such judgements quite prone to error. That, and most of the forays forward come from counter attacks.

The lack of an edge is perplexing to me. The whole day seems far too social, as if there is little up for stake, and it gives the impression somewhat that the local clubs, rather then being sworn enemies, are more like a party of a larger whole, and that games are more like intraclub matches. That illusion is temporarily broken by a behind the play incident that leaves one Irymple Knight down, and players both from sides and a fair chunk of the few spectators at the game looking for someone to hit, push, or get out of harm's way - both protagonists get sent off, and we later learn through fragments of speech that the instigator more or less had it coming to him. So, while the spectre of soccer violence visited this field too, it was still somewhat different from what we're used to, in that it was strictly an individual thing and not a club thing.

We stroll over to watch the last few seconds of the Mildura United - Nicholl's Point game, which finishes quite quickly. We start a conversation with Chris Tsivoglou - manager and seemingly main man from the club. It used to be a Greek team - Chris claims it dates back to 1916, a date which both astounds and arouses obvious skepticism. That there were Greeks in Mildura at the time is not really in dispute - certainly, when asked of their origins, Chris provides the adequate and safe answer that they came from Egypt and the Greek Islands - like most of the early Greeks in Australia. And there certainly were Greeks in the area by the early 1920s. But still, it goes against so much of what we think we know about the situation. The end of all soccer in the area during the war, the near twenty year gap to the next known Greek-Australian club, Apollo Athletic, born in a much more fertile setting, in terms of both soccer and proximity to Greeks.

The other side of Chris's discussion relates to his and the clubs efforts, with the decision made some years ago, to try and include local indigenous kids in the game. It's an uphill battle. Apart from the costs needed to kit them out - most of the kids coming from a local mission and from situations where they cannot afford it themselves - and the discipline need to make them come every week, as well as the near impossibility of keeping them once aussie rules comes calling. Chris is also the first person we meet who bucks the optimistic trend - he says that the game has gone backwards, the standard, the crowds, and just the overall interest and continuity. People come to the game, primarily for their children, and when their child's tenure is up, leave the game entirely.

It's not a phenomenon unique to the region to be sure. The same thing is happening across the country, but with the sheer weight of numbers many Melbourne clubs for example can hold on - in a place already struggling for players, sponsors and political clout, amongst other things, this lack of continuity compels clubs to stay small scale, and provide a particular kind of soccer experience - transient and fleeting. The visit to the Irymple Knights' clubhouse emphasises this. They're proud of their set up and what they've managed to do - as they should be. But there are few people in attendance around the searing bonfire - some talk about the old days - in this case the 1970s and 1980s - with an odd mixture of nostalgia, regret and dismissal. It was good, but it must be let go - things are better now than they ever were. It's a refrain that contains echoes of New Dawn ideology, but it is in equally large debt to the game's isolation from all sorts of mainstream - soccer, sport, location, importance, relevance.

South girls top ofthe table after demolishing GRFA

8-0 to the seniors, and 3-0 to the ressies. The senior's win means they currently occupy top spot. They have played one extra game though, so will be reliant on winning their final home and away match against Sandringham in order to seal a double chance. In any case, a remarkable chnage in fortunes from the struggles and inconsistencies of previous seasons.

Lousy beyond your wildest imagination - Magic 3 Some team posing as the great South Melbourne Hellas 0

Poor. Quite poor. Abysmal. I could become a walking thesaurus but what's the point? The future as I type this is no longer entirely in our hands. We're now dependant not only on other teams doing us favours, but even worse, doing ourselves one by beating a team not in the bottom three.

There was little zip, pep, energy, maybe one shot on target, a lot of Joel Bowden, to Deledio back to Bowden defensive 50 kick to kick rubbish and far too much of can't score a goal from your own innovation, here have one on the house, and another because I like the cut of your jib.

At least the under 21s won 4-0. With some sort of miracle they could yet win the title, being equal first but with Heidelberg still to play a couple of games and our boys just one. At least there was evidence of players that could shoot, pass, run etc.

Hey, it's near my place - Round 21, Altona Magic vs South Melbourne

Last Time They Met

South 2 Magic 0, Round 10, 2009 at Lakeside.

De Nittis and Nunes scored. For some reason I can barely remember this game.

Preview

Well, win this and we're pretty much in the finals and still in line for a double chance. Lose this and we're not of the finals, but it adds unnecessary angst to the final round. I don't know what happens in the even of a draw. But there's more important things to think about.

The players should be aware that Clarendon Corner is currently going through the process of voting for its player of the year. Quite a few people have already voted. I haven't. Quite likely this game could make me forget the rest of the season entirely, and someone putting in a good performance might earn themselves three votes just for playing one good game. How about that? Of course, the far more prestigious South of the Border awards, which are so prestigious in fact that they are known only to the 5-6 readers of this blog and contains no trophy - the reasoning being, how could one capture the awesomeness of them? - will be based upon on an entire seasons work. Even better if there's some finals eaction.

South of the Border heading north this Sunday

All the way up to Mildura, home of both 2003 AFL Mark of the Year winner Chris Tarrant and South of The Border reader and occasional countributor Mildura Vasili. Ok, to be more precise, me and Ian Syson are actually heading to Irymple, located about six kilometers south of Mildura, which apparently has two fish n' chip shops, to do some research work on soccer in the region, with particular interest in the beginnings of the game there and how many of those players trundled off to war and got themselves killed and set the game back who knows how much - probably a fair bit.

Girls march on - South 4 Casey 1

Wish I was well enough to make it out there today. Girls now up to second place - but they have played one more game than the teams around them, what with not having the bye until the final round. Their goal difference is the weakest of the top four sides, which won't help, and they play both of their final matches away - though this week's match against Geelong RFA should see them notch up a win and hopefully a few more for the goal difference. Casey by comparison has to play Heidelberg and Box Hill and has the bye as well - so if the girls hold up their end of the bargain, they should be able to snare a double chance. Here's hoping. The reserves also won, 3-1, but that title's pretty much Sandringham's to lose.

Could have gone either way - Oaks 1 South 1

And instead it went straight down the middle. Oaks missed the best chances, while South dominated general play especially in the 2nd half - the lack of decent crosses denied us more chances rather than anything Oakleigh did. Horsey getting on the score sheet was good. Going behind again was not good. Atmosphere was very good. Flares were not good. Refereeing was not up to scratch. Two tough games to go to decide if we're worthy of finals. Even I have no idea if we are.

Huntingdale Hilarity - Round 20, Oakleigh vs South

Last Time They Met

Old South 0 New South 0
at Lakeside

Johnny A stuck 10 men behind the ball and got a point.

Preview

So they've got us doing some kind of career development subject before they let us out into the big bad world for reals. They've stuck us in a large auditorium, with flickering lights and 16 of us sitting there in front of a non-existent boxing ring. They ask us who we are, what we're doing, where we see ourselves in a year's time and what we'd like to be doing in the future or some other such question. People with work placements and ambition and a sense of purpose end up getting follow up questions, and people with vague non-committal answers - i.e., me - getting a look of confusion mixed with maternal (person in charge was a woman) disappointment. Yes, I am cynical when it comes to these things. And I am insecure and unsure about my abilities and everything new that happens. But it was still lame. They want us to look back through our previous three years worth of subject readers. Most of mine contain short stories and literary theory and/or criticism. Anyway, game tonight, should be fabulous, as per usual.

Dodgy Asian Betting Advertisement

And to the Dodgy Asian Betting guy at the game today

Seriously, I know you didn't bring it up with me personally - and I don't blame you, because I was angry and had an umbrella (yes my umbrella is back after half a season!) - but I make no apologies for my behaviour causing you to move across the way a bit in order to communicate to your superiors. I wonder what you said though when the guy's heart attack brought an abrupt end to the 1st half - home dead perhaps?

Killer touch deserts Blues again - South 0 Hume City 1

This was one of the better games of the season. Both sides went on the attack, Tommich was required to make a couple of reflex saves, and Zoric missed a once in 50 years opportunity - the long goal kick bounced, was misjudged by the last two Hume defenders and required Goran only to hit the target really - but he failed, sending it wide. Missing those sort of chances doesn't do anyone's health any good - and one elderly South fan got a heart attack right on half time - apparently he's ok though, which just ace, because we can't afford to be losing any more fans the way we're going.

Anyway, the crowd which milled that particular scene was rather silly. I mean, understand that people would be concerned - or did they think there was some sort of punch on? - but really, unless you're going to get involved in helping out, there's no reason to be there. Just let those already at the scene and those who know what they're doing take care of it. Anyway we copped a penalty and that was pretty much that. We get enough of the ball, have enough decent players despite the lack of Greeks - yes, that was brought up as a reason again - what is it with the inability to score at the crucial at this club that has plagued us for three seasons now in a row?

Anyway, there are three tough games to go, all against teams with finals aspirations. Leo da Prez made the announcement that our tenure at BJS as we know it is coming to an end. The round 22 match against George Cross could well be our last there, if we don't play a final at the venue of course. I also finally picked up my polo top which I get because of my gold membership. And someone spilled coffee on my South top. And I got the unclicked slots on my membership card snipped. I'd been to all the home games but for some reason a couple of tomes w=my card didn't get clipped. A bit of everything today - except South scoring.

Vipers give South a scare

It took four Laura Spiranovic goals and every last bit of game time, but South's senior women's team did just enough to edge out a determined Bendigo Vipers outfit who showed plenty of fight belying their 9th placing. South took the lead three times, only to have the scores leveled three times, before finally managing to score twice late and win, depsite conceding a goal right at the death. It wasn't exactly stirring stuff, and the girls didn't really celebrate, knowing they had not put in one of their better performances. Still, the win keeps their tilt at finals action on course and an outside chance of even sanring one of the top two spots and the double chance. The Reserves lost 3-1.

This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by all copyright holders. The audio has been disabled.

A location. A date. Giddy up. Ok, now I just need some money.

Needs more Turks - Round Meh, South Melbourne vs Hume City

Last Time They Met

Hume City 1 South Melbourne 2, at some shithole out in Westmeadows on Anzac Day 2009.

It was cold. It was wet. It was bloody windy. Horsey got his 100th South goal. Some local kickboxers decided to say hello. They didn't do a very good job.

Preview

Last time we played them some of us tried to wreck their sponsorship boards. Last time we played a match - last week as a matter of fact - some of us tried to wreck our own ground signage. It's not always someone else's fault, much as I wish it was.

Van Dominator wants his money

Hmm. Not good news folks. It seems that former South defender Adam Van Domelle thinks he's owed money by South. The FFV seem to agree with him. We appear to have disagreed with them both, ignored them, and they disagreed with us even more, with the FFV setting a deadline of 5pm, August 28th. What will happen if we don't pay up? It says we get kicked out of all comps. Not cool. How did we end up in this situation? I don't know. Maybe I should set up a countdown for it.

Kisnorbo joins Leeds

From Tribal Football - and no, we don't get any money from it - but mostly in here because a couple of our South lads still follow The Peacocks, and this might be a chance to update their Leeds United wardrobe with a South name.


Kisnorbo signs with Leeds United

23.07.09 | Andrew Slevison

Patrick Kisnorbo has completed a move to Leeds United.

The former Leicester City captain has joined the ill-fated club as a free agent on a two-year deal.

Kisnorbo, 28, was recently on trial with Championship club Derby County and had also attracted interest from Crystal Palace but decided he wanted t join a successful club.

"Leeds has a great tradition and history and I want to be part of a successful club," Kisnorbo told the club's official website.

"Other clubs were interested but I saw more in this club than in the others. None of them appealed to me as much."

Good times with academic essays

Be careful what you write on the Internet, or it may just end up in an academic's essay. The following excerpts are from 'The Australian football wars: fan narratives of inter-code and intra-code conflict' by Buck Clifford Rosenberg. More stuff next week hopefully referencing smfcboard opinions.


Another member, 'conya62', highlights the fact that Melbourne Victory crowds have been successful because of their diversity, but writes that the reason for such diversity lies in the fact that 'they have no choice if they want to watch the game in Melbourne'. This member declares who the 'real' soccer fans are: 'Good on these true supporters of the game that are going in numbers [to watch MVFC] and do not use the excuse of “I didn't feel welcome” and “there were too many ethnics”'.


and this


A South Melbourne fan, 'hellas7' believes South Melbourne would indeed be successful in the league, given its history in attracting large crowds. Yet this fan is both pragmatic about their chances of entry and forewarns about the threat successful entry would pose for the club: 'financially I can't see it happening for us, if it was to happen we would be forced to change our name and perhaps our colours, and I'm simply not for that'. Thus this South Melbourne fan regards the potential entry of SMFC into the new league as being dangerous for the club, and argues that the entry would damage its identity which is not worth the risk.

SMFCTV footage of the Gully game

More of the same really - South 1 Gully 1

Just about every week we concede goals. And just about every week we throw away a swag of good chances too. It's getting frustrating. Still, we fought back well, controlled the 2nd half and seem to have a resilience of sorts... but at the same time, we've had just three clean sheets, and fallen behind in nine matches - that's 9 out of 18! Something to think about.

South Women's Scores

A Melinda Aloisio hattrick was the cornerstone of the Seniors scrappy 6-1 win over Preston. Relocating to the redirected and redimensioned Field 13 - with two smaller fields taking the place of the previous larger one, and decreasing the effects of the big black hole in the middle of the field. Preston weren't really up to the task, though they had their moments. But South overall were a class above, and went to town in the second half after leading only 2-0 at half time. They solidify their spot in the top four, and are within touching distance of cementing a finals place. The Reserves also won their match, 3-1. Next week SMWFC is at home again to the second bottom Bendigo Vipers, once again on Sunday at 1:00 at Albert Park Field 13, nice and convenient for getting to the men's senior game afterwards.

Why it was so quiet on here the past week or so

I was in Jan Juc for a couple of days on my Offset project. I also got sick with whatever's going around now that isn't swine flu. And there wasn't much news anyway. Thanks to Mildura Vasili who notice. :smileyfase:

The Week My Umbrella Finally Gets Returned, Hopefully - Round something or other, Hellas vs Cleaning Product

Last Time They Met

2-2 at Gully earlier in 2009, we scored late to equalise. Seems like such a long time ago.

Preview

Well, we haven't beaten them in 3 years or so. But they're not crash hot this year. Could go either way really. I'll be down at Albert Park Field 13 prior to this game, watching our Women's team take on Preston in another important clash.. Good that the scheduling works in such a way to make both this week. And hopefully I get my brolly back, because I've gone almost half a season without it now.

Women's Seniors, Ressies, both lose

Both going down 2-0 to Ashburton. Pretty much kills off the Ressies outside chance of a tilt at the title. The Seniors result means they get drawn back into the mire somewhat, now just one point clear of Ashburton in 4th. Must win game against Preston at Albert Park 13 this week, conveniently finishing an hour before the men's senior game against Gully.

Good night all round - Richmond 1 South 3

The Pies held on for a one point win, South came from behind and withstood a late rally, both finishing pretty much at the same time. Kranskys as good as ever, donuts delicious, my mate Gains making his South away game debut, while another regular was noticeably absent perhaps fearing being killed by some guy on a forum he may not even know. We'll find out soon enough if he survived. Not sure where Zimmerman was - maybe he doesn;t like me anymore. The Heyington Bridge Crew appears to have died - they lasted longer than I thought they would, but it appears the gimmick wore thin eventually.

In the game itself, Tommi Tommich did well, Yusef Yusef came on late, his first bit of senior action for a very long time after his knee injury. Petrovic and Yousseff did well in the middle. Stella destroyed Karahan. Overall, good performance, room from improvement as per usual, and hopefully we can carry that form into a tough two weeks at home against Gully and Hume. smfcTV already up with the best packaged version yet of the highlights, and interviews with Shane Nunes and Sam Torrens.

Is the Heyington Bridge Crew still in existence? Round whatever, Richmond vs South Melbourne

Bah, I'd have written this tomorrow but the game's on tonight.

Last Time They Met

South 3 Richmond 0 at BJS earlier this season

Horsey scored an awesome long range goal and then got greedy.

Preview

They're not playing that well and I'm not convinced by our performances either. A win would be good.

Ghosts from the past - Dimitriadis, Raftopoulos, Marmaras

I feel a little like Bob Dole, dissatisfied with the present and therefore digging a trench to the past asking no one to come with me. This photo has next to nothing to do with football or South. Except that it's a photo of the wedding of Apollo Athletic and South Melbourne Hellas founder Floros Dimitriadis to some bird called Poppie Lekatsas, taken in 1938. From hints in the public record, they did stay married for a while, until 1960 at least - there's reference to a civil suit the couple brought against the Bolte government or something like that.

In the squad are [Back row] G. Papageorge, H. Anastaciou, S. Doubaras, P. Polites, E. Mocenigo, C. Geralis
, N. Regos, J. Harlambe; [front row] N. John, T. Doubaras (Captain), H. M. Catsis, N. Raftopoulos (Vice Capt.),
 C. Kostas, G. Proios. (Thanks to Ian Syson and the librarian who transrcibed the names)

The photo comes from the Raftopoulo family archives donated to the state library. It also includes this photo of another of Melbourne's Greek clubs, Olympic, which disappeared circa 1952, just before the apparent birth of Hellenic - we don't know if this is a coincidence.

Obviously it's the Raftopoulos connection, as well as the name of the Marmaras trophy, that starts bridging gaps in the pre-South Melbourne Hellas genealogy. Hopefully when the National Library of Australia archives really start getting their shit together, we can start filling in even more gaps.

Out Of Hibernation

South vs Whittlesea highlights... courtesy of Mark Murray!

Mark Murray was the recent FFV PR/Media Managing dude. On the day of the Anzac Day game against Hume City, he was allegedly spotted at the AFL Anzac Day game... but one of the better things he did was set up an account to upload VPL highlights... the fact that dedicated local soccer followers like myself didn't realise he had done so doesn't say much for his promotional skills though. Anyway enjoy the clip, complete with heritage strip.

First half



The Other Half

I went up to Villier's Terrace...

No, nothing to do with the Echo and the Bunnymen song. Yesterday Ian Syson and I sought out pioneering Victorian football journo Fred Villiers. Fred had been at a number of papers (Argus, Sporting Globe to name just two), as well as on radio and a lengthy spell on World of Sport. Fred's getting on in years, and his mind and memory are slipping... I would easily say it was the most difficult interview that I've had to do, and was not any easier on Fred either. Questions, comments, memories, references to friends vanished and gone, often nameless, all looped and repeated upon themselves... so while we couldn't get full access to the goldmine that was Fred's football life, we did come away somewhat humbled nevertheless, as well as informed by those things Fred could recall.

Amongst those things were Fred's pushing for soccer coverage in the papers he was working on... with the proof being in the pudding with circulations rising whenever the round ball game was included. The young men he recruited to report on the games, and who got paid twice over, once for their print reports and once for their radio work. His struggles within the 'mainstream' sporting media, and against those who hated our game... Jack Dyer in particular received ratbag status while others, like Lou Richards, were more indifferent to the game.

An interesting theme has started developing perhaps about cultural gatekeepers... we covered this earlier with our first interviewee, women's soccer pioneer Betty Hoar, who said the ability of women and girls to break into established clubs was dependent on the main stalwart, worker, diehard, however you'd like to put it, being either for or against women playing. Likewise it seems, in the media, newspaper editors and culturally important people like Dyer hold large sway over how their minions will behave... and what they say goes. So no second tier sport in The Age really means no second tier soccer, but heaps of second, third, fourth and fifth tier aussie rules. Jack Dyer ripping into soccer and giving Fred a hard time repeatedly on the show means that acceptance from the wider public, who hold Dyer up as a paragon of Australian values (especially masculine and sporting wise), is near impossible to attain.

Fred also showed us some of his photos, taken before he came to Australia in the late 1940s. Few had anything to do with football (there was one photo of the team he played for in England), but there were some taken from a position in the crowd, of such people as the late Queen Mother, Princess Elizabeth, Wallis Simpson, Edward VIII, Neville Chamberlain.... in my opinion some remarkable shots, taken with a photographer's eye for the moment. It's sad that we had to meet Fred at this time, and not earlier - but it was better late than never. I'm certainly richer for the experience.

No Hooped Socks - South Melbourne 4 Whittlesea Zebras 0

No hooped socks. What a let down.

Anyway, the rest of the strip looked tip top.

The goals we did score were of a decent quality.

The shots we fluffed were a disgrace.

We kept a clean sheet.

And now we have a bit of a break.

Women knock off Box Hill

Both the Seniors and Reserves had wins over Box Hill last night, 3-2 and 4-3 respectively. The Seniors win in particular is pretty big - it goes to show that this year's group are genuine contenders who can beat anyone on their day. Great stuff.

The re-awakening of Perth Glory

For those of you who saw the post title and had a bit of a panic attack, thinking 'am I in the right place?', just take a deep breath and relax. South of the Border recently received an unsolicited piece from our Perth Glory correspondent Chris Egan (hey, you're on the payroll now), looking at the divergent paths these once upon a time heavyweights of Australian soccer have taken in the wake of the New Dawn Apocalypse. Or as it's called on smfcboard, the 'Australian Soccer Super Happy Fun Smile Time Adventure Show'.

Ok that was a lie. Anyway, over to Chris now. I'll be posting a response to it eventually within the comments section, and as usual, if you would like to send something in, send it to me, at blackmissionary@hotmail.com .



The Trials and Tribulations of the Post-NSL Era

As I read Paul's blog, I realise the differing paths of our respective football clubs. I as an old NSL supporter still able to support my team in a plastic, franchise style league where attendance means more than the quality of support. The cataclysmic journey of the pathways two giants of the world game in the late 1990's is one to record for future generations, here is my take on South Melbourne and Perth Glory's post NSL history.

There were three big clubs in the NSL Perth Glory, Sydney Olympic and South Melbourne. These three seemed to have that added impetus in terms of a culture that bred success as compulsory not an option. Winning a right, not a privilege. Only one of these clubs remain in the A-League.

Forget Adelaide United and Newcastle United, they have little to celebrate from the NSL, we do. South Melbourne supporters also have much to celebrate.

Indeed my fondest memories come from the NSL days. Other than a few last minute goals against clubs such as Sydney FC and the ever annoying Newcastle Unite.

Both fans seem to be dissatisfied of what we don't have. The matchday experience, success, not being the top dog in the pack, our whole club culture neatly being packed into the A-League. Matt Carroll trying to strangle the values and culture that had been established by Glory, not being in the elite competition, dwindling crowds and finances.

South Melbourne fans seem to decry incompetent league administrators, the pitfalls of participating in a league that doesn't have the TV rights, sponsorship that would sustain better standards of football. However they are fiercely proud of their heritage and culture which has not been forced to change or challenged by new age football. They can act and do what they like without the glare or control from the governing body. They have freedom to express and continue the same match day experience they have had for 30 years. They have not had to fight for their clubs very identity, colours and history.

I watch the MCF crew who are from another world that I grew up in, completely foreign to my Anglo-Saxon community on the urban fringe of Perth. I see the Knights and I hate them more than any A-League club. I don't want them to win, fuck em, let them die. I miss this, I have honestly no club I could name that I have this sort of passion for hatred due to our poor performance restricting any decent club rivalry. The Newcastle United one is building up, especially with a thinly veiled insult by a Newcastle fan at the Socceroos pre-match regarding how many championships we have won? Bastards, we have one more title than you...

South Melbourne still has this.

I click, Perth and South Melbourne fans are both dissatisified. Glory had gone through the last four years were in all honesty many times it was a chore to go to the games. The venue, atmosphere and culture during the FFA era had been trampled on and life support was the strongest imagery I had of the club. Up until this off-season me and my friend a few years younger than me were jealous of what South Melbourne had?

Unthinkable?

Only to an A-League supporter...

I have deep suspicion for the FFA, as do most Glory fans. Sage has made a habit for mostly positive publicity purposes to attack the FFA. Indeed as a Western Australian if you don't attack the national body or Federal Government you do not gain popularity. It works well, Sage is a masterful businessma.

We have a club however that has divisions within the home end, wristbands, chanting and GSSC governance major themes that never resolve themselves. Just underlying tensions that involve official comments attacking other fans on websites when the infighting goes overboard. We also have a desire that our history must be protected - at all costs. Public outrage at colour change, name change and the Carrol inspired declaration that ruined Glory's 10th birthday.

This is our NSL culture that had run head on with an FFA that declared a national policy of newness, excitement and anti-NSL at the beginning. We are a club stuck in the wrong league. But a club too big to die. We have to compromise.

South Melbourne have nothing culturally to impede their culture, their fans are much more content because they have not had the fights against FFA and club administration to maintain our values and colours. Nothing at a Glory home game is the same, except the fans and the culture within the venue. As much as Carroll would have liked, he never could change that.

Indeed you strip out the spanky new stadiums on the Gold Coast and the new bubble dome as its been affectionately called by the folks at Austadiums and you wonder what is there? How could I ever be involved in a club that has been told who it is rivals with, has home end supporter culture sanctioned and controlled by the club. Look at the impediments of the Roar Supporters clu.

Welcome to the A-League.

We now have no club song, no longer the team everybody wants to beat, we have failure, misery and for the most part of our A-League history off-field incompetence.

I go to South Melbourne v Melbourne Knights at the humble Knights Stadium and I hear stories of corruption, hardly any clubs in profit and despair that this proud club has been reduced to this level.

Am I any better off than a South Melbourne fan?

No, the era post-NSL has been very difficult for both of us. But we probably should have seen it coming, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I think in the long run we both have the same culture, the same passion. We are brothers in kind, Glory despite being a new club at the end of the NSL embraced its history because the so called ethnic clubs did, we are a product of the league we were created in. The club itself was the lifeblood of the community, the politics would mean that you did not talk to another fan for weeks on end...three months later when it died down you had a beer with them until the next time hell broke loose.

We have both made sacrifices in the post NSL era, Glory are now associated with ineptitude and failure from both their old fans and those from opposing fans. Both clubs will have to deal with unsavoury situations as we have been transported into a league that is not our domain. Not ours to bitch about, we are a club in a foreign league fighting to maintain our clubs identity in a league that neither respects or in many cases cares of what we have previously done for Australian Football. We are nobodies...

South Melbourne will win the VPL and hopefully look at an FFA Cup into the future to present itself to the nation. It may never get back to the top league, but by god despite the 'Greek' slur being put on them, their fans and the club essentially have the same desires as Perth Glory fans.

The re-awakening of Glory has come about with understandings of our past and the positivity we view it in. I do hope in 100 years time Football historians understand this and reflect accurately the NSL and not forget about it like many within the FFA headquarters wished at the beginning of the A-League.

Indeed, South Melbourne and Perth Glory fans united in challenges will both have similar joys when success returns, regardless of whether they are in the A-League or Victorian Premier League.

We just both happen to play in a foreign league, that in one way or another is not really to our liking.

Chris Egan

There better be hooped socks this week - Round 16, South vs Zebras

Last Time They Met

Round 5? Yeah, that was it I think. It was at Lakeside even though it was the Zebras home game because the FFV and associated types didn't think the Whittlesea Zebras playing in the last two seasons were the Whittlesea Zebras anymore. Or ever. Or something.

Whittlesea Zebras 1 South Melbourne 3

Hey, at least we won the game.

Preview

What I mean to say is that this week, much to the annoyance of some douchebags, we'll be wearing a version of our first strip because it's Foundation Week or Day or Round or something. Probably not Foundation Day though, because that would be sometime during January or February. Foundation Day was also the name of my former high school's fete/muck round/waste of time day, when we celebrated Jeff Kennett forcibly merging two high schools and two technical schools to create a public school which increasingly started behaving like a private school in its advertising, presentation and public demeanour. Well that's what I thought at the time anyway; I've lost contact with pretty much all of that eight years on.

Anyway, Foundation Day was... nah, you don't care about what that was all about do you.? How the guess how many lollies in the jar comp was rigged? The cheap cinnamon donuts left after the eating contest. Being compelled to watch a crappy movie if you didn't want to mingle with the kool kids at the disco. Bushwhacked anyone? And is it just me, or do heaps of these dropkicks or working class types in American films have Polish names? Probably just me. Anyway. Because there's a game on this week, maybe we should have a loot at that.

The Zebras are shite, but not as shite as Preston. Which means we should win, but we probably won't, because we're all over the shop at the moment.

South Melbourne on Football Superstar

Last night South's under 21s game of a few weeks back against Fox's Football Superstar outfit was shown on tv. Game finished 1-1. We don't have highlights of that, but we do have a quick snippet of Brian McFadden and his chick co-host introducing a very short spiel on us. I love the overflowing pride and passion of the '98 Grand Final. And I also like how the visiting team is in the crappy away changeroom. Enjoy. Oh, and thanks to the person who saved and uploaded the clip.

Highlights from Knights game

Senior and Reserves girls lose to Bergers

Seniors lost 3-1, Ressies 2-0. Not a great start to the 2nd half of the season for the Women's teams. A tough challenge against Box Hill this week.

That could have gone better - Knights 1 South 1

We dominated proceedings in the first half, yet were unable to make the most of it, scoring only the one goal - though we did have a very obvious penalty called a free kick instead. We conceded early in the 2nd half, which was far more even, and though we had some chances on the counter, I felt we were lucky to get away with a point in the end, all things considered.

End of the 84th Minute

Neil Zimmerman (of the Victory in Melbourne blog) has shut up shop in regards to his 84th Minute project, to which I contributed just the one piece despite his gentle nagging - I'd say you can't rush genius, but the reality was the zeitgeist often moved too quickly, and let's face it, most of the ramblings on here don't interest the greater football public... I learned that the hard way in numerous conversations with people on the net, and by the fact that so many of my googled hits on here seem to be from people looking for Melbourne Heart news. Anyway, over to Neil for his explanation.


One story ends, another begins

You may or may not remember but last year I launched a new independent football e-zine called the84thminute with lots of grand plans for it to be the fans’ voice of football. However, with increased pressures at work and scoring a writing gig for FourFourTwo Australia I was unable to give it the full attention that it deserved and thus it has gone neglected and now will longer continue.

It was fun whilst it lasted and I thank all those who contributed articles. Whilst it’s sad to not continue with this project, that sadness is balanced out by the fact that I have started a new architecturally based blog call i don’t wear black. And don’t worry this blog will never go neglected.


Damn shame. Could have been something really good. One less link in the hall of fame then.

Con Anthopoulos on Millionaire Hot Seat! And you missed it!

I was watching Millionaire Hot Seat earlier today. Contestant number six was none other than former South Melbourne, Carlton and several other no name clubs superstar Con Anthopoulos! On getting his mug on national television (for a 2nd time on a quiz show - he'd been on Temptation before and won a holiday or something) Con's past as a former pro soccer player was brought up, including his time in the Young Socceroos, but no mention of South, which is a pity.

For those who want to know how he went, keep reading. His first question was with whom is actor/singer Vanessa Paradis in a relationship with, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Con guessed Johnny Depp, and moved one question closer to heaps of money.

Alas, the next question brought our hero undone. Asked with which part of your body would you genuflect, he answered wrist. Poor Con, the answer is of course, knee. So Con bowed out of the running and I stopped caring.

Back to regular programming - round 14 Melbourne Knights vs South Melbourne

Last Time They Met

Round 4 2009 at South Melbourne footy club's ground

South Bitters 2 Melb Cro Bitters 1

Preview

Horsey is back, tell a friend. Crowd violence expected when the Geordie fans take on one of the two people who support Sunderland in Australia. Plenty of other dickheads, some flags, maybe a banner or streamer or letter folding machine. But there better be no morons asking why I don't support the A-League. Someone's already predicted an open match with plenty of poor finishing. I reckon there's a goal in this game somewhere though.

No matter what I do, bitterness seeps through

Warning: The following post may be interpreted by some as bitter and elitist.


So I went to the Australia - Japan match last night. Not under duress mind you. But it was a strange experience. But let's start from the top.

I had a fair few choices as to who to go with... but first in and best dressed was an Internet associate of mine from Perth via Adelaide... or is that Adelaide via Perth... nevermind. I'd delayed in purchasing a ticket for some reason, maybe to see if others wanted to join us, but they didn't. So Great Southern Stand about five rows back in what would normally be the Punt Road End forward pocket about 30 to 40 metres out. Tickets at $42 a pop.

But first things first. I arrange to meet with Chris at Federation Square, where he'll be with some of the Austadiums crew. They're friendly enough, even if the first call is 'no club colours' (lacking any Socceroo gear, I was wearing me South scarf and beanie) and one member asked to try to on my glasses (you wouldn't ask a paraplegic if you could try out his wheelchair... then again I don't know you, so you might - but I think you get my point regardless).

More than the flakes of ash landing on me from their cigarettes, what I found most interesting about this encounter was the lack of football talk that wasn't A-League related. It's winter, it's the A-League off season, so what else entered the discussion? Local soccer? Not one bit. The group, with members from five states, discussed mostly WAFL, SANFL, VAFA etc... and the myriad inter city politics of the Green and Gold Army.

I did get grilled though by one chap about why a club would choose to take up the role of outsiders by focusing just on one ethnic community. How to answer a question like that asked with the earnestness of the converted? I said they were treated like outsiders from the start so why wouldn't they choose to head down that path? And if this is a genuinely pluralist society, why should there be barriers on the existence of a diverse range of clubs, including those who choose to cater for a very small segment of the population? Historically these clubs have a shelf life of about 40-60 years - why not let it be on their own head if they fail due to the restrictive nature of their clientele? Mind you, he didn't seem to recognise the fact that ethnic clubs were obliged to change their names in the mid 1990s... and at various time before that too, but that's another story.

Some of us headed down towards the new Swan Street Stadium under construction. There's happy snaps of the sporting precinct, and jokes made at the expense of the legends of Australian tennis, who have bronze busts which often don't look very much like those who they're supposed to resemble - except for John Newcombe, but you could just make a bronze bit of his moustache and everybody would know who it is anyway. The stadium itself is an interesting work in progress. There's glimpses of what it might end up looking like that aren't an 'artist's impression', but I guess no matter how cliched it sounds, we'll only really know what it'll look like when it's done. A stadium unlike anything built in Australia thus far I'm guessing, not necessarily a bad thing.

We then end up at the Corner Hotel, where the Green and Gold Army have decided to decamp for pre-match drinks and stuff. It's not a hostile environment, but there's something alienating about the experience - there's boasting about trip made to countless overseas Socceroos matches and as based on mere extra sensory perception as this is - and I don't like that at all - the stench of newness. There is nothing old about these fans, it's all new and it all seems to have come out of nowhere. But that's impossible, they must have come from somewhere - but where? There's hints in the day's discussions and perhaps on the countless Internet forum debates about this but the university student in me is starting to kick in, and I want something empirical, not emotional and based on personal experience and observations.

There's an SBS camera crew floating around with Mike Tomalaris interviewing people - I ponder for a moment whether I should get up and try and get on tv with my South stuff, but I'm no media whore, and besides, would they have even included me? Opportunity lost perhaps but we'll never know, because I'm dragged back to discussion on South and the A-League and B-Leagues. What's in store in the future for South? I don't know, because soccer keeps changing in this country, but hopefully with the stadium redevelopment we can be in a great position to take on any challenge, a reasonable enough answer. A brief rundown of the history the V, B, Eastern Seaboard leagues and their viability, and what scuttled them for my Canberran inquisitor.

And then the question that everyone's been waiting for - why don't you support the A-League? I run through my list of justifications, about atmosphere, and culture and whatever else my feeble mind can dredge up - but the best answer is of course that it's not my club. I have a club. It's South Melbourne. It's been my club since I was about eight years old. It's not entirely because I'm Greek - because by rights I should have been a Heidelberg fan like my old man - but it's the club, it's my club. I did give the new thing a go - but it wasn't mine, it was someone else's, for those who didn't have something. I had something, I have something, why the need to take on something else? South Melbourne is sufficient to my needs, more than sufficient in fact. My initial curiosity notwithstanding, the fact that I already had a club was merely reinforced with my season long experiment. Did I get through to my opposite number, a former Northern Spirit fan for whom the politics of ethnicity and football are worked into seemingly neat little packages, and thus supporting Sydney FC is a logical conclusion? I don't know, but I think there's some sort of breakthrough, a small opening in the time-space continuum that separates us.

Chris and I then head out for something eat. We walk up Swan Street and decide on the Mexicali Rose. I like the vibe of the place, but the food is a little pricey for what they're putting forth, especially portion wise. My pollo con avocado is quite nice, except someone's over grilled the chicken so that it's tough as hell. Overall not a terrible experience, and we can't just eat pub and cafe food all the time, can we now?

We make the trek towards the ground, and we arrive well before kickoff. After just getting though the gate I get this text message from a mate 'Lol at all th cocks w footy gear on'. Our seats are good. Real good considering how late I bought them. And we get four or five Greeks in the row behind us, who happen to have a sense of humour as well as some sense of history - a discussion they have about the lack of Greek Australian players lets me rip out a reference to Eric Hristodoulou which garners some recognition, an occurrence far removed from everything else that day.

The game itself is by no means spectacular. Australia's first half is simply dreadful, and we're getting killed down our left hand side. Not that Japan is playing scintillating stuff, but they deserve their lead regardless. The 2nd half is a vast improvement from the Socceroos, but the old Verbeekisms are still in plentiful supply... little width, slow movement of the ball, hit and hope skied balls to Kennedy. The Green and Gold Army barely raise a whimper throughout most of the game - sure you could hear them, but it was hardly stirring stuff. The Japanese support was evident, but also not particularly amazing. The flares amuse some but not me. There's some members of the Fanatics to my right, but for once they are not the most offensive people in the stadium. That award goes the knobs on our left who grow weary of the game quite early on and start persisting with attempts at getting a Mexican Wave going. Timmy Cahill does what he does best and gets Australia out of another hole, though to be fair Australia's 2nd half was better than Japan's 2nd. The 70,000 string crowd seems mostly content, but I worry about taking that style and form to the World Cup. I train and taxi it home, try to keep my eyes open to watch the Spain vs Iraq match but I give in. Maybe that's what they want us to do.

Coveny appeal succesful

The remaining portion of his suspension, three games, has been negated, and he'll be free to play this week against the Knights.

The day an SM Hellas player scored in the world cup

It's a little recalled event outside New Zealand soccer junkie circles, but Monday marked the 27th anniversary of the All Whites world cup debut in Spain against a Scotland side which included such stars as Souness, Strachan, Hansen and Dalglish. The All Whites lost 5-2 - though they did manage to pull it back to 3-2 after being 3-0 down - but what is of relevance here to South fans is an oft overlooked moment in the club's history, perhaps because it didn't happen at the club. Steve Wooddin became the first ever and probably the only current Hellas player (in that he was playing for South at the time) to score a goal in a World Cup finals match. In the clip below, he scores the second goal for New Zealand, a nice left foot finish. All up Wooddin reached 40 league games scoring only 6 goals for South in his 1981-83 stint, before returning to New Zealand to play for Christchurch United. A recurring ankle injury led to his premature retirement, but for one day at least Steve Wooddin was king of the world.

Highlights from Preston game with Rama and Stella chit chat

I heartily endorse this event or product

Pumpkinseedeaters ep 4 season 2009 out now

Get it from here.

smfcTV special feature - Paul Trimboli, Michael Valkanis, Steve Panopoulos

When James Belias speaks, some people listen

This will probably appear in the Neos Kosmos English Weekly tomorrow... let's hope there's some truth to it... the lack of incident at today's game couldn't have hurt.

Meanwhile, sources close to South Melbourne have confirmed that a new co-tenancy stadium deal is close to being finalised. The State Government is believed to be keen to retain South Melbourne as a long-term anchor tenant to BJS, recognising South’s contribution to the Albert Park precinct. The BJS redevelopment will provide future benefit to the SMFC and ensure they remain a vibrant and active partner in the co-tenancy and South has been fully supportive of the BJS redevelopment.

Not happy - South Melbourne 6 Preston 2

Seriously, there were a lot of worrying signs today. Nevermind the scoreboard. We should have been 4-5 up within ten minutes. But we weren't. Our finishing today was disgraceful. At an absolute minimum we should have another 5-6 goals. The way we took the foot off the pedal in the 2nd half as well, was very disappointing. While some of the goals were nice, their quantity in part derived from the fact that we had so many opportunities that we couldn't not score. We saw what poor finishing does when we have less opportunities in the recent game against the Bergers. Fucking hell, just not good enough. And the goals we conceded... heaven's to Betsy, disastrous. Playing the worst team in the league, and they happen to be the first to score twice against us at home this season. Massive improvement needed for next week's game against the Knights.

It's good to be at home again.- Round 14 South melbourne vs Preston Lions

There's been three away games and week off. It's good to be back home. remember, if you're not a South member or hold an FFV pass of some sort or have purchased a ticket beforehand at one of the designated times or have someone somehow scam you in, you will not be able to enter the venue.

Last Time They Met

Round 3, 2009 at BT Connor Reserve

Preston 1 South Melbourne 7

Home side scored in the first minute. And that's about all they did for the rest of the game.

Preview

South should win. Preston might come out fired up because it's a derby, or because it's the last go they'll have at us for a couple of years, or because the break will have re-vitalised them, but we should still win, because we have the quality on the park, and we need to start picking up some wins again.

Think about the possibilities...

You can be in a photo, taking your place underneath an ex-A-League law student of Hungarian descent, and next to some kid who deserves more game time and the captain.

You can meet the players outside of a nightclub/mosque/courtroom setting.

You could get some exercise you fat lardo, by warming up with the players.

You sit in the dressing room. Michael Michalokopoulos' spittle dusts your forehead as he urges the players on to great heights - or berates them for their inability to even downhill ski properly.

You sit on the bench. You can either have a good old fashioned chinwag with the fringe players, or stand next to the coach (if he lets you) and pretend you were a certain former football director. Earplugs recommended, but are not included in this prize.

You eat dinner, putting back in the calories you lost waddling around Bob Jane Stadium in the pre-match warm up, and then some. Awesome.

And just in case no one believes you when tell them of your awesome adventure, you'll be filmed and your face plastered all over the internet, on smfcTV as part of a special feature dedicated to you.

If you want to be in the running for this experience, head to the ebay listing, which was at $91 last time I checked, and place your bid. If I had money and there was no running involved, I'd give it a go. But me and running haven't agreed with each other for a long time. Sad but true.

Further to yesterday's digression on Michael O'Hara

A couple of readers have alerted us to this article. Very interesting stuff. This would have fit in wonderfully with my writing selves class last year.

Murney, Schwab, Nestoridis and International Jewry

So me and Ian Syson went out to Hugh Murney's place today, to talk about Max Sterne, the noted Australian stamp dealer and oldest registered soccer player in the state still going at 80 something (and not the Italian vet who developed an anthrax vaccine), but as sometimes happens we ended up going off on a few tangents, and we got to learn a fair a bit about Hugh's football story. And soccer-forum got a mention as well, for the North Caulfield on Sundays saga, whereby every team that plays against North Caulfield Maccabi must play even their home games on Sundays.

For those like myself, unfamiliar with Hugh Murney, he was a Scottish footballer who came out here to play for Hakoah in the mid 1960s after having played all over the place in Scotland, and then also played or coached at many places, and so I enjoyed having my knowledge of obscure and now defunct Melbourne soccer teams validated, as we talked about Albion Rovers (before the Turks took over), Kew Park Rangers, Sunshine City etc. One of those rare occasions where all that time spent working on OzFootball didn't go waste.

And we also talked about the great characters he's met along the way, Eddie McGuire tucking into a Scottish breakfast at Hugh's pub before the Scotland/Australia game in the 1980s, Manchester United, England and Scotland touring teams, with plenty of stories about drinking and tongue in cheek jokes about the meanness of the Scots and the Jews. And an unprompted bit about Kostas Nestoridis, and him scoring two goals from corners in one game, after having been drinking and playing cards the previous night until well into the next morning. Oh, and Footy Show (co)creator Harvey Silver's involvement in local Jewish football.

There's a hell of a story in there, or at least, hundreds of anecdotes worth collecting and preserving. But he gave us the name of one bloke writing a book, called Michael O'Hara, who's written this bizarre book about his time in MI6, of which the segment I've chosen talks about the great Hakoah side of the mid 1960s, and some other stuff. Fascinating game, Australian soccer.

That's that then

Socceroos through to next world cup. Nice. Big piece of the local footballing puzzle shuffles into place, and while most Australian footballing hearts will be happy this morning, there's a bitter element that won't be. Let me make it perfectly clear that I don't share their point of view. Well done to Pim and the lads! Now maybe with two games to play, we might get the chance to see some stuff that doesn't involve parking buses, so it's worth me wasting my limited bandwidth streaming the Bahrain game, and me and Chris Egan can see something worthwhile at the MCG when he comes down here in a week or so.

The horror of the bye week

Announcer: But now, the two conference champs must survive a harrowing bye-week that no one enjoys. [the TV shows a bunch of football players lounging by a pool]
Moe: Bye-weeks. Bronco Nagurski didn't get no bye-weeks! And now he's dead! Well, maybe they're a good thing.

I am going to watch the 'Pies on Queens Birthday. It'll be my first game for the year. Watch us lose now.

Blatsis officially calls it quits

Finally, after one injury breakdown too many, and not having played a game since 2006, Con Blatsis has called it a day. The 31 year old will be fondly remembered as part of the mid 90s youth revival that Frank Arok created, as well as for being a part of the back to back championship teams. He also played for the national youth and senior teams, but will perhaps be best remembered for his golden goal in the first minute of extra time against Adelaide City back 1996/97.

Someone quite mean once suggested to me...

...that I needed a life outside South. Now that person obviously hadn't paid attention to my bookshelf picture that's crammed with books and papers and stuff, almost all of which has naught to do with South, and doesn't include all the other books and shit lying around my house. Ok, so maybe I should get a life outside South and books. But what about my music? There are a fair few CDs in the rack behind me, and a fair few mp3s and stuff on the laptop, and even more CDs in my swiveling CD rack. Ok, so maybe I need to get a life outside South, my books, my music, my occasional trips to the cinema with my bro, barracking for Collingwood - which is quite hard when one is at South every weekend - and hanging out with all these people you don't know because they don't come to South. Maybe I should get a life outside all those things mentioned above, and quit playing board games too and avoid going to the Melbourne International Animation Festival. Just to please you, see?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's over 600 posts on here. Most are to do with South, of course. Some aren't. There's a bit of a hint in those posts, if one cares to read between the lines, that no matter how infatuated I may seem with South, there is more to my life than that... and the fact that other stuff gets short shrift here is no accident, because this is a South blog after all, and I reckon I'd get even less people hitting their bookmarks if it was a Paul Mavroudis blog. If however, one wants to listen and learn about some of what I do in my weekday life, tune into 102.7 RRR at about 12:15pm today, because I may may be making an in studio appearance on the wonderful Aural Text program to plug Offset 2009 and try and get a few more submissions for it. Here's hoping I both get on air, and that it turns out a lot better than my Nearpost gig, which when all is said and done, sadly didn't turn out that great. And I still haven't got my copy of the entire interview.

SMFCTV Episode 13 - Ange Dallas gets cramp in his eyebrow

This week's edition of SMFCTV includes footage of last week's game but also scenes from the inaugural SMFC Corporate Challenge, which apparently went quite well.

A year and a bit down the track, Marinis gets his man

A curious addition to the Melbourne Knights squad last week... one Neil Young (WA State Rep) whom some of you might remember from this adventure. One wonders of course what might have been, on so many fronts... below are a couple of bits about the keeper we almost had.


YOUNG TORN ABOUT MOVING TO MELBOURNE

State goalkeeper Neil Young has embarked on a brave new phase in his career by joining Victorian Premier League club Melbourne Knights. The long-serving Sorrento stopper jetted out of town on Tuesday evening and is likely to make his debut for the Knights in Sunday's game with Richmond. "It's a bigger stage in Melbourne and you never know what may come of it," commented Young on moving east. "I've only ever played for Sorrento so I'm looking forward to experiencing another club and improving myself as a player ... and to get a trial with an A-League club would also be nice."

The Knights, currently tenth in the twelve-team VPL, made initial contact with Young earlier this year. "They've been in touch since the roughly the beginning of our season and made me a pretty good offer," said Young. "It wasn't the easiest decision I've ever made as I'm leaving my wife and two young boys behind. And when I told (Sorrento coach) Steve Neville I was a blubbering mess - so was he I might add - then telling the boys before the game on Saturday again brought tears to my eyes. I've been at the club fourteen seasons and have a lot of mates there who I'd also call family."

And it's that camaraderie that Young says he'll miss most about not being a Sorrento player. "There's some great banter in the change rooms, Thommo, Todd, Macca, Ordy, Nuggs, Banksy, Monty and even Kilkelly are good team mates but are also my best friends and it will be hard not to miss them," said the 29-year old 'keeper. "Sorrento is a family. Tom Bartlett and Derek Harnwell are great men and have looked after me like one of their own sons. And Nevs is a quality coach and a mate, he's always there for his players."

Young kept goal during the most successful period in Sorrento's history and has many fond memories from his time at the club. "Winning the Premier League title three times, once as captain, rate as the highlight along with being named the 2006 Goalkeeper of the Year, it's great to get personal awards too," said Young, who on four occasions wore State team colours. "It's a great honour to be selected in the State squad, and to hold the number one shirt for the games I played is something I'll always cherish."


Off some WA club forum

His command of his area is also a tremendous credit to him, an on song Neil Young will win you games. Also very aware of his tendency to 'self destruct', If he was a painter he would have probably cut off both of his ears by now! At this point he probably needs a new challenge and possesses the talent to rise to it.