Coveny appointed as coach for 2010

They dawdled and delayed, but in the end the club decided to go for man considered as favourite for the task. I suppose this also means the end of Horsey's career - one which will not be remembered for any particular brilliance - even his highlights package is full of tidy finishes almost completely lacking in anything extraordimnary. A player best known for running in straight lines, hitting straight shots and often being used a sub during our glory days up front or on the wing.

And his longevity will not be appreciated in much the same way as that of other former greats. South is notorious for player turnover, but having played so much in the decline years means that Horsey will never get the mass appreciation he deserves. In many ways his career was one of accumulation and attrition - just hanging around for so long means that he will inevitably get some nice achievements - which for Vaughan include 2nd highest league goalscorer and 3rd highest games for South, and most games (64) and goals (28) for the All Whites (the games record is hanging by a thread - if Ivan Vicelich manages to play in both qualifiers against Bahrain he will overtake our man). The fact remains though, if he weren't a half decent player, he'd never have racked up that much game time in the first place.

Being the right man for the job is mostly about hindsight. Frank Arok built the nucleus of our last golden age team, but it's Ange Postecoglou who gets his name on the honour boards. Fernando's stellar 2006 season - 12 goals from midfield and who knows how many set up - carried that team, but John Anastasiadis as coach got his share of plaudits - and perhaps elevated his abilities in the public sphere to beyond those of the reality. Also left to the winds of hindsight are whether it was right to go for someone inxperienced in coaching as opposed to someone etsblished; someone from inside the club and close to much or some of the squad, as opposed to a clubman who has been away for a few years or a complete outsider.

It will be recalled by some that Horsey undertook AFC coaching licence exams during the season - causing him to miss three games - so at least you can see this is certainly something he has been thinking about a lot. On the other hand, much of the VPL is about grinding out results, not about pretty football - which is a problem at South, because the supporters also want something pleasing to the eye, the South tradtion being of attacking football and plenty of goals. David Lugli becomes Vaughan's assistant, after having taken the under 21s to their best finish in years. I wish them all the best of course - but a large part of that is also based upon them succeeding; their success will be the club's success; their failures, the club's also.

Doco on South premiered last week

As reported, like, a few months ago, The Greek state run television network ERT produced a doco on South (and several other scummier clubs), and last Saturday night saw the South episode go to air. If I'd have known earlier, would have blogged it of course, but no matter, several people have taped it and people will get to see it eventually one way or another, I hope.

Friendly Reminder

Cheap photocopies held together by staples

The other day I was looking through someone's book on the history of English match day programmes - Match Day: Official Football Programmes by Bob Stanley (of St Etienne and NME fame). I love that old retro, colour drained look, much as I love the look of old Pelicans/Penguins from the era.

Anyway, it got me thinking again about doing a South fanzine. It'd come out every home game - quite optimistic I know, but why not aim high? Hell why not aim even higher and go for every home and away game? Ok, maybe too high. And it'd have all sorts of regular and irregular segments, whatever we could come up with.

The 'we' is inevitably the problem though - it could just be me doing all the work, but it would become a drain - and I would rather have multiple voices and multiple talents. I am a pluralist after all. Whatever stupid gripe, drawing, anecdote, penchant, whatever - which of course, once again, was the point of this thing sort of, but this is also news and reportage and smfcboard exasperation safehouse.

In keeping with the retro feel there'd be a classic three column layout, colour cover, black and white for the rest, naff sponsors (we'd make them up if we had to) maybe some cartoons - in short, all the things I wanted this thing to be. Produce a maximum of 50 copies, photocopy most of it, staple it together, charge something minimal, ask for donations or nothing at all. It all depends on the printing costs of course.

As for a title? Names are the easy bit. Already knocked out a few with our friend Southpole. The title of course would be in italics, and preferably be not completely in joke related, and have room for an exclamation mark in there.

• CMON HELLAS! FORZA! HELLAS!
  
• 25 Albert Road Drive
• Singing by the Lake
  
• Sack The Board!
  
• Late Merchandise!
• Sack The Fans!
• Bill's Punjab Express!
• Greeksta and the Cloneasaurus
• Heaps Good!
• Leaving early to watch Big Brother

Of course there were a few other unmentionable ones. For the record I liked Late Merchandise!, Sack The Board! and Bill's Punjab Express! the most. If - and it's a big if, of course - I was to get this going, it'd need a fair bit of prep work. Like this in the beginning, it'd need a backlog of articles and segments ready to go. And the support of my peers. And a willingness to stick it to the man. We'll see I guess.

Final Pumpkin Seed Eaters podcast of 2009

I can't be arsed doing an intro for it today, so here's their spiel verbatim.

Believe it or not, the Pumpkin Seed Eaters are finally back for their first show in over 3 months...and final show for the year!!! Slack, we know! Anyway, on this week's show, we will we reviewing the 2009 VPL season and handing out some awards of our own! There will also be a few of our regular segments, including Mail Bag and Media Watch, during which we discuss the progress of the A-League as well as dissect the FFA's World Cup bid. Aussies Abroad also makes a return to the show, during which we head to the shores of South-East Asia where we hope lies a happy finish for a prospective Socceroo who is currently plying his trade in Vietnam!

http://podcast.pumpkinseedeaters.com/PumpkinSeedEaters-2009Episode5.mp3

So I was reading the Neos Kosmos yesterday...

... and it said that the South members vote on the stadium deal/MOU will be held at the club's AGM in late November. How about that. Killing two birds with one stone on the one hand, but it'll make that day go even longer. Still, probably saves money on the mailouts.

Four South players receive state team call up.

Congratulations to Joseph Youssef, Ramazan Tavsancioglu, Steven O'Dor and Laura Spiranovic have all been selected to represent Victoria in the 125th anniversary matches to be played up in Newcastle against a Northern New South Wales Soccer Federation side. Too bad the poor soccer folk down here in Victoria can't get to see a Victorian state team take the field on their own turf unless it's to provide scouting opportunities for the Victory.

So when do we get to vote on it?

By we, I mean voting rights members. And by it, I mean the MOU that's been signed with the government in regards to the Lakeside redevelopment. They tell us soon, and I hope that it is so. I believe that the agreement will be something quite special. If you want to read the club's spiel, head here.

Michalokopoulos gaaaaaaawwn!

Peladrinos too. Fell or pushed? Don't know. New guy? If he exists, no one's told me. They just don't trust me anymore for some reason. Might have something to do with inadvertently starting 'the chaos'. Good luck to the boys in their future endeavours, unless they're against us of course. But that aside, Michalokopoulos played an important part in reversing the club's fortunes. After 7 round last year, we were relegation bound, looking doomed. By the end, there was something to latch on to. It carried forth into this year, with the Hellenic Cup win, some good signings, and a 10 match unbeaten streak. Somewhere along the line, as mentioned previously on this blog, it came unstuck. Form went out the window, strange substitutions were being made and the goalkeeping situation still hadn't sorted itself out. The coach can't score tap ins nor make regulation catches, but at some level the buck eventually stops with him.

Notes from the 2009 Grand Final

I was convinced by the opportunity to catch up with a few South fans - as well as my media pass granting me free entry - to turn up to this yesterday. Dandenong Thunder had streaked the league, four or so games clear by the end, but that counts for nothing when you have finals. Their opponents wee Altona Magic, defending champs, third grand final in four seasons - never having finished first on the table though in any of those years.

There was plenty to see and a few surprises as well. Altona Magic's main cash cow Melissa Fischer-Massa came out of hiding - she's been scarcely seen at a VPL venue since allegations of the abysmal financial state of her nursing homes came to light. The Albanian contingent seemed in reasonably strong presence, air horns and all. The Magic's fans had some presence, but mostly elderly and as usual a small group of young people for whom this is probably their first Magic game of the season.

As per usual, the PA system at Lakeside was a mess - the national anthem was half done before anyone realised it was on. Now, I'm not a huge fan of national flags and anthems, ut I don't believe there was any disrespect meant by people not singing or standing to attention - and besides, isn't that what's so great about a country like Australia? That we don't have to have guns at our heads making us pay our respects? It used to be like that I reckon, but perhaps my memory is faulty. The next surprise was the start of the 'Vou-vou-voulgari' and 'Tsi-tsi-tsigani' chants from the Albanians directed towards the Magic fans. A Heidelberg fan next to me attempted to note the irony of it all.

The game itself was lacking in any sort of cohesive quality. There was at best, an implied edge, that there was something bigger than three points on the line, but the game never really lifted in tempo or quality throughout its torturous 120 minutes plus several stoppages for injuries. The Thunder took the lead in the 2nd half, a saved shot ricocheting into the path of Thunder's captain who headed home. Altona leveled from the penalty spot, after a long range shot hit the arm of a defender. The young Magic fans bring out their ethnic flags, and the police and security move in, eventually. Reports soon spread that a guy had collapsed in the stands. The medics worked hard to revive him - and they do - but ultimately it is to no avail; he doesn't pull through. Three ambulances turned up in total. For some it put the game in perspective - it is just a game after all. But the game went on.

The penalty shootout saw the Thunder fans move behind the goal, and that's when the flare show started, and the FFV brought out the receipt book. If a flare lit is worth a $1k fine, then that's $7k at least that Dandenong will have to find from somewhere. At least a couple of flares were thrown back into the grassy area behind the scoreboard, which started a small grass fire. South board member George Koukoulas added Fireman Sam to his list of roles played at the club by putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher from inside the social club. The fire brigade turned up eventually, but they didn't have much to do. Bottles were also thrown from the grandstand onto the field.

After the game, the Thunder contingent left peacefully - leaving pretty much no one on hand to witness the Magic raising their fifth Victorian championship cup. A couple of us inspected the damage after the show, taking photos for the benefit of the FFV who'll have to pay up for it. Quite a few grandstand seats damaged in the sections the vocal Thunder fans were in, as well as some damage behind the goals where they'd moved for the penalty shootout. It's not the final game at Lakeside as we know it, but we're getting there.

Know Your Clubs - Olympic

Alright then, special treat for everyone today - everyone that is who didn't see this when I posted it on smfcboard last week. Courtesy of 4Flares, the following is a club profile on Melbourne's Olympic, one of South Melbourne Hellas's predeccessors.

A lot of names, some of which are apparently also related to Apollo Athletic, as stated in the article. From the little cross referencing I've been able to do so far I've been able to find that

• The late Nick Spartels was likely a boxer in the 1920s
• From another edition of Soccer News: Hector Hernandez, inside-left for Olympic, would be the only Mexican playing soccer in Australia. A Batchelor of Commerce, he is over here on a scholarship from the Mexican Government for the next two years, during which he hopes to obtain his Master of Commerce.
• We now know for certain that the Marmaras Cup was between the Olympics of Adelaide and Melbourne. The Melbourne and Sydney Hakoahs had a similar trophy they'd play for.
• (Sir) Eugene Gorman was a well known barrister in the first half 20th century Melbourne. The Greek Consul bit referred was an honorary title.
• In another 'Know Your Clubs' section, Park Rangers are mentioned as having been born off a split from the South Melbourne United Juniors in 1946. A Dockerty Cup winner, Park Rangers played in the Middle Park area for quite some years, before being taken over by a bunch of Scots (as mentioned to me by Hugh Murney) and moving to Kew. Later they became absorbed into what is now Moreland City. Does that make us related somehow? Up to you I guess.

Gold Medal Night Results for South

Laura Spiranovic finished runner up to the eventual winner in the Women's Premier League. Ross Thomson of Hume won the men's award with 25 votes. The best placed South players was... Fernando De Moraes, If I had a malfunctioning air-conditioner and a hat, we would be able to recreate the classic skit form the Fallout Boy episode of The Simpsons.

The other smfcboard

This is how much I'm procrastinating. Got a ton of stuff to do, and yet why do that when you can waste a few seconds by going into the profile section of the forum and changing the forum theme to subSilver from Cobalt 2.0. There's also another one called JustFooty, a horrible and hard to look at green(!) and white concoction.

South women lose 4-2 in prelim against Bergers

3-0 down after 15 minutes. Game as good as done right there. Did not look at all likely up front in the first half, and everyone else seemed asleep. Second half had a chance to pull it back to 3-1, but instead went 4-0 down. Two consolation goals were the final chapter in an otherwise very good season after so many years of struggle.

The collision of a wish with an unyielding reality

There are certain times when it is useful to return to the musings of people who have been through this before and had a decent think about it. Alain De Botton's look at Seneca is quite useful, pop-philosophy though it might be.

Seneca was a philosopher of the Roman Empire. He noticed that at the heart of every frustration lies a basic structure: the collision of a wish with an unyielding reality. We attain wisdom by learning not to aggravate the world’s obstinacy through spasms of rage, self-pity, anxiety, bitterness, self-righteousness and paranoia.

What makes us angry are dangerously optimistic notions about what the world and other people are like. How badly we react to frustration is critically determined by what we think of as normal. We will cease to be so angry once we cease to be so hopeful.

Reality comprises two cruelly confusing characteristics. We are invited to assume that tomorrow will be much like today. Yet there is a possibility that we will meet an appalling event after which nothing will ever be the same again.

When one suffers disaster, one is unable to fit the event into a scheme of justice. One alternates between a feeling that one may after all have been bad, and the feeling that one has fallen victim to a failure in the administration of justice. The belief that the world is fundamentally just is implied in the very complaint that there has been an injustice. It is based on a picture of a moral universe where external circumstances reflected internal qualities.

Frustration, anger, shock, and the sense of injustice are caused by an incorrect paradigm of the world. Wisdom lies in correct discerning where we are free to mould reality according to our wishes, and where must accept the unalterable with tranquility. Reason allows us to determine when our wishes are in irrevocable conflict with reality, and then bids us to submit ourselves willingly, rather than angrily or bitterly, to necessities. We may be powerless to alter certain events, but we remain free to choose our attitude towards them. It is in our spontaneous acceptance of necessity that we find our distinctive freedom. Seneca recommended this formula:

[The wise] will start each day with the thought…

Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own. Nothing, whether public or private, is stable; the destinies of men, no less than those of cities are in a whirl. Whatever structure has been reared by a long sequence of years, at the cost of great toil and through the great kindness of the gods, is scattered and dispersed in a single day.

No, he who has said “a day” has granted too long a postponement to swift isfortune; an hour, an instant of time, suffices for the overthrow of empires. How often have cities in Asia, how often in Achaia, been laid low by a single shock of earthquake? How many towns in Syria, how many in Macedonia, have been swallowed up? How often has this kind of devastation laid Cyprus in ruins?

We live in the middle of things which have been destined to die. Mortal have you been born, to mortals have you given birth. Reckon on everything, expect everything.

Details for women's preliminary final

Just for the record, I ain't on the women's team mailing list, nor do I get a retainer from the government to spruik its Lakeside redevelopment plans, I've never been paid for any of my three or so articles on Neos Kosmos English Weekly and no one really tells me anything anymore that I'm allowed to tell you until everyone else can know it at the same time as well. I can't even be suitably cryptic without getting in trouble with the chocolate cake eaters.

But now over to Niki Cook from the women's team ruling cabal, Gang of Four etc. One of my lecturers, tutors, supervisors, Svengalis this semester, John Weldon (who knew at least one of Guy Garvey's sisters back in Bury, zomg) made a reference to the Gang Of Four to people in my performance writing class who were all likely between the ages of 18-20, and unfamiliar with either the band or the Chinese Communist Party political faction said band were named after. Don't worry, I had a word to him about it.


Hello all

After a game of heart-stopping excitement last Saturday, our Senior team defeated Sandringham 3-2 in extra time, and has progressed to the WPL Preliminary Final. Victory in this game would put the team in the Grand Final, which is a fantastic achievement.

The Preliminary Final takes place on Sunday morning (6th September), and it will be held at Bob Jane Stadium. Kick off is 11am.

Once again, we would love your support, it was amazing last week to hear the crowd cheering us on, it really made a difference.

Entry to the game is free.

The event flyer is attached.

Hope to see you there,

Niki

Fernando youtube video stats courtesy of Gains

Our buddy Gains posted the following data on smfcboard, noting perhaps indirectly at the irony of 500 people being at the game while nearly 275,000 hits have been registered for it online. This is all for the month of August - remembering that the clip wasn't even uploaded until the 15th August.

#1 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Sports - Australia
#6 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Australia
#6 - Top Favorited (This Month) - Sports - Australia
#14 - Top Rated (This Month) - Sports - Australia
#21 - Most Discussed (This Month) - Sports - Australia
#43 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Sports
#73 - Top Favorited (This Month) - Australia
#78 - Most Responded (This Month) - Sports - Australia

South girls through to preliminary final

Very exciting match, both teams really wanted to win it, a couple of great crunching slide tackles from our girls at crucial moments, perfectly timed were my highlights. Really end to end stuff for much of the game. First half we cleared one off the line, and then scored soon after from a corner, goal at back post. Sandy equalised soon afterwards in much the same fashion from a free kick on edge of box. We got a penalty late in firts half and went into the break 2-1 up.

Momentum swung this way and that in the 2nd half, and deep into injury time Sandy put away a goal mouth scramble. About 10 minutes into second half injury time, substitute Jade Barnden got the ball on the counter, with a defender on her inside and the keeper to beat, timed her run/shot just well enough to sneak it in at the far post. A couple of scary moments right at the death as the conditions worsened considerably - that is, it started absolutely bucketing down, and the South keeper dropped one in the six yard box, but we managed to clear it and that was pretty much it.

Sandy will feel hard done by, as they had more than their fair share of the play and chances, but South winning the game was hardly a travesty either. Curiously South's first two goals were greeted by Adelaide Crows style clapping, and Sandy's goals by loud cheers, but the winning goal was a loud roar from the home supporters.

Delivering a service of sorts

How could I forget about this? We love constructive criticism on South of the Border, and we love a good, honest debate as well. Sometimes these things get a little heated. Last year, the closer we got to having to vote on the Lakeside redevelopment deal, the more angst was thrown about amongst the supporter base, and smfcboard was no exception. The lack of detail given out by the board was a major factor in this - and their reasoning of confidentiality, and the importance of only social club members, was not to the satisfaction. This is an example of one such exchange, between myself and a forumite named Puskas (whom I have never met personally, but am assured by someone who knows him that he's a good guy, and I believe that to be true). The reason I put it up is because of the last line, as you'll see. Did he end up following through with his threat of voting against the proposed deal? I don't know. The members were pretty much unanimous in giving their assent, and in such cases, for better or worse we see the function of a member run club being played out. 

Puskas: But then again the majority of the members here bent over willingly and copped it up the arse by Lowy and his FFA mafia.

Me: And please us how the majority of members here took it up the arse but you somehow stuck it to the man? What did you do?

Puskas: The board and members could've made a lot more noise when we lost our status within the football hierarchy of this country. The board should've bombarded the media. The board should've been in everyone's face. Instead it was just a yes man to Lowy. Lets not forget Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane were with us in the NSL and now have A-League status. This club has lost all chance of ever being in the elite competition. Unless the A-League collapses we are doomed to play VPL forever or until we get relegated. Tell Eddie and his Athletics Victoria board to go fuck themselves and I will be voting for that at the AGM. Why don't you stick that in your blog faggot.

South women in elimination final tomorrow

Message from the women's team that I have informally been asked to pass on.


As relayed in a previous email, our WPL seniors have qualified for the finals. They finished third on the ladder, which gives us a home final for this must win game. It is an Elimination Final against Sandringham, the fourth placed side, so there are no second chances.

The game will take place at 3pm this Saturday (29th August) at Bob Jane Stadium.

We would love to see as many of you as possible at the ground to give the club your support in this historic game. Given that it is our home game, let's create a hostile atmosphere to strike fear into the Sandringham hearts!

Come down, bring family and friends, wear your club colours, and let's get the team even further into the finals!

Lakeside Redevelopment News - First Draft Released

Last night various State Government departments hosted a public information session at Parks Victoria headquarters in Albert Park. This was to provide the public with its first proper chance to review the first draft plans of the stadium reconstruction as well as the effects of the entire project on the local open space footprint.

There were people from the state's sport and recreation department, major projects and Parks Victoria. The meeting, which went for two hours, was sparsely attended. All up two South supporters turned up - myself included - one representative from the local tennis club, and at best half a dozen locals, mostly elderly, of various levels of crankiness.

There were several new images of the actual plans, rather than just the artists impression stuff we've been seeing so far. Some of these can be seen on this page. What they show is the plans not just for the stadium itself but for the synthetic pitches and pavilion down Middle Park way. Be aware that as this is a first draft and mostly for public consultancy purposes, the actual finished product may well differ.

There was a decent amount of information, and an apparent willingness to inform the public about what was going on. It will be on again this Saturday from 2-4 at Parks Victoria HQ, which is not too far from BJS. It's certainly worth the effort, and you can pop over to watch the South women play their elimination final which starts at 3. For those who can't make it, the state government has provided some of the information online, as well as an online form to fill out with feedback. Those who submit feedback will get a copy of the independent report when it is complete.

I can't stress enough the importance of getting as much reasonable South Melbourne Hellas supporter feedback to these people. Not that I believe that local residents unhappy with the redevelopment and restructure of their local space will get their way; but rather to start building a culture of South supporters becoming active players in their own club's future. Having spent the better part of two hours there though, I'm happy to provide a general outline of the questions I asked and the answers they provided. Why the club has not been proactive in putting this info up on our website I do not know.

Firstly in regards to the new pitches we've been hearing about down Middle Park way. Four of these will be grouped together, and will be synthetic. Two of these will be grass pitches. The latter will be shared with touch rugby which currently also makes use of the planned area. The site of the new pavilion will be the derelict RSL building, which will be knocked down.

Somewhat closer to home. Parking space will not be increased, but rather the space there will re-designed or redistributed to be more efficient, or words to that effect. There will be some sort of walking track around the venue as well, and more trees, the thinking behind that being an increase of open or green space.

The 1926 Stand will be refurbished with all the facilities that the Victorian Institute of Sport will need. There will likely be some decorative/architectural work to enhance its heritage aspects, but it will not be refitted in order to host stadium seating. The rationale for that was that the line of sight was not suitable for either soccer or athletics. The Sydney Swans will have no place in there. Neither will South have any access to the facilities inside.

Now to the stadium itself. Apart from the track, and the new Northern Stand, there will be a new Athletics Victoria building built adjacent to our social club, in the space currently accessed via the Jimmy Armstrong Gate. There will also seemingly be refurbishment of the changeroom areas underneath our stand as part of this work.

Our social clubs will remain ours, and under the same or similar terms apparently as exist now. This means that any prospective plans for sub-leasing out the social club space to outside groups such as commercial operations would have to go through the same same process. The government agency will take over from us the upper level where the reception centre currently is.

The stadium itself, apart from the running track and new stand, will also have all the other necessary athletic improvements added, such long jump pits etc. It will also receive new lighting and a new broadcast area. And there will also be a new scoreboard with video playback ability. The areas that appear in green on the turn will likely be concrete terracing, and not grass as may be implied from the diagrams. The estimated capacity will be about 8-9k, with about 5k of that seating - though that is a rough estimate at this stage.

With regards to tenancy, usage rights and leases. Lakeside will come under a new trust, while the new Middle Park pitches will remain under the auspices of Parks Victoria. No details about new lease terms were revealed, as these are believed to be still under negotiation and would be confidential anyway. There will be three, what the government calls, 'priority tenants'. These will be South, Athletics Victoria and the VIS. Usage rights will depend on the time of year. The department's representatives said they estimated about 70 athletics carnivals of various types would be held there every year. We would still be able to train on Lakeside's surface. There is an emphasis on opening the space back up to the public, allowing local groups to hire out the venue. The naming rights issue is also undecided. The new trust will take over the stadium costs and maintenance that do not fall under the control of the individual priority tenants.

While all this dependent on planning and administrative processes, the work on the Middle Park aspect could begin by the end of the year. The work on Lakeside itself will most likely begin after next year's Grand Prix, and take up 18 months, with the new track and pitch being done within 8-9 months. The tender for the stadium work has not released yet. On paper it all looks pretty good. The obvious plan form a South point of view is to create a financially sustainable club model, while returning it's local involvement and presence to a pre-BJS era, when we had more fields and local participants. I'm optimistic, but of course caution must be exercised.

South of the Border awards 2009

Collect and prepare ingredients from February-August. Simmer over low heat for a couple of days. Post and leave to cool on blog windowsill and be ignored by everyone.

Player of the year: Sebastian Petrovic. Even George Katsakis was impressed with his performances this year.

Under 21 player of the year: The Cliff Hussey Memorial Trophy goes to James Spanos. Rare for a player to go through an entire season and not make a single mistake, but he did it.

Goal of the year: Goran Zoric's fourth goal against Preston at BT Connor. Flick, volley, from outside the box, top corner, 7-1, good night nurse.

Best performance over a whole match: Bergers away. Too bad we couldn't score a goal to go with it.

Best period of play during the season: Probably the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half against the Knights at Lakeside. We kinda looked like we could do anything then.

Best away game: Richmond. Good company (except for Psile, who was in hiding from Victorious), good food, good win, and the Pies got up by a point as well.

Best call on the terraces: The old bloke who'd fainted/collapsed at the home game against Hume. When the ambulance arrived and he'd seemingly partially recovered he apparently asked them if he could stay to watch the second half. I was saddened to hear that this person, apparently a member for over 40 years, passed away a few weeks ago. My condolence to his family and friends. I hope I still have the same love for this club in 40 years time.

Chant of the year: Come On Hellas! Forza! Hellas!. Yes it's a chant from 2008, but one which was only chanted with any enthusiasm once the bloke who created it fucked off to Poland.

Dreams explode in a burst of cream and crust - Hume 2 South 0

Well, that's that then. An early goal in each half from them, and a fair bit of dithering around by us from most of the rest of the game. If, as Dr Phil says, that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, then the last several weeks pretty much showed how we were going to finish the season off. Winning the title from fifth would have been easier if we had stormed our way in, riding the crest of a wave. As it was, we limped in, out of form, and out of luck - the kind of luck that follows you like a hobo who wants a cigarette when you're playing well.

So what now? Well, on field there's several issues that will need to be dealt with. The keeping situation of course. The parts of the defence that allow those chances. The midfield that gives the ball away cheaply. The players paid to put away chances and yet don't. If this sounds like a plea for a mass cleanout, it's not. Because pretty much the same team also went 10 games undefeated, played some very good football and even scored some cracking goals. Mentally though something switched off at a certain point in the 2nd half of the year. We kept falling behind, kept botching rudimentary opportunities, and seemed at times to be utterly dazed and confused, and that included some of the decisions of the coaching staff.

Now regular readers will have deduced by now that I'm no scholar when it comes to the game. I have players and styles of play that I like more than others, but these aren't necessarily because they are the best, the most attractive or most effective. So I'm not going to really proffer my expertise here, because it would be pointless. I'm just a raconteur, a petty wordsmith with a little hobby and a little bit too much carefully engineered spare time. And besides, there are plenty of soccer professors out there who are far more capable than me of coming up with theories as to where it all went wrong, and more importantly, what needs to be done to get it all right. And even as I type these words to you, they are frothing at the mouth, dispensing their gifts of wisdom like Father Christmas on a commission based wage.

For the time being, I'm going to focus my interests on some of the big off field stuff. Like the Lakeside redevelopment, where the fuck are we going to play next year, constitutional reform, and doing an inventory of all the stuff the club has. Maybe get back to doing some kore historical stuff too. A few loose ends to tie up as well on here like hand out some awards no one cares about, and the women's team playing finals football for the first time in who knows how long. Catching up with people I haven't seen too much of for the past six months, and maybe going to see the odd band or film, or even read a book. And there's my Offset project too and figuring out what I'm going to do next year. But I digress.

So while one season finishes, and in a sputtering fashion at that, there is I believe, something to build on all round for the club. The racist, the solipsist, the professorial and those who can't see beyond yesterday might not be able to see it, but I reckon it's there.

Thanks for the peanuts, but seriously

Or how the global financial crisis is hitting Green Gully fans hard.

I was at Altona East today, and after watching two lacklustre games, I figured that I've got my media pass with me, why not watch the qualifying final next door between Altona Magic and Green Gully?

Not a bad crowd considering the small fanbases these two clubs have, as well as the complete irrelevance of this competition to everyone. Some interested onlookers included South assistant coach Phil Peladrinos, two game senior veteran Stefaan Sardelic, spanakopita heir/Heidelberg coach George Katsakis, and remakarbly, even FFV CEO Mark Rendell.

The game being a 6 goal, extra time, penalty shoot out thriller had its moments, but you can read about those elsewhere. What those match reports won't tell you is about how hard Green Gully's fans are doing it in this difficult economic climate. The stimulus packages don't seem to have trickled down to Green Gully Reserve though.

The reason I say this is because rather than purchase any food or drink from the venue - and Altona Magic is one of the cheapest canteens in the VPL - the Gully fans, a whole swathe of them, came prepared with everything they needed. Thermoses full of coffee, a sugar box, paper cups, biscuits, scones. Even the peanut/pumpkin seed man got the short end of the stick, as Gully's fans had even brought their own peanuts (which admittedly some of which they offered me).

My thinking on these matters has always been that either you buy food or drink at the ground, or you take care of all that business before the game and discreetly. The flaunting of their refusal to partake of the local delicacies was most intriguing, and gives one wild ideas about going absolutely nuts with the idea: Clarendon Corner bake sale fundraiser at Green Gully next year?

Back in the finals - Elimination Final, Hume City vs South Melbourne

2009 form guide

1st meeting
Hume 1 South 2

Coveny's 100th goal game., and all the nonsense that ensued.

2nd meeting
South 0 Hume 1

Not as fun. But it was the informal birth of Turksta aka Kebabsta.

Preview

In spite of Hume's loss last week, South would have to go into this game as underdogs. Our form over most of the 2nd half of the year has been patchy at best, with only four wins in those 11 games, and three of those against the bottom three. Add to that no wins against the other finalists in that time frame, a habit of falling behind - 12 times in games this season. No point either in talking about what might happen in the finals, because this is the game of the moment. The boys can take out the title or they can go bust in the first week. I think Hume are that bit more consistent, but here's hoping for an upset anyway.

Some useful kinda concrete info on the new Lakeside

Thanks to the diggers/informants out there who found this stuff, great work. This link has a whole bunch of preliminary/standard info on the work going ahead. But here it is below, with a picture, to save you the time/bandwidth. But first, a picture.




State Sports Facilities project
Purpose

The State Government has committed over $50 million to the State Sports Facilities project which will deliver new and improved facilities at Lakeside Oval and Albert Park for sporting clubs and the wider community. Lakeside Oval will provide a new home for athletics in Victoria with the development of facilities for training and competition at all levels, as well as administration facilities for Athletics Victoria.

The 1926 heritage grandstand will be restored under this project and become the new home of the Victorian Institute of Sport. This project will also support the current tenants of Lakeside Oval, the South Melbourne Football Club through improvements to soccer competition and administration facilities.

The project will:
redevelop Lakeside Oval to provide an international standard athletics track, improved facilities for South Melbourne Football Club and new administration spaces for athletics and the Victorian Institute of Sport
improve training and competition fields for touch football, soccer and other users in Albert Park
Public display and feedback

The State Sports Facilities project’s draft design will be on public display from Monday 17 August until Monday 7 September 2009 at the Parks Victoria office in Albert Park and the South Melbourne Town Hall.

There will also be two public information sessions to be held at the Parks Victoria office in Albert Park on Wednesday 26 August (6 to 8pm) and Saturday 29 August 2009 (2 to 4pm).

The public displays will be open at the following locations:
South Melbourne Town Hall
208-220 Bank Street
South Melbourne
Melways: 2K F2
Open: 8.30am to 5pm

Parks Victoria Office
By appointment on 03 9695 9000
31/35 Albert Road Drive, Albert Park
Melways: 2K E6
Open: 9am to 3.30pm
Enquiries

Email: Major Projects Victoria at info@mpv.vic.gov.au
Tel: (03) 9655 8622

Feedback can be lodged at the above locations or via our online form.

Stuff that happened today that demonstrates that world is getting krappier and a little bit more insane

• The video of Fernando scoring that cheeky goal has now surpassed 100,000 hits on youtube. Kinda insane, considering the viewership of the actual highlights of the games is at something like 400.
• The FFV's Gold Medal Night will apparently be hosted by Santa Cilauro. Proofreading overboard.
  
• Former defender Arthur Tsonis has won the South official tipping comp. His prize? A signed 2009 jersey. Ironic? Maybe. I say maybe because what is irony these days in this postmodern irony filled hell (Pope John Paul II 'separation from God) hole? That, and according to my brothers I'm apparently losing the ability to tell identify sarcasm and irony, akin to one of Sheldon's (The Big Bang Theory) issues with humanity in general. Which bring me to the next item.
  
• There was this Asian guy on the train - I only specify his ethnicity because it may give a clue as to what's going on, though I'm not sure - and he was wearing a blue adidas jacket. On the back it had 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. On the front it had the Liverpool insignia and the word 'Reds' in yellow. I have no idea what's going on there. Some sort of post-modern commentary on football colour schemes and merchandise? Someone still pining for the days of Everton Athletic and Football Grounds? Or just a clueless fanboi who hasn't even been to a game, like, ever?
  
• Someone has just now decided, four weeks into semester 2, that my placement for the stupid placement subject can't be the same thing as my special project.
  

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.

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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.