Must say the media attention south received in Tassie the last 2 pre seasons was not expected and a nice surprise.

If and a big if (bordering on conspiracy theory) if smfc were to be the 3rd team in Melbourne, some of their home games would be in tassie like hawthorn in the AFL

Definitely worth aention at the very least. 600 fans for a nothing game is noticeable. Imagine that

Edited by chris: 19/1/2011 04:50:24 PM

Not sure I like that concept too much.

Unless we change our name to SOUTH OF MELBOURNE FC

The name Southern Cross FC would have worked well for that type of situation though, give its generic type nature.

chris, how is Rhodri Payne doing? Looking sharp, or just mediocre? He's one of those players permanently based in Australia, meaning we never get to see them play :(

I have not seen him play this season

He is highly regarded at the club however has lost some of his run recently

He normally starts off LB

Have been informed the premiere (i don't even know his name) was at the game by one of the committee boys and discussions of some sort were held. Pricks will not tell me what was discussed......yet

Big George K was taken back about the knowledge about football by the public and more specifically smfc

The boys were held up on a number of occasions by the public asking about us on The streets

Playing games or having a relationship with Tasmania is not on the agenda, but the recognition felt great according to the committee

Never say Never


Edited by chris: 19/1/2011 08:26:26 PM

Tasmania United backed by SMFC.

Wouldn't that be something...

Would be the stuff of legends...

Only problem is - our major contribution to the SXFC bid was the facilities we control. Not sure what use they would be to a Tasmanian side. :-k

Note the Kung Fu Panda reference? "Legends tell of a legendary master whos kung-fu was the stuff of legends!" or something :)

Hobart was a lot of fun. More should be done to ensure that Tasmanian football is not left isolated.

Hawthorn (AFL) have mo facility in tassie but play some of their games over there. They are based At Waverley Park these days

They have 50k members as a football club - approx 10 k are Tasmanian

Yes, but that's Hawthorn training in Melbourne, playing the majority of game in Melbourne, and going to Tassie for a few games a season - what is being suggested above is a SMFC backed Tasmanian franchise, rather than SMFC playing a few games down there.

I'd rather South Melbourne play in Melbourne. And, to be honest, whilst my interest in AFL could hardly be considered significant, I'd rather Hawthorn played their games in Melbourne too!!

And another 10k are pets.

for the record = Hellenic cup today v Box Hill - smfc 5 box hill 0

some inside redevelopements snap from late last year














Updated 20 November.

http://www.nearmap.com/?ll=-37.839765,144.965479&z=19&t=h&nmd=20101120

Looking at the above pictures I cannot help but think just how close the club was to not existing just 6 years ago

By 2012 - the club will be one of the strongest and most profitable in the land



http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/17/1082140111761.html

South was facing ruin because we were left without any revenue source after having their A-League bid rejected and facing 12 months of no football, hence 12 months of no revenue stream to be able to manage debt. This is confirmed in the article

This was due to the management of the FFA and FFV

South had invested into the future - let by gones be by gones - but never forget how close we came to being nothing today

Another little observation

Sth Melbourne average home crowds in their last season (2003/04) = 6874.75
Melbourne Heart average home crowds in their first season (2010/11) = 10043.20
Heart's figures minus the derbies against Victory = 6003.45.

South Signings 2011


South capture goalkeeper Zeneli from Sydney Olympic



In a bid to boost its goalkeeping stocks, South Melbourne FC has completed the signing of young goalkeeper Zaim Zeneli from Sydney Olympic. Zeneli was understudy to former Socceroo Mark Bosnich during the latter's stint at Olympic, and after Bosnich left the Belmore based club Zamelli took over the number one keeper's role at Olympic for the majority of the 2010 NSW Premier League season.

Zeneli will be fighting for the first choice goalkeeping spot against long time reserve and under 21s goalkeeper Stefaan Sardelic, who performed well during the Singapore Cup quarter final last year against Bangkok Glass.

Topalovic joins South



South Melbourne FC has made the signing of defender Steven Topalovic, who like fellow recruit Jesse Krncevic has made the move across from last year's runners up Richmond Eagles. Topalovic is best suited to the position of right back but can also be used in a more central defensive role.

Apart from his recent stint at Richmond, Topalovic also played in the National Youth League with Gold Coast United, where he was part of United's 2009/10 championship winning side. One of the league's strongest and fittest players, Topalovic will add depth and versatility to South Melbourne's defensive line.

We wish Steven all the best for the 2011 season

Forward Krncevic signs on for 2011



South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signing of former player Jesse Krncevic from last year's Victorian Premier League runners up Richmond Eagles, after several years away from Lakeside. Jesse, the son of coach Eddie Krncevic, made 12 appearances as a striker for South Melbourne in 2005, mostly as a substitute.

Krncevic was brought back into the South family in September 2010, to bolster the squad in the lead up to the Singapore Cup quarter final tie against Bangkok Glass, and will be looking to continue the good form he has shown in recent seasons, as well as looking to enhance the already promising forward partnership with Gianni De Nittis

We wish Jesse all the best for the 2011 season.

I really like those jerseys in the signing photos.

Nice kits SMFC.

Also thanks for the happy snaps of the redevlopment Chris, good to see ambition take shape.

Good work south melbourne

Sponsor opportunity

http://www.majorprojects.vic.gov.au/our-projects/our-current-projects/state-sports-facilities

Hi all,

We are in the process of securing sponsors for the 2011 season. This year all our Junior players are wearing Adidas strips.

The 2011 season is probably the most important year since SMFC was created in 1959.

With the launch of the new Lakeside Stadium, new 2 storey Junior pavilion, new grass fields and new artificial grounds at Albert Park,
2011 will prove to be one of the most exciting seasons in our history.

The introduction of the weekly SMFC TV on Channel 31 last year has been a big hit and this will continue from late Feb in 2011.
Ch 31 has tabled the TV ratings on our programme which have numbered at 36,000 people switching onto the programme every Saturday. Our Junior segments will again feature on this TV program.

Also
SBS 3 weeks ago show-cased SMFC and tabled our successes as a club & junior program.

I've attached our Sponsors document for you to consider and if you have any queries do not hesitate to contact Tom Kalas (SMFC Youth Director)

Available
$2,500, Front of shirt for individual teams (U7-U18)
$3k all Sub Junior sleeves (U7-U11)
$5k all Junior shorts (entire junior club over 300 players, U7-U18)
$10k all Junior Jackets (entire junior club over 300 players, U7-U18)

Unavailable
$5k U12-U18 Junior Back of Shirt
$5k U12-U18 Junior Sleeves


Have attached a few of our 2010 press articles

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/south-melbourne-in-exalted-company-at-awards-20100123-mrsa.html


http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/120712,oz-club-wins-prestigious-award.aspx


Edited by chris: 4/2/2011 03:21:57 PM

Rama Rumours Run Rampant


So the story's going something like this.

Eddie Krncevic has stripped the captaincy off Ramazan Tavsancioglu and given it to Steven O'Dor, for reasons which have not emerged yet in any official capacity. Since then, the situation has deteriorated so much that Rama is out of the side altogether. Rama is a free agent and assessing his options - with a return to South under Eddie's tenure almost impossible. Naturally this has set off a massive torrent of support for Rama and a heap of abuse against Eddie Krncevic and the board. But it's never so cut and dried.

Eddie's appointment as coach was not a universally popular one. His previous stint at the club back in the NSL days ended in controversy, with rumours of transfer impropriety, which it must be noted, have never been definitively established in the public sphere. More recently, with his work as a player agent, it has been assumed that he would try and get work for some of his clients, even though as a coach he can no longer be an agent. Bringing over his son Jesse, despite Jesse's undoubted quality as a striker and our desperate need for one, is just another target to aim at for his detractors.

In his first stint as coach at South, Eddie took over after Mike Peterson upped and left for the Football Kingz - Eddie was left with a weakened squad, and after the betrayal of a favourite son, was granted a bit of leniency. For his second stint as as coach at South, Eddie has replaced Vaughan Coveny, whose contract was not renewed. This time will not be easier. Of course, Horsey is a 'club legend', and all sorts of rumours started about how he was treated poorly by the club. All this ignores the fact that the style of football we played was atrocious, regardless of earning enough points to finish in the finals.

Add in the anti-board agendas of several groups, of whom few have had the temerity to actually say something at an AGM, where they did actually attend; the fact that before this situation started, half the Greeks of soccer-forum.net and even some non-Greeks wondered how a 'Greek' club could have a Turk as captain, a tune which has now changed to focusing on the club's apparent betrayal of Rama. And lastly for now, the fact that Rama's uncle was providing sponsorship to the club as well, and it keeps getting worse and worse.

Now if Eddie's goal was to stamp his authority on the team - and I seriously hope it was - he's seriously messed up this situation. If it's merely a case of not rating Rama as a player, Eddie has obviously gone about conveying that message in the worst possible manner, and it has only emboldened those who had him as a marked man even when his appointment as coach was still an internet rumour. It's also interesting to note that Rama has still been appearing at our Hellenic Cup fixtures, while at the same time also acknowledging that the rest of the squad has not risen up in rebellion against Eddie's decisions and processes. Why this is the case, I do not know.

For what it's worth, I like Rama. He seems to genuinely care about the club, has improved his disciplinary record a great deal, and the players generally seem to look up at him. However, there is also the playing side, which I;'ve felt for some time hasn't improved significantly. His crossing is still very poor, which nullifies his effectiveness as an overlapping player. And he's still having difficulty judging balls going over his head, as well as getting dragged towards the middle far too often. But Eddie's also cut James Stefanou and Eddie Cetkin from the side, meaning that experienced defensive stocks are thin on the ground, and that perhaps Eddie's squad management and people skills aren't exactly crash hot.

Should Rama not return this season, will it mean more opportunities for players from our youth squad, such as Josh Colosimo and James Riccobene? I certainly hope so. Krncevic, as coach of Carlton, despite having a large budget for which to purchase high profile players, which he certainly did, also gave opportunities to young players such as Marco Bresciano, Simon Colosimo and Vince Grella. Several young players have been trialled against the lesser likes in the pre-season, and our under 21s did of course cruise to the title last season, playing some attractive football. And isn't this what having sttrong junior sides is all about? Using them to rebuild and replace without needing to shop around?



I'd say this is going to be fun, but it obviously won't be. Once upon a time this club even sacked Paul Wade, who was the Socceroo captain at the time. In part this was because the coach at the time, Frank Arok, felt Paul Wade wasn't up to it any more; and surely an additional reason would have been because Arok wanted to create his own group with new leadership. I hope that this is what Eddie has been aiming for, and that his methods are proven right. Getting rid of a captain and player with several years at the one club is never easy, and Eddie's success and legacy may well rest on this issue alone. The old maxim that no player, no coach and no fan is bigger than the club is about to get a massive work out.

Meanwhile, I'm going to be in my bomb shelter until this thing blows over.

http://southmelbournefc.blogspot.com/2011/02/rama-rumours-run-rampant.html

Two captains, One cup.

We have also secured PRIME Time for our SMFC TV programme on Channel 31 Wed 7pm (replay Sat 10am) starting in a few weeks.

What difference does it make if Rama is Turkish? I thought we were all past nationalism in sport.

The guy has put in a lot of effort into the club, and fans still care about his heritage? Thats going too far, and is very disrespectful to him. says a lot about how the fans view the club and its symbolism too unfortunately.

If its based on his perceived playing ability, and the coaches plans, thats the clubs decision to take, but lets hope no other reasons are simmering to cause such a move.

A small but vocal minority of fans and ex-fans care about his heritage, but nothing even remotely close to a majority and certainly no one in a decision making position.

In my own opinion, if Rama wasn't captain, his form last year would have seen him dropped. I'm disappointed to see a decent clubman leave on such bad terms, and especially because we're short now of recognisable defensive options, but purely on form and the prospect of improvement to the team, I can readily understand Eddie's decision.

I think you'll find that it's a total irrelevancy to 99.99999% of South fans. Tansel Baser another player of Turkish heritage was our captain a few seasons ago. Rama is one of the most loyal and enthusiastic clubmen that we've had as well as an extrememly popular figure around the club. Fans are pissed off that he's left in such acrimonious circumstances but when a new coach (Eddie Krncevic) comes in and there's a clash of ego's etc then there will only ever be one winner. What I find surprising in all of this is that his form over the past 2 seasons has been very average and would have definately been drooped if he wasn't captain yet still did a good job in the HAL with the Fury and there is talk of him going to another HAL franchise next season. He's a top fella and I hope he does well wherever he goes.

It's annoying to see favourite sons leave in such circunstances. But shit happens in football all the time and I'm not really going to get too fussed over with the VPL.