South sign key trio

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce the signings of Steve Burton, Andy Vlahos, and Shaun Kelly as part of its mid season transfer acquisitions.

Steve Burton is an English footballer who has played the majority of his football as a striker in the Conference tier of English football, with stints at Ipswich Town, Doncaster Rovers, Boston United, Crawley Town, Harrogate Town, and Scarborough FC. One of Burton's strengths, apart from his goal-scoring prowess, is his ability to hold the ball up well to bring other players into game, as well as being quite strong in the air. In February 2011, Burton signed for Western Australian side Balcatta SC, and was an instant hit scoring a hat trick on debut in their 5-1 win at Bayswater City SC. The Englishman has made a huge impact in his first season in WA football, scoring 12 times to help Balcatta SC to clinch the league title and be voted WA Player of the Year. His scoring record did not go unnoticed, as he was watched closely by Perth Glory and played in a couple games of their 2011 pre-season.

Click here to view highlights of Steve Burton

Shaun Kelly joins South Melbourne from Shepparton United, where he has played in 2012. The 23 year old Liverpool born Kelly is an established defensive option, spending a large chunk of his senior career with English club Chester City. Kelly also has the ability to play in the midfield, where his toughness and ability to win the ball are the highlights to his game. In 2012 he caught the eye of the South Melbourne football department whilst playing for Shepparton United, where in his 8 matches to date he has been nothing short of exceptional, leading the defensive line for them, as well as managing to sneak forward and score 4 goals of his own.

Click here to view highlights of Shaun Kelly

Andy Vlahos returns to South Melbourne for his second stint, after being part of the club's 2000-01 National Soccer League season. That year saw Vlahos make 39 appearances for 15 goals. The much-travelled footballer who plays as either a winger or striker commenced his football career at Heidelberg United in 1994, with stints at both the Collingwood Warriors and Carlton SC. In 1998, he made the move to European football, signing with Greek outfit Panathinaikos FC. His stay at the greens was short lived, as he only made two appearances and subsequently moved to Agios Nikolaos FC in the lower divisions of Greek football. He returned to Australia to sign with South playing in the side coached by Mike Petersen, which finished premiers at the conclusion of the regular season, but lost the grand final to the Wollongong Wolves at Parramatta Stadium. Vlahos followed Petersen to the Football Kingz and returned to Europe for a second stint playing for Belgian outfit Cercle Brugge. He has remained active by furthering his football career by working at both Hume City and Heidelberg United as player/coach. In a career spanning 18 years, Vlahos has made 335 appearances for 76 goals in total.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis was quite excited about the new attacking options said, "We are very excited about these three individuals joining the club. Andy's record at local level speaks for itself and along side Steve Burton, we have added some depth to an attacking area that has been a problem for us so far in 2012. Shaun Kelly is a wonderful prospect and will help the club immensely throughout defence and at times within the midfield."