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LOL you butthurt? Just because their views and comments are patronising and condescending doesn't mean they are not contributing to the discussion.

Heart as a logo - as a brand as - even as a bumper sticker are irrelevant - and that is the saddest part - they simply have not stuck in the football landscape which is criminal - the truth is Melbourne still has 1 team in this city

The Melbourne Heart are an additional fixture....and that is about it - actually I hope they make it - but if it takes 10 years and that keeps a better candidate out - can they absorb it - can football absorb it - and what if after 7 or 8 years they eventually fold - who will make up lost ground

Business has some heavy hitting realities that simply cannot be ignored

I said it to you earlier, the fact that the Heart model is shit does not mean that SMH should step into their place.

Even SMH fans cannot agree on the topic, many that I speak to want nothing to do with the A-League.

Most of the latent Greek support in this city that you would rely upon, have not ventured to Albert Park in years and now attend games at Etihad or AAMI.

No disrespect, but the SMH/APL ship has sailed.

[youtube]kADjR15Vv88[/youtube]

Edited by gerrygee: 15/1/2013 03:35:47 PM

[youtube]2iMJk5qga84[/youtube]

Edited by gerrygee: 15/1/2013 03:36:34 PM

:lol:

If we're going to kick a club out because of a seasonal loss, then Sydney FC will be the first to go every time.

Some still don't grasp the business in sport beyond chook and cabbage raffles.

Why don't you go on youtube and type in English soccer riots in the 80's LOL

You obviously enjoy that type of stufffff - I reckon you'll enjoy it more than Porn

Get your Box of tissues ready and leave us alone

certainly would not want to use your keyboard

You are melting at the exact reason Souf were not wanted. Crybaby Bitch.

Like I said - smfc is not interested in turncoats - smfc would need to deliver a NEW MARKET

Edited by chris: 15/1/2013 03:46:03 PM

[youtube]kADjR15Vv88[/youtube]

Edited by gerrygee: 15/1/2013 03:35:47 PM

I reckon I could find more than 50 of the NSL days such as that lovely riot in the 80s whenthere were men with poles on the field bashing and hitting each other. Not to mention this one. I don't think your argument is enhanced by labelling people idiots when clearly there is evidence of why SOuf is not wanted.

Edited by gerrygee: 15/1/2013 03:46:41 PM

Greeks?

They missed out on some the first time round? :-k

In all seriousness, people have moved on and any "new" greeks in Melbourne would now support Victory or Heart (and wouldn't change for SMFC).

Just goes to show that smfc still creates a headline

Numbers speak louder than words

I have also notices a few new members just on because of this topic

Quite a few posters commenting with single or double digit posts on 442

This is a great thread that generates a lot of discussion and emotion from a broad set of observors

............................................!!!ENOUGH SAID ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) =; =; =; =; =; =; =; =; =; =;

You can taste the bitterness of the South Melbourne fans in this thread.

Guys

For the Heart to survive - what do you believe they should do?

For me a football club is about identity - what strategy do they need to implement?

Would you consider the following

MH moving to a regional area - Geelong / Gippsland?

If they want to stay in Melbourne - would an association with the Melbourne Knights work and perhaps dress up Sommers st for their smaller games - or perhaps the MH can choose a corridor - like North/West - perhaps their training bese at Latrobe is not an accident and part of a Master plan

My feeling and the way things work in this country is AAMI would need to be utilised weekly - AAMI is costly and should house games that attract over 15K

Perhaps having 3 teams in Melbourne/Victoria would be ideal - smaller games at localised venues - Derby games and High attendance games at AAMI

Victory aside as they regularly achieve over 15k - having 2 teams sharing the High cost of housing games at AAMI alternatively with strategic and considered fixturing may be the way to go for all teams to be profitable

In addition - you could have up to 9 derbies per season if the play each team 3 times per season remains

We have spoken about the smfc v Victory derby and it potential

Next question is what crowd would a smfc v Melbourne Heart derby attract?

Would the implementation of a smfc benefit Heart
'
Is their a Market out there that might jump on Heart if smfc came in without cannibolising Victory?

Perhaps this is the best way to tap into the Excluded fan

Just throwing it out there?

CELTIC'S skipper to face Melbourne Victory this week Georgios Samaras is set to turn his back on his Greek heritage and says he may end his career in the A-League.

Samaras, 26, was born in Greece to an Australian-born father and still has family in and around Melbourne - and his grandfather helped set up South Melbourne FC after emigrating Down Under.

The striker could have played for the Socceroos but opted to represent Greece over Australia, and has earned 45 caps in a glittering career in both the Scottish and English top flight with Celtic and Manchester City.

But with Greece now sliding into economic decline, Samaras is looking to wind up his career among family and friends in Australia.

"I have got family in Melbourne, my father was born here and I'm an Australian citizen," he told the UK's News Of The World. "I have an Aussie passport.

"My parents aren't in Melbourne any more but my uncles, aunts and cousins are.

"I really don't know if I will end up playing out here or even managing a club here one day, who knows?

"There is no long-term plan. The only thing I do know is I will never go back to Greece to play.

"I would never rule out the possibility of playing or even managing in Australia one day."

He added: "My grandfather came out here in the 50s and stayed for 10 to 15 years.

"He was one of the founders of South Melbourne FC but he didn't play football. He just
wanted to do something good for the Greek community.

"He liked to help people so he helped set up a team, but he didn't have a clue about football. My father was a good player and went on to become a Greek intemational.

"I can't wait to get to Melbourne and I'm looking forward to seeing all my relatives there.

"I last saw them two years ago in Brisbane because they took a flight and came to see me and
they stayed for our game against Brisbane Roar.

"Now this time I'm going to see them again in their own town, Melbourne.

"I talk to them often on the phone and try to keep up with all their news. When I'm in Australia it feels nice for me, like a second home.

"I really like Melbourne a lot, it's a really good city. When I'm in Melbourne I feel relaxed and comfortable."

Celtic coach Neil Lennon has named Samaras his skipper for Wednesday night's match against Melbourne Victory in tribute to the big striker's local roots.

And Samaras is raring to go, having been kept on ice by Lennon in the 2-0 win over Perth Glory last Saturday.

"I'll try and get an hour into him," Lennon said.

Like his opposite number Mehmet Durakovic, Lennon was tight-lipped on the make-up of Celtic's starting line-up apart from Samaras.

"We've brought a big squad, so there will be a few changes that played against Perth on Saturday," Lennon said.

"We want to give as many players as much game-time as we can."

Swedish international defender Daniel Majstorovic, South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng, Scottish attacker Shaun Maloney and Northern Irishman Patrick McCourt are four players tipped to come into the starting line-up with Lennon well-aware Victory cannot be taken lightly.

"By all accounts this will be the toughest game of the tour," Lennon said.

"We had a good week's work in terms of the physical condition of the players in Perth and we got a good performance out of them."

Samaras returns to Melbourne wearing the captain’s hat
Tonight sees the return of a South Melbourne legacy with Greek international star Georgios Samaras lining up for Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium

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Celtic's Georgios Samaras (R) vies with Rangers' David Weird (L) during their Scottish Cup final match at Hampden Park. Photo: AP via AAP/Scott Heppell.

13 Jul 2011
BEN HUDSON
Wednesday night sees the return of a South Melbourne legacy with Greek international star Georgios Samaras lining up for Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.

A tall and versatile striker, Samaras is the grandson of another Georgios Samaras - one of the founders of South Melbourne Hellas back in the 1960s, and the son of Ioannis Samaras, the former OFI Crete and Panathinaikos midfielder. Ioannis famously returned to Australia in 1988 to play one game for South as a guest - refusing any match fee - in order to fulfil his life-long dream to play for his father’s club.

The family’s love of Melbourne runs deep, and in recognition of his historical links with the city Georgios will be named captain for the game.

Samaras’s stock is high in the green half of Glasgow, with his place in local folklore secured after claiming a brace against Rangers in a famous 2-0 victory earlier this year, and a new three year contract signed to secure him until 2014 when he’ll be 29.

His career has already seen him take in Holland, England and Scotland, but the only football he’s played in Greece has been at youth team level (with his father’s club OFI Crete) and with the national team.

In a sad indication of the state of finances and football in Greece, Samaras has indicated this week that whilst he would be interested in playing in Australia once his European career is over, he wouldn’t even consider returning to the Greek league in its current state - even if that means never playing league football in his home country.

Asked about Melbourne, Samaras confirms that he has good memories of the city, having played here for Greece at a sold out MCG in 2006. He also confirms that there are still members of the Samaras family living in Melbourne and has plans to catch up with them before the big match.

On South Melbourne, he acknowledges that his family’s love of the football club carries on to this day, and he hopes that the club will one day play in the A-league.

He claims no knowledge of the rumours of him being lined up as a marquee signing for the neglected South Melbourne related Southern Cross FC A-league bid but it’s hard not to imagine him as the perfect figurehead to launch any potential franchise bid. Here’s hoping for 2014.

We wish Georgios the best of luck for Wednesday night, for the coming season in Scotland with Celtic, and for the remaining European qualifiers with Greece.

Just a reminder of how I opened up the lines to see what the Heart fans would have to say - it appears the small number of their fans are just as clueless as the football club itself

I’m happy to take up the challenge Chris. Let’s forget about SMFC for awhile and focus on what Heart can do to improve its situation.

I firmly believe that they need to focus on one area of Melbourne so they have a firm identity. As an example, they could target the northern suburbs. It kind of makes sense since they have set up camp there to an extent. After a quick Wikipedia search, I found out that there are more or less 1.1M people to build a team around (see image).



Targeting this will allow them to deploy their limited marketing resources to a smaller area, thus having more impact.
-They could target every school and every football club in the area and do clinics. Less schools and clubs hence they can spend more time at each of them; will be far more effective.
-All their e-marketing can be location based.

They can still play out of Swan St in the short term, but should look to redevelop Preston over the next few years (or somewhere else?), perhaps with some help from the council so it can host games with low crowd-pulling power. Over time, they can slowly improve the facility as the club grows, and build a social club so Heart is accessible to the public.

Having a local ground is important for a number of reasons:
-People will feel more connected to the club
-The small games will have a much better atmosphere than being played out at an empty Swan St stadium.
-Imagine a Heskey or a Del Piero playing in the burbs? That will get the whole joint pumping!
-More people are likely to go to the game as it will be cheaper and easier to get to.
-Get local businesses involved to provide good food on match day, rather than the expensive crap that's dished up to a captive market at Swan St.

None of this is radical; it’s pretty much what WSW is doing. And if you can’t get a decent following from 1.1M people then you are getting the fundamentals wrong. Newcastle are averaging 12,000 people this year from a population of 300,000.

Melbourne Heart need to bite the bullet and go north and gain an identity.

There's much more of course, but this is a start. What does everyone else think?