Some interesting discussions coming from the South Melbourne corridors at their HQ at Lakeside the last couple of weeks

Since smfc's announcement in regards to its take over bid of Melbourne Heart and the CCM back in May - and also its EOI in regards to the NPL, there have been mixed response by the members and smfc is now reviewing its current position on 2 fronts:

smfc has now secured a significant amount of $$$ exceeding the offer for the Heart licence in May and many members firmly believes that along with its brand - its presence - location - culture and centralization that smfc is robust enough to claim its own licence under its own banner rather than explore the acquisition of an existing one as this funding was raised on the back of smfc's brand and its development as the strongest and most professionally administrated club outside of tier 1

Obviously acquisition is the faster option - however with expansion of the league earmarked prior to the next TV deal (as early as 2015) with as many as 4 new teams - the smfc members believe that $$$ would be better spent on smfc truly cementing its rightful place in the Australian sports domain under its own identity rather than sharing one

South Melbourne provides a compelling case and should work towards not only a true football proposal but to achieve true industry leadership via its media teams and collaboration with the football community in Victoria

smfc is now regarded as the third largest football broadcaster in this country behind Foxtel and SBS

On the second front, smfc members are also reviewing its position in relation to its EOI with the NPL and are not convinced the NPL at least in Victoria embraces true growth for the game nor does it adequately adopt a formula that would allow the teams with the best infrastructure to be included - thus leaving severe question marks about the true viability of this competition in VIC

The members are concerned as to why NPL_V is so distantly removed with the formula attended to by the other states and question the long term viability of this comp compared to the speed in which it was embraced and executed in NSW

Some very interesting times ahead and I believe the club will announce an information session shortly in August for its members

Cheers for the update Chris :)

If SMFC ever got into the HAL as it's own self, I'd love to go to the first Heart-SMFC derby

another south melbourne expansion thread.

though i do agree that south melbourne would be a great addition to the league. i would hope to see wollongong wolves and south melbourne come into the a-league in 2015.

Edited by williamn: 19/7/2013 02:56:00 PM

That's a good call (y)

State League

While Wollongong might appeal to you and I as an option for expansion Gallop in his interview yesterday said he was looking for locations with populations in the millions, not the few hundred thousands. He also said that expansion wasn't on the agenda during this broadcast rights period which runs through to July 2017.

I would prefer a merger.

1-gives the club a geographic base
2-melbourne is not ready for a 3rd team, Heart arnt established.
3-supporters of both clubs...if successfully done, which you think would make a "big club"
4- a broadbased identity
5-a stadium for non Derbys.
6- Someone for Perth to hate.

Thx for the update.

And this is AF.



Edited by iridium1010: 19/7/2013 03:09:13 PM

To do with HAL expansion, AF.

Can someone explain why tickets for Tuesdays match are only available to members and accredited media?

+1.

State League Board?

A rumour that a state league team, South Melbourne, will maybe possibly bid for a licence when it's time to renew the TV deal (i.e. circa 2017) seems more suited to State League or Rumour Mill.

Rumor Mill I have no problem with as the club has not released a public statement as of yet, but not State League.

Maybe the expansion thread is a better place.

That to, sadly there is no merge thread option for the mods :(

You can post it here Chris, I expect this will get closed or moved to rumour.

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=78883

please delete this stupid thread ](*,)

Im a strong believer in South Melbourne being in the A-League though i think Lakeside stadium would need a bit more development on the North and South Ends, would probably get average crowds similar to that of Melbourne Heart which would get big boosts with the amount of derby's

I am against south getting into the Aleague but have got to give yous 100% for effy:lol: i mean effort=d> =d> =d>

Edited by krones3: 19/7/2013 03:47:13 PM

You only have to go on facebook groups like 'The Locker Room' to see the league is better off without these jaded types.

AF

Maybe we should have a Poll

Pretty much an Analogy of smfc - where do we fit in;)

South Melbourne FC also planning a National Road Trip

Plan is to have charity games against Adelaide -> Perth -> Brisbane -> Newcastle-> West Sydney 1 month inside the commencement of the HAL season

It will also allow us to evaluate our status against these strategic sides whom were directly or indirectly pitted against us previously

Some of these teams (excluding WSW) largest gates were against smfc


Edited by chris: 19/7/2013 04:51:28 PM

btw curious to know, what is the total size of the greek population in melbourne?

Greek Population if there is such a thing is 140K (gen 1)

1st - 2nd and 3rd generation unique Australians of Greek Heritage = >350K

3% attachment rate = >10K

Edited by chris: 19/7/2013 05:01:18 PM

As of 2011 census - 155,000 claimed partial or full Greek ancestry.

Not that it matters in regards to SMFC, as I understand it the leading Greek newspaper in Melbourne refuses to call the club "hellas" and in general the club has a frosty relationship with the Greek community as a whole, all the more incentive to push a more mainstream approach I would have thought.

Some solid points right here ^^^

Sorry but this is wrong, the census does not cover generations, it simply asks you for your ancestry, if you aren't ticking off Greek it means you aren't Greek. I find it hard to believe that over 200,000 Greeks who are notoriously proud aren't claiming their heritage, the official data is fairly consistent over a 10-20 yr period.

Good mod is good.

If there was an article supporting Chris' comments, then I would agree it should be in AF, as there isn't then I think State League or rumour mill is the best bet, or it could have been posted in the expansion thread.

Edited by Joffa: 19/7/2013 06:05:51 PM

Why I supported the Rumor Mill call as well :)

More good modding (y)

Hang on a minute, in your post you claim that SMFC can count on 10K to support them based on the Greek heritage, then when it's pointed out that SMFC have a 'frosty relationship with the Greek community', you claim it's a 'good point'
You can't have it both ways.

If SMFC are a mainstream club, then the Greek population of Melbourne is irrelevant.

More specifically smfc have a frosty relationship with certain media individuals

WHAT THIS FORUM NEEDZ IS MOAR PROPAGANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

PLEASE FUCK OFF !!!!!

Those obsessed with agendas and bias might want to take note of which mod moved this one too...

;)

:o Mary mother of god.

Its good in the sense that its a sign that the push should be for a more mainstream approach or head down that path, if you're SMFC you don't need to pander to the Greek community, Greeks are bandwagoners...you don't need to promote to them, they will be there whether we like it or not, they will also disappear in tough times..again whether we like it or not.

You are brain fucked.

so what size crowds would SMFCexpect to get if they were in The HAL?

12k not including derbies

Apparently an announce next week from the club

Optimistic.

Halp me mods this guy is abusing me and he uses Flares as dildos.

Pessimistic

You expect to fill your stadium to 80% of capacity every game on average, very unlikely

They also expect they'll get a spot in the league. Do we see a trend here?

Realistic. ;)

7-8k without derbies - but far lower operating costs than Heart (and better training/admin facilities). I've got no problem with Heart's crowds as it is - it's their sustainability that is the concern.

How many full-season ticketed members do you predict SMFC to get if given a licence as their own entity?

Has there been any thought to membership setup, if given a licence? Do a Tinkler and offer cheap memberships to get more numbers, or go with average price, or higher?

Do we have a plan? Yes

Should I share it with you? No

Sorry you sound like a good bloke - but other not so good blokes and copy cat blokes also read these forums

Edited by chris: 22/7/2013 10:18:15 AM

All good, good to know that thoughts have gone towards it though tbh.

As a Jerks fan, I can't understate how amazing the cheap memberships has been for the town. We're getting twice as many people signing up and going to games than we would have, given our on-field results. TBH I fully expect WSW crowds to dwindle if they get a season or two of poor results also.

You've said a few times in other threads that the current SMFC team is (in a sense) playing for the sake of playing, and that the overall club structure and plans are bigger than current on-field results. Therefore I thought, and seemingly you guys think too, that memberships in HAL is a HUGE part of setting the club for the future.

I can only say what one of the directors advised me last week

Why would we spend $20K on a single Billboard when we can sponsor 10 junior clubs (not smfc) with that money

- Free Membership for their juniors
- Training Kits
- a size 4 ball with an smfc logo for each junior player
- 1 game per season at lakeside providing a memorable experience for these kids

Just a small feel of things to come and the smfc approach

I really can't go on further - only to say that smfc will position itself as a leader in the football community

Edited by chris: 22/7/2013 02:30:56 PM

South Melbourne can take their souvlaki bid, shove it up the you-know-what and FUCK OFF! Ethnic clubs are not welcome in OUR A-League!

You certainly went to a lot of effort to find this thread.

The A-League is for every football fan out there, hopefully South Melbourne can be apart of it one day. Whilst that may pose a number of issues pertaining to mono ethnicity of clubs, doesn't mean that they can't work towards the same goals as other football clubs both in and wanting to get in the A-league.

Vince Russo is not welcome in pro wrestling!

Nah,

It's only for people and clubs who Frank decides are welcome.

2 year bump FFS.

Joins forum - makes two aggressively abusive posts - and gets banned. Is this a record?

Passion is not a crime

Yet there are crimes of passion.Go figure.:lol: :lol:

So you mean there's some interesting news coming out of SMFC headquarters?

Apparently an announce next week from the club.

Joins in 2013 lol.

-PB

Do you think all Greeks follow South Melbourne Hellas? I think not.

We want clubs where everyone is welcome.

Would Macedonian fans for example feel welcome at South Melbourne Hellas? No they wouldn't.

Funny story... I've been to South too many times to remember - never once had to demonstrate that I'm of any particular nationality, and never seen anyone else asked to provide any identification either. I'm pretty sure that ALL are welcome at Lakeside.

That's funny because I have been to many games also and have seen anti macedonian banners and chants at South Melbourne v Preston games. "Bulgarians Go Home" banner etc.

Yep definitely a club for ALL to follow. Not!

This only happened once and it was post Nsl when a few non supporters of both clubs were letting off a bit of a steam, fwiw I know a maco that goes for south and has no interest in that stuff.

Now that ive been reading your posts krusen you sound a lot like paulc...

Anti Macedonian chants have been going on forever.

How about flying Serbian flags when playing Melbourne Knights.

Edited by Krusen: 27/6/2015 03:32:31 PM

Only stating the facts TheSelectFew.

maybe you just have olive skin

It would be funny if these guys drew an A-league side and got spanked

I don't usually write on forums but - people should expect some developments ~

1) South Melbourne FC will soon establish a new entity this entity will be known as South Melbourne United.
2) South Melbourne United FC will be the name of the organization to bid for a license to the A League
3) South Melbourne United FC will be majority owned by South Melbourne FC but also include Private Investors
4) South Melbourne United FC will wear a White Strip with a Red V. The current SMFC logo will remain.
5) South Melbourne FC will have a team in the Victorian NPL also and they will keep the name South Melbourne FC this team will wear Blue and White and maintain the historical traditions of SMFC.
6) The clubs will play out of Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne. South Melbourne United in the Summer A League Season and South Melbourne FC in the Winter NPL season.
7) I believe there is substantial support for this both in Victoria and the Football Authorities in Sydney as it would give the league 4 extra derbies in Melbourne per year.

---

On the other issue of whether people will feel welcome or not, people like Goran Lozanovski and Agim Sherifofski had no problem playing for South Melbourne and there families had no problem. Tansel Baser who is of Turkish Descent had no problem and he was even captain of South Melbourne FC at one stage. Tansel's family always felt comfortable and were regular attendees.

The only people who want to raise these types of issues are people who want to put politics and ethnicity into sport. For me these people are no good for football irrespective of whether they are greek or Italian or german or whatever. Ethnicity doesn't matter and no one should mix sport and politics. Football is about Football and it should only ever be about Football.

Sounds exciting, and rather intriguing. I look forward to hearing any further movements.

best of luck to ya. Not to sure about your colour choices and jersey with a V. You basically got MV jesery in heart colour. I really think this need to be thought out better.

But when there is a 3rd vic team on the cards and it is basically between south melbourne and geelong. you have 50% chance to get in.

Its tradition area colours

5- So you would end up with an A-League team and South Melbourne as well as SMUFC u21 in NPLV?
There would probably be some complaints about that

7 - it would be 6 extra derbies

South Melbourne coat of arms

Thought as much.

How would you know if Melbourne is ready for a 3rd team? You're from Perth dickhead.

This all news to me in regards to the bid,

What I do know is the white and red V will be worn by the team in the FFA cup match against Palm beach sharks, the last time this strip was used by the club was back in 2009 as part of the clubs 50 year celebrations, so it kinda makes sense now.

Interesting, where did you get this info from? Guessing you're involved within SM?

Would've thought SM would be gunning for their own spot in the AL, rather than this mini rebrand but it sounds like it would work, especially if they market themselves to the inner eastern suburbs (the rich side of town)

If it's going to happen it would be like this, it's basically the port Adelaide model.

So two different clubs with the same logo. That makes sense. How would the current logo relate to the United brand?

Players of different nationalities playing for a club is totally different to attracting supporters from different backgrounds to monocultural clubs. Especially nationalistic monocultural clubs. The NSL is proof of that.

Monocultural clubs such as South Melbourne Hellas have always mixed politics and football. Fact!

Simple question does South Melbourne attract say Macedonian, Turkish and Croatian supporters in great numbers?







Edited by Krusen: 3/7/2015 07:26:05 PM

Krusen,

This will be my last post until this is all made public in the period ahead but I will try and answer your question/s.

1) In terms of the logo if you see the current SMFC logo you will see the words South Melbourne FC. The logo will be the same but the word United or Utd will appear where the current FC appears on the badge. So instead of South Melbourne FC it will appear as South Melbourne United or South Melbourne Utd. Everything else on the logo will stay as is.

2) Your second point is irrelevant to be honest, the fact that these players played and that people of various descents attend games shows that everyone is welcome at South Melbourne.

3)Your third point that mono-cultural clubs such as South Melbourne have always mixed politics and sport is just your opinion. You call it a fact - but I noted that you made no further points, in reality its just your opinion. Other people have other opinions. Being Australian I respect your view and your right to express it, I hope you respect my view which is different to yours. We are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world, Australia is a great modern democracy and we all the right to express our opinions.

4) You ask if South Melbourne can attract Macedonian, Turkish or Croatian supporters? I don't know. That's up to the respective individual supporters. I don't expect all "Greek Australian" supporters to support South Melbourne United. Victory has a number of Greek Australian supporters who I expect will stay with the Victory and that's excellent too. Maybe those supporters who supported Melbourne Knights or the other clubs wont want to support South - but they have Melbourne Victory or Melbourne City as other support choices.

South Melbourne United will be open to anyone and everyone who wants to support it, whether they have Greek background, English background, Italian, German, Croatian or anything else. A lot of work has been done, South Melbourne (United) can expect to average 8000+ people to games versus non derby teams. Against Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, there will be sell outs at Lakeside Stadium although we expect that these games will be moved to much larger stadiums.

Overall the league will benefit from the extra derbies not only in terms of crowd support, better games but more importantly from a television, Foxtel and TV rights point of view. The more money from TV rights the stronger the A League becomes. All A League teams will benefit with higher returns from the FFA from TV Rights.

That's it for now until more is known publically.

So the United logo will not be in red and white and will remain blue and white like the Greek national flag?

South Melbourne Hellas

The club was formed in 1959 with the amalgamation of three struggling Melbourne football clubs South Melbourne United, the oldest of the three clubs with a history dating back to the early 1900s, the Greek-backed Yarra Park Aiantas, and Hellenic. In recognition of the large Greek support base of Hellenic and Yarra Park, which were also the best-supported of the three clubs, the new club was named South Melbourne Hellas, the name by which it was to be known for the majority of its first 40 years. The first emblem reflected the colour scheme of the Flag of Greece. The first uniform was that of South Melbourne United, which consisted of white with a red 'V' around the collar. Later on they would adopt predominantly blue and white strips, with various designs throughout the seasons, with the most common being a predominantly royal blue strip

Edited by Krusen: 3/7/2015 08:59:47 PM

Stella played for you lot the day you wore that kit in 2009, fun fact. :lol:

Looks pretty unsexy tbh





Edited by scott21: 3/7/2015 09:27:46 PM

Any more developments on this? Or is this just completely false?

That kit looks like a rugby team. Looks disgusting.

Would love if South were in the HAL. Doubt it though

St George-Canterbury DragonDogs

I don't mind it to be honest.

Don't mind the white with red V, don't like it with blue shorts though.

But do you go red shorts like Swans or white like st. george/st. helens?

Yeah surely blue shorts is a good point of distinction from the other codes?

Sounds like a Grexit from the NPL

What an awful kit.

Especially the St George rip-off.

Greeks invented the red-V.