Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?

Lets be honest, you have painted a very clear picture of where you stand on all this, and its even more clear that any points raised are usually never backed up by evidence of any credibility. Thats been an ongoing theme that has been a great source of comedic material for many of us here.

This whole thread has been a SMFC chest beating exercise, littered with bitterness towards MH at every turn. It's not constructive in any shape of form, however you try and spin it, other than to make yourself feel better about your own club. Good for you for the ego boost you may have got from it all :lol:

As for Benjamin's comment about the Australian Open being another excuse, get your hand off it. Seriously, for someone that can be quite balanced at times, your true colours often shine through.

Fifty years of love and its lessons
[size=3]By Les Murray | 10 November 2009 | 08:28[/size]


I’ve been to a few of these in recent times, the latest being the celebration of South Melbourne FC’s half a century as a club.

Held at the Crown Palladium, it was a glittering night in which emotion and nostalgia overbore the shimmer, the champagne and the long dresses.

There were over 600 guests, most of them paying $220 for a seat. Former players, coaches, officials and undying fans came from everywhere, many from Greece and others from other corners of the world. One fan diverted his holiday voyage to Florida to be there.

John Margaritis, an iconic former player and coach, flew in from Athens (and then was forced to speak on stage in Greek because he had forgotten most of his English, or so he claimed).

Con Nestorides, whom you would now call a ‘marquee player’ if he came here as a 37-year old superstar, as he did in 1966, was hunted down in Athens and thrust in front of the video camera to send a goodwill message. Now 80, he looked sprightly, smiling and fit.

Others not so youthful. One old timer, a source of vibrant spectacle when he played for the club in the early 1960s, was unable to negotiate the stairs to the stage to receive his award. He could have stayed at home but he chose to come, despite the cane and the debilitations, and many in the room were thrilled to see him again.

Leo Anezakis, president of the club when it won its first national league title in 1984, a lovely and decent man, spoke to me about those times, how his sense of dedication to the club taxed him to the point where it nearly destroyed his business.

More easily recognised men of a more modern era mingled in the room, embracing and exchanging regrets about not seeing each other more often: Peter Tsolakis, Ange Postecoglou, Mickey Petersen, Kimon Taliadoros, Paul Trimboli, Mehmet Durakovic, Con Boutsianis.

Emotion filled the air and the night was thick with the powerful sense of bonding that football, and only the sense of belonging to a football club, can provide.

The passion and loyalty for football, and for a football club, was everywhere in the room, so much so that one felt a wish to be able to bottle it and somehow transfuse it into ‘new football’.

But of course that’s easier said than done. The A-League clubs don’t have this because for a start they don’t have 50 years of history but more importantly because, as one colleague put it to me, they are franchises not clubs.

Still, there are lessons to be drawn for the franchises which, so far, have appeared to exist more for the directors and the investors than the fans, the complete reverse to what has been the case at South Melbourne FC for half a century.

George Vassilopoulos, club president through the 1990s, made a stirring speech about loyalty, sacrifice, love and untiring dedication to a club and about giving something back to the fans.

A modern chairman, one suspects, would only orate about money, the bottom line and the need to win trophies.

Football clubs are primarily about people, something South Melbourne has not forgotten over 50 years but which the A-League, five years into its life, is yet to learn.



http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/blogs/lesmurray/fifty-years-of-love-and-its-lessons-255307


Edited by chris: 20/1/2013 03:06:22 PM

Les does seem to be getting a bit senile in his old age.

But yeah, to do a speech in Greek at a football club we're told is Australian is a bit strange.

It's almost as strange as the time South supporters sang the Greece anthem over the Australian anthem at the NSL final.

Remember that Chris? I bet Ben was there as well singing along convinced it was a club chant.

Relax guys. SMFC will NEVER play an A-League game, and nobody knows this more than chris.

No he genuinely believes South are a chance. Nevermind their dire finances, nevermind they can't get 1k to a game these days, nevermind their old base of supporters have moved on to Victory and Heart, nevermind their stadium (and only leverage) isn't fit for the A league,
chris is convinced they can turn all this around with some whiz bang marketing and turn South into a huge success.

It's funny for a club that prides itself on being of fabric, history, for the people, anti franchise blah blah you would think they wouldn't need to worry about doing any marketing.

Edited by rusty: 20/1/2013 04:10:38 PM

@ gabgabgab39 - thanks for correcting me thread page count.

Additional thoughts:
SMFC is a storied club with history and an influence on football in Australia that extends beyond the club itself - think Ange Postecogelou, Paul Trimboli (what a Greek name that is LOL), Kevin Muscat, etc.
Sure there are elements of the old NSL that the powers-that-be have decreed they don't want in the A-League, but this is no reason to ignore the positive contributions and the part that the old NSL clubs have played in the development of football (and footballers) in this country.
Hypothetically, could the old NSL have survived and thrived given what we see of the A-League? Unlikely, given that no reboot of the national competition would have been possible without Frank Lowy's drive and influence. From what I understand, the NSL was a financial basket case (even if individual clubs may have been on solid footing).
People forget that many sporting competitions around the globe have faced the challenge of clubs changing in their early years - eg even the NBA has had a championship winning franchise relocate (Seattle Supersonics, anyone?) - the Heart should be given their opportunity to find their place in the sporting landscape, after all it's only year 3.
Without the A-League, I probably would not have become a football fan. As an Australian of Asian background, my impressions of the NSL was one of mono ethnic clubs, so I was never tempted to give it a go. It may be that I was mistaken in my thinking, but remember there wasn't much mainstream coverage of the NSL and what news grabs I did see was not necessarily positive. Conversely, at my first A-League game (2007 semi vs Adelaide), I felt comfortable with the clearly multi-cultural make up of the crowd and the atmosphere of a packed Etihad Stadium.

This thread remains interesting reading nonetheless.

I was there. That was in 90/91 and the media had a field day with no understanding of just why it was done.

Wow.

If Popa did a speech in Croatia for the Wanderers I would be livid. What a disgrace. Broad-based my ass.

Bravo DP.

If you want to measure the success of the A league it`s what i saw on friday night, a couple of asian australians jumping up and down and doing high 5`s with a couple of lads in turbans and heart shirts! Fantastic.

i have no doubt that South Melbourne in one form or another will play in the HAL eventually and i look forward to the day it happens.

Hahahahah oh gawd.:oops:

And if Popa had been raised in Croatia, and hadn't been in Australia for over 20 years... Would you be shocked that he spoke his first language?

Would you be disgusted in Ono did a speach in Japanese, or if ADP did one in Italian?

I see your point, but you better hope there is a translator there or else its going to just add ammunition to those who think it is still not a broadbased club. I think thats where people would feel that this could be an issue.

If there was a translator on hand, all good, as no one would feel left out.

In the end, not a big deal that one.

Equally poignant reunions have occurred across the years for Polonia. Hakoah, JUST, Juventus, etc.and SMFC is just part of this nostalgia of OLD SOCCER. We thank these clubs for nuturing the game and will always acknowledge their contribution, and now they are just part of the history of the game.
HAL moves on as the new incarnation of the great game that can stand on it's own proudly without the need to look backwards, despite the call for many to do so.
Thanks for the memories JUST, SMFC, POLONIA, etc you WERE great.

That is such an arrogant post. No substance, just pure poison.

ouch.

When ference Puskas Coached smfc he did not say anything
True story - and he won us the championship in 90/91

Edited by chris: 20/1/2013 07:36:21 PM

How many teams would be able to hold an event at the Crown palladium ?
685 attended at 240 bucks per ticket

The anti smfc brigade (basically turn coat fans with guilt) are getting desperate with their commentary

SMFC .......coming soon

Please explain your comment or retract it.

You're not seriously suggesting that SMFC are the ONLY team that have poignant reunions.

50 years of history AND the team the century, with great players and memories, and you focus on the money made on the night. - nice touch Chris.

SMFC are a decent club with a proud history. If theyre ever a chance to play in the A-League, don't think they'd be there now?? There's a reason why SMFC wasnt there from the start.

Enjoy the VPL, where you belong.

This. =d>

BTW, SMFC are a chance, a fat chance.

You have totally missed the point.

You are being very dismissive of the ex-NSL clubs by saying that they belong in the past, even if perhaps one or two of them have ambitions to play a major role in football today. You want to forget history and close the door on it because you think it inconvenient.

I stand by what I said.

Can we please all stop replying to this useless topic and feeding chris's (and his 12 mates) quest for SMFC's world domination...or is that having a bitch because SMFC was left out of the HAL? :-({|=

The fact is, we don't need to prove anything to anyone. Not why we support Heart and definitely not what Heart's board members are doing differently to SMFC's (especially not to ultra-SMFC fans).

MHFC = HAL, SMFC = VPL. Case closed! Re-open it IF the aforementioned situation changes.

I'm done with this shit going around in circles! Let this two-page thread (and its 74 pages of utter nonsense) live (die) deep down in 442's archives!

No one wants to forget history, we just realise it's rightful place is in the state leagues. The A league is about now and the future.

This thread or others like it will remain whilst MH are underachieving and making the HAL look thin

Going back to old soccer would be like having a shower and then putting your dirty jocks back on. No thanks:-k :-k

Yes, the A-League is about now and the future, but it is arrogant to suggest that some parts of the football community should be excluded from participating in it. Any future bid should be judged on its merits, regardless of who it is.

NOTE: If we have ambitions for a strong A-League and a vibrant second division in the future, then we clearly need more teams. These teams need to come from somewhere and Melbourne, with 20% of Australia's population should have many more. So I don't think it's wise to dismiss any one group from bidding because of some perceived historical baggage (which has been propagated by the "outrage" media), provided they can raise the necessary capital and have a road map for generating broad based support.

What I would say to all those doubting Thomas's who think it impossible that a club like SMFC could become broad based: keep your minds open and see what is being proposed before rushing to judgment.