HK feeding him the ball won't make any difference. If MifsDUD had hit the back of the net with only 1 in three of his golden chances this would all be a pointless exercise, Heart would be mid table and Aloisi would look ten years younger.

they are growing every year and have a derby to prop them up

why would they panic?

within 3 years non derby crowds are probably averaging 10k+ which is par since it will bring season averages to well over 13k which is pretty good

South Melbourne will never be in the A-League.

Get over yourselves.

I seem to recall a very different way it played out, but all good.



fair call. Who knows what the rationale was there. In the end its been a very, very bad decision, but its not the first club to make such calls.

It has unfortunately hit us harder due to the time in our clubs development.



I still think the HK and Engelaar signings were solid. The latter did a freak injury and HK well, lets just say has been a frustrating experience for all involved.

Mifsud was an interesting call, but he may well be an asset once HK starts feeding him to ball. Can only hope.

I recall Chris asking if Westpac had been re-signed because all was very quiet - but I don't recall anyone saying that they had decided not to sign up. To the best of my knowledge we still don't know how much they are paying to be the main sponsor (whilst there was a fairly specific statement first time up).

On the whole I'd agree with the assessment that commercially they've been well managed - however, I'd question how much freedom the football department has been given to run the football side of the operation. For example, the Aloisi appointment screams PR over football. I find it hard to believe that John Didulica would have recommended Aloisi ahead of Milicic, which implies that the football department's opinions were passed over.

If the football department is being over-ruled on coaching matters, one could question whether they are also being over-ruled on playing matters - was Kewell hired because Aloisi or Didulica wanted him, or because the business guys did. Ditto Mifsud and the Maltese population quotes from Munn. Ditto Engelaar - was he signed for what he can do, or because he's a former Dutch international who looks good on paper? Was Fred signed for his playing ability or because Melbournites would remember him from a great year at Victory?

I think you raised there the core issue... There's no guarantee that this move will actual bring a benefit.

As for the way that MH has been run, off the park it has actually been quite solid. Its been talked down by a few (namely a few who have an agenda), but commercial and community engagement wise it has had some success.

Signing Westpac and then re-signing them for an extension was a huge move for instance. Lets take a walk back a few months and remember the rumours that Westpac had decided to not sign up and the club being in crisis prior to that happening. Those posts came from... we all know that one..

Mistakes occur at all clubs and organisations, and unfortunately we are yet to see any real on-field success to drive the club to the next level.

As I stated before, not too sure that we would be any better off with this change.

I was wracking my brains trying to remember the name - but I hadn't forgotten him as a 'player'.

South have never undermined anyone. If MH were going ok on and off the field we wouldn't be having this discussion, there wouldn't be any takeover/buyout rumours every few months etc. MH are pretty much a basket case on and off the field so blame the board/football dept who make poor decision after poor decision not an ambitious club like South who just want to be involved in top flight football again.
From my knowledge a group of private businessmen linked to South are willing to put up the cash for any HAL bid, takeover offer etc. It would be a separate entity to the current 'VPL SMFC'. If they want to pay $9 million for a license then good luck to them. I think it's a crazy price but would probably jump on board. I'm realistic enough to understand that SMFC as we currently are(members based) is a massive long shot to ever be considered.

I will have little effect on their playing ability. You can polish a turd but it's still a turd.

Serious do-over needed there me thinks

In a way, i see the value in SMFC buying out the club (ie. facilities, youth system), but I see a number of challenges too in doing so.

The manner in which events have transpired over the years since the 2nd license bid sure has raised a bad taste in many MH supporters mouths, which will be a definite risk in alienating existing fans. By that I mean that many have felt MH has been undermined on numerous occasions, and that has unfortunately seemed to constantly lead back to either SMFC directly or those who appear to speak for them in some way.

I also know of many that will likely walk away ig SMFC did buy the club as they support MH as it is not aligned to an existing club. The SMFC support groups would mainly be just filling in that gap. Building from there is the hard part for any 2nd team against MV. The identity question still remains something of an issue also, however its spun otherwise.

The one thing that makes no sense is that even if SMFC do buy out the licence, if its true that they need to borrow the cash to do so, how does that leave us any better off in a comp that is likely to be line ball financially for some time to come?

Its been the same message for a long time on this issue from me. I just don't see how this ultimately takes us to the next level. It can assist in some ways, but not sure its enough.

I think it Tommi Tomich ,

who used to play with Western Knights was premier league back then and now they are in div 1 and then he did play for perth for a season or two as number and if i remmeber correcttly he played a fair few games in the NSL for perth

Shame on you Ben, how can you possibly forget...the keeper is that complete spud Tommi Tomich!!!!!!! how many points did that clown cost us?
He played for Glory and might have even been with them during the NSL. I think he may also have been at MV for a short time as injury cover. A truly awful keeper during his stay at South.
As for the $9 million SM takeover rumour, dont know who is kidding who? South for willing to pay that much for a piece of trash or MH not taking the cash and running.....fast.

Vaughn Coveny - Jets / Phoenix
Francesco Stella - Victory
Fernando De Moreas - New Zealand Knights
Rama Tavsancıoglu - Victory / Fury
Steve O'Dor - Phoenix
and the keeper who's name has completely gone from my head... Think he was on the bench a few times for someone in the A-League, ended up back in the VPL...

Ok, trivia time. Name the 6 players in the pic that played in the A league and the teams they played for.

Edited by aynoc: 29/11/2013 02:42:09 PM

Yes and no. It may not have an identity of its own - but at least it will become something other than 'not Victory'. You can't underestimate the importance of a team having a genuine 'home' stadium... Something which isn't just a match-day rental - to train and play out of the same complex, to have your admin there, etc. Lakeside is small, and hopefully any A-League side whether a re-badged Heart, or a full-on South, would outgrow it given a few years - but they would still carry the home mentality.

'New Heart' fans could also benefit from having a VPL/NPL side to follow. Diversity would benefit because the more 'broadbased' Heart fans that join South, the more diverse South will inevitably become. South would benefit from being able to play at the top level. It's a take-over rather than a merger, but ultimately the same can happen the other way around at the same time.

Could just change it to Southern Cross FC like it was originally intended?

-PB

To me, all that sounds like is a re-badged South Melbourne. Not that that is a bad thing.

But, at the end of the day, Heart still remains without an identity of its own. The Heart name just stays, while everything else is South.

So much better than MH.

Impressed there have been so few, I'm not racist BUT... posts other than the usual couple of suspects.

Original top was white with a red V, with blue shorts.

Used it as a heritage strip a few years back...



Edited by Benjamin: 29/11/2013 09:53:23 AM

Did South ever play in red and white? For some reason I remember seeing a red and white South kit... Although I could be confusing them with the Swans.

You must have skipped a lot of posts in the various discussions about SMFC/Heart.

How does it help Heart? On the simplest level you would have a different set of owners with a genuine love of football and a long standing interest of playing the game at the highest level possible.

Why would South supporters follow Heart? Because it would be owned by our club. We would have an actual connection to Heart - rather than them being a rival organisation they would be part of us.

How does it help Heart's identity? A home ground of their own, a training/admin base of their own - in the Heart of Melbourne... A youth system going right down to tiny kids, feeding through to the NYL - and for anyone worrying that this means Greek-Greek-Greek, it's worth noting that Chris Maynard (British background), Phil Petreski (Macedonian) and Marcus Shroen (Dutch) are all in Heart's youth team at the moment having come through South's youth system.

Or Hellas'?

First I've seen you say this.

What would be the point then, it would still be Melbourne Heart, just with different owners. Why would SM supporters follow Heart because of a change of owners? how does this help Heart's identity?

I must say the paranoia is amusing.

What's amusing is that people are dismissing this bid on the grounds of a non-existent Chinese bid.

All of the stories are coming out of Heart, who are desperately trying to pump the price up by inferring that there is interest in buying the license. Again, South made a couple of bids, once these were rejected they walked away. I was under the impression that they had withdrawn the bid altogether at that point - it's possible that they left it on the table and told Heart to come back if/when they were interested.

To those who believe South's plan's are to play in the A-League as South Melbourne, in blue, etc... I repeat... The plan throughout the buy-out has been for it to be Melbourne Heart, in red and white, owned by South Melbourne. So quit with the paranoia. Those who are only concerned with the window dressing of names and colours can relax.

They are worth what someone is willing to pay.

Yeah nah. :lol:

seriously though

could it be that heart are trying to leverage from the south melbourne brand to get more interest this weekend?

:lol:

chris cannot comment on this particular matter