You know, I'm not sure on this bit. It's a matter of execution. We already have an example in the aleague of an ethnic based club that retained its old identity in a new brand and sympathetic to old and new. Brisbane Roar. Initially it seemed a bit meh, but has really grown on me especially with the new badge.

Not discounting though that marketers are able to come up with incredibly gay ideas aswell.

Perth Glory had a very good average attendance in the final years of the NSL, they have struggled for 10 years to get back near that level.
South Melbourne were avg about 6k in the last year, ccm levels, I would love to know where the support is going to come from? The glory days of the 60s and 70s when they had massive support is long gone. 
People can go on about traditional authentic club with a rusted on support,  I just don't see it, all those people are long gone & putting them in the A league is not going to bring many of them back.
The south chairman believes they can average 10k a game,  rubbish it will be more likely at 5k per game, the only reason I see for their inclusion is for 6 derby games a year and that wasn't a great idea in Melbourne the first time with Heart.

It doesn't matter if they average 5k. They will still be sustainable on 5k. People need to get out of this mindset that every club needs to average X amount of fans. If the stadiums appropriately sized and they are sustainable, what god damn difference does it make what the average is. There is room for big clubs and small clubs in the league and they will have at least 2 derbies each season and potentially 4 depending on the draw. Let them in.

How does lakeside stadium look from the cameras perspective? I ask this because we have seen how bad games look on tv in large stadiums even with 15-20k support, so if their average at first is 5k and inline with the camera, it could be one of the better looking games for crowds on tv. 

Watch highlights of the npl grand final, looked great facing the main grandstand, and that's with a crowd of just over 5k, empty seats will not be a problem that's for sure.

Wow didn't see this one coming. Kept well under wraps, normally the gossip and leaks get out. Hopefully the FFA are not hustling us and using our bid to drum up interest and the price from other bids, like they've done in the past. Obviously biased but the club has everything ready to go and would be a safe, low risk and economical option. I think the FFA can't afford to 'experiment' with expansion clubs at the moment. If the next couple fall over then investors would be hesitant to risk their money later on, would not be a good look. The league desperately needs viable teams right now and then maybe take a risk or two in a few years time. Would be a massive operation running teams at all levels from under 9's to NPL to HAL as well as a woman's team.

Cheers, will check it out. 

David davutovic on sen now saying the online traffic the south bid story generated on the herald sun site blew the cricket and the numerous afl stories out of the water today.

I hope they get in, it would be great...despite that doucebag sm fan thats always arguing with me lol. 

I agree with poster above. I hope South Melb, they have generated a lot of interest. But like the poster above, I hope the very small minority of their fans that have been death riding the A-League since it's inception clean their act up.

I'm not against South Melbourne being considered but by what metric will they average 10k?
More likely they will average about 5 - 6k per match with the derbies boosting the figure, not that there is anything wrong with that, after all  Melbourne City has struggled to achieve 10k through the turnstiles with the likes of Cahill and Kewell amongst others...so these expectations usually tend to be over estimations. So does that mean more likely 3-4k(probably unlikely to be that low)?
And what does a third CBD team in Melbourne mean for further expansion in Melbourne or Geelong for that matter?
There needs to be some sort of strategic plan and it should have been in place a long time ago.
And what role does a B-League play.
Interesting times ahead, it will be interesting to see how the FFA responds but good luck to South Melbourne's bid.

I would guess 8-10k average at lakeside..the derbies will boost the total figure to over 10k. If we go through stages of being an on field basketcase 5-6k deff possible. If we are on top prob 12-13k. Its not really going to matter in terms of viability, we will always be in the black playing out of lakeside..none of the bidders could make that guarantee.

For the Grand Final last season they put the cameras on the opposite side of the stadium looking back at the main stand, which was pretty much full - and it looked good enough.

The ends of the ground will never look impressive due to the running track - but they would be a last resort for most fans.  Behind the goals at Central Coast, and previously the hills at Townsville, have never looked that impressive.

Would South be a CBD team?  I'd say they would be a South-East corridor team based well outside the CBD, with a distinct identity.  It would still leave long (long long) term options in the outer East, the North, the West, and shouldn't effect Geelong at all.

2nd division's (don't call it B-League, we're not Bangladesh, Bahrain or Bhutan) roll wouldn't be affected - it will still be required whether South get in to the A-League or not.  The best thing that's come out of the last few days is the confirmation that there are plenty of potential bids...  Personally I think all options (including South) should be tested in a 2nd division, with the potential to add to the A-League either by promoting on results, or expanding on 'metrics'.

Souths attendance will be fine, that's the least of any errors. assuming 16 games:

- let's say non derby games average only 8k thant would be 104k

- then the three derby games let's say only average 35k that's another 105k

So in a 16 game season they'd average 13k which would put them in the top 5. It's not actually all that hard to see them hitting a 15k average tbh

Thanks Benjamin.

Good interview here.

https://soundcloud.com/worldfootballau/bill-papastergiadis-interview

SMFC are based in Albert Park so that is an inner city Melbourne team.

They can claim to be a south-east corridor team all they like but at the end of the day it is still a long way from much of that corridor.

I see value in South Melbourne joining but still have my doubts.

I will freely admit though that the challenges that face Melbourne City in building a place in the sporting landscape do concern me and can't see how the club will find a way to gain a stronger fan base. It's hard work even with some of the bigger investments they are making along the way.

Will SMFC have an easier time? Potentially but I also don't see it being as smooth as their PR seems to spin it.

@ Heart fan

If it wasn't for CFG I'd be worried for City but CFG have the plan and the resources to execute the plan. I actually think South coming in would actually help City by growing interest in the HAL down there.

Home derbies played away from lakeside would be pretty shit. Can we please just have one fucking regular away game in this state.

If you think City v South would get ~35k you're havin a larf mate. 25k maybe - MAYBE. Probably looking more 18-22k.

Great news!

It's gonna be fantastic with SMFC in the fold.

I didn't think you were in 'the fold' 

@m_t

It is more important they get in first.

My club used to play all derbies at the national stadium. The first year we played at home there was a pitch invasion during the 2nd home derby.

Because of the thing that happened and to apise FFA and police for now, it is better to suggest Aami.

Used to piss me off though that we & the other club got 13 home games and the other team got 17 home games. It is an advantage for MV to play at home.

Once they play a few seasons without trouble they can move to Lakeside.

As for crowds, I guess it depends on the marquee/s they sign.

If they came through with a big name good crowds are possible.

SMFC would be quite solid for an ache of about 8 to 9k on the upside or 7k on the low end of the spectrum as a minimum for non derby days.

Derbies a different matter completely - circa 20k.

Success Factor Timmy,

what do you mean by your last post. Can't make heads or tails from it.

Massive catch 22's  here.

1- SM cant be successful without leveraging their ethnic heritage, and FFA don't want SM WITH this ethnic heritage,
eg. Hellas, Hellas chant.

2- SM can't be successful without leveraging their ethnic heritage - but in turn this means there is no prospect for the broad appeal that a new club can offer.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Was announced that smfc article in herald sun was most highly read sports story for the day beating AFL and Cricket and the rest