In the week FFA Technical Director Eric Abrams was critical of the NPL it's opportune to take a look back how Victoria came to adopt such a flawed version of it.
The part of the Why I've Arrived Where I'm At piece that seems to have struck a chord with many was the passion, dedication and loyalty of those who get deeply involved with a club. While it may have resonated with football people who have been in similar situations, it probably wouldn't be understood by the architects of the FFV's original NPLV model.
That model was an attempt to supplant the existing VPL club structure with a zonal franchise model. The first push in this direction was the old Summer League, which later became the Victorian Champions League. These leagues were only able to get off the ground as junior competitions, with the senior component dropped due to lack of interest in anyone willing to establish and run these teams.
People volunteer at clubs for all sorts of reasons. It may be a link to a particular ethnic community, it may be because they live within a goalkeeper's clearance of the home ground. Some will stay on at a club in various roles after playing, others are drawn by family members being involved. Whatever the reason, most are loyal to their club and will only ever perform the duties they do at one club during their lifetime.
It's an indictment on those running the game at the time that they thought it possible that there'd be a groundswell of people willing to set-up and run new zonal clubs just because they would be part of some kind of "elite" pathway. The lure of being labelled "elite" is not enough to sway your typical club volunteer to shift their loyalties. It may induce a parent looking to give their child's career a "leg-up", but that alone would not secure the numbers and dollars required to get the venture up and running.
The FFV would have preferred to have installed a zonal set-up when introducing the NPLV a few years later, but settled for a system in which existing clubs would be chosen to represent the respective zones. Again it's staggering to believe that supposed football people thought this would be a workable idea.
With the new top tier to be a closed league, the "elite" clubs would sit above subservient "community" clubs in their zone. Even with the obvious issues posed by the ethnic backgrounds of many clubs, it was a concept that would alienate all those not included in the new league. How could you expect clubs that may have been rivals to another for years that they would now have to be a feeder team for that club? That they could no longer aspire to promotion back to the top tier?
So not surprisingly, there was rebellion. Clubs took the FFV to court to have their own version of the NPLV implemented, and the resulting compromise has largely been a disaster. Instead of an actual elite competition we have a watered-down, bloated debacle. Have kids with genuine talent been priced out of the game by the significant fees required to be involved? Will extended seasons involving plenty of travel see others burnt out before they are even ready for senior football?
The compromise saw a two-tier NPL established, to include any club (from the existing VPL and State League Division One) which may have had a grievance at being left out. Regional teams were included, in a manner which has not enhanced their future prosperity. Somehow, after a few years, Nunawading City were added despite having slid down the State League.
Looking at the areas of the regional teams, the first thing one may wonder is how is it that Gippsland could have a team in the NSL but not a spot in a bloated NPLV? Similarly in suburban Melbourne, why not a team for the Frankston/Mornington Peninsula area? That is because of the loyalty factor. In both areas there are several clubs that could make a claim to be number one in the region. This means those involved would prefer to stand by their club, whatever league it plays in, rather than ditch it to be a part of a new representative team. Also, in the case of the La Trobe Valley, officials there were concerned about the financial viability of the venture, fears which were warranted given the issues later faced by some of the regional clubs.
I understand why the FFV felt it needed to add the regional teams upon the league's inception, but feel it has lead to them being lame ducks. Perhaps a better way of introducing them would have been to include them in only the junior competitions to begin with. After three or four years, when hopefully the inaugural Under 16's and Under 18's may be ready for senior football they could then have been added to the second tier. Allow them an extra visa spot to alleviate the issue of being able to attract players from Melbourne. Maybe a mini-tournament amongst themselves in the interim to develop the best older talent. They were included from the beginning to make a statement, but will this prove to be detrimental in the long term?
As it is, the best local players are not necessarily playing for the local country NPL side. The best players can enjoy the game winning more (and earning more) in their local competition than by turning out (with the associated travel) for their local NPL outfit. FC Bendigo became Bendigo City and now Ballarat Red Devils have been replaced with Ballarat City. There is still no La Trobe Valley representation. Have the benefits for these areas being included in the NPL been diminished by the whole thing being poorly implemented?
Elsewhere, the second tier has been particularly lopsided. With no prospect of relegation meaningless games clog the two divisions. Nunawading were introduced and won just one game in two years. Does the paying public want to watch glorified training sessions? Probably not. Luckily junior fees are quite high so that gate takings don't have to fund the whole scheme. Now that promotion/relegation is on the agenda even the Mahoneys Road Philosophers are splashing some cash to attract players.
In terms of best practise for juniors, with the most development coming from the best playing against the best, we have gone from a 12 team Superleague back in the day to 32 teams spread over two divisions. Divided between East and West, clubs only play the teams from the opposite side once a season. So the best team in one division plays the best team in the other once, it's a long way removed from what "Best v Best" really should be. It is so watered down it should be sponsored by Yarra Valley Water not PlayStation 4.
It should not surprise that with the whole concept being poorly executed it is hardly attracting plaudits.
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Frankston's Soccer News Treasure Chest
A week or so ago I was exploring new avenues at finding more details from football's past, and finally got a promising result when I entered "Victorian soccer" into a search box on the Frankston Library website.
Item 3 looked interesting enough, and examining it's contents revealed that it did indeed contain gold.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Mr Albert Piggott was a great man. He gave the Library a collection of Soccer News magazines, Frankston match programmes, newspaper clippings and scraps of paper with the Frankston team's line-ups for matches.
I've paid one quick visit to look at the collection, and will need more time to go through it. All I had time to do was exhaust the photocopier in copying 10 issues of Soccer News and 2 match programmes for scanning and uploading to the blog.
The 1951 Soccer News issues are from an exciting time with an English F.A. side touring the country, it was as big time as soccer got back then. The rise of the "New Australian" clubs was about to begin, with J.U.S.T. and Juventus knocking on the door of the First Division and George Cross, Polonia, White Eagles, Olympic and Macedonians all in existence.
The new issues added are as follows:
1951
May 9
May 19
May 26
June 16
June 23
June 30
July 14
July 28
August 11
1958
May 24
The match programmes are:
1951
Frankston v Moorabbin City - August 4
Frankston v Park Rangers - August 18
The Soccer News issues have been added to the Soccer News Archive.
The match programmes are being housed in the History Documents section.
All the videos I've converted lately have now been uploaded to YouTube and can be found in the Video Archive section as well.
Item 3 looked interesting enough, and examining it's contents revealed that it did indeed contain gold.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Mr Albert Piggott was a great man. He gave the Library a collection of Soccer News magazines, Frankston match programmes, newspaper clippings and scraps of paper with the Frankston team's line-ups for matches.
I've paid one quick visit to look at the collection, and will need more time to go through it. All I had time to do was exhaust the photocopier in copying 10 issues of Soccer News and 2 match programmes for scanning and uploading to the blog.
The 1951 Soccer News issues are from an exciting time with an English F.A. side touring the country, it was as big time as soccer got back then. The rise of the "New Australian" clubs was about to begin, with J.U.S.T. and Juventus knocking on the door of the First Division and George Cross, Polonia, White Eagles, Olympic and Macedonians all in existence.
The new issues added are as follows:
1951
May 9
May 19
May 26
June 16
June 23
June 30
July 14
July 28
August 11
1958
May 24
The match programmes are:
1951
Frankston v Moorabbin City - August 4
Frankston v Park Rangers - August 18
The Soccer News issues have been added to the Soccer News Archive.
The match programmes are being housed in the History Documents section.
All the videos I've converted lately have now been uploaded to YouTube and can be found in the Video Archive section as well.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Why I've Arrived Where I'm At
It was not until I was seventeen years of age that I played my first ever competitive game of football. The chief reason for this would probably be my father developing lung cancer in the early 1980's. At the age I may have been introduced to junior sport, there were other things going on. I spent equal amounts of time kicking a footy or a soccer ball around in the backyard, and took part in lunchtime soccer games at primary school.
Competitive sport at East Oakleigh Primary School began in Grade 6, and I tried out for the soccer team but was placed in the "B" squad, not quite near the level of the kids that had undergone coaching and were already picking up Soccer Action Hat Trick Certificates. The "B" team ended up not going ahead because there were not enough numbers to field the Aussie Rules team unless the Soccer B squad was conscripted.
This fork in the road actually led me to play weekend club footy for Oakleigh Youth Club six years before I would first play organised soccer. I must have been okay enough at the school footy for someone to suggest I go down to the club, and it fitted it well enough with my now widowed mother's work schedule for it to happen. While I was a prominent enough member of the school team, we weren't much chop. At Oakleigh Youth I was very much a fringe player, but we were sensational, losing only one game all season on the way to capturing the Grand Final.
When moving up to secondary school, at Salesian College Chadstone, I didn't try out for either footy or soccer teams, opting for table tennis which I was handy enough at. The senior soccer team there had a State Championship pedigree, and I knew I hadn't done anything to bridge the gap between myself and the kids already excelling at junior clubs. I assumed the footy team would be strong as well, and thought I would be on the periphery there as I had been at Oakleigh Youth Under 12's.
I'd adopted Tottenham Hotspur as my club of choice, on the back of their F.A. Cup Final success earlier in the decade. I followed them through the combination of old Shoot! magazines and the results in Monday's newspaper. Then came Saturday nights staying up to listen to the marvelous sports coverage on the BBC World Service.
Locally I followed Melbourne Croatia from nearly as afar as Spurs. I had vague memories of attending a game in the late 1970's at Olympic Park No.2, where I asked if we could come back when the greyhounds were on. Reading newspapers and watching the SBS/ABC television coverage of the NSL was the limit of my involvement.
So when I'd started Year 12 some family friends I had backyard kickabouts with (they were a little younger) suggested I should go down to Bailey Reserve (where they played at East Bentleigh juniors) as they heard there was a shortage of players in a senior team there. Their family friend, Justin Scrobogna, was a brilliant junior soon to break in to the Moorabbin City senior team. He may have heard of or been one of the reserves players asked to back up on Sunday for the Thirds and told them, whatever it was they told me so on a Tuesday night in 1990 I turned up at Bailey Reserve. I trained with the reserves that night, then the Thirds on Thursday when they showed up. On the Sunday I started in central midfield against Monbulk and we won 2-0.
Before long I was playing two games a week, as I also joined the Salesian College Senior B team. After contributing a few things for the club magazine, Moorabbin Matchday, I was soon asked to edit it. Which of course, meant writing it all. Did it on an old fashioned typewriter (google it if you have to). The following year I began attending more senior games, and after that I was club linesman every week for the reserves. I soon became familiar with putting nets up, and taking them down. Got covered in lime loading and using old school line marking machines. There was a bit of canteen work, and a few relief stints manning the entrance gate. Club functions saw more bartending work.
The club began to climb the leagues, eventually rising from State League Division Three all the way to the Victorian Premier League. There was a year where we played out of Gaelic Park in Keysborough, where heavy wooden goalposts had to be lifted in and out of place every matchday. That was the result Bailey Reserve not being up to higher league standard, and the new ground at Kingston Heath not yet ready. The first years at Kingston Heath saw times where I'd mark and put nets on all four pitches in a single morning. The clubrooms and dressing rooms were portable buildings, before the current structures at the site were erected. Indeed work on the permanent buildings had barely commenced when Moorabbin City folded at the end of 1998.
The factors for that were numerous and I won't go in to them now. The end result was a way of life had come to an end. I didn't realise how loyal I had become until it ended. I would continue to play with the Moorabbin Thirds, as we became Moorabbin Old Boys playing out of Gardiner's Creek Reserve. More than a few Moorabbin players moved there as well, joining the then Old Scotch Waverley (previously Waverley City, now Eastern Lions). I went to a few games, but did not want any further involvement. I was a Moorabbin person, and that's all I wanted to be. I'd expected to be Moorabbin City for life, and didn't want to be anything else.
Now football solely centred around a Thursday night kickaround for training and a game on Sunday with the Thirds. I started going to more NSL games, mainly to Somers Street to watch the now Melbourne Knights, but also to Optus Oval and Olympic Park for Carlton SC matches as well as Bob Jane Stadium to see South Melbourne.
Then in early 2001 I got a call from from former Moorabbin president and secretary Sam Laverty. He'd been asked for assistance in assembling a new squad by Helmut Kalitizki, who had taken over as president of Richmond following their relegation to State League Division Two. They'd just played a practise game and the players weren't particularly well looked after on a scorching summer's day and I was clearly the go to man when water bottles needed filling.
I would say the main reason I responded to the call was a personal loyalty to Sam. He had minor involvement at Old Scotch Waverley after Moorabbin City folded, but never pushed me to follow. Now he was actually asking me to help out, I couldn't say no.
For the first season I only attended match days, being team manager for the first team. The next year that would evolve into training nights. Establishing and "editing" the Richmond Alemannia Magazine followed. Managing the first team became managing the reserves as well. Kits were washed, week in, week out. You never forget how to put a net up properly. Kevin Bartlett Reserve being alongside the Monash Freeway led to some challenging ball retrieval work.
Eventually Richmond would also start the climb back up the leagues, also rising all the way to the Victorian Premier League. This would in part lead to the inner conflict which now sees me follow the game as a distant observer, rather than a passionate participant. Even after a few years, I still considered myself a Moorabbin person. Moorabbin Old Boys played one season at Richmond before getting too old (I was ten years younger than most). The rise of Richmond meant an ever increasing workload, and it came to the point where for the Old Boys to continue I'd have play a greater part than simply turning up to play and that was not a viable option so playing retirement had arrived.
There was the rise of the internet. Participating on local forums, as someone from a club lacking a huge supporter base , I sort of became the face/spokesman of the club to many. Which was odd, as deep down I still felt I was more Moorabin than Richmond. The rise of the internet, naturally, also soon saw me running a club website.
Success brings great times, so soon that feeling began to change. As time passed it was only natural I would become more comfortable being a "Richmond person". The end of the NSL saw Melbourne Knights join the VPL. A year later, Richmond were promoted to the VPL. When we would come to clash, my loyalty went one way and it was the way of the team in white. Now I was truly Richmond.
At the same time, the A-League had come into existence. Melbourne had a new team, Melbourne Victory. I went to a few games when I wasn't busy with Richmond, and naturally wanted them to beat the interstate scum. There was no way I could muster any real passion for them though, and snobbishly I'd question the motives of many who overtly had that passion. I mean, this was not a club they had grown up following, or had began following in a family tradition. They hadn't played for them as kids, it all seemed a bit cheap.
Matchdays would involve arriving at the club by 4pm on a Friday afternoon to put the nets up and flags out and put ice in the freezer. I had a huge set of keys, some for the gates that were used to turn an open park into an enclosed venue. There'd be checking that the away rooms were tidy. Then setting up the home room by bringing in the kit, pumping up the balls for the warm up. Drinks (2 trays of water bottles, one for each team, two five litre cordial mixes - one orange, one apple raspberry - and a twenty litre Powerade/Gatorade mix) would be prepared, as well as a supply of lollies laid out to keep the players buzzing. Fill in some team sheets, hand out some shirts. Give the referees the match balls. Copy the team sheets for any media in attendance. Get the players to put their valuables in a case and lock it away for safekeeping. Make sure there were whiteboard markers and magnets at the coaches disposal. Find some new socks for the players that needed them every second week. Pour out 30 cups (10 of each flavour) just before half-time time. Take notes for Goal! Weekly and club website match reports. Watching the first half of the seniors was problematic because I had to clean up after the reserves/Under 21's to get ready for half-time (we only had one room to share). As a result the second half of the senior game was usually the highlight of the week. Then it was deal with the match officials after the game faxing results in and what not. Load the washing into the car, put the drinks containers back in the coolroom. Clean out the home and away team dressing rooms forn the juniors on the weekend, take down the nets and bring in the flags. Then have a chat with whoever was left in the clubrooms after 11pm.
At the end of 2012, after eleven years at Richmond, I left the club. It was a case of personal loyalty exceeding loyalty to an institution. Helmut had been forced into a situation which saw him step down as president, and I made it clear to people remaining on the committee they would be wasting their time asking me to continue in my roles. At that stage, I was as relieved to have a break as I was sad. A small club overachieving doesn't happen easily.
Before the start of the following season came a point when I would be more than not involved in the club, but where the term estranged would be more apt. This began to take place when one of the committeemen responsible for ousting Helmut appointed himself senior coach. It became official when the club signed Josh Groenewald.
The night Semir Sivic had his leg broken is without doubt my worst moment in football. Worse than losing any game, even a Grand Final. Worse than Moorabbin City folding, and that had randomly brought me to tears on one occasion. I had been a part of a dressing room, where if for some inexplicable reason Josh had been brought into as a new signing, every person to a man would have walked out. That he had been signed by the same people who brought Semir's brother Enes back to the club marked that the club was no longer the same. Not knowing the history there was something I could not abide. There was also the sense that in signing players who refused to talk to each the new regime had no idea what it was doing and everything the club had achieved in recent years was about to go to waste.
In one way the estrangement was not permanent, but in another it was. The week after the coach was sacked after four straight defeats culminating in a 2-7 loss at home I received a phone call from the new president, Wolfgang Smoger. My replacement as team manager had to return overseas for a month, there was Dockerty Cup game that night, and I was asked to fill-in. I said I would, then called Helmut to let him know that I was going back, to see if he'd object to what I'd agreed to. He didn't. Grant Brebner was then appointed coach, and I stayed on until the end of the season assisting the team manager upon his return from overseas. It was not the same though, it never could be, a bond had been broken and at the end of the year I declined requests to continue.
Long before the club's eventual relegation that year, the whole situation would just make me sad. I'd see Josh in the changing room and feel bad for having hated him. Did I still hate him? Not really. No. Did I approve of him being at the club? No, but he was. We wouldn't have spoken much. I assumed that he'd known what I thought of what had happened, but maybe he didn't. Either way, it was not an area to go to.
I now go to games and hope the team does well, but the life or death nature is no more. Where there was certainty, now there is conflict. I still feel "Richmond", but no longer am. I feel I would be cheating to label myself a Knights fan when I compare myself to genuine die-hards. Part of me now feels like a neutral at games even when I'm there to support a particular team. This may also stem from going to watch the former Richmond boys at their new clubs. There's also plenty of people I respect at other clubs, which makes it hard to hate. More than anything though, it's because when you've been in the inner sanctum so deeply, and then step out, you end up an outsider just looking in.
It's for that reason that this blog is more about the past than the present and future than intended when I started it. I just don't enjoy going to games as much as I used to, and still have concerns about the direction the game is heading. Since I first started to do some research as Moorabbin began to plan to prepare for it's 50th anniversary, compiling a history of the local game has been a project on the backburner, now you know why it's at the forefront of my endeavours.
Competitive sport at East Oakleigh Primary School began in Grade 6, and I tried out for the soccer team but was placed in the "B" squad, not quite near the level of the kids that had undergone coaching and were already picking up Soccer Action Hat Trick Certificates. The "B" team ended up not going ahead because there were not enough numbers to field the Aussie Rules team unless the Soccer B squad was conscripted.
This fork in the road actually led me to play weekend club footy for Oakleigh Youth Club six years before I would first play organised soccer. I must have been okay enough at the school footy for someone to suggest I go down to the club, and it fitted it well enough with my now widowed mother's work schedule for it to happen. While I was a prominent enough member of the school team, we weren't much chop. At Oakleigh Youth I was very much a fringe player, but we were sensational, losing only one game all season on the way to capturing the Grand Final.
When moving up to secondary school, at Salesian College Chadstone, I didn't try out for either footy or soccer teams, opting for table tennis which I was handy enough at. The senior soccer team there had a State Championship pedigree, and I knew I hadn't done anything to bridge the gap between myself and the kids already excelling at junior clubs. I assumed the footy team would be strong as well, and thought I would be on the periphery there as I had been at Oakleigh Youth Under 12's.
I'd adopted Tottenham Hotspur as my club of choice, on the back of their F.A. Cup Final success earlier in the decade. I followed them through the combination of old Shoot! magazines and the results in Monday's newspaper. Then came Saturday nights staying up to listen to the marvelous sports coverage on the BBC World Service.
Locally I followed Melbourne Croatia from nearly as afar as Spurs. I had vague memories of attending a game in the late 1970's at Olympic Park No.2, where I asked if we could come back when the greyhounds were on. Reading newspapers and watching the SBS/ABC television coverage of the NSL was the limit of my involvement.
So when I'd started Year 12 some family friends I had backyard kickabouts with (they were a little younger) suggested I should go down to Bailey Reserve (where they played at East Bentleigh juniors) as they heard there was a shortage of players in a senior team there. Their family friend, Justin Scrobogna, was a brilliant junior soon to break in to the Moorabbin City senior team. He may have heard of or been one of the reserves players asked to back up on Sunday for the Thirds and told them, whatever it was they told me so on a Tuesday night in 1990 I turned up at Bailey Reserve. I trained with the reserves that night, then the Thirds on Thursday when they showed up. On the Sunday I started in central midfield against Monbulk and we won 2-0.
Before long I was playing two games a week, as I also joined the Salesian College Senior B team. After contributing a few things for the club magazine, Moorabbin Matchday, I was soon asked to edit it. Which of course, meant writing it all. Did it on an old fashioned typewriter (google it if you have to). The following year I began attending more senior games, and after that I was club linesman every week for the reserves. I soon became familiar with putting nets up, and taking them down. Got covered in lime loading and using old school line marking machines. There was a bit of canteen work, and a few relief stints manning the entrance gate. Club functions saw more bartending work.
The club began to climb the leagues, eventually rising from State League Division Three all the way to the Victorian Premier League. There was a year where we played out of Gaelic Park in Keysborough, where heavy wooden goalposts had to be lifted in and out of place every matchday. That was the result Bailey Reserve not being up to higher league standard, and the new ground at Kingston Heath not yet ready. The first years at Kingston Heath saw times where I'd mark and put nets on all four pitches in a single morning. The clubrooms and dressing rooms were portable buildings, before the current structures at the site were erected. Indeed work on the permanent buildings had barely commenced when Moorabbin City folded at the end of 1998.
The factors for that were numerous and I won't go in to them now. The end result was a way of life had come to an end. I didn't realise how loyal I had become until it ended. I would continue to play with the Moorabbin Thirds, as we became Moorabbin Old Boys playing out of Gardiner's Creek Reserve. More than a few Moorabbin players moved there as well, joining the then Old Scotch Waverley (previously Waverley City, now Eastern Lions). I went to a few games, but did not want any further involvement. I was a Moorabbin person, and that's all I wanted to be. I'd expected to be Moorabbin City for life, and didn't want to be anything else.
Now football solely centred around a Thursday night kickaround for training and a game on Sunday with the Thirds. I started going to more NSL games, mainly to Somers Street to watch the now Melbourne Knights, but also to Optus Oval and Olympic Park for Carlton SC matches as well as Bob Jane Stadium to see South Melbourne.
Then in early 2001 I got a call from from former Moorabbin president and secretary Sam Laverty. He'd been asked for assistance in assembling a new squad by Helmut Kalitizki, who had taken over as president of Richmond following their relegation to State League Division Two. They'd just played a practise game and the players weren't particularly well looked after on a scorching summer's day and I was clearly the go to man when water bottles needed filling.
I would say the main reason I responded to the call was a personal loyalty to Sam. He had minor involvement at Old Scotch Waverley after Moorabbin City folded, but never pushed me to follow. Now he was actually asking me to help out, I couldn't say no.
For the first season I only attended match days, being team manager for the first team. The next year that would evolve into training nights. Establishing and "editing" the Richmond Alemannia Magazine followed. Managing the first team became managing the reserves as well. Kits were washed, week in, week out. You never forget how to put a net up properly. Kevin Bartlett Reserve being alongside the Monash Freeway led to some challenging ball retrieval work.
Eventually Richmond would also start the climb back up the leagues, also rising all the way to the Victorian Premier League. This would in part lead to the inner conflict which now sees me follow the game as a distant observer, rather than a passionate participant. Even after a few years, I still considered myself a Moorabbin person. Moorabbin Old Boys played one season at Richmond before getting too old (I was ten years younger than most). The rise of Richmond meant an ever increasing workload, and it came to the point where for the Old Boys to continue I'd have play a greater part than simply turning up to play and that was not a viable option so playing retirement had arrived.
There was the rise of the internet. Participating on local forums, as someone from a club lacking a huge supporter base , I sort of became the face/spokesman of the club to many. Which was odd, as deep down I still felt I was more Moorabin than Richmond. The rise of the internet, naturally, also soon saw me running a club website.
Success brings great times, so soon that feeling began to change. As time passed it was only natural I would become more comfortable being a "Richmond person". The end of the NSL saw Melbourne Knights join the VPL. A year later, Richmond were promoted to the VPL. When we would come to clash, my loyalty went one way and it was the way of the team in white. Now I was truly Richmond.
At the same time, the A-League had come into existence. Melbourne had a new team, Melbourne Victory. I went to a few games when I wasn't busy with Richmond, and naturally wanted them to beat the interstate scum. There was no way I could muster any real passion for them though, and snobbishly I'd question the motives of many who overtly had that passion. I mean, this was not a club they had grown up following, or had began following in a family tradition. They hadn't played for them as kids, it all seemed a bit cheap.
Matchdays would involve arriving at the club by 4pm on a Friday afternoon to put the nets up and flags out and put ice in the freezer. I had a huge set of keys, some for the gates that were used to turn an open park into an enclosed venue. There'd be checking that the away rooms were tidy. Then setting up the home room by bringing in the kit, pumping up the balls for the warm up. Drinks (2 trays of water bottles, one for each team, two five litre cordial mixes - one orange, one apple raspberry - and a twenty litre Powerade/Gatorade mix) would be prepared, as well as a supply of lollies laid out to keep the players buzzing. Fill in some team sheets, hand out some shirts. Give the referees the match balls. Copy the team sheets for any media in attendance. Get the players to put their valuables in a case and lock it away for safekeeping. Make sure there were whiteboard markers and magnets at the coaches disposal. Find some new socks for the players that needed them every second week. Pour out 30 cups (10 of each flavour) just before half-time time. Take notes for Goal! Weekly and club website match reports. Watching the first half of the seniors was problematic because I had to clean up after the reserves/Under 21's to get ready for half-time (we only had one room to share). As a result the second half of the senior game was usually the highlight of the week. Then it was deal with the match officials after the game faxing results in and what not. Load the washing into the car, put the drinks containers back in the coolroom. Clean out the home and away team dressing rooms forn the juniors on the weekend, take down the nets and bring in the flags. Then have a chat with whoever was left in the clubrooms after 11pm.
At the end of 2012, after eleven years at Richmond, I left the club. It was a case of personal loyalty exceeding loyalty to an institution. Helmut had been forced into a situation which saw him step down as president, and I made it clear to people remaining on the committee they would be wasting their time asking me to continue in my roles. At that stage, I was as relieved to have a break as I was sad. A small club overachieving doesn't happen easily.
Before the start of the following season came a point when I would be more than not involved in the club, but where the term estranged would be more apt. This began to take place when one of the committeemen responsible for ousting Helmut appointed himself senior coach. It became official when the club signed Josh Groenewald.
The night Semir Sivic had his leg broken is without doubt my worst moment in football. Worse than losing any game, even a Grand Final. Worse than Moorabbin City folding, and that had randomly brought me to tears on one occasion. I had been a part of a dressing room, where if for some inexplicable reason Josh had been brought into as a new signing, every person to a man would have walked out. That he had been signed by the same people who brought Semir's brother Enes back to the club marked that the club was no longer the same. Not knowing the history there was something I could not abide. There was also the sense that in signing players who refused to talk to each the new regime had no idea what it was doing and everything the club had achieved in recent years was about to go to waste.
In one way the estrangement was not permanent, but in another it was. The week after the coach was sacked after four straight defeats culminating in a 2-7 loss at home I received a phone call from the new president, Wolfgang Smoger. My replacement as team manager had to return overseas for a month, there was Dockerty Cup game that night, and I was asked to fill-in. I said I would, then called Helmut to let him know that I was going back, to see if he'd object to what I'd agreed to. He didn't. Grant Brebner was then appointed coach, and I stayed on until the end of the season assisting the team manager upon his return from overseas. It was not the same though, it never could be, a bond had been broken and at the end of the year I declined requests to continue.
Long before the club's eventual relegation that year, the whole situation would just make me sad. I'd see Josh in the changing room and feel bad for having hated him. Did I still hate him? Not really. No. Did I approve of him being at the club? No, but he was. We wouldn't have spoken much. I assumed that he'd known what I thought of what had happened, but maybe he didn't. Either way, it was not an area to go to.
I now go to games and hope the team does well, but the life or death nature is no more. Where there was certainty, now there is conflict. I still feel "Richmond", but no longer am. I feel I would be cheating to label myself a Knights fan when I compare myself to genuine die-hards. Part of me now feels like a neutral at games even when I'm there to support a particular team. This may also stem from going to watch the former Richmond boys at their new clubs. There's also plenty of people I respect at other clubs, which makes it hard to hate. More than anything though, it's because when you've been in the inner sanctum so deeply, and then step out, you end up an outsider just looking in.
It's for that reason that this blog is more about the past than the present and future than intended when I started it. I just don't enjoy going to games as much as I used to, and still have concerns about the direction the game is heading. Since I first started to do some research as Moorabbin began to plan to prepare for it's 50th anniversary, compiling a history of the local game has been a project on the backburner, now you know why it's at the forefront of my endeavours.
Monday, 20 February 2017
Boo's NPL Review - Week 3 - Nelson Muntz Goes To JL Murphy Reserve
NPL Victoria
Port Melbourne shocked everyone, and inspired a "Let's All Laugh at South Melbourne" Movement, when they beat the next A-League club 4-0 on Friday night. For more, as always, check out South of the Border.
The Finals are still a long way away, and Oakleigh Cannons just can't wait that long to start their choking, so they threw away a 2-0 lead for a second week in a row. This time it was against Bulleen Lions. One day I might do some stats on how many early season home games Oakleigh have had over the years.
Melbourne Knights lost 1-2 at home to Pascoe Vale. Michael Ferrante scored the winner, a champion player and person. Didn't want either team to lose which is why I opted not to go to this game.
North Geelong took the lead with a cracker, but like Ol' Man River Bentleigh Greens just keep on rolling along. The Greens fought back to win 2-1 and their form is ominous.
Heidelberg United went down 0-1 at home to Avondale. Didn't sound like a very exciting game listening to it on FFV Radio.
Not many teams come back from 2-0 down after three minutes. St Albans didn't buck that trend, going on to be smashed 5-0 bu Hume City. Attila Ofli and Liam Boland got braces, and I mean 2 goals apiece not metal in their mouths.
NPL Two East
Friday night saw an improved Richmond draw 1-1 with Springvale White Eagles at Kevin Bartlett Reserve. A clever, quick and curling free-kick from Rudi Saglam gave the home side a deserved lead. With half an hour left Richmond were down to ten men after the assistant referee spotted an infringement from Halil Gur. The White Eagles bundled home an equaliser but the other Eagles were not without their chances in taking full points in an entertaining encounter.
Dandenong City beat Melbourne City Youth 2-0, with a goal in each half. Mate Dugandzic was back in the starting line-up with Ljubo Milicevic having another run off the bench.
On the tenth year anniversary of his five goals in an A-League Grand Final, Archie Thompson couldn't find the net against Eastern Lions. The Lions returned from Murray United with a 2-0 win to maintain an unbeaten start to the season. Did he cop a "Who are ya?" from the travelling Lions faithful?
There was no 8 or 9 or whatever it was last year for Brandon Barnes as Dandenong Thunder defeated Nunawading City (now with added mercenaries) 2-1. Barnes opened the scoring before Nuna equalised before half-time. A cracker from Alon Blumgart after the break gave Thunder the win.
Goulburn Valley Suns and Box Hill United played out a 0-0 draw in Shepparton. It was the third 0-0 draw for United in a row to open the season, and they shall now be dubbed "The Entertainers" in the same ironic way redheads get called Bluey.
NPL Two West
Bendigo City nearly took their first point until a late winner from Moreland City came along. Don't look at sportingpulse results service to find out what minute the goal was, there's fuck all there.
At Epping Stadium the late goal was an equaliser, for Whittlesea Ranges after Brunswick City had taken a fifth minute lead.
Sunshine George Cross beat Werribee City 2-1 in what won't be the last game at Chaplin Reserve.
Moreland Zebras had no trouble scoring again, but leaking a few goals saw them blow good leads to draw 3-3 at home to Melbourne Victory Youth.
Northcote City are looking they will walk this league in (but I stayed up until 1 am thinking Jared Tallent was going to do likewise in Rio, so who am I to say) and continued their winning ways with a 4-1 defeat of Ballarat City. Four points clear after three games, not a bad start.
Overall
It was good to see Andrew Viola back in Richmond colours. Amid the turmoil of 2012-13 the circumstances of his departure was particularly disappointing.
Port Melbourne shocked everyone, and inspired a "Let's All Laugh at South Melbourne" Movement, when they beat the next A-League club 4-0 on Friday night. For more, as always, check out South of the Border.
The Finals are still a long way away, and Oakleigh Cannons just can't wait that long to start their choking, so they threw away a 2-0 lead for a second week in a row. This time it was against Bulleen Lions. One day I might do some stats on how many early season home games Oakleigh have had over the years.
Melbourne Knights lost 1-2 at home to Pascoe Vale. Michael Ferrante scored the winner, a champion player and person. Didn't want either team to lose which is why I opted not to go to this game.
North Geelong took the lead with a cracker, but like Ol' Man River Bentleigh Greens just keep on rolling along. The Greens fought back to win 2-1 and their form is ominous.
Heidelberg United went down 0-1 at home to Avondale. Didn't sound like a very exciting game listening to it on FFV Radio.
Not many teams come back from 2-0 down after three minutes. St Albans didn't buck that trend, going on to be smashed 5-0 bu Hume City. Attila Ofli and Liam Boland got braces, and I mean 2 goals apiece not metal in their mouths.
NPL Two East
Friday night saw an improved Richmond draw 1-1 with Springvale White Eagles at Kevin Bartlett Reserve. A clever, quick and curling free-kick from Rudi Saglam gave the home side a deserved lead. With half an hour left Richmond were down to ten men after the assistant referee spotted an infringement from Halil Gur. The White Eagles bundled home an equaliser but the other Eagles were not without their chances in taking full points in an entertaining encounter.
Dandenong City beat Melbourne City Youth 2-0, with a goal in each half. Mate Dugandzic was back in the starting line-up with Ljubo Milicevic having another run off the bench.
On the tenth year anniversary of his five goals in an A-League Grand Final, Archie Thompson couldn't find the net against Eastern Lions. The Lions returned from Murray United with a 2-0 win to maintain an unbeaten start to the season. Did he cop a "Who are ya?" from the travelling Lions faithful?
There was no 8 or 9 or whatever it was last year for Brandon Barnes as Dandenong Thunder defeated Nunawading City (now with added mercenaries) 2-1. Barnes opened the scoring before Nuna equalised before half-time. A cracker from Alon Blumgart after the break gave Thunder the win.
Goulburn Valley Suns and Box Hill United played out a 0-0 draw in Shepparton. It was the third 0-0 draw for United in a row to open the season, and they shall now be dubbed "The Entertainers" in the same ironic way redheads get called Bluey.
NPL Two West
Bendigo City nearly took their first point until a late winner from Moreland City came along. Don't look at sportingpulse results service to find out what minute the goal was, there's fuck all there.
At Epping Stadium the late goal was an equaliser, for Whittlesea Ranges after Brunswick City had taken a fifth minute lead.
Sunshine George Cross beat Werribee City 2-1 in what won't be the last game at Chaplin Reserve.
Moreland Zebras had no trouble scoring again, but leaking a few goals saw them blow good leads to draw 3-3 at home to Melbourne Victory Youth.
Northcote City are looking they will walk this league in (but I stayed up until 1 am thinking Jared Tallent was going to do likewise in Rio, so who am I to say) and continued their winning ways with a 4-1 defeat of Ballarat City. Four points clear after three games, not a bad start.
Overall
It was good to see Andrew Viola back in Richmond colours. Amid the turmoil of 2012-13 the circumstances of his departure was particularly disappointing.
Monday, 13 February 2017
Boo's NPL Review - Week 2 - The Shrine of Tiki Taka
Back again for another look at the weekend's NPL action.
NPL Victoria
The choke started early at Oakleigh this year, with the Cannons blowing a 2-0 lead inside the final ten minutes to share the points with Kingston City. The local derby finished in a flourish with a 91st minute goal and a 92nd minute red card for the Reds.
Friday night football began with North Geelong taking a point with a 1-1 draw when visiting Pascoe Vale at C.B.Smith Reserve. Paco took the lead through my favourite current NPL player, the brilliant Davey van 't Schip, but the Warriors drew level seven minutes later.
The Green Derby was an easy win for Bentleigh Greens, sealed with a 79th minute goal from substitute Andy Brennan. Will everyone need to extend bench sizes once again to accommodate the Green Gully staff?
Hume City and Melbourne Knights emulated Thursday's season opener as the Knights squandered a 2-0 lead at ABD Stadium by conceding an equaliser deep into stoppage time. Theo Markelis pulled a goal back for the hosts with eight minutes to go setting up the grandstand finish. One goalkeeper would be the hero, the other the villain. Knights custodian Fraser Chalmers was sent off for dissent, and from the delayed free-kick it was Hume's gloveman Michael Weier who headed home.
New signing Kaine Sheppard was the matchwinner for Avondale as they defeated St Albans 1-0 at Knights Stadium on Saturday in a match overshadowed by the drama in Westmeadows.
Another Saturday evening game saw Heidelberg United get up 1-0 over Port Melbourne at the Village. The game was settled by a first half own goal.
NPL Two East
Melbourne City Youth had a second consecutive 2-2 draw at home, with the same scoring sequence (0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2) and all. Spooky. Murray United were their opponents, for whom Archie Thompson made his debut off the bench.
Dandenong City got their season back on track with a 5-0 thrashing of Richmond. Enes Sivic got on the scoresheet against one of his former clubs, as Ljubo Milicevic made a successful debut for City off the bench.
Conversely Dandenong Thunder crashed back down to Earth, falling to a 2-1 defeat at Springvale White Eagles. There may have been some shenanigans at this fixture, not sure if the term "Gypsy" was bandied about though.
Box Hill United and Eastern Lions played out a 0-0 draw at Wembley Park. For the second week in a row the failure to convert a penalty cost the Lions full points.
Nunawading City and Goulburn Valley Suns drew 1-1 at Mahoneys Reserve. The Suns had taken an early lead through Liam Baxter before he was sent off on the half hour mark. City were able to pull level through Mitch Cooper but were unable to claim the win against ten men. They were able to unveil their Shrine to Tiki Taka though:
NPL Two West
Northcote City's 1-0 win at Melbourne Victory Youth kept them as the early season pacesetters in NPL Two West. New skipper Josh Knight's 29th minute penalty was enough to get Hercules over the line.
Sunshine George Cross drew 0-0 with Moreland City at Chaplin Reserve. There may be a line or two more on this over at South of the Border later in the week.
Werribee City and Brunswick City also played out a draw, 1-1, at Galvin Park. The hosts lead before the visitors equalised.
Ballarat City racked up their first ever win with a 1-0 defeat of Whittlesea Ranges at Morshead Park. Pat Karras got the winner as Danny Gnjidic's boys made history.
Bendigo City may be creating unwanted history, beaten 0-7 by Moreland Zebras making it twelve conceded after just two games. Nejc Kolman hit four for the Zebras.
Overall
Results service audit shows improvement: 7 COMPLETE 8 ALMOST 1 RUBBISH
I'm still shaking my head at the Shrine of Tiki Taka. Is it a club, or an academy, or a cult?
NPL Victoria
The choke started early at Oakleigh this year, with the Cannons blowing a 2-0 lead inside the final ten minutes to share the points with Kingston City. The local derby finished in a flourish with a 91st minute goal and a 92nd minute red card for the Reds.
Friday night football began with North Geelong taking a point with a 1-1 draw when visiting Pascoe Vale at C.B.Smith Reserve. Paco took the lead through my favourite current NPL player, the brilliant Davey van 't Schip, but the Warriors drew level seven minutes later.
The Green Derby was an easy win for Bentleigh Greens, sealed with a 79th minute goal from substitute Andy Brennan. Will everyone need to extend bench sizes once again to accommodate the Green Gully staff?
Hume City and Melbourne Knights emulated Thursday's season opener as the Knights squandered a 2-0 lead at ABD Stadium by conceding an equaliser deep into stoppage time. Theo Markelis pulled a goal back for the hosts with eight minutes to go setting up the grandstand finish. One goalkeeper would be the hero, the other the villain. Knights custodian Fraser Chalmers was sent off for dissent, and from the delayed free-kick it was Hume's gloveman Michael Weier who headed home.
New signing Kaine Sheppard was the matchwinner for Avondale as they defeated St Albans 1-0 at Knights Stadium on Saturday in a match overshadowed by the drama in Westmeadows.
Another Saturday evening game saw Heidelberg United get up 1-0 over Port Melbourne at the Village. The game was settled by a first half own goal.
NPL Two East
Melbourne City Youth had a second consecutive 2-2 draw at home, with the same scoring sequence (0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2) and all. Spooky. Murray United were their opponents, for whom Archie Thompson made his debut off the bench.
Dandenong City got their season back on track with a 5-0 thrashing of Richmond. Enes Sivic got on the scoresheet against one of his former clubs, as Ljubo Milicevic made a successful debut for City off the bench.
Conversely Dandenong Thunder crashed back down to Earth, falling to a 2-1 defeat at Springvale White Eagles. There may have been some shenanigans at this fixture, not sure if the term "Gypsy" was bandied about though.
Box Hill United and Eastern Lions played out a 0-0 draw at Wembley Park. For the second week in a row the failure to convert a penalty cost the Lions full points.
Nunawading City and Goulburn Valley Suns drew 1-1 at Mahoneys Reserve. The Suns had taken an early lead through Liam Baxter before he was sent off on the half hour mark. City were able to pull level through Mitch Cooper but were unable to claim the win against ten men. They were able to unveil their Shrine to Tiki Taka though:
NPL Two West
Northcote City's 1-0 win at Melbourne Victory Youth kept them as the early season pacesetters in NPL Two West. New skipper Josh Knight's 29th minute penalty was enough to get Hercules over the line.
Sunshine George Cross drew 0-0 with Moreland City at Chaplin Reserve. There may be a line or two more on this over at South of the Border later in the week.
Werribee City and Brunswick City also played out a draw, 1-1, at Galvin Park. The hosts lead before the visitors equalised.
Ballarat City racked up their first ever win with a 1-0 defeat of Whittlesea Ranges at Morshead Park. Pat Karras got the winner as Danny Gnjidic's boys made history.
Bendigo City may be creating unwanted history, beaten 0-7 by Moreland Zebras making it twelve conceded after just two games. Nejc Kolman hit four for the Zebras.
Overall
Results service audit shows improvement: 7 COMPLETE 8 ALMOST 1 RUBBISH
I'm still shaking my head at the Shrine of Tiki Taka. Is it a club, or an academy, or a cult?
Wednesday, 8 February 2017
Yo, I Tell You What I Want
What I really, really want is:
From
2002 - Reserves League Champions from the Premier, State and Provisional Leagues. Final table for the Premier League Reserves. League Best and Fairest Winners for the State and Provisional Leagues.
2001 - the result (score) of the State League One/Two Play-Off Final. I know it was not good for Langwarrin.
2000 - Reserves League Champions from the Premier, State and Provisional Leagues, Final table for the Premier League Reserves.
1994 - Reserves League Champions from the State and Provisional Leagues.
1992 - Results (score and scorers) of the Armstrong Cup, Provisional League Cup and Provisional League Reserves Cup Finals.
1991 - Referee of the Dockerty Cup Final.
1990 - Reserves League Champions from the Victorian and Provisional Leagues. Dockerty Cup Final substitution details. Results of the Provisional League Cup and Provisional League Reserves Cup Finals.
1989 - Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1988 - Results of the Provisional League Cup, Provisional League Reserves Cup, Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1987 - Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1985 - Victorian League Division Two Reserves Champions. Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1984 - If there was an Amateur League Cup.
1983 - Reserves League Champions for Amateur League Division Two Reserves. Results of the Provisional League Reserves Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1973 - Dockerty Cup Final details.
1971 - Result of the Federation Cup Final.
That's only the start of it.
From
2002 - Reserves League Champions from the Premier, State and Provisional Leagues. Final table for the Premier League Reserves. League Best and Fairest Winners for the State and Provisional Leagues.
2001 - the result (score) of the State League One/Two Play-Off Final. I know it was not good for Langwarrin.
2000 - Reserves League Champions from the Premier, State and Provisional Leagues, Final table for the Premier League Reserves.
1994 - Reserves League Champions from the State and Provisional Leagues.
1992 - Results (score and scorers) of the Armstrong Cup, Provisional League Cup and Provisional League Reserves Cup Finals.
1991 - Referee of the Dockerty Cup Final.
1990 - Reserves League Champions from the Victorian and Provisional Leagues. Dockerty Cup Final substitution details. Results of the Provisional League Cup and Provisional League Reserves Cup Finals.
1989 - Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1988 - Results of the Provisional League Cup, Provisional League Reserves Cup, Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1987 - Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1985 - Victorian League Division Two Reserves Champions. Results of the Amateur League Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1984 - If there was an Amateur League Cup.
1983 - Reserves League Champions for Amateur League Division Two Reserves. Results of the Provisional League Reserves Cup and Amateur League Reserves Cup Finals.
1973 - Dockerty Cup Final details.
1971 - Result of the Federation Cup Final.
That's only the start of it.
Monday, 6 February 2017
Boo's NPL Review - Week 1 - I Don't Like Mondays
Given there's been more past than present or future on the blog in recent years, I thought I'd start a weekly match review to try and balance the ratio somewhat. Not sure how long it will last. If it's considered odd to start a review of the round on a Monday when there may still be games to be played, I declare that on Monday the weekend is over and it is time for a review, and that Monday night football is an abomination I have no time for.
NPL Two East
I was in attendance, with a couple of thousand people probably, at the season opener at George Andrews Reserve on Friday night as two title contenders were expected to slug it out. Instead of an epic classic, it turned out to be lopsided like Quade Cooper's fight against the fat bloke on the Mundine/Green undercard. Dandenong City looked alright early on, but once Dandenong Thunder stepped up a gear the visitors were unable to keep up with them. Brandon Barnes, who probably has scored more goals than he's spent days in this country, was once again the star of the show. Thunder's bright start will probably have the naysayers predicting another choke like last season, but they certainly looked the goods in this game. City will be hoping to get Ljubo Milicevic on the park as soon as possible, and for their newly assembled squad to start to gel.
Richmond would have been disappointed with their 2-2 draw at Melbourne City Youth if only for the fact that they squandered the lead twice. A late equaliser by the National Youth League Champions was the first of three draws in the division on the opening weekend. Good to see Andrew Viola back in white and skippering Alemannia.
Box Hill United had to start the season with a country road trip, and it resulted in a goalless affair at Murray United. The much publicised signing of Archie Thompson by Murray United did specify a short term stint rather than a long term commitment, and he did not take part in this game.
Springvale White Eagles also had to hit the road, coming back from their visit to the Goulburn Valley Suns with a 4-3 win. The White Eagles can score as readily as they concede, and after twice trailing, hit the front with a goal from Dejan Stoilovic in the 84th minute and held out for the win.
On Sunday it was a case of missed opportunities for the Eastern Lions as they blew a lead, and then a penalty to regain it, in their 1-1 draw with Nunawading City. City's idea that they now might have to win games to avoid relegation saw them splash out on some former A-League players in the off-season. It was indeed James Brown who earned them their point with his 51st minute equaliser.
NPL Two West
Moreland City and Werribee City commenced this division with a 1-1 draw, which may get a mention at South of the Border later in the week.
Sunshine (still, for now) George Cross staged a late fightback to come from two goals down to snatch a draw at Moreland Zebras. Adam Hodor was the Georgies hero with goals in the 81st and 86th minutes.
Championship favourites Northcote City strolled to a 5-0 win at Bendigo City. There were five different scorers for the rampant Northcote, while Bendigo racked up four yellow cards.
Brunswick City opened their campaign against another country team that has been rebranded/reformed in Ballarat (wait for it...) City. Sharp improvers last term, Brunswick are shaping to be contenders this season.
Whittlesea Ranges drew 0-0 with Melbourne Victory Youth. The number of corner flags remaining at Epping Stadium remains unknown.
Overall
Some of this information is gathered from Twitter, some from club websites, and a little bit from Soccer-Forum. In terms of the NPL website, it's time to audit the match information found on sportsg.com
To be considered COMPLETE, a match needs full details of goalscorers, cards and substitutions entered, as well as the squad list to indicate starting line-up and substitutes. To be considered ALMOST COMPLETE a match needs at least the scorers details and at least one team's line-up. I don't think I need to define RUBBISH.
After week one it's RUBBISH leading the way on 4, with COMPLETE and ALMOST COMPLETE on 3.
NPL Two East
I was in attendance, with a couple of thousand people probably, at the season opener at George Andrews Reserve on Friday night as two title contenders were expected to slug it out. Instead of an epic classic, it turned out to be lopsided like Quade Cooper's fight against the fat bloke on the Mundine/Green undercard. Dandenong City looked alright early on, but once Dandenong Thunder stepped up a gear the visitors were unable to keep up with them. Brandon Barnes, who probably has scored more goals than he's spent days in this country, was once again the star of the show. Thunder's bright start will probably have the naysayers predicting another choke like last season, but they certainly looked the goods in this game. City will be hoping to get Ljubo Milicevic on the park as soon as possible, and for their newly assembled squad to start to gel.
Richmond would have been disappointed with their 2-2 draw at Melbourne City Youth if only for the fact that they squandered the lead twice. A late equaliser by the National Youth League Champions was the first of three draws in the division on the opening weekend. Good to see Andrew Viola back in white and skippering Alemannia.
Box Hill United had to start the season with a country road trip, and it resulted in a goalless affair at Murray United. The much publicised signing of Archie Thompson by Murray United did specify a short term stint rather than a long term commitment, and he did not take part in this game.
Springvale White Eagles also had to hit the road, coming back from their visit to the Goulburn Valley Suns with a 4-3 win. The White Eagles can score as readily as they concede, and after twice trailing, hit the front with a goal from Dejan Stoilovic in the 84th minute and held out for the win.
On Sunday it was a case of missed opportunities for the Eastern Lions as they blew a lead, and then a penalty to regain it, in their 1-1 draw with Nunawading City. City's idea that they now might have to win games to avoid relegation saw them splash out on some former A-League players in the off-season. It was indeed James Brown who earned them their point with his 51st minute equaliser.
NPL Two West
Moreland City and Werribee City commenced this division with a 1-1 draw, which may get a mention at South of the Border later in the week.
Sunshine (still, for now) George Cross staged a late fightback to come from two goals down to snatch a draw at Moreland Zebras. Adam Hodor was the Georgies hero with goals in the 81st and 86th minutes.
Championship favourites Northcote City strolled to a 5-0 win at Bendigo City. There were five different scorers for the rampant Northcote, while Bendigo racked up four yellow cards.
Brunswick City opened their campaign against another country team that has been rebranded/reformed in Ballarat (wait for it...) City. Sharp improvers last term, Brunswick are shaping to be contenders this season.
Whittlesea Ranges drew 0-0 with Melbourne Victory Youth. The number of corner flags remaining at Epping Stadium remains unknown.
Overall
Some of this information is gathered from Twitter, some from club websites, and a little bit from Soccer-Forum. In terms of the NPL website, it's time to audit the match information found on sportsg.com
To be considered COMPLETE, a match needs full details of goalscorers, cards and substitutions entered, as well as the squad list to indicate starting line-up and substitutes. To be considered ALMOST COMPLETE a match needs at least the scorers details and at least one team's line-up. I don't think I need to define RUBBISH.
After week one it's RUBBISH leading the way on 4, with COMPLETE and ALMOST COMPLETE on 3.
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