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?

Just The Facts Ma'am - Part 1

The catchphrase "Just the facts, ma'am" is often attributed to the character Sgt. Joe Friday of pioneering U.S. television series Dragnet. The fact is, he never uttered those words. He would sometimes state "All we want are the facts, ma'am" or "All we know are the facts, ma'am" but it was a parody record by satirist Stan Freberg that led to the character having the catchphrase assigned to him. The movie L.A. Confidential features a television show called Badge of Honour, based on Dragnet, who's leading character uses the actual "Just the facts, ma'am" phrase.

So sometimes what is assumed to be a fact, really isn't. Myths can be formed from slight errors, but also deliberate lies can also come to be accepted as fact. There are many instances of both occurring in Australian football.

For many years, the wikipedia entry for goalkeeper Michael Turnbull was one of the great pieces of Australian fiction. Claiming almost 50 senior Socceroos caps, and more than that many first team appearances in the Serie A for Roma, the entry was taken as fact by ignorant journalists who pushed a story that he had knocked back a move to the Budesliga in late 2014. The entry had been toned down by the time he gained notoriety for embellishing his playing career on the "reality" tv series The Bachelorette. It's an example how falsehoods come into existence and can be accepted as truths, and why lazy media should be held to account.

Emile Damey

Former Nunawading City player Emile Damey gained some media exposure last year when he linked up with the Liberian national team for a training camp. This included a game, in which he scored, that the author of his wikipedia entry touts as his international debut.

                                               (Click on all images to enlarge)

Now I'm not sure what the status of the game against Morocco was, but neither FIFA for the Liberian FA seemed to recognise it as a full international.

In the last few days that entry has been changed to note the game was against the Moroccan Under 23 team. His goals and appearances record for Nunawading City has also been amended. From 25 games and 10 goals across 2015-16 it now claims 13 games for 7 goals in 2015 and 19 games for 3 goals in 2016. The actual truth - who knows but I wouldn't trust that wikipedia page.

Sadly, some have.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/dream-continues-after-african-adventure-437160

"Liberia were beaten by Tunisia in their final qualifying game with Damey failing to feature, however he did play in a friendly against Morocco, scoring with his first touch."

Reading that one would assume the friendly was a full International. It wasn't. Morocco's actual national team played a friendly the following day, in Albania. It's an important clarification that needed to be made, the fact that it wasn't makes you question the motives of those that published it.

South Melbourne

South Melbourne certainly has a long and storied history. Founded in 1959 as South Melbourne Hellas the club has won numerous titles in National and State competitions and represented Australia on the world stage at the World Club Cup.

In 2009 the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) awarded South Melbourne the title of Oceania Club of the Century and presented them with this trophy:

The club, and others, have since referred to this award as if it was issued by FIFA.

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/labor-government-secures-south-melbournes-future-at-lakeside-stadium/

FIFA only issued one award for Club of the Century, to Real Madrid in December 2000. Real were presented with this trophy:

Real Madrid also picked up a trophy from the IFFHS in 2009 for European Club of the Century. Penarol, Asante Kotoko, Al-Hilal and Saprissa also collected IFFHS awarded for their respective Confederational Clubs of the Century. 

Now undoubtedly a FIFA award is more prestigious than an IFFHS one, simply because most people would ask "Who?" if you brought up IFFHS while with FIFA they would know who you were talking about. Looking at the South Melbourne trophy it's clear to see it's an IFFHS one given the number of times/panels IFFHS appears on it.

For a club which rightly demands more respect for Australian football's past, it could do without the embellishment. When you play around with history you diminish it's credibility, and that does the game no favours.

FFV 2017 Media Strategy

Just before Christmas I was sent a link by the FFV to their media team's strategy email and video to NPL clubs for 2017. I was invited to pass comment and blog on the video as I pleased, which I shall now do.

Clubs filming their games is a part of the NPL license agreement, and the FFV will be looking to enforce this more strictly this year. Which is fair enough, but if points deductions ever become part of the punishment for a rules breach in this area, well that will be the end of taking the competition seriously and you won't see me at a game again.

Having been involved at an under-resourced club, it makes me wonder how I'd have gone filming the last ten minutes of the first half when it was time to go to the dressing room. That was when I'd clean up after the Under 21's, pour 30 cups of drink, top up the drinks containers, get some ice bags ready for injuries and generally get set for the half-time break.

Filming games must obviously pose issues for some clubs. Finding reliable volunteers is not easy. Finding reliable volunteers without vested interests is harder still. Would it be right to put pressure on a coach to start little Johnnie in the Under 20's because after three weeks on the bench his father is making noises about not wanting to film games anymore? Of course, you can always pay someone to do it. That only increases costs though, and we know it doesn't take much to get people whinging about that.

The erosion of volunteer culture does concern me. There is now a vicious circle, with high fees leaving people less likely to volunteer. People paying $1500-2000 a season for their children to play probably feel that amount entitles them not to have to do anything. When you start having to pay people for jobs/roles that used to be done by volunteers, the pressure to increase fees will also rise.

It was not that long ago that it was only the coaches, players and physios getting paid at a club. Now it may include team managers, videographers and bar and canteen staff. With crowds declining (and income going with it) it's a worrying trend.

One of the main points of the strategy video is to improve standards of match footage to avoid a park football-look. This includes filming from elevated areas near the half-way line, which are not behind closed windows. Drowning the highlights package in doof doof music is also a no no (YAY!). Not a lot I can disagree with in what they say, other than if they don't want a park football look what is everyone supposed to do regarding goals conceded by Nunawading City?

The FFV website will also be less of a news source and more a resources hub. Now if there are video highlights packages from every game, it does make match reports redundant. The couple of years the FFV had independent match reports from all NPL games will always be fondly recalled though, especially since they contained team line-ups and substitutions that didn't always seem to quite make it onto the Sportingpulse results service.

Amid all the talk of commercial profiles and brands, hopefully the strategy is built around getting more people to games.

George Campbell Returns To Aberdeen

Since the beginning of the game in Melbourne, the Scots have been significant contributors to Victorian football. Many early games were drawn along Scotland v England lines, before Harry Dockerty would revive organised competitions in 1909. The importation of Scottish players throughout the 1950's and 1960's saw the standard of Australian football rise to a level which saw the Socceroos able to qualify for the 1974 World Cup Finals.

The signing of a young Scot by South Melbourne Hellas in 1978 created a stir in the football scene, as covered in Soccer Action at the time:

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.11 - Wednesday April 19, 1978

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.15 - Wednesday May 10, 1978

George Campbell had been the youngest ever player to play for Aberdeen. He came on a sixteen year old substitute against Morton in 1975 to make his First Division (current Premiership) debut. Hellas paid a record fee of $20,000 to secure the skillful, tricky youngster already dubbed "The White Pele". In five seasons at Middle Park he would score 17 goals from 104 appearances with the club reaching a best ever NSL placing to that point when Runner's-Up in 1981.

                                               George Campbell at Aberdeen


In 1983 Campbell made the move to NSL rivals Preston Makedonia where he played for three seasons before a transfer to Green Gully in 1986. During his time in the NSL the former Scottish Youth International would occasionally feature for the Victorian State Team. Some of these games included the 2-1 win over Dundee in 1978 and a thrilling 2-3 loss to a star-studded New York Cosmos in 1983.

His time in the NSL was followed by stints with Box Hill (1987-1989) and Fawkner (1989) in the VSL (current NPL). He then continued playing in the lower State League with Nunawading City, then Ringwood City, Knox City and Banyule City until 1998. After an early broken leg which scuppered plans for a return to Scottish League football he would enjoy a career spanning 20 years in Melbourne.

Since retiring as a player he has been coaching in club, academy and school capacities. As well as roles with the FFV and Xavier College he has been involved with the Youth teams at Essendon Royals, Northcote City and his current club Dandenong Thunder.

In October this year he returned to Scotland for a reunion lunch for the anniversary of Aberdeen's 1976 Scottish League Cup win. A special programme was made for the event:

                                            

It's fantastic to see a club that celebrates it's past in such a manner. Well done to George on his achievements and his continued involvement in the local game.

                                                      (Click on images to enlarge)

Mini Club Histories

The following pocket club histories are taken from the "About the Visitors" section of Moorabbin City Matchday programmes from between 1978-1981.

Caulfield City:

Clayton:

Corio:

Essendon Triestina:

Ferntree Gully:

Frankston Pines:

Geelong:

Hamlyn Rangers:

Hawthorn Citizens:

Karingal:

Keysborough:

Monash University:

Mornington:

North Dandenong:

Nunawading City:

Ringwood United:

Rosebud:

Sandringham City:

Sunbury United:

Werribee City:

Some are still around, some of these clubs have died, some changed their names and some merged or amalgamated with others.

                                                      (Click on images to enlarge)