With the 2nd team in Melbourne, MV did not want South anywhere near the comp, they were petrified of losing Greek support and sponsorship (understandably) That said it would have worked and been a far better rivalry than what we ended up with. Essentially our games version of Adelaide Crows v Port Adelaide (new v old). As for the past, South had very healthy crowds in the nsl, it was a semi pro comp, and Melbourne had a much much smaller population at the time. They wouldnt be bigger than MV but they'd have City and Western covered easily. Current npl crowds have little relevance. Nobody turns up to Wollongong games either but if they were in the A league they'd be a bigger regional club than the Mariners, nobody turns up Victorys npl games in winter either, the npl is not built for crowds, it competes against all the state leagues, junior comps and afl/nrl.
South in the A-League would top 20,000 for each home game. This would not be Victory fans leaving that club for South, that would all of us South fans who shun the A-League at the moment because there's nothing there for us
I went to the South vs Macarthur game about 2 months ago. Crowd was somewhere north of 4k. They didn't pack out the stadium, but I would argue it was a very impressive crowd for a tier 2 club, that doesn't have the infrastructure or marketing that any of the national clubs do (not to mention is a club that draws its supporter base almost exclusively from Melbourne's Greek community, and likely isn't able to corner a broader market the way that our national clubs do). It's also more or less what Western United are pulling in when they play home fixtures (their home game vs City this season drew under 4500). I understand the broader logistical issues with bringing STH to the A-League (Melbourne's market being oversaturated with 3 clubs, being a club with ethnic heritage, player wages, securing sponsors/TV deals, etc), but the idea of a club like STH playing at the national level is pretty lit.
@Kan1998s who goes to NPL games? All of nobody. In the poorly run and promoted NSL, South averaged attendances of close to 10,000 and the marquee games pushed crowds up to whatever ground capacities allowed, whether or was 25,000 at Olympic Park or 15,000 at Middle Park. This club has pulling power if it's playing in a worthwhile competition. You think it wouldn't double the combined home crowds of City and Western United combined? That's laughable
Amazing video. Just another reminder that these are the teams that will help grow proper Football in Australia not this restricted A-League. I want an opportunity to grow for all teams whether it be in South Melbourne, Sunshine Coast or Tasmania. Time to let the shackles off and open the game to all with equal opportunity and relying on communities to get behind their local team and help them grow and progress.
Interesting that the best Australian socceroos team ever was made from players from the old national league before to , all players in the team played in top flight leagues and teams all over the world. In fact, losing to Italy in a controversial penalty decision. Remember, Italy then went on to win the world cup. A league is unsustainable ,with no Westfield's or foxtel sponsors it is only a matter of time before it collapses.
Everyone goes on and on about how well supported they are. I’ve been to a few of their NPL home games this year and it’d be a stretch to say there was 200 people at each game
They got over 10k across their three Australia Cup home games this year and their game against Preston was the biggest outside of the A-League last year attracted 6k.
This whole Narrative that South Melbourne are well supported is bullshit the only NPL Club with decent support is Preston and even they average less then Western United and Macarthur
Thank you for this well researched video. My dad and I used to attend all the South Melbourne matches from the late 60s until about the mid 80s. I was born here and always preferred to call them South Melbourne as opposed to Dad who used to always call them Hellas. Dad was a hard working labourer, and going to see South Melbourne was his one opportunity every week to catch up with friends and relatives, blame the ref for everything, and enjoy a game of football. Dad is now 85 and watches the A-League religiously on Paramount plus. He likes Melbourne Victory and often slips into calling them Hellas, which makes me smile. I always hoped that South would eventually end up in the A-League, honouring it's historical roots while at the same time remodelling itself for a broader Australian audience. That sadly seems unlikely in the current circumstances. In any case as lovers of football, my dad and I hope that the Australian game finds a way to keep growing and that we get to the world cup again in 2026🤞.
There is no need to remodeled yourself into anything.. to embrace anything or anyone. Theres plenty of examples in domestic leagues around the world. Yet in South America for eg. You have Audax Italiano, Palestino FC and Union Española... Does this degrade the sport or cause racial tensions? No. Would they get more fans if they changed their names and logos? Doubtful... Remodelling themselves to the Lakers is what killed them. If any of those clubs in south america remodelled themselves , they be defunct - long ago.
"spent decades growing the game" but that's the problem right there. The game wasn't growing. The possible audience was basically capped at ever-decreasing numbers as the pensioners who founded the clubs dropped away and no one replaced them.
Clearly you never went to any NSL games. The games I went to regularly from the mid 90's until the NSL ended had three generations of fans, the grandparents who were there at the beginning, their children and their grandchildren. The problem wasn't the clubs, it was the administrators of the competition who had no clue
Appreciate your content and very good work all-round. I do think there's a lot of stuff that is disputed though when it comes to South. First of all, the biggest one is this whole topic of "Oceania Club of the Century". There was never any official FIFA award for that. It was something given out by a glorified historical society in the "International Football Federation of History and Statistics (IFFHS)". Massively embellished by South fans as you'd imagine, and it has been portrayed as some sort of officially sanctioned global award when it is nothing of the sort. Also, while mistakes were definitely made in the early days of the A-League with their approach, you can't argue with the results in Melbourne. The creation of MV was the single greatest decision for pro football in the country, let alone Victoria. It was, and still is, an entity that united the tribes like no other. Since then the decisions around Heart and more recently Western United were extremely questionable given there was no public/grassroots demand for either. They were both top-down decisions with questionable results. I also question this idea about NSL clubs and the idea of exclusion. For those that followed the code during that era, we remember well just how bankrupt the league and its clubs were. Not just financially, but a clear inability to cut through to the mainstream. This all happened at a time when sports locally and globally were becoming corporatised and professional. Like it or not, community based clubs were not best placed to make this sort of transition, particularly on a terrain like that of Australia where a) the lion's share of the corporate dollar was/is soaked up by other sports and b) the lack of interest in 2nd tier leagues of any code. Even the most well-capitalised sports in the country, there's very little interest in the 2nd tier. There's no easy explanation for all this. It's partly cultural, partly geographical, and of course as you have identified, financial. Things are changing though, even if the pace is glacial. But I do push back on the idea that South have been excluded on some sort of racial line. That's just not a true reflection of what has happened these past 20 years since the inception of the A-League. The A-League has done more to bring all ethnicities to the sport at the highest level than any other competition in the country. One Greek origin club not being part of the top flight doesn't mean ethnic exclusion. The fact that they are the only club that has been moaning for all this time is more about their ego than anything else.
Have to say, if Sydney FC ever play South Melbourne in the Australia Cup, I want them to bring the OFC Champions League trophy to a press conference as SM always brings out the OFC Club on the Century thing. It makes it funnier as they have one each.
The fact that the available Melbourne license has been taken so many times by consortiums with deep pockets but no footballing history or heritage has diminished the competition as a worthwhile spectacle. I'm a South fan from way back and still have a membership and will never support an A-League club unless it's South. When you look at Heart/City and Western United, it's pitiful that most games these clubs play are played in empty stadia which shows the league is not appealing to the Australian public it was marketed to. Clubs like South would bring existing passionate fan bases and fans through turnstiles. I was there when South opened the Lakeside stadium with a game against West Adelaide, we were all on the terraces crotch to butt so more of us could fit in and watch Jimmy Tsekinis tear our team apart. No A-League club has this, they are just teams playing in expensive stadia too big for their markets in most cases. The A-League will not be sustainable until all fans are welcome, both "old soccer" and "new football"
Everyone needs to keep in mind the NSL was a semi professional competition. We dreamed of having a fully pro league for decades until the A-League. Never forget that, and it is still running after 20 years. I don't know why South Melbourne wants to go to the A-League. They would need some serious money behind them to even attempt it. As for the league itself, if they can get a decent tv deal then it will roll on. If not, then the nostalgics might get their wish and we can go back to semi pro 'traditional teams' with their 500 to 2000 strong attendances. People that think the NSL was something special never went, those that did see it in the NPL every weekend over the winter and they are all derby matches. Teams from interstate you can slash the gates even more.
S.M should have been in the a-league from the very start. The a-league got lucky with how popular victory was. The expansion clubs in vic have been underwhelming.
Devastated, Soul Destroyed, Furious. That's me, to a "T". Was a devoted fan of Australian soccer from 1990 to the death of the NSL. Have never, and will never, follow the A-League or any of the National Teams, as it's clear that South will never be allowed to participate.
You're forgetting they tried doing the same thing they did with CCM in the early years but with the Nix, who also denied entertaining the idea of selling the licence.
It seems a real shame that Souths home ground became an athletics ground. I dont particularly like them but they would be an interesting inclusion. They didnt draw that many fans to their big Australia Cup matches though.
@al1979rocker Wollongong have drawn that - but possibly a fair comment. I think South are solid second division material like Sydney United, but not first.
Attended the most recent match they played at Lakeside, vs Macarthur. Attendance was around 4k. That's about what Western United is pulling in domestic league fixtures. Would probably pull 6 or 7 thousand in non-derby fixtures if they were added to the national competition. Home games vs Victory would likely draw crowds so big, that the matches would get moved to AAMI Park.
@julesdalli9716 Sure but Western United were regularly getting 6k as nomads before Corona, they are in a growing area and have a long-term vision, whilst they were nomads they were a joke ofc no-one is defending them but If we look down the track they will do fine, they already have a good academy and facility and a solid base. This is absolutely not to take anything away from South.
South Australia only has one club in the a-leauge sadly. But I hope in the near future we can see some NPLSA teams join the a-leauge since they all have good youth development and mens teams full of success.
Don't know if their older fans, 65 plus that live 45 out from the city would attend their home games at Bob Jane with parking restrictions in & around the city so tough these days. If South go back in, u have to let Preston back in as well to get the big crowds back into the A league so the clubs can sell some tickets(otherwise its empty stands for all)
South doesnt deserve a spot, if anything Heidelberg would be more deserving and could be a representative of the Northern regions rather than have 3 clubs in the central Melbourne's region.
@@ArachKing thats a fact but doesnf make them less deserving. Has had huge success both on and off the field in npl with the club being in a great spot currently.
Seriously, they're not the only former NSL clubs who deserve an opportunity. Don't give me this rubbish that they're the most decorated NSL team. If they are so good why did they only just manage 4k people to AC semi-final only 2 months ago. Based on that they wouldn't survive a year.
Same with Auckland City in New Zealand; hugely successful in a similar vein to Souths, but brushed aside for the A League in favour of the new Club, AFC.
No one supports Auckland City and they don't want to go pro for 2 reasons, the 1st being the money they receive from going to the FIFA Club World cup and the other being they would have to give up there pokie machines because of NZ laws around gambling and professional sport
TBF that’s a different situation bc Auckland City are an already-existing club from a country that isn’t a member of the Asian Confederation. In saying that, FIFA should’ve gotten serious about sorting out their(The Nix, and Auckland FC now too) continental-competition eligibility years ago.
Bagging the comp since day 1 probably hasn’t helped. If it’s so crap then make your own. Wait they did and they destroyed it from within. Ahh the NSL. Let’s never let that happen again. The second division imploding to a NPL champions league knockout is showing they are all talk.
I tend to agree with your thinking. I love and respect what ex NSL and now NPL clubs have done for the game in Australia. And to be fair the supporters and players at all of these clubs are a large part of the footballing base of Australia. I like that they have kept their identity e.g. you go down and watch an npl game and you can grab some food that represents their community. But this of course is sadly an Achilles heel for many of these clubs in terms of ever becoming a fully professional entity. There just is no scope for them to do this and be sustainable. But I definitely don’t like all the revisionism and complaining that comes from a lot of these crowds. It seems that some of these ex NSL boys just can’t see beyond their own backyard… We’ve tried the NSL. It broke down it would be even less viable today than back then. Love it or hate we need a small amount of teams to represent a chunk of a population. That’s the only way we have a feasible fully professional competition. If the a-league dies we have no professional game in this country. That’s literally an Armageddon scenario for the multiple millions of people in this country who like this sport. As for the new NST I too laugh at this. This group, the AAFC who are the group of NPL clubs agitating to make a second tier were talking it up about how good it’s gonna be and they’re gonna get sponsors and a broadcaster and supposedly it’s all viable ( yeah right 😂😂😂) and then they went crying to the FA to put it all together and fund it… now the same old men yelling at clouds from these clubs are complaining about the FA because they only want to do the champions league format. That’s because it’s not viable…. FA are actually doing their very best to get THEIR competition up off the ground. The question is: if the second tier agitators are so bullish about an NST then why didn’t they go alone and just make it happen without asking FA to do it for them??? Hmmmm 👀. Laughable.
South's fans have done a lot to sabotage their chances of playing in the top flight. I mean, what's with the 'We hate the A-League!' but also 'Let us into the A-League!' thing? Some of them (a minority) are rabid loonies.
The list of 'ambitiuous' clubs the mostly closed shop of the NSL frustrated is no less an a sin than the actions of the A-League administration. South Melbourne are the villain at least as often as they are the victim.
Face it! SMH were and are their own worst enemy! The best thing for a national competition is to go the way league was intended, the state leagues supply the teams and the tribalism stops there! One city one team! No corporates, no deluded tycoons and no gluttonous sponsors!
@@ALeagueCouchCritics while you are writing a list, the Brisbane Lions FC is an interesting club as well... from the time the entered the NSL to when they got relegated, and the promotion playoffs against West Adelaide... players like Nick Meredith and all the Dutch heritage. Just a suggestion, but you have a new follower now.
If City move to the South-East like rumored then I think in the long run South Melbourne is a viable expansion, but teams like Wollongong, Canberra, Ipswich/2nd Brisbane, and Gold Coast all deserve a fair shot first. Thats also under the assumption that South can keep up their general move away from being a club for Greeks. Nothing against different cultural diaspora's in Australia and clubs should certainly have a right to be proud of their history and heritage, but nationalism should have no part in our domestic top flight and these clubs should be marketed to all football fans (they can definitely keep the half time souvlaki's though)
So true.. the way South Melbourne and other NPL clubs are talked about by some. Its like they’re as big as dare I say it Collingwood, Essendon Carlton or Richmond in the AFL with 100k paid up members.
Well done mate as usual, your content really brings to light the true nature and landscape of the sport here. It genuinely baffles me that there are football fans here that justify the suppression of historical grassroots clubs that still have a significant presence within their locality, communities and the sport more broadly (and are constantly fighting an upwards battle in the process to remain competitive). This is also whilst passionately supporting clubs predominantly owned by businessmen and conglomerates who arguably have no serious vested interest or passion in the sport's development and are basically lobbying sporting bodies to constantly monopolise the A-league to keep the profits coming in from the top-tier amongst themselves. Although I don't have a huge problem with this in certain respects, it's the fact that this is significantly stymieing healthy competition and a more localised development of the sport.
12:48 I am 81years old and am 4th generation Australian. I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan I tried to get interested in Australian football but it was impossible for someone without a European heritage Besides, you took your life in your hands because of the violence. Why are the Matildas so popular? Easy. They are see 12:5012:5012:50
@@ArachKing Since FA cup win in 1961. My parents had just bought their first TV and this was the first football match that I had seen outside my local games. I remember feeling sorry for Leicester who were reduced to 10 men because of an injury. No replacements back in those days. As a result, I wasn't disappointed when Leicester won the Premier league recently. Us poor Spur fans live in hope that those glory days will return. Ange gave us us initial hope but that seems to be fading.
@@ArachKing No, I was born and raised in Sydney but I have been in Melbourne for the last 5 years because two of my kids have moved here for business. My wife and I emigrated to Canada in 1970 but returned unexpectedly in 1976 for personal reasons. While I was in Canada, I never placed an AUS sticker on my car etc. etc. I felt that was inappropriate and an insult to the new country which I had chosen to live in. I understand why Greek immigrants live in the same area because of language difficulties and I understand why they would be proud of their heritage but .... I don't understand it and the violence that accompanied the old NSL Maybe hatred caused by centuries of conflict between various ethnic groups in Europe is impossible to forget even when these people move to another country. My original post was cut short accidently. I asked why the Matildas are so popular and why they achieve higher TV ratings than either the NRL or AFL grand finals. For me the answer is easy; they are seen as being Australian rather than a group of European ethnic groups. Adding South Melbourne to the A league, or even the addition of the National Second Tier, simply confirms that "Soccer" is not for Australian men. Unfortunately I watched on TV the A league match in Melbourne when there was a pitch invasion at the 20 minute mark and the game cancelled. This reinforces that "soccer" in Australia is not a sport that families can safely attend. My daughter and her family have become AFL fans and attend AFL matches and enjoy it. AFL seems to be a sport which families can attend. Let me leave it at that.
Yes, the Matildas are seen as being ‘Australian’ by the mainstream because, wait for it.. ..the majority of the squad is literally made up of blonde/light-brunette skip(or -passing) sheilas, in contrast to ‘those reffo-heritage w0gs’ traditionally synonymous w/the Socceroos & mens’ game in this country in general..💡
Crazy that in a 13-minute video, you didn't once mention the real reasons, other than financial, why the FFA never considered South or any of the other ethnic-backed clubs for the A-League.
Using imagery of US currency for this video is mind boggling. Amazed no reference to the ‘ethnic’ roots, as it’s not just a money issue each and every time that denies them. They (the body running the game) don’t want supporters chanting “Hellas”, despite they have every right to.
Yeah unfortunately had to use US currency as that’s what was available in the free stock. I do mention a bit about the ‘ethnic roots’, but I don’t think the fans chanting “Hellas”.
@@SamDoesGamez What has worked? Attendance down, fan interest down, national team in massive decline, youth players not given opportunities and leave to go to bigger leagues and clubs so fans never see the new "stars" of the national team, move to paramount has been a failure etc. The only games where fans show up is the derbies, most of the expansion sides have been colossal failures. Turn off the playstation where there's packed crowds every game.
@@Loose89 League hit its low point during COVID but current stats show that Crowds and TV Viewership are trending upward and have been for a few seasons now
@ they did were do you think most Melb victory fans came from ? south Melbourne use to get big crowds at games at bob Jane Stadium you probably won't even around at that time and plus in the old NSL you had more teams from Victoria playing in it like Melbourne knights Brunswick Juventus CarltonFootscray JUST green gully Heidelberg United Mooroolbark Preston Lions and so many more when the a league started Melbourne victory was the only club playing the high league at the time now look when they added a 3rd team in Victoria they don't get no fans you don't know what your talking about
@ when. What year did they ever average over 10k, remembering Sydney and Wanderers only averaged below that when their stadiums were being built and Victory have never averaged below that. Been around for almost 5 decades so yeah I was.
@@OldmanGamer9999 did were do you think most Melb victory fans came from ? south Melbourne use to get big crowds at games at bob Jane Stadium you probably won't even around at that time and plus in the old NSL you had more teams from Victoria playing in it like Melbourne knights Brunswick Juventus CarltonFootscray JUST green gully Heidelberg United Mooroolbark Preston Lions and so many more when the a league started Melbourne victory was the only club playing the high league at the time now look when they added a 3rd team in Victoria they don't get no fans you don't know what your talking about
@@dkb2080 again what year did they average higher crowds for the year compared to Victory, Sydney or the Wanderers. You keep saying they did but so far haven’t shown a season/year that they did.
The A-League has alienated many long-time football supporters, leading to disunity within the football community. There are many people who simply cannot support the A-League, and when judging by the crowds, it's evident that you can't manufacture an atmosphere. Just look at the players we are producing today; the situation is concerning.
Mate, to be fair tho, played for another Greek club at NPL level a while ago. The setup was very ethnic and frankly, amateur given how soccer is supposed to be inclusive. Teams like these will bring racism back into Australian football and despite their history and significance, this is not wt we want Australian soccer to become
Definitely agree! Lowie’s intention was to let the home leagues run teams not private owners! Private ownership has stagnated the growth of the domestic league!
It’s not racism it’s protecting your identity. Is it racist that Basque based club Athletic Bilbao only get played from that region. No. It’s identity same way utd always have one academy player in the first team
@@JimmyT3073South Melbourne chewed up and spat out its supporters ! It only served to support the administration and the sponsors who behaved as they were the owners! Nothing was ever put back into the club or its infrastructure and if it wasn’t for the F1 track they’d still be sharing the tin shed with Hakoah!
Well the A league was created to omit the ethnic clubs, and you won't have promotion/relegation without including ethnic clubs too. FIFA should of stepped in a long time ago. Their silence is telling!
its because they made a Franchise system BS , like the NBA , NFL etc... those clubs in the A League are basically pawns of the A League . They arent true clubs... like other leagues in the world. They are franchises. like McDonalds
South Melbourne, Adelaide City and Marconi all deserve to be in the top tier. Is it likely to happen? sadly; no. After 20 years of mis-management at the top of Australian football, they have been left behind. Adelaide City and Marconi would not have the financial backing to do it now. South Melbourne may, however, Melbourne Victory have too much to lose and will never let it happen.
Cream always rises to the top. If South Melbourne are given an opportunity to get into the A league via either direct entry or promotion/relegation they will take over as the dominant team in Victoria and probably Australia. This team is beyond its ethnicity. All great clubs have links to a group whether it be ethinic or religious. Look at the AFL clubs. Collingwood was a Catholic club, Carlton was Protestant etc , they started out as these clubs and were allowed to flourish. All clubs have a nucleus and then they expand to the wider community. The current - A League set up is full of franchise clubs. Who wants to be loyal to a franchise? They are good for 10 years before the fans get bored of them. The A league is lame. No one cares about it. The NSL system produced the golden generation of Socceroos because the players were brought up playing games for clubs where the game meant something. The fan base of Melbourne Victory will be decimated if South Melbourne are allowed in top flight.
Multicultural clubs such as Sydney, Victory and Adelaide United are the present and future. Keep the monocultural clubs such as Hellas out of the A-League.
@@ALeagueCouchCritics The fact that if south got a license, they'd be pulling bigger numbers than victory. Know so many people that I played with growing up, or through futsal that have absolutely no interest in the a-league due to no South melbourne.
Won’t work the youth of hellas supporters won’t attend a league games.South had the support of our dads who are no longer around to support them them that made up the large crowd figures.
I think Souths exclusion is actually self-inflicted. South Melbourne Hellas Football Club (not to be confused with the VFL South Melbourne Football Club) has too much NSL baggage to it: an ethnic based club that covers a small area. Yes, South Melbourne is a small suburb. A wise approach would be to ditch the South Melbourne name and the Hellas background. Calling it Southern FC with red and white instead of blue would actually gain more area appeal, more investors and more consideration from the A-League itself. But then again, common sense and a broad appeal is something lacking in A-League...
@@paulorockyUstase clubs are scary honestly. Never been to a game, don’t want to, anyone would get bashed looking at them. Melbourne Knights have a fucking face statue of Ante Pavelic in their lobby, that shouldn’t even be allowed.
@@louisk8125great point! These ‘next tier’ clubs have known political agendas and ‘underworld’ connections…the game is going backwards but it will go back even faster! They just siphon out funds!
Just to make it clear about what I see with the Artificially Created A League founded in 2004,As a Preston Lions Supporter The only top flight Football League that I know as the Biggest in Australia is the NSL In England they have the EPL In Australia we have the NPL or Thanks to those who destroyed the NSL If it was up to me I would call it the APL and with out any push me shove yours all the NSL CLUBS would be Number one Priority and then The A League clubs would have their way But unfortunately this is not England
Glad I found an A-League channel. Not many of them but when you find them they’re really enjoyable to watch. Nice video mate
With the 2nd team in Melbourne, MV did not want South anywhere near the comp, they were petrified of losing Greek support and sponsorship (understandably)
That said it would have worked and been a far better rivalry than what we ended up with. Essentially our games version of Adelaide Crows v Port Adelaide (new v old).
As for the past, South had very healthy crowds in the nsl, it was a semi pro comp, and Melbourne had a much much smaller population at the time. They wouldnt be bigger than MV but they'd have City and Western covered easily.
Current npl crowds have little relevance. Nobody turns up to Wollongong games either but if they were in the A league they'd be a bigger regional club than the Mariners, nobody turns up Victorys npl games in winter either, the npl is not built for crowds, it competes against all the state leagues, junior comps and afl/nrl.
Very well said
South in the A-League would top 20,000 for each home game. This would not be Victory fans leaving that club for South, that would all of us South fans who shun the A-League at the moment because there's nothing there for us
I went to the South vs Macarthur game about 2 months ago. Crowd was somewhere north of 4k. They didn't pack out the stadium, but I would argue it was a very impressive crowd for a tier 2 club, that doesn't have the infrastructure or marketing that any of the national clubs do (not to mention is a club that draws its supporter base almost exclusively from Melbourne's Greek community, and likely isn't able to corner a broader market the way that our national clubs do).
It's also more or less what Western United are pulling in when they play home fixtures (their home game vs City this season drew under 4500).
I understand the broader logistical issues with bringing STH to the A-League (Melbourne's market being oversaturated with 3 clubs, being a club with ethnic heritage, player wages, securing sponsors/TV deals, etc), but the idea of a club like STH playing at the national level is pretty lit.
@@peterkotsonis2535good joke 😂. You lot can’t even get 100 people to an NPL game, what makes you think you can get 20,000?
@Kan1998s who goes to NPL games? All of nobody. In the poorly run and promoted NSL, South averaged attendances of close to 10,000 and the marquee games pushed crowds up to whatever ground capacities allowed, whether or was 25,000 at Olympic Park or 15,000 at Middle Park. This club has pulling power if it's playing in a worthwhile competition. You think it wouldn't double the combined home crowds of City and Western United combined? That's laughable
Any updates on Canberra United FC (ALM) and Macarthur FC (ALW)?
Auckland FC (ALW) joining that comp next season.
Amazing video. Just another reminder that these are the teams that will help grow proper Football in Australia not this restricted A-League. I want an opportunity to grow for all teams whether it be in South Melbourne, Sunshine Coast or Tasmania. Time to let the shackles off and open the game to all with equal opportunity and relying on communities to get behind their local team and help them grow and progress.
Interesting that the best Australian socceroos team ever was made from players from the old national league before to , all players in the team played in top flight leagues and teams all over the world. In fact, losing to Italy in a controversial penalty decision. Remember, Italy then went on to win the world cup. A league is unsustainable ,with no Westfield's or foxtel sponsors it is only a matter of time before it collapses.
Everyone goes on and on about how well supported they are. I’ve been to a few of their NPL home games this year and it’d be a stretch to say there was 200 people at each game
They got over 10k across their three Australia Cup home games this year and their game against Preston was the biggest outside of the A-League last year attracted 6k.
you cant compare NPL to if they were in the Aleague.
@@da45ep correct, has 0 relevance.
This whole Narrative that South Melbourne are well supported is bullshit the only NPL Club with decent support is Preston and even they average less then Western United and Macarthur
Agree in that their attendances, in their bigger matches, haven't been exactly promising.
Thank you for this well researched video. My dad and I used to attend all the South Melbourne matches from the late 60s until about the mid 80s. I was born here and always preferred to call them South Melbourne as opposed to Dad who used to always call them Hellas. Dad was a hard working labourer, and going to see South Melbourne was his one opportunity every week to catch up with friends and relatives, blame the ref for everything, and enjoy a game of football.
Dad is now 85 and watches the A-League religiously on Paramount plus. He likes Melbourne Victory and often slips into calling them Hellas, which makes me smile.
I always hoped that South would eventually end up in the A-League, honouring it's historical roots while at the same time remodelling itself for a broader Australian audience. That sadly seems unlikely in the current circumstances. In any case as lovers of football, my dad and I hope that the Australian game finds a way to keep growing and that we get to the world cup again in 2026🤞.
There is no need to remodeled yourself into anything.. to embrace anything or anyone.
Theres plenty of examples in domestic leagues around the world. Yet in South America for eg. You have Audax Italiano, Palestino FC and Union Española...
Does this degrade the sport or cause racial tensions? No. Would they get more fans if they changed their names and logos? Doubtful...
Remodelling themselves to the Lakers is what killed them. If any of those clubs in south america remodelled themselves , they be defunct - long ago.
"spent decades growing the game" but that's the problem right there. The game wasn't growing. The possible audience was basically capped at ever-decreasing numbers as the pensioners who founded the clubs dropped away and no one replaced them.
How old are you?
@@evanbinoswhy? How old are you?
Clearly you never went to any NSL games. The games I went to regularly from the mid 90's until the NSL ended had three generations of fans, the grandparents who were there at the beginning, their children and their grandchildren. The problem wasn't the clubs, it was the administrators of the competition who had no clue
“Corporate money” pretty much sums up the world, not just the world of football.
Just look at the English soccer pyramid, deep pockets needed for the EFL, if you don't have that then don't apply.
Appreciate your content and very good work all-round.
I do think there's a lot of stuff that is disputed though when it comes to South. First of all, the biggest one is this whole topic of "Oceania Club of the Century". There was never any official FIFA award for that. It was something given out by a glorified historical society in the "International Football Federation of History and Statistics (IFFHS)". Massively embellished by South fans as you'd imagine, and it has been portrayed as some sort of officially sanctioned global award when it is nothing of the sort.
Also, while mistakes were definitely made in the early days of the A-League with their approach, you can't argue with the results in Melbourne. The creation of MV was the single greatest decision for pro football in the country, let alone Victoria. It was, and still is, an entity that united the tribes like no other. Since then the decisions around Heart and more recently Western United were extremely questionable given there was no public/grassroots demand for either. They were both top-down decisions with questionable results.
I also question this idea about NSL clubs and the idea of exclusion. For those that followed the code during that era, we remember well just how bankrupt the league and its clubs were. Not just financially, but a clear inability to cut through to the mainstream. This all happened at a time when sports locally and globally were becoming corporatised and professional. Like it or not, community based clubs were not best placed to make this sort of transition, particularly on a terrain like that of Australia where a) the lion's share of the corporate dollar was/is soaked up by other sports and b) the lack of interest in 2nd tier leagues of any code. Even the most well-capitalised sports in the country, there's very little interest in the 2nd tier. There's no easy explanation for all this. It's partly cultural, partly geographical, and of course as you have identified, financial.
Things are changing though, even if the pace is glacial. But I do push back on the idea that South have been excluded on some sort of racial line. That's just not a true reflection of what has happened these past 20 years since the inception of the A-League. The A-League has done more to bring all ethnicities to the sport at the highest level than any other competition in the country. One Greek origin club not being part of the top flight doesn't mean ethnic exclusion. The fact that they are the only club that has been moaning for all this time is more about their ego than anything else.
Well said! There seem to be many NSL old heads who do nothing but moan, and I would say, fail to look at the big picture.
Your last paragraph is the very definition of racism. Excluding one group because they are not multicultural is exactly what racism is.
Have to say, if Sydney FC ever play South Melbourne in the Australia Cup, I want them to bring the OFC Champions League trophy to a press conference as SM always brings out the OFC Club on the Century thing. It makes it funnier as they have one each.
Thanks
Thank you so much for your support!
The fact that the available Melbourne license has been taken so many times by consortiums with deep pockets but no footballing history or heritage has diminished the competition as a worthwhile spectacle. I'm a South fan from way back and still have a membership and will never support an A-League club unless it's South. When you look at Heart/City and Western United, it's pitiful that most games these clubs play are played in empty stadia which shows the league is not appealing to the Australian public it was marketed to. Clubs like South would bring existing passionate fan bases and fans through turnstiles. I was there when South opened the Lakeside stadium with a game against West Adelaide, we were all on the terraces crotch to butt so more of us could fit in and watch Jimmy Tsekinis tear our team apart. No A-League club has this, they are just teams playing in expensive stadia too big for their markets in most cases. The A-League will not be sustainable until all fans are welcome, both "old soccer" and "new football"
Another great video and summary of events for SMFC.... who deserve better and at least a real chance to have had a go at it I feel.
Everyone needs to keep in mind the NSL was a semi professional competition. We dreamed of having a fully pro league for decades until the A-League. Never forget that, and it is still running after 20 years. I don't know why South Melbourne wants to go to the A-League. They would need some serious money behind them to even attempt it. As for the league itself, if they can get a decent tv deal then it will roll on. If not, then the nostalgics might get their wish and we can go back to semi pro 'traditional teams' with their 500 to 2000 strong attendances. People that think the NSL was something special never went, those that did see it in the NPL every weekend over the winter and they are all derby matches. Teams from interstate you can slash the gates even more.
S.M should have been in the a-league from the very start. The a-league got lucky with how popular victory was. The expansion clubs in vic have been underwhelming.
Devastated, Soul Destroyed, Furious. That's me, to a "T". Was a devoted fan of Australian soccer from 1990 to the death of the NSL. Have never, and will never, follow the A-League or any of the National Teams, as it's clear that South will never be allowed to participate.
You're forgetting they tried doing the same thing they did with CCM in the early years but with the Nix, who also denied entertaining the idea of selling the licence.
Every top tier competition everywhere in the cosmos is about money.
It seems a real shame that Souths home ground became an athletics ground. I dont particularly like them but they would be an interesting inclusion. They didnt draw that many fans to their big Australia Cup matches though.
4000 on a midweek night is insanely bigger than anyone else would draw. What if they played prime time, with good promotion?
@al1979rocker Wollongong have drawn that - but possibly a fair comment. I think South are solid second division material like Sydney United, but not first.
@@al1979rocker It was a Sunday night with a delayed kick-off due to a Storm
Attended the most recent match they played at Lakeside, vs Macarthur. Attendance was around 4k. That's about what Western United is pulling in domestic league fixtures. Would probably pull 6 or 7 thousand in non-derby fixtures if they were added to the national competition. Home games vs Victory would likely draw crowds so big, that the matches would get moved to AAMI Park.
@julesdalli9716 Sure but Western United were regularly getting 6k as nomads before Corona, they are in a growing area and have a long-term vision, whilst they were nomads they were a joke ofc no-one is defending them but If we look down the track they will do fine, they already have a good academy and facility and a solid base. This is absolutely not to take anything away from South.
The A League will never be complete without South Melbourne in it.
Pure and simple.
I’m a victory fan but support south too. But the a league just don’t want them in the league everyone knows that they aren’t that good.
South Australia only has one club in the a-leauge sadly. But I hope in the near future we can see some NPLSA teams join the a-leauge since they all have good youth development and mens teams full of success.
Don't know if their older fans, 65 plus that live 45 out from the city would attend their home games at Bob Jane with parking restrictions in & around the city so tough these days. If South go back in, u have to let Preston back in as well to get the big crowds back into the A league so the clubs can sell some tickets(otherwise its empty stands for all)
South doesnt deserve a spot, if anything Heidelberg would be more deserving and could be a representative of the Northern regions rather than have 3 clubs in the central Melbourne's region.
Your mob’s been out of top-flight ⚽️ in this country for longer than they have..
@@ArachKing They both played in NPL this year....
I don't understand how Preston was granted a license based on their history
@@nathankav3650 So what? Heidelberg last played national-league football in 1994-95; 10 years before South did..
@@ArachKing thats a fact but doesnf make them less deserving. Has had huge success both on and off the field in npl with the club being in a great spot currently.
Seriously, they're not the only former NSL clubs who deserve an opportunity. Don't give me this rubbish that they're the most decorated NSL team. If they are so good why did they only just manage 4k people to AC semi-final only 2 months ago. Based on that they wouldn't survive a year.
Same with Auckland City in New Zealand; hugely successful in a similar vein to Souths, but brushed aside for the A League in favour of the new Club, AFC.
No one supports Auckland City and they don't want to go pro for 2 reasons, the 1st being the money they receive from going to the FIFA Club World cup and the other being they would have to give up there pokie machines because of NZ laws around gambling and professional sport
I doubt any pre-existing club in NZ had the financials for the A League.
TBF that’s a different situation bc Auckland City are an already-existing club from a country that isn’t a member of the Asian Confederation. In saying that, FIFA should’ve gotten serious about sorting out their(The Nix, and Auckland FC now too) continental-competition eligibility years ago.
Auckland City probably wouldn't want to join as they make too much money off CWC appearances.
Great video lads
Bagging the comp since day 1 probably hasn’t helped. If it’s so crap then make your own. Wait they did and they destroyed it from within. Ahh the NSL. Let’s never let that happen again.
The second division imploding to a NPL champions league knockout is showing they are all talk.
I tend to agree with your thinking. I love and respect what ex NSL and now NPL clubs have done for the game in Australia. And to be fair the supporters and players at all of these clubs are a large part of the footballing base of Australia. I like that they have kept their identity e.g. you go down and watch an npl game and you can grab some food that represents their community. But this of course is sadly an Achilles heel for many of these clubs in terms of ever becoming a fully professional entity. There just is no scope for them to do this and be sustainable.
But I definitely don’t like all the revisionism and complaining that comes from a lot of these crowds. It seems that some of these ex NSL boys just can’t see beyond their own backyard… We’ve tried the NSL. It broke down it would be even less viable today than back then. Love it or hate we need a small amount of teams to represent a chunk of a population. That’s the only way we have a feasible fully professional competition. If the a-league dies we have no professional game in this country. That’s literally an Armageddon scenario for the multiple millions of people in this country who like this sport.
As for the new NST I too laugh at this. This group, the AAFC who are the group of NPL clubs agitating to make a second tier were talking it up about how good it’s gonna be and they’re gonna get sponsors and a broadcaster and supposedly it’s all viable ( yeah right 😂😂😂) and then they went crying to the FA to put it all together and fund it… now the same old men yelling at clouds from these clubs are complaining about the FA because they only want to do the champions league format. That’s because it’s not viable…. FA are actually doing their very best to get THEIR competition up off the ground. The question is: if the second tier agitators are so bullish about an NST then why didn’t they go alone and just make it happen without asking FA to do it for them??? Hmmmm 👀. Laughable.
@@shottskies You have no idea about the history of Australian football. A-League is struggling much like the NSL
@truebeliever4488 feel free to fill us all in mate
South's fans have done a lot to sabotage their chances of playing in the top flight.
I mean, what's with the 'We hate the A-League!' but also 'Let us into the A-League!' thing?
Some of them (a minority) are rabid loonies.
@@truebeliever4488 struggling yes. But still gets games sold out at a big level and gets ratings for big games. NSL did not.
The list of 'ambitiuous' clubs the mostly closed shop of the NSL frustrated is no less an a sin than the actions of the A-League administration. South Melbourne are the villain at least as often as they are the victim.
Well played. Keep up the good work.
Southern Cross. Such a perfect name.
So Western United had the corporate dollars??
Face it! SMH were and are their own worst enemy! The best thing for a national competition is to go the way league was intended, the state leagues supply the teams and the tribalism stops there! One city one team! No corporates, no deluded tycoons and no gluttonous sponsors!
The national competition has been ‘balkanised’!
Can you now do a video about Mooroolbark somehow playing at that level?
I’ll put it on the ideas list
@@ALeagueCouchCritics while you are writing a list, the Brisbane Lions FC is an interesting club as well... from the time the entered the NSL to when they got relegated, and the promotion playoffs against West Adelaide... players like Nick Meredith and all the Dutch heritage. Just a suggestion, but you have a new follower now.
If City move to the South-East like rumored then I think in the long run South Melbourne is a viable expansion, but teams like Wollongong, Canberra, Ipswich/2nd Brisbane, and Gold Coast all deserve a fair shot first. Thats also under the assumption that South can keep up their general move away from being a club for Greeks. Nothing against different cultural diaspora's in Australia and clubs should certainly have a right to be proud of their history and heritage, but nationalism should have no part in our domestic top flight and these clubs should be marketed to all football fans (they can definitely keep the half time souvlaki's though)
With what fans will south be successful in the A League??
So true.. the way South Melbourne and other NPL clubs are talked about by some. Its like they’re as big as dare I say it Collingwood, Essendon Carlton or Richmond in the AFL with 100k paid up members.
The National Second Tier is a joke. An FA cup style competition is not even what was wanted or originally planned.
The mad lad did it. Cheers legend.
I think the commentator has overlooked the ethnic issue. We can't go back to those days.
A little culture didn't hurt anyone. In fact, culture is exactly what this league needs. A league needs as much european influence as possible.
Well done mate as usual, your content really brings to light the true nature and landscape of the sport here.
It genuinely baffles me that there are football fans here that justify the suppression of historical grassroots clubs that still have a significant presence within their locality, communities and the sport more broadly (and are constantly fighting an upwards battle in the process to remain competitive).
This is also whilst passionately supporting clubs predominantly owned by businessmen and conglomerates who arguably have no serious vested interest or passion in the sport's development and are basically lobbying sporting bodies to constantly monopolise the A-league to keep the profits coming in from the top-tier amongst themselves. Although I don't have a huge problem with this in certain respects, it's the fact that this is significantly stymieing healthy competition and a more localised development of the sport.
The only way South Melbourne to enter A-League is probably red bull to take over.
12:48 I am 81years old and am 4th generation Australian. I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan
I tried to get interested in Australian football but it was impossible for someone without a European heritage
Besides, you took your life in your hands because of the violence. Why are the Matildas so popular? Easy. They are see 12:50 12:50 12:50
Just curious, how long have you been a Spurs/⚽️ fan in general?
@@ArachKing Since FA cup win in 1961. My parents had just bought their first TV and this was the first football match that I had seen outside my local games. I remember feeling sorry for Leicester who were reduced to 10 men because of an injury. No replacements back in those days. As a result, I wasn't disappointed when Leicester won the Premier league recently. Us poor Spur fans live in hope that those glory days will return. Ange gave us us initial hope but that seems to be fading.
I assume you aren’t from one of the AFL states either.
@@ArachKing No, I was born and raised in Sydney but I have been in Melbourne for the last 5 years because two of my kids have moved here for business. My wife and I emigrated to Canada in 1970 but returned unexpectedly in 1976 for personal reasons. While I was in Canada, I never placed an AUS sticker on my car etc. etc. I felt that was inappropriate and an insult to the new country which I had chosen to live in. I understand why Greek immigrants live in the same area because of language difficulties and I understand why they would be proud of their heritage but .... I don't understand it and the violence that accompanied the old NSL Maybe hatred caused by centuries of conflict between various ethnic groups in Europe is impossible to forget even when these people move to another country.
My original post was cut short accidently. I asked why the Matildas are so popular and why they achieve higher TV ratings than either the NRL or AFL grand finals. For me the answer is easy; they are seen as being Australian rather than a group of European ethnic groups. Adding South Melbourne to the A league, or even the addition of the National Second Tier, simply confirms that "Soccer" is not for Australian men. Unfortunately I watched on TV the A league match in Melbourne when there was a pitch invasion at the 20 minute mark and the game cancelled. This reinforces that "soccer" in Australia is not a sport that families can safely attend. My daughter and her family have become AFL fans and attend AFL matches and enjoy it. AFL seems to be a sport which families can attend. Let me leave it at that.
Yes, the Matildas are seen as being ‘Australian’ by the mainstream because, wait for it..
..the majority of the squad is literally made up of blonde/light-brunette skip(or -passing) sheilas, in contrast to ‘those reffo-heritage w0gs’ traditionally synonymous w/the Socceroos & mens’ game in this country in general..💡
Crazy that in a 13-minute video, you didn't once mention the real reasons, other than financial, why the FFA never considered South or any of the other ethnic-backed clubs for the A-League.
And what reasons were they? Mind you, Brisbane Roar got in too, despite their backers Lions FC being a Dutch club
Using imagery of US currency for this video is mind boggling. Amazed no reference to the ‘ethnic’ roots, as it’s not just a money issue each and every time that denies them. They (the body running the game) don’t want supporters chanting “Hellas”, despite they have every right to.
Yeah unfortunately had to use US currency as that’s what was available in the free stock.
I do mention a bit about the ‘ethnic roots’, but I don’t think the fans chanting “Hellas”.
@@ALeagueCouchCritics I went to Somers St to see them play Melb Knights in 2010. Not a single chant of theirs was in Greek.
A League is a franchise league. End of story. No 2nd division either. It would never work.
It's worked for 20 years
@@SamDoesGamezno promotion or relegation to be more specific
@@SamDoesGamez What has worked? Attendance down, fan interest down, national team in massive decline, youth players not given opportunities and leave to go to bigger leagues and clubs so fans never see the new "stars" of the national team, move to paramount has been a failure etc.
The only games where fans show up is the derbies, most of the expansion sides have been colossal failures.
Turn off the playstation where there's packed crowds every game.
@@Loose89 League hit its low point during COVID but current stats show that Crowds and TV Viewership are trending upward and have been for a few seasons now
if south Melbourne joined the A-League is will be pumping Melbourne victory and south Melbourne games will be bigger than western Sydney and Sydney fc
😂 in their entire existence, even at the height of their powers in the NSL, they got nowhere near the averages of the Victory, Sydney or Wanderers.
@ they did were do you think most Melb victory fans came from ? south Melbourne use to get big crowds at games at bob Jane Stadium you probably won't even around at that time and plus in the old NSL you had more teams from Victoria playing in it like Melbourne knights Brunswick Juventus CarltonFootscray JUST green gully Heidelberg United Mooroolbark Preston Lions and so many more when the a league started Melbourne victory was the only club playing the high league at the time now look when they added a 3rd team in Victoria they don't get no fans you don't know what your talking about
@ when. What year did they ever average over 10k, remembering Sydney and Wanderers only averaged below that when their stadiums were being built and Victory have never averaged below that.
Been around for almost 5 decades so yeah I was.
@@OldmanGamer9999 did were do you think most Melb victory fans came from ? south Melbourne use to get big crowds at games at bob Jane Stadium you probably won't even around at that time and plus in the old NSL you had more teams from Victoria playing in it like Melbourne knights Brunswick Juventus CarltonFootscray JUST green gully Heidelberg United Mooroolbark Preston Lions and so many more when the a league started Melbourne victory was the only club playing the high league at the time now look when they added a 3rd team in Victoria they don't get no fans you don't know what your talking about
@@dkb2080 again what year did they average higher crowds for the year compared to Victory, Sydney or the Wanderers.
You keep saying they did but so far haven’t shown a season/year that they did.
A-league/FA want to create new teams and new cultures, without realising cultures isn’t something you can just create.
The A-League has alienated many long-time football supporters, leading to disunity within the football community. There are many people who simply cannot support the A-League, and when judging by the crowds, it's evident that you can't manufacture an atmosphere. Just look at the players we are producing today; the situation is concerning.
How? Because the police intervene in riots? These same clowns are happy to follow foreign clubs they have no link to.
MV owes more than 7+ Million Dollars!
Mate, to be fair tho, played for another Greek club at NPL level a while ago. The setup was very ethnic and frankly, amateur given how soccer is supposed to be inclusive. Teams like these will bring racism back into Australian football and despite their history and significance, this is not wt we want Australian soccer to become
Definitely agree! Lowie’s intention was to let the home leagues run teams not private owners! Private ownership has stagnated the growth of the domestic league!
You can't compare those clubs to a south Melbourne lol
It’s not racism it’s protecting your identity. Is it racist that Basque based club Athletic Bilbao only get played from that region. No. It’s identity same way utd always have one academy player in the first team
@@JimmyT3073South Melbourne chewed up and spat out its supporters ! It only served to support the administration and the sponsors who behaved as they were the owners! Nothing was ever put back into the club or its infrastructure and if it wasn’t for the F1 track they’d still be sharing the tin shed with Hakoah!
What A Club SM is !
Well the A league was created to omit the ethnic clubs, and you won't have promotion/relegation without including ethnic clubs too.
FIFA should of stepped in a long time ago. Their silence is telling!
funny how they think the ethnics spell trouble. our best players are ehnic.
its because they made a Franchise system BS , like the NBA , NFL etc... those clubs in the A League are basically pawns of the A League . They arent true clubs... like other leagues in the world. They are franchises. like McDonalds
Lions FC were an ethic club yet they were chosen over Strikers undermines your theory a bit CHAMP
Marconi = Bossley Park Utd. FC
South Melbourne, Adelaide City and Marconi all deserve to be in the top tier. Is it likely to happen? sadly; no. After 20 years of mis-management at the top of Australian football, they have been left behind. Adelaide City and Marconi would not have the financial backing to do it now. South Melbourne may, however, Melbourne Victory have too much to lose and will never let it happen.
RACISM Why was Brisbane Roar (traditionally a Dutch based club) allowed?
According to Hellas fans Dutch isn't ethnic
Umm, bc 🇳🇱 is a majority-‘white’ country..?
@@TOTN17 *the FFA/APL administrators.
Add Gold Coast and North Queensland disasters into the mix and its hard not to be nothing short of Insulted if your a South fan
IF Gold Coast had a better owner, they would likely still be in the league today
0:07 or you dont know them afl on top
Football grows from history not from organisation by moneymen. Look around the world maybe its all deliberately stuffed by other sport interests.
Cream always rises to the top. If South Melbourne are given an opportunity to get into the A league via either direct entry or promotion/relegation they will take over as the dominant team in Victoria and probably Australia. This team is beyond its ethnicity. All great clubs have links to a group whether it be ethinic or religious. Look at the AFL clubs. Collingwood was a Catholic club, Carlton was Protestant etc , they started out as these clubs and were allowed to flourish. All clubs have a nucleus and then they expand to the wider community. The current - A League set up is full of franchise clubs. Who wants to be loyal to a franchise? They are good for 10 years before the fans get bored of them. The A league is lame. No one cares about it. The NSL system produced the golden generation of Socceroos because the players were brought up playing games for clubs where the game meant something. The fan base of Melbourne Victory will be decimated if South Melbourne are allowed in top flight.
Here's a wonderful idea. Just have an open pyramid and allow teams to rise and fall on competitive merit.
I would kill to see South Melbourne take on Perth Glory in the Australia Cup
Why? They actually got along reasonably well back in the NSL days, from memory.
I used live in South Melbourne I hope they get in to a leauge
Multicultural clubs such as Sydney, Victory and Adelaide United are the present and future. Keep the monocultural clubs such as Hellas out of the A-League.
Clubs like SM would make the a-league interesting again.
That kind of thinking is why the A-League is soulless and yet again another failure.
@@narsil316 Exactly, look at the victorian clubs outside of Victory. FFA got fucking lucky that people backed victory.
I honestly don’t care about a clubs origin and ethnicity. If they have the funds and are keen, they should get a chance
@@ALeagueCouchCritics The fact that if south got a license, they'd be pulling bigger numbers than victory. Know so many people that I played with growing up, or through futsal that have absolutely no interest in the a-league due to no South melbourne.
The A league and soccer Australia won’t be happy until they dilute the product or implode completely by continually adding irrelevant teams
Won’t work the youth of hellas supporters won’t attend a league games.South had the support of our dads who are no longer around to support them them that made up the large crowd figures.
I think Souths exclusion is actually self-inflicted. South Melbourne Hellas Football Club (not to be confused with the VFL South Melbourne Football Club) has too much NSL baggage to it: an ethnic based club that covers a small area. Yes, South Melbourne is a small suburb.
A wise approach would be to ditch the South Melbourne name and the Hellas background. Calling it Southern FC with red and white instead of blue would actually gain more area appeal, more investors and more consideration from the A-League itself.
But then again, common sense and a broad appeal is something lacking in A-League...
Nah, keep that hateful rubbish out of the a league.
The Greeks aren’t that bad.
The Ustase clubs on the other hand….
@paulorocky I went to a knights v south game once.
It was an experience.
I wouldn’t be throwing BUCKETS at glass towers
@@paulorockyUstase clubs are scary honestly. Never been to a game, don’t want to, anyone would get bashed looking at them. Melbourne Knights have a fucking face statue of Ante Pavelic in their lobby, that shouldn’t even be allowed.
@@louisk8125great point! These ‘next tier’ clubs have known political agendas and ‘underworld’ connections…the game is going backwards but it will go back even faster! They just siphon out funds!
Just to make it clear about what I see with the Artificially Created A League founded in 2004,As a Preston Lions Supporter The only top flight Football League that I know as the Biggest in Australia is the NSL In England they have the EPL In Australia we have the NPL or Thanks to those who destroyed the NSL If it was up to me I would call it the APL and with out any push me shove yours all the NSL CLUBS would be Number one Priority and then The A League clubs would have their way But unfortunately this is not England