Melbourne Knights 2015 AGM Wrap

Thanks to our newest contributor Nemo for this write up. 

The old 'Batcave'

Last Friday, the Melbourne Knights held their Annual General meeting in the now known Knights Gym. For me though, it will forever be familiar as the ‘ Batcave’. A gathering venue for the more passionate supporter to wet their whistle before and after the game, talk about the glory days and wait for the opposition bus to arrive/depart, to wish luck to our opposition in our more colourful language. 

The new gym

Those days are a distant memory now, and the disappointment of walking into the ‘Batcave’ and discovering only 35-40 people in attendance is disheartening. Scanning the room, you recognise everyone by name or by face, the same people that rain, hail or shine are there at every game, supporting their club…true supporters. 

The first main talking point of the night, Melinda Cimera announcing that after six long years, she has decided to step down from her role as Secretary.  We should all be thankful for her commitment and dedication to the club, volunteering many hours to a role which give so little back. 

Ange Cimera gave his take on the season, citing that he believed despite the disappointment of the game against Hume, and South Melbourne in the cup, it was a successful season. Our home form was magnificent this year. Ange posed the question what more could the supporters ask of the team, only 2 losses at home all year and still a bare stadium week in week out. He was right. What excuse do the fans have? The irony being that our lowest attendance of the season was for our biggest win of the season (5-1 v Werribee). 

He may have his doubters and some critics, but those who pay attention can see the passion he holds for the club. Like in previous years, Ange has offered his role to anyone that was willing to take it, stating that he would love to see some new young faces on the board, but if no one steps up he won’t leave the club in the dark. One thing he said has been stuck in my head since that night, out of all the eligible voting members we have, it is left up to the minority of approximately 10% to decide the future and direction this club is to take. Do 90% of our members not even care to hear how our club is truly performing, are these the same people that bemoan our on pitch performances, coaching/player selections and committee members? Unsurprisingly, no-one in the room questioned Ange… 

Next on the agenda was finances, and whilst I won’t mention the specifics (attend the meeting if you want specifics), what is clear is how well our season went on the pitch. We compete in a league where player wages are highly inflated and the Player points system is abused. Out of all the clubs in the top 6, my guess is we were paying the least, probably the bottom four in the league would be closer to the mark. Andrew Marth and co have done well considering. 

The topic of player retention was brought up, and if you have been hiding under a rock you wouldn’t have heard that Tomislav Uskok has departed for Sydney United. Uskok’s absence will be felt, as it was in the elimination final. Rumours have been doing the rounds about several star players being courted by opposition clubs, some deja-vu with a gun striker being linked to a greek-cypriot club for triple wages may remind you of the Visevic saga last year. Ange stated that those rumours were exactly that, and he was more than confident that the core group of players were staying. Ideally I would be more confident if I saw some official news on player retention/signings, as actively as Bentleigh, Port Melbourne and South Melbourne. 

The topic which finally got a rise out of the ‘oldies’(pardon the pun), was Friday night home games this season. The board stated that despite the crowd numbers staying around the same, gate takings for home games was significantly higher when we played on Friday nights as opposed to Sunday afternoon. Obviously the older generation dislike Friday nights, stating that it’s too cold and late to be watching soccer at night, again the irony this time being that this very meeting was on a Friday night. Although the Sunday afternoon game is a historic tradition for our club, I can see the need for change. Sunday’s are littered with family events and house chores, we also compete in a time slot against other local clubs (most notably Dinamo) and even our own juniors. Friday night allows for a greater atmosphere, downing some whiskeys without hesitation, and boy does it set up the weekend when we win on a Friday night. The new board will be tasked with attempting to please everyone when it comes to home game fixtures. 

Talking about new boards, we see a familiar face return to the President’s role with Tony Karlusic being nominated and voted in unopposed. Tony last held the role during our NSL season 2000/2001, a season which we knocked Perth Glory out of the finals (following a minor incident). During his short stint, he also had the hard task of removing club legend Joe Biskic as head coach. Majority of the existing board members retained their positions with some new additions which will be formally announced in due time.  

The clear message of the night is one that I will repeat and reiterate, if you support the Melbourne Knights in any way or form; show it by buying a membership! Attend the AGM! This club cannot survive alone on the generosity and commitment of the few. It is time for the next generation of supporters to ensure this club survives another 60 years. Regardless of how many games you can attend, the club relies on its Membership for a sustainable future, sign up your partner, sign up your kids, and show your support. This is our club…our home…our heritage, and nobody can take it away from us except ourselves.