It’s not too often that these two sides meet whilst high up on the ladder, so I have taken the time to do a short preview on the ‘original Melbourne derby’. To be honest, after Tuesday night’s disaster against Oakleigh I didn’t even feel like going to this match let alone writing about it. No one wants to go into one of the biggest matches of the season coming off a draw that feels worse than a loss. Even though that point momentarily put us top of the table, it felt like we had been relegated. But, what’s done is done, and there is no point dwelling on something that can’t be changed.
Tuesday’s result aside, this is one of the best starts to a season in the clubs history. If someone offered you five wins a draw and a loss a week before the season you would grab it with both hands. It’s not too often that we Knights fans are looking down on the rest of the league and Oceania team of the week South Melbourne. A win will see us go five points clear of them, and though some might argue they have a game in hand, that’s fine because they still need to win it. Going into the match the side is looking good with minimal injuries in comparison to this time last year, with the bench looking stronger week after week. Marijan Cvitkovic (injured) and Josh Brekalo (illness) were I believe the only players unavailable for selection on Tuesday night, giving Andrew Marth close to a full squad to select from. Both Andrew Barisic and Tomislav Uskok got on the scoresheet again this week and are looking in great form to take their tallies to five goals or beyond. I would go a little further into individual form, but seeing as though some people at South still seem to think Alinejad is running up and down the wing I don’t want to give too much away.
South on the other hand look to be in turmoil despite their undefeated run. As seems to be the norm in the past few years there, the supporters feel they need to take it upon themselves and drive players out of the club. It hasn’t taken them long this year to start a hate campaign against one of their better players Nick Epifano. Right or wrong, the supporters have put the club in a pretty shit situation ahead of the derby. Does the club now allow him to stay on after calling supporters ‘greek cunts’ and wanting to fight them with his family after the game? Or do they sack him to the delight of the supporters which may cause unrest in the dressing room with the rest of the playing group? Don’t sack him and give the players a license to behave however they please, or sack him and show the players that they need to cop it from the supporters or else. Either way, I wouldn’t want that kind of thing happening at my club this week. Tis a real shame @smfcmike from twitter couldn’t do anymore to rehabilitate Epifano before it came to this. And don’t worry mate, you don’t need us to cause problems before the match, as you lot are doing a great job of it yourselves.
Things that would be really nice to see change at Lakeside, but most likely won’t;
The Microsoft word designed dressing room door sign which hasn’t had the correct Knights logo, possibly ever. So much for the best media team in the country.
The wall of fame in the players race to feature something, anything.
The bar to stay open beyond the 60th minute mark or whenever it is they decide they can’t sell alcohol.
Those fucking seagulls.
I have been able to call every Knights match this year bar the Oakleigh one, which ended in a draw. I feel much the same this week, and as much as my heart would love to say we will smash their undefeated run to pieces, I can’t.
South Melbourne 2 – 2 Melbourne Knights
Friday, 10 April 2015
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
The 100 club
A 3-0 win over Maribyrnong Polonia in round 13 at Olympic Park on Sunday the 12th of June in 1983 saw Peter Blasby bag his 100th state league appearance for Melbourne Croatia. Just a week prior Keith Adams achieved that same honour, however it would be a little while longer than a week until the next member would be ready to join the club. After a lengthy 32 years, it looks like we could be welcoming some new members to the club as brothers Anthony and Jacob Colosimo, as well as veteran Ben Surey are on track to hit the 100 mark this season.
Whilst 32 years sounds like a very long time, we must remember that for 20 of those years we competing in the National Soccer League. Still, 12 years is still a long time to go without anyone being able to notch up 5 or so seasons for the club. I guess there are a few reasons for that, the first one being that often a player is simply does not have what it takes to keep their place in the squad for such a period of time. Another reason is that some players are more than good enough, and whilst it is rare they take the next step to play at a higher level. But perhaps the most common reason is, are the players that are good enough but decide to leave because the next suburban club is offering a dollar more.
I think it is safe to say that the three players mentioned earlier don’t fall into any of those categories. Making his first appearance in round 19 of the 2009 Victorian Premier League, Jacob Colosimo equalised just four minutes after entering the field of play, helping his side to a 2-1 win over Hume City. Although his brother Anthony wasn’t awarded the same fortune in two rounds later, it was the beginning of history being made. Though I haven’t taken the time to look further into this, it is more than likely that the pair are the longest serving brothers in the club history, both notching up their 7th year playing in the first team. And provided they don’t have the same misfortunes as the past few seasons with regards to injuries, both Jacob (77 appearances) and Anthony (85 appearances) could well and truly be joining the 100 this season.
Apart from the duo, not much else of the 2009 squad was left in 2010 when veteran Ben Surey joined the club. The Crystal Palace apprentice joined the club in what some would call a new era, with practically a whole new playing group and committee joining the club. He would prove to dominate the middle of the park for the next few years and would have been a hot favourite for VPL player of the year in both 2011 and 2012 had he not missed half of each season through injury. Despite such a lengthy lay off in that two year period he leads the race (86 appearances) to become the newest member of the 100 club.
In this day and age, reaching the 100 club for any side in the state would be tough ask, let alone at the Knights. Many clubs find it difficult to keep players around for a longer period of time, especially with rival clubs offering big money deals which often double or even triple that of their previous club. However this is not the case with the Colosimo brothers and Ben Surey, their great deal of loyalty together with the way the club treats them with the respect they have earned over the years proves to be what it takes to join the history books with greats such as Peter Blasby, Keith Adams and co.
Whilst 32 years sounds like a very long time, we must remember that for 20 of those years we competing in the National Soccer League. Still, 12 years is still a long time to go without anyone being able to notch up 5 or so seasons for the club. I guess there are a few reasons for that, the first one being that often a player is simply does not have what it takes to keep their place in the squad for such a period of time. Another reason is that some players are more than good enough, and whilst it is rare they take the next step to play at a higher level. But perhaps the most common reason is, are the players that are good enough but decide to leave because the next suburban club is offering a dollar more.
I think it is safe to say that the three players mentioned earlier don’t fall into any of those categories. Making his first appearance in round 19 of the 2009 Victorian Premier League, Jacob Colosimo equalised just four minutes after entering the field of play, helping his side to a 2-1 win over Hume City. Although his brother Anthony wasn’t awarded the same fortune in two rounds later, it was the beginning of history being made. Though I haven’t taken the time to look further into this, it is more than likely that the pair are the longest serving brothers in the club history, both notching up their 7th year playing in the first team. And provided they don’t have the same misfortunes as the past few seasons with regards to injuries, both Jacob (77 appearances) and Anthony (85 appearances) could well and truly be joining the 100 this season.
Apart from the duo, not much else of the 2009 squad was left in 2010 when veteran Ben Surey joined the club. The Crystal Palace apprentice joined the club in what some would call a new era, with practically a whole new playing group and committee joining the club. He would prove to dominate the middle of the park for the next few years and would have been a hot favourite for VPL player of the year in both 2011 and 2012 had he not missed half of each season through injury. Despite such a lengthy lay off in that two year period he leads the race (86 appearances) to become the newest member of the 100 club.
In this day and age, reaching the 100 club for any side in the state would be tough ask, let alone at the Knights. Many clubs find it difficult to keep players around for a longer period of time, especially with rival clubs offering big money deals which often double or even triple that of their previous club. However this is not the case with the Colosimo brothers and Ben Surey, their great deal of loyalty together with the way the club treats them with the respect they have earned over the years proves to be what it takes to join the history books with greats such as Peter Blasby, Keith Adams and co.
Friday, 10 October 2014
Croatia the brave
It’s not the first time, and it most certainly won’t be the last. Once again the Knights have stood up to the powers that be, and once again they have done it alone. Lose and everybody will laugh, win and everybody will jump on board whilst some will try taking all the credit. Yes, I am pretty much singling out South Melbourne, especially after the way they carried on during the National Premier League Victoria saga, and still carry on to this day. I must admit that this ‘piece’ has come about after reading some of the comments on South of the Border, some of which have probably been made by more than one South board member.
So let’s just refresh those memories and remind ourselves as to what unfolded in the last two odd years. After an extraordinary general meeting on the 26th of May 2013, the club announced with a media release that the members had voted not to put forward an expression of interest, therefor ruling the club out of contention for the 2014 NPLV. Prior to this however, the most current (at the time) premier league clubs and a number of state league clubs attended a meeting at Knights Stadium to discuss the position of all the clubs and what would be the best way to go forward. Despite firm belief from the Knights camp that the best way forward would be for all clubs to boycott together, forcing Football Federation Victoria to the negotiation table, the majority (led by South Melbourne) agreed that it would be best to go forward with an EOI. They were of the belief (South Melbourne) that after doing what was asked by the FFV, they would eventually bend and change a large chunk of the criteria to suit what most clubs desired. It was this pig headedness that led us to the courts and ultimately an unnecessary hefty bill which all clubs were expected to cover almost equally. From memory, South Melbourne or club associates would contribute the most, and rightfully so as they pretty much led everyone down the path which would benefit their club the most.
Now that the Knights are again fighting the good fight alone, some are starting to question why no one has spoken up in support. Some people have taken that opportunity, I suspect one or more ‘anonymous’ South board members, to have a go and claim that no one will support the Knights because they still haven’t paid their share of the NPLV legal costs. Now let’s get some things straight, perhaps before making a statement like that, South Melbourne should come good on the sum of money that was promised to the Knights after poaching three players midseason. Also, why would someone put money towards a court case they didn’t need to be a part of and would not have come about if people had just listened and agreed to follow suit? The end result was one that favoured one club, leaving many others with a bitter taste in their mouth. And finally, had it not been for a Knights board member, the case would not have possible and South would not have had the chance to put on its superhero cape and rescue the day for football in the state, or so they believe.
Ahead of the Knights is a mammoth task. One that is even harder without the support of any other club. Despite that, as history will show the Knights will carry on and put every last bit of effort into fighting for what is right, whilst others will be peaking from a dark corner waiting for their chance to run out with their super hero cape and once again claim to save the day.
Until then, South Melbourne can continue to be the Oceania club of the century, still stuck in a league with the rest of us suburban, ethnic, social soccer clubs, whilst failing to make the FFA Cup at the expense of their greatest rivals, and sending postcards from Hobart.
So let’s just refresh those memories and remind ourselves as to what unfolded in the last two odd years. After an extraordinary general meeting on the 26th of May 2013, the club announced with a media release that the members had voted not to put forward an expression of interest, therefor ruling the club out of contention for the 2014 NPLV. Prior to this however, the most current (at the time) premier league clubs and a number of state league clubs attended a meeting at Knights Stadium to discuss the position of all the clubs and what would be the best way to go forward. Despite firm belief from the Knights camp that the best way forward would be for all clubs to boycott together, forcing Football Federation Victoria to the negotiation table, the majority (led by South Melbourne) agreed that it would be best to go forward with an EOI. They were of the belief (South Melbourne) that after doing what was asked by the FFV, they would eventually bend and change a large chunk of the criteria to suit what most clubs desired. It was this pig headedness that led us to the courts and ultimately an unnecessary hefty bill which all clubs were expected to cover almost equally. From memory, South Melbourne or club associates would contribute the most, and rightfully so as they pretty much led everyone down the path which would benefit their club the most.
Now that the Knights are again fighting the good fight alone, some are starting to question why no one has spoken up in support. Some people have taken that opportunity, I suspect one or more ‘anonymous’ South board members, to have a go and claim that no one will support the Knights because they still haven’t paid their share of the NPLV legal costs. Now let’s get some things straight, perhaps before making a statement like that, South Melbourne should come good on the sum of money that was promised to the Knights after poaching three players midseason. Also, why would someone put money towards a court case they didn’t need to be a part of and would not have come about if people had just listened and agreed to follow suit? The end result was one that favoured one club, leaving many others with a bitter taste in their mouth. And finally, had it not been for a Knights board member, the case would not have possible and South would not have had the chance to put on its superhero cape and rescue the day for football in the state, or so they believe.
Ahead of the Knights is a mammoth task. One that is even harder without the support of any other club. Despite that, as history will show the Knights will carry on and put every last bit of effort into fighting for what is right, whilst others will be peaking from a dark corner waiting for their chance to run out with their super hero cape and once again claim to save the day.
Until then, South Melbourne can continue to be the Oceania club of the century, still stuck in a league with the rest of us suburban, ethnic, social soccer clubs, whilst failing to make the FFA Cup at the expense of their greatest rivals, and sending postcards from Hobart.
Friday, 12 September 2014
The year that was
I don’t think I was the only one that had high hopes for the 2014 season. After an impressive run and somewhat unfortunate end against rivals South Melbourne in front of over 4,500 fans in October of last year, together with a good number of players staying on board and some exciting new signings, things were looking good for Knights fans at the beginning of the year. But after a one shonky match official, five knees and three shoulders, that all changed.
After taking over in early-mid 2012 from Paul Magdic, Andrew Marth had his first full year at the helm in 2013 and did an exceptional job finishing in second place. With most players staying on board and the addition of four new ‘old’ players (Antun Kovacic, Daniel Visevic, Rodrigo Covarubbias and Michael O’Farrell) there was a good vibe around the club and an expectation that we would match or even exceed last year’s achievements. After winning the first two matches and looking likely to win the third being 1-0 up against Werribee, we were well on track to having a good year, well atleast until Bruno decided to spoil the party. After waving play on to Shayan Alinejad being kicked in the head well inside the box and only a couple of metres in front of him, he went on to award a very late Werribee penalty after former player Ryan Filipovic went down outside the box, allowing him to slot home a penalty for an unlikely 1-2 win. And it only got worse from there. Along with the loss came the first serious and season ending injury after Jacob Colosimo went down clutching his knee in an awkward tackle, it was to be the first of many knee injuries in the injury plague of 2014. The midseason transfer window couldn’t come soon enough, with one of the worst losing streaks in the clubs history (7), and by that stage the injury plague at close to full affect with seven players already having succumbed to injury (Jacob Colosimo knee, Rordigo Covarubbias knee, James McGarry knee, Anthony Colosimo knee, Marijan Cvitkovic foot, Sam Torrens shoulders, Chris Talajic shoulder), five of them being for the remainder of the season. Not an ideal situation to be in at the best of times let alone when NPL only allows you a squad of maximum 20 players.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Despite all the setbacks we were still in the Dockerty Cup with a chance for silverware and the possibility of qualifying for and participating in the first ever FFA Cup. I was confident we could make the semi-finals and indeed qualify for the FFA Cup, provided we played anyone but South Melbourne. Too many times they had the wood over us in important fixtures. With our injury plague and their unbelievable start to the season undefeated and sitting pretty in first, why would I think anything different? And then it happened, we drew South Melbourne. The last bloody hurdle to this damn FFA Cup and it had to be them. With who knows how many players out injured, and the match scheduled to be played before the transfer window, the odds weren’t in our favour. Thankfully though, common sense prevailed. Although South were adamant we should be playing 3 games in 5 or 6 days with little to no rest before playing them, the persistence of one or two Knights officials ensured that playing the match on the initial date was not an option. The match was rescheduled to two weeks later, after the transfer window and with plenty of time for both teams to recover before or after any league fixtures. Found it quite funny though that South Melbourne didn’t want to play the week prior because they wouldn’t have had enough rest between matches. Quite ironic don’t you think? Slippery gypsies.
With the extra time before the cup fixture came the transfer window and the long awaited chance to sign a couple of players and replenish the squad. Adelaide Croatia (Raiders) were kind enough to loan out their captain Michael Doyle who became a great asset to the squad in right back, whilst former Dandenong City and Melbourne Heart Youth striker Stipo Andrijasevic joined the squad from Goulburn Valley Suns. And it was Andrijasevic that proved the difference in the cup game against South Melbourne, assisting both goals in a historic 0-2 win. Not only did the Knights prove me wrong, but they proved most of Australia wrong. There was nothing that was going to stop us from winning that game, not an injury plague, not a federation determined on giving us one day rest before the game and definitely not the first placed South Melbourne. If the match was played 10 times over it would have had the same outcome, because we were hungrier, we wanted it more and we left every last bit of energy on that pitch.
With us now back in the limelight, things were much more positive around the club. Not only had we qualified for the FFA Cup but we were in with a good chance of finally winning some silverware after 18 long years. But it seemed luck still wasn’t on our side. After a great display by Olympic FC in the first half of the FFA Cup match and some less than average officiating, we found ourselves out of the cup after 90 minutes and without our first keeper for the rest of the year. Despite the blow we were able to pick ourselves back up, however not without another knee injury with Antun Kovacic going down only days before we headed to Lakeside Stadium to lift our first piece of major silverware in 18 years. In a match that didn’t bare many chances, and left me saying to the people beside me ‘this is such a shit match, if we win it on penalties it’s not even going to feel good, I won’t feel like celebrating’, I was once again proven wrong. As he had done in the quarter finals, Tomislav Uskok hit the back of the same net only this time in the 120th minute to send Knights fans into the biggest and wildest celebration that Lakeside Stadium ever had, and still has seen. It felt more than good, and I was definitely in the mood of celebrating.
So despite losing more than 10 players through injury throughout the year, and recording one of the worst losing streaks in the clubs history, I don’t think we had too bad a year, I would even go as far as calling it a success. A trophy after 18 years, and reaching the national stage after 10 years, whilst denying our rivals of that same opportunity are big things for me. But perhaps the biggest and most important thing to come out of the Knights this year was not football related. Perhaps it was something that happened off the field and behind the scenes for a short period of time. For the first time since the inception of the A-league, an Australian club had stood up to the FFA and not backed down, whilst at the same time gaining much support from the general public. For those that may not be aware, this isn’t the first time the club has stood up to a football body. The Knights were the first club to say no to the initial proposal of the NPL in Victoria, and we all know how that ended.
The Knights wrap up the season this Friday night with a home against Bentleigh Greens. Our last chance to see the boys in action before they head to Wollongong early next month, to defend their title and try their hand at a record 5th Croatian Tournament win in a row.
After taking over in early-mid 2012 from Paul Magdic, Andrew Marth had his first full year at the helm in 2013 and did an exceptional job finishing in second place. With most players staying on board and the addition of four new ‘old’ players (Antun Kovacic, Daniel Visevic, Rodrigo Covarubbias and Michael O’Farrell) there was a good vibe around the club and an expectation that we would match or even exceed last year’s achievements. After winning the first two matches and looking likely to win the third being 1-0 up against Werribee, we were well on track to having a good year, well atleast until Bruno decided to spoil the party. After waving play on to Shayan Alinejad being kicked in the head well inside the box and only a couple of metres in front of him, he went on to award a very late Werribee penalty after former player Ryan Filipovic went down outside the box, allowing him to slot home a penalty for an unlikely 1-2 win. And it only got worse from there. Along with the loss came the first serious and season ending injury after Jacob Colosimo went down clutching his knee in an awkward tackle, it was to be the first of many knee injuries in the injury plague of 2014. The midseason transfer window couldn’t come soon enough, with one of the worst losing streaks in the clubs history (7), and by that stage the injury plague at close to full affect with seven players already having succumbed to injury (Jacob Colosimo knee, Rordigo Covarubbias knee, James McGarry knee, Anthony Colosimo knee, Marijan Cvitkovic foot, Sam Torrens shoulders, Chris Talajic shoulder), five of them being for the remainder of the season. Not an ideal situation to be in at the best of times let alone when NPL only allows you a squad of maximum 20 players.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Despite all the setbacks we were still in the Dockerty Cup with a chance for silverware and the possibility of qualifying for and participating in the first ever FFA Cup. I was confident we could make the semi-finals and indeed qualify for the FFA Cup, provided we played anyone but South Melbourne. Too many times they had the wood over us in important fixtures. With our injury plague and their unbelievable start to the season undefeated and sitting pretty in first, why would I think anything different? And then it happened, we drew South Melbourne. The last bloody hurdle to this damn FFA Cup and it had to be them. With who knows how many players out injured, and the match scheduled to be played before the transfer window, the odds weren’t in our favour. Thankfully though, common sense prevailed. Although South were adamant we should be playing 3 games in 5 or 6 days with little to no rest before playing them, the persistence of one or two Knights officials ensured that playing the match on the initial date was not an option. The match was rescheduled to two weeks later, after the transfer window and with plenty of time for both teams to recover before or after any league fixtures. Found it quite funny though that South Melbourne didn’t want to play the week prior because they wouldn’t have had enough rest between matches. Quite ironic don’t you think? Slippery gypsies.
With the extra time before the cup fixture came the transfer window and the long awaited chance to sign a couple of players and replenish the squad. Adelaide Croatia (Raiders) were kind enough to loan out their captain Michael Doyle who became a great asset to the squad in right back, whilst former Dandenong City and Melbourne Heart Youth striker Stipo Andrijasevic joined the squad from Goulburn Valley Suns. And it was Andrijasevic that proved the difference in the cup game against South Melbourne, assisting both goals in a historic 0-2 win. Not only did the Knights prove me wrong, but they proved most of Australia wrong. There was nothing that was going to stop us from winning that game, not an injury plague, not a federation determined on giving us one day rest before the game and definitely not the first placed South Melbourne. If the match was played 10 times over it would have had the same outcome, because we were hungrier, we wanted it more and we left every last bit of energy on that pitch.
With us now back in the limelight, things were much more positive around the club. Not only had we qualified for the FFA Cup but we were in with a good chance of finally winning some silverware after 18 long years. But it seemed luck still wasn’t on our side. After a great display by Olympic FC in the first half of the FFA Cup match and some less than average officiating, we found ourselves out of the cup after 90 minutes and without our first keeper for the rest of the year. Despite the blow we were able to pick ourselves back up, however not without another knee injury with Antun Kovacic going down only days before we headed to Lakeside Stadium to lift our first piece of major silverware in 18 years. In a match that didn’t bare many chances, and left me saying to the people beside me ‘this is such a shit match, if we win it on penalties it’s not even going to feel good, I won’t feel like celebrating’, I was once again proven wrong. As he had done in the quarter finals, Tomislav Uskok hit the back of the same net only this time in the 120th minute to send Knights fans into the biggest and wildest celebration that Lakeside Stadium ever had, and still has seen. It felt more than good, and I was definitely in the mood of celebrating.
So despite losing more than 10 players through injury throughout the year, and recording one of the worst losing streaks in the clubs history, I don’t think we had too bad a year, I would even go as far as calling it a success. A trophy after 18 years, and reaching the national stage after 10 years, whilst denying our rivals of that same opportunity are big things for me. But perhaps the biggest and most important thing to come out of the Knights this year was not football related. Perhaps it was something that happened off the field and behind the scenes for a short period of time. For the first time since the inception of the A-league, an Australian club had stood up to the FFA and not backed down, whilst at the same time gaining much support from the general public. For those that may not be aware, this isn’t the first time the club has stood up to a football body. The Knights were the first club to say no to the initial proposal of the NPL in Victoria, and we all know how that ended.
The Knights wrap up the season this Friday night with a home against Bentleigh Greens. Our last chance to see the boys in action before they head to Wollongong early next month, to defend their title and try their hand at a record 5th Croatian Tournament win in a row.
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
All Together Now director turns blind eye to racism
For those of you who may be unaware, Football Federation Australia in partnership with All Together Now is having an erase racism round in the A-league this week. A little research will tell you that this is the only organisation in Australia solely dedicated to erasing racism. Quite hypocritical considering the FFA has a racist policy in the National Club Identity Policy.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing in all of this is not that a racist organisation is pretending to be against racism, but rather that a director of All Together Now, Sam Chadwick who is also the General Manager of Hyundai A-league Operations and General Manager of FFA Cup turned a blind eye to the racism unfolding right before his eyes.
Many of you will know that shortly after the announcement of the NCIP in June last year, FFA and Melbourne Knights went head to head over a legitimate sponsor for the FFA Cup featuring the word ‘CROATIA’. Whilst I won’t make too much further comment on the matter as it is still in the hands of the Human Rights Commission, I will state that Sam Chadwick as the General Manager of the FFA Cup was included in all of the correspondence relating to the matter, and did absolutely nothing to protect a clear victim of racism. Not only did he not do anything to protect but he didn’t even have the decency to take the call of a concerned Melbourne Knights official.
He turned a blind eye when FFA demanded clarification as to why the word ‘CROATIA’ appeared as large as it did.
He turned a blind eye when FFA constantly referred to sections of the NCIP which were not applicable to the matter.
He even turned a blind eye when the FFA changed the rules at the last minute despite all requests being met, as it was the only way to deny the word ‘CROATIA’ being displayed.
Is this the kind of person that should be sitting on the board of an organisation whose purpose is to erase racism? How someone can remain a director of Australia’s only organisation solely dedicated to erasing racism is completely beyond me, and should be completely beyond anybody who is reading this. Whilst stepping down and a public apology won’t fix the problem, it would definitely be a great start.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing in all of this is not that a racist organisation is pretending to be against racism, but rather that a director of All Together Now, Sam Chadwick who is also the General Manager of Hyundai A-league Operations and General Manager of FFA Cup turned a blind eye to the racism unfolding right before his eyes.
Many of you will know that shortly after the announcement of the NCIP in June last year, FFA and Melbourne Knights went head to head over a legitimate sponsor for the FFA Cup featuring the word ‘CROATIA’. Whilst I won’t make too much further comment on the matter as it is still in the hands of the Human Rights Commission, I will state that Sam Chadwick as the General Manager of the FFA Cup was included in all of the correspondence relating to the matter, and did absolutely nothing to protect a clear victim of racism. Not only did he not do anything to protect but he didn’t even have the decency to take the call of a concerned Melbourne Knights official.
He turned a blind eye when FFA demanded clarification as to why the word ‘CROATIA’ appeared as large as it did.
He turned a blind eye when FFA constantly referred to sections of the NCIP which were not applicable to the matter.
He even turned a blind eye when the FFA changed the rules at the last minute despite all requests being met, as it was the only way to deny the word ‘CROATIA’ being displayed.
Is this the kind of person that should be sitting on the board of an organisation whose purpose is to erase racism? How someone can remain a director of Australia’s only organisation solely dedicated to erasing racism is completely beyond me, and should be completely beyond anybody who is reading this. Whilst stepping down and a public apology won’t fix the problem, it would definitely be a great start.
Sunday, 3 August 2014
Back in the limelight
On one minute, off the next. Sunday the 29th of February 2004, the moment the light went out, the end of the National Soccer League, and the end of the limelight for the Melbourne Knights. Then on a cold June night in the heart of Melbourne in 2014 the light began to flicker, growing to full beam.
I don’t think anybody at the time actually realised how much it would all be missed, I definitely didn’t. That day in February 2004 will be one that I shall remember for eternity, a day that made me proud to be Croatian, yet sad to see that something so great had ultimately come to an end. For a group of guys that wanted to show the people we are a nation, we exist as a nation; we did a damn good job at it. From being expelled in 1972 to lifting back to back trophies in 1995 and 1996, the whole world knew about the Melbourne Knights, the Manchester United of Australia. Not only were we the best and most dominate side in the country during the 1990s, we were also the most successful Croatian club outside of Croatia.
After what seemed like an eternity of no activity for the club between the end of the NSL and beginning of the 2005 Victorian Premier League season, the club finally kicked off against Sydney United in what was the beginning the now annual ‘Friendship Cup’. Although no longer on the national stage, it was evident that the club was still somewhat relevant to the Croatian and football communities with some 2,500 people in attendance. Despite this, unless you were at the game or reading the local Croatian paper, you wouldn’t have known the result and more than likely that the match was even on. The club didn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, and there was certainly no mainstream media interest. And it was going to get any better from there, with crowd figures slowly dwindling year after year, and interest from anyone other than the regulars almost completely lost, the future wasn’t bright.
Then at around 6am on Wednesday the 25th of June 2014 a light began to flicker. It wasn’t the lights from Times Square shining through my New York hotel window; it was the Knights twitter account. Being too nervous to even check the score updates on my phone let alone listen to the game live, I tried forcing myself to go back to sleep. To no avail I checked my phone 20 or so minutes later to find us up 0-1 thanks to a first half Tomislav Uskok goal. Making me even more nervous, I was desperate for time to pass, leading me to the bathroom for a long shower and shave before checking my phone again. I didn’t know what to think as I saw Shayan Alinejad pop up along with 0-2, being two goals up in the second half you would think gives you a very good chance of winning the match, but I had seen otherwise, way too many times. From that point I couldn’t help myself but to scroll down and refresh twitter every 5 seconds until the full time graphic appeared. This was when the twitter notifications went into meltdown. It was the first time the Knights had been trending and most likely the first time a state league match got trending in Australia. Not only was it trending on twitter, within minutes there were match review articles popping up on mainstream media websites, the result was even scrolling along the Fox Sports news feed. We didn’t just take the last qualification spot for the FFA Cup, we did it against our biggest rivals. They were in form and top of the table with only one loss for the season, whilst we boasted a heavily depleted and young squad. To top it off we did it away from home in front of a healthy vocal Knights contingent. And man it was news worthy! It was ultimately the first real mainstream media coverage we had since the NSL, aside from the Southern Stars scandal which saw us ravage them 3-0 at Knights Stadium on prime time evening news.
Despite the interest slowing down in the proceeding weeks, the days leading up to the Round of 32 match saw a spike in coverage with the KnightsTV crew doing an outstanding job providing everyone with daily content, along with a number of news articles from various external outlets. The two hours my phone was off during the flight to Brisbane would have to have been close to the most activity our twitter account had ever seen in such a short period of time. With links to articles previewing the match, interviews with coaches, interviews with players, there was even a guide to betting with detailed reports on all 8 teams form going into the FFA Cup. But what was perhaps the most pleasing of all was knowing that Victoria was behind us, with a large number of clubs pledging their support for the Knights in the lead up to the match. By the time I got through it all just after lunch, my phone was all but dead and had to go on charge as I knew there was more to come. However being so caught up in the thrill of the lead up to the game, I didn’t even care to check it. We were about to take the national stage for the first time in just over 10 years, and what was all that mattered.
At first the result left me streaming with anger, but as time passed it bothered me less and less. As I walked through front door back home in Melbourne, I raced to the Foxtel remote to watch the pregame show. I am unable to explain how it felt to see the Knights team line up on the screen, the hosts talking about us before the match, a live cross to our goal. All this together with the online media coverage, KnightsTV content in the lead up, all of our twitter activity, this was more than we even had in the NSL. We were back in the limelight and I was absolutely loving it.
But there was one thing that stood out for me the most, the introduction video to the pregame show. The first ever broadcast for the FFA Cup, right around Australia, history was being made. And what did I see? What was the very first thing I saw that quickly caught my attention and more than likely the attention of rest of the viewers around the country? The very first logo of all the clubs. Our logo. The Melbourne Knights. The group of guys that wanted to show the people we are a nation, we exist as a nation. And God did it feel good.
I don’t think anybody at the time actually realised how much it would all be missed, I definitely didn’t. That day in February 2004 will be one that I shall remember for eternity, a day that made me proud to be Croatian, yet sad to see that something so great had ultimately come to an end. For a group of guys that wanted to show the people we are a nation, we exist as a nation; we did a damn good job at it. From being expelled in 1972 to lifting back to back trophies in 1995 and 1996, the whole world knew about the Melbourne Knights, the Manchester United of Australia. Not only were we the best and most dominate side in the country during the 1990s, we were also the most successful Croatian club outside of Croatia.
After what seemed like an eternity of no activity for the club between the end of the NSL and beginning of the 2005 Victorian Premier League season, the club finally kicked off against Sydney United in what was the beginning the now annual ‘Friendship Cup’. Although no longer on the national stage, it was evident that the club was still somewhat relevant to the Croatian and football communities with some 2,500 people in attendance. Despite this, unless you were at the game or reading the local Croatian paper, you wouldn’t have known the result and more than likely that the match was even on. The club didn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, and there was certainly no mainstream media interest. And it was going to get any better from there, with crowd figures slowly dwindling year after year, and interest from anyone other than the regulars almost completely lost, the future wasn’t bright.
Then at around 6am on Wednesday the 25th of June 2014 a light began to flicker. It wasn’t the lights from Times Square shining through my New York hotel window; it was the Knights twitter account. Being too nervous to even check the score updates on my phone let alone listen to the game live, I tried forcing myself to go back to sleep. To no avail I checked my phone 20 or so minutes later to find us up 0-1 thanks to a first half Tomislav Uskok goal. Making me even more nervous, I was desperate for time to pass, leading me to the bathroom for a long shower and shave before checking my phone again. I didn’t know what to think as I saw Shayan Alinejad pop up along with 0-2, being two goals up in the second half you would think gives you a very good chance of winning the match, but I had seen otherwise, way too many times. From that point I couldn’t help myself but to scroll down and refresh twitter every 5 seconds until the full time graphic appeared. This was when the twitter notifications went into meltdown. It was the first time the Knights had been trending and most likely the first time a state league match got trending in Australia. Not only was it trending on twitter, within minutes there were match review articles popping up on mainstream media websites, the result was even scrolling along the Fox Sports news feed. We didn’t just take the last qualification spot for the FFA Cup, we did it against our biggest rivals. They were in form and top of the table with only one loss for the season, whilst we boasted a heavily depleted and young squad. To top it off we did it away from home in front of a healthy vocal Knights contingent. And man it was news worthy! It was ultimately the first real mainstream media coverage we had since the NSL, aside from the Southern Stars scandal which saw us ravage them 3-0 at Knights Stadium on prime time evening news.
Despite the interest slowing down in the proceeding weeks, the days leading up to the Round of 32 match saw a spike in coverage with the KnightsTV crew doing an outstanding job providing everyone with daily content, along with a number of news articles from various external outlets. The two hours my phone was off during the flight to Brisbane would have to have been close to the most activity our twitter account had ever seen in such a short period of time. With links to articles previewing the match, interviews with coaches, interviews with players, there was even a guide to betting with detailed reports on all 8 teams form going into the FFA Cup. But what was perhaps the most pleasing of all was knowing that Victoria was behind us, with a large number of clubs pledging their support for the Knights in the lead up to the match. By the time I got through it all just after lunch, my phone was all but dead and had to go on charge as I knew there was more to come. However being so caught up in the thrill of the lead up to the game, I didn’t even care to check it. We were about to take the national stage for the first time in just over 10 years, and what was all that mattered.
At first the result left me streaming with anger, but as time passed it bothered me less and less. As I walked through front door back home in Melbourne, I raced to the Foxtel remote to watch the pregame show. I am unable to explain how it felt to see the Knights team line up on the screen, the hosts talking about us before the match, a live cross to our goal. All this together with the online media coverage, KnightsTV content in the lead up, all of our twitter activity, this was more than we even had in the NSL. We were back in the limelight and I was absolutely loving it.
But there was one thing that stood out for me the most, the introduction video to the pregame show. The first ever broadcast for the FFA Cup, right around Australia, history was being made. And what did I see? What was the very first thing I saw that quickly caught my attention and more than likely the attention of rest of the viewers around the country? The very first logo of all the clubs. Our logo. The Melbourne Knights. The group of guys that wanted to show the people we are a nation, we exist as a nation. And God did it feel good.
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