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Over the past several months, I have been loosely following the ongoing dramas regarding the Wellington Phoenix and their potential exclusion from the A-League come 2016, as well as the ongoing financial woes of the Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar. I must say, I find this all truly hilarious and exhilarating.
Being a born and bred fan of a state league club, I find it nothing short of amusing to see these manufactured clubs struggle time and time again. This is all the A-League is, it’s a business made to take your money. The 10 clubs are propped up and given all the special treatment, while the real hard-working community clubs are treated like third-class citizens.
The way the league is run, there will never be promotion and relegation, and nor will the FFA ever strive to implement it. There will never be a league that reaches beyond 14 teams, that encompasses all regions of Australia, as they will never be as profitable as having a third or fourth big city team that rakes in the derby money.
When I attend home games of my beloved South Melbourne, I truly feel at home. Nestled in a quiet, beautiful part of the inner city, lies the iconic Lakeside Stadium. I look around and see all the familiar faces of the diehard supporters, but I also see new faces, families, and people of all nationalities coming together and supporting a true community club.
I look around and think to myself, “what ethnic club?”.
Granted, it still draws a fair chunk of support from the local Greek community, but why wouldn’t it? Founded over 50 years ago as South Melbourne Hellas, there are generations of fans, from grandfather to grandson, that continue to support this iconic club.
The difference is that it does not aggressively label itself as ethnic. Many of South’s newer supporters are very far from Greek. I talk to them and they feel just as much of a connection to the club as I do, regardless of nationality. Anglos, Jews, South Americans, people from all over are happy to come support the club.
The most significant reason I find is that to them, South Melbourne is not a franchise; it is a team deeply embedded in the history of Australian football (regardless of the FFA’s desire to ruthlessly oppress it). They can come weekly, see the same familiar faces, and feel part of a family, part of a club that actually represents them, not a club that is manufactured to take their money.
And taking it even further, these same Anglos and Jews are happy to chant ‘Hellas’ for the team, because they acknowledge the team’s history and heritage, a nod to the ethnic past. Funny, isn’t it?
But alas, there are those who will be forever oppressing the ‘ethnic’ club, crying bloody murder at the ‘ethnic violence’ of the NSL days. But to those people I would like to ask if the violence back in the final days was any worse than it is now? I think it’s even worse now.
In fact, I can’t even remember a major case of violence in the NSL after the very infamous Bobby Despotovski salute, which happened in 2001. Compare that to today, where week in week out we hear all over the news about ‘sokkah hooligans’ but still, the ethnic days of the NSL were the worst! Never again! Kill them all with fire!
To the FFA, the second your team stops being valuable, you’re out. It doesn’t matter if you’re financially stable and well run, if you don’t have input, you don’t deserve a club.
Is this really the type of league you’d like to support? An authoritarian dictatorship where clubs have no say, are ruthlessly tossed away like yesterday’s garbage and the fans left neglected? You should have seen this coming, and hey, Newcastle and Central Coast, next time it may be your turn.
And thus, the rant of this passionate football fan comes to an end.
I will continue to support my beloved Hellas through thick and thin. I will continue to laugh at the drama unfolding in the A-League. Most importantly though, I will never support the abomination that is the A-League.
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