Imagine Sydney Olympic in A-League

Your agruement lacks factual proof Kon. Firstly the 2002 grand Final (42,000) V Perth Glory was Held in Perth and was attended by the Glory majority as was the 2003 Grand Final (38,000). Olympic V Paramatta 2004 could only draw 9,600 in your own City. the Northern Spirt V Olympic match again was held at North Sydney Oval and drew just under 19,000 of mainly Spirit Supporter and was the record until it was broken by Brisbane (Queensland) Roar in 2005. As for the game against Newcastle I can only assume that this too was played away from home and you are only trying to capitalise on the Success of others. I was there during the late 90's and right up until the demise. I saw Olympic at Belmore and Shark Park. Olympic never had fantastic crowds and would not be able to enter the A-League until they got that stadium back in to order and built at least one more grandstand to a minimum capacity of 15,00 and 3/4 seated. I also saw many Greek flags and The offical supporter group were called the Greek army, so don'te your trollop about the club not Identifying as a Greek club.

It is unfounded CC because you clearly stated that no other national competition has ethnic based sides, you are wrong. And now you are backpedaling "oh you miss the point". Laughable.

Look, Sydney olympic has had the biggest crowd attendancies in the NSL they had the biggest attendance in the regular NSL season of about 19000 people against spirit. and the second highest was also Olympic vs Newcastle at bout 18000. the highest grand final attendance was also olympic vs Perth recently in 2002 at 42000. I have gone to 90 percent of the Olympic matches this year and i have not yet seen a greek flag. Only blue and white checkered squares just like the sydney fc supporters and melbourne supporters. They have also got the biggest stadium in the NSWPL at the moment and have gained 5.6 million dollars to repair and improve the stadium further. They are a greekish club but not as much as what it used to be. IN the NSL they have been finalists 6 times and have had some great players and are still breeding many more. The NSL lasted 50 odd years and was finished due to the ethnic clubs mainly. The A-League is into its 5th season and has had most clubs needing funds from the FFA and the North QLD Fury out of funds and yet they are bringing in more teams. They should at least give good old NSL teams one or two seasons in the A-league before deciding to go to these New teams that have not even existed for a couple years. Even if it isn't Sydney Olympic that doesn't get that chance some others should. I have never gone to an A-league match and spent 5 minutes looking for empty seats since going to Olympic at Shark park. And yes i do support Olympic but i have not heard much about Marconi or other teams in NSW talking about going to the A-league.

"Guys, i know many many sydney olympic fans they all see Sydney FC as Sydney City, same board allignements, same ex-players around the club. How do you expect people to support a club that is run by Frank Lowy?" So what you're saying, Alex, is that you pick the club you support based on the board and the ownership?

Sterg & Alex Understand everybody wants the the NSL clubs back ... it is that simple ... BUT back changed ... I repeat what I said in my earlier post the NSL was a hopeless management model... so too was the structure of many, not all of the clubs... All anybody wants is no Crawford type issues... and a guarantee to accept FFA rulings.... Sterg BTW the NSL had 21 clubs at one stage... and a 40 week season I think ...

I will take you at your word and don't need it confirmed by looking at another website. The problem is that you did not answer the question put to you by "collin". In fact, you simply spoke to the problem by segregating people on the basis of their apparent ethnicity. Your inability to answer the questions is fair enough - as there is no evidence to suggest that anyone (least of all a single, humble member) can provide guarantees that ethnic rivalries will not flare if former NSL teams return to the national stage and the associated media exposure and scrutiny. And that is the rub - the former NSL teams know it and the FFA know it. A situation where such teams, building on their proud histories and communities are fighting through the FFA Cup / A2 for the privilege to be in the top flight of Australian football will allow these teams to address any issues as they arise with 'the prize' to focus the mind. A structured, economically viable 'pathway to participation' is a valid goal for these great, old clubs - they deserve such respect and football would be better for it. But unlike their former attitudes to the participation of others in the past - it is NOT a birthright.

crowds are not as good as we only have 11 teams NSL had 16!!!! the quality is way less superior and you might say we have corporate sponsorship but why are so many clubs going under????

The a-league crowds are better than the NSL crowds. The quality of the teams are far superior, the wages of the players are higher, the professionalism of the training staff is higher. The game is finally being taken seriously by mainstream Australia. Sponsorship, TV money, media are all coming into the game. If the NSL failed then, why would it suddenly work now? You can continue supporting whatever team you like but IMO the game is heading in the right direction.

See guys, one thing you are all forgetting is that for the World Cup to come to Australia we must have a second division and if this does not occur no world cup, so the A2 or B - League as you like must happen and if clubs like Olympic, Marconi, United and Knights are not embraced who will support this second division sides when people are not even supportting the a-league, lets get serious the crowds of clubs like Fury, Jets, Gold Coast and Central Coast are pathetic and clubs cannot pay decent wages with these types of crowds.

Guys, i know many many sydney olympic fans they all see Sydney FC as Sydney City, same board allignements, same ex-players around the club. How do you expect people to support a club that is run by Frank Lowy? How can the ffa be run properly if the leader runs a football club as well? Dont we all find it suspicious that Sydney FC has been ;losing 7 million dollars a year and they have no problems? Is it fiar for the registration fees paid by children across australia be going into the till of a club like Sydney FC? What money has a club like Sydney Olympic FC ever received from the FFA or Soccer Australia, answer zero. Please advise in the last ten years at Sydney Olympic matches how many times you have seen a Greek Flag? Answer zero.... In Europe and all over the world clubs are backed by different communities and fan hold flags of all different countries so I really cannot see the problem. Sydney FC = North Shore and Eastern Suburbs, if it was not for the ex-Northern Spirit fans the club would have no fans just the way Sydney City was in the NSL run by Frank Lowy Sydney Rovers= does not have a backer, even though some dodgy websites are putting out rumours about tim cahil backing the bid it is not true. All we are saying, Olympic has been doing heaps in the last two years, you cannot say it is up to the club to do its bit, it keeps producing players, it keeps promoting the game in Australia, it has the investors and the backing of a community to field an A-League side but they are not aloud in, so please stop saying it is up to the club. Sydney United has a massive fariwell game tommorrow at Edensor Park what has the FFA done about this instead of embracing it they are pretending like it is not happening, Why? You guys can act like you hate clubs like Olympic, United and South but the truth is if they were embraced and put into the A-League instead of making fast food franchises like Fury and Heart then the league would generate much more interest and the rivalvry will be there. So please wake up to yourselves and think before you speak.

Das I think the key question is if an NSL club would abide by any FFA ruling no matter how harsh without going to the courts... Part of the old NSL problem was if an NSL team did not agree with the governing bodies ruling against them they when to court or threaten such... I can assure very few sporting bodies could operate if their ruling where taken to the high court ... essentially if its smell like a rose looks like a rose it is a rose.... many decisions are made this way by Australian & world sporting bodies... a good lawyer will normally make mince meat of such decisions... especially at a high court level... Soooooooooo the NSL clubs need to be prepared to accept a nasty FFA decision down the track ... not all have shown this degree of self control in the past.... My guess is everyone in football wants to unite those fans who feel they have been left out of new football .... however as others have said the ball is very much in the hands of these clubs... Alex ...central to all reconciliations is the acceptance by both parties of pass wrongs they may have committed.... I have not heard one word from the traditional ethnic clubs that they created and were part of the problem... I have read plenty to say look what we did respect us your article is the perfect example ... but nothing about the findings of the Crawford report ... a good start is to openly if possible admit pass wrongs ... only then can the planning be done to bring clubs like Olympic back into main stream tent.... Alex there is no comparison between 2003 & 2010 ... Alex you asked why do we feel angry and threaten... that is an over reaction on your part... everyone is welcome at the A-League ... and I implore you to think 2010 & 2003 ... do you honestly believe that the NSL was great ... mate in 2003 people in the media laughed and poked fun at the Socceroos today they are the main sporting brand in Australia .. revenue is over 100 million dollars per year .... Olympic has been a great club... but the model is was build on was simply wrong if it wants to be accepted as a main stream football club... Olympic needs to openly embrace its pass ... the good certainly ... and the bad ... and the mistakes and give a clear understanding it will support any FFA ruling ... that will open your door and have everyone wanting to give Olympic hugs and kisses..

I will just say there is a difference between a club that is popular within an ethnic community then a ethnic club. I do believe it should be a non-negotiable criteria that if you want to join the A-league then you have to be a multicultural club. Now those former ethnic clubs will still be popular within the ethnic community they originated from but there has to be a commitment to engage with the rest of the community.

Dasilva perhaps thats a point that could be considered for an A2 League. But we should see how their fans support them in the Australian Cup first. The sooner the better. Either way all Migrant clubs arnt like they used to be. Every generation looses more of their heritage as time goes by, its just a normal process, but its not to say they should just rebrand, i think thats killing of who you are and how you got there.

Yes Farqwar, I'm a proud Sydney FC fan and have never thought myself Jewish, not that there's anything wrong with being Jewish, mind you. Its just your typical old fashioned stereotype from people who don't understand Australian football and are jealous of what Frank Lowy has achieve by having the courage and passion to support something he truly loves. I'm an admirer of people like that.

Tim - Hakoah is a jewish team right? All I see at Sydney FC is a multicultural team, Uraguan, Greek, Anglo, Korean, Swiss, Irish, African, Eastern European but even that is just pointing out their heritage because they are all(imports aside) Aussies that reflect multicultural Australia, more than any other code. For that I am happy and proud!

No Tim, Hakoah are in the State League and they are called Hakoah. Greg, at the moment, the NSW Premier League seems to be acting as a "B-League" of sorts. And Farqwar, Sydney Olympic have always represented Greece. I don't have a problem with that but Tim, to suggest they are representative of "Inner West Sydney" is completely wrong.

If any clubs with ethnics roots wants to rebrand their team to become a multicultural clubs and make a point that this club is now a club for all Australians. If they are willing to follow FFA rules of not bringing non-Australian flags to a game then I'm happy for them to return to the National League. There have been clubs such as Ajax who had ethnic roots but they have moved on and became clubs for all ethnicity. The same must happen with the former NSL clubs that wish to join the A-League.

I think one other question is pertinent. Are they willing to abide by the FFA rules of no non-Australian flags in any A-league match?

So it seems Chile,Canada and Sweden are behind us in producing a unified national football competition.Condolences to them.But since when is asking a question an unfounded comment? Anyway you are missing the point.The fact is to have a credible national football competition it should have teams that are not ethnic based.The A league would be a joke if we had teams aligned with other countries.Could you imagine England,Spain and Italy having a Croatian team playing a Dutch team for example in their top league. I think some people have to realize,while it's fine to have all ethnic groups promoting development of football here,Australias best interests are not served by having teams based on other countries.

So Chile,Canada and Sweden have ethnic based teams.I guess that proves that they are behind us in developing a unified football nation. You should be clear,I am not criticising the right or contribution of different ethnic groups to football here or anywhere else.Most of our best players have origins from overseas. But we live in Australia and for the future success of football here our top tier of football should be a national competition with teams from Australia,which are not racially based.