South Melbourne make $7 million offer for Melbourne Heart

[ganas]

i too would love to see sm back on the national scene. they have a boutique stadium for it. okay, they will never demand a crowd like victory, but it would be a successful smaller club and not only will it represent the greeks that have their ethnic ties to the club, it will incorporate all of the south of melbourne. and i dont think the greek stuff would really allienate people that much. the stadium will be blue and white, but from memory, national flags are banned from a-league games unless its australian or australian state flag. so you wouldn't see thopusands of greek flags flying around like you used to in the nsl. if sm come into the a-league and create an atmostphere like wsw, i would welcome them back with open arms and it will be for the betterment of our league.

the only real issue i see with sm coming into the national league is that they will probably take away from hearts supporter base. heart really need to find a geographical location and stick with it. Geelong maybe?

[shinAUFC]

IMO heart has an identity crisis.

Always trying to keep up with big brother but then claims its all about community and youth, it is neither.

[Stuckey]

IMO heart has an identity crisis.

Always trying to keep up with big brother but then claims its all about community and youth, it is neither.

i too would love to see sm back on the national scene. they have a boutique stadium for it. okay, they will never demand a crowd like victory, but it would be a successful smaller club and not only will it represent the greeks that have their ethnic ties to the club, it will incorporate all of the south of melbourne. and i dont think the greek stuff would really allienate people that much. the stadium will be blue and white, but from memory, national flags are banned from a-league games unless its australian or australian state flag. so you wouldn't see thopusands of greek flags flying around like you used to in the nsl. if sm come into the a-league and create an atmostphere like wsw, i would welcome them back with open arms and it will be for the betterment of our league.

the only real issue i see with sm coming into the national league is that they will probably take away from hearts supporter base. heart really need to find a geographical location and stick with it. Geelong maybe?

These two comments highlight that SM would be a perfect replacement/management for Heart.

[shinAUFC]

with the APL coming up and possibly being televised is it a better option to have heavyweights like South Melbourne give the APL more credibility and a springboard to succeed ?

[Stuckey]

with the APL coming up and possibly being televised is it a better option to have heavyweights like South Melbourne give the APL more credibility and a springboard to succeed ?

I guess, but when the FFA Cup begins if we see SM or Marconi beating a HAL side, this will serve as a great piece of credibility. Openning the question of promotion and relegation up wide.

[sevengoals]

$7million - not taken.

But $9million maybe...

Melbourne Heart has declined to sell their A-League license for the third time, after they pushed aside a third offer by VPL club South Melbourne.

more.
http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Sth-Melbo ... ut-attempt

[Reds]

for so long it was teams like South Melbourne that destroyed football in Australia with ethnic ties the alienated people from this sport. We can't take two steps forward then one step back. I remember going to a south Melbourne game in Adelaide's first season and being abused in greek the whole time and called a 'skip'. If the A-league allows this then we are no longer going by club rivalry but ethnic division, subtle at the start but watch it grow again and destroy the fabric of this game once again.

[sevengoals]

^^^
Like you Red I have also suffered abuse at football matches in Adelaide but you can't blame every supporter for the actions of a few idiots.
I remember watching the touring UK club sides play at Hindmarsh while growing up in Adelaide and being called a wog (and worse) by the lads that would come down by the bus load from the Northern suburbs.
The migrants/new australians have always been on the receiving end of racism in OZ, especially at football grounds.
Nothing has changed.

We here get pissed off when United supporters or the club are blamed for the stupidity of a few (e.g.flares) so I find it difficult that you put all SM supporters into one pot and claim that the club would be bad for football.

[blahblah]

I wouldn't necessarily mind them coming in. They have the self-belief required to be successful.

I still think Heart have a place however they need to differentiate themselves the way St Pauli have done in Hamburg. A great example of a club philosophy that makes you utterly different, and infinitely cooler, than your larger, wealthier cousin. I'm not saying Heart need to become left leaning, have wine served on the terraces and play in brown with a pirate's skull & crossbones, however something that makes them unique is required. And I am talking about a club philosophy here, not just the product they produce on the pitch.

[Old Gregg]

I think Australian football now has a very solid foundation - successful clubs with broad supporter bases in each of the major cities. I wouldn't see the reintroduction of successful 'traditional' clubs like SMFC at a national level as a backwards step at all, in fact I believe it's necessary for future growth (as well as putting tendrils out into other regional areas & smaller cities like Hobart, Canberra, Wollongong)

[Reds]

It would be a mistake. Australia as a whole has not yet welcomed football with open arms, re-introducing a team that was the reason people didn't support the sport will only be seen as a step back to the bad old days of soccer and the NSL. there is no need for them as a team on the national stage, the whole reason the A-League came about was to start again with teams based on the region they came from and not the ethnic backgrounds and SM is all about being greek. You can say they have developed but to anyone with any sense can see they are a greek based side and will take supporters of greek heritage away from victory and heart and all of a sudden we are going back to ethnic based sides.
We have come so far and fought off the whole 'wog ball' bullshit that to go back to a team like that will only do us harm.

[sevengoals]

SMFC are an Australian club based in Melbourne with Australians as members/supporters and it would be a shame if they were excluded from the A-League because of their cultural/ethnic background.

[blahblah]

SMFC are a Tard club based in Melbourne with Tards as members/supporters and it would be a shame if they were excluded from the A-League because of their IQ.

Edited for accuracy

[Reds]

SMFC are an Australian club based in Melbourne with Australians as members/supporters and it would be a shame if they were excluded from the A-League because of their cultural/ethnic background.

they are an Australian based club with Australian supporters, but they wear the Greek colours were called the Hellas and the Australian supporters saw themselves as more Greek than Australian.
The thing I'm against is the perception of having a team like that in the A-League and what affect it will have on the broader non-football community we need to convert. SMFC have come a long way but the stigma attached to their team is still there and will only damage the A-League brand and what the A-League set out to achieve.
Don't get me wrong, they are a great Australian club with a strong, proud and long history, but their time has come and gone and the code is growing up now and getting away from the old NSL days.

[blahblah]

I wonder if one or two positions in the A-League could be awarded to the winner & runner-up of the NPL for each year....