Soccer in the news - again!

pao1908 said:

For all those interested, ABC TV will investigate the off-field shambles of Soccer Australia on its '4 Corners' program. Called 'The Final Whistle?', it will look into the power struggle of our governing body, the financial mess our game is in, and includes input from such ppl as Ian Knop, Remo Nogarotto, Jeff Kennett, Tony Labbozetta, Robbie Slater, Nick Tana & George Negus.

Monday 8:30pm ABC TV ... should make for interesting viewing :depress:

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Well it was interesting :sigh: but there were no real surprises :groan: :depress:. It just re-emphasised what sort of dreadful mess the game is in.

Some of the things that did catch my eye;
* Perth Glory's situation - I knew they were making losses and i knew there was tension between Tana and Afkos but i had no idea that things were as serious as they were. If the league isn't fixed soon then either the Glory will go broke or Tana will "pick up his bat and ball and go home" so to speak and then soccer in this country will be finished for a very long time

* Nogarotto's true colours - Should have known there was something sinister about this guy. Afterall he is a politician and with politics usually comes corruption. Was astounded how he led Robbie Slater and co into putting money into the Ailing spirit without informing them of the current situation. Having said that i can't believe how stupid someone like Robbie was to actually put his own money into the club with such limited information.

Unfortunately the scale of corruption didn't surprise me and i don't think things will change until the whole SA organisation is either restructured or wound-up and a new body implemented to run the game. I acknowledge that there is probably some corruption and legal loopholes in all aministrations, sporting or otherwise but not to an extent that it becomes public news and inhibits the job of those trying to run the game properly and eventually the players themselves (evidence of which would be the whol "play for free" debacle involving the NT)


On another note i notice that in reference to the term "mainstream" why is ethnicity always coined as the example and the alternative. As well as different ethnic groups, if Perth are truly mainstream then won't they also be targeting hippies, homosexuals, wealthy white collar workers and working class alike, true soccer fans and fans of other codes alike, youngsters and the elderly etc etc... So tell me KI and others who follow the Glory do you see all these types???


p.s---Disclaimer: I know that nearly all media and journalistic pieces try to promote a point of view or slant on a sotry using that oh so famour tool called propaganda. Therefore i have tried to present the facts as i saw them and give an opinion where appropriate

You're spot on about the dreadful mess our game is in Andreas. While I applaud ABC for airing the show last night, i must say that it made soccer look like sh!t

The way I saw it, they seem to make Nogarotto into the villian, and Loony Labbo into the victim. While i now agree with the first one, i still reckon that Labbo is the Darth Vadar of our game. How could Nogarotto lead Slater and co. on a merry dance like that? And like you mentioned Andreas, how could Slater be as dumb as he was to actually invest his money? You would think that after all the crap he went through that he would have told Spirit where to go and how to get there, but he still loves the club. If it was me in his position i would have ditched the Spirit years ago...

I was a little disappointed though that 4 Corners didnt feature any of the other clubs, such as Sydney Utd, Olympic, or South. It would have been good if they got an insight as to how these clubs actually stay alive every year, seeing as they dont have the same money or budgets as the Glory or Spirit.

And I totally agree with what Kennett said about the game, and how it needs to be run by professional administrators, not by washed-up wanna-be old jerks.

Lets just hope that SA wakes up to itself before death comes knockin' on its door :depress:

pao1908 said:

You're spot on about the dreadful mess our game is in Andreas. While I applaud ABC for airing the show last night, i must say that it made soccer look like sh!t

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Well to be honest, with the whole FIFA financial corruption scandal happening on the eve of the WC then the game doesn't exactly look healthy at the moment :sigh:.

pao1908 said:

The way I saw it, they seem to make Nogarotto into the villian, and Loony Labbo into the victim. While i now agree with the first one, i still reckon that Labbo is the Darth Vadar of our game.

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hehe i agree completely. Almost shed a tear for poor old Tony when he said Knop was the only guy he invited to his 60th birthday ..........almost :dielaugh: :tongue: finger: tony). I think the real story was mroe like Knop was the only one of the invited guests to turn up to Labbo's 60th (i wonder where it was.......the Ancient Tea of China house perhaps....:nasty: :howler: )

pao1908 said:

I was a little disappointed though that 4 Corners didnt feature any of the other clubs, such as Sydney Utd, Olympic, or South. It would have been good if they got an insight as to how these clubs actually stay alive every year, seeing as they dont have the same money or budgets as the Glory or Spirit.

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True, although i think Olympic do have a bit of money to spend looking at all the players they pruchased during the season. Perhaps the fact these clubs are the so called "ethnic" clubs was enough for the british lovin ABC to steer clear of (they briefly touched on them when Hill radically tried to make them mainstream)
I was also interested to see them showing pictures of Newcastle Utd at the end of the program but said nothing about them :wth:. I'd be interested to see what their finances are actually like since we all know that Spirit, Power and Glory are all losing money

pao1908 said:

And I totally agree with what Kennett said about the game, and how it needs to be run by professional administrators, not by washed-up wanna-be old jerks.

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don't think anything needs to be added here. I'd be more than interested to start a rebel league with Jeff though...providing he provides the financial backing

pao1908 said:

Lets just hope that SA wakes up to itself before death comes knockin' on its door :depress:

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Actually if it wasn't for the thread of a ban being placed on the NT and clubs competing internationally if SA becomes insolvent then i'd be all for SA being wound up and condemned to the dustbin forever :nasty: :hopefull: