SYDNEY OLYMPIC – 2025 SEASON REVIEW

 It’s that time of the year again, where we review the season and sadly it is once again bad news for the Club, as it has been yet another disappointing season for Sydney Olympic, both on and off the field, with questions remaining throughout various aspects of the club.

On the field, the Club has had yet another unsatisfactory season.

Although season 2025 has seen a slight improvement – very slight – compared to 2023 and 2024, the Club has once again failed to finish in the Top 6 and have again failed to qualify for the Finals, a bare minimum requirement for Sydney Olympic.

Even the most cock-eyed optimist, would have to now admit and acknowledge, that the entire 3 seasons as a whole under Labinot Haliti, have been a disaster.

This year we had the added debacle of some fool in the Club office not filling in a form properly / not sending information on time to Football NSW, which for some bizarre reason resulted in the Sydney Olympic 1st Grade team, receiving a 3 point deduction as punishment.

For this office / administration stuff-up aside, the geniuses at Football NSW came to the conclusion that a 3 point deduction was necessary for this very serious “crime”.

It is actually ridiculous, especially when you consider that year after year, they continue to turn a blind eye to numerous disgraceful situations and acts, by the same usual specific teams, yet you never see any punishment handed out to them and if any sanction has ever been handed out, it is either a light penalty, or a “suspended” one, which ultimately means nothing.

Maybe someone at the Club should investigate certain people inside Football NSW, who have had vendettas against Sydney Olympic for many years, starting off with that well known, nepo pencil-necked geek.

Back to the last 3 seasons, we have finished:

9th in 2023 – 10 wins – 9 draws – 11 losses
8th in 2024 – 13 wins – 3 draws – 14 losses
7th in 2025 – 12 wins – 7 draws – 11 losses

Out of 90 matches in the League, the club has won 35, lost 36 and drawn 19.

Yes you heard that correctly, we’ve only won 35 matches out of 90 in 3 years.

Give him another extension.

We have failed to make the Top 6 / Finals in any of the last 3 seasons, since we were Minor Premiers in 2022. We actually, sacked the coach – Ante Juric – who took us to that Minor Premiership; ironically we have kept the same coach – Labinot Haliti – that has had 3 abysmal seasons in a row.

Make it make sense!

And to make it all the more worse, there has not been so much as 1 good Cup run in either the Waratah Cup or the Australia Cup in any of the past 3 seasons, to compensate for this poor League record.

How is it, that after 3 years and after everything we have seen, it still has not occurred to certain people at the Club, that the current coach is just not good enough, how many more chances does he get, how many more years do you need, to finally see it?

I implore anybody out there to investigate whether a coach anywhere, who has failed for 3-straight seasons, has kept his job at a club. It is unheard of in general, let alone at Sydney Olympic, where for right or wrong throughout its history, the Club has never been shy of telling a coach to pack his bags.

The current coach, Labinot Haliti – δεν κάνει – he is not good enough to lead Sydney Olympic and never has been, end of discussion.

Is the Club going to look at making a change? From everything that I’m hearing, they are not. So if that’s the case, expect even less people to turn up to matches in the future and expect more years of on-field failure coming up.

Recruitment has also been a shambles, we sign players who are not good enough, some players sign for the Club only to renege a few weeks later, while other players are simply not being given opportunities at the Club.

The Club has also been a revolving door, players come in and others are cleared out seemingly on a weekly basis, I can’t keep up with who is in the squad at certain points during the season.

Then you have the panic signing of players with 6 weeks to go in the season, these signings are a waste of time and money and almost every single time, it is far too late for any of them to make a big enough of an impact, to our chances of any success.

There is no stability.

The lack of Greeks in 1st Grade, is also a common and legitimate gripe from supporters, especially when you consider how many of them are floating around in the NPL system.

Yes this is Australia not Greece, but it would be nice to have more Greek players wearing the Sydney Olympic shirt, wouldn’t it?

All in all, it has been a disgraceful 3 seasons in a row under Haliti, this team is going no where under this coach and for the good of the Club and for the good of the people currently in charge at the Club, the right decision better be made and we see the back of him, now.

Off the field, it has also been a circus, chopping and changing between Belmore and Kogarah during the last couple of years, the disgrace that is the Belmore Sports Ground pitch and the Club having to train all the way out at Valentine Park at Glenwood.

Obviously, the lack of a proper home or base, goes far beyond the current administration and board of the Club. They are not to blame, but they sure have inherited the disease.

The crooks and thieves who did nothing for over half a century are to blame.

However, this is an issue that has been and continues to be an albatross around the club’s neck going on 68 years now and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Going here, there and everywhere all in one season is not good for the Club, the players or for the supporters.

There have also been rumours lately, that the President of the Club is looking at getting involved with the Gosford Mariners in the a-league, One would have thought that he’d have his hands full with Sydney Olympic, but no, he apparently also wants to get involved with and piss money up the wall with that abomination of a franchise and competition.

It’s his money I guess, I just would have thought that there were enough issues going on at Sydney Olympic to keep him busy here, guess not.

Onto this “Championship” which will now be commencing in October 2025, that was once supposed to be a proper National 2nd Division, linked with promotion and relegation with the a-league above and with the NPL’s below and which has now become a slightly enlarged version of the National NPL Finals, that operated between 2013 and 2019 and which was then scrapped.

Honestly, what is the point of it now?

It’s been watered down to such an extent to where it is essentially a waste of time and a massive waste of money, when you also consider that certain clubs – Sydney Olympic included – paid a big fee to be involved and yet some other teams are qualifying for it now, based on merit.

It’s all over the shop.

On the Club / Fan engagement front, it is abysmal across all the various social media sites and the Club is way down the pecking order, compared to how other clubs operate. Throw in the deleting and hiding and blocking of comments and fans by the club and it is another amateur shit-show.

A rare, potentially positive news story was the announcement by the Club, that there will be a new Sydney Olympic Crest, to replace the bland and uninspiring one in use currently and which has been in use for the last 10 years or so.

The Club put out a survey around a month ago, asking for feedback from members and supporters about what it should contain and what it should like etc. without knowing the results of this survey, I dare say that the Olympic Rings were at the top of the list in terms of the responses given, to be included in the new Club Crest.

We’ve gone through this all before about copyrights and trademarks regarding the usage of the Olympic Rings, but if the Club genuinely wanted to bring them back, they could, despite all the alleged legal threats.

Fancy telling a sporting club which was founded by Greeks, that they can’t use some sort of version of the Olympic Rings on its club imagery. Without Greeks, there would never have been an Olympic Games to begin with, malakes.

In my opinion, I think it is a long shot for them to be brought back, but I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see what the Club comes up with.

We wait with baited breath, we hope for the best, but expect the worst and hopefully, it is the last time we change our Club Crest.

Recently, Sydney Olympic President Damon Hanlin, gave an interview to SBS Radio, where he discussed and attempted to give some answers, to several of these important issues concerning the Club that I have mentioned above.

In terms of investment into the Club – referring to the playing squad – he stated he has personally put in millions into the club and has invested heavily in the playing squad, over the last few years.

It’s clear and obvious that he has put plenty of his own money into the Club, not to mention stepping up when the Bill Papas debacle was going on. Given how that is the case, there is no way in the world that the President would be happy with results these last 3 seasons, all that money spent and basically nothing to show for it.

So it makes you wonder, why hasn’t he made a move on the coach and pulled the trigger, in all this time of failure?

In response to the question of a lack of Greek players within the Club, he stressed that he and the Club have attempted to bring these players in, but they make ridiculous demands, dick the Club around and attempt to play the big “μάγκα” during negotiations, making it difficult to secure their services.

He also stressed that the club would always prioritise the best players first, when it comes to recruitment.

In regards to a proper home and base for the Club, the President made mention that a proper base and home for the Club has been one of, if not the main priority of his during his time at Sydney Olympic and that he realises how important it is for the Club’s future, while also going on to mention how difficult it has been to get done, because of various factors, both historical and presently.

In passing and I’m not sure if he meant for this to get out, but he mentioned something about a site near Moorebank as a potential future home for the Club, but there was very little detail given other than that passing mention. Given the SBS interview was 2 months ago now, I have heard nothing about it since and haven’t heard anyone connected with the Club expand on these comments.

So there’s not much else to report on that.

As much as I would like to be optimistic regarding all this, the fact of the matter is, I and many of you have been around long enough, to know to never take any of these comments seriously.

Sydney Olympic members and supporters were fed the same bullshit about Tempe Reserve some 10 years ago now, not to mention all the other broken promises, failed agreements, council backflips, artists renditions and other hoaxes that we have endured since 1957.

In response to rumours the “Championship” is dead, the President remains confident that the format for 2025 is only the beginning, as he believes that it will eventually become a proper National 2nd division in the future.

He also stated, that he has created a new company for the purposes of the upcoming “Championship” where he will control 100% of the shares of this new entity, which will be separate to the NPL level Sydney Olympic in terms of how it operates, with the latter remaining a member based operation.

On engagement with the fans, the President himself said in the interview he gave to SBS, he never even knew that Sydney Olympic was still a thing, when he was in discussions to be brought onto the Board by former President Bill Papas in 2016.

So if he didn’t know, how many others are in the same boat and don’t know that the Club still exists – to answer the question we know there are many – the Club is essentially out of sight out of mind for many people.

I do my part – no matter how small it is – to keep the Club name out there in the minds and hearts of the community, but surely the Club should be doing more itself.

He also implored people to come back to the stadium and support Sydney Olympic, as the Club needs the support of its fans.

I think we should always support the club, it is our Club, created by our people, because when Greeks got off the boat and arrived in Sydney back in the day and went down to the local parks to join some of the local teams, they were all told in no uncertain terms to F*** Off, so we did and we created our own Club.

So you will not get any pushback from most people, urging them to keep supporting the Club, this doesn’t mean of course, that you can’t show your frustration or criticise what has been going on and we all hope the club is healthy and around in another 68 years time, but, fans don’t go to matches anymore because it’s a combination of not knowing and the Club being poor on the field.

You can talk about a lot of other important things concerning the Club – and we have over many many years now – but at the end of the day, if the results on-field are pathetic and the team is unsuccessful, which we have been for 3 straight years, people will lose interest and won’t turn up, it’s not rocket science.

Ultimately, it has been 3 years of mediocrity and it has not been good enough.

There will now be a small break of about 6 weeks, after which the 2025 “Championship” will commence:

We have been placed in Group A which features: Sydney Olympic, South Melbourne, Moreton City Excelsior from QLD and Broadmeadow Magic, a Skopjan team from Newcastle.

Our Club will kick the whole season off against South Melbourne on Friday Night, October 10, down in Melbourne.

We’ll see how all that goes and we hope that there will be changes before then.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC – 2024 SEASON REVIEW

For the 2^nd season in a row, Sydney Olympic has ended the year in a mid-table position in the League. Finishing 9^th in 2023 and now 8^th in 2024.

One poor season is unacceptable, but most supporters can give a benefit of the doubt to the club for an off-year and even forgive it.

The fact that the club then decided to go with “same again” for 2024 and has now suffered 2 shockingly poor seasons in a row, makes it all the more worse. It is just simply not good enough.

In the 60 combined matches of seasons 2023 and 2024, we have lost 25 of those 60 matches, that is unheard of, winning only 23 and the rest of the 12 ended in draws.

To delve deeper into who we lost to in 2024, Sydney Olympic lost to the team that ran stone motherless last, Hills United (WHO?) TWICE!

To expand on this further, the bottom 6 sides of the NSW NPL this season, who were all absolutely dreadful for most of the year by the way, all beat Sydney Olympic throughout the season.

We lost to WSW NPL, SFC NPL, CCM NPL, Hills - twice, St George - twice and lost and drew in both of our matches this season against Sutherland. To say that these clubs are kafeneia, would be an insult to kafeneia.

Additionally, in both of the past 2 seasons there has been no saving grace for the club in the Cup competitions, where we have also experienced awful Cup runs.

We have failed to progress to the latter stages of the Waratah Cup and we have not made it to the Australia Cup Round of 32 Main Draw, in either of the last 2 seasons.

In fact, we have made it to the Australia Cup Round of the 32 Main Draw, only 3 times in 11 attempts since the competition was re-introduced in 2014 and we have not made a Waratah Cup Final since 2008 and in the 16 years since that time, we have reached the Semi-Final stage of the Waratah Cup only twice.

Some will say, what about the fact we have a lot of younger players and the club is building up to something? That would be great, if this was the type of League where you could keep a core of young players together. But it is not, players are enticed, move and come and go every year, for as little as a packet of chips, for an extra $100 a week, or for some other off-field favour.

The irony of course, is that outside of a near 40 year-old forward, our best players this season have been some of our youngest players who have saved us in matches this season, on numerous occasions.

Our so called experienced players are the ones who haven’t been pulling their weight.

Is it the coach, is it the players, is it the one who signs the players, is it the board?

In my opinion, it is probably all of those, but on the player front, we need a proper Centre-Forward, we need a couple of good Central-Midfielders and probably a Goalkeeper.

One of the running gags of the supporters this season has been the Haliti Out comments.

The fact of the matter is, that any other coach in Sydney Olympic’s long history with that poor of a win-loss record, would have been shown the door a long time ago. It is a miracle he is still there.

It is not personal against Labinot Haliti, although seeing supporters constantly calling for his head, it probably does seem personal to him. We as Sydney Olympic Supporters are into seeing the club be successful, that is what interests us, that is our priority at the end of the day. The club is there to win, not to be a charity.

Losing 25 out of 60 matches in 2 full seasons is no one’s idea of success.

So the question then becomes, does the club want to make a change now, or once more will they go with same again for 2025? Go an entire off-season/pre-season with the same people in the coaching staff and in the player ranks and then 6-8 weeks into the new season, we've started horribly again, we’re out of the Title race again, we’re out of the Cup competitions again and the season is a write off, again.

Then it won’t only be Haliti Out, it will be the whole lot of you Out.

The club has embarrassed itself these last 2 seasons and if there are no changes, we will continue to be an embarrassment.

Onto the National 2^nd Division now, whatever happened with that? Still no official word from anybody involved.

I noted with much amusement, the meeting held by the clubs involved in the formation of the National 2nd Division - with 1 of those clubs being our Sydney Olympic - with the FFA, to resolve the impasse over the failure of the announcement and implementation of said National 2^nd Division.

One would expect some sort of decision or determination by now, about if it is going ahead or not, instead, the “announcement” we got was an announcement that they had agreed to once again meet in the future, to resolve whatever issues there are.

These statements are what piss people off. There was a meeting held where it would be decided that there would be in the future, more meetings? Farcical.

Sydney Olympic as well as the other clubs, have put up an estimated $1 Million each so far to get this thing off the ground. The legal ramifications for the FFA if this National 2^nd Division doesn’t get off the ground, must also not be ignored.

It will also surely spell big trouble for the FFA, which is already a failure of an organisation to begin with and the people running it have no idea how to administer the sport.

In any event, $1 Million would have been much better spent in my opinion, on a base for the club finally, instead of its 67 year nomadic existence. A place for the club to call home, but then again, long term planning has never been the clubs strong suit.

Especially, as we are in a situation currently where we barely train out of Belmore anymore these days and we don’t play all our home games out of Belmore anymore either.

Once again the Bulldogs flex their political muscle with the council and get whatever they want, despite abandoning and attempting to abandon Belmore on numerous occasions throughout the years, remember Kelso Park in East Hills? Stardome in Liverpool? Homebush? Bass Hill?

And every time, Sydney Olympic never stood in the Bulldogs way whenever they came crawling back to Belmore. Sure the club would never be in a position or have the power, to refuse them back anyway, but the point still stands.

Everyone is also aware by now, about the $50 Million centre of excellence which will be built at Belmore Sports Ground for the Bulldogs and there’s a high chance, Sydney Olympic’s time at Belmore will be coming to an end.

My advice to the club, if they wanted to hear it, would be this: If the Bulldogs want us out of Belmore fine. But cough up $5 Million of that 50 for us to move, plus the Bulldogs and the Council should work together with the club to find us another site in the area. Then we’ll gladly leave.

Sydney Olympic as a result, have had to play numerous home games at Kogarah this year, don’t get me wrong, Kogarah is a great place to play, but surely it would be easier and better for the club, to have its junior and senior men’s and women’s teams and its office, all based in the one location.

In terms of engagement by the club, the juveniles behind the club’s social media platforms barely post or produce anything and when they do, they are pretty quick on the trigger in terms of deleting any comments critical of the club and of the performances of its employees and I’m talking about genuine criticism here directed at the club that is deserved, not moronic troll comments.

Funnily enough, while the club is quick to delete comments of supporters and members, they let those spam betting accounts go on posting virus link after virus link and allow trolls who support other clubs to write whatever they want, no dramas.

Club personnel have even blocked the Sydney Olympic Supporters twitter account and sent messages to us on facebook, making ridiculous demands.

They should worry less about what we’re doing and worry more about how they are going to turn things around.

It remains to be seen what happens over the next few months at Sydney Olympic, but at this moment in time, we don’t know where we will be based out of, where we will be playing and in which competition we will be competing.

Sounds promising.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC – MID-SEASON REVIEW

It is that time of the year again, where we take stock of Sydney Olympic’s performances on the field so far this season. In an almost carbon copy of mid-way through last season, things are not looking all that great.

After 15 rounds last season, we were sitting in 8^th, on 21 points. At the same point this time around, we are sitting in 9^th, on 19 points. Two points and one position worse off than last year. Just not good enough for a club like Sydney Olympic.



Plenty of excuses have been thrown around, like the club is currently focusing on and preparing for the National 2^nd Division, which is apparently supposed to begin in March 2025 and the other excuse, is that the team should be cut a little slack, due to its lack of experience and it being a young squad.

I’m not sure about preparing for the National 2^nd Division as an excuse, so I’ll leave that alone, but as for the latter, I do not wholly buy it.

Yes the club has quite a few younger players this season, but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse. They are not 15 year-olds, they are in their 20’s.

But if we indulge the excuse for a minute, as well as those younger players, the club also has the likes of O’Donovan, Gordon, Parkhouse, Parsons, Timotheou, Burgess, McIllhatton all within their ranks, they are sufficiently experienced and should be good enough to guide the younger players through.

If being top of the table is too much of an ask right now, surely the players and the squad we have at our disposal, are better than 9^th position?

In saying that, we have played well and showed promise in almost every match so far, but only in patches or for 30 minutes, matches go for 90, we need to remember that.

I think the most disappointing thing is, we have lost and dropped points to the bottom clubs and I don’t have any official statistics to back it up, but we have to be up there, as having conceded the most goals in the last 5 minutes of games.

Is that purely a concentration problem or a fitness one, or both?

It is not all doom and gloom, there have been a couple of stand-outs on the pitch so far this season.

Michael Vakis has been our best player by a long long way, it is not even close, this guy has a big future. A shout-out to Teng Kuol as well, who has been very good and is only getting better.

Other players have had their moments at different times, but all in all, most have been below par so far this season.

The overall point being made here, is that the team is performing way below to the talent that it has in its squad. Perhaps the coach is just not up to it, two seasons in and only a few people would argue against that assertion.

You never know when it comes to the NSW NPL competition, but we look like avoiding a relegation fight this time. Conversely, it is going to take some sort of miracle, to make the Top 6 and play Finals from here.

As a result, much attention will now be turned towards the Cup competitions, as at the time of writing this, we are still alive there. We need to throw everything into going as far as possible, in both the Waratah Cup and the Australia Cup.

We have been awful for a long time in the Cup competitions, maybe 2024 will be the year we do something.

To off-field matters now, another potential issue for the club long-term, is the confirmed fact, that Canterbury-Bankstown Council has voted in favour of and rubber-stamped, the beginning of work on the “Bulldogs Centre of Excellence”, which will see work begin sometime at the end of this year.

Meaning, that the entire Belmore Sports Ground precinct, will be out of action and a construction site, for a good 18 months, or for however long it takes them to finish.

Word is that Sydney Olympic will be based back at Kogarah Oval for season 2025, but beyond that, it is all up in the air. Nothing has been confirmed as yet, for beyond 2025.

When you see some of these park outfits and small teams, being given millions in funding for their grounds, facilities and other amenities, it makes you wonder why Sydney Olympic can’t get anything from anyone.

I am assured that the current Board are doing their best to find a solution, but once again, the amateurish inept jokers, who were in control and running the club in the 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, even into the 2000’s, when land was more plentiful and cheaper, when crowds were good, when times were good, when merchandise was flying off the shelves and we were selling players to clubs in Europe, they did nothing to ensure the club put proper roots down anywhere.

In 2024, that task has almost become impossible, as there is far less land available in the parts of Sydney where we are suited to be, plus any land is now at ridiculous price levels. Given how many apparently, successful, well connected and wealthy Greeks there are in Sydney, maybe someone will come a long one day and save the day.

But don’t hold your breath.

Here’s to a much more successful second-half to the season.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC – SEASON REVIEW

The 2023 season, started off with such promise and optimism and why not, it should be like that at the start of every year. But especially, since Sydney Olympic were the defending Minor Premiers from season 2022, it was only natural for the supporters to think that we would be right in the mix to win more silverware again this season.

How wrong we were.

As it turned out, we bombed spectacularly.

It all looked positive, as we raced out to 3 straight League victories to begin the season, beating Sutherland 3-0 at home at Belmore, then beating Manly and Sydney FC 3-1 and 3-2 respectively, away from home. We were sitting top of the table after 3 rounds.

From that exciting and promising start, we would only win 3 of our next 17 League matches, as we lost 9 of those and drew the other 5.

That run of form in the past would have seen certain people given their marching orders. How times change.

Our season was well and truly over by round 20, we managed to show some character and some improvement at the back end of the season, as in our last 10 League matches, we won 4, drew 4 and lost 2.

Our overall season record after the 30 rounds was, 10 wins, 9 draws and 11 losses, finishing the League season in 9^th spot. A major disappointment.



Our attack was ranked 8^th out of 16 and our defense was ranked 11^th out of 16.

Having lost our entire backline and not being able to stick to the 1 goalkeeper for most of the year, hampered our season defensively, we were poor for most of the season in that department.

Up front it was slightly more positive, we actually had a good spread of goal scorers throughout the season, but we could never hold onto a lead and we would always concede at the worst times.

Despite the shocking form in the League, we could at least hold on to the fact that we were having a relatively good Cup run. Beating Blacktown 3-1, then Marconi 2-1 and South Coast Flame 3-0, before being knocked out by APIA at the Quarter-Final stage, which also meant we were knocked out of Qualifying for the Australia Cup Round of 32.

Our FFA Cup/Australia Cup performances since the competition’s inception in 2014, have been very poor.

When it comes to the NSW Waratah Cup, we have been irrelevant in that competition for some time, having not made a Final for 15 years and not won a State Cup since 1980.

Disappointing for a club, which prided itself for many decades, on having great runs in Cup competitions.

As much as the season was majorly disappointing, there were some bright spots.

A few younger players came in to the side during the season and took their opportunities in First Grade, these are the types of players the club needs to retain long term. Not bring in overhyped and overpriced a-league rejects.

The fact of the matter is, there are a few players at the club, who are simply not good enough to play for Sydney Olympic. There needs to be clean out. First priority should be to sign some capable defenders.

Regarding the National 2^nd Division. Recently, Sydney Olympic as well as a few other clubs, announced their intentions to continue the process of application, to be involved in the supposed National 2^nd Division, the club’s official statement was:

“We are delighted to inform our supporters and the public that our application for the National Second Tier has been officially submitted to Football Australia during the Request For Proposal phase. The next step involves Football Australia and its expert advisors conducting a thorough evaluation to determine the clubs that will be granted licenses for the National Second Tier. We eagerly await the outcome of this process as we continue our commitment to advancing football excellence.”

There is no transparency on what is being asked of clubs to commit to; to be part of this National 2^nd Division and no one knows when exactly it is supposed to start.

This is not a criticism of the Board, but I wouldn’t trust Football Australia and their puppets at Football NSW to take out my weekly garbage, let alone to run a proper football competition.

Call me a cynic or a pessimist or whatever, but I personally have my reservations if this is the right move for the club or if the whole thing will even get off the ground.

I can’t imagine the corrupt fools running the sport in Australia given their history, would be that eager to see a Championship with the likes of Sydney Olympic, South Melbourne, Marconi, Melbourne Knights, Sydney United, Heidelberg, Adelaide City, APIA Leichhardt.

Furthermore, would any acceptance into this National 2^nd Division mean we would have to be forced to change or do certain things – the club’s identity for instance? Would we field 2 sides, 1 in the NSW NPL and the other in this National 2nd Division? How much is the club paying for one of these participation licenses?

Many questions remain about the whole endeavour and we wait to see whether Football Australia answers any of them.

Enjoy the warmer months coming up and the off-season and keep an eye out for any further developments regarding Sydney Olympic.

 

SYDNEY OLYMPIC – THE SEASON SO FAR

I was very tempted to write a mid-season review, given our pathetic run of results, but I thought better of it as one, it would be very emotion laden and two, I wanted to wait to see what would happen in the Cup.

Now that we’ve been knocked out of both Cup competitions, our results in the League have continued to be abysmal and that the season for us is essentially now over, I thought I would give a few thoughts on how the season has panned out and about a few other important issues.

Firstly, going from being Minor Premiers in 2022, to currently sitting in 11^th place and dropping further as every week passes in 2023 is a scandal. It is, a pitiful and wholly unnecessary fall from grace, for our Sydney Olympic. We all of the sudden can’t seem to win games anymore and for anyone still in denial, we are in a relegation dog fight.

We have won 3 of our last 15 matches in the League. That is unacceptable.

We let our coach from last season go, a club legend at that, who we finished 1^st with, with no explanation given as to why, we then allowed some of our best players to leave and have compounded that, with bringing in an inexperienced and unproven coach, some terrible signings and overpaid uncommitted veteran class hacks, who have failed everywhere they’ve been and now at Sydney Olympic.

This season on the field has been an absolute disaster and the way it is going, there is plenty of time left for it to get even worse still. This club can genuinely be in NSW NPL 2 in 2024.

Also, refusing to post the full time scores when we lose, in fear of having to see some negative comments and feedback is amateur hour at its finest. Then throw in the blocking and banning of supporters on social media, as well as deleting and closing comments from social media. How about we block some of those spam and scam betting link comments instead?

I am not really a big social media person either, but even I understand the importance of engagement and keeping a presence on these things. Even that is poor to non-existent. Whether anyone likes it or not, social media engagement is huge and we have close to none.

The last saving grace for the club for season 2023 was our Cup run, which is also now no more. We have not made a Waratah Cup Final now since 2008 and it is a mere 3 Australia Cup main Round of 32 draw appearances in 10 years, that’s not good enough. Especially when you consider, that since the re-inception of the National Cup, the club made it very clear how important of a priority it apparently was, for the club to be seen back on the National stage. That’s been a big fail.

Why are we also playing the majority of our home matches on Saturday Nights now? Where was the research done, that showed and said that the fans wanted to ditch Sunday Afternoons? Or is that decision purely at the behest of the Bulldogs?

This next matter is not the issue of the century, but points to the decline of and issues at the club and you would be surprised, with how many fans are fuming at the club getting rid of the long time gear steward. What advantage did that have, who did that help? Other than pissing a lot of people off, what did that move gain the club, what was the benefit from that?

Next is possibly the biggest and most important decision the club will have had to make in the last 20 years, and that is this National 2^nd division business.

There is no news out there other than dribs and drabs, about how it would all work, how much it is going to cost and what are the supposed parameters that need to be met to be part of it. It is all very secretive and I personally am wary of the whole thing. Especially as I keep reading, that this National 2^nd division will have no direct promotion and relegation with the a-league. What is the whole point of it then?

Additionally, I’d be forgetting about any so called fantasies about a National 2nd Division and start worrying about not dropping this club into NPL 2. Do people think that this is being melodramatic and that it’s not going to happen? Or we’re too big to be relegated? Ask Marconi about that attitude.

One issue that is flying under the radar a little bit, is this supposed “centre of excellence” that the Bulldogs have been given funding for and been given the green light to build at Belmore Sports Ground. Are we, as in Sydney Olympic, not still co-tenants? And what does this supposed “centre of excellence”, mean for Sydney Olympic? I have heard nothing about how the whole endeavour will impact the club.

The President, Damon has proven his commitment for years now and has earned and should have earned everyone’s respect by now, especially after everything he has done during his tenure, not to mention hauling the club out of severe trouble following the Papas fiasco and he is a busy man, but I would urge him to be more alert about some of the things that are going on at the club.

There are too many people at the club making decisions that know very little, that do not care about the club, who do nothing and think too highly of themselves. How many there, know anything about the club or its history, or even a general knowledge of the club?

Finally given all these issues and the calamitous decisions and the fall of the club in recent times, the club wisely or not, has decided to hold a Supporters Forum. This will not be an AGM and will be open to anyone and everyone to attend.

Any supporter and follower of the club, whether you attend regularly or haven’t been to a match in years are encouraged to attend. To ask the hard questions about any of the top issues I have already mentioned, or anything else that you feel is important.

This is a critical time in the clubs history, we need all supporters that care for this club, its past, present and future to show up and speak out, given where we are currently both on and off the field and the challenges that confront us.

The Supporters Forum will be on Tuesday June 27. The venue in typical club fashion, is unknown as yet. But when it is known, you will all know.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC – SEASON REVIEW

It has been an eventful 2022 for Sydney Olympic, both on and off the field. After all the smears and rumours of the club’s alleged imminent demise and the connected attacks by various individuals which included the so called news media (proper journalism died a long time ago), following Bill Papas’ departure from the club and everything that surrounded that story, Damon and the new board have done extremely well to right the Sydney Olympic ship and plot a course towards stability and a bright future for the club.

With that being said, I’m quite sure not many people would have pencilled in the club to claim the Minor Premiership this season, a truly Herculean effort which necessitated the defeat of the League Leaders at the time Blacktown City on the final day of the season, as well as hoping Manly didn’t thrash Rockdale too badly, an achievement every bit as dramatic as our Minor Premiership triumph of 2018.

The achievement is even more remarkable, given the heavy reliance and lone wolf display of Roy O’Donovan’s 23 goals this season, emphasizing the point, the next best for the club this year, was Darcy Burgess with 5 goals.

Throw in also, that between rounds 15 and 19, we only won once in those 5 matches, plus we lost our 1^st choice goalkeeper Nick Sorras, for the final 2 months of the season with injury.

Given the various near misses throughout Sydney Olympic’s history, freak events and acts of sorcery, which have seen the club miss out on numerous other honours down the years, to get one back this way, is well deserved and about time something went our way.

When it came Finals time though, the good luck, fortune, serendipity call it what you like, deserted us.

Losing the Major Semi-Final in week 2 to Manly after a 1-1 draw after extra-time, before losing 4-3 on penalties. The following week, in the Preliminary Final against Blacktown City, a similar story developed, the match finished 1-1 after extra-time, before going down on penalties again 5-4.

In both Finals, Sydney Olympic should have wrapped up both matches inside the 90 minutes, which if we had done so against Manly, it would have put us straight through to the Grand Final and there would have been no reason to even go to a Preliminary Final. But it is what it is, that’s football as they say.

In terms of the FFA Cup (renamed Australia Cup now) which also doubles up as NSW Waratah Cup ties, it was a very poor display. Sydney Olympic was eliminated in the 4^th Round (the first round where NPL 1 clubs enter the Cup), a shocking loss to lowly St George City, the match finished 1-1 after extra-time, where we then proceeded to lose 4-2 on penalties.

3 penalty shoot-out losses in 1 season, that must be some sort of record?

As for the coach, club legend Ante Juric, he leaves Sydney Olympic to take up other opportunities elsewhere but will always have on his coaching resume, Minor Premiership success with the club, which he had also done as a player in the NSL in 2002/03.

Some of his moves and decisions throughout the season, drew the ire of Sydney Olympic supporters and many will point to our 2 defeats in the Finals, as justification for that displeasure.

As for who will replace Ante Juric in the dugout for Sydney Olympic in 2023, I am told that it is all but done and just waiting to be announced.

Obviously with that being said and until a new coach arrives, it is difficult to ascertain which players will be re-signed, which players will be chased to join the club and who of the current squad will be let go.

Also interestingly, from season 2023, NPL 1 will be a 16-team competition consisting of 30 home and away rounds, with first past the post being declared Champions, with the Finals Series being scrapped by Football NSW.

At this moment in time the 16 clubs will be:

Sydney Olympic
APIA Leichhardt
Marconi Stallions
Sydney United
Wollongong Wolves
Blacktown City
Manly United
Sutherland Sharks
Mt Druitt Town
Rockdale City
NWS Spirit
St George City
Northbridge Bulls
Sydney FC Youth
Western Sydney Wanderers Youth
Central Coast Mariners Youth

Personally, I dislike the youth sections of the a-league franchises being allowed to ascend to NPL 1, they do not bring anything of value to the competition, except benefiting themselves and their own interests. At most, they should be restricted to the NPL 2 competitions within every state competition in Australia, but that is a discussion for another time.

We await important announcements from the club regarding the coach and the squad and we’ll see what 2023 brings for Sydney Olympic.

Sydney Olympic vs. South Melbourne – The Rivalry

In terms of Australian Football, much is made of rivalries or derbies and of the conflict and angst which may exist between certain teams. Whether it may be actual and based in a reality of animosity and historical grievances, through healthy sporting competition, or whether they be artificial and invented by various media commentators and protagonists, all for purely superficial marketing purposes.

Sydney Olympic was founded as Pan-Hellenic in 1957, as a composite team of several Greek teams already playing in Sydney at the time such as: Taxiarchis, Atlas, Astro and Pansamiakos. The majority of Pan-Hellenic’s 1st group of players and officials came from these clubs.

The name Pan-Hellenic was chosen so as not to appear to represent one group of Greeks over another, whether politically or regionally. Whether you were a Leftist, Centrist, Rightist, or whether you were an Athenian, Macedonian, Cretan, Cypriot, Pontian, a Greek from Constantinople & Asia Minor, Egypt, Russia, Romania or Northern Epirus, all would be welcomed and be united under Pan-Hellenic.

South Melbourne meanwhile, was formed as South Melbourne Hellas 2 years later in 1959, after the merger of 3 clubs: South Melbourne United, a historic English-backed club which had been around in Melbourne since the 1930’s, but which was now struggling and had seen better days and 2 bigger backed Greek clubs in Melbourne: Hellenic and Yarra Park Ajax.

Ever since that time, both clubs would fight it out for the unofficial mantle of the biggest Greek founded football club of Australia.

In the late 1950’s & early 1960’s, both clubs would look to Greece for the recruitment of new players, enticing young Greeks with dreams of jobs and better lives for them and their families, as well as an opportunity of playing football at a relatively decent level.

Australia being banned from FIFA at this point in time was also advantageous for any such advances, as clubs from Australia could approach any players that they wanted, without needing to worry about breaking any rules or paying any transfer fees. In this endeavour, South Melbourne Hellas would soon earn the ire of Pan-Hellenic officials.

All inbound International flights into Australia would always stop off in Melbourne first, before continuing on to Sydney. There are a few instances of Pan-Hellenic organising everything for a player from Greece to come to Sydney, only for South Melbourne Hellas officials to meet the plane as it landed in Melbourne and persuade the player to get off and sign and stay in Melbourne and to forget about going to Sydney to play for Pan-Hellenic. Cheeky at the very least.

Both clubs would end up taking dramatically different paths during their journeys through their respective state federations of New South Wales and Victoria.

Although both clubs started their lives in their respective state 2nd tier competitions before earning promotion, once promoted, South Melbourne Hellas went on to win multiple League and Cup honours throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s in Victoria. Where as in contrast and not for the want of trying, Pan-Hellenic experienced many near misses during the same period with its trophy cabinet remaining bare, aside from the two NSW 2nd division titles of 1958 and 1960.

The clubs would first meet in a match in Melbourne in 1964, with South Melbourne Hellas handing out a 6-1 hiding to Pan-Hellenic, a match was scheduled to take place again in 1966 in Sydney, but was ultimately cancelled. In 1974, a combined South Melbourne Hellas-Fitzroy United Alexander XI hosted Pan-Hellenic in Melbourne, to raise funds for the victims of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. The match itself and result will always be secondary to those tragic events, but for statistics sake, the Melbournians won 3-1.

The clubs would meet each other for the first time in an official competitive fixture in 1977, after the formation of the National Soccer League (NSL). It was a Round 1 contest at the Sydney Sports Ground, South Melbourne defeated Sydney Olympic 2-0.

Sydney Olympic’s controversial relegation from the NSL 2 years later in 1979, is another sore point between the clubs. South Melbourne, who had finished rock-bottom of the NSL in 1979, somehow managed to avoid the drop, with Sydney Olympic, who had finished 2nd last in 1979 being relegated.

Olympic’s 1-0 loss on the final day of the 1979 NSL season to St. George, saw St. George leapfrog Olympic on the ladder and for that extra bit of irony, it was a winner from a teenage Peter Katholos playing for St. George that day, which would seal Olympic’s fate. Meanwhile South lived to fight another day.

Depending on who you talk to, suggestions are that South Melbourne vigorously lobbied the Australian Soccer Federation (ASF) to have Olympic relegated instead of South and to use the excuse of there being “too many Sydney clubs in the NSL”, the ASF obliged and relegated Sydney Olympic back to the NSW 1st Division, despite finishing above South Melbourne on the ladder.

Talk to others, and they will tell you a different tale and that it was all agreed by the ASF and the NSL clubs before the start of the season, that the last placed Sydney club at the end of the 1979 NSL season, would be relegated. Nevertheless it was an incident that Sydney Olympic people would not forget.

Once again the clubs would go in different directions following this event, with South Melbourne’s status in the NSL seemingly safe, they swiftly sorted themselves out and went from strength to strength, becoming a perennial League and Cup challenger for the rest of the duration of the NSL.

For Sydney Olympic, they were back in the NSW State League in 1980, fortunately, its time back in the NSW 1st Division was short lived, as they thumped Parramatta Melita 4-0 in the NSW Grand Final, to earn promotion back to the NSL for 1981. Funny how things work out as once back in the NSL, Olympic also and relatively quickly, got their act together and became a mighty force for the rest of their NSL run.

To illustrate the point, within 3 years both clubs would be facing off against each other for the honour of becoming Champions of Australia.

South Melbourne defeated Sydney Olympic in the 1984 NSL Grand Final 4-2 (over 2 Legs) as well as defeating Sydney Olympic 4-1 in the 1990 NSL Cup Final. Sydney Olympic would gain some measure of revenge, knocking South Melbourne out of the Finals Series of 1990 and 2002 on their way to claiming the NSL Championship in both of those seasons.

In Round 17 of the 1999/2000 NSL season, Sydney Olympic fans would witness a historic 6-0 beat-down of South Melbourne at Belmore. The jokes, remarks and crowing from Olympic’s end would not even last a week, as only a few days later in the return Round 18 fixture in Melbourne, South turned the tables on Olympic with a 2-0 victory.

Both of those results were inexplicable in their own way, but that is the magic of football we are led to believe and another chapter in the history of the clubs.

The final official competitive fixture between the clubs came in Round 26, the final round of the last NSL season of 2003/2004, a 0-0 draw at Kogarah Oval.

Sydney Olympic’s poor overall head-to-head record against South Melbourne is also another perplexing one and for sure another sore point among the Olympic supporters and a source of humour no doubt, for those who follow South.

Sydney Olympic has a winning record against almost every other major rival, except for South Melbourne and Sydney Hakoah. Olympic’s record vs. South is particularly poor and baffling, given how good Olympic’s sides were throughout the entirety of the NSL. It is very difficult to nail down exactly why or what the issue may have been but as with most unexplainable things, it will remain a mystery.

Since the end of the NSL in 2004, the clubs have met each other only twice in exhibition matches. South Melbourne invited Sydney Olympic to open their newly refurbished Lakeside Stadium in 2011, with Sydney Olympic spoiling the party picking up a 3-2 win and in 2016, where Olympic played host to South at Kogarah Oval, with Olympic winning 4-3 via a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw.

It is a rivalry unlike any other you’re likely to see, especially when it comes to the so called “ethnic” founded clubs in Australia. Because according to what I have seen and witnessed most of the time throughout Australia, clubs founded by the same ethnic or national group get along in an almost brotherly manner, especially when it concerns those clubs that operate in separate cities or different states, but speak to most South Melbourne and Sydney Olympic supporters, there was nothing better than seeing the other struggle, or getting one over the other on the football pitch.

The fact is this rivalry, crosses state lines and Olympic and Hellas fans can be found all over Australia, not only in New South Wales and Victoria and even abroad.

The fire that burned for this rivalry understandably would start to peter out after 2004, it is very hard to maintain a fierce rivalry, not only after nearly 18 years of not facing each other in a competitive fixture, but the fact that there has never been any genuine belief, that the 2 clubs would ever be allowed to face each other again in a competitive fixture.

Hopefully one day the time will come, where we can officially lock horns once again, there is unfinished business.

For the Record:

Matches Played – 59
South Melbourne Wins – 31
Sydney Olympic Wins – 13
Draws – 15

For the purposes of this record, I have included all League and Cup meetings during the NSL, as well as the contests of 1964, 2011, 2016.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.