IFM is an independently produced fanzine and will stay that way. Run by a small likeminded crew, IFM Issues are collaborated monthly to bring you their alternative views on the world of football. We don't need to reiterate enough. Our founders know the Real Football and we know you do to.
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IFM ISSUE 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012
ON YOUR HORSE, GALLOP! LET’S PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that FIFA and other governing bodies like UEFA, at their top levels, operate in par t through shady transactions and backroom deals. But strangely enough, most people fall short of calling it corruption and they dare not call it conspiracy. Similarly, when Australian football’s ‘savior’, the billionaire shopping centre tycoon, replaces a former AFL administrator with a former Rugby League administrator, to lead the FFA, most people seek comfor t with the decision, with cautious optimism. They shy away from considering how this decision and appointment was made, with what intentions in mind?
Although they’d all naturally prefer a boss that actually loves the game, they feel powerless to request or at worse, demand one. 02 // IFM 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012
Absurdly the new boss (who at the time is overseas involved with ‘other’ duties), with the help of a supportive media but sloppy repor ting, immediately makes a first, grand impression by announcing that the most urgent thing to be done with football in Australia is to get rid of all of the troublemakers in the crowds. And in a very busy few weeks of media overkill surrounding two minor crowd incidents at near-empty suburban grounds in Sydney, we hear that the effort to rid the game of “idiots”, “morons” and “so –called fans”, is set to go into overdrive. Surely, the idea is applauded by those “fans” with a bit of bloodlust to see the police “get the job done”, the ones who’d believe what they’d read in the papers, that soccer stadia are ethnic battlegrounds and would prefer for the A-League experience to be a precise replica of the English Premier League (where hooliganism has been apparently overcome, since the bad old ‘80s). Meanwhile, most of us fans with a soul and any respect for our game are left scratching our heads and thinking sincerely, “this is insane.” //
IFM 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012 // 03
THE CHARTER 'Charter for Football Supporter Management' SINCE IT WAS UNVEILED IN SEPTEMBER, THE ‘CHARTER FOR FOOTBALL SUPPORTER MANAGEMENT’ HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DEBATE AMONGST NORTH TERRACE FANS. MOST WOULD AGREE IT HAD TO BE DONE. Although it has been welcomed overall as a step in the right direction, there remains the uncomfor table feeling that the act of expressing ourselves as football fans on the weekend needs to be underpinned by a stuffy legal document. The char ter reminds us that on any given match day people from no less than four seen and at least two unseen branches of authority are there to watch us and are ready to interfere with our lives, behind the goals at a soccer match, of all places. We should not forget that this is just a small symptom of what is happening to our society as a whole. Australians have shown time and time again that as a people we are very susceptible to fear-mongering and outrage, and it’s no coincidence that Australia has more laws than any other country, and is often labeled by visitors and locals alike as the most
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over-regulated nanny-state in the world. Suffice to say, we bring it on ourselves. No-one should ever accept this charter, without keeping this in mind. That said, the positive thing about the charter is that, after 7 years of nonsense, it gives us two very important things: The hope of some consistency in the ‘management’ of supporters by the powers that be, and the hope that at least for the 2012-2013 season, the North Terrace will be given some breathing space and be allowed to flourish in the way that we determine. The charter is also helpful in the way it outlines how the club, stadium security and police intend to go about their business on match days (it should be noted that the cover t monitoring of internet forums, facebook and Youtube is not mentioned in the charter, presumably because it would be unwise for the authorities to expose their main source of ‘intel’). We can also look forward to better communication between North Terrace representatives and the club, which, when it trickles through the stands, should benefit everyone. In the past we have seen all sorts of trouble because of poor communication,
or none at all. Through the charter there is a strong sense that the club wants to keep us ‘in the loop’. To be informed means to have information at our disposal, and this can only be a good thing for the North Terrace, so we should juice this opportunity. Now is as important a time as ever to be 'in the know'. Everyone should read the charter and be familiar with it.
agenda of those who own and control our game, has at all changed in our favor.
The future.
FACT: The club didn’t introduce anything or the sort, and like the treachery of ‘fan made’, ‘football is ours’, ‘football but not like you know it’ and all the other gimmicks, they should be forever encouraged to take their ‘Melbourne market’ heartless, soul-less corporate speak and shove it.
We have always been under a charter or sorts, only no-one really knew about it and it tended to change from week to week, or indeed from constable to acting sergeant to unidentified voice on the walkie-talkie. While we may see the charter as a formal recognition by the club that it respects and values the North Terrace it would be unwise to take it for more than it is. It should by no means be seen as document that defines the North Terrace and the groups and individuals who stand for it. It should not be seen as a written apology for the years of neglect, deceit, disrespect and abuse we have copped. Nor as a guarantee we won’t be in that situation again. And it should not be seen as a sign that the
The second sentence of the charter says: “The club has introduced a new type of support into the Melbourne market, which is active and based on an international football culture”.
Hopefully the efforts of the dedicated few fans who were involved in the negotiations for and establishment of the charter will inspire others to take a more proactive role in the North Terrace. Regardless of how we feel about it or how things turn out, their good intentions and the responsibility they carry must be commended, and the charter should be appreciated, if not accepted, in good faith. >>
IFM 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012 // 05
THE CHARTER
MATCH RESULTS
'Charter for Football Supporter Management'
Off Season
This development should not be just an incentive to ‘carry on’, ‘business as usual’. We realised years ago that we are the best and we’re due for another challenge. We need to keep on our toes. It’s time to start thinking about the future, and what it will take to ensure that the Nor th Terrace is still around in two or three generations, still the best, still loud, still creative, still solid and still independent. There’s a real risk that this might not happen, be it because of: • ‘flogs’ (as some people call initiated, uninformed newcomers) • f ashion (where people only do the Nor th Terrace thing as long as they think it’s cool
facebook (where terrace life becomes bigger on the internet than on the actual terrace)
•
06 // IFM 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012
What will it take? 2012-13 should be the season to address these issues in a constructive and proactive way. The North Terrace as a whole needs to re-assert what it is and who we are. Remind ourselves and everyone else that all of this trouble, effort and commitment has been and is worthwhile. Then, with confidence, we can focus on the ultimate question: for how long will we be just ticketholders in a franchise, and when will we become stakeholders in a bricks and mortar football club? //
Port Melbourne vs Melbourne Goals / Finkler, Allsopp
1-2
Oakleigh Cannons vs Melbourne Jack Edwards Reserve Goals / Allsopp, Cristaldo, O'Dea
0-3
Richmond Eagles vs Melbourne Kevin Bartlett Reserve Goals / Finkler, Cristaldo, Broxham
4-3
Bentleigh Greens vs Melbourne Kingston Heath Reserve Goals / Foschini
0-1
Tasmania XI vs Melbourne 0-4 KGV Stadium, Hobart Goals / Markelis, Davies, Milligan, Allsopp
Melbourne vs Adelaide United 4-2 Aurora Stadium, Launceston Goals / Allsopp, Thompson x2, Finkler
Dandenong Thunder vs Melbourne 1-4 George Andrews Reserve Goals / Allsopp, Broxham, Davies x2
Moreland Zebras vs Melbourne Epping Stadium Goals / Davies, Markelis, Flores
0-3
Central Coast vs Melbourne Goals / Thompson
1-1
Melbourne vs Perth Swan St, Melbourne Goals / Flores
1-2
IFM 41 FORTYONE SEPT OCT 2012 // 07