Post by denpaokala on Feb 10, 2011 11:49:30 GMT 10
George Giannaros talks yesterday, today and tomorrow
Greg Gavalas
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Football in Australia will go through interesting times in 2011 particularly for NSW Premier League (FNSW) teams with the whole FNSW and Football Federation Australia (FFA) saga looking to come to an end in the following months.
One of Australia’s most historic clubs in Sydney Olympic are in the mist of it all and the club has had an eventful 12 months but has visions of its own. Its fan base no doubt misses the old National League Soccer league days when the club was in Australia’s top flight and was two times nation’s champions but the club has adapted well to Premier League football with its own ground and offices.
The Real Game’s editor Greg Gavalas caught up with Sydney Olympic FC president George Giannaros to exclusively discuss recent and future events.
Q: Sydney Olympic is being talked about allot more now days then say just 3 years ago, was that a vision or goal set by the club?
A: I was first involved with the club as a director and now as president for the last two years or so. We realised we had to move with the changes in the way football in this country is going, we went back to building solid foundations which we believe were getting a home ground and getting an office which were the first items we believed you need to do.
I’ve used this phrase many times before, I prefer to by the garage to park my commodore rather than buying a Ferrari to park in the street.
Those goals have started to be achieved slowly, moving forward the next phase is to elevate a club like Olympic to where it belongs, possibly the highest level.
Q: Season 2010 started with much promise but Sydney Olympic finished 2nd from bottom how did the club see 2010 on the field?
A: Look 2010 was like you said and its spot on, there was an opportunity that we had to morally give to Pat Marando (coach at the time) which in hindsight now I’d probably still do the same thing because it’s very important, some of us or all of us in life have been given opportunities and it’s up to us to take them, now we did give him (Marando) the opportunity, he obviously tried his best and that didn’t work.
The good thing to come out of last season was two young kids who played in our team in Ian Ramsey and Dimitris Petratos have now got long term contracts in the A-League. That’s not too bad from a team that finished 11th. I don’t think any team can vouch for that, even Bonnyrigg that finished first.
Q: How was season 2010 off the field?
A: Off the field 2010 was a very good year because we secured our offices; we had been in negotiation with the government, the council and the Canterbury Bulldogs Rugby League club regarding Belmore Sports Ground. We also opened up our new offices which was part of our original plan to have an office to have available 24-7 the year in general was very encouraging.
Q: The AEK Athens training sessions at Belmore Sports Ground were an outstanding experience for many Olympic, AEK and football fans in general. Did you guys feel it? Did you get much feedback from the fans and any chance of more teams from Europe coming to train at Belmore?
A: For us as administrators we learned allot from it, to see how a 67 million dollar club operates we gained allot of experience from that and I believe the fans, there was a massive turn out, not just people that support Olympic but also AEK supporters went to Belmore Sports Ground visited our offices and that’s all positive things.
Is there a chance for more teams from Europe coming out? Let’s be realistic, it’s very hard for Olympic to get someone like that out here now days. If someone else was bringing a European team, yes we would like to get involved but there things that are out of our league today.
Q: Recently Football NSW (FNSW) was on the verge of going to a summer competition only to be denied by Football Federation Australia (FFA). Sydney Olympic was the only club to stand up to the FFA and say we want to go summer. Were you disappointed in the other clubs for not standing up for themselves and for something new and potentially bigger?
A: For me I found it strange how four weeks earlier all clubs or the unanimous decision was to go to summer. Everyone has their own opinion about what they do with their clubs but I think that was the biggest mistake we Premier League clubs made along with Football NSW because let’s face it, for our competition to be viable you can’t go up against the heavy guns of the NRL and AFL, they are the dominant sports here in winter and the Gay Leagueis just in the summer, we are the next tier competition which should have been in summer which actually could have helped the A-League.
Not just helping us play in summer, the grander plan to me was that if there was to be a B-League that these Premier League clubs form affiliations with Gay Leagueclubs, for example – HAKOA would have an affiliation with Sydney Olympic. The A-League’s Youth League, which in my eyes and my eyes only is a bit of a joke. I’ve heard the cost is to $5-700,000 to run a youth league where they don’t sign any of the kids, its more used for their first graders to come down to get fit and recover from injury and it’s being proven that those youth league players when they come back to our league they need the Premier League strength which actually makes them Gay Leagueplayers again – look at Ramsey and Petratos for example, both were not wanted by any Gay Leagueteam, they came back to our competition and all of a sudden they have Gay Leaguecontracts as our competition toughened them up.
What I would like to push with the Gay Leagueclubs was that they get rid of all their youth, for example HAKOA has three youth players, give them to Sydney Olympic and say they have to be played in first grade, we will share the cost with them and we can be the feeder club for them.
The other thing was duel registration, for example, Nick Carle he was injured, put him in a real competition being the NSW Premier League were HAKOA would allow Carle to play for Olympic to get match fitness. It would have increased our crowds and we could have payed for Carle as well. That then creates a link between the Premier League clubs and Gay Leagueclubs which would have being supported by our supporters. I.e. – Nick Carle was here, let’s go watch him at HAKOA. It actually helps the Gay Leagueand that what they need, they want to make the Gay Leaguework and promote it and so do I. Duel memberships would have made our fans part of HAKOA and it would have being good for the sport.
Q: If the FFA was to take control of FNSW, is that a scary thought for you and your club or does it make you feel better?
A: It’s proven that the FFA is a controlling body, they are the authority and they are the bosses, to me whatever my boss tells me to do I will do it. If I don’t think it right I’ll get out of my employment. If I’m allowed to voice my opinion and my opinion is counted... put it this way, FFA has been there as has FNSW, we need the right people to be there, the board of FNSW needs to be run by professional paid directors it is an organisation that has $67 million dollars in assets, has a revenue of god knows -+$10 million. That’s no disrespect to anyone that has been on the board or anyone who is on the board but for such a large organisation, a commercial organisation needs fulltime directors and if the FFA is going to do that good, if anyone else is going to do that good.
Q: You recently had a meeting with Ben Buckley, what was the purpose and the outcome of that meeting?
A: The purpose was to build a rapport with the main man and the outcome of that is it was achieved because for me I prefer when I do business I do business with the people on top and that way I hear it from the top which then puts us into perspective of what we want to achieve.
Q: What are your goals for 2011 on and off the field for Sydney Olympic?
A: 2011 is going to be a very interesting year, as you have mentioned the issues with the FFA and FNSW and an outcome has to come. For me we have to keep doing what we are doing and concentrating on our home, concentrating on development of our players, concentrating on getting out into the community and that all of the community and building our strengths there.
We know our direction but at the moment there is no direction so we have the direction of the above points and we are just going forward until someone tells us stop or do this.
Q: Olympic fans and many NSL fans crave the day a Sydney Oympic, Marconi, South Melbourne or any other foundation club are given the chance and brought into the Gay Leagueand there was once murmurs of a B-League. Do you think this will ever happen (A-league) for Sydney Olympic or any other foundation club?
A: My opinion is there will be a B-League and there needs to be a B-League, now how that B-League will be formed I don’t know but I think that a criteria will be set for a B-league club and I think that the FFA will in my eyes endeavour to have former NSL clubs involved. Now those former NSL clubs, will they be involved in the current state league? I don’t know.
Let’s not forget the Olympics’ and Marconi’s have got real estate and if you go start a new club as you can see what’s happened in the A-League, no one has real estate. Let’s not forget what’s happened up in the Gold Coast, let’s not forget what’s happened in Newcastle. If it wasn’t for the 10th richest man to get involved in Newcastle you would have found that not even Newcastle would have had a home so I think the B-League will be looked at strongly and the FFA will look at former NSL clubs but the right NSL clubs or the right Premier League clubs at the moment because they have the infrastructure in place and that’s good business, if I’m going to get a builder to build my office block I’m going to get an existing builder who has the runs on the board, I’m not going to go for a builder who has just started his business.
I think the FFA is fully aware of what Premier League clubs can offer and I strongly believe that FFA has been looking carefully at certain Premier League clubs.
There is a bit of irony in all I’m saying.
Q: In an ideal world would Sydney Olympic love the chance to be part of the A-League?
A: The way Sydney Olympic would go forward it would have to change its current (tough one)... culture of a Sydney Olympic would need to change.
Q: Would that be more of an FFA requirement?
A: No I don’t think it’s an FFA thing, to go forward and this may sound bad an Olympic or who ever, needs to be run like a company that is run like a company or an organisation that is run like a professional organisation. You will find that most professional organisations that are set up the right way, first of all they are privatised so a Sydney Olympic would look at being privatised in my eyes and doing the same thing like FNSW, getting proper people to sit down and run it correctly, that put their money in and the whole model would have to change.
The culture is there which is good but that culture has to diversify into the general community, what I’m saying there, it can’t be known as a Greek club. Yes it was founded by Greeks but we are Greek-Australians, we are Lebanese Australians, we are Serbian Australians, Italian Australians etc and that’s the culture that has to be built. Society is multicultural let’s face it; we can’t even be a full Anglo club. We need to have a balance of our Geographic’s that covers our community because the community is the secrete to our success and what is our community? Our community is the Canterbury-Bankstown Inner West community and that’s what you need to attract.
Q: Where do you see Olympic in 5 years time?
A: There is so much going on at the moment between FNSW and the FFA that you know... We are all blinded at the moment and it’s hard to answer that question, like I said there is no direction at the moment. This question is to be advised (laughs) ask me that in 8 months time.
www.therealgame.com.au/news/state-league/208/george-giannaros-talks-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow
Greg Gavalas
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Football in Australia will go through interesting times in 2011 particularly for NSW Premier League (FNSW) teams with the whole FNSW and Football Federation Australia (FFA) saga looking to come to an end in the following months.
One of Australia’s most historic clubs in Sydney Olympic are in the mist of it all and the club has had an eventful 12 months but has visions of its own. Its fan base no doubt misses the old National League Soccer league days when the club was in Australia’s top flight and was two times nation’s champions but the club has adapted well to Premier League football with its own ground and offices.
The Real Game’s editor Greg Gavalas caught up with Sydney Olympic FC president George Giannaros to exclusively discuss recent and future events.
Q: Sydney Olympic is being talked about allot more now days then say just 3 years ago, was that a vision or goal set by the club?
A: I was first involved with the club as a director and now as president for the last two years or so. We realised we had to move with the changes in the way football in this country is going, we went back to building solid foundations which we believe were getting a home ground and getting an office which were the first items we believed you need to do.
I’ve used this phrase many times before, I prefer to by the garage to park my commodore rather than buying a Ferrari to park in the street.
Those goals have started to be achieved slowly, moving forward the next phase is to elevate a club like Olympic to where it belongs, possibly the highest level.
Q: Season 2010 started with much promise but Sydney Olympic finished 2nd from bottom how did the club see 2010 on the field?
A: Look 2010 was like you said and its spot on, there was an opportunity that we had to morally give to Pat Marando (coach at the time) which in hindsight now I’d probably still do the same thing because it’s very important, some of us or all of us in life have been given opportunities and it’s up to us to take them, now we did give him (Marando) the opportunity, he obviously tried his best and that didn’t work.
The good thing to come out of last season was two young kids who played in our team in Ian Ramsey and Dimitris Petratos have now got long term contracts in the A-League. That’s not too bad from a team that finished 11th. I don’t think any team can vouch for that, even Bonnyrigg that finished first.
Q: How was season 2010 off the field?
A: Off the field 2010 was a very good year because we secured our offices; we had been in negotiation with the government, the council and the Canterbury Bulldogs Rugby League club regarding Belmore Sports Ground. We also opened up our new offices which was part of our original plan to have an office to have available 24-7 the year in general was very encouraging.
Q: The AEK Athens training sessions at Belmore Sports Ground were an outstanding experience for many Olympic, AEK and football fans in general. Did you guys feel it? Did you get much feedback from the fans and any chance of more teams from Europe coming to train at Belmore?
A: For us as administrators we learned allot from it, to see how a 67 million dollar club operates we gained allot of experience from that and I believe the fans, there was a massive turn out, not just people that support Olympic but also AEK supporters went to Belmore Sports Ground visited our offices and that’s all positive things.
Is there a chance for more teams from Europe coming out? Let’s be realistic, it’s very hard for Olympic to get someone like that out here now days. If someone else was bringing a European team, yes we would like to get involved but there things that are out of our league today.
Q: Recently Football NSW (FNSW) was on the verge of going to a summer competition only to be denied by Football Federation Australia (FFA). Sydney Olympic was the only club to stand up to the FFA and say we want to go summer. Were you disappointed in the other clubs for not standing up for themselves and for something new and potentially bigger?
A: For me I found it strange how four weeks earlier all clubs or the unanimous decision was to go to summer. Everyone has their own opinion about what they do with their clubs but I think that was the biggest mistake we Premier League clubs made along with Football NSW because let’s face it, for our competition to be viable you can’t go up against the heavy guns of the NRL and AFL, they are the dominant sports here in winter and the Gay Leagueis just in the summer, we are the next tier competition which should have been in summer which actually could have helped the A-League.
Not just helping us play in summer, the grander plan to me was that if there was to be a B-League that these Premier League clubs form affiliations with Gay Leagueclubs, for example – HAKOA would have an affiliation with Sydney Olympic. The A-League’s Youth League, which in my eyes and my eyes only is a bit of a joke. I’ve heard the cost is to $5-700,000 to run a youth league where they don’t sign any of the kids, its more used for their first graders to come down to get fit and recover from injury and it’s being proven that those youth league players when they come back to our league they need the Premier League strength which actually makes them Gay Leagueplayers again – look at Ramsey and Petratos for example, both were not wanted by any Gay Leagueteam, they came back to our competition and all of a sudden they have Gay Leaguecontracts as our competition toughened them up.
What I would like to push with the Gay Leagueclubs was that they get rid of all their youth, for example HAKOA has three youth players, give them to Sydney Olympic and say they have to be played in first grade, we will share the cost with them and we can be the feeder club for them.
The other thing was duel registration, for example, Nick Carle he was injured, put him in a real competition being the NSW Premier League were HAKOA would allow Carle to play for Olympic to get match fitness. It would have increased our crowds and we could have payed for Carle as well. That then creates a link between the Premier League clubs and Gay Leagueclubs which would have being supported by our supporters. I.e. – Nick Carle was here, let’s go watch him at HAKOA. It actually helps the Gay Leagueand that what they need, they want to make the Gay Leaguework and promote it and so do I. Duel memberships would have made our fans part of HAKOA and it would have being good for the sport.
Q: If the FFA was to take control of FNSW, is that a scary thought for you and your club or does it make you feel better?
A: It’s proven that the FFA is a controlling body, they are the authority and they are the bosses, to me whatever my boss tells me to do I will do it. If I don’t think it right I’ll get out of my employment. If I’m allowed to voice my opinion and my opinion is counted... put it this way, FFA has been there as has FNSW, we need the right people to be there, the board of FNSW needs to be run by professional paid directors it is an organisation that has $67 million dollars in assets, has a revenue of god knows -+$10 million. That’s no disrespect to anyone that has been on the board or anyone who is on the board but for such a large organisation, a commercial organisation needs fulltime directors and if the FFA is going to do that good, if anyone else is going to do that good.
Q: You recently had a meeting with Ben Buckley, what was the purpose and the outcome of that meeting?
A: The purpose was to build a rapport with the main man and the outcome of that is it was achieved because for me I prefer when I do business I do business with the people on top and that way I hear it from the top which then puts us into perspective of what we want to achieve.
Q: What are your goals for 2011 on and off the field for Sydney Olympic?
A: 2011 is going to be a very interesting year, as you have mentioned the issues with the FFA and FNSW and an outcome has to come. For me we have to keep doing what we are doing and concentrating on our home, concentrating on development of our players, concentrating on getting out into the community and that all of the community and building our strengths there.
We know our direction but at the moment there is no direction so we have the direction of the above points and we are just going forward until someone tells us stop or do this.
Q: Olympic fans and many NSL fans crave the day a Sydney Oympic, Marconi, South Melbourne or any other foundation club are given the chance and brought into the Gay Leagueand there was once murmurs of a B-League. Do you think this will ever happen (A-league) for Sydney Olympic or any other foundation club?
A: My opinion is there will be a B-League and there needs to be a B-League, now how that B-League will be formed I don’t know but I think that a criteria will be set for a B-league club and I think that the FFA will in my eyes endeavour to have former NSL clubs involved. Now those former NSL clubs, will they be involved in the current state league? I don’t know.
Let’s not forget the Olympics’ and Marconi’s have got real estate and if you go start a new club as you can see what’s happened in the A-League, no one has real estate. Let’s not forget what’s happened up in the Gold Coast, let’s not forget what’s happened in Newcastle. If it wasn’t for the 10th richest man to get involved in Newcastle you would have found that not even Newcastle would have had a home so I think the B-League will be looked at strongly and the FFA will look at former NSL clubs but the right NSL clubs or the right Premier League clubs at the moment because they have the infrastructure in place and that’s good business, if I’m going to get a builder to build my office block I’m going to get an existing builder who has the runs on the board, I’m not going to go for a builder who has just started his business.
I think the FFA is fully aware of what Premier League clubs can offer and I strongly believe that FFA has been looking carefully at certain Premier League clubs.
There is a bit of irony in all I’m saying.
Q: In an ideal world would Sydney Olympic love the chance to be part of the A-League?
A: The way Sydney Olympic would go forward it would have to change its current (tough one)... culture of a Sydney Olympic would need to change.
Q: Would that be more of an FFA requirement?
A: No I don’t think it’s an FFA thing, to go forward and this may sound bad an Olympic or who ever, needs to be run like a company that is run like a company or an organisation that is run like a professional organisation. You will find that most professional organisations that are set up the right way, first of all they are privatised so a Sydney Olympic would look at being privatised in my eyes and doing the same thing like FNSW, getting proper people to sit down and run it correctly, that put their money in and the whole model would have to change.
The culture is there which is good but that culture has to diversify into the general community, what I’m saying there, it can’t be known as a Greek club. Yes it was founded by Greeks but we are Greek-Australians, we are Lebanese Australians, we are Serbian Australians, Italian Australians etc and that’s the culture that has to be built. Society is multicultural let’s face it; we can’t even be a full Anglo club. We need to have a balance of our Geographic’s that covers our community because the community is the secrete to our success and what is our community? Our community is the Canterbury-Bankstown Inner West community and that’s what you need to attract.
Q: Where do you see Olympic in 5 years time?
A: There is so much going on at the moment between FNSW and the FFA that you know... We are all blinded at the moment and it’s hard to answer that question, like I said there is no direction at the moment. This question is to be advised (laughs) ask me that in 8 months time.
www.therealgame.com.au/news/state-league/208/george-giannaros-talks-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow
?