SOCCER FRANKSTON council looks certain to approve a $1.43 million makeover of Monterey Reserve in next financial year’s budget. This was one of the major capital works projects announced last week in a proposed annual budget posted on the council’s website and inviting community feedback. It’s no secret that Monterey Reserve tenant Frankston Pines and council had been at loggerheads for some time over long-standing plans for a major makeover with the club strongly opposed to important aspects of the project. For reasons the club could never understand the original plans had public toilets at the entrance to the new…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER MICHAEL Woodward is one of the “invisible men” of local soccer. There are committee members at some clubs who have never heard of him but that’s more a reflection of how football is structured in Victoria than of the man himself. In a wide-ranging interview Football Victoria’s southern zone representative has chosen to share his personal views on the sports’ governance, clubs’ focus on their senior teams, the high cost of player fees especially at NPL junior level and what the prospects are for restarting the 2020 season. Woodward, 59, has a son and daughter that both played soccer…
SOCCER A FOOTBALL Victoria statement issued last week has been met with disbelief and derision by local clubs. At a time when all competition and training is suspended at least until 14 April the state federation has said player registration costs and other fees and charges will continue to be levied. In part the statement said: “Clubs remain obliged to pay any competition administration or registration fee, zone/association fee (if applicable), member federation fee and FFA’s national registration fee (governing body costs) out of the registration fees they collect per participant.” Langwarrin, Mornington and Strikers are the only local clubs…
SOCCER MORNINGTON import Josh Heaton cost Scottish Premier League club St Mirren £75,000 in June 2018. The then 21-year-old became the most expensive signing in 25 years for the Buddies but the following year he joined Darlington on a free. “A lot of it comes down to the manager really and sometimes it just happens that way,” Heaton said. The young central defender is among thousands of players in Britain subject to the vagaries of the professional game and a look at his CV highlights the circuitous route he has taken to arrive at Dallas Brooks Park. Heaton is from…
SOCCER MORNINGTON team manager Tony McKay died early on Sunday morning at the Alfred Hospital. He had collapsed a week earlier prior to a practice match at Dallas Brooks Park against Caroline Springs George Cross which was abandoned. Originally from Manchester in England the 77-year-old has been a much-loved figure at Mornington for decades. Other local clubs have used social media to show their support for Mornington and the McKay family during this difficult time. Mornington’s facebook page summed up the depth of feeling for McKay with these words: “Tony was a pillar of our club and touched the lives…