Thursday, February 11, 2010

Government expected to offer further support today to Tasmania's A-League bid


Michelle O’Byrne, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, is conducting a media conference at the South Hobart soccer ground at noon today.


She is expected to announce a government grant of $80,000 to the Tasmania United A-League Taskforce to assist with the preparation of a business case which will be presented to the A-League to support Tasmania’s bid for a team.


The Tasmania United A-League Taskforce announced recently that they need about $100,000 to complete a business case.


They were to brief the Government and other political parties about the outcome of their support survey, which revealed that 75 per cent of the people surveyed were in favour of Tasmania having an A-League team.


Well, it looks as if they've hit pay dirt.


The Government is in election mode, of course, and with that sort of public support behind the proposed A-League bid, I guess they’re keen to assist.


If this figure is correct, and I believe it is, then the Government's largesse to the Tasmania United A-League Taskforce will total about $120,000 to date.


******


Metro’s senior women’s side will forfeit their first Summer Cup match scheduled for Sunday.


They were due to play Olympia at Wellesley Park at 10.00 am.


“We still have high hopes of fielding a team in the Premier Women’s Summer Cup, but to date, we have been a bit slow to collect registrations that comply with the FFT-imposed Thursday [today] deadline,” said Metro’s women’s coach, Adrian Pickin.


“I guess next week will be a telling factor, but I still remain positive we will be ready for the season to field two, if not three, teams in the winter competition.”


*****


Did you know there is a ‘Tiny Tots’ soccer programme being run in Hobart for boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 5 years?


The programme has been running for two terms now and is, apparently, growing in popularity.


I’m told that bookings are essential as spaces are limited, so if you want to know more, ring 0404 645 442 or 0435 115 099.


Seems a bit young to me, but find out more if you wish.

33 comments:

the sheppard said...

this sounds great for tasmanian soccer.

walter why can't we post? was it getting out of hand??

Walter said...

the sheppard, it was getting a bit out of hand. I've opened it up again and we'll see if people have calmed down.

Walters lovechild said...

Great news!

Also just some news on Tiny Tots, The program is similar to the program grasshoppers soccer in WA, the concept is that it is based on motor skills and skill learning and not just soccer but obviously the main aim is that they will play soccer eventually, the program is affiliated to vikings futsal as seems to be the case with most programs of development in the state

Anonymous said...

never too young to start playing football

observer said...

I agree with you Walter.
Some people commenting are only doing so it appears , to antagonise players and other bloggers.Very immature and childish.
Maybe comments can be scrutinised before being published ?

eightball said...

eightball season preview-

clarence- look to improve with lots of solid young players albeit an over the top coach. jabba to pull on the boots again. one of the best set piece takers ever. look for cripps to have another bumper year. GK needed, perhaps ben peter to head back to his old stomping ground.

glenorchy knights- eamonn looks to be self-destructing. he needs to rotate his fringe players to ensure player morale. amadu to hit 20 goals this year. need corey smith to put doubters behind him and recapture his early metro form. need a keeper, as tatnell is not ready for premier league. ivan vucica although not currently expressing desire to play, is looking sharp at training after successive break from knee reco

kingborough- lions may struggle without the genius of charlie "china" white, a bit of tension in the air with current senior players may upend the team, but losing voss to zebras may be a blessing in disguise. but the bear coleman is ready to be back between the sticks

new town eagles- chris wass has held the team on his shoulders for the last 3 years, needs pitchford to become the player everyone expects from him. they need a striker, and a solid body in the middle to take the pressure off their light frames. krambo needs to stay away from the limelight and just concentrate on his team. adam jones has spoken to marty nirdoffer and krambo to organise a lightened load of training.


olympia- the arrival of chris hey is a positive sign for this fledgling team. fletcher tracy and kosta grillas can be a devastating proposition for defenders. we'll see if money wins with mamakis, raymond benson is looking to revitalise his career with the blues as uni aren't in the top flight. adam powell has a heart of a lion, but to early to see if he can make a successful return.

south hobart- star studded, super cool, morton led team to beat. breakout years for any of their young players, however i believe they have underachieved with their depth of talent. they should dominate every competion across the state. they have signed everyone except park ji sung so there are no excuses. this is the year for ladic to tell the opposition of his dominance in the league. joel heath has expressed his desire to return but it make be thwart my mobius and mortons standards.

zebras- young team, looks good on paper, but whether or not we see fagg handle his skeptics remains to be seen. frediani brings experience coaching in ressies last year, his good mate falzon may strap on the boots he has been such a lyal servan to the azzuri.
they will be sweating however on crosswell to decide his future after training wit every team this pre-season.

taroona- simple, back to div 1

top 5 players for 2010
cripps
pitchford
beercroft
fagg
fielding

5 who need to step up in 2010
ladic
corey smith
liam scott
voss
troy kaden

top 5 on their last legs
marchioli
toby ling
jason voss
ben peter
jackson marsh

ladder prediction
south hobart
zebras
knights
clarence
eagles
kingborough
olympia
taroona

vic tuting medallist
bart beercroft

leading goalscorer
luke cripps

rising star
amadu

coach of the year
morton

eightball said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
randy marsh said...

i agree lets keep this great site clean. nice preview by the way 8ball i like your comments they are interesting and always truthful, the only thing i dont agree with is i think knights will win the premiership and i dont think marsh is on his last legs he will only get better with age

homer said...

tas will never get an a-league team until the government starts takin this serious throwin 80 - 200k is nowhere near enough the gov throws around $10mil a year to a team that isnt even tasmanian this is all just a joke im sorry but its true.

Marty Nidorfer said...

Thank you 8Ball, If you see Jonesy tell him the lighted training load is for light players only.

On a diferent note 2 things I dont agree with summer cup.
Why are the Senior comps only 1 hour duration. This wouldnt get players match fit for Round 1 of the League.
2 points for a penalty shoot out win (in the case of a draw) is too many. A team could possibly qualify for later rounds, whilst under normal league rules wouldnt.
In that case winning a match in the summer cup should give you 4 points.

Interested in opinions.

eightball said...

thanks marty- i dare you to tell him in person

Walter said...

Looks as if I was on the money. Tasmania United Taskforce have just issued a media release stating that the Tasmanian Government has indeed given them $80,000 to fund the business case.

Anonymous said...

Great news about the potential a-league team! a pleasant suprise

True Eagle said...

eagles desperate for a holding midfielder this year. getting someone who can create contests, win tackles and cause pain in the middle of the park to opposing players is something we should look at. apparently george tried jono ladic, he's more of a playmaker than an enforcer though!

sidelined said...

Nice work, Eightball! Some interesting comments, quite humourous!

Kelly has always been a guy that has his 15 and never utilizes others, that won't change even if he does give the odd youngster a game. If you arent in his 15 then you may as well look for a game elsewhere if you want to play senior soccer.

True Eagle, all you lads need to do is clone another Wassy and put him defensive midfield. Problem solved!

Chuq said...

homer: the money today and over the past year has been for feasibility studies, business cases etc. The TUFC taskforce has actually stated that they want to run the club independent of government cash (although I see nothing wrong with Tasmanian Govt being a sponsor as they are with Hawthorn - Adelaide and Central Coast have had their local tourism departments as sponsors in the past)

BTW Hawthorn doesn't get $10m a year, its $15m over 5 years as far as I know?

eightball said...

true eagle-
no-one is doubting your allegience to the club, it seems a bit fishy when your trying to stay true to the club but your releasing information like that...... and all the better. the truth never hurt anyone.

cheers sidelined. wassy has been so dominant for a long time but lets not forget
he started his career as a striker, but because of holes in the defence he has not ventured any further out of his own half, but my god!!!! he is devastating in the air on set pieces and corners

admitted man crush on wass

Chuq said...

It's great to see the Govt is seeing the light (although its possible they already did but they wanted the survey result first so they wouldn't get questioned about it) ... now we need to get the mainstream media to see the light as well!

True Eagle said...

no worries eightball. i only posted that in hope that so it might catch someones interest from another club who wants an opportunity elsewhere. in the end it's only going to make White Eagle stronger and that's what we all want.

Anonymous said...

Nidorfer

From what i hear FFT may be looking at ridding themselves of the Summer Comp and starting the season a little earlier.

Everyone is playing pre season friendlies anyway.

The Teacher said...

I wish they gave 80k to upgrade some of KGV.

Anonymous said...

great preview 8ball

but beecroft for another vic tut? i dont think so. the one he won was because kim barker gave him 75% of his winning votes. on his last legs i rekon and starrting to slow down. greg downs his successor

Anonymous said...

eightball nice mugshot of kelly!!! have you asked permission from him to use it???

eightball said...

beecroft is solid.
what do you mean anon? the photo is of me, it was at a family gathering a couple of weeks back. i'm so pretty

Anonymous said...

eightball gr8 write up except your top 5 players!

Vic Tuting jade clay or ricky self

Anonymous said...

or of course the big adebayor character could win the vic tuting? the name is oliver and as stated before he is 'well equipped' for this season!

eightball said...

healthy discussion guys.

ricky has come close in a couple of years- he just needs to find that extra gear, or go to a few more referee functions

Roy said...

Moral seems very good at knights. sorry to contradict you eightball. i believe eamonn has one of the best line ups heading into this season. The best line up knights have had in the past five years or so anyway. a very good mix of youth and experience. Players such as googs, tono, corey, Fish and Danny white who have 250(ish) years of prem between them. And an up and coming nucleus of players who are very experinced for their age like: Jade Clay (early 20's), Alex Holmes (19), Armadu Koroma (11 - Man Child), Jacob huigsloot (18), James Hope (20ish), MK (Only God knows. Several Fringe players who can play several postitions with a season or three of games under their belt: Tom Sherman (19-until moves to eng), Will Roberts, Andrew Robb, Jackson Marsh, Brody Green. I have not mentioned several players also... as my memory is struggling at my age. If the moral is low in any of these players or any others at the club then they have to see the current situation as healthy for the future of GK and it should make them work harder to try and prove them selves and break into this squad. Sorry bout listing so many players but this shows what i can see as some stability creeping into GK which can only be all good... if thats Kelly self destructing then I'm happy he is!

eightball said...

roy i'm not denying eamon has all this wealth of young talent, i've picked them to finish top 3, but because they are there eamon is notorious for favouritsm. we all hope young kids can play for their chosen clubs its just whether eamon will be too stubborn to realise.

if you didn't read my post i also have amadu to hit 20.

and by my profile photo, to suggest i'm not a fan of eamon is silly. eamon is number 1.....kind of

smithers ol man said...

Players will be players - entertainers
Supporters will be supporters - fickle but funny
In the end though we all agree that we love the sport we love the chance to heckle and we all love leaving the arena with the spoils.
The blog today was a pleasure to read with no personal insults to players or bloggers and shows a lot more maturity than of late... well done all.

My picks for season 2010....
south - look good on paper so far.
g.knights - always a threat with pride a big thing at the club.
zebras - been around too long at the top end to dismiss as a chance.
clarence - this band of strugglers can surprise the best on there day.
metro - when they fire they prove all and sundry wrong but need to be more resilient and do it more.
eagles - been lacking prowess at the top for few years look forward to there return as a main contender.
uni - a side that is under the shackles of trying to keep good student players at hobart and need to find more home town boys to give club stability but can play brilliantly on those unexpected times.

Anonymous said...

yawn, walter what religion or ties with the church this blog has turned to, anons might as well join, and then we can confess at the end of year gathering....if you cant express with a bit of slander whats the point!!!!!

shrek said...

obviously eightball is the editor of this blog why is it whenever anything at all gets said about him it gets deleted straight away but its ok for him to slag every1 else off.

eightball said...

shrek- you would not realise how many posts i have had deleted, and i think it was my posts that got the site banned to begin with......eat me fatboy