It’s been a great year writing about South. I’ve really loved getting more engaged with the club, other fans, and contributing a little to the culture. As well as the physical publications, I’ve contributed pieces to the Neos Kosmos and Greek Herald hoping to widen the club’s exposure and provide an unofficial voice for fans.

I’m writing as many of you may have noticed a reduction in volume on the site. Well, with a bit going on in my life at the moment I’ve decided to wind down production on Blue and White Views with the view to refocus on other aspects of my life (hopefully some good news to share in the near future)! On top of work, family and friend commitments, I am lucky enough to engage in a few different hobbies and interests but have realised more and more that I’m simply spread too thin to really achieve what I’d like how I’d like.

Blue and White Views was never intended to be as big of a commitment as it became. This year I posted nearly 150 articles and wrote over 60,000 words. I printed hundreds of fanzines on my home printer and published the annual magazine at my own personal cost. The initial conception of the idea in fact had no online platform, I simply wanted to print A4 fanzines for the occasional game, and then I figured I should chronicle those articles online, and then I figured I may as well write short match reviews, and then I figured I should promote via twitter, and a Facebook page, and then I tested a podcast and then I found myself doing too much.

Going back to the original conception of the idea, the purpose was to contribute to fan culture in the lead up to the Australian Championship, and towards the end of the NPL season I found myself limping to the finish line. Now that the new competition is here more fans are connected to the club, more content is being published about the club (please check out Football 360) more podcasts are discussing the club, and I feel that the nature of my content no longer fills the gap as it once did, with the space now occupied by more committed and better resources alternatives.

The other painful reality is that I need to give myself some space from Blue and White Views. The project is personally dangerous for how fun it has been and increasingly I have spent energy I don’t have on the project. I feel that I need to get off twitter, I need to be less distracted at work, and I want to enjoy the games with friends in a different way, without the lingering voice in the back of my head asking for content or controversy to write about.

So I’ll be winding down, perhaps with the occasional fanzine or post (in fact, I’ll write another straight after this) but overall I’ll be winding down.

Once again, a small run of the annual magazine will be made available at the game on Saturday, so if you see me please say hi!

Thanks to everyone for the support over the past year, it’s been a blast.

Let’s go South!