South Melbourne have never been a club to shy away from the headlines. Last year the club battled relegation, sacked a coach, signed an outsider and still ended up with two trophies. Remarkably, this year the club has produced just as much drama.

Earlier this year the club was simultaneously competing in the NPL and OPL. This put enormous pressure on the senior squad. This pressure peaked in the final stages of the OPL as the senior squad was forced to stay abroad in New Zealand for a prolonged period, only to suffer a heart-breaking defeat in the Grand Final to Auckland.

In the following months, the senior program encountered instability on and off the field. Although a short adjustment period could be forgiven post-OPL, the prolonged period of poor form, the controversial manner of staff turnover and a high number of squad changes proved to be points of concern.

Coaching (Un)changes

It all kicked off just a week after the OPL Grand Final loss. On the 30^th of May it was announced that the club had parted ways with Sinisa Cohadzic. The reaction from fans and the broader football community was instantly, overwhelmingly negative. No publicly justifiable reason was apparent for the decision, especially as Cohadzic is well loved by the fans for his extraordinary efforts since taking the role of head coach last year.

However, just three days later the club announced that Sinisa Cohadzic would return as head coach. It was a surprising U-turn that no-one foresaw. The closest thing to an explanation for the move was provided in the club’s official statement. The statement suggested that the episode allowed coach and club to “openly address and resolve a number of important matters.” It is not apparent what these matters were, but it is fair to say that the public nature of the fallout & resolution is not what fans expect of the club.

The Form Slump

Following this controversy the club suffered a slump in form, managing just one point from four games including losses to cellar dwellers Altona and Green Gully. The form slump threatened South’s chances at making the finals series and signalled disharmony in the senior men’s squad.

Squad Turnover

The form dipped coincided with the midseason transfer window, and the senior squad saw significant turnover. Many younger players left the club in search of more senior game time. This included the exists of Dovison and O’Sullivan which disappointing fans. Senior experience was brought in to strengthen the starting line-up including A-League veteran Paulo Retre and exciting forward Bul Juach, formally of Heidelberg United.

However, the most eyebrow raising change was the exit of Nahuel Bonada on loan to Preston Lions. Bonada had become a fan favourite at Lakeside over the past couple of years so his move to an archrival was surprising to say the least.

In the weeks since the changes Bonada has gone onto become a Preston Lions cult hero following his two goals in the Australia Cup, and South’s form has stabilised in the league with three wins in the past four games.

Board Appointment

Turnover in personnel can point to structural or cultural issues in an organisation. This was the primary concern of fans following the movements of Cohadzic and Bonada. However, another surprising move from the club may allay these fears. In July the club announced the appointment of three new board directors, of seemingly extremely high calibre.

The Hon Philip Dalidakis (former Victorian Cabinet Minister), John Karantzis (Lawyer) and Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris (orthopaedic surgeon) have joined the board. With these appointments it is hoped the the culture, and administrative practices of the club improve.

Looking forward

The significant changes in personnel have been difficult to follow over these past couple of months. Now that the dust has settled we hope we can return our focus to the performances on the pitch.

Summary of squad changes

IN: Bul Juach, Paulo Retre, David Yoo, Hassan Ramazani, Richard Nkomo, Sam Fawcett.

OUT ON LOAN: Nahuel Bonada, Ilia Shalamanov-Trenkova.

OUT: Ethan O’Sullivan, Thierry Papadimitriou, Lucas Inglese, Jack Pope, Luka Coveny, Charlie Leech, Campbell Dovison, Che Gorr-Burchmore, Luca Durso, Thomas Killick, Gerry Angelatos, Angus Angelatos.