Coach: Alex Gymnopoulos
Home Ground: John Cain Memorial Reserve
2015 Season:
League: 10th place
Dockerty Cup: Round 4 (3-1 loss to Avondale FC)
Club Overview/History: Formed in 1960 under the name Hercules – then Princess Park Hercules – Northcote City was born out of a desire for local Greek migrants to come together and have a spot to play football together. That family feel has remained at Northcote over the years as it rose through the ranks to secure its position in the Victorian top-flight in 1980, the same year it secured the services of 2016’s home ground John Cain Memorial Reserve. The club fluctuated in the next two decades, relegated back to State League 2, before eventually making their way back up to the top-flight with back-to-back promotions under Peter Tsolakis in 2008-2009. Recent history has seen the club secure silverware in the form of a Dockerty Cup (2011) and most famously, the VPL Premiership in 2013, where they defeated the Bentleigh Greens to claim a maiden top-flight title.
Pre-season: Four wins, four defeats (14 goals for, 15 goals against)
– Northcote City 0 defeated by Kingston City 3
– Northcote City 3 (McGough x2, Dekker) defeated by Sunshine George Cross 5
– Northcote City 1 (Dekker) defeated by Bentleigh Greens 3
– Northcote City 2 defeated Whittlesea Ranges 0
– Northcote City 2 (Cunningham, OG) defeated Moreland City 0
– Northcote City 2 (Bounas, Gasparis) defeated North Geelong Warriors 1
– Northcote City 1 defeated by Moreland Zebras 2
– Nortchote City 3 (Rizk x2, Handakis) defeated Oakleigh Cannons 1
League Finish/ FFA Cup finish 2015: It was a funny old season for Northcote City, who in the end did incredibly well to avoid relegation, which looked a possibility mid-way through the season. At the 13-game mark, Northcote sat just a game away from the automatic relegation spots, with an abhorrent -17 goal difference, the worst in the league. But a mid-season purple patch saw them pick up 15 points in seven games and improve their goal difference by six goals, to amazingly put them just one spot outside of a finals position.
While the small murmurs of Northcote playing Finals football proved to be pre-mature – as they failed to pick up a win in their final five fixtures of the season – it was still a campaign of huge significance for the club, who consolidated their position in the top-flight with distinction. The club lost a plethora of players in the close-season and seemed on the back foot from the beginning with a large squad turnover, but gelled at the right time to rally for their survival, finishing nine points away from the drop.
Transfer movement:
In:
Anthony Rizk, Melbourne City
Jonathan Voulgaris, Clifton Hill [SL1]
Phil Petrovski, Goulburn Valley Suns
Michalis Karvouniaris, Panachaiki FC [Greek Football League]
Michael Cunningham, Rochester Rhinos
Nick Tzoulis, Brunswick City
Josh Berrios, Moreland Zebras
Out:
Calvin Mbarga, Salgaocar FC [Indian I-League]
Bonel Obradovic, Port Melbourne
Chris Theodoridis, Heidelberg United
Nick Kokolakis, Richmond SC
Jonathan Voulgaris, Werribee City
James Kalifatidis, retired
Players to watch: There are plenty of names to watch out for at John Cain Memorial Reserve this year, namely international duo Michalis Karvouniaris and Michael Cunningham, who come with big wraps. How will the pair ease into the Australian style of play and how will their experiences in the Greek and American lower leagues respectively compare to the NPL Victoria?
Elsewhere, Phil Petrovski will have big boots to fill after signing with the club to replace the departing Chris Theodoridis who provided a decade of loyal service to the Northcote City cause. Withthe retirement of James Kalifatidis, young Aron Handakis may feature more regularly for the club with a proud record of bringing through young talent. Speaking of young talent, Todd Dekker has featured on the scoresheet regularly in pre-season and if he turns out anything like older brother Wade, then Northcote may have another find for 2016.
What to expect in 2015: How will their new signings fare? In come a few unproven talents in their imported duo as well as a new custodian in between goals for the first time in a decade. While the squad turnover is no where near as harsh as it was 12 months ago, there is still talent lost that needs to be replaced adequately should they hope to avoid another relegation scrap.