The appointment of George Karkaletsis as coach of Brunswick City marked an eight-year cyclical journey for the former Clifton Hill manager, who gets the opportunity to sit at the helm of an NPL side for the first time in his career.
His last stint with the club may have ended in 2007, but he admits much is the same for his former employers, with the culture of the club in particular one thing that’s stood the test of time. But the one noticeable change that’s been most apparent is the increased professionalism surrounding all aspects from the club – from the board all the way through to youth development.
We spoke to the new manager about how he plans on making Brunswick City a competitive force in 2016 and how their off-field work is setting the club on the right path for sustainable success in the future.
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Why do you feel 2016 was the right time for a return to Brunswick City and why do you think you were appointed?
“We had a good season with Clifton Hill [in 2014], but the opportunity to coach NPL again [was a big reason for returning to Brunswick]. The fact that I had been there – I knew the people and the culture – that helped as well.”
What has/hasn’t changed at the club since your last stint?
“I think the actual ethics and way that the club go about things hasn’t really changed. Purely in terms of the culture, it hasn’t changed much but what has changed is the fact that the club has become more professional. The committee has probably changed many times since I was there last but the current committee are doing a lot more things behind the scenes in terms of getting our ground up to scratch and trying to meet all the requirements of the NPL.
“I think that since I’ve been here for the last 10 or so weeks, they’re a lot more organised behind the scenes, a lot more people and more hands on stuff. There’s a lot of plans going on at the club that needs people working all the time behind the scenes. I think in the past when I was there last, it was almost a one man band but right now we’ve got really good people in place from the President down and that’s been one of the biggest things that I’ve noticed.”
Do you believe the intense behind the scenes work is the key to shaking underdog status of the past few seasons?
“100% – it’s encouraging to see us having regular meetings not only discuss football operations but also the behind the scenes stuff that needs to be done. I think it’s a real important part of being not only a successful team, but also a successful club.
The club have got a view of what they’re trying to do and what the big picture is and I’m all for that. They need to make sure all the off-field stuff is done right to make sure the foundations of the club are solid rather than working from the team downwards. That gives me a lot of confidence in saying that we’ll do alright this season.”
What will the structure of the senior side look like this year? Is wholesale change on the cards to help the clubs on-field fortune?
“I think it’s quite obvious the team was bobbing over the last two seasons in the NPL. I’ve come in myself and Savvas Patikkis, my assistant coach, and we’ve looked at the team and done early trials. We’ve pretty much taken 30-40% of the squad – the rest of the squad is new players. We brought a few from Clifton Hill, some from other clubs, so it’s changed a fair bit since last season.
It’s not just the senior side of it, it’s also the junior development side which has been terrific as well. Matt McNamara has brought in a lot of coaching experience and it’s good to have qualified coaches doing the job there. It’s been quite a significant difference in terms of playing personnel.”
A-League players such as Theo Markelis and George Mells have called Brunswick City home in the past. What is the club doing to put itself in a position to be continually producing elite level players?
“I can’t speak so much for what Matty is doing and the junior set-up; my job is to [focus on the seniors more]. We said from the outset that we wanted to go out there and make a statement – people are saying that we’ve been the basket case and will be so again – but I can guarantee you that won’t be the case. We’re quietly confident; I’m not going out there all guns blazing saying we’re good and we’re going to take the world by storm, but in regards to producing players, I think we’ve had two season’s lost since the club’s been in the NPL so that’s an area we’re certainly looking to improve on.
We’re always happy for players to move on if we can produce the next A-League player, that’s what we’re there to do. The club is certainly making a big difference in terms of the coaching and the development of those players coming through our ranks. It’s going to be a slow process but that’s the idea.
Finally, you’ve been the first club to swap conferences in the NPL 2, going from the West in 2015 to East in 2016. How do compare the two leagues and do you think the swap will make much of a difference?
“It is a little bit of the unknown. Personally I’ve experienced moving from the West to the East many years ago when I was with Brunswick, but also with Clifton Hill where we had plenty of success at both clubs playing in the East. Maybe our footballing style suits playing against those guys playing in that side of town. I don’t know if there’s a massive difference any more or whether there has been in recent years.
But I don’t want to say because you just don’t know. Even if I did know, we’d be much more concerned with how we play than what the opposition is going to be like. I know that’s important and we’re not going to push that aside, but out main concern is getting a solid strong team on the park that’s going to be competitive, as opposed to the last couple of years.
Photo: Brunswick City Football Club