“What we did at Carlton was very advanced but we were quite unfortunate at the time that the AFL club didn’t understand the football side,” Krncevic, the new coach of South Melbourne, told au.fourfourtwo.com.

Krncevic, a former Belgian, Croatian and French league star in the 1980s who became the first Australian golden boot in a European league, began his coaching career in 1997 with NSL side Carlton SC – an outfit financed by Carlton AFL club.

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With the game evolving globally, the 35-times capped Socceroo saw the possibilities and drew together a quality squad that included a young Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella and Simon Colosimo.

Krncevic took the Blues to a grand final in his first season and pledged his faith in youth. However Carlton AFL club didn’t get the wider picture that the world game presents.

“Sure we played on Carlton’s ground but they didn’t know where football was going," said Krncevic. "An example was Grella, Bresciano and Colosimo.

"I had a discussion with Carlton owner John Elliott and he asked me, ‘what’s the future?’. And I said it was in these three boys for example. They could deliver a lot of money from which the club will benefit from it.

“He couldn’t understand it. Elliott later sold the club for just $700,000 to Peter Jess who’s still benefiting from the transfers of two of those players.”

The Carlton concept came around the same time as a disastrous super-club concept involving Collingwood AFL club and NSL side Heidelberg. Called Collingwood Warriors it lasted barely a season.

Similarly, Parramatta Leagues club – which financed the Parramatta Eels in the NRL – founded Parramatta Power in 1999. Like Carlton and Collingwood, it failed miserably run by people who had no idea about football.

Club ownership is an issue that's been in the headlines of late. Last week Adelaide United - owned by FFA since mid-2009 - announced a new private ownership deal lead by wealthy businessman Rob Gerard who said the Reds will link with SANFL Aussie Rules club North Adelaide. 

"We have a fair bit of North Adelaide with us," Gerard reportedly said in reference to his consortium.

"I've got this bit of a dream of code sharing in years to come. I don't believe in any towns having just one code. We have a summer and winter game and I think we can put lot of backroom and administration together.

"I think super clubs are the future."

“I think it was the era,” adds Krncevic about the super club concept. “But they [Carlton] probably didn’t understand the game and how football works.

"At board level you’d have to have someone who understands how the game operates and what it’s about and where it’s heading.”

*Read the feature on Eddie Krncevic next week on au.fourfourtwo.com where he talks about his plans for South Melbourne, his future coaching ambitions here and abroad and why foreign A-League coaches need more scrutiny.