It's official. The world has decided not to ‘Come Play' in 2022, and I'm glad that the whole ordeal is over.
Now, more than ever, we have a chance to focus on what really matters in Australian football - bringing the A-League to the forefront of the Australian sporting landscape.
This is something easier said than done, although I am starting to tire of the ‘yes men' that the FFA seems attracted to. The Federation seems to have a habit of hiring high-level executives from other codes or the business world with little to no football experience, and then everyone seems to wonder why things get as bad as they currently are.
Despite the quality on the pitch continuously getting better and better; crowds are lower than they have ever been, mainstream media exposure is virtually non-existent and fans seem to be gluttons for punishment when they put up with the draconian security and surveillance techniques employed by the security consultants Hatamoto.
It's no longer possible for Ben Buckley to argue that the FFA has not allowed the World Cup bid to distract them from the A-League. It's no longer possible for Ben Buckley to hide from his failures. Frank Lowy deserves all the credit in the world for spearheading the bid efforts, but allowing the league to fester in its own inadequacies for 2 years is close to unforgivable and it's unimaginable that our Uncle Frank has kept the faith in Buckley by allowing him to continue on as FFA CEO when he has failed so miserably in his role with seemingly zero accountability and zero measures for success.
We need to acknowledge that the way the 2003 Report of the Independent Soccer Review Committee has been implemented has been selective and frankly (no pun intended) half hearted. One of the major reform suggestions that was ignored was to insure that the A-League (or NSL as referred to in the report) remain independent from the overall governing body.
Although he wasn't my first choice to head up the A-League, Lyall Gorman has done an admirable job in attempting to clean the significant mess left in Archie Fraser's wake. Ultimately, Fraser's very public hissy fit this week has only further highlighted my suspicions that the FFA is a fractured mess due to being filled with people without the slightest idea of football culture.
From my experience, part of being a good manager is being able to stand up for your convictions, even against the direction of your own bosses, when you know your project is falling apart. Fraser failed in this regard and is now using the media to snipe from afar; long after he ran for the hills when it all became too hard to deal with. Buckley has also failed, lacking the conviction or passion to believe in domestic football and its potential in the nation. His failures to date include:
- Oppressing Active Support of clubs through hiring glorified thugs under the guise of security consultants and restrictive "Home End" memberships that kill the growth of Active areas.
- Expanding into markets that have diluted support for clubs rather than hitting new supporters.
- Building a fixture list that is neither football nor family friendly.
- Restricting the autonomy of clubs with a blanket "FFA knows best" type attitude.
- Refusing to ensure the future of North Queensland Fury despite the club bringing forward an excellent looking community-based ownership model.
- Continuing to ignore the 2003 recommendations of a league entity that is seperate from the FFA.
My first choice for the role when Fraser stepped down was former Chicago Fire president Peter Wilt. My first experience with Peter was last year when I first began striking up a conversation with him and being drawn into his passion and simple-but-effective ideas, I began a campaign to convince the FFA to bring him down under and head the A-League.
It is my understanding that Peter expressed interest in the role that Gorman currently holds and was ignored. Why? Who knows. It seems particularly strange when you consider speculation that Gorman initially turned the approach from the FFA down.
In August 2009, Wilt outlined his 10 pillars of soccer management philosophy on the American website Pitch Invasion. I'd like to share the first pillar with you for your consideration and encourage you to go and read the rest.
1. FANS ARE IN CHARGE. While professional soccer teams have an ultimate fiduciary responsibility to the investors in the team, I believe two important factors steer decision making towards the premise that soccer executives should work for the fans. First, professional sports teams are a community asset that represents the community in a fashion unlike any traditional business. The investors are (usually temporary) caretakers of this asset for the fans. Secondly, what is good for the fans is usually good for the organization and investors. If the fans are happy, engaged and supportive of the team, they will spend more money, watch more game broadcasts and promote the team better themselves. Fans, and I am one also, ultimately cheer for the badge, the team it represents. They don't cheer for the organization or the owners.
The first pillar, for me, essentially outlines where the A-League is going wrong. Fans are considered as ‘consumers', and a necessary nuisance. In reality, there is only so much that fans will put up with and we are already seeing the effects of allowing fans to feel ignored.
As a fan myself, I've never felt that Buckley has worked for me or my best interests. If he is indeed going to "roll up the sleeves" and get into fixing this wonderful league of ours, maybe it's time to start by actually listening to and nurturing the one thing that differentiates our code from others - supporter passion.
Next week I will be blogging my open letter to the FFA, Lyall Gorman and A-League club owners in addition to the ones I called for you all to write in my last piece. Please keep your emails and letters flooding into the FFA (contacts below) - I know that they are being looked at. You can also follow me on Twitter and keep the conversation going.
Contact Emails:
A-League HQ - Adelaide United - Brisbane Roar - Central Coast Mariners - Gold Coast United - Melbourne Heart - Melbourne Victory - Newcastle Jets - North Queensland Fury - Perth Glory - Sydney FC - Wellington Phoenix
