No Winners in Blame Game

United we stand, divided we fall. if only there was more of the United we stand in football.

Is there a correlation between the standard of the game locally and the dawn of social media? Or is it more aligned to the birth of the Football Federation of Australia and the creation of Football West? Or is it a combination of the two?

As far fetched as this may sound let us look at the dateline. Facebook created 2004, the same year as Football West. The FFA, which had previously been for about a year the Australian Soccer Association was born in 2005. Twitter was created in 2006.

There is no doubt that in 2004 there was great excitement surrounding football. The belief was that finally the game was going to have structure. Sponsors were going to come on board as a result of the game finally having good governance. It was also believed that the sport would now attract the best people in sports administration. It did initially across the country, but many jumped ship very quickly realising once onboard that things were not what they seemed. Once again the game had been hijacked by self-interest.

Those in charge opted for change rather than improving what already existed, and as we see now 15 years later the game is in trouble and the new sponsors that came onboard are all leaving the game.

It has been said that in the modern world there are people who create chaos to undermine the cause. Their goal being to distract us from what is genuine. Certainly in the last few months there appears to have been a great deal of that, and regrettably some of the people we turn to for information have been to blame.

Some will argue that like the Football Federation of Australia, who have looked to right their ship with the appointment of James Johnson, the failings of Football West have also been the result of not having the right people at the helm.

That argument does carry some weight. Whether they had the football nous is almost irrelevant, the biggest question has to be did they know how to run a business, put in place the right structures to make it self sufficient and profitable? Looking at the situation at the moment you have your answer, based how many staff now sadly find themselves unemployed.

The local Saturday competition, the NPL and State Leagues are about to forge ahead, albeit it with no promotion and relegation, but with teams still being crowned Champions. It would also appear that there will be no prize money; although there have been differing comments made on that.

On social media there have been many people speaking out. Some have been measured and put forward their opinion in a balanced way. Others, as reflects the sport have been a little more passionate. Which is what you would expect.

As has been the case since the dawn of Facebook and Twitter everyone has a platform on which to air an opinion. As we have seen in these unprecedented times some are helpful, some are not, and some are a smokescreen.

What has been disappointing to hear, but not surprising, because after all this is the story of football in this country and one of the reasons why it struggles to get ahead, some of those who have spoken out via social media platforms have suddenly become mute when they are in a meeting with fellow clubs to discuss the situation.

Some have explained their sudden loss of voice – or is it heart? – is due to the threat that has allegedly been made if the club opts not to play in 2020. The said threat allegedly being that they will be relegated to play Sunday League football in 2021. Something that in these unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances would most likely quickly be overturned if challenged on legal grounds.

We have witnessed threats before, and that is not the way forward. Nobody likes a bully.

Why is it that at times like this there is a lack of unity? Why don’t the clubs as one stand up and say that such a stance is unacceptable?

Why is it that the Standing Committees have allowed Football West staff to attend their meetings for so long? Is it to absolve themselves of responsibility? To allow them to moan publicly and then lay blame at the feet of Football West when they opt not to speak up?

The idea of the Standing Committees and Zone Reps was to give the stakeholders a voice. The intention was that they would meet and discuss openly the issues, reach a conclusion and then table the issue as a united group with the game’s administrators. They would then be tasked with implementing the recommendations.

Sadly, the lead coming from the FFA was a dictatorial one right from the start. That attitude filtered down and the structure failed.

Even when meetings were held away from Football West staff there was no unity from the clubs. A select few opting to tip off Football West as to what was discussed in return for special treatment for themselves their club or players. Incredibly on one occasion a club delegate secretly recorded the meeting and shared it with Football West! A totally illegal act. Why were these individuals still invited to meetings? Why were they not warned and then expelled? Where was the leadership when it was needed?

Several clubs have claimed that playing in 2020 could see them go broke. Football West was supposed to be monitoring the financial status of the clubs, but by all accounts now has a very laissez-faire attitude towards this. Why? That is simple, because so many clubs have been trading while insolvent or close to insolvent. They do not want to have to expel a club and cop the wrath of the football community.

If we do see some clubs finally go broke – however somehow year after year they manage to survive – who will be to blame? No doubt Football West will be blamed, but surely only the clubs themselves are the ones to blame? Their committees are the ones who are given the responsibility to manage their accounts and to run the club along business lines, not Football West. They decide what to pay their coaches and players, not Football West.

Football West has not been the administrator many of us had hoped. Especially to those who spoke to the Crawford Report and attended their meetings, but blaming them for everything is not the answer.

To be fair they have attempted to help the clubs leading into this abbreviated season by discounting the fees in accordance with the reduction of games. There have been discounts on referee fees, player registration fees and they have established a financial hardship fund. There has also been a reduction on the player insurance fees, which is a curious one, and clubs would be wise to make sure that players still receive the same cover. It is very rare for Insurance costs to be reduced.

The time has come for the clubs to get their own house in order. It is time the clubs stood up for their own members and backed up their keyboard-warrior-words with actions. This is not about individual vanity. Egos should not come into it. It is about the history and the long term future of clubs that have sustained the game in Western Australia long before there was a Perth Glory. Clubs that have been, and believe it or not are still the lifeblood of the game here. Clubs that to many will be the pinnacle of their football career.

The going behind each others back has to stop. The trying to win favour with Football West has to stop; and that works both ways. The clubs and the game have to work together and show strength through unity.

Without that unified stance and approach social media will continue to be a platform for people to vent their frustration, and destabilise the game as a whole. At least before 2004 there was no such thing as social media. People actually aired their opinions verbally, which meant that discussion ensued. Frequently it was a heated discussion, often people didn’t agree, but it was democratic. The majority ruled.

There needs to be comment from the Chairman of the Standing committee advising all of the outcomes on behalf of the clubs. There should have been, and needs to be moving forward, minutes kept of those meetings and those minutes available to any who wish to view them. If there is a vote and some clubs are voted down, they need to show the sport respect and request permission from the Standing Committee to publish a statement on their position. They should not use Social media to vent their frustrations and dis-satisfaction.

In that statement they can reveal their position and that they were outvoted, but must reaffirm that they albeit reluctantly go along with the majority. That should be the end of the matter. Protocols need to be put in place. Why? That should be obvious, because sadly some of those holding positions of responsibility cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

Football is in a very bad way at the moment, nationally and locally. Moaning about the situation is inevitable but it is not going to help the situation.

The only way to right the ship is through strong leadership and a united front. Will that happen? Like most sporting fans you have to be an optimist and believe that one day it will happen. Hopefully that day is drawing nearer…