Unclear Communication Leads to Unfair Speculation

No one ever said it was easy being successful. It take a lot of hard work, a lot of self belief when others are saying you won’t make it, determination, dedication and often a slice of luck.

When it comes to being successful in sport often there are other factors to consider such as injuries, team mates, the clubs you choose to play for and of course the coaches you have during your career.

Ask any successful athlete whether it was an easy path to the top and they will all have a story to tell you where they have had to overcome some hurdle. It may be a long term injury or a misdiagnosed illness or injury, self doubt, being played out of position, a lack of form, a clash of personalities, but all had the desire, the determination and the mental strength to persevere and push on.

There is a great amount of speculation regarding the recent sacking of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic’s sudden dismissal, speculation that has not been helped by the Football Federation of Australia failing to have a clear line of communication on the issue to snuff out all of the rumours that have abounded since the announcement. Clearly they did not get all their ducks in a row before dropping the bombshell, otherwise there would not have been so many players coming out openly in support of their coach.

Of course it is hard to defend someone when you do not know the reasons why they have lost their job. Clearly there are some in the Media who have been privy to the information that led to Stajcic’s sacking, and they have supported the FFA in making that decision. Why have they not revealed the real reasons? Why have none run a story backing the FFA? Are these people simply backing the decision, so that they stay onside with the FFA? That is a very real possibility in the current media landscape. As businesses and sporting bodies close ranks to those who ask awkward questions, ban them from press conferences and the like. So there is a benefit in being one of their trusted disciples, for one it can keep you in a job!

We have been told once again that one of Australia’s top sporting teams had a “Toxic Culture.” Did we not have the same expression used to describe the Australian Cricket team? Is this just a phrase that has now become an easy explanation for making hard decisions?

A “Toxic culture” is supposed to imply a workplace that is beset by significant drama and infighting, where personal battles often harm productivity.

In the main the Matildas have performed well as Stajcic had to overcome players out with injury, and blooding new faces into the squad. As for infighting and significant drama there was no more than at any other sporting club, and some would say less.

Judging from the information provided, the two surveys carried out only saw only the players being questioned. So like most surveys could have been loaded to produce the outcome that those who commissioned the survey wanted. Questions could easily have steered the players to give responses that would give the FFA hierarchy the opportunity to sack the coach. Suddenly they have a back up to defend their decision.

If there was gross impropriety – which has been rumoured – the FFA would not have needed a survey to sack the coach, they would have already had clear grounds for dismissal.

If there was, as many have reported a rift between Stajcic and his assistant Gary van Egmond, and that was affecting the team, then once again they should have stepped in and mediated. If mediation could not resolve the issue then one or both had to leave. Presuming that Stajcic, like most coaches was given the option as to who he had as his assistant, he should have been supported should he have wished to end that relationship, and severance payments should not have been an issue.

Once again it seems ironic that the FFA are accusing Stajcic of a lack of leadership, when this happened on their watch. Their handling of the situation has hardly instilled confidence in their administrative abilities. Let us not forget the coach they appointed prior to Stajcic, Hesterine de Reus, who somehow landed the role even though her qualifications were questionable! That was a clear lack of leadership. (No Waltzing With the Matildas).

So if it was the players who were unhappy, which players were unhappy? As it would appear that the senior players were more than happy with the coach and believed in him and how the team was tracking.

Those same senior players clearly feel betrayed that what they were led to believe was a simple survey into the team culture has seen their coach sacked. They also no doubt realise that the brand of the Matildas, and their earning power, which until recently was very small, is once again going to be damaged by this situation. From the outside, to many they appear a difficult group to handle and a team that has more power than the coaching staff. They managed to have Stajcic’s predecessor removed, they refused to play unless their received better pay – and were supported by the Socceroos – and now it would appear that they have given the ammunition to the FFA to remove their current coach.

Former Matildas coach Tom Sermanni, now coach of the New Zealand Women’s team summed the situation up perfectly when he told The Women’s Game, “The reality is, in elite sport, you’re not going to be keeping everyone happy and there’s going to be conflict. There are going to be people who are unhappy and who feel the situation for whatever reason is not fair. Well, the reality of elite sport and life is that it’s not fair.”

Sport is a competitive environment. It is a cruel environment. It is an environment where often the truth hurts. How many players have missed out on selections for international squads or key games with their clubs and then gone on to bigger and better things? Most, if they are honest will tell you that missing out on that selection spurred them on to achieve what they did. Some will even concede that the coach was right, that at that point in time, they weren’t fit enough, their were to individualistic and not part of the collective team.

There have been murmurs that players were told that they needed to lose weight. This happens across all sports and if athletes want to achieve at the highest level then they have to accept that this may well be the case. For example several years ago one player used to come into camp always over weight despite being in her state’s institute of sport. She was made to do extra training when in camp or face the prospect of not playing. Eventually the penny dropped, and now the weight has stayed off and she was a regular in the side.

Just like match statistics they are only of use if you know what information you are looking for. The same applies to surveys. It appears the FFA managed to find what they wanted. The key question that needs to be asked is when they reviewed the results of the survey did they look at which players made the accusations or was the survey carried out with all respondents answers anonymous? If the latter then one has to look at the issues raised and the reason they were raised, and were they substantiated. As Tom Sermanni stated a player who has not been selected is bound to be unhappy.

As we have seen in society as a whole the world now is one in which the accused is guilty until proved innocent, instead of the other way around. A Child makes an accusation about a teacher or a coach, and the teacher and coach are suspended pending an investigation. Children know how the system works, and as we have seen time and time again, these accusations have been made simply because the child was upset with something the teacher said or did.

We are all well aware that the coaching landscape has changed. Gone are the days when a coach could give a player a cuff around the head, or throw tea cups across the room. For a male coach in women’s sport it has become an even more difficult world to navigate.

As Sermanni also stated “If making judgments on a playing group or a program or a squad were all about being happy, and that was a criterion, then there wouldn’t be any coaches in any jobs!”

The biggest issue with the removal of Stajcic as coach has been the lack of transparency. Something that is becoming far to frequent an occurrence on CEO David Gallop’s watch. Yet the FFA have legal people within their organisation who earn their money in situations such as this. Understandably one would think that Stajcic is going to take legal action as his reputation has been harmed. It would appear that there may be more to this, and so it could in fact result in a very public spat, so why not try and be as clear as possible in explaining the decision rather than coming out with statements which are at best ambiguous?

Stajcic’s tenure as coach has seen the Matildas climb the rankings in world football. He has overseen performances at the World Cup and the Olympics that have seen the Australian public believe that this team, irrespective of its gender could deliver Australia a World title or and Olympic medal, Australia’s first in the sport. Certainly Stajcic’s team has received much more financial backing that Sermanni’s did, but the rewards if they achieve all that they are capable of would be immense.

No doubt at some stage all will be revealed. Regrettably it may be through the courts, and will again be a sad day for the sport where it is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

For the time being we should celebrate what Alen Stajcic achieved. Sadly though fans will continue to speculate.

No doubt they will also start questioning management by survey. If the national coach can be dispensed on the back of a survey, maybe there should be some in relation to the overall governance of the game, that may help us sweep out a number of people and bring in fresh faces?

As to use David Gallop’s own words “The ultimate responsibility for driving change and leading a high-performance environment that puts the team in the best possible position to achieve what they are capable of, rests with the Head Coach. We no longer have confidence that Alen is the right person to lead the team and staff.” Replace “Head Coach” with “CEO” and “Alen” with “David” and you may sum up the feelings of most fans around the country.

The timing of this could not be worse, five months out from a World cup that many had Australia down as a chance of winning. For those who feel the previous comment was unfair on the CEO let’s remember that the FFA lost the Socceroos coach prior to the World Cup Finals in Russia, and then had to bring in a foreigner for six games, and paid heavily for that decision.

In the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, Lady Bracknell utters the immortal line, “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”

Surely to lose two coaches so close to two world cups shows that the problem is in fact far deeper rooted than within the playing group?

Certainly the FFA need a lesson in ‘spin,’ if they wish to try and make the best of a bad situation. Crucially they need to be more transparent and open in their communication. The last two press conferences have heavily damaged their credibility and seen those who still had faith, now question whether that faith is misplaced.