The knife gets stuck into the FFA hard and justifiably
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Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley during the launch of the A-League season in Sydney, Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Football Federation Australia was already having a bad week before former A-League boss Archie Fraser stuck the knife in with a remarkable attack on the governing body and CEO Ben Buckley (above) on The World Game website.
Fraser, who quit as CEO of the A-League in April and worked to save the North Queensland Fury, didn’t mince words in his attack, addressing a number of issues of great concern for football in this country.
Fraser’s attack is important for a number of reasons: for raising and openly discussing the leadership at the FFA and Ben Buckley’s role; what impact the World Cup bid is having on the league; asking why there has been so much personnel change at the FFA; raising questions about the Sydney Rovers’ viability; asking why it took so long to step in and help the Newcastle Jets; and shinning a light on the major issues of scheduling and promotion.
The “Archie Fraser manifesto” deserves a deeper examination as we need to understand the reasons why the A-League is faltering (and so we can challenge the fallacy that it’s the sole result of a lack of interest).
Archie said:
- “The only focus right now at the FFA is the World Cup bid and the A-League has been left to become a basket case.
“The A-League is suffering. Hopefully it will still be there in December when FIFA decides whether we do or don’t get the World Cup.
“The structure of the league is wrong. It needs more autonomy and to be separated from the FFA and allowed to look after its own affairs.”
Without autonomy within the FFA, the A-League has become the forgotten child.
The attitude that the league will grow on its own has corrupted the FFA’s thinking since the very beginning. They underestimated the task of developing the league and the extent of the shift of resources and attention from the A-League to the World Cup bid has exposed that flawed logic – failing to secure its foundation, which it should have been doing.
All new leagues in the modern football era, from the USA to Japan to China, have suffered a dip in popularity after the initial boom, so it was imperative that the A-League was nurtured during this period rather than ignored.
We can only hope the bid is successful or that the FFA’s resources and finances are switched back to the A-League before it’s too late.
One shudders to think what will happen if the bid in unsuccessful. With all its eggs in the World Cup basket, what will become of the A-League?
- “It needs some grunt in a competitive market at a critical time for the game. Right now the league is paralysed. The FFA has taken its eye off the ball and that’s why I quit.
“The other codes must be looking at us and thinking how good is this? They will be saying, ‘Thank God they haven’t been able to get it right yet. Because when they do we will be in a bit of trouble’.
“My question is why are the directors not doing anything about it? Why is the FFA board sitting back and allowing this to happen?”
This speaks for itself.
Where is the “grunt” in competing in the overcrowded Australian market and determination to address the issues around the decrease in crowds?
- “There is no promotion of the game and no cohesive strategy. When I was head of the A-League I couldn’t make any decisions, and no decisions were ever made until the last minute. Everything went through Ben Buckley.”
If this is true then it’s little wonder the A-League’s promotion has been so non-existent.
The A-League’s running, therefore, needed to be more autonomous during this World Cup bid period, and more power given to current boss Lyall Gorman (who has been almost invisible throughout this crisis).
Promotion and marketing, when compared to the A-League’s launch, is completely inadequate.
More needs to be done and Buckley must be more proactive in outsourcing that promotion if the FFA cannot handle it.
- “The organisation is purely reactive and never stands up for the game. We never take on the other codes and a lot of people within the FFA seem to be happy with that.”
We saw this when the likes of Andrew Demetriou so easily hijacked the World Cup bid agenda.
Where was the equivalent amount of chest beating from the FFA supporting their cause?
The FFA had the higher moral ground – trying to win the rights to host an event bigger than the Sydney Olympics that would be for all Australians to enjoy – and yet that message was buried in semantics dictated by rival codes (Etihad Stadium’s availability, the impact on the AFL/NRL seasons, etc).
- “Questions need to be asked over why (chief commercial officer) John O’Sullivan, (operations manager) Matt Phelan left, and why were (head of corporate and public affairs) Bonita Mersiades and (chief financial officer) Ian Lewis given the heave-ho.”
The FFA is a desperately understaffed organisation. A staff of 106 is not enough to handle the Socceroos, A-League and the World Cup bid.
So any clashes or tensions within that staff need to be addressed and overcome immediately if those 106 people are to maximise their abilities for the cause of growing football in this country.
They need to be working beyond their means to compensate for the shortfall, not in a poisonous environment.
- “The dire financial straits at Newcastle have been brewing for nine months. The FFA knew all about it. Nobody sat down and talked to them and offered to help until the very last minute. It’s really a disgrace.”
Was Con Constantine’s uneasy relationship with the FFA the cause for their lackluster response to the Jets’ financial situation?
Only they know.
But with North Queensland Fury and Adelaide United in the FFA’s hands, and clubs such as Gold Coast United needing more than just a helping hand, how can the FFA, with its modest size and financial clout, support so many clubs?
When the MLS went through its financial crisis, it had the support of a few corporate high flyers who could bankroll the clubs.
The FFA needs to keep the likes of Constantine and Clive Palmer involved in the game and actively reach out to corporate Australia, for it cannot bankroll the whole competition itself – certainly if it doesn’t have the prospect of an Australian World Cup in 2022.
It needs to be cutting down the $25 million loss it makes per season.
It also needs to release the shackles on clubs so they can be more active in finding their own revenue streams.
The clubs will be able to do their own apparel deals next season, which will help in a small way, but they need to be given more freedom in other areas.
- “They (Melbourne Heart) only got 4,000 odd and the game should never have been played. The draw is nothing like the one that was under consideration back in April.”
Scheduling needs to be maximised in this crossover period between the A-League and the AFL/NRL seasons.
As fans now concede, the league can’t compete with these rival codes and the A-League is being buried in terms of attention.
So why have idiosyncrasies in the schedule such as Adelaide United hosting Newcastle Jets twice in the first six rounds, giving Gold Coast United (struggling at the best of times) two byes within the opening month of the season and scheduling a Melbourne Heart home game so close to an AFL finals match (knowing it would more than likely be staged in Victoria)?
Why hurt your cause by giving the media and fans even more reason to switch off or take no interest?
They need to accept the crossover into the AFL/NRL seasons just doesn’t work with the limited amount of promotion they can give the league.
- “I don’t think you will see them (Sydney Rovers) next season because the backing just isn’t there at the moment. There were other more deserving causes for an A-League licence.”
The circumstances in which the Rovers were handed the 12th A-League licence are deserving of their own investigation. But now they are in and set to make their debut in less than twelve months, we must ask where are they at in terms of backing and how the can learn from the Fury, Gold Coast and Melbourne Heart and build a sustainable supporter base before their entry.
Unlike Heart, they do have a wide and distinctive geographical base to their cross-town rivals, but with the NRL notching up record numbers in western Sydney, and the AFL making serious noise in the region with a seemingly bottomless pit of reserves to throw at Greater Western Sydney (GWS), how can an A-League franchise survive and prosper with feeble support from the FFA?
Fraser certainly provided us with some serious questions to ponder.
And what’s even more concerning is there remain some issues he didn’t touch on, such as the limitations of the Fox Sports television deal and the options for the next, the concerns over ticketing prices relative to the product, the viability of Gold Coast United, and the reasons why A-League crowd numbers are down.
These issues need to be discussed in a public forum, and Fraser should be praised rather than condemned (just as football fans that discuss these issues shouldn’t be branded as anti-A-League).
The crisis is real and to say nothing is to allow the FFA to steer the A-League down a path where it appears doomed.
Sitting idly by and expecting the A-League to grow of its own volition is the sort of shortsighted thinking that’s led the league into its current malaise under the FFA’s control.
Also, by not shinning a light on and openly discussing the various reasons why crowds remain lackluster, the football community will only fuel the anti-soccer brigade who argue a lack of interest is solely to blame for the stagnation.
Fraser’s attack should act as the impetus for the custodians of the game – and many of its fans – to wake up before it’s too late and the A-League morphs into the NSL Mark II.
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Forgetmenot said | September 9th 2010 @ 1:33am | Report comment
One of the best articles i have read regarding the reason for the state of the A-League in the country.
Rather than staking the blame with the media, and the AFL the articles has more than leant to the side of soccer taking responsibility for its own actions.
I also wonder why the FFA is placing all the eggs in one basket for the World Cup, and surely it would be better off trying improve the A-League product such that the television rights are increased next time. Is Ben Buckley only being kept around for the next round of tv negotiations.
Hopefully this article starts a trend of more soccer supporters stopping their blame game and negative publicity campaign towards the AFL.
The Special One said | September 9th 2010 @ 6:05am | Report comment
Some think its because Buckley comes from a AFL background, that the FFA is the way it is.
For everything they do right for the national teams and player development, they get it absolutely wrong with the A-league.
Mega said | September 9th 2010 @ 1:36am | Report comment
Adrian, nail hit on the head.
I’m stunned by how bad the FFA are running the A-League.
mds1970 said | September 9th 2010 @ 6:10am | Report comment
Buckley fiddles for FIFA while the domestic game burns.
The clubs expected to lose money when the league was starting out. But we’ve had 6 years, and there’s still no sign of recouping any of the start-up losses. Instead, the financial bleeding is getting worse. Who in their right mind would want to own an A-League club in this environment?
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:07am | Report comment
mds1970
A couple of minor – but relevant – factual errors about the A-League (HAL).
1. the HAL has only been in competition for just over 5 years – we have just commenced the 6th year
2. 27% (3 out of 11) HAL clubs (GCU, NQF & Melb Heart) have been competing for less than 18 months
3. A further 4th club, Well Phoenix has been competing for just over 3 years
If you’ve ever operated, or simply been privy to information about, a start-up business you would be aware that it often takes years to recuperate “sunk costs” and within the first 5 years of operation, most start-ups focus solely on developing and marketing their brand/product; and very few start-ups would generate a positive cash flow from operations within 5 years.
Survival is the key in the early years of business development.
NRL club, Melbourne Storm has been operating in the Melbourne sports market for the past 13 years and, based on what I have read, the Melbourne Storm has never generated a positive cash flow from its football operations and relies on annual capital injections from its major shareholder, News Corp.
Again, based on what is presented in Annual Reports, some of the most successful AFL clubs in Victoria (Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong) would also be in severe financial difficulty if the State Government of Victoria banned Poker/Gaming machines tomorrow.
Simply, even the biggest AFL clubs have “expenses from football operations” are greater than “revenues generated from football operations”.
chocolatecoatedballs said | September 9th 2010 @ 6:16am | Report comment
so many questions, so little answers.
I love football and when the HAL started it seemed great, had exposure yet has slowly gotten itself disenfranchised with the media and the public.
Frank Lowe had a dream, yet left it in the wrong hands, time to get him back at the helm for a while.
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 8:08am | Report comment
In respect of the WC bid, Adrian says: The FFA had the higher moral ground…
Well, if we had lived in a totaltarian state, you may have been in a position to argue that the FFA had the higher moral ground – but try testing that theory in the courts where property and contracted rights are recognised, and I don’t think the argument will get you too far.
Apart from that, as I have said many times before, and perhaps many are starting to see it now: the WC bid is all about the future of the A-League, that is the FFA’s primary motivation for the bid and why it is taking all of its focus.
Australian Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 8:31am | Report comment
It all started to go wrong with the appointment of Pim Verbeek. You can blame Ben Buckley for that but it would be unfair; as there were unmitigating circumstances surrounding that decision. However, when the national manager labels the domestic League as rubbish and naming a few HAL players as hopeless and his failure to put in place an effective Australian B team that could not beat a weaken Melbourne Victory FC in a practice match—you then have to act and Ben Buckley did not. To keep Pim Verbeek in charge of the National Football Team was the beginning of the down hill slide for the HAL. That was the beginning to the lack of respect which the HAL was ever going to receive from the media.. If the national manager calls the HAL crap then why should the media and the supporters feel they should support it. Thank goodness Pim Vebeek has been replaced with a National Manager who has a better CV.
______
AF
Realfootball said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Good points, AF. Verbeek certainly played his part. He left us with nothing but negatives. What a curse on our game that incompetent mediocrity was.
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
He achieved a second consecutive WC appearance (the very first time we have successfully navigated the Asian qualifiers).
Why has there been no flow on benefit for the domestic comp?
That’s got nothing to do with Pim.
Art Sapphire said | September 9th 2010 @ 1:01pm | Report comment
MF – I agree with RF and AF.
1. for the 74WC there was only one spot for the OFC and AFC combined. Australia won their group which included Iraq, Indonesia, NZ and then knocked out Iran and Sth Korea to reach the finals.
A much, much harder task than what Pim had to manage.
2. Publicly criticisizing the domestic comp was Pim’s way of covering himself in case of failure. This get’s played in the media and affects perception of domestic football.
3. Pim’s tactics and selection for the game against Germany was his ultimate legacy. Feelgood factor for anything related to Australian football plummets.
dasilva said | September 9th 2010 @ 1:30pm | Report comment
Pim Verbeek in terms of results achieved a pass mark. Getting 4 points at the World Cup was credible and the victory over Serbia is one of our best victories in a competive match.
However being the figurehead of the game and in terms of public relations. Pim Verbeek has been an absolute disaster. Being the manager of the Socceroos has pretty much make you the pre-eminant spokeperson of the game in Australia and him criticising the A-league seriously damage the reputation of this league in the eyes of the Australian public.
It was a case of him manipulating the media for his own benefit, so that if he lose with an A-league team, he would already have a ready made excuse. The disgraceful thing was that the media bought it and no one called him out on it. He read the SBS manifesto perfectly and they pretty much bailed Pim Verbeek after the lost to Kuwait byfocusing on the standard of the A-league rather then pim Verbeek’s coaching skills. He pretty much did the same thing after the lost to Germany where he pretty much said to the dutch media that his players (Moore and Rukavystya) weren’t good enough when his reputation as a coach was threaten after that game.
There was also the declining brand of the socceroos that started right at the match against China where we selected an Olympic team that played doured football and we lost our first home WCQ for a very long time that completely alienated the Sydney audience.
There was also style of football. Now style may be based on the eyes of the beholder but unfortunately the taste of the public is measured by crowd figures and us getting low crowds with the full socceroos team against Oman.
It may be harsh to judge Pim’s reign based on one game against Germany. however in terms of PR relation, the viewing audience dropped dramatically after the Germany match when Australia was hammered 4-0 and we were viewed as a basketcase of world football. Australia may have regain their reputation in the last two games but for the Australian public that was the case of too little, too late.
Fauntleroy said | September 9th 2010 @ 8:49am | Report comment
What strikes me as odd is the willingness for the FFA to hold on to the clubs it is now supporting. Two cases in point – we talk about the FFA having to prop up Adelaide United and North Queensland, but in both of these cases consortiums have put proposals on the table to take over these clubs. In the case of NQ, an $8 millinion dollar package by a Singapore based consortium, which was recently scuppered by the FFA. This says to me that either the FFA have more money in reserve than we we think, and are therefore willing to wait for the right circumstances for a handover, or, they simply lack the bargaining power to negotiate better terms for its clubs.
Also I don’t agree with the “we can’t compete with other leagues” mentality. This sort of defeatism is self-fulfilling, and is exactly why the NSL died its long slow death. No one really believed in it. In seasons 2 and 3, in the heart of AFL town, Melbourne Victory were going just fine. Swimmingly in fact. To say that the A-league can’t compete with other leagues for media space and media patronage, would be a much better analysis. And there a whole host of circumstances around that, both financial and cultural.
Finally I think its fair to say the Buckley, who cut his teeth in the AFL both as player and administrator, has struggled to really understand the depth, breadth and intricacies of football. To compare his role with that of Demetriou or Gallop, who deal in tight, narrow markets, is simply ludicrous. The scope of his role is far, far broader and much more intense. Nonetheless, the FFA’s ability to delegate responsibilities downward and invest their faith in others has been absymal. His tenure is proving a failure. We need fotoball people, for football.
Australian Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:00am | Report comment
” In the case of NQ, an $8 millinion dollar package by a Singapore based consortium, which was recently scuppered by the FFA.”
Fauntleroy,
excellent post and I was also wondering why this did not happen. I have not heard of any explanation to why this consortium was rejected… Perhaps Archie Fraser can elaborate. Please answer—does anyone know why?
AndyRoo said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:25am | Report comment
The people involved had links to sports gambling and were evasive in providing there credentials.
I’m glad they were rejected.
AndyRoo said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:29am | Report comment
Your first paragraph reminds me of the story Cockerill told about MLS. Two Billionaires kept the league going to the tune of $100m but collected ownership of a few teams in the process “saving” them and then later when the league was doing well sold one (New York) for $100m.
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:40am | Report comment
Fauntleroy
re the Singapore based consortium: who were they? who were they linked with? I suspect the FFA would have uncovered a bit of the story that they were not satisfied with.
You don’t just sell off clubs willy nilly to any consortium from overseas who say they have the money and an interest in supporting Australian soccer. You need to know precisely who they are, who they are linked with, and whether they have interests that are of a, shall we say, nefarious leaning.
Fauntleroy said | September 9th 2010 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
I agree completely. What i’m saying is, that if an organisation is at desperation point (which we all seam to be alluding to with regard the FFA) then they would be more likely compromise on their criteria and principals in order to sustain the club, i.e beggars can’t be choosers. So one could look at that as a positive if you like. The point is, have the FFA come out and said “we didn’t pursue this for reasons X & Y but don’t worry, we have other options…”. No, instead they leave their supporters out in the dark, and disengaged.
They simply don’t understand that uncertainty breeds disengagement. Right now, phalanxes of football fans and football journalists are going into that defensive mode they are all too familiar with, disengaging themselves in an indulgence of criticism and self preservation. They don’t want to attach themselves to a product that they think (i.e fear) won’t be aroudn too much longer. Most of this is frenzy, and the circuit breaker to this is COMMUNICATION, which is so painfully lacking by the FFA.
The important thing to note is that there ARE backers out there. There WILL be more interest in Adelaide, there is current interest in Brisbane Roar via FC Utrecht. There is interest and capital behind the Canberra bid. This is all about governance, but better a lack of governance than a lack of constituents. We must remain positive about the future, whilst we hold the FFA rigorously to account. All we can do in the meantime is to encourage all of those stray people who were around in seasons 2 and 3, to give the game another go.
Stefan said | September 9th 2010 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Guess it’s up to us to get out to the games and get in the ears of others to make sure people attend. Word of mouth people.
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Adrian, at the outset, let me say I enjoyed reading your article on very important issues that are facing Football in Australia,
If this column is intended to be simply an analysis of an SBS article, then you’ve done a terrific job and I look forward to the comments that will flow.
However, I was disappointed that you were not able to provide us with “meatier information” that would be only available to professional sports journalists, who have networks and contacts within the industry.
In particular, I make the following comments:
1. From my observations, your column focuses heavily on comments made by ex-CEO, Archie Fraser, as reported to the SBS organisation.
2. Given the amount of time you (must have) spent preparing this column, I’m surprised that, as a professional journalist, you did not actually go directly to the source of the comments – Archie Fraser – but have relied on 2nd-hand information displayed on the SBS website.
3. Additionally, as a professional journalist, I would have expected you to at least attempt to obtain an interview or comments from:
a) FFA CEO, Ben Buckley, whose capabilities have been heavily criticised by Fraser
b) FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy, who – by association – is also being heavily criticised by Fraser
4. To gain further understanding about what is actually occurring at the FFA, I would also have expected a professional journalist to interview former FFA staff, who have been specifically identified by Archie Fraser in his comments to SBS, including:
a) John O’Sullivan (ex-chief commercial officer)
b) Matt Phelan (ex-operations manager)
c) Bonita Mersiades (ex-head of corporate and public affairs) and
d) Ian Lewis (ex-chief financial officer).
Surely, these ex-employees would be able to provide invaluable primary information about what is happening “behind the scenes” at FFA HQ?
The SBS article is definitely worth discussing, but I now would like professional football journalists to take the next step and find out more about the issues raised by Fraser … perhaps, a bit of real investigative journalism is now required?
Australian Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Excellent Fussball, I would like to hear more as well…
Midfielder said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Well said Fuss…
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:41am | Report comment
Last I heard, Buckley is in China, so it might have been difficult getting hold of him.
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment
MF … You’re kidding right? I’ve yet to travel to China, but surely you are joking if you think China doesn’t have access to 21st century communication infrastructure!!
In fact, from what I’ve read, most countries on this planet have better access to wireless communication than Australia!
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:09pm | Report comment
So you were hoping that Adrian would just give Buckley a quick call while he’s travelling around China?
Potential phone interview (note: this did not happen):
AM: Hi Ben, thanks for taking time out from your busy schedule to talk to me.
BB: No problems, a pleasure.
AM: Your former right hand man says you’ve taken your eyes off the ball and allowed the A-League to become an absolute basket case. What’s your response?
BB: It’s not true, We’re quite satisified with the ongoing growth of the league and the devlepment of soccer, I mean football, in this country. We are meeting all of our KPIs, and we’ll soon know whether we’ve landed the right to host the biggest sporting event in the universe.
AM: How do you explain the poor crowds?
BB: As our right honourable chairman has said, SFC crowds are low because the team isn’t playing well. It’s a matter of swings and roundabouts. As soon as they enjoy some success, you’ll watch crowds flocking to the game. Let’s not forget that the major football codes are completing their finals series, and once that’s over, the crowds will recover right around the country.
AM: What do you have to say about the fairness and transparency of the selection of Rovers as the 12 th team.
BB: We went through a robust and rigorous selection process, all criteria were carefully examined, and we chose the new team on the basis that they were the team that met all the criteria the best of all the candidates. It’s a matter of moving forward now, looking to the future, unleashing the great potential that soccer, I mean football, has in this country, and doing everything we can to support that unlimited growth potential.
AndyRoo said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
I would have laughed but it was too realistic.
You needed to throw something in that he wouldn’t say
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
That is the funny bit – that it would sound like that!!
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:31pm | Report comment
MF
If that’s your line of questioning then, I guess …
…. you have no aspirations to be an “investigative journalist”?
Or, perhaps, that’s the level of rigorous and probing questioning that would get you a gig at the News Corp tabloids … certainly not at a leading broadsheet like The Washington Post
Art Sapphire said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:39pm | Report comment
I did manage to get Ben on the line, this is what he said after I asked him about the A-League
BB – “has the A-League already started? when did that happen?”
“I thought, Uncle Frank told me it was going to start on October 2 at AAMI Park when Heart play Victory in the Melbourne Derby. I was told I was going to cut a ribbon or something”
“Can I get back to you, I have to make a few phone calls”
Mister Football said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
I might go watch the opening game on Oct 2.
AndyRoo said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
Art without the smilie I wouldn’t know you were joking.
BenBuckley said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
I never said that Mr Lowy
Honest!
Art Sapphire said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
I wasn’t. That was just me thinking it was funny
Marsh said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:31am | Report comment
You clearly have no idea how journalism works, firstly this is an opinion site so it’s a blog, not an investigative article. Secondly how many interviews have you see with Buckley and Lowe? The problem is there not giving up their time to the media. Journos can’t force them to give interviews if they don’t want. Buckley is in china on world cup business and Lowe is an 80 year old millionaire. If you think their gonna spend their time giving interviews to the roar you need to wake up.
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Marsh
I don’t expect the average Roar contributor to have access to Buckley, Lowy et al, but, in my opinion, one of the characteristics that differentiates a professional journalist – like Adrian (from hacks like us on the Roar!) – is the ability to maintain & develop networks and contacts within the sports industry and get to the substance of a sporting issue – rather than just skirt around the edges relying on analysis based on 2nd hand information.
It’s not easy being an investigative journalist … but, if you’re good, you will be in high demand and, perhaps, immortalised by history.
Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein were a couple of young and unknown journos at The Washington Post (Woodward was 29 years old & Bernstein 28), when they were assigned to report on a burglary at the HQ of the Democratic National Committee in a Washington, D.C. on 17 June 1972. Thankfully, these guys took their work as journalists very seriously!
Marsh said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:53am | Report comment
Think you’re getting a bit too excited. Comparing this to watergate?
Think it’s an article looking at the comments made by the former boss of the league, which deserve their own spotlight.
Fussball ist unser leben said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:02pm | Report comment
Oh dear … I’m not comparing it to Watergate!
I was simply trying to highlight how investigative journalism requires commitment to the task and lot of hard work to discover the substance of the issue. If Woodward & Bernstein had just relied on 2nd hand information they wouldn’t have got very far.
If Adrian has intended this to be just an analysis of the SBS article – he’s done a fantastic job (as I previously stated).
I was (am??) hoping someone, like Adrian, will take the issue and start digging deeper. If Archie Fraser’s comments are totally accurate – and not just the rantings of a disgruntled ex-CEO – then the underlying story will make riveting reading, don’t you think?
Mega said | September 9th 2010 @ 12:13pm | Report comment
That actually proves the point of this article.
Why aren’t they available to the press?
Andy D from the AFL is always on radio etc doing interviews and yesterday I saw D Gallop was doing a Q and A with league fans on the NRL website.
Why can’t Ben and co do that at the FFA?
Realfootball said | September 9th 2010 @ 11:36am | Report comment
Sorry fussball, I am with Marsh on this one. Your criticisms do not apply to this opinion piece, which is perfectly and professionally valid in its context.
These are very serious issues and pieces like this are essential. Thanks Adrian for giving them the airtime they need.
Midfielder said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:07am | Report comment
The mistakes off the field about teams and crowds is also very questionable… The security firm appointed in Hal 3, against all advise from many in the Football community has proved to be a total flop and has been a source of constant complaint … the suspension of the two players for diving with no right of reply…
How North Queensland were allowed in has always made me question the independence of the FFA when the gong bid had the backing of the owner of WIN TV …. but maybe two close to SFC fan base…..
JON was always in the media doing doorstops and many things to promote the game … BB never does media expect to put out bushfires.
The chant BB out could start to ring around the grounds….
AndyRoo said | September 9th 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
Well I think Nth Qld were a decent idea. It’s a great region for football talent and supporting sport (was able to keep 2 NBL teams going when Sydney and Brisbane couldn’t) but they obviously needed more guidence off the field. It’s a franchise league yet the FFA were very hands off.
The GFC wiped out half their ownership… bit harsh to expect a sporting body to predict that 2 years out and if we had Wollongong would that make life even harder for Rovers/SFC.