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“The one signing which just got me completely perplexed was Francis Awaritefe,” said Fox Sports analyst Robbie Slater on the appointment of Melbourne Victory’s new Director of Football.
Slater claimed he nearly fell off his chair when the announcement was made and the former Socceroo was certainly chuckling away in a bemused manner as he summed up the decision on Fox Sports News, saying he couldn’t see what coaching experience Awaritefe brings to the role.
The reaction prompted a swift and predictable outpouring from the great and good of the Australian football world.
“To say coaching experience is necessary for Football Director demonstrates no understanding of role. Not surprising, it’s only existed here for few years,” tweeted Craig Foster.
And Foster’s tone was positively cheery compared to some of the vitriol flying around cyberspace in response to Slater’s remarks, with many fans less than impressed by ‘Bulldog’s’ harsh appraisal.
Yet, surely if he is paid to analyse the sport, Slater has every right to make a frank assessment?
We might not agree with his opinion, but what a dystopian nightmare it would be if we all walked around parroting the same lines for fear of upsetting the masses with a contrarian point of view.
Awaritefe has no doubt made several pointed observations of his own in his role as a TV analyst, and quite frankly I doubt he could care less what Slater has to say.
That said, one wonders why Slater was so quick to condemn the decision.
An educated guess suggests plenty of rancour still lingers over the Special Broadcasting Service’s less than glowing assessment of the A-League in the early days of the competition.
Indeed, the long-standing rivalry between Fox Sports and SBS is a notable feature in Australia’s football media landscape, and plenty of fans are willing to plant themselves in one camp or the other.
But whether you agree with Slater’s outburst or not, what it does is get people talking about football, and that’s precisely the main function of any pundit worth their salt.
Another pundit who certainly got tongues wagging this week is Les Murray.
Talking on national radio about his new book, Murray made the stunning claim Socceroos captain Lucas Neill asked former coach Pim Verbeek to leave the dressing room ahead of Australia’s hammering at the hands of Germany in the 2010 World Cup, before telling team-mates to ignore Verbeek’s instructions.
Murray has since defended his statement in the face of repeated denials from Football Federation Australia and the players themselves, stating his “sources are ones I consider reliable.”
No doubt the furore will help push sales of Murray’s new book along, although he will also have to deal with the professional fall-out from the controversial allegation.
That’s part and parcel of being a public authority on the game and if Murray feels strongly enough to make such allegations, let’s get to the bottom of them rather than see them swept under the carpet.
There’s no point employing the “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” line about a sport crying out for more mainstream media attention.
Of course, the best kind of media attention comes from positive results on the pitch, and in that regard we should all hope the Joeys and Matildas continue along the recent path set by the Olyroos in conjuring some decent results.
But if a spot of water-cooler debate is part of the football culture we hope to create, then we need the likes of Robbie Slater and Les Murray speaking frankly about the game.
They may tread on a few toes in doing so, but the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – to paraphrase Oscar Wilde – so let’s can the faux concern and let the pundits have their say.