Football Federation Australia (FFA) Chairman Frank Lowy AC and CEO Ben Buckley. AAP Image/Tracey Nearm
In recent days, both Craig Foster and The Age’s Michael Lynch have called for independent reviews of Football Federation Australia’s performance in recent years.
Simon Hill and Andy Harper can see some real problems there too, as does Jesse Fink, who thinks Frank Lowy’s time is up. Mike Cockerill’s been critical too. I nodded off while Les was talking.
It sounds like terribly serious journalism. It’s not.
Conspicuously absent from their long lists of areas requiring urgent investigation is the quality of the football commentariat’s performance since the last independent review of football in Australia, the 2003 Crawford report.
In a former life, I worked in electrical retail.
One of the running water-cooler jokes was the abject stupidity of manufacturers. This included the instructions in the box when common sense told us it was smarter to post them out later on, when the consumer is at their most receptive to absorbing ‘Important Information Regarding Your New Purchase’ – after smoke started pouring out the back of it.
It’s a lesson completely lost on our football commentariat.
If any of them did read the Crawford report, they either didn’t comprehend it or they have all descended from goldfish and it was a clean slate again three seconds later.
So here we are again, just like the last time and the time before that, smoke pouring out the back of our football, pretending the product must be faulty.
Read the bloody instructions fellas. If you don’t understand it, at least ask questions.
Stop pretending.
Mahony
Guest
He lost me at "Fink" - untill I understood he was ragging the football media. I would agree - it is amateur hour in the football media with very few exceptions. I think Lynchy is great. Would liek a lot more coverage from Fairfax and I sometimes don't agree with him - but he is a very informed commentator.......... One of a very few......
Dugald Massey
Roar Guru
If they don't actually know what they're saying in the first place? I resemble that remark.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Brevity is short on longevity, or is it?
Realfootball
Guest
More power to ambiguity, Dugald. It's hard to argue with someone if you don't actually know what they are saying in the first place. Known in legal circles as the "Ben Buckley defense".
Rob McLean
Guest
This is classic blogging. I think it's all very entertaining - botching or not.
Rob McLean
Guest
No worries. An author is always his own harshest critic.
triffid
Guest
Are you sure.$2mill a year for a business with a turnover of $90+million seems a bit over the top.Especially when you consider there are other highly paid executives.I presume Lowy draws a salary too.
triffid
Guest
Hehe I could if I wanted to.Yes I have run a successful business ,where I had build a client base with extensive marketing.The issue you raise with Lowy is pertinent.The fact remains that most businesses are run by businessmen who know their particular genre of business.Just because you run a successful real estate business,does not mean you can run a football competition.In any event a lot of wealthy business people have lost the lot once by taking risks.I have met such people.Regarding Lowys business Westfield,if you want to run your eyes over the balance sheet you will see that it relies heavily on massive debt.A business that has performed dismally over the last few years.
ian
Guest
triffid, Is that from day of the triffids? Your ntrying to tell people that Frank Lowy does not know how to run a buisness. You are kidding me and that is very funny. He has built from scratch one of the biggest retail construction and management companies in the world. You are obviously Paul Allen in disguise. Can you lend me a million or two ? No I thought not.
Hrundi V Bakshi
Guest
Pretty much agree with Beelzebub. Not sure why it was censored, not exactly profanity filled and sledging soccer. I guess it is the old story about the soccer brigade and their trouble of copping it on the chin. If you understand anything about business, if you are losing money in running an enterprise you either raise your price or you reduce your costs. In this case, you cannot raise prices because people won't pay it and if you reduce costs it means you need to cut fat. Fat is player and staff salaries, stadium rents etc.. Do not buy the constant harping on by the soccer community about this 'promotion' to save the A-League. Ask yourselves this, the AFL has live, primetime, free to air tv, into Sydney and how well is that working? The tv ratings are less than what the Iron Chef get's on SBS at the same time and you could argue the SCG is mainly the AFL states ex-pats all getting together in their 'community hall' in the heathen north.
Dugald Massey
Roar Guru
You're a very generous man, MLF. Or maybe not? Improved the article? You should of seen what you missed out on. Wish I could find it. I'm hoping to post something a bit more substantial on the football media's behaviour in the next day or two. Brevity was yesterday. Sorry folks.
midfield general
Guest
wow Buckley's on 2mil??? he probably could have saved NQF by sacking himself
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Sometimes more is less, or is less more? more or less - I think your botched pasting job improved the article.
apaway
Guest
That's not all that far off what we've got. And I might be wrong, but I think Kimon Taliadoros was the first president of the APFA.
Dugald Massey
Roar Guru
MEA CULPA FROM DUGALD Humblest apologies to all those who've tried to make sense of the piece but I screwed up when I submitted it -- I'm way more long-winded than that! There's a few paras missing, and two got conflated into one. Not The Roar's fault, all mine, a dumb pasting error. That said, I'm glad you've been able to carve some discussion points out of it. Again, my apologies. I will try harder next time. DM
NF
Guest
floppy You do know there's a mute button on your control so you don't have to listen to the commentary problem solved right there. Every journalist of every game talks up there game so it's no exclusive to NRL/AFL as much as you want it to believe.
French Fries
Guest
Ah am definitely not Frrrrrench. Why doo yoo ask eh you silly kniggot? Ah fart in the FFA's general direction.
French Fries
Guest
Non. Oui. No, not at all. Is your bottom really floppy?
French Fries
Guest
+1 They really are just guessing at this. I wonder if Buckley has an MBA. All the basic business management strategies that FFA have completely ignored are covered in such courses.
floppybottom
Guest
art, it is the same with league in nsw. i gave up on that game in the mid nineties. the thing with commentators talking up the game is that at the same time they are talking up their coverage of the game. of course its the greatest game ever played otherwise there would be no point listening to them spew forth the rot they do. being in nsw i enjoy watching afl from an outsiders perspective (i don't like to get caught up with the mob, you see) but the commentary like with cricket and league is completely over the top and a turn off. its about ratings and attracting people who have no real interest in the game to become involved with the 'event'. theres always an excess with an event. its never just a game of football. its just that, to me, this excess is excedingly vapid.