After watching the Asian Cup match between Bahrain and United Arab Emirates in Canberra in January, I had to go to Melbourne for Jordan-Palestine.
Instead of flying, I was really tired of flying, I took the bus, tempted with promises of wi-fi, comfortable chairs and a chance to see some of the real Australia.
DAVID GALLOP ASKS FANS FOR POSITIVITY
Two out of three wasn’t bad as the internet was as reliable as a Harry Kewell ligament but stopping in the middle of nowhere, well I think it was near Holbrook, at a truck stop at about three in the morning was jaw-dropping. To emerge under such a night sky was worth the eight hours.
The chat with some football fans was interesting too. They didn’t go to A-League games in Melbourne, they said, as they didn’t feel engaged. They wanted the FFA to do more in that regard. Perhaps it was a cultural difference but it was a point that I found hard to understand. I said something along the lines of, “Mate, if you want to go and see a game, go and see a game. What does the FFA have to do with it?”
The impression upon reading blogs and newspapers in Australia this week is that football there is being run by a cross between C-3P0 and Gordon Gecko with the business skills of the former and the feel for communication of the latter.
In Asian terms, the FFA is much better than most. I think it was 2010 when I sat under the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, taking in the brown walls and carpets of the federation’s offices and being told what I could and couldn’t ask the boss Nurdin Halid. He refused to talk about his time in prison for corruption (when still federation boss) alleged vote-buying and all kinds of cronyism.
In 2008, I talked to Nan Yong, then vice-president of the Chinese FA. He told me that if he became the chief, he would make a difference. He did and he did – his sentencing to ten years in prison for involvement in match-fixing certainly changed things in Chinese football.
Not all officials are corrupt. Some are just not interested in even the slightest hint of interaction with media or fans. When Chung Mong-joon was Korea FA boss, his engagement amounted to little more than a slight nod in the vague direction of the press box ahead of international games.
You can probably see where I am going with this (I should point out that I write two or three columns/articles a month for FFA’s official websites) so when I see some of the reaction in Australia to the events of the past few days, I can’t help thinking that in the great scheme of things, if the row over fan bans is the worst thing that is happening in Australian football, then you are lucky.
It is a football truism that fans are not supposed to like the football federation just like commuters are not supposed to like the companies that run the railways. In Australia though, it seems that the first instinct is to blame the federation for all football’s ills. That is not to say this is always wrong but it surely can’t always be right.
My opinion as stated last week was that there is little benefit to getting involved with media personalities who obviously have a beef with the game. I understand the opposite viewpoint when it comes to the media but the FFA should not be reacting to those who are seeking a reaction (and how happy those people must be now).
The situation with fan appeals is obviously a problem and of understandable concern to many. There should be recourse available to those who are banned, this is just right and proper. Although again, it is not a debate that would take place at all in many countries.
Look at the reaction to Damian de Bohun, the head of the A-League, talking to Fox Sports television live after a football game. Many seemed to feel angry at his answers or lack of them. I thought the whole event was fantastic, this is something that just does not happen. Here was a high-ranking official doing what I assume was an impromptu live TV interview – in most countries unusual – but being grilled mercilessly – in many unthinkable. It would send shivers of fear down the spine of the average Asian administrator.
From the outside looking in – and I accept that I am outside and nowhere near on the ground – then it seems to me that there is a relatively good league organised in a relatively good way in a relatively competitive marketplace by a federation that seems to be relatively willing to interact and engage with fans.
If they are failing to do so, then that is one thing, but there is at least something to work with. Talk of “the game I love being destroyed” or “betrayal of the fans” is surely verging into the realms of the hysteria, and while it makes a good headline it is counter-productive.
The fans are the lifeblood of the game, that is true, but it does not mean that they are always right and those who run it are always wrong.
jbinnie
Guest
Philip- You, as usual, talk a lot of common sense but even you in my opinion have yet to touch on a problem facing the FFA and that is how they are going to continue to plan,lead, and control the giant that one of their number created and it would appear has run out of the means and wherewithal to take it to the next level. While it all very well for irate fans to talk about "their club" they in fact do not support a "club" as we all knew "a club" to be back in the semi-pro days ,but in fact are multi-million dollar business that normally have been financed by one,two,or more private individuals, and to all appearances those same individuals have been screaming the same "song " for years,the amount of consideration they don't get from past FFA officials. So what is the "next level" I speak off, for this milestone has been reached before in many different countries. It is the setting up of an organisation to run the HAL, under of course the overall jurisdiction of the FFA. This would mean that the franchise would have to up their ante and run their own businesses,deciding,where they were to play when they were to play and of course have their own fan base where they could constantly answer to perceived grievances these bodies initiated.Would they negotiate their terms with the TV moguls and other potential sponsors? ,of course they would, and I'm afraid it is only when that huge step is taken we are hopefully going to see all round improvement in the code management.I would like to read your thoughts on this"suggestion" I will close by citing you a quote taken directly from a book in my possession "In May 1980 he moved that the PSL (the NSL) become an independent body while remaining affiliated with the ASF.(the FFA today)."He" went on to add ,and I quote "The PSL (NSL) clubs were investing some $4-5 million a year in developing players and establishing the code on a professional basis" unquote. "He" was Frank Lowy, get my point? Cheers jb.
BtoPower3
Guest
This is something very serious. Sorry, there are many issues in this case. How can the list of banned names be leaked to the media, or medium (The Daily Telegraph in this case)? I am not saying I support what the things these banned fans may have done. I just do not agree the way of FFA's leak of something private and confidential to the public. Since no denial from the FFA of such deliberate leak so far, it is assumed that FFA has leaked deliberately. This is the most disgusting thing in football since the 2022 World Cup recently. I cannot find out the name of the reporter (journalist) online now. Wait, I have just found. Rebecca Wilson. How can this be? I don't know why none of the fan has yet report to police. Supposedly, if I really have done something deserves a ban, FFA has no right to make my name public. So far from the webpages that I have read, FFA denies leak to the journalist. Then who? The clubs have the list. Then which is the first source that the journalist has reached? I still do not quite believe that FFA has nothing to do with this leak. Anyhow, threatening the journalist or the newspaper is not right. The issue should be resolved in a lawfully way. At the moment, the fans are on the upper hand. So, do not do anything silly. Is this leak a criminal case in Australia?
CG2430
Guest
Some say we boycott every week... ;)
MatthewSkellett
Guest
Gallop and DeBohun's behaviour is certainly strange -the opposite of what you'd expect from administrators who have a duty to fulfill -you might even surmise that they are deliberately sabotaging the progress of Football in this country ?
John Duerden
Expert
They were great. What a fantastic journey.
G
Guest
Very well said.
bobbym
Guest
Time for Gallop to go. Lowy who? Fans are right- if you don't fight , you lose!
marron
Roar Guru
I'm hearing that gallop and co copped it from the clubs today. There's a lot of support out there. Just read a nice little summation of some of the reasons for pent up frustration I in the supporter groups. http://outside90.com/ugly-truth-behind-a-league-policing-812/
AZ_RBB
Guest
Central Coast Leagues making some good money from ALeague fans then!! hahaha I know pubs around Parra will be chockers on Saturday night.
onside
Guest
I am not so sure Mister Football. Sure it is easy to interpret the article that way. It really is. But I don't think it was John Duerdens intention. What I think he was trying to get across was the A-League has a point of difference, which is the participation of fans that is unlike any other sport in Australia. Fans go to matches in part at least to perform. It's a group thing. Chanting , drums, dancing as a massive group, along with the unfortunate totally unacceptable but seemingly obligatory flares. I think JD was trying to emphasize the over riding group emotion evident at A-League games that is the heart and soul of the sport. My vote : JD was not trying to be too clever by half. .
Midfielder
Guest
Mariners fans the latest home end not to go to this weeks matches... the yellow army have called it the watch at the pub round...
Uncle Junior
Guest
You mean AFL fans don't complain about the fixture being unfair? Don't complain about big clubs getting the best TV timeslots? Don't complain about the Rules being changed every year? Don't complain about the Match Review Panel? Don't complain about the video referral system? Don't complain there aren't enough tickets for real fans on Grand Final day? Who controls all these issues that AFL fans don't complain about?
Mister Football
Roar Guru
AFL fans are rarely thinking about the governing body, their club is 1st, 2nd and 3rd - they might worry about the cost of memberships or entrance, they will always complain about the cost of food and drinks, they will always complain about the ump - on the latter I can promise you that.
Chopper
Guest
I agree Mid with taking the middle view however we have been involved in the game a long time but unfortunately a great deal of the active supporters by the demographics know only the A League. They have not seen nor understand the chaos that was NSL. Some actually believe there would be no A League but for them. Active fans are a huge part of the game but they could well kill the very thing they love. How many players and clubs will support these fans when the money stops flowing? I reckon all of this could easily be fixed if the "new" chairman actually stepped forward a became the leader. This might show that he was the right man for the job. Everyone else could then take a chill pill.
leon
Guest
Taken from the propaganda departments of the Soviet Union.
Ian
Guest
yeah Dean - AFL fans trust the professionals in charge know what they are doing..........then the real reason for your comment appears........ 'football fans are different and want the competition to die'.
Eden
Guest
having spent my teens and early twenties as an avid NRL fan (don't have as much spare time now) I can assure any A-League fan that David Gallop is a push over when it comes to the Daily telegraph. The HAL is at a real cross roads where it needs to set its identity and target market. The active support is the one thing which separates it from the mainstream codes, but the administration seem to struggle to marry up this defining yet volatile factor with a mainstream audience of families and DT readers. I believe Gallop was trying to avoid poking the bees nest with DT after being stung so many times in NRL, but I tend to agree with the fan sentiment that he should have diplomatically dismissed the article and focussed on the long term narrative of attractive active support and family friendly sideline terraces. As long as the fans accept that to piss off DT leads to a long and infuriating battle
Mister Football
Roar Guru
In fact that particular role has never one any popularity contests - we bulldog fans remember Ross Oakley only too well.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
JD has certainly stumbled on a winning formula for putting up articles on the Roar, while arguing it's all so foreign and incomprehensible to him.
Uncle Junior
Guest
How would you or anyone else have a clue what work was done in relation to the FFA Cup before Gallop and after Gallop? The FFA Cup was a pipe dream until Gallop entered the office.