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When it comes to football, there is one name that every Australian is familiar with – Les Murray.
So when Murray comes out calling for better leadership as he did this week, it’s fair to listen.
The current leader of the game, David Gallop, is clearly an intelligent man. He survived 10 years in a sport full of politics, rugby league, and has been trusted by those in charge of football to continue to move the sport forward.
However, Gallop is not a football man.
As we have all seen with David Smith and his reign as the CEO of rugby league, a history not in the sport can make it hard for you to understand the inner workings of it.
Many people think it’s time for Gallop to go, with an ex-football player or coach being a suitable replacement. This brings us to former Australian representative Craig Foster.
It’s time for Foster to come out from behind the desk of safety at SBS, and do it ‘for real’ at FFA headquarters.
Foster is not accountable for his comments in the media. If he gets something wrong, they go through to the goalkeeper. However, if he was to begin working for the FFA he wouldn’t have that luxury.
He has avoided coaching, despite telling Ange Postecoglou quite publicly how bad he was in 2007. By coaching Nerds FC, he didn’t have too much to lose.
In 2008, he declared Cristiano Ronaldo failed to perform in big matches just before the Champions League final. Ronaldo scored and Manchester United won. People forgot about Foster’s comments because that’s what people do when the comments are unaccounted for.
In 2014, Foster wanted a new ground to be built for the Newcastle Jets, one purely for football, but only at the expense of the taxpayer. Despite the Jets drawing just average crowds, and facing an uncertain future, this was Foster’s opinion. Again, people forgot because he wasn’t accountable for his comments.
It’s time for Craig Foster to stand up and to be accountable for his comments.
Foster needs to make decisions, remove himself from the safety of the SBS desk, and finally be the leader the sport wants and needs.
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