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Post by midfielder on Sept 21, 2007 9:25:53 GMT 10
Am I the only one becoming a little concerned about the performance of Ben Buckley. I also am mindful of Frank Lowey comments about the game still being in a fragile state so I post this not wishing to give attack the FFA or the game but out of concern.
BB appears media shy, and in the Australian sporting market, I am not sure if you can be media shy, and operate out of the backroom. BB has the look to me of Gary Flowers from Union or David Moffit from league. All other heads of sporting teams are out their at key events pushing their sport.
Football needs to fight for the press inches and get the message to the non sporting media about how important is to Australia as a whole.
Apart from one very friendly interview with Uncle Les Murry on SBS, I cannot think of a time BB has been out there pushing football.
To date three major tournaments with no general media briefing,
Asian Champions league
Asian Cup
Women’s World Cup
A fourth if you count the under 23’s which I do
No media briefing for the Argentinean match.
No replacement for Matt Carroll as yet
My guess is the coach is Frank Lowey baby.
Perth appear in trouble and if you ever listed to the “Hot Seat” SBS radio and interview (early 2006) with Geoff Parmenter (FFA marketing head), FFA stuffed up big time in marketing in the west. So what are FFA doing to fix it nothing it would appear.
In smh 15/09 Roy Masters wrote an article warning both AFL & NRL about the rise of football and one of his key points was the women’s game so it frustrates me more that nothing is coming out of FFA during this current world cup.
Apart from a great add – nay tremendous sport add and a noteworthy drive for 50, 000 members, nothing comes to mind BB has done.
Where’s the vision, what does he want us to do as fans. Even if the answers are not known what is wrong with telling us about what is being done and the difficulties being faced.
Anyway its been almost twelve months from his appointment and I am starting to get and uneasy feeling about his leadership.
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Post by Pete on Sept 22, 2007 4:49:00 GMT 10
Buckley doesn't seek the profile of his predecessor, which also suits Lowy to a tee.
I tend to get the gut feeling he's one of these 'behind the scenes' type of guys, and maybe sees his role as steadying the ship rather than setting new courses all the time. Or at least I hope that's the case. But his resume does imply that he's a very capable sports administrator, so maybe we should just wait and see.
I am more concerned, in fact, that Lowy is still trying to run the whole FFA in his 70s. There should be some mentoring going on at the top level for a few folks to be capable and up to speed on how things are done, should Frank find himself unable to manage the workload at short notice. Not wishing anything untoward Mr. Lowy, but most folks his age do cop a bit of bad health from time to time, and sometimes have to reduce their workload or things they maybe doing.
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Post by curious on Sept 22, 2007 10:41:15 GMT 10
Buckley is smart enough to know to take a back seat to Lowey.
Lowy's high profile, influence & political power have greatly assisted football, however, the same "attributes" also hold enormous intimidation.
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Post by midfielder on Sept 22, 2007 12:21:23 GMT 10
Curious I agree with your comments Lowys attributes" also hold enormous intimidation" .
I also share Pete concerns pertaining Lowys 70 style and BB being a back room guy. I also fully acknowledge his pass experience. Your points about Lowy are reasons for concern, further football needs an exist strategies for Lowy.
However despite all his bad points Lowy does a lot of good, getting into Asia, his ongoing relationship with the AFC, Guss, the 16 million the other day, the 15 million to start A-League, John O’Neil, his name providing business credibility.
My point is BB is never in the media, all other successful sporting CEO’s have traditionally provided the media with the huge amounts of information. BB appears to let it happen and football does not have people especially in the electronic media who will chase down or research football issues I believe we need our leader to be out in front, well at least sometimes.
I really hope I am wrong as like you guys I desperately want BB to be amazing successful in his job but I am not seeing it, I get the sense of a follower not a leader.
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Post by Perm on Sept 22, 2007 12:49:37 GMT 10
Question. Was Mr Buckley that media shy when hewas involved with AFL?
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Post by curious on Sept 22, 2007 13:12:51 GMT 10
Question. Was Mr Buckley that media shy when hewas involved with AFL? Without Mr. Lowy casting his shadow?  |
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Post by Perm on Sept 22, 2007 13:54:59 GMT 10
well maybe it should be that way as BB might not be too savvy with football politics and Lowy is.
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Post by Jesus on Oct 17, 2007 15:25:06 GMT 10
from TWG
The restless fans who believe Australian football has stagnated after the momentous events of 2006 should not lose any sleep because the game is still on track to realise its full potential.
This is the unequivocal advice FFA chief executive Ben Buckley would like to give to those who feel that the third A-League is struggling to 'maintain the rage' and who fear that the controversies of recent weeks have taken the game back to the bad old days of the NSL.
In a wide ranging interview, Buckley sought to assure the game’s followers that football was on its way to reach its objectives that could culminate in Australia staging the AFC Asian Cup in 2015.
Buckley admitted he was concerned with the bad headlines the game has generated the last two weeks and promised that his organisation would come down hard on anybody who threatened to compromise the game’s progress.
Buckley also said that the FFA would "very shortly" make an announcement on the next coach to steer the Socceroos towards the 2010 World Cup.
A-League standard:
Buckley refuted suggestions that the A-League has hit the doldrums after the extraordinary success of the first and second league championships.
"I think the league is going along very well," he said. "We’ve had some great additions in terms of player quality and we have unearthed some terrific young players."
"I do not buy into the whole comparison argument. We’ve seen quality players like Danny Tiatto, Craig Moore, Tony Popovic and Juninho coming into the competition to join bright young stars like Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite, Mark Bridge and Mark Milligan and more recently Michael Zullo. I think all this augurs well for the future."
Buckley also disputed claims that the standard of matches was poorer than that of the previous two seasons.
"In any given year you are going to have matches that are less entertaining than others. But anyone who watched the A-League last Friday (Perth-Sydney and Adelaide-Melbourne) would have seen two of the most exciting matches in the last three years: it was high quality football played at a frenetic pace and extremely entertaining."
"We also have to remember that this is Australian football and comparisons with other leagues are not necessarily fair or accurate."
Bad behaviour:
The last two weeks have not been too good for the game as it struggles to gain a firmer foothold in Australia’s sporting landscape.
Crowd trouble in Sydney and a player's act of violence in Gosford put the game in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Buckley was quick to point out that measures are being taken to eradicate what he calls an "isolated" problem.
"I think if you go back over the last two years or the history of the game in the country you will find incidents of coaches making public statements for which they have been fined and unattractive crowd behaviour."
"We’ve had some incidents in recent weeks that if you aggregate them might create a picture. We acted on each one of those incidents accordingly and in many cases handed out disciplinary sanctions against coaches and players who we think had transgressed."
"With regards to fan behaviour we investigated the incidents and put some additional security measures to deal with them."
"We’re always disappointed by such matters but if you look at football 10 years ago and where it is today it undoubtedly provides a safer and more family-friendly environment that is reflected in our crowds and the make-up of our crowds."
"We do have isolated incidents that we have to deal with from time to time, as every sport does, but the game has got a much cleaner image and it is more appealing to a broader audience than it has been in years gone by."
"And we will continue to work hard to keep it that way. If we do have unruly behaviour we will deal with it as swiftly as we possibly can."
"It is not the biggest problem we have. But we take it very seriously."
Sanctions:
The FFA came under attack for the leniency shown to Newcastle’s Joel Griffiths who was shown only a yellow card for lashing out at a referee’s assistant in the derby with Central Coast in Round 7.
The FFA is bound by FIFA’s regulatory parameters that prevents any further action be taken on players that have been dealt with on the field.
But Buckley revealed that "from time to time we may have to review our policies and procedures and see what can be added to make them suit our own Australian standards. But we have to do that very cautiously and within the FIFA framework."
Socceroos coach:
Buckley would not confirm or deny football’s best kept secret that the next Socceroos coach will be Holland’s Dick Advocaat.
Advocaat is currently the coach of Russian first division side Zenit St Petersburg and is expected to quit the club when the championship ends in two weeks.
"The only official update from our end at this point in time is that we will make an announcement very shortly,’’ was all he was prepared to say.
2015 Asian Cup:
Australia’s withdrawal from the race to stage the 2011 women’s World Cup is expected to give the FFA an opportunity to make a stronger bid for the 2015 Asian Cup.
As the AFC’s newest member, Australia took part in its first Asian Cup last July and reached the quarter-finals before falling to old rival Japan on penalties in Hanoi.
The next Asian Cup will take place in Qatar in January 2011.
"It has always been integral to our major events strategy to secure the 2015 Asian Cup and a future World Cup. Yes, we are focusing on this at the moment. We’ve got due diligence being done from an operational, logistical and financial perspective on both tournaments," Buckley said
"I haven’t heard of any other countries interested in hosting the Asian Cup but I’m sure we’re not the only ones."
Buckley said the fact that South-East Asia - of which Australia forms part for administrative purposes - has had the Asian Cup this year should not go against the FFA’s bid because the AFC’s rotation policy is expected to change.
"Most people would acknowledge that Australia would be a fantastic host," Buckley said.
"The Australian public would warmly embrace and support it. I think the television ratings and broader media interest of last July’s Asian Cup would suggest that all Australian sports fans would get behind the Asian Cup."
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Post by midfielder on Oct 17, 2007 19:59:11 GMT 10
from TWG The restless fans who believe Australian football has stagnated after the momentous events of 2006 should not lose any sleep because the game is still on track to realise its full potential. ." Read it but needs more than a friendly press interview. Hope it is a start and he does more of them |
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Post by greenpoleffc on Oct 17, 2007 20:52:16 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin
He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone??
But then he comes from a sport that is soft on drugs so what can we expect?
Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation
Rant over
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Post by midfielder on Oct 18, 2007 12:51:03 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone?? But then he comes from a sport that is soft on drugs so what can we expect? Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation Rant over Agree |
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Post by curious on Oct 18, 2007 16:05:54 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone?? Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation Rant over We expect far, far more, as he also comes from a sport where touching a ref or even verbal abuse results in very harsh consequences. The AFL & NRL have NO tolerance for abuse of refs of any nature, unlike football. I'm still cranky about the FFA cop out & can only explain Buckley's stance, with his previous AFL experience, as pressure to toe the football line. Whatever the reason, it's not good enough to allow football to lose further credibility. First it was the racism debacle, now it's "lets smack the ref in the balls". What's next is anyone's guess. |
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Post by midfielder on Oct 18, 2007 19:51:59 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone?? Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation Rant over We expect far, far more, as he also comes from a sport where touching a ref or even verbal abuse results in very harsh consequences. The AFL & NRL have NO tolerance for abuse of refs of any nature, unlike football. I'm still cranky about the FFA cop out & can only explain Buckley's stance, with his previous AFL experience, as pressure to toe the football line. Whatever the reason, it's not good enough to allow football to lose further credibility. First it was the racism debacle, now it's "lets smack the ref in the balls". What's next is anyone's guess. It appears he is very nervous about making a stand on anything. I find it hard as I want the game to grow and negative forums are not good, but the guy does not impress me. For me after 50 odd years of mis management I want nay demand excellent management. To me coming from AFL and being young he offered a lot of potential to be the next superstar. Yet like a player who was young fast and showed enormous potential when finally on the park is found wanting. Not a bench warmer but certainly not the next Harry. But I really hope he proves me wrong, but I have that Grant Flowers feeling and maybe in three years will will get JO back. |
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mrkaant
Local league player
Posts: 50
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Post by mrkaant on Oct 19, 2007 12:11:30 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone?? But then he comes from a sport that is soft on drugs so what can we expect? Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation Rant over he didnt jsut do it, You are forgetting the offical that was hit let him go with a caution aswell. |
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Post by greenpoleffc on Oct 19, 2007 12:57:31 GMT 10
Mods - can anything be done about this tiresome "Griffiths"
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Post by Pete on Oct 19, 2007 13:10:56 GMT 10
Spin, spin and more spin He allowed a player to assault an official and did absolutely nothing about it. Ample precedent to go over the refs head. BEN THATCHER case anyone?? But then he comes from a sport that is soft on drugs so what can we expect? Him and that tool Abernathy (ops manager who defended Sundays ref in the press) are bullshit artists who believe their own lies and misinformation Rant over he didnt jsut do it, You are forgetting the offical that was hit let him go with a caution aswell. kaaantface, Google Ben Thatcher and check out the Wiki entry on this player. He smashed an opposing player in the face, hospitalising him, and he only got a caution on the field. BUT, the English FA took action after the public outcry and banned the guy, despite the FIFA ruling that Buckley is using as an excuse here. Precedents have been set. |
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Post by greenpoleffc on Oct 19, 2007 14:13:09 GMT 10
BB would be working on the basis that most of the jouno's (and his audience) wouldnt know about the precendents and would accept his words at face value.
In UK, the journo's know the game and this sort of spin wouldnt work
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