serious14
Well-Known Member
From our friends at the Telegraph...... you can smell the fear all over this one:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25281988-5017479,00.html
PIM Verbeek sat at the top table, and delivered the line with a straight face. As in, seriously.
The Dutch range of emotion tends to oscillate between a blank stare and expressionless, so the distinction is necessary.
Verbeek was fronting a press conference the day before the Socceroos played Uzbekistan and the line of questioning was on the style in the Aussies' World Cup qualifying run. Whether "ugly'' football could keep the punters coming through gates.
"Well, football has been getting half a page on page six and a quarter of a page on page nine,'' Verbeek said. "You have a responsibility to promote the game, too.''
The jaws of some football press types dropped. Others nearly spilled their double espressos. All were a touch bemused.
Football Federation Australia made themselves few friends in the fourth estate with the latest Socceroos visit, and Verbeek's comments only kicked in more palings on a fence badly in need of mending.
Four years ago all was golden in the world of football. The public loved Harry, Timmy, Lucas and Schwarzie, and after a long battle for mainstream recognition, the stars and the FFA loved them right back.
For reasons best known to themselves, things have changed. Verbeek's comments were surprising, because the hacks felt they'd battled tooth and nail to get enough access to his team to fill even that quarter of a page.
Long-standing interview requests and photo shoots were turned down by the FFA. When the sort of picture that screams out "front page'' was organised by this paper - with Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill - one of the trio was a no-show.
Guess that no page one, then.
And when this newspaper finally landed an interview with Kewell as he hooked and sliced his way around a golf course, it wasn't the FFA pulling the strings - it was teed up through side channels and Kewell's manager.
Something as simple as training was even made problematic. Verbeek's camp only decided late at night when they'd trot around the next morning, making the logistics of media coverage just that little bit harder.
Across all the disgruntled media, the will to promote football and the Uzbekistan clash was there, but experienced journos say the enthusiasm felt one-sided. Follow this up with some airport scarpering yesterday that a Skase would be proud of, and it's a grim picture.
Naysayers might point to falling A-League crowds and say football has lost its shine, but the fact 60,000 turned up in the rain on Wednesday night proves the Socceroos are still hugely popular.
With their 2010 World Cup berth all but in the bag, there's little doubt the team will stay right up in the national affection. Does this mean the FFA can pull down the shutters? Absolutely not. This is where football must appreciate that fans want access, and ramp it up.
Open up for tonnes of news, profiles and information. Open up with players' opinions, shoe size and current ring tone. Turning these stars into protected species doesn't work - at least not in Australia, where administrators of four different "football'' codes battle for the pocket change of 20 million.
Heaven forbid football in Australia goes down the path of European competitions, where the only interviews done by the Beckhams and Ronaldos of the world come after a major sponsor pays them to do it. Oh, and a shameless plug of the sponsor is non-negotiable.
Verbeek bemoans the fact that football in Australia is not up to European standards yet. It might be good to keep it that way. Seriously.
Awwwwww, you didn't get your precious interview request, despite the fact you've spent a good 50 years hanging shit on the game at every single opportunity, only riding the bandwagon when it suits you. F*ck off.
P.S. Pim's comment to the journo's - gold. I _love_ that he doesn't take shit and get sucked into the mire of Australian "journalism" like just about every other coach in this and the other codes..... Lawrie and Wayne Bennett are about the only other two I can think of who don't stand for the shit.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25281988-5017479,00.html
PIM Verbeek sat at the top table, and delivered the line with a straight face. As in, seriously.
The Dutch range of emotion tends to oscillate between a blank stare and expressionless, so the distinction is necessary.
Verbeek was fronting a press conference the day before the Socceroos played Uzbekistan and the line of questioning was on the style in the Aussies' World Cup qualifying run. Whether "ugly'' football could keep the punters coming through gates.
"Well, football has been getting half a page on page six and a quarter of a page on page nine,'' Verbeek said. "You have a responsibility to promote the game, too.''
The jaws of some football press types dropped. Others nearly spilled their double espressos. All were a touch bemused.
Football Federation Australia made themselves few friends in the fourth estate with the latest Socceroos visit, and Verbeek's comments only kicked in more palings on a fence badly in need of mending.
Four years ago all was golden in the world of football. The public loved Harry, Timmy, Lucas and Schwarzie, and after a long battle for mainstream recognition, the stars and the FFA loved them right back.
For reasons best known to themselves, things have changed. Verbeek's comments were surprising, because the hacks felt they'd battled tooth and nail to get enough access to his team to fill even that quarter of a page.
Long-standing interview requests and photo shoots were turned down by the FFA. When the sort of picture that screams out "front page'' was organised by this paper - with Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill - one of the trio was a no-show.
Guess that no page one, then.
And when this newspaper finally landed an interview with Kewell as he hooked and sliced his way around a golf course, it wasn't the FFA pulling the strings - it was teed up through side channels and Kewell's manager.
Something as simple as training was even made problematic. Verbeek's camp only decided late at night when they'd trot around the next morning, making the logistics of media coverage just that little bit harder.
Across all the disgruntled media, the will to promote football and the Uzbekistan clash was there, but experienced journos say the enthusiasm felt one-sided. Follow this up with some airport scarpering yesterday that a Skase would be proud of, and it's a grim picture.
Naysayers might point to falling A-League crowds and say football has lost its shine, but the fact 60,000 turned up in the rain on Wednesday night proves the Socceroos are still hugely popular.
With their 2010 World Cup berth all but in the bag, there's little doubt the team will stay right up in the national affection. Does this mean the FFA can pull down the shutters? Absolutely not. This is where football must appreciate that fans want access, and ramp it up.
Open up for tonnes of news, profiles and information. Open up with players' opinions, shoe size and current ring tone. Turning these stars into protected species doesn't work - at least not in Australia, where administrators of four different "football'' codes battle for the pocket change of 20 million.
Heaven forbid football in Australia goes down the path of European competitions, where the only interviews done by the Beckhams and Ronaldos of the world come after a major sponsor pays them to do it. Oh, and a shameless plug of the sponsor is non-negotiable.
Verbeek bemoans the fact that football in Australia is not up to European standards yet. It might be good to keep it that way. Seriously.
Awwwwww, you didn't get your precious interview request, despite the fact you've spent a good 50 years hanging shit on the game at every single opportunity, only riding the bandwagon when it suits you. F*ck off.
P.S. Pim's comment to the journo's - gold. I _love_ that he doesn't take shit and get sucked into the mire of Australian "journalism" like just about every other coach in this and the other codes..... Lawrie and Wayne Bennett are about the only other two I can think of who don't stand for the shit.
