I stepped in to referee my son's Under 10 team's big match today, Holy Trinity Hawks v St James Harriers, two teams first and second in their league.
It was a great match played in the right spirit with two well drilled, enthusiastic kids and the hardest decisions the rookie ref had to make was a handball (against us)that lead to the first goal and a couple of over enthusiastic tackles.
Fast forward to the second half, we are 2-1 down and crawling all over them looking for an equaliser that would set us up nicely for the second half of the season after Christmas.
3 minutes to go we get a corner, our midfielder hits it and it ends up in the back of the net without another player touching it....a George Best moment, wild celebrations all round... but wait, the goalie and the away coach who was on the goal line said it had gone in through a gap in the side netting.....drama.... what the hell to do???, looked like a goal to me, easy to look like a cheating "homer" so I did the simple thing and asked the kid who took the corner.....answer : "It did go in through the side netting", no goal.... peep, goal kick and despite a couple of good chances Holy Trinity Hawks lose 2-1.
Well done Master B, Mum and Dad should be proud of you.
The great news is that the Thierry Henry Factor hasn't filtered down yet and kids understand the difference between right and wrong and that drawing or winning by a lie or cheating doesn't feel anywhere near as good as doing it the right way, long may it continue !
Saturday 12 December 2009
Wednesday 9 December 2009
Who would be a football manager?
It has been an interesting week for football managers with episodes highlighting the trials and tribulations of management at different levels in the English game.
Just look the scenarios of Messrs Pullis, Deehan and Magilton.
Pullis of Stoke City in England's Premier League was disappointed in his team's lack of guts at Arsenal last Saturday and decided on the spot that the previously approved Players Christmas Party would now only mean one day off not two....poor James Beattie stood up for his teammates heartbroken at the thought of only one night partying in the Smoke and allegedly got up close and personal with the Boss. Club back manager player probably on his bike in the January window.
John Deehan, assistant Manager of non league Kettering Town ( much loved as the first ever English club to have a shirt sponsor under legend Derek Dougan in the 1970's and fathers of an entire industry) gets the boot for making three substitutions,in an FA Cup replay against Leeds United, his manager was playing in goal at the time. In another throwback to the 1970's the owner was so annoyed at missing the chance of playing Man Utd in the next round, he chopped him on the spot. Manager backs assistant, but openly admits he really needs the job and the money, tough situation for him.
Now Jim Magilton of Championship side QPR, who had been on a great run but have stalled, has been suspended after another alleged close discussion with a player who had disappointed him in the performance against Watford. Owners suspend manager, backroom staff walk out in solidarity, player asks for a transfer.
The common thread is that all three are very experienced football men who have been around the block and seen it all in dressing rooms across the various levels of professional football.
A football manager does not have the same range of management tools available to him that managers in Industry and there are times when, in a man's environment the only answer is a full and frank man to man conversation.
Similar restrictions apply to managing upwards, with the quixotic behaviour of some owners presenting situations that they don't teach you at Harvard Business School.
Add to that the day to day pressure of managing extremely well paid athletes who have their own agendas and it is a real challenge.
Who would be a manager?
Just look the scenarios of Messrs Pullis, Deehan and Magilton.
Pullis of Stoke City in England's Premier League was disappointed in his team's lack of guts at Arsenal last Saturday and decided on the spot that the previously approved Players Christmas Party would now only mean one day off not two....poor James Beattie stood up for his teammates heartbroken at the thought of only one night partying in the Smoke and allegedly got up close and personal with the Boss. Club back manager player probably on his bike in the January window.
John Deehan, assistant Manager of non league Kettering Town ( much loved as the first ever English club to have a shirt sponsor under legend Derek Dougan in the 1970's and fathers of an entire industry) gets the boot for making three substitutions,in an FA Cup replay against Leeds United, his manager was playing in goal at the time. In another throwback to the 1970's the owner was so annoyed at missing the chance of playing Man Utd in the next round, he chopped him on the spot. Manager backs assistant, but openly admits he really needs the job and the money, tough situation for him.
Now Jim Magilton of Championship side QPR, who had been on a great run but have stalled, has been suspended after another alleged close discussion with a player who had disappointed him in the performance against Watford. Owners suspend manager, backroom staff walk out in solidarity, player asks for a transfer.
The common thread is that all three are very experienced football men who have been around the block and seen it all in dressing rooms across the various levels of professional football.
A football manager does not have the same range of management tools available to him that managers in Industry and there are times when, in a man's environment the only answer is a full and frank man to man conversation.
Similar restrictions apply to managing upwards, with the quixotic behaviour of some owners presenting situations that they don't teach you at Harvard Business School.
Add to that the day to day pressure of managing extremely well paid athletes who have their own agendas and it is a real challenge.
Who would be a manager?
Thursday 3 December 2009
Tiger Woods is not a robot after all.
So Tiger has come clean and issued a mea culpa over transgressions and sins, blaming the media for catching him on and kicking up a storm. Media commentary goes mad and speculation about sponsorship deals is rife.
The curse of the Gillette Three has Procter & Gamble marketing guys reviewing media spend commitments and Frau Federer on edge and checking her hubby's voice mails, and in certain sectors of the media and sports marketing world there is an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude that Mr Perfect has taken a fall.
So let's forget for a second that this is a major drama for him and his family and think about the Tiger Woods brand.....most of his endorsements are, (or have been) from heavyweight safe, blue chip corporate brands that appeal to the mass market of 25-54 year old males who follow golf..Gillette,GM, Netjets, Nike etc, Brands which fit the projected image of the corporate golf world.
Here's a prediction....his image among younger consumers will go from Boring Robot who plays perfectly and says nothing of interest other than the odd expletive of frustration on the course to Cool Guy, and you'll see some big new slightly edgier brand endorsements in the pipeline.
Looking objectively at it, it is not a surprise and he shouldn't be damned for his situation. He'll be back and maybe we'll all like him a little more as he's proved he is actually human after all.
The curse of the Gillette Three has Procter & Gamble marketing guys reviewing media spend commitments and Frau Federer on edge and checking her hubby's voice mails, and in certain sectors of the media and sports marketing world there is an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude that Mr Perfect has taken a fall.
So let's forget for a second that this is a major drama for him and his family and think about the Tiger Woods brand.....most of his endorsements are, (or have been) from heavyweight safe, blue chip corporate brands that appeal to the mass market of 25-54 year old males who follow golf..Gillette,GM, Netjets, Nike etc, Brands which fit the projected image of the corporate golf world.
Here's a prediction....his image among younger consumers will go from Boring Robot who plays perfectly and says nothing of interest other than the odd expletive of frustration on the course to Cool Guy, and you'll see some big new slightly edgier brand endorsements in the pipeline.
Looking objectively at it, it is not a surprise and he shouldn't be damned for his situation. He'll be back and maybe we'll all like him a little more as he's proved he is actually human after all.
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