midfielder
Well-Known Member
The Herald Sun is reporting some big changes at FFA ... two articles...
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-chief-frank-lowy-has-had-enough-of-a-league-turmoil/story-e6frfg8x-1226282071586
FOOTBALL Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy is expected to make major changes to his executive this week, with at least one big-name casualty.
Lowy is understood to have sounded out board members and A-League club officials, canvassing their opinions on senior FFA officials.
Head of A-League Lyall Gorman is believed to be the man under most pressure to hold his job, less than two years after succeeding Archie Fraser in the role.
It is believed pressure is also mounting on the man who appointed him, FFA chief executive Ben Buckley, who has been in the role since November 2006.
FFA held a three-and-a-half hour board meeting on Friday with the governing body under fire from disillusioned A-League clubs.
A proposed owners' meeting in Melbourne this week has been postponed with a new date yet to be set down in the coming weeks.
Gorman, believed to be earning about $400,000 a year, was unsighted over the weekend. Instead it was Buckley who was interviewed at halftime of Fox Sports' Saturday night broadcast when Gold Coast was issued with a notice of breach of the CPA (Club Participation Agreement) for having "Freedom of Speech" emblazoned on the front of its shirt.
Aside from his role as executive chairman of Central Coast Mariners before his FFA appointment, Gorman has very little profile.
There are widespread concerns from many within the game regarding his ability to run the A-League, although there was some sympathy for him last week when he was forced to speak on FFA's behalf regarding the Newcastle Jets controversies.
Though employed by FFA, Gorman was not involved in Nathan Tinkler and Hunter Sports Group's controversial $5 million purchase of the Jets in September 2010.
While Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer's comments triggered last week's chain of events, a growing number of clubs are losing faith in FFA's governance, leading to the most tumultuous week of Lowy's eight-year tenure.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/memo-frank-lowy-image-conscious-gorman-has-to-go/story-e6frf9if-1226282335772
ON the eve of the Socceroos' AAMI Park debut and a day after Melbourne Heart's potentially season-defining win over Central Coast Mariners, the spotlight is firmly fixed on football's off-field dramas.
A shambolic period has stretched into a second week with Hunter Sports Group claiming today that FFA was ready to purge the Newcastle Jets unless they bought the club immediately.
A-League clubs have clearly lost faith in the FFA and unless chairman Frank Lowy gets proactive it has the potential to seriously derail the game in the short-to-medium term.
Chief executive Ben Buckley’s role is certain to come under scrutiny in the coming weeks, but it’s worth focusing on another senior executive at FFA headquarters.
Lyall Gorman is head of A-League for those who weren't aware - or, for the sake of context, Adrian Anderson’s (AFL general manager of football operations) equivalent.
Having dealt with Gorman in his previous role as executive chairman of Central Coast Mariners, I was stunned to learn of his FFA promotion back in May 2010.
And the consequent 21 months has only solidified my thoughts.
Matt Carroll was the inaugural A-League chief, who oversaw the two most successful seasons of the competition (2005-06 and 2006-07) before resigning.
Clubs would privately grumble about John O’Neill’s right-hand man on occasions, but beneath the veneer lay a grudging respect for a ruthless, yet decisive operator.
When Gorman’s name is broached, the overwhelming lack of regard from senior club officials is alarming and the relationship with some clubs is beyond repair.
Gorman seems to be more concerned about his image than making decisions (ie. clubs and the FFA technical department are still in the dark on whether the foreign quota will remain at five or reduce to four next season).
He’s not the only one at fault for the current mess, but it's time for Gorman to be stood down, and that's without even touching on his alleged conflict of interest regarding Central Coast Mariners (while Gorman has relinquished his Mariners share, his wife remains a shareholder of the Gosford-based club).
He and FFA will boast about an A-League resurgence, and delaying kick off was an inspired move - but the credit rests with Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory for signing Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell, which created the hype.
Gorman is the master of corporate speak but no amount of spin can untangle him from this mess.
Finals-bound Heart
There’s something about that penalty spot at AAMI Park.
It was the end where Harry Kewell and Carlos Hernandez clashed at the December 23 derby over who would take the penalty and ditto yesterday.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold revealed that Patrick Zwaanswijk was due to step up only for on-loan English striker John Sutton to appear and strike the post.
It spared Fred his blushes after clumsily conceding the penalty on young gun Tom Rogic.
Fred had just moments earlier inadvertently assisted Eli Babalj for what proved to be the winner.
Two successive wins after an eight-game rut, and Heart is headed for the finals if it can keep the likes of Fred, Matt Thompson, Simon Colosimo, Babalj and Mate Dugandzic fit.
Joyless Jim
Jim Magilton was supposed to lift Victory into the finals but Saturday’s draw with Gold Coast has severely dented those hopes.
The conditions make it a hard game to analyse and Adrian Leijer’s season-ending injury didn’t help but the excuses are running out for the A-League giants.
Victory’s structure and recruiting has had its faults, but the team was and remains good enough of qualifying for the finals.
Anything less than a win against Newcastle Jets on Saturday and the post-mortem will commence.
