Tuesday 20 May 2008

Pumpkin Seed Eaters episode 8 - Special Edition

Highly recommended episode (best so far...), revolving heavily around an interview with FFV CEO Mark Rendell. If you can't be arsed listening to it - and you really should - here's the gist of it. Apologies for the messiness of the summary.

  • FFV/Foxtel Cup promotions - no idea how to effectively use their spending money.
  • FFV has no money because all money gets sucked upwards. That may change in a few years if the FFA gets better sponsorship and TV deals.
  • Victory influence - sit there and take it.
  • 2008 Preston/South incidents - not our responsibility, and besides, inside was all fine! Really!
  • Summer League - went around and talked to lots of people, and it was the stakeholders who asked for it. Specifically who asked for this stuff is not made clear.
  • Summer League clubs will not receive transfers and such... duh.
  • They more or less expect clubs within the designated regions to fund it. In effect, still a lot of dithering going on, largely clueless.
  • Basically the FFV believes that the 20-30 clubs within a zone, and their supporters, will support the representative zones.
  • Clubs will not required to participate in the Summer League, and there is flexibility in how much they may participate.
  • FFV to A-League transfers - it's being looked at - lalalalalalala...
  • The $3000 rule has been ratified by FIFA.
  • Dockerty Cup, lack of a suitable financial model.
  • Mark Rendell has a voice which could send anyone to sleep.

Final word from me. The FFV is fond of passing the buck. To the clubs. To the fans. To the FFA. Take little to no responsibility for their own fiefdom. Essentially saying, we are powerless, do it yourselves. Rendell may very well have gone in to this with the best of intentions. as a way of communicating the FFV's stance on a number issues directly to the fans, and not appearing as some mischievous clandestine organisation. But always, in the back of my mind, the attempt to neutralise any backlash by tackling it head on, and therefore taking the sting out if it.

It is quite sad that the Pumpkin Seed Eaters are taking what appears to be a near permanent hiatus. The reasons for this, whether due to legal or time constraints or both and other things, are unknown to me. I've given my fair share crap towards the Pumpkin Seed Eaters, as well as praise. They could've gone in harder at times, and occasionally went in on the wrong target, but the show improved just about every episode. They had a style that saw them reach out to the disenfranchised and captured the imagination of the haters alike, and achieved a rarity in local soccer in managing to unite, for around 40 minutes every fortnight, the disparate and mostly self-interested fans of the local scene.

In closing... thanks for the plugs... the site hits went up considerably whenever South of the Border got a mention. It was nice to contribute some material for the show occasionally... even if it wasn't always intentional. Here's to the future... fight the power. Vale PSE, for now at least. 

If someone wants a copy of the episodes... I have all of them, just ask and ye shall receive.

1 comment:

  1. The Summer League!

    I seemed to remember that people thought this was the beginning of the end for Ethnic teams and their ability to improve themselves (in the current climate that means simply staying at the top of the State Leagues!).

    ReplyDelete

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