Last week, one of our reporters sat down with Liverpool legend, Ian Rush, to speak on a myriad of topics. Most of the content was primarily meant for the titanic clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, but the conversation inevitably led to a mini-discussion on time and it’s relativity in football.
“People demand success but for that to happen, managers should be kept in the long run to produce it,” Ian said, when quizzed on how time has altered the current paradigm of modern football. The focus was primarily on the English Premier League and Manchester United in particular, but the concept can be applied everywhere else, including Malaysian football.
It’s a given, that our football landscape has its own differences. Players aren’t exactly signed under long-term contracts, sponsorships are usually secured on a short-term basis and consistent investment (or lack of thereof) continues to be a niggling issue. Does any of that though, justify premature sacking?
Over the last one week, we’ve had plenty of speculations on the future of Kelantan’s head coach, George Boateng; some claimed he was on the verge of being sacked, some claimed, he could be retained. But on Tuesday morning, Tan Sri Annuar Musa announced a shift in their coaching set-up, with Azraai Khor being appointed as their new head coach.
Boateng however, has been given a new role within the team, becoming Kelantan’s brand new technical director. While the announcement makes it seem like the Red Warriors have produced a win-win situation, the constant shift in ideology and philosophy seems to be a cause for concern. But what is causing it?
After the first five games of the season, the East Coast side are on seven points with two victories, one draw and two defeats. They are currently 7th on the table, merely two points away from second-placed side PDRM FA. But beyond that, Kelantan are also into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, taking Sarawak FA out in the first round, before manoeuvring past Kuala Lumpur FA in the following one. All of this was achieved, without Brendan Gan, who was ruled out for eight months after picking up an ACL injury.
And George Boateng was still removed from the head coach position. Am I missing something here?
In April 2014, something similar happened. Steve Darby was removed from his head coach position midway through April, after a disappointing defeat that left them 5th on the table. It was rather ironic, but 2014 was primarily acknowledged as a crucial rebuilding year for the Red Warriors.
At the end of 2013, eight key players left Kota Bharu for new pastures, including the likes of Indra Putra, Norfarhan Muhammad, Shakir Shaari, Faiz Subri and even Dickson Nwakaeme. When a team loses that many individuals prior to the season, expectations should be managed carefully. More importantly though, any expectations should be realistic as well. And to be fair to Steve, he was extremely diligent in dealing with it as well. He introduced several President Cup players into the first team, including Tuan Faim, who continues to be an integral part of their squad until today. Where did the pressure come from then?
“Keyboard warriors who hide behind anonymity or fake names are getting far too much power in the game. The biggest problem at Kelantan was interference from within, more often than not influenced by social media,” Steve said, when we spoke to him in October 2014.
“A system is a vehicle to get your best eleven players on the pitch. If your striker scores goals and the keeper makes great saves, then the system is right. There is far too much pseudo-intellectual football discussion on tactics, usually from people who have never played the game. In Kelantan, when we played 3-5-2, our record was better than playing 4-4-2,” he added.
When you compare that situation to the one happening in Kota Bharu right now, it certainly has worrying signs. While Kelantan have had a decent start to the season, the fans, who have been accustomed to seeing the team do well over the last few years, have voiced their displeasure throughout Facebook and Twitter. And if Steve’s comments on social media influence is taken into consideration, one can’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with George’s demotion from the head coach role.
Similarly, a group of Perak fans have been actively calling for Datuk M. Karathu to be sacked over the last few days; something that’s equally baffling as well, when you consider their excellent start to the season, which has bypassed all expectations. And while the Perak management denied those speculations, you would also hope that they pay no attention to those rumours and objectively evaluate Coach Karathu, based on the resources that are available to him and his methods of utilizing those resources.
Success is the ultimate end-goal of every team out there. Doing well is also in the best interest of managers and head coaches, if you were wondering. But if ability is the main concern, then that’s a question that needs to be answered prior to an appointment. Once the appointment is made, the bond of trust has been established. True, coaches should never be immune from expectations. But adequate amount of time should be given to them for a myriad of reasons.
Success doesn’t come instantly. I don’t see the need to repeat the entire Sir Alex anecdote, but I’m pretty sure you get the point. In fact, Tan Sri Annuar Musa would be familiar with this as well, from his perspective. When he first took over as President in 2007, things were relatively messy. There was no structure, the club was struggling in the second division and passion was dying off. It certainly took time for him to implement changes within the management as well as the squad. They got promoted to the Super League in 2009, but only won the title two years later in 2011. What happened in between? Gradual changes, facilitated by time and support from all relevant parties.
But beyond that, stability is equally important for any football club. A new head coach comes with a specific brand and ideology on how to play the game. It not only takes time to implement those ideas, but it equally takes a long time, to replace them as well. Precisely why Steve Darby did not have it easy, in trying to replace Bojan’s ideas from 2013. It was also why George took some time, before he got the Kelantan side going last year.
Having said all of that, let’s also be fair. Azraai Khor is an excellent head coach, with a solid track record as well; take nothing away from him. He accomplished the ‘double treble’ with Kedah before going on to make history at Negeri Sembilan; so there are no real doubts about his ability. But months from now, should Kelantan go through a rough patch, and Azraai comes under fire from fans, will the management back him? Or will they hunt for a new head coach?
I certainly hope it’s the former.
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