Time to sort out the SFA

[colingwood]

I posted during the close season that the SFA needed urgent attention from the member clubs.In the first instance I believe the top two individuals, President George Peat and Chief Executive Gordon Smith, needed to be sacked.

George Peat's main claim to fame historically has been his role in bringing disaster to Airdrie. He subsequently found a berth at Stenhousemuir, possibly some form of old pals act, which enabled him to retain his seniority at the SFA and end up as President. Towards the end of last season he felt the need to jump to the assistance of Rangers by pressurising the SPL into a second extension of the league program. If you have forgotten his role in that fiasco he gave and EXCLUSIVE to the Daily Record in conjunction with Rangers which included the following passage.

 

"The dramatic new twist came at teatime last night when Gold and secretary Ian Blair found themselves under pressure from SFA president George Peat as well as Rangers chief executive Martin Bain.

 

Peat was all set to march into the SPL's offices first thing this morning and insist the league be extended to help Rangers get ready for their date with destiny against Dick Advocaat's side.

 

Both Peat and SFA chief exceutive Gordon Smith believe it would be grossly unfair to force Rangers into playing a crucial league match just four days before they attempt to make history at the City of Manchester Stadium.

 

Peat told Record Sport: "We should be doing everything in our power to help a Scottish club win in Europe."

 

Now Peat will have to agree to put back his organisation's own end-of-season showpiece, Rangers v Queen of the South at Hampden."

 

The incompetence and arrogance shown then has been repeated in the expulsion of the three clubs from the youth setup. It should also not be forgotten that the SFA have still, after two years, to find a sponsor for the Scottish Cup. The willingness to change the date for the supposed showpiece will not prove helpful to that endeavour.

 

The failure to find an SC sponsor takes us to Gordon Smith who is the main man, one supposes, in the search. The failure of the Chief Executive in this fundemental task means he should be called to account. By all accounts Gordon Smith is an affable man but his suitability and competence for the role have to be questioned. The post was advertised as follows.

 

Person Specification

 

? You will be able to demonstrate that you have a proven track record in leading and managing a complex business.

? You are likely to be an existing MD/CEO wanting a new challenge, or an ambitious deputy waiting in the wings.

? You will have high energy, drive and determination, but also diplomatic skills to influence and achieve change.

? As a high profile public face of the game in Scotland and an ambassador for it outside the country, you will also require skills and experience in managing relationships with the media.

? You will be a versatile and persuasive leader, capable of building interest with a dynamic personality.

? Your style will be hands-on, with considerable personal credibility and authority.

? An interest in the development of football in Scotland, and a knowledge of the game to support this would be desirable.

 

Gordon Smith fufils neither of the two main criteriaand this shows. He has also demonstrated and inability to act decisively. He declared his intention of ensuring that a repeat of the Gretna participation in Europe would not happen and then failed to place the required legislation in front of the SFA in time to stop QoS.

He declared war on simulation, made an ass of himself at FIFA prematurely proposing rule change, said the SFA would act independently and then again failed to legislate in time to punish Rangers player Kevin Thomson in a very widely publicised offence.

Surely it is time to tell these two jokers to go.

[BlackJAC?]

i don't understand why so many people have a beef with the likes of Gretna and QoS getting into Europe. Aye, they're ****e, but every club knew what the situation was and every club had the exact same opportunity to get into Europe. i don't see the difference between the likes of Hibs and Dumfermline embarrassing Scottish football and Gretna embarrassing our country. Our recent record is a shambles too.

[colingwood]

The point was Gordon Smith had a beef with it. Whether you agree or not is immaterial what was importaant was that he failed to act.

[Ben Dover]

In the real world the positions of both Smith and Peat would surely have been untenable

[BlackJAC?]

SFA in fail to act shocker!!!

 

Mate, I'm 33 and as far back as I can remember, the SFA have always been incompetent, been biased towards Rantic, employed people that hold seats at the likes ah Alloa and are all Rantic supporters in some way.

 

Whether you think certain individuals should resign is neither here nor there as the SFA are never wrong and never will be. Even when they royally **** up, they think nothing of publicly sweeping it under the carpet.

 

in a nutshell: You're wasting both effort and time trying to fathom out why these tossers seem to get away with murder.

[colingwood]

I know what you are saying but go about it the right way and they can be held accountable. I remember Fergus McCann catching Farry bang to rights and forcing his resignation. I know that was Celtic but you can hardly say Farry was pro the Tic part of Rantic in that case.

[Ben Dover]

I know what you are saying but go about it the right way and they can be held accountable. I remember Fergus McCann catching Farry bang to rights and forcing his resignation. I know that was Celtic but you can hardly say Farry was pro the Tic part of Rantic in that case.

 

It's a sad day when one actually yearns for a return to the 'golden' days of Jim Farry.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what, if anything, happens to George Peat over this Youth coaching Fiasco ?

Problem is nobody really appears to want to root them out. Most club officials must fancy the cushy position themselves so nobody rocks the boat