Soccer's top brass kick for touch once again

By Terry Maddaford

Is New Zealand soccer headed for another public relations disaster?

While speculation mounts about New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bob Patterson's future - and there have been suggestions he will be gone by the end of next month at the latest - board chairman Kevin Stratful steadfastly refuses to be drawn.

"I have no comment at all," said Stratful. "The speculation can stay speculation. Until New Zealand Soccer has something to say, I can't confirm or deny it. It is not a question of whether he is leaving or not. I'm not getting into that.

"We have to establish what the position is. Talk that Bob Patterson is predicted to quit his position within a week is purely speculation. He is still chief executive of New Zealand Soccer."

Asked if there had been discussions between the board and/or Stratful and Patterson, Stratful said: "There are always on-going discussions between New Zealand Soccer and its chief executive. When we have something to say we will say it.

"There has been a lot of strife and speculation."

Strife and soccer sadly have hand-in-hand for too long. In the past 10 or so years there has been little stability.

From the time Paul Cunningham was appointed executive director of the then New Zealand Football Association it has been a [regular changing of the guard. And often with much ill feeling.

Cunningham was followed by Noel Robinson, who in turn was followed by a mixture of Ronald Banks, Harry Dods and John Adshead who held the reins between them until Bill MacGowan took over for 18 months.

Unable to do the job as he thought it should be done - decisions made often overturned by the associations - MacGowan quit and was replaced by John Morton who lasted until late 1997 when he was sent packing - apparently with an arbitrated settlement of a few months' pay.

Patterson was appointed by then chairman Jock Irvine - who had also appointed MacGowan and Morton - as acting chief executive.

His fulltime appointment was confirmed in April 1998 after New Zealand had withdrawn as hosts of the 1999 World under-17 championships of which Patterson had earlier been appointed chief executive.

When the championships were handed back to New Zealand in June 1998, Patterson continued his New Zealand Soccer role with the under-17 role initially chased by Chris Turner and eventually handed to MacGowan.

New Zealand Soccer has a history of making too many key appointments without being widely advertised. This has led to an unsettled, often unhappy, administration and problems the game would be better without.

In opting for a new-look board - four appointed, three elected members - there was real hope the game had turned the corner. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case.

There's been more of the same bickering and in-house fighting while on the outside national teams, the Football Kingz and a new-look national league have been seen as a means of covering the cracks.

Some say Stratful and the other appointed members Mark Burgess, Ian Wells and Steve Sumner can virtually run the game with little or no input from elected Nigel Mattison, Noel Hadwen or Dave Lamont (who replaced Robinson when he stood down).

Stratful said, even in light of the present [apparent] drama, he sees no need to call a board meeting before the scheduled mid-March date.

Patterson said he had been advised by Stratful that a brief "no comment" was his best line in the meantime.

"I'm sticking with that," said Patterson yesterday. "I will make a statement at the appropriate time."

The last has not been heard in this saga - is he [Patterson] being pushed or is he jumping - which again, sadly, threatens to deflect the focus from any good on the field to issues off it.