Here's another chance, Captain Burrell

[Karl]

Here's another chance, Captain Burrell

SEAN A WILLIAMS, Assistant Sports Editor
Thursday, August 16, 2007


THAT Jamaica's football parish associations have changed course and have unanimously nominated Captain Horace Burrell for the post of JFF president must not be merely seen in the singular sense of a 'flip-flopping' electorate.

In fact, their 'mass support' of 12 associations reportedly nominating the charismatic Burrell this time around should also be viewed as a sort of maturing of the football political process - perhaps an indication that diehard partisan support has withered over time. If that's the case, then it should augur well for the sport.

Burrell, who served as local football boss when Jamaica made a historic appearance at the World Cup in France 1998, is seemingly now enjoying the majority of the core support that voted him out of office back in 2003.
The vote then was close (54-49), but it demonstrated the power of an electorate that appeared to be disenchanted with the leadership style of Burrell and who decided to shake things up.

I believe it is widely agreed to this day that the Captain did not finish second best to Crenston Boxhill because he or his administration failed, but it was more an exhibition of the power of the vote as a means of teaching the Captain a lesson.

Because back then, the majority of the football constituents shared the view that Burrell had lost touch with football's grassroots - the powerful parish associations. Also, he came under the gun for what his detractors deemed an arrogant leadership style. If that was indeed the case, then I am sure Captain Burrell would have learnt his lesson by this.

Four years on, after Boxhill swept the polls and created an upset over a confident Burrell, the news is that at least 12 of 13 parish FAs have indicated their support for Burrell when the voting congress is held on November 4 this year.

That effectively rendered Boxhill ineligible to contest the post of president as he would have failed in meeting the nomination requirement which asks that a candidate be nominated by three members of three associations.
With that reality staring him in the face, Boxhill announced days after nominations opened that he would not be seeking re-election to the post he now holds.

It is true that Boxhill's administration fell short on many fronts, but few truly expected that the very support that lifted him to office would have so dramatically pulled the earth from beneath him.

We were all anticipating an election between the big Bs of local football. A showdown perhaps. But the electorate had other ideas.They were clearly done with Boxhill. No more. Even as many parish heads have done poorly in articulating the fundamentals of their decision to change course in such a pronounced fashion.

It seems football politicians can be as, or even more, ruthless than their parliamentary counterparts and this should serve as a warning to Captain Burrell, or for any future candidate for the position.

It is clear that some of those who vote on the matters of football have no loyalty and will not, for one reason or another, hesitate to give the boot to those they have grown disillusioned with.

What is apparent is that Captain Burrell will have his job cut out for him and will be closely watched and assessed by the football voter and the media looking on from the sidelines.

He will be expected to hit the ground running when he takes the wheel on November 5 - a seasoned captain with new challenges. He must be wary on the job. He must watch his back and should never forget the old adage: 'De same knife dat stick sheep stick goat'.

[HL]

'De same knife dat stick sheep stick goat'

I think i have heard this saying once or twice. I find it extremely funny!!

[Karl]

A good change by the JFF

A good change by the JFF
published: Thursday | August 16, 2007





Over the past four years Crenston Boxhill has been head of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), but recent events have suggested this is a scenario that will no longer pertain.

I don't want to speak about whether Boxhill was a good president or not, whether he should be given a chance to bring about the changes he has promised, or whether Captain Horace Burrell (the man who is set to return to the presidential seat) is better for the JFF. What I am interested in is the political process within the JFF. Do the present protocols make the JFF less effective or do they lead to the detriment of the organisation?

I should really narrow down the question to the timing of elections because that particular protocol has come in for some examination and recently, the JFF decided it would change the time of elections to coincide with the World Cup.

Over the last four years, the JFF has had a president whose support has dwindled everyday since the fateful moment he defeated Captain Burrell for the position in 2003.

LONG WAIT FOR CHANGE
That being the case, why did Jamaica have to wait all this time before a change could be effected? Why did the football programme ('Back to Africa' campaign) and the various endeavours of the younger teams have to wait over three years before benefiting from potentially better management?

In my estimation, the timing of this change has wasted at least two years of potential growth.

The answer therefore is yes, there are aspects of the political protocols that lead to inefficiencies and the move by the JFF to change this at their last extraordinary congress is a welcome one.

ELECTIONS
It is quite possible that football would be better served were elections to take place right after the World Cup.

The revised schedule would do two things. Firstly, it would serve as a means of truly judging the progress of a given administration, and secondly, it would allow a new administration the time to fulfil its plans, which I am assuming, directly relate to the senior team's World Cup qualifying bid.

As a matter of fact, I am suggesting Mr. Boxhill's initial failure to qualify a team for the 2006 World Cup in Germany could have had its beginnings in the timing of his ascension to the post of JFF president.
That's over now, so let's look to the future.

Boxhill, by his own admission and strong claims by former JFF general secretary Horace Reid that he has not been nominated by any parish association for the upcoming presidential elections, is virtually out and Captain Burrell is almost a certainty to be the man at the helm once again.

Will Captain Burrell be faced with the problems of the poor timing of these elections?

For instance, let's say he is not satisfied with the progress of coach Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic. Will there be enough time for him to replace him with another high quality coach?

Remember, good coaches would have already taken on various assignments in other countries. Even if he (Captain Burrell) is able to weave his magic and employ the services of another top notch coach, there is the question of whether that coach will have the time to put together a quality team.

This is, of course, intermingled with the problems of finding sponsorship to pay that coach and, of course, the negotiation process that would have to take place.

Transition
I am getting ahead of myself though and it is possible for a seamless transition between administrations, this especially if the Captain, as the man in charge, sees reminders of Boxhill he likes and wants to keep.
The Captain will have to work quickly though, because he is short on time and this, his second coming, will be closely scrutinised by the public. If Captain Burrell can get the senior team on the right track and spark the change in this truncated term, he would have earned the trust of a nation.