okeydoke7
FIGJAM
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2007
- Posts
- 18,014
- Reaction score
- 26,459
- AFL Club
- St Kilda
Don't Get Filthy With Filthy
The Fighting Furies have come under constant fire for a disappointing season off the field. With reduced posting numbers and a perception of inactivity, Okeydoke7 caught up with his arch rival, Filthy Sanchez to discuss his captaincy and his team.
For the Fighting Furies, their lowest point came around 6 weeks ago. It was a time where even the captain had to admit that the club was not competitive enough off the field. It was in a match thread where the club managed only 3 posters for the entire duration. It prompted some to jokingly suggest that the club should merge. But behind the scenes, there was serious criticism levelled at the Furies. There were suggestions that the club should drop the "Richmond-only" tag. There were suggestions that the club was half on its way to folding and had to do more to recruit. And there were suggestions that the captain, Filthy Sanchez, wasn't doing enough. And although the league may joke about the perception of inactivity, it was taken very seriously in the Committee Room. The captain needed to take a stand. And he was willing to sit in with me for a wide ranging interview. He was as defiant as ever.
Filthy Sanchez took on the captaincy of the Furies unexpectedly. Some have suggested that he wasn't ready for it. "It was a tough time for the club and I was totally unprepared. Equus handed over the reigns about seven games in in what was a really a very low key transition to BILC. Equus had brought me to the Furies so it was sad seeing him step down. What caught me off guard was that about five games into the change BILC said he was headinbg overseas and needed a replacement. At the time tigland was also overseas and so by process of elimination it was left with me. Keep in mind I was only in my first full season as a player and really didn't know what I was doing at all so I guess that was frustrating. Everyone remembers the team sheet contreversies and I had spent months as captain before I was even put into the committee room. I didn't even know what the Committee room was!! It was agreed upon that BILC would most likely take the captaincy back when he returned but that never happened so here we are."
Filthy Sanchez suggests that the Furies have had a good season on the field, but have fallen short off it. "Our goal was always to play finals, after finishing as the bottom seeded 4th last season and making it all the way to the Grand Final, we know that anything can happen if we make finals. rfctigerarmy breaking the record for most SFA games played was special and I was very proud to be catpain of his club for that match... We're definately not having the activity in the match thread we'd like." However, Filthy is defiant, claiming "we don't think it's the doomsday everyone else seems to be predicting."
For all his leadership skills and strength at the forefront of the issue this season, Filthy seemed to deny there ever was a problem. In fact, he tried to deny that the criticism existed. "Every year some captains call for some team to merge so to call that serious criticism is a bit much. It was only after one disastrous game that pressure intensified buty like always we responded well and so I'm not worried." However, the criticism caused an inevitable link with his captaincy. Since taking over the Furies captaincy, almost by accident, he had lead the team through a team sheet debacle and a gradual demise in posting stocks. "Considering Eq was the self titled most unsuccessful SFA captain ever and I have led the team to an SFA grand Final I find that unfair. I think most people would say the Furies would be worse off without me so I don't think I'm a problem."
Throughout the interview, Filthy was quick to turn any question about the demise of the club back to the on field results. He continued to repeat that he clearly wasn't a problem, because he was a regular Furies poster. He denied that his role of captain was more than just being a regular contributor. That is, until the end of the interview. We spoke of the perception that the Furies were inactive, and Filthy blamed every opposition team for reducing the match thread's quality. "First of all, alot of those so called "critical threads" were so merely because of the anti-banter attitudes taken into it by teams. We've had threads where 3 posts in people have said "lol no Furies yet" and it's only been up for a few hours!" I put it to Filthy Sanchez that he was blaming every opposition team for a perception of inactivity. One that although my be unjustified, was caused because of a very quiet mid-season in the match threads by the Furies. I suggested to Filthy that as the captain of a team under fire, blaming a perception for the problem was weak leadership. And so, we got the real answer from Filthy. "The Furies need to break the myth on a regular basis and then we won't have that problem. It takes time but it will happen. Could I do more? Maybe. But at the end of the day I can't log on and post for people. We all need to take ownership. My main downfall as a captain has been recruitment. This is an issue we're looking into as we've been experimenting with different team thread set ups this season. So there, I've made mistakes, I'm uman, I'm Mexica. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR OKEY YOU EGOTISTICAL PRICK!!!???"
And so I answered his question. To be honest, it isn't what I wanted. I would have preferred that Filthy continued to be defiant. That he refused to accept any portion of blame and responsibility. I would have preferred he continued to place the blame on a perception, or on opposition captains. I would have preferred to have written an article about my stubborn rival's unwillingness to accept that there was an issue, and that he actually was taking no blame and hence had created no path to remedy the problem. But at the 11th hour, my angle changed. Because he did what a captain should. He stood up for his club and himself. But he admitted that he had recognised an issue and would lead the change. This is why the Furies will not come close to folding under his watch. The powerhouse will live on.
