Media Is time up for the Sweet FA? ... with Clarkey & TIF - Part II Available Now!

[damicky]

Clarkey & TIF joined me in the HecticCheese Studios to discuss the health of the Sweet FA​

Cheese: With S40 over for our respective Clubs, I decided to catch up with ClarkeM & TheInjuryFactory to discuss the health of the Sweet FA

Thanks for joining me guys


Clarkey: Hello and the pleasure is all TIF's I'm sure.


Cheese: How would you rate S40 from an activity & engagement point of view?


Clarkey: Well I think there are many lenses on which to review and rate Season 40.

I think I'll start with that it's been somewhat underwhelming and in turn, disappointing that this season was in no way special or more fun than any other seasons as was hyped up to be being the 40th iteration. The fanfare of this died before the season had even started with there being zero commitment that anyone in charge would be doing anything as was previously promised.

Kilroy 's thread has allowed Kennedy Parker to provide some data which really shows some interesting results. I think I along with many was actually quite shocked in that the average number of posters in match threads hasn't actually dropped as far as we had first thought. Yes it's less than what we've had previously, but not by as much as it feels like.

Averaging 186 posters a match thread isn't too bad for 13 teams. The quality has certainly depreciated and that's only natural right. Perhaps what we've all accepted however is that the place can become quite stale quite quickly, and we're all to blame for that in a way whether directly or indirectly.

The gap between the strongest teams and the weakest teams is growing. Furies averaged 7.7 posters a week, Hawks averaged 9.9 posters a week while Demons had 19.5 and both the Warriors and the Bears had just over 18. This is the largest difference between the top and the bottom in the history of the Sweet FA.

Looking internally, I know speaking from what I've seen both internally at the Wonders and through contacts at other clubs, everyone is feeling the burn out. It gets to a point where you almost kind of want to not play finals simply so you can switch off earlier. Of course, this is not how everyone feels but it is certainly the impression that I get from what I've seen this season.

There's no perfect solution though and ultimately, we should be pretty proud that 24 years into the Sweet FA, there are near-200 people logging in weekly to be a part of a community like no other. That's pretty special and should be cherished for as long as it'll last.


TIF: Is it any worse than the last few seasons have been? Genuine question.

I think this has been a steady progression since the league expanded to 13 teams, and it feels like this was where we were always headed once we'd made that decision. Correlation isn't always causation, and you can't fault how the Old Boys have been run once they were given the nod.

We definitely have a two paced economy in the league right now, there's probably more clubs in the doldrums in terms of active, engaged posters than I remember historically. I think that ties in with alot of what myself and Kennedy Parker discussed in that Kilroy thread, in the posting stats thread the other day. But surely none of this is new, or a surprise to anyone?

It's a direct result of stretching the talent a bit too thin, and then having a top tier of really well run clubs that have kept on keeping on and upheld the basics of kinda club 101 stuff and then those that let it fall to the wayside and have struggled to maintain consistent, capable leadership who can then present an attractive brand for prospective recruits.

I think we let the place get a little bit too soft, a little too casual about standards and relaxed too many of the penalties that kept leaders on their game and gave the league that healthy little bit of danger, that sense of competition that it thrived on and now it's all just a bit of a nice fest... a bit of beige general discussion chit chat week on week, and we've lost the competitive nature that really drove this place.

What do you think cheese? You obviously think the same?


Cheese: I obviously haven't been involved in Qooty as long as my esteemed guests

My greatest concern is that we are not attracting enough Rookies to replace all of the Players who are retiring

This is not sustainable in the long term


Cheese: ClarkeM - the Admin of the Sweet FA is a voluntary position

Due to this, it is frowned upon to criticise anyone who undertakes the role … BUT I sense that you are a bit frustrated by Gralin ’s performance this Season


Clarkey: Season 38 admin election was entirely decided on the task that we needed someone strong in the role to lead us towards a milestone Season 40. Unfortunately that admin then pulled out halfway along the way and we were replaced by Gralin in what was, in my view, the most compromised election I have ever seen in my time in this league. That aside, he's in the role that he asked for and now has to deliver upon it. Unfortunately, there's been no fanfare at all to acknowledge Season 40 as was promised and perhaps this is not Gralin's fault given he is first season into the role so I can completely appreciate that.

Criticism is the most healthiest thing that exists for this league; it thrives on it. It needs it to exist beyond belief. If we can't be critical with reason then we may as well pack it up and call it a day.

Having been impacted by some decisions this season by league administration, I've absolutely been frustrated but nothing beyond any sense of reasonability. I have disagreed with plenty and agreed with plenty too. We'll never have a perfect administrator - or a perfect Sweet FA member mind you, but I've definitely felt like we've elected an administrator that hasn't been brave enough to do the job the justice it deserves; ideally we need someone this season that can give the role and responsibility its due diligence, try new initiatives, be actively engaged and willing to work with clubs and yet I've seen nothing to date to convince me that this has been happening. The election itself was kept off the board for reasons that continue to defy logic and it's resulted in an admin that now refuses to answer fair questions publicly, refuses to take accountability and is seemingly actively working against the members themselves, whether directly or indirectly.

Ironically it kind of just feels like the league has entered 'administration' by its other definition and the absolute bare minimum for the role is the now new measure of success in what should be a milestone season but otherwise feels like the biggest drag of a season we've had in some time. Perhaps fatigue is the overall cloud that covers this judgement.

In saying all of this, absolutely acknowledge that anyone in the role often doesn't last long in it and I'm not surprised. In my view, there needs to be greater support around the administrator and the Committee should be an extension of this as well as hold the admin to an account. Too often it's one way and not the other.


Cheese: TIF - you mentioned “stretching the talent a bit too thin”

Should we seriously consider mergers or folding certain Clubs?


Clarkey: I'll jump in if I may.

Think about it this way damicky, the last team to fold was the Mod Squad back in Season 10. Some might argue that they're really just the Mt Buller Demons of today. But in actuality, the Mod Squad folded so the Roys could be revived. It's still technically a fold however so it needs to be treated as such. So if no team has folded in 30 years, and activity levels have doubled since then on average when looking at Kilroy's table and the average weekly posters per team, they why should a team have to fold right now?

Now the merger conversation does have some merit however there are only three or so clubs that are probably in the conversation to begin with and each of them has so much history that there's just no chance really that clubs will come to agreements about it. The Furies are clearly the weakest club in the Sweet FA. There's no denying this fact. In Season 39 they had 12.5 posters a week which is actually pretty good and in Season 10, this would have had them ranked #1 in the league at the time that the Mod Squad folded. Their current numbers are 7.7 and that would have them middle of the park back in Season 10 comparatively speaking.

A merger requires two teams though and who would want to merge and essentially wipe out their 20+ seasons of history that their club has accumulated in this league? No one.

I think a club like the Furies who would be the closest to folding when looking at everything objectively is entitled to make that call themselves. They're by no means struggling but they are the weakest club in Season 40 - those things aren't mutually exclusive right?

We need to reframe this view of "Why can't we attract new posters?" and instead look internally at why is our association no longer attractive to new posters?

Posters used to stumble upon the board constantly and there was a steady flow of newbies that would come through the door because the place looked like a bit of fun but now have a look. One of the first threads people will read is the Rules thread to try and work out what on earth this place is about and it's now 2025 - people's attention spans are shorter than ever. They're not reading the essay of the rules as they stand so why bother spending energy recruiting if they're naturally going to show up, read for ten seconds and say "**** that" and leave and never come back?

There are so many basic and simple ideas that we could be executing to attract new posters that aren't being considered but of course, no one in this place actually wants to do any work. I just think that as a group of people, as an association, we need to be better at making this place look more inviting through so much of how this board presents to the ignorant but curious people that come across it.


More to come ...

 

[damicky]

Is time up for the Sweet FA? ... with Clarkey & TIF - Part II​

We rejoin the interview with TIF responding to the following:


Cheese: You mentioned “stretching the talent a bit too thin”

How do we attract new Players (other than cold calling)?


TIF: When was the last club board tour?


Cheese: We were supposed to do one on the Swans Board mid year … BUT it never eventuated

Apparently, we ran out of time


TIF: The last time we did a tour of any sort, we managed to net a bloke foolish enough to want to be admin of the league.

Last time I ran one, we scored the bloke who has won the most beez by double, and the bloke with the most runner ups in history, and by proxy the other bloke who has won the other beez when me and the other bloke aren't winning them.

We might have been onto something back in my day...


Cheese: Should we seriously consider mergers or folding certain Clubs?


TIF: I feel like I'm well and truly on record at this point on this topic.

At this point, the horse has bolted on folding or merging clubs in my opinion. Who is going to make that call? And while some clubs have had a sustained level of activity in the modern era, the reality is it's been swings and roundabouts for the rest.

It was the Wonders an Furies around the time of expansion, it was the Roys for a while there then they won a flag with a raft of stars, the Rats were well down at some point in the last 10 seasons from memory, even the Dees and Warriors have had poor seasons of activity here and there, and now it's the Furies and the Hawks... so at what point do you make the snap decision that one of them has to go? They could quite quickly turn things around with a strong skipper or a few quality recruits.

Unfortunately the crucial fork in the road was expansion, and the leaders at that time did not have the understanding, wherewithal or the nous required to make the obvious call on it.

There was no turning back having made that terrible decision. They made our bed, and now we're lying in it.

There was a mistaken belief at the time that we had to do something crazy to keep the league exciting, when it's always been up to individuals and the clubs themselves to make the place engaging and a place people want to spend their shitposting time, explore their creative pursuits, have their shitfights.

I don't think a merger or club folding at this point is going to shift the dial enough.


Cheese: I just wanted to confirm that your position hadn’t changed


TIF: Why would it change? I don't think I've ever been more vindicated about an opinion in my entire life.

It was an incredibly brainless decision at the time and it's aged like f**king milk.


Clarkey: So you were against the Old Boys coming into the league?


TIF: I failed to see any positives that would come from it, that couldn't have been achieved by a Furies rebrand.


Clarkey: But the Furies already did rebrand? Or was that after the expansion?


TIF: Nah that was after expansion. They've rebranded anyway into a hideous fluoro mess that has zero connection to their past, so why couldn't that have been into the Old Boys? Actually makes more sense from a lore/branding perspective than creating a new club to jam some faux old timey lore down your throat.

For what it's worth, I thought the concept was cool and would have been a great media concept or a club rebrand, and I've always rated Turbo as a leader and entertainer and I think as a club they've run it fantastically well so it's not a personal thing or an attack on them, the league as a whole had to be more careful about protecting the league and needed to make the right decision for them.

They had the right to lodge a bid and were successful after a strong lobbying campaign. It's just been at the expense of the league, at this point there would be absolutely no difference in that regard if it had simply been a Furies rebrand.

In fact there would be far more positives from a league health, functioning perspective if that had been the case.


Clarkey: I see. I think expansion was and is great for the league. Perhaps clubs should do better to take care of themselves.


Cheese: TIF - what would you like to see from Gralin leading in to his second Season in charge?


TIF: I'd like to see more support from the committee and club captains.

That, and my DMs are open.


Cheese: What sort of support?


TIF: It's crazy to me that we just did nothing for S40. Literally nothing.

Did nobody have any ideas?


Clarkey: Agree, it was incredibly disappointing.


Cheese: I think we ran out of time to implement them


Clarkey: No we didn’t. It was clearly a deliberate “too hard”-basket for the powers that be.


Cheese: Do you have an issue with a Club Captain being our Admin?


TIF: Not particularly. What is your problem with it out of interest?

I think I would have done when the place was humming, but I don't think it makes a lick of difference nowadays.


Cheese: I don’t think it is a good look … BUT the right person could probably make it work

My concern is whether a BF Admin & Club Captain can find the time to be an effective Sweet FA Admin

The fact that the place isn’t humming shouldn’t mean that less time is needed
to do the job


TIF: I don't disagree with this.


Cheese: Do either of you have anything else to add before we break up this party?


Clarkey: Well I’m ready to start the interview now. Let’s go!


TIF: You'll get better at this with practice. Good luck and godspeed.


Clarkey: So when's the interview starting?


Cheese:

Clarkey: Ready for the first question.


Cheese: See you in S41!