Tue, 24 Nov 2009 9:42a.m.
Why is it that people who know NOTHING about football suddenly assume they're experts when it's an appropriate time to talk about it?
Michael Laws, this blog is for you.
For those of you who haven't read Michael's pearls of wisdom here it is.
I'll happily admit I agree with some of the comments in this column. New Zealand sports fans ARE fickle, and football will NEVER knock rugby off its perch. But Michael's comments regarding the All Whites qualifying path and the future of the game in this country are simply wrong.
Michael let me try to explain it in terms of something you know about: Politics.
When a candidate is voted into parliament, do you ever hear them say "Hang on. I don't think it's fair I've only had to beat my fellow local candidates to get here. We're going to hold an extra election where I run against the leaders of all others parties. Yeah ... That's fair"?
Of course not. You only need to win your electorate to get into parliament, and that's exactly what the All Whites have done to get to the World Cup. They beat the other local candidates (Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia), and then beat the fifth best team from their neighbouring electorate. The All Whites can only do what FIFA asks of them when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup.
So what if Bahrain are a small country? Population is not a key indicator when it comes to football talent and ability. If that were the case, China and India would be world heavyweights. Michael, China were eliminated from World Cup qualifying before they earned the right to face Bahrain, and India didn't even make it past the first round - which means they're about on par with New Caledonia.
To describe this historic moment as the "lifecycle of the mayfly" shows a blatant disregard for recent developments in the sport at all levels of the game. In the last three years New Zealand has been represented at World Cups at every age group. That's Under 17 men, Under 17 women, Under 20 men, Under 20 women, and Senior women. We shouldn't expect the All Whites to qualify for the World Cup every four years, but New Zealand Football is certainly better equipped and prepared to capitalise on this success than ever before.
After your comments about the Kiwi attitude towards the underdog, it's ironic how your column sums up another embarrassing trait of New Zealand society: tall poppy syndrome. I wonder if you'll be this quick to cut down the All Blacks and pour cold water on their achievements if they ever win the World Cup?
Michael, stick to commenting on things you know about - like gang patches and the letter H.