Big George's firm welcome
The SFA have turned to England to come up with a successor to former Chief Executive Gordon Smith.
In a move similar to the SPL’s decision to appoint Neil Doncaster, the SFA have decided to look out with Scotland’s limited gene pool and came up with Stewart Regan who is currently CE at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
President George Peat however showed no sins of learning from past mistakes by using Regan’s appointment as a vehicle to criticise Smith.
Who appointed him George?
The man who contributed to Airdrie going out of business said: “I was behind Gordon’s appointment. I thought it would be a good idea to bring in a football man, as we say, because Gordon had worked with media, he had been a professional footballer and everything else.
“But it didn’t really work from the business point of view and that’s why I think this is a better idea.
“Stewart’s got a business background and that’s what we’re looking for. The SFA has a £30m turnover – it’s a business we’re running here.”
Being though of as a ‘better idea’ from Peat isn’t the greatest endorsement that you could wish for in a new job but hopefully Regan will look closely at Doncaster’s effective manner and low profile to bring the SFA into the twentieth century.
Expanding on the reasons behind appointing a new CE Peat added: “ Of all the applicants, Stewart stood out for the level of his success in business and sport but also for his diversity of experience.
Regan won’t take up his appointment until October but demonstrated a good grasp of some of the issues facing the Scottish game and the problems created by the SFA’s attitude to change and innovation.
The new man said: “As an outsider looking in I have seen lots of fall-outs, lots of disagreements, challenges and criticisms of how things are done.
“I think there is a need to draw a line in the sand and say that building football for the future in Scotland isn’t just the job of the Scottish FA.
“The Scottish FA can lead but I think the Scottish FA need to bring people with them and bring partners to the table.”
Some transparency and accountability on refereeing matters would be a useful starts.
When referees are being slaughtered and held up to ridicule yet defended to the hilt by the SFA it brings the game into disrepute.
Any potential backers/sponsors/partners or investors in Scottish football watching last season’s SKY coverage of the showpiece fixtures would have run a mile from wishing to be associated with the sort of bungling decision making that marred those fixtures.
Best of luck Stewart- you’ll need every ounce of luck to make the SFA credible again, inviting Hugh Dallas in to watch some dvd’s from last season would be as good a place as any to start.
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In a recent Q&A in the Yorkshire Post Regan appeared quite open and receptive to innovation, not sure how big George Peat would handle being asked about pink balls and day/night matches however!
Yorkshire Post: What’s your view of pink balls and the plans for day/night Tests?
SR: The pink ball option is certainly worth considering, but I think there are a lot of question marks over day/night Test cricket. The playing conditions need to be the same for both sides because if one team is playing under lights and the other one isn’t, that could affect the game’s outcome.
YP: It’s eight years since Yorkshire won a domestic trophy. Can that cycle be broken this year?
Stewart Regan: It would be nice to think so. With a new captain and a young squad it’s going to be a challenge, but you never know. If we get a good start and build some momentum, there’s no reason why we can’t push for silverware.
YP: What would represent a successful season in your view?
SR: I’d like to see a satisfactory performance by a young squad with comments from cricket lovers, members, press, etc, that Yorkshire’s players are giving it their all and putting in quality performances. We certainly don’t want to be scrapping to avoid relegation in the Championship and it would be nice to progress to the latter stages of the one-day competitions.
YP: Has English cricket sold its soul to Twenty20?
SR: I think when you have a product that the customer wants to buy, the players want to play in, the broadcasters want to cover and the sponsors want to be associated with, it tells you there are a number of compelling reasons why Twenty20 needs to be embraced.
What is important, however, is to strike the right balance. At the moment, there’s far too much confusion and clutter in the game. The global market is saturated with things like an annual Twenty20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, the Champions League and myriads of one-day internationals. You can’t squeeze a quart into a pint pot and something, at some point, will have to give.
YP: This will be your fifth season as chief executive. Are you still enjoying it?
SR: I love it. The landscape of the game is changing all the time. We haven’t yet had the success on the field I would have liked, but we’ve made progress financially and also in terms of developing youngsters. It’s a great honour and privilege to work for the club.
