Drastic changes (The Malay Mail)

THE humiliation at the Jakarta Sea Games was the lowest point in Malaysian
soccer this year.
The unimaginable loss to lightweights Laos and the subsequent failure to
qualify for the semifinals led to some drastic changes.
The question is have we over-reacted to the Sea Games debacle by sacking
the whole national team?
Were the changes made by the FA of Malaysia in response to pressure
rather than an earnest desire to gain loss ground?
The only constant may be change but it has to be for the right reason
and in the right direction.
The change to the M-League format from one division to two next season
is another questionable decision.
We will have Premier 1 and Premier 2 but it is nothing new as the format
was used when the Semi-pro League was introduced in 1989 and it was in
force until 1993.
The only difference is that two club sides will be joining the ranks of
state teams in Premier 2.
But what is there to gain from playing teams of lesser quality?
The lower division is also unlikly to have a wide following and fan
support is one of the main ingredients for a successful league.
Pahang coach Jorgen Larsen said there is hardly any fault in the present
League system.
His only qualm is that league sides should be better managed.
He also feels it would be better for teams to play one match a week
instead of the current two so as to give the coaches time to work on their
team.
The Olympic team are the new national team but with them playing in the
League too, the intention of allowing the national side to train more does
not make sense.
Prior to the Sea Games, the national team were hailed as saviours of
Malaysian soccer after their encouraging performances in the Tiger Cup,
Dunhill Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
All that changed immediately after the Sea Games.
Perhaps the better approach would be to identify and rectify specific
weaknesses instead of disbanding the team and erasing all the work put in
in the last two years.
Soccer in Malaysia has gone professional but many States FAs are hardly
run professionally.
This is another area Larsen pointed out for improvement.
For players to act professionally, the management must act that way
first.
Self-serving officials, without a clue of the game, will have to go.
Rewarding mediocrity is self-defeating and Pahang's policy of rewarding
only achievements should be lauded.
Larsen was to be paid bonuses only for winning titles.
Teams should do away with team managers and appoint manager-coaches or
have an administrative officer handling the team's affairs.
We should not complicate things for the Sydney Olympics squad by giving
them too much responsibility.
Calibre coaches like Alan Vest, Ronald Smith, Jorgen Larsen, Karl
Weigang and Steve Wicks can help in the selection of players and their
knowledge of the game should be tapped to the maximum.
It was heartening to note that many young players featured in the
Malaysia Cup final on Saturday.
The performances of Aizal Lamin, Mohamad Rizal Mohamad Hassan, Nazzab
Hidzan, Abdul Hadi Tahir, Jalaluddin Jaafar, Khairuniza Mustafa, Ahmad
Shahruddin Rosdi and Suhami Mohamad Nor gives hope of a bright future.
State FAs have to spend more time on youth development and the rewards
to Selangor and Pahang should serve as an eye-opener to others.
And constant changes in the Malaysian soccer set-up and to their
blueprints are not going to help any.
There is nothing much that is wrong with Malaysian soccer, except that
it should be managed more professionally at all levels.
Let us hope 1998 will be a better year.
                            (END)