The Mulvey Sacking – Why I’m still mad
It has now been three weeks since Brisbane’s Mike Mulvey, was unceremoniously sacked by the Brisbane Roar. Days after his sacking he received QLD Coach of the Year – accepting the award with grace and humility – … stating, “been an honour “etc. Me – I’m still furious at the way this whole story has unfolded.
Towards the end of 2012, I heard Mulvey was to be appointed coach of the Roar by phone “ That’s a great coach you’ve got there for your team Flash, my friend Ken Stead fully rates him.” Only yesterday the same friend counselled “Well Flash, you have to understand there’s one thing about Kenny he’s his own man. He has that bit of mongrel in him that will see him come out on top regardless.”
Yes, I’ve been told by friends, family and a few Roar fans to “move on. Mulvey is a professional he knows this is all part of the game”…the thing is it’s not. It’s not the way we treat a sports hero, a local boy made good, who presented at media conferences carefully pointing out the need to improve, measured and cautious even in victory… is it?
Australians have seen terrible accidents and deaths in sport and appalling behaviour from sports persons. The galling thing about this is that it wasn’t an accident; Mulvey had displayed nothing but exemplary behaviour and success.
As a mother, some time soccer captain and junior coach I’ve seen my share of petty jealousies and local club “advancements.” As a friend of former PM K Rudd and an on- the- steps witness to the Whitlam sacking I’ve seen jealousy politics play out first hand in Australia.
Mulvey’s reported trigger clause in his contract that if he won the double he would be kept on as coach for two years – shows that they didn’t really expect him to win in 2013 or if he did they would be of course happy to continue. It’s all about money and risk having got him at a bargain price (his dream job), they were now locked into keeping him while he advanced a more attacking style of football and putting people who supported this on the bench with him. (Ken Stead was back on the bench the week after Mulvey was gone).
On Nov 7 Chris Fong began following me on Twitter – I foolishly thought the board and marketing team might be going to capitalise on the publicity of my painting of Mulvey entered in the Moran Prize and sold just days before. Shortly after Fong issued a presser saying that they would appoint a technical director etc. The statement screamed lack of support for Mulvey and a callous disregard for the team and fans. This scenario was repeated more than once to date.
No sooner had the Murdoch press begun carefully orchestrated ‘leaks’, a handful of disgruntled ‘fans’ was claiming Mulvey was arrogant or not cow- towing to the club “Philosophy”. However, for many football fans the statement by Sean Dodd “Our Philosophy is not about winning” was an oxymoron. Mulvey’s former assistant R.J. Smith summed it up best Tweeting “It didn’t take long for Ken Stead to include parking the bus as part of Roar Philosophy – Mulvey was sacked for playing attacking football. “
The Mulvey sacking has hit a nerve because it cuts across the intrinsic Australian culture of recognising a job well done and affording due respect. We also have a deeply entrenched “Jack is as good as his master culture” and while we watch the World Game, the beautiful game, cheering on our local, national, international favourite teams, we know deep down that there is a corrupt underbelly making money hand over fist for our allegiances.
So, I for one want to make it clear – we, as fans have every right to demand the best behaviour from our team’s owners and boards. Do better and do it now.
About Wendy
Wendy Donellan is an ex nurse and PR and Communications Practitioner who now works fulltime in her own visual art practice in Ashgrove, Brisbane. She has a bullet wound in her left leg from an accidental shooting buy a Muslim insurgent in the Philippines. Her nickname is Flash (because she is slow on the ball) and she screams too much at football matches. Her three children include the author J.M. Donellan.
Notes Re Mulvey: I was never less than impressed in my personal dealings with him, taking time out to open our new Bardon FC fields just a week before the semi finals in 2013 and agreeing to assist me with my portrait painting for the (Moran Portrait Prize 2104) – he asked “Why would anyone want to paint me?”
Google+
