This might prove puzzling to some so best to explain it. By the way, I am not the media officer for the Azkals anymore. That was for the Suzuki Cup. Whether I get the appointment again remains to be seen (I have my fingers crossed). Anyways. Coach Simon knows that he didn't have the necessary license for the AFC Challenge Cup and that put him in a precarious situation. The DFB made the offer some months ago. Technical help and stuff (I am not aware of everything). Coach was aware of the trip to Germany and the possibility of a new coach coming in. Now what happened? It's anyone's guess at this point. All I know is whatever the decision or agreements in Germany some others knew ahead. Some of that spilled out. In fact, I was told that a picture of the meeting there has been posted elsewhere. Heck, even some of my friends who aren't even involved with the PFF learned about whatever the decision/agreement was ahead of me (see I can't be ahead of all). Well, there's that and it may be shit. But right now, things will get smoothened out. Coach Simon refuses to be interviewed at this point or to make a statement pending a talk with team management. But he isn't going to burn bridges or what. He is too much of a gentleman for that. He said that he is all for the improvement of the team even if it means him not being involved. Of course, he'd like to. He'd be a liar to say otherwise. But there is a silver lining to this. You, me, all of us will learn more within the next few days.
my sympathy goes out to coach simon,, hope everything gets straightened out.. I feel bad that something like this had to happen to him :(
ReplyDeleteoh no!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to why it went down this way? Why was Simon not informed? Surely may number si Dan Palami ni Simon or at least email.
ReplyDeleteWell he has a point though... They could have just called him or sent him a message, and I if were in his shoes I would be too, be disappointed feel disrespected...
ReplyDeleteWe have no choice but to look for another coach coz Mr.Simon doesnt have the proper license for now, I understand that. But he shouldve been told first before the press release. But I think everybody knew that everybody on the team will be re-accessed after the Suzuki Cup right?
ReplyDeleteAno ba yan at least nagpakita sana sila ng respeto by informing coach Mcmenemy first.
ReplyDeleteLets all hope for a better outcome. In time everything will turn out fine. they just need to communicate & talk about the issues. Love the team!!! ~ diane
ReplyDeleteI have nothing against the manager choosing another coach for the team. I just hope they informed coach Simon before making any decision as a sign of courtesy. I feel bad for him. Tsk tsk!
ReplyDeleteis simon still wanting to coach the azkals even though he didn't have the proper certification for the upcoming cup? i think he should've understood the situation the azkals is in if he continue to be the coach, they'll get disqualified.
ReplyDeletebut yeah i get it, simon should've been the first person to know he was let go. courtesy. respect.
Anonymous 8:17: Simon was working on getting a coaching license though, and the last news was he was even getting help from the AFC to secure it, and has said openly that he hopes to continue as the Azkals coach. He deserves major props because he helped produce the big results from the Azkals.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Sir Dan Palami is obviously looking out for the best interests of the team, and hiring a more experienced coach is definitely a good move. Maybe he just isn't used to getting this amount of attention being laid on to PH football by the press and by the new media, and that's why the news about Simon getting replaced wasn't handled as well as it should've been.
Paolo: Yes, I agree. In fact, I was informed that there's a picture of Dan in Germany with the new coach and all. How that got out I have no idea. But in this digital age, information is both good or bad.
ReplyDeleteRick: here's hoping you post a more detailed report to get the record straight as to why this mistake happened.
ReplyDeleteIf the PFF isn't careful with issues like this in the future, this could lead to the PFF (and the Philippines in general) having a bad reputation for future coaches of the team. As much as I love the Azkals, I'm afraid that if this situation isn't smoothed out this could be a big loss to the player's morale and the Azkals performance in the Suzuki cup will be a one hit wonder.
ReplyDeleteYou guys might want to read what I wrote in between the images. let's not go rough on people here. Things will get smoothened out for sure.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I am also hoping that you will still be the media officer of Azkals. You're also doing a good job sir!
ReplyDeleteI think just like in other countries, the media has a lot of influence regarding coach Simons tweets. If it hadn't been announced yet by Mr. Dan Palami where did the news get their sources? Even if its true, I think the media shouldn't be the one to announce it. In Coach Simons case, he should have known better on what to do. Yan ang problem eh, pinapangunahan na ng media ang balita eh ndi pa nga nilalabas eh, thats why I always agree on how SAF handles the press. As for the betterment of this country for football, let's move on and go forward. I hope this misunderstanding will be settled in the next few days... I hope you'll continue being the media representative of the Azkals coz of your passion also of the sport. Sana kung tumuloy na ikaw na yun eh all news regarding the team would come from you to protect the team, management ang the players...
ReplyDeleteRick: I have not seen that mystery picture of Mr. Palami and the new coach. But what I have seen are pictures of Palami with the prospective additions AND Paul Weiler. People in a couple of forums speculated that Weiler is going to be the new coach, which isn't the case.
ReplyDeleteDan Palami just made a statement on his facebook account apologizing to Simon and the other candidates. He was planning on making an official announcement only after communicating first with Simon and the other candidates. He just had a 16 hr trip from Germany and went straight to a wedding when he got news of the twitter and text messages exploding about Simon not being informed. Apparently it was unintentional and so lets give him a break guys.
ReplyDeleteHi. Thanks for the clarification on the picture. I myself have not seen it. It was just texted to me. As we have all figured, it was unintentional. That much is a given since Dan and the rest of the team management do a great job of things. Tough talaga now with how new media changes the game.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Facebook and Twitter, I would like to suggest that official statements/announcements regarding the team or management should always be sent out as formal press releases by the PFF and not just posted on social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteApparently it is the German offer of assistance a few weeks ago that triggered all this. It was a package deal that included a free coach, use of training facilities, technical asisatance and scouting that would have been hard to turn down.
ReplyDeleteDan says "They’re willing to coach the Azkals in their training camps in Germany and they’re willing to do the scouting for potential players for the national team all over Europe. And they’re doing it for free. They are willing to send over the team to a European camp so that we could strengthen further our chances,”
Palami added that the German federation made the offer after seeing the Azkals’ performance in the recent Suzuki Cup.
This is one heck of a deal. No wonder they are willing to let Simon. go. I remember posting here about the PFF requesting use of the German training facilities prior to Dan leaving and this goes well beyond that. As i have mentioned before they have helped us before with coach Bernard Zgoll back in the early 90's and they are doing it again and then some. We owe them a lot.
All I can say is ' Deutschland uber alles' as their national anthem goes. If we ever learned the German way, watch out Asia.
Thanks for posting this article, Rick! I hope you'll still be the Media Officer of the Azkals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the opinions here that it was an unintentional mistake... too many things going on at the same time and a lot of attention from the media. With social networking media, I guess the management and PFF should work on securing information so it won't leak out. Hopefully, next time, they'll be able to handle it better.
Good luck on the new coach and to Coach Simon as well. In the near future, I hope he'll still be involve with the team or Phil. football. He is after all, instrumental in the team's success. Good luck also to the Azkals in their future games!
before there ain't much news about footbal and we fans complained, now there's tons of news daily and we still complains. good times.
ReplyDeleteGO AZKALS
Hi Andrew. Thanks for the comment and this will allow things to be clear. I learned of the "change" Saturday morning. But I found out from two people one who heard it from the PFF. The second told me that there was a picture of Dan and the new coach already in some local football site. Now it isn't my habit to go to other sites since I am busy but I have since been informed that the person in the photo is indeed German but not the coach.
ReplyDeleteAnd for your info, I was the team media officer for the Suzuki Cup. The Germans were no secret. People within the team and the PFF knew about it since November. Was there a possibility of a change? Of course? That too is known. Why? Because Simon did not have the required license.
I had not spoken to Dan since Dec 30 when I rode with him and lunch with him at the Crowne Plaza. We discussed only the FIFA and AFC hearings and possible football pitches. When the New Year came, I emailed him twice and texted him several times more but got no response. He did tell me though that if he didn't reply that was because he was busy. I am not the only one not getting a response, media and even others.
In the afternoon of Saturday, I heard about the change again. So this time I tweeted it. When I was interviewed on the air over DZSR, I didn't even mention who (but I figured out who it was because I have written about it before). I wasn't even the first to write about the trip to Germany. I was the second. If you a have been following what has been written, I only had one name not of the other two. The other writers had those names and wrote about them. Those are a matter of record. I didn't even know the names of the Fil-germans he was meeting (except Mark Drinkuth) until it came out in the media.
Now around 549pm Phil time Saturday, Simon chatted with me and asked me what was going on. I said I don't know but looks like something's afoot. I asked do you know to which he replied he didn't. Then I said looks like there's change but let's wait coz I heard that Dan is going on TV at 6pm to mention it. So he was waiting and I told him.
At that point he was also checking online. Now why were we chatting coz me and Simon always talk. Since before Vietnam and all the way through the new year. I have been documenting his thoughts etc for a short docu we are doing on the team.
Did I know he was not informed? Nope. Not until we were chatting right at that moment. But it was already out.
obviously, it is a messy affair. But you know that isn't the only other thing that is. There are others that are just as messy and even more but have not been made public simply because they are internal issues. Do I know what's going on? A bit but not all.
Scoops are scoops but you only write it if you have it and with permission do to it. If I do not have permission to do it then I won't. It's that simple. When the NT made its statement about the PFF leadership coming home from Vietnam, people were asking for it but we did not release it until they made the statement. I was guarding that statement well and only distributed it during the press con. So I know a thing or two about what can be said and what cannot be said.
I have really not written anything since Thursday because I had nothing and I just wanted to spend the days doing something else. Did others know about the final decision before me. Most certainly.
I can ramble on about misinformation and improper channels on other stuff outside Simon's but that is not for public consumption. The Simon-German issue is not the only matter that is leaking where it should not. That should be addressed by the PFF. Things have been crazy since the change of administration. Too much happening in so little a time that the PFF has not been able to consolidate.
Thanks! And whew. This is a mess indeed. But it will be fixed because no one here (included Simon who will not burn bridges) is doing anything maliciously.
Andrew, thanks for your reply. My saying "It's official" means other things too. I can also mean "i guess they finally pulled the trigger." Which is what I meant. There's only so much you can say on twitter. Agreed it can be misinterpreted. However, look at it this way --- i did not post anything nor did I submit something to my newspaper. If I had something solid, there would be an article now in Business Mirror. We have a Sunday edition after all. Why? Because I had nothing yet. I only had what I wrote previously. I had not spoken to Dan. What I do know is others knew about it before me. In fact, other media were preparing their stories or a press statement. So they knew before I did. if they knew then who else? Ask yourself that.
ReplyDeleteThe matter about the coach isn't the only thing that is going around that shouldn't. In fact, I know something about another related incident that will cause people to really get pissed once they find out what happened. But I have not written about it because I do not hold the proof of it. How good? It's solid because it comes from the most credible source of them all. That person asked me to withhold it and so I did. Do other people know? Yes they do. has it gone around yes it has. Fortunately, it has not made its rounds elsewhere. But people who shouldn't know about it know about it. So where did that come from?
I have been fiercely protective of this team. You don't even know a fraction of what is going on. I was even surprised to hear from someone (media) that the boys decided to remove him. Now whether that is true or not, I did not write about it.
Andrew, I'd appreciate it first that you bring the matter up to me before slandering me all over twitter about it. But nothing I can do about that now.
Anyways, I'm not bothered by this because I know I did nothing. Not being the current media officer has nothing to do with that.
I just spoke with Dan over the phone. We talked about what happened yesterday and how things got out of hand. I apologized to him if I contributed to the mess. Dan said the reason he didn't come out yet was there were other things that needed to be discussed. And of course that was right. But even as he arrived, there was news already. That isn't any consolation. This is a learning experience I guess for all involved. Myself included. Things will be sorted out as in everything pertaining to football within the next few weeks. A mess was inherited but everything points to something good. I for one cannot wait.
ReplyDelete