Author: admin

6 September 2013 at 10:00

The new chairman of the FA, Gregg Dyke, made an impassioned speech this week, proclaiming that he had set a target for England to reach the Semi Finals of the European Championships in 2020, and to win the World Cup two years later.

He may as well have set a target for the leaders of the world to wipe out poverty, war and bigotry by 2019 while he was at it, because by then Mr Dyke will no longer be the chairman of the FA.

The cynic in me says that this was a former PR guy doing PR well. However, it is fair to say that had he not set any targets then his criticisms of the English game, and his announcement of the establishment of a Commission to tackle the crisis of the English national team, would have looked rather hollow.

The biggest problem Dyke identified was, ironically, the Premier League; ironic because Dyke was one of the key architects behind the ‘breakaway’ group of clubs twenty years ago.

There is no doubt that back then, the English Football League was in the doldrums. Hooliganism, decrepit stadia, falling crowds and a general despair had befallen our ‘beautiful game’.

The Premier League, with the considerable help of Sky TV, has created a new brand that is the country’s most successful export. Many stadia across the country have been modernised, a more family friendly environment has been encouraged, hooliganism is largely a thing of the past, and the ‘product’ has never been as popular.

Inevitably though these positives have brought some negatives too. Less than 40% of Premier League players are English; ticket prices continue to rise; foreign ownership of our top clubs is the norm; and players, alongside their agents, are earning salaries and bonuses that are increasingly being seen as obscene.

Dyke is right to point out that unless the English manager has a bigger and better pool of players to choose from, competing at the highest level then we will struggle to return to our position on the international stage as a major power. The bigger clubs need to invest in young English talent, and then play them in their first teams. It’s not rocket science – but it’s not going to happen.

Unfortunately for FA chairman Greg, media mogul Greg set in train a series of events that now make it impossible to return to the days when our football heroes came from the backstreets of Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Preston. Indeed, thankfully, fewer of those backstreets now exist anyway.

Dykes Premier League initiative had consequences. If Sky is to continue to shell out record, mind blowing riches to Premier League clubs, they want ‘their’ league to include the best players from across the globe – not from across the country.

Premier League Football managers now have 24/7 scrutiny of their actions; phone-in’s, Sky Sports news; social media and a host of other pressures mean that they need quick fixes, not potential talent. After only three games so far this season I have laughably heard fans from Man United and Everton suggesting their new Managers are not up to the job!

And does Dyke seriously think that club owners from the USA, the Middle East and the Far East give a stuff about our national team? They care about England as much as Arsene Wenger does I guess.

However, the FA, Dyke and England’s biggest problem is US, the fans.

England is a team supported by Londoners. They play all their home games in London and it is the London media that gets excited about England.

When I hear the news that Ross Barkley has been named in the England squad, my first thought is not ‘Great’, but rather ‘Shit, I hope he doesn’t get injured’.

I guarantee that 99.9% of club supporters in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire would prefer glory for their team rather than their country. That won’t change for sure – not in the North, and not by 2122 never mind 2020!

26 July 2013 at 10:00

In order to grow your business there is one key thing above all others that you need to do – sell. And yet in businesses across the country the term ‘sales’ appears to have become a word that ought to be avoided at all costs.

Instead we talk about growth, deals, winning customers, or – the classic – business development.

At recent Downtown events across the North of England I have posed the simple question ‘who employs sales staff?’ From aggregated audiences of over 300, only 3 hands went up.

I then asked who employs Business Development Managers – there was a much healthier response. But why? In the majority of cases the main priority for BDMs is to sell.

For some reason the UK has developed an aversion to sales people. We think of a salesman as someone who is trying to blag us, rip us off, and sell us something we don’t really need. Sales in this country are caricatured by a Del Boy or an Arthur Daily.

Few people admit to wanting a career in sales, preferring the fluffier Business Development or Marketing badges.

However, businesses only thrive if they are good at selling.

In reality there is an acceptance that selling is important. The most subscribed event during our recent Liverpool Business Week was the ‘sell more stuff’ session. Even so, we shy away from the term and as a result we are encouraging an army of marketers rather than a battalion of salesmen and women to infiltrate our businesses.

We need to re-establish sales as a positive skill. Indeed, good salespeople are few and far between. Selling is becoming a dying art in this country. It needs to be front and centre of the nations drive for economic growth.

I am pleading with you to make your next sales appointment a genuine sales appointment. Call it as it is, not as you fear the outside world may see it. Downtown is about to recruit a head of sales. Expect a call from them soon – and be nice!

19 July 2013 at 09:26

When I was a politician I was lobbied on a daily basis. Occasionally the lobbyist was a union official, a business leader or a private sector organisation. Now and again a developer or company would lobby me.

But, overwhelmingly, aggressive lobbying and campaigning was led by community groups; residents associations, voluntary sector groups and, indeed, individual citizens who had a view that they, rightly, demanded I heard.

Another word for ‘lobbying’ is democracy. We have a democratic right to approach our elected politicians and officials who govern us and discuss with them the issues that matter to us.

This past month that democratic right has been attacked because of the cack handed way in which our mainstream political parties are forced to operate. Labour has been accused of being ‘owned’ by the Trades Union movement. The Tories, and the Prime Minister, are in the dock because it is alleged that they have dropped proposals to act on the packaging of cigarettes because of the undue influence of Cameron’s advisor Lynton Crosby.

There is no question that unions and business attempt to influence government policy. That is no bad thing. Indeed, I would suggest that business leaders and many in the workforce do know better than parliamentarians when it comes to many of the issues politicians are meant to act upon.

It is therefore concerning that we are looking to rush through legislation that, on the face of it, protects democracy when, in fact, it may well undermine it.

Of course nobody should be able to ‘buy’ influence or use personal friendship for personal favours. More transparency of the lobbying that does take place would be welcome, as would an open and mature debate on the issue without the party political point scoring that we have witnessed this month.

But we must guard against throwing the baby out with the bath water. Legislation and rules around this area will have unforeseen consequences if we are not careful. Don’t let politicians draw up rules that look like they are protecting us from them, when in fact they are trying to protect themselves from us.