It is reliably learnt that Roelant Oltmans was in Kuala Lumpur on November 28 to hold discussions on his pending appointment as national coach.
Officials from both NSC and MHF are tightlipped over this after this blog had broke the story on the proposal to engage the services of the 55 year old former Holland and Pakistan coach.
Denying what could be the best news for Malaysian hockey this decade is not a wise thing and trying to keep secrets in MHF is funny as the tendency is not to trust their own shadows.
NSC Director General Dato Zolkples Embong also denied that he met Oltmans this morning.
Monday, November 30, 2009
FLIP FLOP
The terminology "flip flop" was often used to describe the previous administration of our country. And by the looks of things, the Malaysian Hockey Federation seems to be gaining the popular choice to take over the mantle.
In describing the constant change of decisions made by the MHF, it is appropriate to utilise this terminology as baffling, ridiculous and down right mind blowing seems to lose its edge as MHF has clearly carved a name for itself to be deserving of such an accolade.
In describing the constant change of decisions made by the MHF, it is appropriate to utilise this terminology as baffling, ridiculous and down right mind blowing seems to lose its edge as MHF has clearly carved a name for itself to be deserving of such an accolade.
First the MHF, or rather now it is being revealed that the Coaching Committee, allowed national coaches to take charge of teams in the MHL. A letter to that effect was issued by the Coaching Chairman to the MHF Secretariat.
Then we read that the issue was raised at the MHF AGM in Kuantan last Saturday and the decision was reversed. And tomorrow we could well see another reversal, flip flop, flip, flop.
Before we proceed further, a point to note - the Coaching Chairman I am told issued the letter without calling for a formal meeting of the Coaching Committee or its Standing Committee. So what made the Chairman issue such a letter and why did the MHF Secretariat not tell him to get the endorsement from his committee?
The reason I raise this is because HRH Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahad Shah, the President of MHF was put in a difficult situation when this matter, about coaches being released, was raised at the AGM by one of the affiliates.
Another question that has been left unanswered is who in the first place requested the Chairman of the Coaching Committee to issue such a letter? Was the Chairman coerced after being told that the NSC had given its permission to the coaches? If so then where is this letter by NSC.
Thirdly, was there any formal applications from the coaches themselves seeking permission to handle teams in the MHL? And who were these letters addressed to - the MHF or NSC, who are their paymasters.
The most important factor here is while the NSC are the paymasters, the MHF are policy makers and rightfully they should not have waited till a week before the MHL gets underway to make such a decision. MHF being run professionally these days - well I leave that to the readers to determine.
If the MHF Secretariat had done their work in accordance with the MHF Constitution, then such an issue will not have arisen in the very first place. And now the Coaching Committee is scheduled to meet on the issue on Tuesday.
And this is what their outcome will be - that the Assistant Coaches in the National set up will be allowed to be involved with clubs in the MHL while the Chief Coaches will sit it out. I will label this decision as unfair, unjust and undemocratic.
One of the Assistant coaches receives a far higher monthly allowance from the NSC compared to the Chief Coach of the Project 2013 team. So those three words aptly describe why I feel the decision is downright mind blowing.
Is trying to earn extra income wrong? Especially so when what you get paid is peanuts. So do the just and fair thing and evaluate the coaches on a case to case basis rather then a blanket ban on them from coaching clubs. After all this is the MHL and only the senior national coaches will be involved in trying to spot players (if any) for the national squad.
The age group coaches, rightfully, should never be allowed to coach state or club teams in the MHF tournaments, period.
Then we read that the issue was raised at the MHF AGM in Kuantan last Saturday and the decision was reversed. And tomorrow we could well see another reversal, flip flop, flip, flop.
Before we proceed further, a point to note - the Coaching Chairman I am told issued the letter without calling for a formal meeting of the Coaching Committee or its Standing Committee. So what made the Chairman issue such a letter and why did the MHF Secretariat not tell him to get the endorsement from his committee?
The reason I raise this is because HRH Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahad Shah, the President of MHF was put in a difficult situation when this matter, about coaches being released, was raised at the AGM by one of the affiliates.
Another question that has been left unanswered is who in the first place requested the Chairman of the Coaching Committee to issue such a letter? Was the Chairman coerced after being told that the NSC had given its permission to the coaches? If so then where is this letter by NSC.
Thirdly, was there any formal applications from the coaches themselves seeking permission to handle teams in the MHL? And who were these letters addressed to - the MHF or NSC, who are their paymasters.
The most important factor here is while the NSC are the paymasters, the MHF are policy makers and rightfully they should not have waited till a week before the MHL gets underway to make such a decision. MHF being run professionally these days - well I leave that to the readers to determine.
If the MHF Secretariat had done their work in accordance with the MHF Constitution, then such an issue will not have arisen in the very first place. And now the Coaching Committee is scheduled to meet on the issue on Tuesday.
And this is what their outcome will be - that the Assistant Coaches in the National set up will be allowed to be involved with clubs in the MHL while the Chief Coaches will sit it out. I will label this decision as unfair, unjust and undemocratic.
One of the Assistant coaches receives a far higher monthly allowance from the NSC compared to the Chief Coach of the Project 2013 team. So those three words aptly describe why I feel the decision is downright mind blowing.
Is trying to earn extra income wrong? Especially so when what you get paid is peanuts. So do the just and fair thing and evaluate the coaches on a case to case basis rather then a blanket ban on them from coaching clubs. After all this is the MHL and only the senior national coaches will be involved in trying to spot players (if any) for the national squad.
The age group coaches, rightfully, should never be allowed to coach state or club teams in the MHF tournaments, period.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
OLTMANS FOR MALAYSIA
The Malaysian Hockey Federation are in the midst of negotiations to secure the services for Roelant Oltmans as the new national team coach.
Though MHF are seeking to employ the 55 year old on a fulltime basis, there could be some snags as Oltmans is currently attached to Laren, a club that boasts the likes of Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar.
So an alternative arrangement could be worked out with Oltmans as a National Team Consultant while Tai Beng Hai retains his position as Head Coach of the national side.
It is learnt that a high powered meeting was held in Kuantan today, just before the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and Malaysian Hockey Federation meetings.
The meeting it is learnt was to discuss the appointment of the Dutch coach was attended by MHF President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and NSC Director General Dato Zolkples Embong and other MHF top brass.
It is further believed that the decision to consider Oltmans was taken after a series of email exchanges between MHF and the former Pakistan coach over the past few months.
If Oltmans is selected, he will be the fourth foreign coach to handle the national side, the first being Australian Terry Walsh followed by two Germans in the likes of Volkner Knapp and Paul Lissek.
Should MHF go ahead and endorse the appointment, Oltmans could well take charge of the team for the AHF Champions Trophy followed by Azlan Shah Cup, Commonwealth Games and the all important Asian Games that provides automatic entry to the 2012 London Olympics.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Though MHF are seeking to employ the 55 year old on a fulltime basis, there could be some snags as Oltmans is currently attached to Laren, a club that boasts the likes of Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar.
So an alternative arrangement could be worked out with Oltmans as a National Team Consultant while Tai Beng Hai retains his position as Head Coach of the national side.
It is learnt that a high powered meeting was held in Kuantan today, just before the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and Malaysian Hockey Federation meetings.
The meeting it is learnt was to discuss the appointment of the Dutch coach was attended by MHF President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and NSC Director General Dato Zolkples Embong and other MHF top brass.
It is further believed that the decision to consider Oltmans was taken after a series of email exchanges between MHF and the former Pakistan coach over the past few months.
If Oltmans is selected, he will be the fourth foreign coach to handle the national side, the first being Australian Terry Walsh followed by two Germans in the likes of Volkner Knapp and Paul Lissek.
Should MHF go ahead and endorse the appointment, Oltmans could well take charge of the team for the AHF Champions Trophy followed by Azlan Shah Cup, Commonwealth Games and the all important Asian Games that provides automatic entry to the 2012 London Olympics.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
MHL - THE CIRCUS
When I was young, I looked forward to seeing the clowns in action in the Great London Circus that used to pitch its tents in the various towns in the country. The beauty about the circus was that it comprised of many different acts and that kept the audience entertained.
On December 4, a new circus will hit the city, but not the whole of Malaysia will be able to witness it as only selected towns have been granted the honour by the main actors, the Malaysian Hockey Federation. Matches will be played in Johor Baru, Malacca and Penang as well as in Kuala Lumpur, as listed in the schedule in my earlier postings. Seremban was initially on the list but were removed after MHF finally realised that the pitch would draw flak from teams.
Perhaps Negri Sembilan HA could use the expertise of an official within MHF who has the ability to "negotiate" special prices for artificial pitches, and the SMS bear witness to his ability.
Why do I call it a circus? Well the teams will be expected to perform infront of audiences in these three towns though five of the teams are based in Klang Valley. And the rationale that it is being done to promote hockey is downright rubbish.
Promoting hockey can be done by having national training camps in the various towns instead of holding MHL matches that will not leave any lasting impressions. Imagine kids getting to watch their very own national players training and even picking up a skill or two should those in MHF be cunning enough to hold coaching clinics as well.
Ever wonder what a youngster would feel if the likes of S. Kumar, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin or Faisal Saari was to take charge of kids in smaller towns even for 30 minutes? The impaxct I dare say will be mind blowing to these kids.
Even playing in KL these teams have troube drawing the crowds and as I said before, the single act in a circus hardly draws much admiration, least of all fans akin to the Malaysia Cup final, no disrespect to Kelantan though.
Playing a match on the weekend prior to the schools re-opening is a big "no no", and those in MHF should have consulted their football counterparts before fixing such dates. It will be a logistical nightmare as teams will battle the jams on the highways to make the trip and back. And let's not forget that some players as well as officials may have family obligations.
Then we have the so called draw card by MHF - that the matches will be shown live over Astro CH816, the Astro Super Sport 2. This is where it gets more interesting.
Just how many Malaysians have Astro in their houses? And just how many have subscribed to the sports channels?
FAM has sold its rights for the MSL to RTM for a cool RM6 million per season and when Astro was thinking of the local sports channel, the asking price by FAM was RM2 million per season. But the MHF I believe has given the rights free of charge to Astro. Why is it that football can draw the money but hockey is not able to command any fee?
So rather then getting carried away by saying that hockey will be live on TV, lets work on the economics of it.
Paying the teams to play outstation costs money in terms of hotel and travelling besides the rental of venues and other expenditure. So if MHF has the money, just how much of it is spent on development?
Compelling states to organise Under 18 leagues without financial assistance is not development I dare say. If MHF can spend money on a circus, then why not on proper development? Or is there any development planned in the first place?
Many questions arise from MHL, more questions then answers. The MHL can be marketed but not the way some within MHF had wanted to do.
On October 9, a presentation was done at the MHF Management Committee, that a sum of RM7 million was required to hold the circus, RM3 million for telecasting the matches live on pay TV and another RM4 million to a company for organising as well as advertising and promotion of the MHL.
Luckily, or rather unlucky for some, the money never was made available, hence the circus will only appear in three towns. And the beauty of it is that development will continue to suffer.
MHF and AHF
Read about what these two have in common at www.jugjet.blogspot.com
I will in my second part of MHL Circus elaborate why MHF are what they are today,
I will in my second part of MHL Circus elaborate why MHF are what they are today,
Monday, November 23, 2009
MHL CIRCUS BEGINS
| Friday, 04.12.2009 - Charity Shield | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 1 | 8.30pm | STR | Sapura | vs | TNB |
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| Saturday, 05.12.2009 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 2 | 6.30pm | STR | UniKL-IBIL | vs | KL Hockey Club |
| 3 | 8.30pm | STR | NUR Insafi | vs | Maybank |
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| Friday, 18.12.2009 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 4 | 4.30pm | STR | Maybank | vs | UniKL-IBIL |
| 5 | 6.30pm | STR | KL Hockey Club | vs | TNB |
| 6 | 8.30pm | STR | NUR Insafi | vs | Sapura |
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| Saturday, 19.12.2009 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 7 | 4.30pm | STR | Maybank | vs | TNB |
| 8 | 6.30pm | STR | UniKL-IBIL | vs | NUR Insafi |
| 9 | 8.30pm | STR | KL Hockey Club | vs | Sapura |
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| Saturday, 02.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 10 | 4.30pm | USM | Sapura | vs | UniKL-IBIL |
| 11 | 6.30pm | USM | KL Hockey Club | vs | Maybank |
| 12 | 8.30pm | USM | TNB | vs | NUR Insafi |
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| Sunday, 03.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 13 | 4.30pm | USM | TNB | vs | UniKL-IBIL |
| 14 | 6.30pm | USM | Maybank | vs | Sapura |
| 15 | 8.30pm | USM | NUR Insafi | vs | KL Hockey Club |
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| Friday, 08.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 16 | 4.30pm | STR | KL Hockey Club | vs | NUR Insafi |
| 17 | 6.30pm | STR | UniKL-IBIL | vs | TNB |
| 18 | 8.30pm | STR | Sapura | vs | Maybank |
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| Saturday, 09.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 19 | 4.30pm | STR | Maybank | vs | KL Hockey Club |
| 20 | 6.30pm | STR | NUR Insafi | vs | TNB |
| 21 | 8.30pm | STR | UniKL-IBIL | vs | Sapura |
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| Friday, 15.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 22 | 4.30pm | Taman Daya | TNB | vs | Sapura |
| 23 | 6.30pm | Taman Daya | Maybank | vs | NUR Insafi |
| 24 | 8.30pm | Taman Daya | KL Hockey Club | vs | UniKL-IBIL |
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| Saturday, 16.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 25 | 4.30pm | Taman Daya | NUR Insafi | vs | UniKL-IBIL |
| 26 | 6.30pm | Taman Daya | Sapura | vs | KL Hockey Club |
| 27 | 8.30pm | Taman Daya | TNB | vs | Maybank |
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| Saturday, 23.01.2010 | |||||
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| MN | TIME | VENUE | TEAMS | ||
| 28 | 4.30pm | MBMB - Melaka | Sapura | vs | NUR Insafi |
| 29 | 6.30pm | MBMB - Melaka | UniKL-IBIL | vs | Maybank |
| 30 | 8.30pm | MBMB - Melaka | TNB | vs | KL Hockey Club |
MHL - MUSICAL CHAIRS
Update: Am told that MHF and NSC have agreed to allow Nor Saiful Zaini and K. Dharmaraj to coach TNB and KL Hockey Club respectively. Look forward to a battle of wits beteen these two when their teams square off against each other. The Malaysian Hockey League gets underway on December 4 and the musical chairs for coaches has been going on for quite sometime, no thanks to some decisions made by MHF at the eleventh hour and shifting the blame on the NSC.
It seems the likes of K. Dharmaraj, Nor Azlan Bakar, Nor Saiful Zaini and Lailin Abu Hassan are not allowed to coach any of the teams in the MHL as they are gainfully employed as coaches of the various teams in the national set-up. The decision was taken by the MHF and the NSC it seems were obliged to follow what MHF had decided.
On the other hand, the likes of Stephen van Huizen and K. Rajan are said to be out of favour by Sapura and TNB respectively for contrasting reasons. While Stephen is not able to commit fulltime to Sapura's cause, Rajan it is learnt has been a victim of a smear campaign led by some overzealous personalities and some within TNB. Hence it was deemed that Rajan be left out to safeguard the image of TNB, all due to some anonymous comments left on a blog of late.
So effectively Sapura, TNB and KL Hockey Club are now "coach less".
As to why MHF opted to prevent the coaches in the national set-up to earn some extra income by rendering their services to clubs is beyond comprehension. Stuart Pearce is the England Under 21 coach, but at the same time he managed Manchester City in 2007, dual roles were ok for England FA but not for MHF.
So it is now learnt that Rajan, discarded by TNB, may well be on his way to coach Sapura, and ironically the two teams square of against each other in the Charity Shield match on December 4. But there is also talk that Stephen could well play a part with BJSS coach S. Prakash appointed as chief coach of Sapura.
With Dharma out, R. Vivekananda is expected to chart the fortunes of KL Hockey Club, leaving TNB yet to decide on who is coaching them.
While all of this musical chairs goes on, UniKL has been going around preparing their team under I. Vikneswaran and assisted by K. Embaraj, ironically the assistant coach of Sapura last season.
It seems the likes of K. Dharmaraj, Nor Azlan Bakar, Nor Saiful Zaini and Lailin Abu Hassan are not allowed to coach any of the teams in the MHL as they are gainfully employed as coaches of the various teams in the national set-up. The decision was taken by the MHF and the NSC it seems were obliged to follow what MHF had decided.
On the other hand, the likes of Stephen van Huizen and K. Rajan are said to be out of favour by Sapura and TNB respectively for contrasting reasons. While Stephen is not able to commit fulltime to Sapura's cause, Rajan it is learnt has been a victim of a smear campaign led by some overzealous personalities and some within TNB. Hence it was deemed that Rajan be left out to safeguard the image of TNB, all due to some anonymous comments left on a blog of late.
So effectively Sapura, TNB and KL Hockey Club are now "coach less".
As to why MHF opted to prevent the coaches in the national set-up to earn some extra income by rendering their services to clubs is beyond comprehension. Stuart Pearce is the England Under 21 coach, but at the same time he managed Manchester City in 2007, dual roles were ok for England FA but not for MHF.
So it is now learnt that Rajan, discarded by TNB, may well be on his way to coach Sapura, and ironically the two teams square of against each other in the Charity Shield match on December 4. But there is also talk that Stephen could well play a part with BJSS coach S. Prakash appointed as chief coach of Sapura.
With Dharma out, R. Vivekananda is expected to chart the fortunes of KL Hockey Club, leaving TNB yet to decide on who is coaching them.
While all of this musical chairs goes on, UniKL has been going around preparing their team under I. Vikneswaran and assisted by K. Embaraj, ironically the assistant coach of Sapura last season.
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