Who should lead the national team?

It looks like certain parties have started their 'campaign' of installing a new national coach.

Current custodian K.Rajagobal has been under fire no thanks to the unimpressive results chalked during a string of friendly matches prior the AFF Cup and the failure to retain the AFF Cup after losing 3-1 in aggregate to Thailand in the semi finals of the regional tournament.

To be fair, Rajagobal has always maintained that his goal has always been to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Remember it is he who guided the team to win the 2010 edition.

But what have we achieved since?

As our neighbours Thailand and Singapore speak about their teams playing in the two-legged AFF Cup finals, Ong Kim Swee - Harimau Malaya's coach - hogs the limelight in the local dailies as some suggest he should take over Rajagobal's role.

There are also polls on social media if Rajagobal should stay of leave (pic right).

Amri Yahyah claims Kim Swee is suitable for the job as seen here. Even Serbegth 'Shebby' Singh echoed similar sentiments as seen here.

One newspaper quoted Kim Swee as saying he is ready for the job with the blessings of the FA of Malaysia as seen here.

Even former Malay Mail work mate Rizal Hashim touched on this as seen on his blog.

But not everyone is a fan of the young Kim Swee - and apparently T-Team coach Peter Butler is one of them - based on his tweets (pic left).

And to that tweet, former Sabah star Australian Scott Ollerenshaw had this to say;


Mr Butler , what happened to the coaches manual , thou shall not speak negatively about fellows peers(coaches) in media or online

That aside, apparently there is an unwarranted 'tensed' relationship between Rajagobal and Kim Swee. While both maintain they have no beef with each other, certain statements seem to prove otherwise. 

So should Rajagobal be given another year to prove himself? If Rajagobal is given the boot, will the new coach have enough time to build the team ahead of the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers?

How have we progressed from winning the 2010 AFF Cup to today? Who is monitoring the coach and team's progress?

What are our plans for 2013 and beyond? What is the benchmark?

More importantly, what are we doing at the grassroots to ensure there is some form of continuity between the schools and elite levels?

So who decides and who draws the line?

p/s: FA of Malaysia assistant general-secretary Kelly Sathiaraj has decided "not to renew his contract" that expires end of this month as he has taken up a job offer with the Thailand FA which starts next month. All the best Kelly!

HD says: Hmm...

Comments

  1. "To be fair, Rajagobal has always maintained that his goal has always been to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia."

    And to be fair, after the humiliating defeat of 0-3 to Singapore, Rajagopal said he is optimistic that Malaysia will meet Singapore in the AFF 2012 final.

    "That aside, apparently there is an unwarranted 'tensed' relationship between Rajagobal and Kim Swee. While both maintain they have no beef with each other, certain statements seem to prove otherwise."

    I got the vibes that Rajagopal felt he is above Ong Kim Swee. In fact, Rajagopal felt he is the best coach in Malaysia.

    p/s HD baru sahaja tulis tentang pesanan TMJ supaya pemain-pemain memberikan yang terbaik dan bukan sekadar melancong. Asas sama patut ditujukan kepada Rajagopal. Maklum sahaja, gaji dan elaunnya mengalahkan kebanyakan CEO. Malah dengar khabar Itidak dapat disahkan), pendapatannya tidak dicukai.

    Kamarul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Johor TMJ squad apparently yet to prove their mattle.

      Delete
  2. FAM is not a place for Professional. They need to have football politicians to survive in FAM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is sooo true Anon 2:18AM.

      Pak Nik

      Delete
  3. We should compare the team's preparation for 2010 tournament and the preparations for this year's tournament. What were the differences in the approach? In the same vein do our coaches have the data on the fitness level of our players? The national team coach does not have the luxury to focus on fitness development.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Maybe OKS is not gd enough for Harimau Malaya, but for sure RG must be replaced.

    Kemahkemim..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also agreed. Maybe we should let OKS continue with his Harimau Muda.

      Delete
    2. HD, let be realistic about this and take out our rose-tinted glass. Do we really think that we can qualify to Asian Cup Australia based on the current grouping. No way man! So, why stick with Raja when we definitely know that with current group of Harimau Malaya's players, we would at best hope to steal 1 point off from Yemen (at home) and there's no way we can get any points from other games (i.e. Qatar and Bahrain).

      So, the issue is,why are we in this predicament? The answer is because Harimau Malaya is lowly ranked and are placed in the low seeded pot and hence will definitely be grouped with tougher opponents. This is the result of Rajagopal's attitude of "Ranking itu tidak penting".

      I think, FAM might as well send Harimau Muda team for exposures and Rajagopal really need to go and he has been shfting the goal post so many times. If you remember my comments in your previous posting, I'm willing to give benefit of the doubt to Rajagopal only until AFF Cup...

      Pak Nik

      Delete
  5. Why just blame the coach every time the team losses?
    Football is a team sport. The whole team should be penalized if such measures is to be metered out.
    Or else go back to the grassroots and start there. Something FAM lacks of.

    ReplyDelete
  6. To HD. How is grassroot development relevant to whether we retain or boot Rajagobal? Whomever the coach is, he will still face the same issue at grassroot level.

    In fact, all your questions should be answered in part, or in whole, by FAM. They should have their own KPIs and these will also be applicable top down including coaches.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Can we just move on to a new coach? History is history, that's for RG to keep. We want consistency & results. RG has not delivered for 2 years. Sentiments won't help our cause. It certainly didn't help RG either, with his selection of favourite players. When it's time to go then it's time to go.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Who said Thailand is the best team? Singapore 3 Thailand 1 proves they are the best, or at least they talk less and did the job. Its proven Rajagobal got whacked 3-0 by Singapore is no fluke, but rather exposed how incapable Raja now.

    See how Singapore play as a unit. Compact and control in midfield with smart passing and posession. Malaysia, Safiq and Amar are these midfielders or bus passengers?

    Gobal, hit and hope, hit and run, kick then only look...blame paddy field, blame ref, blame injury...blame everything but himself.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We change the coaches until the cows come home.....but rest assured we will not achieve anything notable.Instead of listening to coffee shop on the ails that plague our sad state of affairs; get the experts to design and carry out development programs. We have had the same people doing the same things for a long time but anticipating different outcomes! Commentators stick to what you know best...comment but dont conclude....don't think you guys are knowledgeable enough to conclude...esp Shebby!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Anon 7:32 AM

    Since managing national team involved public funds, I believe rakyat have the rights to comments.

    Pak Nik

    ReplyDelete

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