Hudson: Umm, listen I’m not going to answer that. Because it’s irrelevant. Listen, alignment is… What I’m going to say, and this is the last time I’m going to say this, and the last time I’m going to talk about this. We have done this because of alignment. Now alignment is a lot of things. It’s not just style of play. But I’m just saying it’s alignment. We need the right characters in… listen I’m not going to go on, I’ve just shared with you why we’ve made the change.
Yeah - that was pretty much Hudson's weakest moment. Talk about grasping at straws.
Imagine if the conversation between Hudson and Figueira went "Hey Jose, I'm sorry but we have done this because of alignment. Now alignment is a lot of things. It’s not just style of play. But I’m just saying it’s alignment. We need the right characters in"
I thought Hudson's strongest part of the interview was that, in his opinion, he thought Hay / Zorocich were stronger coaches. Direct and to the point on a reason why you might make a coaching change. Whether his opinion is reasonable or not, I would not know.
Even then he only revealed that by accident, after Gourdie kept pressing him. He originally was saying he wasn't going to answer that (his favourite phrase)
Yeah - so right Tegal.
IMHO, the point he was dancing around and voiding was the most cogent and probably pushed Hudson's case the strongest.
I'm no PR guy but if NZF had a do-over, would it not have been better to be straight at the start and say "part of what NZF are doing as part of [insert-latest-strategy-buzz-here] is to bring in ex-pro's, ex-NZ internationals into National team positions with the intention of giving them the opportunity to quickly progress in the National coaching ranks. We beleive its really important. Hay and Zoro tick all the boxes. We have done it at this point with the U17's because this gives us the greatest amount of time to develop Hay and Zorocich under the philosophy/ doctrine/ doublespeak that we have here at NZF and to prepare them in FIFA tournaments for when Hudson inevitably moves on after this WC cycle. Nothing diminishes Figuiera/Temple's acheivements but this is a case of preparing Hay/Zorocich for the future".
Or words to that affect.
Personally, I don't agree with the above but if it is what you are aiming to do then bloody well say it straight.
They probably thought (the usual) "there will be a few crack pots but no real noise that can't be managed". To be fair they were nearly right but their approach wasn't improving the poor reputation of NZF governance. I have to thank Gourdie for his efforts here.
I'm not looking to defend my do-over statement above but rather advocate that I believe a different, clearer and more honest approach by NZF would have better advanced their cause. Sure, possibly more air time in the media initially, but more transparency to the concerned public as well.
