Leadership sets the compass, not the score

WE live in a democratic society, we enjoy the right to be heard, to protest against perceived wrongdoing and to have a voice regarding issues that surround us. We enjoy the freedom of our rights.
However along with these rights comes the responsibility to accept decisions that are made for the greater good.
Two weeks ago Berwick Football Club forgot about the bigger picture and the greater good in regard to building its club culture. The club opted for a shortterm fix to a longterm issue.
It takes no intelligence or integrity to nail a football club when it is on the ropes. However for how long and how many times do Berwick and clubs like it need to find themselves in the same situation before the penny drops and they stop blaming other people?
I don’t know Leigh Taylor well and have never played under him, but the issue is not about him. It’s about a culture that perpetuates mediocrity and won’t accept that things have to change and will probably get worse before they get better.
Don’t blame the Berwick players. Even if they wanted to and tried to get rid of Taylor, they are like every other playing group in the competition and will try to get away with as much as they are allowed to.
Somebody has to call the shots, somebody has to have the final say and make the final decision and, when it comes to on field matters, that somebody has to be the coach. He will be unpopular and make decisions that players don’t like at times but bad luck, that’s his job. The cold, hard fact is that the club employed him to do a job and he should have been allowed to do it.
I have been in the situation of trying to change the culture of a football club (Somerville) and it is a difficult and unpopular job that takes years rather than weeks or months. Presidents and committees of clubs that need change first have to admit that they have an issue and second need to have the fortitude to stand strong in the face of unrest.
The fortunes of all football clubs fluctuate with time. However successful clubs are successful not by accident but because they have gone through the pain and developed a culture that understands that sometimes there are bigger issues than winning games.
What is done cannot be reversed. However let’s start to look past the next win or even the next premiership. Let’s start to look at the organisation being created and remember that it is not about the current position but rather the direction the club is taking.