Saturday, February 13, 2010

Well done MHF, this is the start. Sustaining the crowd is a question how MHF manages the performance of its national teams.

Friday 12th.February, was the grand finale of the 3 months of the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL). The publicity and the marketing of the event portraying a carnival spirit with young kids displaying their skills, the Royal Malaysian Navy(RMN) with its band putting together a mini tattoo show and the of course the lucky draw with prizes from motorcycles to airtickets became the peripheral attraction.. Combine this with the final between TNB and Sapura, while for 3rd and 4th was between Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Maybank, which brought a sizeable crowd of close to 5000 at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium. This is notwithstanding the fact that the games were telecast live.

It has been some time since such a large crowd had been present in Malaysian hockey and all credit must go to the person or persons in MHF who were behind organising it. The precise timing of the event ( barring the delay in the floodlights coming to full illumination after half time) plus the fanfare that came including the prize presentation is something new in MHF. There is obviously a new colourful thinking moving from certain mundane ways. More important is that there are some who are prepared to "stick their necks" out to make things happen.

There was a lot of criticism before the final particularly on the resources utilised to take the MHL to different towns and also on the attendance at matches particularly in Kuala Lumpur. The Friday night out to the hockey stadium by the crowd is a manifestation of people putting their minds and honestly addressing the issues, thereby creating scenarios that appeal to the crowd to come to the game. What was interesting was TNB had their sizeable supporters and they were vocal enough. Maybank too had their small crowd and there was a pocketful of Sapura's admirers.

In essence many who were there beyond the core supporters, were people who were attracted for some reason to be at the stadium. This is the result of effective marketing where publicity is a fundamental ingredient. When we are not a force in international hockey at any level, attendance is the yardstick of measurement of the popularity of the game. Friday night showed there is still the crowd for hockey and the key matter is how MHF is going to capitalise on it.

The sure way is to perform well in the international front. This is where basic issues of having the right people in the right positions does not only apply to officials but also to players. Hockey cannot afford another round of allegations of match fixing, betting or "Ah Long" businesses in the national squads or being a "bad" influence to younger players or partying late nights and coming to training with alcohol on their breaths. If this continues and MHF turns a blind eye to all these or remains lenient in taking disciplinary action then Malaysian hockey would go back to the "Dark Ages". The matter gets even more muddled as various officials start their canvassing for players particularly those who have been regarded as "bad apples". Indeed there were rumours spreading in the field how a team manager had sent sms messages soliciting for a particular player to be included in the future national team. The timing of course seems very coincidental as the new coaches were announced for the senior team.

Until and unless MHF officially settles the issues relating to the various allegations, it is unfair to Malaysian hockey and its supporters to be burdened in their mind with continuous suspicion. It is not only for the players involved in such allegations but also the other players, the fans and the future generation. This is something MHF has to understand and they should not take it that Malaysians have "short memories" and time would self resolve the issues.

If MHF wants the terraces in the hockey stadium to be filled it has a responsibility to the fans to ensure that they have the right players who are prepared to make the sacrifices to bring glory to Malaysian hockey in the world arena. MHF must understand that the players cannot sacrifice Malaysian hockey for their own selfish gains. This has to be seen from training, to free time to the game itself. Any "bad apples" in the team must be decisively and quickly ostracized from the onset such that professionalism prevails. This is a culture that needs to be inculcated to the team.

So the "ball" is back on MHF's feet and the crowd for hockey will be a reflection of how the national teams perform in the future and how MHF manages them. So MHf please do not let the Malaysian hockey fans down.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done MHF and the working committee.It was hard work ,marketing strategies and persistence that brought the 5000 crowd to TRH stadium esp preChinese New Year


Quoting your blog:

.TNB -sizeable supporters and they were vocal enough.
.Maybank -their small crowd &
.pocketful of Sapura's admirers


Questions we could ask ourselves:
.Did TNB have good organization support fom top to bottom level -piaggam pekerja etc

.TNB Supporters know their fellow workers not as celebrities with big headed ego at work or on field but as coworkers who hold the name of the Organization close to their heart

.The mixture of young blood could have brought in the younger crowd and their families and relatives


Everything needs to run on money and MHF has done a good job.

Clients will only see and buy the product if it is worth their money and time.

You mentioned:
"a pocketful of Sapura's admirers .At least there was one supporter who had faith in the leadership of the team and bravely held a placard saying - Kuhan you are an evergreen...
It speaks volumes of the player as a Captain for that one admirer to daringly show his support and stand in the crowd. If he is working in Sapura, I think he should be commended and he could lead the Sapura supporters on the stand in the next MHL.

Anonymous said...

Happy Year of the Tiger, Malaysians

Well, the MHF have done it, even though The Pressmen have not fully given their all for The League for their own personnal reasons.We hope that their respective management will take remedial actions to better coverage of the MHF proceedings in future. Maybe new brooms will sweep clean and stop all their vested interest.

MHF have now got an efficient and honest Administration going and we pray that there won"t be any moles within the MHF to throw the spanners into the works.
We can be assured that there are undesirable elements within the organisation having connections that claim that they are proxy for the Mighty and they are so naive to swallow it hook,line and sinker that they will do his bidding.

TM must now eradicate all these moles and form the next Ex-Co with decent personalities to build on this momentum. Prevention is better then cure.

Well done, MHF.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations MHF

Well Done:

TM

AZMI

HASHIM

MIKE

MHF Secretariat: Krishnan & Co

For giving the fans and the sponsors their rightful entitlements.

There will be askeholes, just do it.

Appreciative Malaysians

darthvadai said...

Its never an easy task doing what they in MHL is doing. not many months ago I walked along similar lines trying to do the same. Its never an easy mountain to climb, getting teams, publicity, press releases its a thankless job to the finish line. As I sat in the usual corner watching some of the matches I notice two things

1. People trying to work and make something happen
2. People trying to find fault with every single attempt

Congratulations are in order to the team that ran MHL. They dare to break out of the mold and try new things, new directions in the face of challenges and criticism and the possibility of mistakes that may happen.Its a huge.. HUGE step form the same old dour year to year league.

Public perception of the sport, of the league are not going to change in one season, but it lifted it up a notch. The national team being where they are aint gonna be helpful. Every sport popularity depends on the success of the national team. We do not have to look any futher then national soccer team is a prime example, what they U23 team did galvanized the sport over the short term. Suddenly everyone is talking about it.

When is the last time we saw hockey... local hockey on Astro. When was the last time you saw hockey in your home town (if you are outside of KL) ? Along side this "out of kl" roadshow there was a lot of side line activities for development. Yes, TNB was a catalyst to this.

For the teams, as I read the morning paper there were accolades and brickbats but a few comments stood out. Tenaga coach Manjit Singh attributed their success to the way “we take care of our players’ welfare”. A crucial statement that is sorely lacking in hockey these days. Teams like Maybank, Tenaga and others likes them part of the CSR and love for the game have continues year in and year out to build on this. Other corporate organization , like Pos Malaysia, PKNS, Petronas and other large organization must be encouraged along the same lines.

State affiliates have also contributed to the decline ofthe National League. The failure to have a simple league. May be the MHF should look at arm twisting, encouraging, demanding what ever the lingo maybe for state to have a league. Of course money is always the issue, but it does not mean we stop playing, the affiliates do not realize the domino effect they are apart of that has lead to the decline of the hockey in this country.

While there are complaints and cries and all what not I have yet to see a state come up to the plate and say, HELP US. All it takes is for each state to run a league, complete one, then move on to the next and the next over the long term over a synchronized calendar both locally and nationals you have success knocking on your door. Soon these teams will graduate to the bigger playing platform.

When people do not play, when there is no playing opportunity we will fail and trust me we are not far from that.

To the MHL Team, this is you moment in the sun, bask in its glory, but please have a book called lesson learned so you can write in them and move forward.

Well done

Anonymous said...

Mr G,

What is to follow as comments please do not post it as I think it may hurt peoples feelings:You could probably speak to the person directly and take these as positive points that he could pick . I believe in competing in fairness whether we are white red or blue . What matters is not only the physical attributes God has given each one of us but our Inner strength and principlesin life.

The comments are as follows if the next MHL is to be aired on AstroT PLEASE:

1. Ask Coaches to look Good on Tv_ have a hair cut/ shave beard/ put some sun block lotion just to get the fresh feel. JUST DO SOMETHING TO LOOK NICE

( I think coaches and Managers are important as viewers want to see the people who work behind the scene.They are responsible for the talents in the athletes)

2. Camera men must try and get the SIDE PROFILE or best profile of the coaches if there is some physical attributes we want to cover (I think you know what I mean )


3. Coaches and managers may/must stand near each other to show viewers the closeness as a team

4. Camera must be focussed in brightly lit area if possible. God has blessed us with different shades so we must get d best COLOUR and ANGLE for viewers


If the coaches want to compete fairly with the others , then they must make the necessary changes for their own good. Players will respect them if they portray a good example by the way they carry themselves.

God has blessed us with good features- we just make the best of what we have

Thanks Mr. G


Positive commentor

Anonymous said...

MHF Affiliates,

Remember these people that makes this year's League a resounding success and make us proud.

Please do not listen to nay-sayers at the chapati shop.

Just like when we went to Penang, our so called Hockey Know All Blogger have already sound the death knell for MHF initiatives and criticised the UNI-KL Team as kids to the atmospere of the stadium and the lack of spectators.

Why? Our Blogger does not critises the Penang HA (whose Secretary is from his clan and drunk whenever he attends MHF meetings) for not helping in the publicity of the League there for their own selfish reason and the blogger attacks the MHF for their initiatives for inplementing the new format. He did not write about the lack of support from the local HA. WHY?

Then we went to Melaka, and lo and behold, our MHF DP AZMI get all the State rumblings with the ramatazz of enormous proportion that have never been seen in MHF history.

And now the Finale! It is the icing on the cake with the TM,DP,Secretary and not the least the GM all doing their part and they came up with something we, Malaysians are proud of.

Special mention should be made to THE GM and his Team because without his effort and pleasant personality, we will not have enjoyed the glamour of life coverage and so many other sponsors.

So, please STATE HAs, there must be continuity in all organisation and when the time comes please do not go for the unknown but go for the proven then we will succeed.

Let the TM continue with HIS thrusted Subjects but there are asses in the MHF that have to be fumigated. We are sure that the TM by now will have a little inkling of whom we are talking about.

With good Administrators, the Teams will produced.

MHF, Malaysians salute YOU.

HOCKEY WATCHDOG

Anonymous said...

A simple note...

Well done MHF & to Mike, keep up the good job.

Mr.G, money will never buy success.

cheers

Anonymous said...

Specialy to MR. RIDSECT

TIGER YEAR DRINK TIGER BEER, EAT TIGER BISCUITS, USE TIGER BALM & WATCH TIGER SHOW BUT....
DON'T PLAY LIKE TIGER WOOD (ONE STICK PLAY MANY HOLES)...

Anonymous said...

Smelly Blogger,

Can you please make an apology to the MHF for your prejudiced ad buyous report about the MHF League eg: MHF Circus and others.

You claim to be a newsman giving information of quality to the public but you seem to be letting your personnal agenda takes over your role.

You are in cahoots with your clansmen and you do not give the real agenda of your people but you lashes out at your clansman in the MHF.

Is it sour grapes or is it that your side countrymen ie: MHF VP, Johor Coaching Chairman have promised you your self proclaim rightful place as GM, MHF. No body in the right presence of mind will take you seriously as you are bad news in character and smell.

Can you in your conscience if you have, applaud the appointment of the Chutiah as the Assistant National Team Manager. If you are a real Pressman you must go and get the reactions of players,officials and fans about this appointment and if you can get a resounding agreement then you can proudly announce it as you have done by the way you have put his full name in your block. Are you promised free anti-smell treatment?

Smelly, you have been a wet blanket for anything you are not involved in and that is why we are giving all your contributions in the Press and your Blog a miss. Any decent News Paper will not accept your contributions,period. And we hope that like-minded Hockey Fans will do the same.

Your group of Chutiahs are giving our Clan a bad name, so please do our Clan a favour just, fade away and the atmospere will be fresher and everyone will accept us better.

Amaz-Singh

Anonymous said...

Sometimes,

A bit of opposition is good.....

It keeps people moving on their feet :

To make changes
TO prove the opposition wrong
To keep on improving all the time
To accept challenges all the time


Call it making a paradigm shift in thinking- a reverse psychology- just name it anything we like....


The world would be boring and sleeping mode if we do not have the thirst to change and improve


well done MHF for bringing out the changes- BUT challenges will continue ......