SPIC and span? It's easy to be cynical.
Yep, it's time for another chapter in the ongoing
'Where the hell is the game headed' saga.

In late February the game's stakeholders held yet another pow-wow at SocAus HQ and yet again they agreed to disagree on a variety of topics, including the financial position of the governing body.
The stakeholders also considered documents submitted by the three main 'factions' in Oz soccer (the SocAus board, the Ericsson Cup clubs and the state federations), and for the umpteenth time a committee was formed to try and find sufficient common threads to create another patchwork plan to get us through the next twelve months.
This committee even has an impressive name - "Strategic Planning Implementation Committee" or SPIC, but a look through the names of the ten committeepersons suggests little progress could be made at their meetings. Why the pessimism? Take a closer look at a few of the committee...

Wallace Dann - Chairman of SPIC and current president of the Queensland Soccer Federation. For a more detailed profile can we suggest you get hold of 'The Farr Post' ??
George Negus - SocAus boardmember and the mediator of the 1995 National Soccer Summit is back for more and with all due respect to George it's time he put some runs on the board. While David Hill has led from the front, Negus - perhaps due to various philosophical differences - has preferred a back seat and the accusations of George being nothing more than a media liason officer and travel consulatant don't seem as petty as they did a year ago.
George Vasilopoulos - Current president of South Melbourne and definitely a member of the 'old guard'. Souths may be top of the table and looking good for their first title in seven years but crowds at the BJS are shocking considering the quality of football and the results. Don't worry about the rest of Melbourne, can they convince all the Greeks to watch 'em?
Tony Labbozzetta - Occasionally referred to as "The Godfather of Australian Soccer", even 'Big Tony' must see that the writing is on the wall for clubs such as Marconi. If the social club ever pulled the pin the Stallions would be in deep manure, and even with a recent grand final appearance beside their name, they - along with UTSO - must accept the tag of the great under-acheivers of the 90s, a decade where Labbozzetta has ruled the political landscape at Bossley Park. Remember, Manchester City ruled England once.
Peter Gray - Ah yes, Mr Teamsheet. Stalwart of the NSW scene but like a few of the club presidents he is one to come under the category of "Been there for years, look at the league now!" Hard to hold up NSW's Super League is a model to follow...
Sue Baker Finch - The honeymoon is over for Sue, and she is possibly a strange choice for this committee. Her best work is apparently done in the corridors of power, which means her task should be to implement the plan, not help devise it, does it not? Hard to see her being anything other than the token female in the group.
John Barker - President of Soccer Tasmania and independent chairman of the Players' Commission, which means at least ONE voice will be putting forward the views of a group which really matters. But come to think of it, where was he when the Sydney United players weren't getting paid for months?

Okay, so we may be a bit harsh on a couple of people there, but it certainly seems is if the SPIC committee is going to be a bit short on fresh ideas. In the meantime, the SPIC will get together every two or three weeks and continue to wade through the submissions already made. We can hardly contain ourselves...
One would hope that full attention is paid to the Oceania Football Confederation congress to be held in Brisbane on May 17. The issue of the World Club Championship will no doubt be raised, along with other issues, but with the Ericsson Cup grand final scheduled for the night before it wouldn't surprise us to see bugger all come out of it.