Dear Sirs,
It was with great regret that we heard of the sacking of Neil Warnock as manager of Crystal Palace FC, our local team. Of course, seasoned observers of our national game will not see this as an unusual state or affairs – and not one that reflects particularly badly on either Mr Warnock or Crystal Palace FC. More than in any other walk of life, the career of a football manager will always, sooner or later, end in failure – and on the few occasions where it doesn’t, in all likelihood it will end in betrayal as the successful manager walks away to a more lucrative contract elsewhere.
This merry-go-round has gone on for so many years it is accepted as part and parcel of the game – but does it have to be? It strikes us that the problem maybe intrinsic to the role of manager itself. Over the years, many clubs seem to have come to the same conclusion and sought to ameliorate the problem by appointing additional roles such as Directors of Football and the like – but this merely adds to the clash of egos that is inevitable when power and decision making are left in the hands of too few people.
When news of Mr Warnock’s sacking emerged the South Norwood Tourist Board gave considerable thought to the problem, taking consideration of the many developments in the fields of football, science, sociology and politics. It is clear that the role of football manager as developed in the 19th Century is no longer fit for purpose in the 21st Century, where people expect to be participants in their entertainment rather than mere spectators. Football has the potential to be the ultimate reality experience yet is seen by many as becoming ever more divorced from reality. Let us grasp both these problems by the horns and with the benefit of new technology create a truly immersive experience for the 21st Century football fan!
As James Surowiecki pointed out in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few, it is collective rather than individual wisdom that shapes the development of economies, societies and nations. On that basis the collective wisdom of the people of South London should be more than adequate to develop a strategy that would secure The Eagles’ long term survival in the Premier League. That is why we are proposing a smartphone app be made available to every Crystal Palace season ticket holder, enabling them to make decisions in real time on matters such as formation, tactics and substitutions. From the noise of many thousands will come the coherent tactics to save the day!
Just think of it; the collective consciousness of the Holmesdale End being passed via a terminal in the dugout, directly to the players on the pitch! Football becomes once more the game of the people! We can see from the massive participation in Fantasy Football games that everyone thinks they can manage a football club – now everyone gets the chance to! We firmly believe that the collective wisdom of the people of South Norwood is more than a match for José Mourinho, Louis Van Gaal and Arsène Wenger! So we expect that over time this system will see Palace rise to join the elite of the Premier League and ultimately the elite in world football. When that happens there will be no poaching of the manager – because the fans are the club – and they have red and blue running through them like a stick of South Norwood rock. If for some reason it does not work out so well, then there will be no calls to sack the manager because there isn’t one. Instead we all have to collectively take it on the chin and vow to come back smarter, sharper and more technically astute in the new season.
Other benefits of the system mean that the management of the football club truly reflects the full diversity of the fans. It also means that the problem of players agents trying to have undue influence over football managers would become a thing of the past – but there again, if they were that determined that they tried to bung the several thousand people necessary to sway the hive mind then it would be of immense benefit to the local economy.
As keen supporters of our local football team, the South Norwood Tourist Board are happy to gift you this idea – although we would retain onward syndication rights for other teams as we anticipate considerable demand once they see how successful it is.
Good luck with all your endeavours. Onward and upward!
Yours Sincerely,
The South Norwood Tourist Board
South Norwood Tourist Board 