Club supremos give thumbs up to brainstormers

SO THERE you have it. The GFA now know where they are going and football's new authorities - the limited company's board of directors - have pinpointed the man they want to steer them into calmer waters and to a future they might have expected had Dave Dorey been able to stay around for a few years.

Dave Nussbaumer has had a torrid few months filling in as both acting chairman of the GFA LBG and acting president of the association.

Only last week it appeared he could not wait to stand down and get back to concentrating on his other great loves, promoting island cricket and the club which he was born into, Cobo.

So why the sudden turnaround and will the proposed new board be able to paddle powerfully enough against the onrushing ride to take the sport forward again?

The about-turn came late on Tuesday evening when Nussbaumer and his fellow board members met and chose to bury the hatchet over the Dorey affair.

After sleeping on a request from his fellow members to stay on and stand for the job in its own right, not simply as a stand-in, Nussbaumer did what I believe he wanted to do all along, and stayed put.

The man is nothing but a strong leader and with the right men behind him he can be a highly-effective one.

He will not shirk from tough decisions, has the broadest of shoulders and has the sense to realise that he needs good men around him to advise on the local footballing minefield.

Take a close look at the proposed new executive and they seem to have most of the bases covered.

Graham Skuse will add a wealth of experience to the board and given that he hardly misses a senior game and knows what it takes to administer efficiently at both club and association level.

Steve Dewsnip is a stranger to me but the president elect has much faith in him.

But, perhaps the wisest decision of all by the new-look board is to involve the key men at the game's pit-face - the senior club presidents and secretaries - by way of regular brainstorming meetings to discuss issue which will take the game forward.

The importance of such get -togethers is not lost on Tony Blondel, president of the Vale Rec and a former vice-president of the GFA.

'The clubs have to have an input,' he said.

'This way the input will be greater from the clubs than there has been over the last two years.

'It's going to be different but let's go for it.'

Blondel said he was pleased Nussbaumer was staying on and it would give the GFA some stability.

Sylvans president Peter Roberts is pleased with the idea of the clubs getting more involved.

'It seems quite a reasonable idea to me.

'It makes sense to involve the member clubs more than in the past. If it's a sign of getting the clubs working together it is no bad thing.'

Henry Davey was deliughted to hear of Skuse's proposed new role.

As for the prospect of him havin to attend additional meetings the St Martin's president was not concerned, as long as they were for the overall good of the game.

He cited as recent meeting of the clubs to discuss the GFA LBG's memorandums and articles as 'the best football meeting I've been to for years'.

'I would be quite prepared to go along to thnose sort of meetings.'

Davey said it was crucial that the board listen to the clubs.

'At the end of the day the clubs are the power of the GFA,' he said.

'They are the bread and butter of the association.'