An issue I think we've long suffered with when talking about TE is our lack of a structure governing how we get stuff done or change things as a community or group. We have a selection document, but that pretty much only deals with how we pick our captain and our team. Everything else around how we do things is pretty loose and un-governed.
While our move to TFF has generated some new faces taking an interest and some healthy discussion, it has also been a funny time where a number of us have deliberately sat on our hands so as to not dominate new discussion. We've also currently got a captain who isn't the most prolific internet poster in the world (I'm sure Dave would agree that's fair). In short, we have a bit of a vacuum. We've noted in a few of these threads that a number of ideas have been thrown out, but then conversation has collapsed as it is unclear what is next. In one instance, Mark has pushed through this and run with an idea that, when I read the thread, seemed to have only a relatively moderate amount of support (the exact ‘winning’ idea, more than the loose concept). This isn't in any way a poke at Mark; he's simply doing his best to drive what he thinks (and I mainly think too!) is a good idea, and why not do it this way, considering our lack of a structure? Indeed, Geoff took it upon himself to close the TE forum and begin outreach here without any sort of a conversation. Again, not a poke at Geoff (I believe his intentions were noble and again, I agree with where we've ended up), just an example of the lack of structure we have where this is OK.
So, what to do about that? On the one hand, no-one wants to be weighed down by numerous, onerous votes. On the other, the way stuff is beginning to happen doesn't feel super democratic to me; rather ideas are being driven by force of personality and passion. Looking forwards (so not to reverse our move or Mark's initiative), I propose that we as Team England have a period where any of us can try to change things or introduce new ideas. In a World Cup year, any English TFF member can table an idea for change. If (s)he gets 4 other coaches agreeing, we move to a fortnight of debate and a vote. Two thirds majority enacts change. I know not everyone likes that mark, but close, 52 / 48 sort of affairs tend to only leave a bad taste in the mouth and a few more years of argument! Vote topics can only be raised once per window, meaning we aren't just voting on something until we can brute force it through (an accusation leveled at our last home). In the event of an emergency, a captain can table something out of window.
The specifics of the idea are, of course, up for debate. But I think some form of structure is highly desirable. Again - just to be super clear with smileys and everything - I am not poking at anyone here, I just think it's a good idea that we've been faffing around with for a number of years. The last couple of months just bring it into sharper focus. I'm pretty impressed with the level of chat in this sub forum so far, and I'm 100 % convinced everyone is acting with the very best of intentions.
Now - smileys as promised.
