KohPhi
Brownlow Medallist
- Jul 24, 2015
- 23,531
- 95,324
- AFL Club
- Carlton
Welcome folks to the first "Coffee with Kohphi" for S.25. After being the SFA's preferred media vehicle (along with Talking KohPhi) in S.24, I thought I'd park this baby for this season and concentrate on going the 3peat but an invitation from current SFA Admin Cloud_ changed all that. After being the interviewer of choice for previous Admins Hate and The Filth Wizard (for newbies see below links)" it was only fitting I caught up with the current "boss".
https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/thre...-with-outgoing-admin-the-filth-wizard.1169569
https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/talking-kohphi-presents-a-chat-with-hate.1178283/
So there I was, sitting in the RBMWH (Royal Baghdad Male and their Women's Hospital) supporting Mrs KohPhi who was in labour.
I had TheCoach16 (who as we all know is a doctor) and LicoriceAllsorts (who works the hospital canteen) as my supports during this difficult and tiring time for me.
I then received a call from BLERN who was doing work experience at SFA Headquarters. "KohPhi.. it's BLERN, Cloud_ is ready for an interview"
I responded "mate... no can do, I'm at the hospital with Lica and Coach, there is no way I'm going to meet with Cloud_".
I then receive an email from Cloud_
Reluctantly, I was on my way.
I walked into SFA Headquarters and was met by BLERN
B - "Hey Koh..I knew you'd come"
At first I thought "shit...How does she know" then "Oh yeah.. no worries".
B - "Grab a seat", Cloud_ will see you soon.
I'm liking this place more and more...
C - "Hey KohPhi, great to meet you.. you look a bit shocked. Not what you expected?"
K - " No.. I thought you were Asian.. anyway, let's get down to business, I've got to head back to hospital to see the boys..
Ok.For the newbies here, tell us about your SFA journey? How were you/who introduced you to the SFA? What other forums on BigFooty do you visit?
I made my debut way back in Season 20 when a fine gentleman by the name of Millky95 recruited me to the Sin City Swamprats. Prior to which I almost exclusively spammed the Sydney board. I would say my SFA journey is undeniable proof that anyone can make it to the top in the Sweet FA as long as you work hard. Over the seasons I evolved from spammer rookie to club vice captain to stats guy to campaigner match poster to reasonably respected quality poster to board mod to admin. So yeah, it's been an eventful journey in my 98 game Qooty career to date. Hopefully there's still a bit more to come.
It's been well documented the events of S.24 left a bad taste in the mouths of many. Personally, I enjoyed the angst to an extent and along with a couple of my team mates contributed to aspects of it but can see how many were put off by events that occurred.
What were your thoughts/feelings about S.24? Where do you think things went from being 'SFA manufactured" to out of control?
I think overall it was a rather damaging season for the league all round. I can't really explain how it happened, probably a range of factors building up to it. If I were to put it down to one thing I would say it's some people taking antagonism and the manufacturing of controversy too far. You need some degree of antagonism and controversy to keep the league moving but everything needs to be in moderation. I believe there is a natural cycle to antagonism and cordiality. People will stir things up for a while then everyone gets tired so we have some downtime (for instance now) where most people are quite friendly with each other, then that gets a bit dull and people decide to fire up again. There needs to be a balance for the league to work, too much antagonism will drain people and too much cordiality will make the league predictable and boring.
Your predecessor Hate had a tough gig. I was involved in quite a few PM's with him relating to the boycott thread and the Grand Final 'HoweDanGood' fiasco which to be honest, had me on the verge of quitting the SFA, so I totally understand how he was totally over it.
How did this not scare you away from wanting to become the League Admin?
Initially I wasn't interested in the admin position. Hate asked me if I wanted to apply for the job and I said no. But upon reflection I guess you always want to leave a place in a better state than what you found it, it would've left me a very sour taste if the league continued on it's Season 24 trajectory knowing that I passed up the opportunity to do something about it.
Ok so enough of last season. How is S.25 going? What have you liked? Is there anything you haven't liked?
It's been fantastic, we've enjoyed a relatively drama free season, activity still seems to be up even at this stage of the season and rookie engagement looks to be strong, podcast recently returned with great success. It's really a credit to all the work put in by the captains, simmers, stats keepers, all senior players and rookies to make it as successful as it's been. There's a lot to like so far. I guess one negative is with greater activity, there's going to be more of a discrepancy in quantity of posts between teams as the season progresses and I don't enjoy inactivity banter which has seemingly become ingrained into the culture of the league. It doesn't add anything and I can personally say it's very off putting when trying to engage in a match thread.
Tell us about your time as Admin so far this season. Has the role played out to your expectations? What were your expectations?
Not at all to be honest, it's been a pleasant surprise. I thought I was going to be abused by all and sundry 24/7 but it's gone particularly smoothly and once again I've got to credit the wider league because it's a team effort. Hopefully award season is similar.
How would you describe your Leadership style?
I'd like to say that I'm very firm in sticking to my convictions but open-minded enough to take input from others. I prefer to judge on the merits of the argument when making a decision rather than defaulting to the popular position which I think is very important in leading the league. Sorry KohPhi, I'm getting hot, do you mind if I lose some clothing?
Ummm... sure. Ok..As we hit the halfway mark of the season, what do you think you have done well? What do you think with the benefit of hindsight you could have done better or differently?
I think I've done fairly well in introducing some changes that make it easier for simmers in the running of the league and created some initiatives that have gotten people up and about. I'm very happy with how Heritage Round played out and the tribunal so far seems to be refreshing.
I probably should've had a better understanding of the rules and read it properly and in hindsight the entire xenxen Roys to Swamprats move could've been handled better with a bit more consultation involved.
But ultimately I don't think the ramifications were that significant, everyone moves on fairly quickly.
My personal view is that in an environment such as a Fantasy Football forum, a leader's influence has a finite time attached to it because the nature of how we communicateì and what we can communicate is so limited. It's why I've made it clear to my LG that I will vacate the Captaincy after 2-3 seasons so that a 'freshness' in the message can be maintained with a different voice.
What is your opinion on this and how long do you think is a resonable amount of time to stay on in the Admin role?
The benefit of changing for the sake of change is questionable I'd say. The best person for the job should be admin as long as they are willing to do so. I'd have no issues with an admin going 10 seasons if they are the best available and willing to take on the role for that long.
I think any admin can go as long as they like but they need to go through a general election every three seasons to extend their tenure just to give others to opportunity to have a platform and generate discussion and fresh ideas. For instance, at the end of S27 if I'm still admin and I want to continue beyond that, I'd open up the application process and re-apply like anyone else and the committee votes in the best candidate for S28.
With a position of authority comes the ability to influence and create change. How difficult is it to make decisions that potentially may not be in the best interests of posters who you may have previously built a strong relationship with? Has there been an example of this that you could share?
Not difficult at all. With the administrator position your primary duty is to make decisions for the best of the league. There's not really an example of my decision making affecting any relationships I have with posters in the league. Everyone knows the admin's call is the admin's call and they may not always agree with it. But in every case I've been asked for an explanation I think I've made my rationale clear.
Ok, let's go through each club. Tell us how you think they are travelling on/off field, strengths/areas of improvement etc
Wonders
Fantastic recruits over the offseason both rookies and experienced campaigners. In ripping form and should only get better going forward. Haydo should be very happy with the mix he's got and their rookies should only get better with more experience.
Roys
Rare strong off field season, very difficult to score against and are in a healthy spot. Match threads could use a bit more opposition and Qooty focus.
Gumbies
A bit of worry with one of their most experienced posters in SM retiring, they’ve got promising rookies though so hope they stick fat and give Golumless a bit of support in seasons to come.
Swamprats
Struggling on field with few bright spots this season other than Dingster leading the Fred. Been very sensitive, they haven’t managed to replace the calming influence of a certain former vice captain that left in the recent off season.
Bombers
Back to back reigning premiers cruising along quietly in Season 25, I think they’ll hit peak form when it matters again so never rule them out. Gotten better off field too mainly via addition by subtraction.
Royals
We’re in a bit of a slump with pantskyle’s recent retirement. Always difficult to replace someone with such a strong presence around the league but there’s enough leadership around and we’ll be back up and about soon enough.
Furies
Sitting inside the top 4 and looking set for yet another finals appearance. I think whether they go all the way will depend on new captain 'Mr Potential' NaturalDisaster finally stepping up and bringing his Qooty performances up to the level of his match thread posting. Really can't fault them, they do a lot of work behind the scenes for the league and look to be a very strong line up.
Hawks
Probably the benchmark on and off the field at the moment with topping the ladder, maintaining strong activity and participation along with numerous prominent media performers. Credit to them, who would've thought gathering the various league's mercenaries would prove to be such a successful list management strategy.
Warriors
Having a rotten season on the field but I think they still remain in okay shape off it. Their participation levels have been fine and BLERN is a fantastic rookie prospect. They've improved massively on the back of better leadership bringing in Wooshette and BigJoeD_ over the off season and I expect the Warriors to bounce back soon even if Season 25 doesn't go well for them.
Demons
In my opinion they are the strongest match thread posting group. Always on topic with their banter, good spirited and creative. Tarkyn_24 looks to be posting as well as I've ever seen him and Yakker has just gone from strength to strength. The only area they could probably improve on is their team sheet submissions.
Dragons
Don't really know what exactly to say about the Dragons. PhenomenalV1's made some media threads of varying quality but I just don't exactly know what they stand for and what their mantra is at the moment. I think they are active enough but are probably missing someone with the presence of Hate. I'd like to see more of them get involved in media and the wider league.
Bears
It's concerning I have to say. Struggling in terms of activity and participation, and I haven't seen too many up and coming rookies out of the Bears which may be a result of disappointing on field results. I reckon they'll need some assistance over the offseason.
As Admin, what can you do, to assist clubs that may be struggling off field?
Not as much as I'd like. I think we can help get players through the door with ads and recruitment tours but once they get in it's up to the clubs to help them settle. Perhaps a league wide introduction for new players could help them get to know the concept of the league and what they're in for. It'll be a topic I discuss with the committee in due course to come up with some ideas.
Finally, I'll throw a couple of topics your way, tell us your thoughts;
S25 Rookie class - Promising.
Potential for an SFA 'draft' - Unlikely.
New clubs/expansion - Not in the immediate future.
Relaxing of 'free agency' to facilitate easier movement between clubs mid season - No to in-season free agency.
Shorter window for match threads (Wed to Sunday for example)- Can't see the benefit of it.
Stand alone MOTR on a different day - Maybe, depends on how we can work out logistics
Cheers Cloud_ thanks for your time. I need to get back to the hospital now, at $275 an hour, Coach doesn't come cheap!
