System of a game…

After four games and some good moments, England are out of Euro 2012. Another quarter final exit.

The focus now should be on building a team to get us to the next quarter finals, that of world cup 2014. Easier said than done when a nation expects and the tools at hand are poor. But Roy is no ordinary craftsman.

I expect him to now ask each elderly statesman of the team: who would you mentor to take your place and better your achievements?

That’s the difference. Asking our players to share the burdens of scouting and coaching. To step up actively as mentors and to bring forth a new generation.

The issue will be the foundation. It is a defensive team. We need to weaken that defence but compensate that weakened structure with a crafty offensive. Who is the next gazza? Who can replace scholes? Where is our 2014 lineker?

Team building no matter what context and era, relies on a system that the members can slot into. England’s system will limit its potential unless we adjust it.

Looking forward to a great qualification period. Hopefully with a trip or two to see them at wembley.

[mobile]

The Perils of Outsourcing…

Received an email from LinkedIn today – the first paragraph said this [my highlights]

We recently became aware that some LinkedIn passwords were compromised and posted on a hacker website. We immediately launched an investigation and we have reason to believe that your password was included in the post.

Oh dear! So I read on to the second paragraph

To the best of our knowledge, no email logins associated with the passwords have been published, nor have we received any verified reports of unauthorized access to any member’s account as a result of this event. While a small subset of the passwords was decoded and published, we do not believe yours was among them.

Phew. No wait. Hmmm. Let me try that again. I re-read the first paragraph -Oh Dear- then the second on paragraph -Phew-. Man I’m confused.

Then I read on

The security of your account is very important to us at LinkedIn. As a precaution, we disabled your password, and advise you to take the following steps to reset it. If you reset your password in the last two days, there is no need for further action.

Oh I see, this is a phishing scam. Nobody at LinkedIn would write that incomprehensibly….would they?

How funny. Real or not, it highlighted how real customer service is about how companies behave when there is an EXCEPTION to the flow. When things are fine, we can all rave on about everything and anything. It is when something goes wrong that quality really comes to the fore.

In this instance, I have to say it is sorely lacking.

England – Belgium

We won by a single goal. The team lacked invention, directness, and spark towards the end.

Also seems wembley stadium doesn’t like vegetarians. No veggie snacks beyond donuts and crisps – you can’t even buy chips separately! Very poor show by the fa.