Following a lousy first term, Oscar Barrett is failing to have any impact as CAFC President. To date, his biggest achievement is... nothing. We'll take a look at how he was voted in, what it says about the state of the club and the lessons to be learned for next time.
The root of the problem started during the year Barrett arrived (2019/20). For the first time, 1s players who didn't perform were not dropped. The captain had picked his players at the start of term 1 and was determined to stick by them no matter what. The vertically challenged Barrett and his lapdog Fidgeon-Keeler were amongst the beneficiaries of that loyalty, given neither has any ability on the pitch and were repeatedly responsible for losses. The shuddering 9-0 defeat to James 1s showed those players for what they were - unwilling to put the effort in.
The group of entitled 1s players thanked the captain who believed in them by getting relegated with 5 defeats in 7 games - a humiliation for the club and the worst moment in its history. It spoke volumes when Barrett left his team halfway through a crucial game midseason to go and watch his friend boxing. He and others didn't give a toss about relegation - they even suggested it might be better to be in a lower league because the games would be less difficult. When the elections came, none of them attempted to make up for their abject failure by stepping up as captain, they thought it was a joke.
Fast-forward through covid to term 3 of 2020/21, then President Will Marshall was forced to rearrange elections over and over again because no one would put themselves forward. The quality of characters in that year group (with a few exceptions) is clearly abysmal, there are very few real men there who have it in them to step up and lead.
Eventually, elections were arranged for very late in the term. The turnout was the lowest since 2016/17 and many positions only had one candidate. Barrett didn't attend because he had somewhere else to be. Alex FK stood up with his signature village idiot face and tried to give a speech on behalf of himself and Barrett. He lied through his teeth and, in his characteristic blubbering, panicky way, told people whatever he thought they wanted to hear.
The only other candidate for President was in isolation with covid and couldn't attend either, so Barrett and his dog were voted in as a formality. In retrospect, voting to re-open nominations would have been far preferable so we didn't end up with two complete failures at the wheel of the ship.
Since their election, Barrett & the rest haven't threatened to put in effort at any point. The club is effectively rudderless and waiting for third term elections to replace these inadequate characters with someone who cares about the club. It's no wonder how we got here. We gave a group of talented young adults a permanent sense of entitlement and the belief that it's not necessary to try hard. We celebrated their failure and acted as though it was success. Following that, we failed to organise or run elections properly and look what we ended up with. Is it a surprise? It shouldn't be, we got what we asked for.
The lessons are very clear.
Players should earn their place in the team, not be rewarded for failure.
Elections should be organised before Week 10 of third term to ensure a sufficiently high turnout.
Members should not be afraid to vote to reopen nominations if the candidates are obviously inadequate.
Given the phenomenal quality of character in the previous 6 consecutive Presidents of Constantine AFC, it's extremely disappointing to have to be critical of the current one. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, and they all shaped the club in their image. Their right to do that came from one thing they had in common (and which is unnegotiable) - they put the effort in because they cared about the club.
No one can honestly say Barrett cares about the club, he wouldn't even squeak it himself. He reluctantly put himself forward to get something on his CV after failing to secure a placement. It was a selfish decision from a reliably selfish person.
Constantine AFC deserves better than this garbage human being, but the blame doesn't lie with him. It's not his fault he thinks he's special. We created him through a series of mistakes over a long period of time. It's the responsibility of the next President and committee to take necessary steps to ensure we never get another Oscar Barrett representing the club again. The job is a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve, as any previous President will testify at length. For the few of us lucky enough to have had the chance, it was the definition of finding joy in the happiness of others. It's an honour and a privilege to be responsible for organising the best part of university life for the best people at the university.
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