Life's a pitch

The aftermath of last weekend's FA Cup semi finals was a fine example of how events can overtake even the strictest communications campaign.

Early on Saturday morning it was clear that the FA was concerned about how the (once) hallowed Wembley turf would stand up to two matches in two days.

The three line whip preventing the ground staff from speaking to the BBC prior to the first semi final exposed the FA's concerns and subsequent events demonstrated that they were right to be worried.

Although football managers in general and Arsene Wenger in particular are famous for blaming anything other than their tactics or players for defeat, the chorus of disapproval about the state of the Wembley pitch must have made the FA suits wince as their pride and joy was hauled over the coals in the media.

Events dictate that keeping your fingers crossed that nothing bad will happen is never the best place to begin planning an issues management campaign. Of course, the best way to avoid having to implement emergency communications measures, is to ensure that your product is fit for purpose in the first place.

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