An ex-serviceman who’s given football a facelift

Former Rabat, Sliema, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans coach Andy Weavill has just become head coach with English Second Division side Huddersfield Town. Today he speaks to RAY ABDILLA about his expectations for his new job in England and looks back on the ups and downs of coaching Maltese football

What did you do before coaching in Malta?

On leaving school I completed a four year Physical Education teaching degree. Whilst at PE College my specialist subjects were Sports Psychology and Exercise Physiology and my specialist sports were Basketball and Football. I have maintained an active interest in all these areas since leaving college, and have continued to update my skills and knowledge, both practical and theoretical throughout the last 23 years. Currently I am a Member of the Institute Of Leisure and Amenities Management and a Member of Sports Coach UK (the UK National Sports Coaches Association), as well as a member of the FA Coaches Association.

Having completed my degree I joined the Royal Air Force Security Branch (RAF Regiment) in 1977 as a Pilot Officer, and retired from the RAF as a Squadron Leader in 1993. The RAF Regiment is responsible for the ground and air defence of RAF installations, and whilst in the RAF Regiment I served in a variety of locations both in UK and abroad. On retiring from the RAF in 1993, I relocated to Malta.

What were your connections with the island?

My connection with Malta began in 1974/75 when I was still at PE College. My father was stationed in Malta at RAF Luqa - he was a Flight Sgt PTI working in the gymnasium at Luqa. One of his PTI colleagues was Euchar Grech (who used to coach Floriana and Valletta amongst many other teams), and I remain friendly with him to this day. During college holidays I used to come out to Malta. It was during this time in the summer of 1975 that my father (who was the masseur with Sliema Wanderers) was approached by Floriana to see if he knew any coach/trainer who could do some pre-season training with Floriana whilst the then coach, Euchar Grech, attended a training course in the UK. My father recommended me and I was given the job. The team at the time consisted of John, Julian and Dorian Holland, George and Ray Xuereb, Poey and Frankie Micallef, Edwin Farrugia, Willie Vassallo, Zazu, George Ciantar, among others. We trained hard - both at Marsa and at Golden Bay. I have many fond memories of that time and still joke with the players about it, whenever I meet them. My favorite recollection of that time was uphill running on the hills at Golden Bay - with the players wondering whether I was trying to kill them, and of our runs from Floriana to and back from the Marsa where we occasionally trained, - with the first Maltese words that I began to learn "Coach - Marsa bil-Karrozza". Many years later I learnt that whilst I led the players from the front some jumped on buses until they got to the Lion in Floriana before jumping off the bus and pretending they had run all the way from the Marsa.

It was during this time (1975) I was introduced to Theresa, my wife, the sister of Julian, John and Dorian Holland. This kept my interest and connection with Malta - we married in St. Publius Church on April 15, 1979, and left Malta immediately after the wedding to set up home at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

My next real contact with Malta and coaching came in 1992 when through my friendship with Mario Borg, Mark Miller and of course my brother-in-law Julian Holland, I arranged a pre-season (1992/93) football tour to England for Floriana FC. They stayed at the RAF base I was serving on, RAF West Raynham in Norfolk, and trained, as well as playing three games I had arranged for them: Diss Town, Norwich City and Northampton Town. The tour went well and laid the foundation for Floriana’s championship winning season of 1992/93. The idea was that after this tour, on my retirement from the RAF in August 1993, I would come out to Malta with my family and begin to work with Floriana - however, for a number of reasons this did not actually happen.

In August 1993, when I arrived in Malta I actually was put in touch with Sliema Wanderers FC who, in September 1993, engaged me to help manage the team which was being coached by Marcel Scicluna. After only a short time, a matter of seven-10 days, Marcel Scicluna objected to this arrangement and as a result Sliema decided that rather than release Marcel they had better ask me to leave, which they did. After this setback I was put in touch with the late Paul Abela, President of Rabat Ajax FC and in November 1993 was appointed coach of Rabat Ajax FC.

Is it true that there were people in the Malta Football Association that wanted you to take the job of national coach?

No, not to my knowledge. The subject was never raised with me, nor did anyone approach me with this idea in mind.

Which clubs did you coach in Malta and which gave you the most satisfaction?

The clubs I coached in Malta were as follows:

1993/94 - Rabat Ajax FC.

1994/ Nov 1995 - Sliema Wanderers FC.

1996 (May - Dec) - Assistant Coach Hibernians FC

Dec 1996 - Jun 1998 - Assistant Technical Director MFA, working with Ronnie Attard on developing and delivering the Coach Education Programme.

Nov 1998 - May 2001 - Coach Hamrun Spartans FC.

I really enjoyed my time at the MFA Technical Centre, working with aspiring coaches at all levels - many of whom are now actively coaching in the game, and I was very sorry that my time at the MFA ended the way it did, in dispute with the MFA President.

With regard to coaching at club level I gained the most satisfaction coaching at Hamrun Spartans FC. I did so because we started with very little and achieved a little bit of history, before lack of money to pay the players destroyed the team’s morale and confidence, ultimately leading to the break-up of the team and destruction of all that I had achieved. At the beginning of the season 1998/99 the club was in disarray both on and off the field - the committee had been changed and the club had tried and sacked at least two coaches. The team had played nine games and had achieved only one point. No other coach was interested in going to the club as they knew it was going to be tough, and that things would get worse before they got better. In October 1998 I was approached by Paul Zammit, Gejtu Debattista and John Vella, on behalf of the President Eddie Zammit Cordina to see whether I was interested in taking on the job of coach. After a number of meetings with Gejtu and John I agreed to take on the job, with the promise of a free hand to do what I thought necessary to improve the team. Working closely with Gejtu, John and the senior players within the team we set about devising a strategy and plan for success. In the beginning, with regard to the team and the way it behaved and performed, some tough decisions were made. Although I wasn't able to prevent the team being relegated, by the end of the season we had markedly improved our performances and had laid the foundation for a successful campaign in the First Division, and quick return to the Premier Division. At the beginning of the 1999/2000 very few people believed we would make a quick return to the Premier Division. After some restructuring and teambuilding - The President boldly announced that not only would we get back to the Premier Division, we would do so by returning as First Division Champions. With our strategy in place we achieved our objective - unbeaten First Division Champions. At the start of the 2000/2001 season many people thought that Hamrun would find it difficult to survive in the Premier Division, and would be consigned to fighting it out in the relegation pool - no team in recent history had made the transition back into the Premier Division and achieved a Championship pool place. Our team objectives for season 2001/2001 were to consolidate our position in the Premier League by gaining a place in the Championship pool, and then build on this for season 2002/2003 to gain a top-four placing. Our pre-season training went well, particularly from a fitness point of view, and we started extremely well. We were not a team of individual stars, we were achieving our success because we worked hard for each other, we looked after each other both on and off the field, and we were tactically disciplined and organised. Additionally, tactically, we were playing in a different way to most of the other teams in the league (3-3-1-3), defending zonally keeping our team shape "short and tight", defending from the front and getting players forward whenever we could - and there was plenty of movement from our front players. Fortunately, we achieved our objective in getting into the championship pool but it was downhill from there, and we did not win a single game in the championship pool. This was bitterly disappointing to me, as was the infighting caused by lack of money which gradually eroded the players’ morale, confidence and togetherness which led to our downfall. By the end of the season 2001/2002 I could not see any way forward to achieving our remaining objective for the season 2002/2003, a top four placing. The club could not pay players what they were owed - nor could it pay me and with no real solution in sight and with the break-up of the team an inevitability, I decided to call it a day. Today, despite the more or less wholesale change of the team, and a new coach, the money problems at Hamrun remain - and despite the MFA's help and intervention I am still chasing Lm 2,200 which is still owed to me. Another sad end to a job that brought me a good deal of friendship, satisfaction and challenge - and in the end heartache.

What do you think about Maltese football? Do you agree that it is of the same level as the Vauxhall Conference League?

Maltese football has improved since I first started coaching in 1993. The players are fitter, technically better and more tactically aware. However, the game in Malta is not competitive enough nor is it fast enough to enable the current crop of players to continue their development. In recent years this has been addressed by subsequent national coaches in arranging monthly national games to help our top players develop further, and currently seems to be a feature of the youth set-up in scheduling our national youth teams to play competitive games against as many foreign teams as possible. Also, more top players are looking to take advantage of greater opportunities to play abroad, to achieve the same effect. Improvements have also been made in facilities and the standard of coaching. In this respect the work of Robbie Gatt, Zazu, Horst Heese, Mark Miller and now Sigi Held, in particular, is instilling in our top players a greater sense of professionalism, whilst at the same time improving their levels of fitness and tactical understanding. That said, in terms of general league play I do believe that the top four/five teams with the Premier Division are probably on a par with the mid-to-bottom teams in the Nationwide Conference League. The big difference is not so much in technical or tactical ability, but more a question of differences in physical strength, explosive power and speed endurance, as well as mental strength to meet and overcome challenges and compete 101% for 100% of the time. Additionally, the Maltese temperament is more individually-orientated rather than one of discipline, order and collective work - all necessary attributes for success in today's football.

Do you think that Maltese football can improve?

Yes I do. On the field, improvements have to be made in the areas highlighted above. This is not an impossible task for well-educated, trained, thoughtful and conscientious coaches. Additionally, the trend for top players to seek opportunities to play abroad should continue to be encouraged; this will provide benefits to the national team. Areas for further improvement should include the professionalisation of the way in which foreign players are recruited to play in Malta. Foreign players should be recruited to strengthen the team by filling known weak positions in the team and not brought to the club without any real idea of where they play and what their capabilities are. Additionally, more care and attention should be paid to actually seeing players in action, rather that relying on CV's, ‘agent’ reports and videos. Only by clubs either going to watch players in action, or inviting them at the players’ expense to undertake trials will the standard of foreign players, and their contribution to the game in Malta improve.

The MFA statute is quite clear on this matter. For clubs to be granted a licence in the semi-professional status category they must have paid all the wages due to its non-amateur players and the wages due to its coaches hired by means of a written contract, and have paid all outstanding dues to other member clubs. Quite clearly this regulation is not being rigorously applied. Additionally, today football is a business and should be run utilising business principles; with a strategic plan, objectives, measures, targets and initiatives, and a financial budget designed to achieve the fulfillment of objectives. For this to happen the implementation of a series of management/administration seminars and workshops to train and educate committee members should be implemented by the MFA. Finally, for improvement to continue a way must be found to achieve an increase in revenue generation for all Premier Clubs. At present, a gap is growing and there is three-tiered Premier Division - top four, next two, bottom four; this gap reflects the availability of money to buy and pay players amongst the teams. There is no easy answer to this but it does beg the question whether the clubs have the will to say no to the ever-increasing monetary demands of the players.

How do we move towards achieving the goal of beating some foreign sides?

Apart from the above, this is really a matter of excellence and being professional in our approach. By this, I mean the players need to change their belief about what excellence is and what being professional is all about. Excellence is a habit; an excellent performance is based on good habits and a positive attitude. Good habits and a positive attitude are created through hard work, repetition, a willingness to learn and competitive games. Being professional is about wanting to achieve an excellent performance at all times and committing yourself to do everything possible to make that happen, it's about adopting a positive attitude towards winning and performing your best effort, and about taking responsibility for mistakes and working hard to correct them. The U21 Team in recent years has begun to tap into this psychological area, with some success.

I know that you've heard that former Sliema Wanderers striker Michael Mifsud has joined Kaiserslautern and that he is doing very well with their reserves. But are there any other players who could make the grade in such big clubs?

I believe there are a handful of players within Malta that could play in teams abroad – Luke Dimech, William Camenzuli, Daniel Dengaky, Chris Oretan, Murphy Akanji, Orosco Ononam, to name but a few. And I am sure that there are some talented youngsters who are playing in the national teams who would benefit from training with the youth teams of Serie A clubs in Italy, and in the FA Academy system within England.

Currently, I work with Premier Management Holdings a leading FIFA licensed football agency with contacts throughout Europe. As you know premier Management Holdings has just signed up Luke Dimech, and we are confident that we can find him a club in England. We do watch and take an interest in other players in Malta. Similarly, the agency is interested in providing Maltese clubs with English players, and this is something we will be exploring in the summer.

A couple of weeks ago Birkirkara defender William Camenzuli was to fly to England for a trial with Stoke City. Unfortunately it didn’t work out because the MFA did not give him permission to miss Malta’s friendly against Andorra in a friendly on Wednesday. What do you think?

It was unfortunate that William was not able to travel to Stoke. However, I am sure another opportunity will present itself at the end of the season.

I've heard that you are coaching the Huddersfield nursery. What is your job at Huddersfield FC and is it a full-time activity?

Currently, I am working within the Huddersfield Town AFC Academy, as the coach of the U16 Youth Team. There are about 34 Academies within UK - 20 within the Premier League and the rest outside of the Premier League. All the top young players aged nine -16 are being developed in Academies. To achieve Academy status clubs must meet strict criteria about facilities, administration and management of the Academy, and ensure that all coaches are appropriately qualified. The FA to ensure the boys are receiving a high level of coaching and are playing no more than 30 games per season strictly monitors the programme of development.

At Huddersfield Town the coaching job I fulfil is a paid part-time position and I coach the squad three times per week, Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. We play a competitive match against other academy teams every Sunday. The teams within our group include Middlesborough, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester Utd, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle, Sunderland to name but a few. Our record this season is as follows: played 24, won eight, drawn eight, lost eight. Although winning is important we do tend to place more emphasis on the performance and player development aspects of the matches that we play. The 16 year old boys are competing to be awarded a three year full time Scholars contract with the Club - their first big career step to becoming a professional footballer. This year five of our nine U16 players were taken on as scholars. From the U16 side the boys step up into the U18 Youth Team Squad and from there into the Reserve Team Squad, and if good enough into the First Team Squad.

What about the facilities at Huddersfield Town?

Huddersfield Town has a state of the art new stadium to play in - "The McAlpine Stadium". The Academy teams play on the training ground pitches which compare favourably with the National Stadium pitch. In addition we have an all-weather flloodlight training pitch, and later on this year the Club is building an indoor training centre/pitch. Our Academy is not as rich in facilities as say Manchester Utd, Blackburn or Liverpool but they are adequate and plans are in progress to improve them.

In Malta there are a couple of very young players who look very promising. Dyson Falzon, 16 of Mosta and Mauro Brincat 17 of Hamrun, for example. What are the chances of Malta and Huddersfield FC linking up to give the youngsters the chance to play against each other and gain more experience?

The club is always on the look out for good players, and provided the players are willing to pay their way to Huddersfield and pay for their accommodation, both the Academy Director, Gerry Murphy, and myself would be delighted to welcome any promising young Maltese players to train with our Academy Teams at Huddersfield Town, including our U18 Youth Team. In terms of their development, the players I am sure would learn and enjoy the experience.

However, in terms of their aspiration to play in England, players should be aware that there are strict employment regulations for non-European Union players to play in the UK. Normally a player must be a full international player and have played at least 20 times for their country. If a player is from an EU country there is generally no problem and have course, if a player can obtain a UK passport even better still.

How do you feel at Huddersfield? Do you actually come from the northern part of the country?

I enjoy living in Huddersfield. The people are friendly and are passionate about their football, and it is within easy access of a number of leading Premier Division sides. Originally, I am not from this part of the country but my parents are. I was born in Cyprus and whilst in the UK have primarily lived in the south of England.

In your time in Malta, what were the things that you liked best and what were the things that irritated you the most?

Things I liked best: the weather, the history of the island, and outdoor cafeterias.

Thing that irritated me: lack of concern for the environment, bureaucracy and slow decision-making.

Will you consider coming back to Malta, even for a holiday?

Yes. I left the island primarily because my children wanted to continue their education in the UK. Once they are settled my wife and I may return. I have been back to the island since I left - I spent new year in Malta and whilst there worked with my good friend Fatos Daja at Qormi FC. I keep in touch with the Maltese football scene via the excellent website maltafootball.com, and my many friends in Malta.

Who do you think is Malta's best player?

Michael Mifsud