Max Clifford & The LTA

baxi2 · Lower Club Player

Max Clifford & The LTA

PaulM · Tennis legend

To be honest this is pretty irrelevant, they would have had no idea of these allegations. Had they known they wouldn't have employed him.

What about all the dozens of high profile individuals who have also used Max's services over the years?

He is an awful, awful man and I hope he gets what he deserves, but it's pretty pathetic to use hiring him years ago as a stick to beat the LTA, or anyone else, with when he was widely acknowledged to be the best in the business.

baxi2 · Lower Club Player

This is exactly my point Paul ! He was the best in the business but his business was shady and corrupt,spinning lies to protect people who crossed the moral line - so why did the LTA even consider using somebody like that ?

PaulM · Tennis legend

I agree it felt odd at the time (and apologies for mis-reading the intent of your post) but from memory the LTA were getting hounded in the press (a lot of it was quite unfair and coming from people who don't know anything about tennis and don't understand what the LTAs role is, or those who had taken issues with things and the past and looked for any excuse to make an attack).

Draper was seeking to make the LTA a more commercial organisation, so was looking for a way to help with the LTA 'brand' in its public face. In part that worked through the Aegon sponsorship (nobody should ever underestimate how huge that was) and other ways of getting private money in (although sadly it was often spent on the wrong things). Max Clifford made people into brands, and turned bad press into good press. I guess that is why they used him as they, as a historically stuffy organisation, was trying to become more modern and PR friendly.

Draper's time at the LTA actually got a few things right, but there was, at least initially, a desperation to be everything to everyone and to come across as being everyone's mate. When that failed and he started to get a hard time he pretty much veered the other way, and you quickly got grumpy journo's moaning about not being invited to things and then just writing more pieces about how dreadful he was.

The new guy's first job is to work out what the LTA's role actually is. It is difficult to focus on both performance and grass roots and do them both well. If time and money starts being funnelled into participation efforts and grassroots, the performance end will suffer (short-medium term, which is of course all anyone cares about every Wimbledon). If money is funnelled towards performance, it will be to the expense of participation initiatives (although the extent to which these should be the central LTA's day-to-day responsibility and not those of the regional tennis associations or stand-alone, but LTA-linked, initiatives (in both cases receiving LTA funding and support), might be up for debate).

He shouldn't be worried about upsetting a few journos in case they write mean things. Downey doesn't strike me as that sort, he seems very clever, very knowledgeable, and quite shrewd (in a good way) about how to play the press.

-- Edited by PaulM on Tuesday 29th of April 2014 08:02:05 AM

EddietheEagle · County player

There are literally hundreds of competent, above board PR firms which the LTA could have engaged to deal with whatever problems Draper thought he had. Max Clifford was not one of them and his appointment was an appalling error of judgement.

baxi2 · Lower Club Player

Thank you Eddie, I was beginning to think I was on my own with this one !!!

indiana · Tennis legend

The Dodger unfortunately became laughably OTT at trying to sell what the LTA was doing / achieving and when that quite often clearly didn't tie in with what the LTA was doing / achieving he increasingly lost respect, including from the initially trying to be fair and tennis savvy parts.

So not only was it questionable, particularly leading a public body, how much he went in for smoke and mirrors, he clearly was very unwise in acquiring the assistance of Max Clifford.

baxi2 · Lower Club Player

The thing I cant figure out is why the LTA are so obsessed with covering up their faults and problems ?

After all, they are not really accountable to anyone , they may get a slap on the wrist from Sport England but nothing actually happens if they mess up !

Just curious at to why Mr Clifford was hired ? And at what cost ?

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, they are not really a "public body" are they, I really meant ( partially ) "publicly funded body".

But as I suggested, the smoke and mirrors with such as players' rankings ( with moving goalposts and concentration on certain areas of juniors and seniors, while seemingly forgetful of others ) became bizarre.

And unfortunately did appear to spread beyond the Dodger, so I do hope some cultural changes have been instigated.

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Max Clifford was always a Dodgy B but I guess you need to be streetwise to notice it ! Problem is too many highly paid excutives from cosy middle class back grounds a bit like 75% of our players really !

PaulM · Tennis legend

EddietheEagle wrote:
There are literally hundreds of competent, above board PR firms which the LTA could have engaged to deal with whatever problems Draper thought he had. Max Clifford was not one of them and his appointment was an appalling error of judgement.

Oh I agree 100% with this. I had misconstrued Baxi's original post, I was saying that what happened yesterday wasn't really relevant to the wider point or criticism of the LTA, as in I don't think you can say "and it's even worse cause they hired a sex pest" when they would have had no idea that was the case. That was my misunderstanding of he point Baxi was making.

It was a poor appointment decision, full stop. I do sort of understand why they did it and what they were trying to achieve in terms of creating a positive public image, but it was a cynical and crass move which could have been achieved in a host of other ways at less expense!

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

PaulM wrote:
EddietheEagle wrote:
There are literally hundreds of competent, above board PR firms which the LTA could have engaged to deal with whatever problems Draper thought he had. Max Clifford was not one of them and his appointment was an appalling error of judgement.
Oh I agree 100% with this. I had misconstrued Baxi's original post, I was saying that what happened yesterday wasn't really relevant to the wider point or criticism of the LTA, as in I don't think you can say "and it's even worse cause they hired a sex pest" when they would have had no idea that was the case. That was my misunderstanding of he point Baxi was making.
It was a poor appointment decision, full stop. I do sort of understand why they did it and what they were trying to achieve in terms of creating a positive public image, but it was a cynical and crass move which could have been achieved in a host of other ways at less expense!

I always say imagine its your own money your spending ? Still going make the same decision ? In my experience rarely .

EddietheEagle · County player

baxi2 wrote:
The thing I cant figure out is why the LTA are so obsessed with covering up their faults and problems ?
After all, they are not really accountable to anyone , they may get a slap on the wrist from Sport England but nothing actually happens if they mess up !
Just curious at to why Mr Clifford was hired ? And at what cost ?

Honestly, Max Clifford and the LTA. It's the stuff of a West End farce.

'The Dodger' - that's a good one. You never knew where you were with Draper. He spent quite ridiculous amounts on consultants but you could never find out the cost as the accounts were not that transparent. He must have majored in doublespeak such was his propensity for bullsh.t and his knack for burying bad news. What happened to his 'pipeline' of top 150 ATP players we were promised with his BritishTennisWonderplan?

Draper's lavish £640K per annum salary and bonus package led him into the realm of self-delusion and the LTA blazers into following his fantasy. No senior staff at the LTA ought be on more than £50k per year. You don't need more than twenty staff to run a largely regulatory sports body and they should work out of Portakabins for the time being. All that sports science expertise and other 'stuff' can be bought in as required from people and organisations who are far more proficient at it and know what they're talking about. Wasted head office millions ought to be re-directed towards coaches, competition, regional training facilities and promotion of the sport. The NTC facilities could be re-launched as an academy. When you find a great kid, you send a good coach up to him, to impart good instruction within his home domain, not the other way round. The LTA grand council needs to be abolished entirely. Why was the LTA's golden share in the All England and half the rights to the Wimbledon tournament itself given away for a song?

Over the past fifty years the LTA has wasted well over half a billion pounds. Draper is but a mere continuation of a long-established tradition where junkets around the world, wives and all, take greater priority than running and promoting a great sport. I hope the present appointee brings some of those lumberjack qualities his country is renown for.

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Problem is got the feeling that this new CEO not going to be any better . My litmus test could not even give me a 15 minute meeting means he think he knows it all I think we are going to find out he does'nt . Surely it was worth meeting a rare sponsor from a company that has been ranked in the Sunday times fast track 100 3 times in last 4 years .

We need a maverick , even a revolutionary not someone whose not going to change the status quo but continue to protect the men in blazers ! .

I also don't understand why we need to go outside of a country that has some of the best managers in the world . When I applied for the position the agency said that they wanted someone who would not upset the status quo but that's exactly what it needs !

-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Wednesday 30th of April 2014 12:39:31 AM

-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Wednesday 30th of April 2014 12:44:10 AM

baxi2 · Lower Club Player

some great suggestions on this post !

From Eddie I particularly agree with " When you find a great kid, you send a good coach up to him, to impart good instruction within his home domain, not the other way round. "

and from Gary " We need a maverick , even a revolutionary not someone whose not going to change the status quo but continue to protect the men in blazers ! . "

Too many people on this forum were quick to congratulate Draper as he was stepping down without knowing the real man and the problems he caused in order to concentrate on commercialising the LTA instead of making the PLAYERS THE PRIORITY .

Coming back to Max Clifford - it's fairly obvious that Draper and the LTA were more concerned with their image than anything else !