Inferno Interview - Dave Simms

26th Oct 2011 | Posted by The Inferno

Many love and Adore him to others he may not be their cup of tea, however one thing you cannot do is ignore him and having given so much to the British game in 20 plus years even his most ardent critic would be hard pressed to not even begrudgingly admit respect for him. He is of course Dave Simms.

Currently splitting his time as a mouth piece for Sky Television on the Rapid Solicitors Elite league Ice hockey show, Mouth piece for the Sheffield Steelers and part time Great Britain press officer, Dave is certainly a man with the finger on the pulse of many of British Ice hockey’s inner workings.

Following some heated discussions in the summer over some of David’s comments on Twitter and a somewhat flowery description of David at the beginning of our Scott Matzka interview, the Inferno was contacted by Mr Simms to answer some of those questions and whatever else we had on our mind to ask him. All answered with trademark Simmsey honesty.

The images with the interview are a few of the images of Dave that we’ve used over the past few years.

The-Inferno (TI) - So this interview has come about because of the wording we used in a question to Matzka regarding the off season and comments you made about his family. Even if meant as a joke, the comments weren't met with the response you anticipated, why the need to comment in the first place?

Dave Simms (DS) - The original comments were made by me on Twitter, the comments went along the line of "They will let let anyone in to Wales" or something along those lines. This was after the player had problems getting him and his family a visa for France.

I had this conversation with G the day before and we had laughed, it was a joke - it was along the lines of The French wouldn't touch them but the Welsh open their doors. It had nothing to do with the player, or his family.

Here is the thing though. I don't think for a moment the player would have even given the comments a moments notice if the uproar from certain fans hadn't preceded it. The comments weren't bad at all but because it was me and certain folk down there have preconceptions about me they add fuel to the fire. They don't read the words, they see its from me so it must be bad, it must be anti Cardiff.

I haven't got a problem with Matzka; I don't think I have ever spoke with him. It wasn't a Matzka thing - it was a French/Welsh thing and a bit of fun.

TI - It's been another off season of carnage for the EIHL with the Newcastle Vipers ceasing to exist, Cardiff and Sheffield being phoenixed *again* and Sheffield now under new ownership and the continued problems up in Edinburgh. Do you believe the EIHL has the right business model and if not, what changes should/could be made to improve it?

DS - Well firstly as you would imagine i will disagree with your question.

Lets start with Newcastle. That wasn't a hockey or a business decision to shut them down. It was a rink decision. They had no Ice. The arena wasn't prepared, without huge investment, to continue and you can't tell me that Whitley Bay could continue to sustain hockey there. That wasn't a decision, it was a reality.

I don't know if we are going to touch on the Cardiff / Sheffield ownership below but that was a crazy situation and i think rightly, there is animosity on both sides. I get the feeling the Cardiff fans think Sheffield had all their money. And in Sheffield we think the same of Cardiff. Only Paul and Simon know. We know in Sheffield that over £300,000 of season ticket money came in and we know that the new company moving forward doesn't have a penny of it. Now you can do two things. 1) You can beat yourself up over it and go throwing accusations around and spend time wasting energy on trying to find money that isn't there. Or 2) You can crack on and try and make your hockey club better. We have a battle down here to get through this year but we are winning that battle and I think we are stronger off the ice this year than we have been for many a year.

Am I sore about what happened. Too right I am. Paul owes me money, a lot of money. Will I get it, not a chance. I worked hard for him and that money and the way things were wound up and good people on both sides didn't get their wages was wrong, but it happens. Those of us at the bottom end of the food chain always get it in the ass.

The answer to your question over business model is that there isn't one. How can there be when you have a Nottingham with a £10,000 plus (+vat) per night rink rent charge and a Hull or a Cardiff with zero. When some clubs work hard and get 5 or 6,000 through the doors and others don't and get 300.

We will get there though, I am certain of that. There is a will and we will succeed.

The only change I would make is to employ a CEO of the league and take the vast majority of the decision making away from ownership. Give that person power and control. Democracy doesn't work.

TI - Slightly related to the above question, but you've previously mentioned that the EIHL would be better off with 8 teams, do you still believe this is the case or is the continued push for 10 teams still the way forward?

DS - I have always been a fan of 8 which means 4 home and 4 away. That was before we had 10 and the 4 Scottish teams. It would be hard. Now I have moved, not to a 10 team league but maybe to two conferences where you played your own conference 4 home and 4 away and the other conference 2 home and 2 away. Think of the travel savings for your club. Think of the more meaningful games against the Nottingham's, Belfast's and Sheffield's. Also think more Scottish derbies and a lot less travel for them. I am preferred to go that route now.

TI - The Sky show appears to be getting better reviews now the format has changed slightly, however with the way the show is being put out by Sky at random times that can change by the hour this has to be harming viewing figures. Do the EIHL actually pay for this coverage and if so, why can't better airing times be built into the contract?

DS - Firstly yes the league pays a proportion of the costs, now through the league sponsorship. The timing frustrates everyone Televideo included. They are the company that put the shows together. We have to accept for now that we are at the bottom of their pecking order and if there is a live event on before us that over runs then we will be moved. That doesn't happen too often to be fair.

TI - We're seeing teams run with less than 10 imports to start the season this year, do you think this is a good thing or should the league make attempts to force teams to sign a minimum number of imports and therefore put out a competitive side?

DS - Over the years we have had moans and groans about the level of the game and some teams going over the top yet it has always baffled me that there isn't minimum standards. I agree, there should be something in place that demands minimum standards. The correct start date etc. Problem is how do you fine a club with no money? How do you punish a club that can't pay? Until the league gets itself into a position where it is making money and issuing a divided at the end of the year that deductions can be taken out of for a late start, fielding a weakened side, not turning up in the right kit then we can't hammer down.

TI - The import limit dropped this season, do you think the EIHL will continue to drop the limit, or with the alleged cost of good British players continuing to rise, should the league be looking at increasing the import limit? Is there a chance we'll be seeing split levels for different teams again?

DS - 10 was always the right number. It was a mistake to go to 11 and the decision to let some teams have 12 was crackers.

We are not ready to come down from 10 because the cost of the local talent will then increase. We saw that happen in the summer when it came down from 11 to 10. Its not the top end British players its the middle range guys who see their pay increased to more than it should be just so a club can field a strong side. I hope we stay at 10 for a few years yet. The EIHL has done a great job, one miles better than the other leagues in developing youngsters. Look at the players breaking through today. That is because they are having to fight for a spot on a team not having a spot handed to them like in the leagues below. 10 is a reason for that. 10 hasn't hampered the growth of local talent. 10 has encouraged it.

TI - The wage cap for the league appears to be practically non-existant and with the difference between Nottingham/Belfast and Edinburgh/Fife is it actually workable? After Edinburgh's mess last year, should a wage floor be introduced to keep things competitive?

DS - Firstly you can't police a wage cap. Anyone who says you can in our sport isn't involved in our sport. You want to break it you can. It's the easiest thing in the world. You say the differences between a Belfast and an Edinburgh. Well ask Todd Kelman if he could make Edinburgh work on a few hundred quid a night rink rent when he is paying close on £10,000. I'm no Nottingham fan but they have worked hard around the clock to fill their building so that they can play in that building, pay the rent and then start paying for their team. The Hull's, the Edinburgh's and yes even the Devils are £300,000 'ahead' of the Arena teams on the 1st September.

You should spend what you can afford. In Sheffield there have been years when we have probably been in the first 1 or 2 spenders. This year maybe 4. Its what we can afford. When we can afford it we hope to be back at 1 or 2 again.

I think looking back to what we said above, if we went conference we would see less costs, more income generated and then a better product on the ice.

TI - We've recently seen Danny Meyers criticising an official on the BBC website, should the league be looking to crack down on this sort of thing? The EIHL is allegedly a professional sport, but in any other professional sport this sort of comment from a player, or a coach would not be tolerated…

DS - Danny was wrong. Danny is a good friend of mine but Danny should have been fined. However, we go back to no control. If there was a CEO of the league who had the power, had the responsibility to clamp down then Danny would have been.

TI - You've mentioned previously about keyboard warriors and the harm they may do to clubs through the wording used, or the rumours that are spread. What is your take on the rise of the forums and the effect (good or bad) that it's had on clubs?

DS - I hate forums - most people who go on them are good decent folk who love their hockey and their team. Every club has some total nutters who seem to want to attack their club and pick holes in everything. I can't stand those who hide behind made up names, those who never turn up to open forums and ask questions face to face but hide behind keyboards.

TI - The league went with a four man system several seasons back that was widely accepted by the fans and generally received positive feedback. With the rumoured slashing of the officials budget and the negative feedback on the training/support offered, do you feel the league will/can ever go back to the 4 man system?

DS - Everything we have talked about above has a financial aspect to it - this one is no different. In an ideal world there would be paid for training camps, regular get togethers with the officials and coaches and better paid referee's and linesman in order that the standards were are as high as possible. But the money isn't there, its not like it can be moved from somewhere else. It doesn't exist. I'm sure in time as things improve it's something that will be looked at but right now the 3 man to the 4 man system isn't even a matter for the agenda as much more important things need resolving first.

TI - Fans have repeatedly asked for the league to publish the rule book and suspension tariffs that are applied seemingly randomly to players depending on which club they play for and what incidents they've previously been involved in. Why do you feel the league is so reluctant to publish both of these, especially the suspension tariffs?

DS - I don't think its reluctant at all. I just don't think it is able. This is another matter that won't be fully resolved until there is financial stability and a boss, a league CEO that will oversee these issues.

TI - You've had run-in's with several players on twitter now after comments you made were not received all that well. Do you think with your position on Sky and as the public face of the league that you're helping the league, clubs or players with these comments?

DS - I think far too many people take far too many things personally and because it's me and some folk are looking for a reason to have a pop at me they over react to many things. To be honest I haven't had many problems with players. The Matzka thing which we have referred to above and then there was one of your other players having a pop - his name escapes me - played for you last season and is now is Sweden. The comments I made about I'm were right, if he didn't like them that was too bad.

This sport is an opinionated topic, I am an opinionated bloke who has 25 years experience in working in the sport at every level doing pretty much every job. I can talk from experience. I understand that things aren't perfect but also understand why they are not and why they can't be in the short term. People want me to be controversial but then when it touches them they don't like it.

I don't lie. I tell the truth. I poke fun at myself and don't take myself half as seriously as many of those who read my words do. If you look at what I say you will find that 99 times out of 100 I am right. So my comments don't make a difference to the league at all.

TI - You've been involved for a long time in British ice hockey now, how does the EIHL compare to say the Superleague and the leagues before that in terms of enjoyment and sustainability? Stewart Roberts has recently been waxing lyrical about the 'good old days' but there seems to have been just as many problems then as now?

DS - Just as many. I started in the BIHA days where there were weekly revolts. The Smith family ruled, Tom Smith ruled the Smith family. It was more dictatorship then than at any other time.

ISL was a big chance for the sport but it just went too far too quickly. A shame really. The Elite League is a happy middle ground and I think going in the right direction.

My concern with Stewart is that he doesn't take in EIHL games so how can you make the comments he does? I was asked lots of questions about the EPL. I didn't go so didn't comment. Now whenever I can I take games in. Turn up, pay my money and sit up in a corner and watch. Now I can make comments on what I see. Stewart comes from a day when the papers had a little more budget for column inches and the papers took more lineage than today. Now you only hear from Stewart when his annual comes out. He wants to knock the league, the clubs and then wants them to sell his book.

We all loved the old days, but to many new fans today is the old days of the future. My Dad says Football was better in the old days but it isn't, only in his head.

Hockey is politics. My view is and always has been that democracy doesn't work. You can't rule by committee. 10 Owners around a table discussing every matter, just doesn't work. You need a boss, a man with authority. Get that and we move forward.

TI - Who is the best player you've seen on these shores, both import (Excluding NHL lockout seasons) and British and for what reasons were they the best? On the flip side, who is the worst player, or the most over hyped player you've seen on these shores, if you can't name names, which team made the most disastrous signing?

DS - The best player I have seen is Brent Sapergia. The best player we have had in Sheffield was Jason Lafreniere and then Paul Beraldo. The worst signing we made in Sheffield was Ken Murchison. The most overrated player was Dion Del Monte. That Selmser last year in Coventry was the most over rated in a long time.

TI - Last season we saw 3 owners owning 6 teams in the league, this season it's 2 owners with 4 teams after the Cardiff/Sheffield issues, but what are your thoughts on one owner having control of two clubs and the potential conflict of interests when in both cases there seems to be a clear #1 and #2 club?

DS - Read the above again and again. It's down to money. Do you think Neil Black wants to own and lose money in Braehead? of course he doesn't. But he is trying to make the league stronger and you have to give him huge credit for that. Do you think the owners in Coventry want to spend half their day worrying about whats going on in Hull? Of course they don't. Again, they do it because they want the product of the league to survive. If you're reading this in Hull or Braehead and you fancy owning a running a hockey team - both owners will sell I would think.

In an ideal world it wouldn't be allowed to happen but thank God it is otherwise we wouldn't have top level sport here. If Neil hadn't taken the hit with Braehead I don't think Dundee would have joined and no Dundee means no Fife.

I don't think its a matter of a number 1 and number 2 club. Braehead cost Nottingham the title in many ways last year, that pours cold water over that theory. Hull have taken points off Coventry too.

TI -Cardiff and Sheffield have now seen periods under the same ownership, first with Bob Phillips and now with Paul Ragan. Neither change in ownership appears to have gone all that well. Do you believe this is down to the differences in locations, rink/arena size, previous ownership or something else. Do you think it could ever truly work?

DS - It could work if ran properly. It won't work with the wrong people and they were both the wrong people. Each club has to be able to look after itself. You can't take money from one and use it to prop up another. Paul Ragan thought he could reinvent the wheel, was misled I think by others who saw opportunities for themselves. He had no idea what he was taking on. How he lost that much money in such a short time amazes me. I sometimes wonder how so called successful people can make the most ridiculous moves in this game. How did they make their money because a lot of the time they make the most crazy, ill informed decisions.

TI -The fans hate it, but teams continue to do it... What is your take on teams 'phoenixing' season after season? The teams are desperate for sponsors and a lot of those are fans, but some teams seem intent on shafting those they need most?

DS - I think its wrong and I think it should stop. But I refer to the above again. Whats stopping them as the league has no power. I have been caught out three times by this myself and am owed many thousands of pounds in unpaid wages. My own business pays its way, if we can't pay our way then myself and my partner don't get paid. Simple as. That's the law. Corporate governance is needed but again, to have that you have to have the league stability to enforce it.

TI - There appears to be very little cooperation between the EIHL and the EIHA from a fans perspective, is this an accurate description or are things being worked on behind the scenes? Surely it is in the interest of both sides to work together to help promote the sport across all levels?

DS - In many ways yes and in many ways does it really matter. There is a lot of politics involved. Person A in one league doesn't like person B in another. I think the EIHA do a great job with the juniors and run a tight ship. They don't know a great deal though about the professional game. The EIHL pays a great chunk to IHUK which a lot of people don't realise. If the EIHL wasn't there who would plug that gap? There is room for both the EIHL and the EPL. In an ideal world again you would have every Elite team have a under 20's team beneath them for development and no EPL. When we speak to other European leagues that is what they suggest and tell us. We can't do that because we already have these clubs in the EPL and I can understand why they can't simply disappear.

There can be co-operation without getting into bed with one another I think that does go. I think some fans, on those forums again, write these great lengthy posts with 'a way forward' without realising what does go on behind the scenes and why that goes on.

TI - The GB team appear to be improving with more and better British players becoming involved, however every year there are discussions about dual nationals playing for the team when there are British players available. What's your take on them and where do you see Team GB in the future?

DS - Well I have been involved on the outside for 4 or 5 years. In that time the duals have played almost no part. Thommo (Paul Thompson) has taken fewer duals than anyone. Last year there were two and I think if a couple of "Brit Brit's" hadn't been injured there would have been just one. My view is that if they can help the program take them. If they are better than what we have, take them. If they are there because of their accent, don't take them.

A lot of what we have talked about above is about money. A couple of things. If we had made Pool A last year then the funding coming in goes through the roof. Your development programs improve, your officials training improves. Maybe if Fussy had been fit we might have reached that level, who knows, would you be complaining then?.

The GB team was in my opinion maxed out last year - without some support and funding it can't continue obtaining these improvements year in year out. Next year the squad will have 3 days together before going into the most difficult group it has been in since its one and only season in Pool A. The National team is a way for our sport to gain more media coverage, a tool for more national funding. Right now how well that team does is down to the brilliant off ice work done by Andy Buxton and the incredible on ice work organised by Paul Thompson.

Those two people have held the program together for the last 4 or 5 years. The Ukrainian coach that came 3rd last year was paid 200,00 Euro's for 11 weeks work. Thommo (Paul Thompson) was paid £500 for 12 months. A week long, self-funded training camp against 7 weeks together and 2 competitions before the Championship. And we still beat them. That can't continue. The National team is on the edge, so close to going forward if supported correctly, but so close to falling off the cliff if not.

TI - The EIHL appears to be expanding in the north whilst the EPL has most of it's teams based in the south. With the addition of new Scottish teams leaving the Devils with the most traveling required, are you aware of any plans by the league to try and expand in the south?

DS - I think if any opportunity for a team came along in the South it would be welcomed. But so would another in the North as well. As long as any new club was well run, properly funded I don't think anyone would object. May I refer you to the above though and the two conference idea. That cuts Cardiff's travel down by a huge amount both in terms of miles and pounds.

TI - The 20/20 cup was originally said to be a new competition happening preseason, each season... Are there plans to reintroduce the competition next season, or after the way some teams and coaches treated it, are we better sticking with the current system?

DS - The 20-20 is a great idea and it's a huge pity that it wasn't kept on. It should come back as a league event. It should be played on the Saturday of the bank holiday so teams can still play home games on either the Sunday or the Monday. For it to work though all teams have to commit to starting the season at the start of the season. Again, if you had that boss who had the power then there is more chance of that happening. The 20-20 was a missed opportunity.

TI - Although the Challenge Cup groups are arranged geographically, Group A is always considered the group of death whilst Group B is considered to be ridiculously easy for the Giants. Is this way of organising the groups likely to continue, or will we see some sort of random drawing of the groups at some point?

DS - I think it will remain because it suits every club as it is right now

TI - Do you believe that your opinions should be reigned in slightly due to the impact they may have on your employers? I.e. Your opinions on the import limit may not be right for Team GB, and your view on the league structure may not be what Sky are happy to broadcast?

DS - SKY employ me because they want me to give opinion and not correctly worded politically correct scripts. On the TV I am not biased for Sheffield, look and listen and you will see that if anything I am more critical of the Steelers and pump the tyres of the opponents.

TI - As a press officer who oversaw crowds of 10,000 in Sheffield previously, do you feel that you're failing in that role with the crowds that now attend Steelers games and do you have any plans to change the way you present the games to try and bring new, or old fans back in?

DS - You used to get 3000 in the old barn, your crowds have fallen 50% as well. Is that the press officers fault in Cardiff? of course not. In Sheffield for a number of years we had zero investment in the business. Zero investment in back filling the seats that were becoming empty. That was until the start of this season. I think too much is focused on getting old fans back. I think new fans is where we should be looking and that is where we are looking.

TI - Who do you see taking the league, challenge cup and playoffs this year? Belfast, Nottingham and Sheffield have all had reasonably strong starts to the year and appear to be stacked with talent, but that's not always what leads to glory…

DS - Nottingham or Belfast for the league because they have the deepest squads. Depth is huge and the others don't have it. I think Nottingham on their day have the best team who can win on any given night. Can they do it over 8 months? Well that's the question every year with them. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the year they do. I of course would love Sheffield to win it but I think there is a lot of rebuilding this year both on and off the ice. I don't know if the Steelers have the depth. Losing Jonathan Phillips showed that right off the bat.

TI - Final question, although this is the biggest set of questions we've had for anyone, have we missed anything? Is there anything you'd like to add?

DS - I'd like to answer the Voth question. I think that people down there think I am a Voth hater where as nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I don't think there has been anyone who writes or comments on the sport who has said more positive things about Brad than I. There isn't anyone however who couldn't admit that there have been times when he has done some of the most dangerous and stupid things. I have just tried to be fair. The hit of Stefan Sjogren deserved criticism of the highest order, so did the one on Ashley Tait. You know better than me that there have been many more. Sometimes the guys goes one step too far - perhaps we have something in common him and me?

I think Brad Voth has been brilliant for the Devils and a brilliant identity for the league. He deserves all the good things that people have said about him. He can't though escape the criticism that is rightly coming his way for moments of madness.
 
We’d like to thank Dave for taking the time to talk to us and for his insightful replies to our questions.