BRAD ARTHUR
It’s crazy to think the coach of a team that finished in the top four could be under pressure the following season, but such is the brutal nature of the NRL. Arthur signed an extension in August which will keep him at the helm until the end of 2022. But as all of the axed coaches in 2020 will tell you, contracts don’t always mean a coach is safe. Arthur and his team recruited well heading into 2020 to build a competitive side that went on an impressive run in the first half of the season, winning eight of their first 10 games. But then the wheels began to fall off and by finals the Eels were hardly the exciting and dominant team we saw at the start of the year. They should have gone deeper into the finals, it’s as simple as that and their back-to-back finals losses raised some doubt over whether Arthur is the right man to take the club to the premiership.
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/87cea939857b56c611d3af6c407d3474?width=400 400w, https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/87cea939857b56c611d3af6c407d3474?width=480 480w, https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/87cea939857b56c611d3af6c407d3474?width=650 650w, https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/87cea939857b56c611d3af6c407d3474?width=700 700w" alt="Can Brad Arthur take the Eels to a premiership? (AAP Image/Brendon Thorne)." />Can Brad Arthur take the Eels to a premiership? (AAP Image/Brendon Thorne).Source: AAPAfter the Eels’ semi-final loss to the Rabbitohs, club legend Peter Sterling suggested the players lacked mental resilience. On the back of that it was reported that there were some rumblings of unrest with the Parramatta hierarchy wanting to see a change in Arthur’s coaching style. One person from the club went as far as saying “running an extra three laps of the oval is not going to get us a premiership.”
That’s hard to ignore
There hasn’t been complete unity in the recruitment department either which has led to some eyebrow-raising signings that not everyone is on board with and the butting of heads has added to the existing tension.
While the issues may not be isolated to just Arthur, he is the head coach which means, fair or not, the blowback lands on him.
Replies
Exactly right, so the pressure should be applied.
His finals record is appalling and the way they dropped off late in the season is an indication that he worked the players too hard early in the season, the good run was possibly because the team was fitter than the opposition.
Please step aside Brad and let someone more capable finish the job off.
Here's a tip for you Rappetite. Trent Robinson is an out and out Francophile. If the Covid situation in Europe improves, he'll pack up after 2021 and head back there. Fitzgibbon will be odds on to take over at the Roosters, so we have absolutely no chance of landing either of them.
Poor Muppet
Like it Brissy.
One thing that our young side and BA are getting in bucketloads is experience. And unless your kissed by a unicorn Experience is gold when it comes to Finals footy.
Getting experience in losing finals matches.
Spot on Brissy!
Remember all the hooplah when we signed Stephen Kearney? Apparently he was the 'next big thing' in coaching. Bellamy's protege! Lauded by Wayne Bennett!
And?
A complete and utter failure as a first grade coach.
Honestly, I think if BA swallows some pride and gets a proven assistant coach to help with structures, we have the squad - and the coach - to win us a premiership!
Could not agree more Bourbon; assistants are just that, assistants. Its entirely different when they are head honcho and have to make the calls. Kearney for one, Barrett another, BA worked under Manly and was the same. Yes he has no GF to his name but he has stabilised the club, and yes he is under pressure over the next season plus. That will be the clubs call.
I too would have made some change to assistants but he appears to have kept them all, so its up to them to get the team to fire. Its simple.
Mitchy,
No assistants can help as B.A. is the failure
BA isn't a failure, he has failed on occasion, and he has some failings as a coach, that much we can all agree on, but he's not a failure.
Everyone fails from time to time, even Trent Robinson failed in 2016, after Mitchell Pearce's preseason shenanigans, Robbo couldn't put the pieces back together on the fly and the Roosters barely avoided the wooden spoon.
So it's not about whether he failed or not, since every coach does at some point, it's how did he rebound from that failure, and with a 5th & 3rd place finish since then, I'd say he rebounded quite well.
Now, is BA the man to take us further ? Well, given that he has two years remaining on his contract, he has 2021 to show that he has learned where we have fallen over in the last two seasons come finals time.
If by midseason it's clear nothing has really changed, then I suspect the club won't offer him an extension and they'll negotiate a payout for 2022 and the club will pursue other options.
"No Wooden Spoons while I'm here".
He's lied to us.
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 13 Next