Eels Blogs

Hi all,

I KNOW a number of people have blogged on this already, a lot has been said and with two sets of elections coming up - Leagues Club and State Elections, you'll probably all be tired of seeing these, but we need to remind ourselves of reasons why voting, supporting a positive motion and having our voice heard in the way of voting is very important.

I'm not going to blog about state politics, but I want to say something about a subject that is dear to not only my heart, but truly the hearts of all fellow Eels supporters - The Parramatta Eels and Leagues Club Elections  .

Now I want to point something out before I go on.  I have only recently reactivated my Leagues Club Membership.  I was a member of the club for a LONG time, but I did let it lapse when I was not as much of a regular to the club as I once was.  Last year, not only did I return as a member of the Blue and Gold Army, but when my daughter became a member of the Junior Sweet P's (Parramatta Cheerleaders), I renewed BOTH football club and leagues club membership.  To this, I am NOT YET eligible to vote, so I am NOT blogging with an agenda.

WHY DO WE NEED TO VOTE IF WE ARE ELIGIBLE?

For the last few years we have seen a virtual game of "musical chairs" with regards to both the head coach and the chair of Leagues Club.

Last year we saw what the results on field can be when we not only have a passionate guy as our head coach, a passionate, knowledgeable LOCAL guy who wants to be there and who has the respect of the players.  But that was only part of the equation.  Having a focused "front office" a team that is wanting to move forward and wanting the club to have a continuing financial future.  Last year, it felt that once again, we had a "front office" working with a common goal again, the feeling was akin to those "golden years" from the 1980's.

For those who were able to attend the "State of the Union" dinner, you would have all been presented quite an eye opening set of facts and figures. You would have been presented with facts and figures of a club that was truly heading into a dark place financially. The hard calls that had to be made and the plans to expand the club beyond a dependency on poker machine revenue and selling off assets to balance the books, to try and shape Parramatta Leagues into an entertainment hub, with a similar feel to what Penrith did years ago with creating "Panthers World of Entertainment".

This is a pretty amazing vision, but is it everyone's vision of Parramatta ?

Some will say yes and will see the financial benefits from being free from poker machine revenue dependency, creating an entertainment hub and thereby making the Parramatta Football clubs main benefactor (the Leagues Club) a stronger entity , making the football club less susceptible to the temptation of a rich benefactor coming to the rescue.

Some will say "this is not the vision for me", as they will see no problem with private ownership or they really don't want to see Parramatta Leagues transforming into something new, something akin to what Panthers have.

While private ownership is certainly a "way of the world", and certainly in the world of the NFL, where they have their "boosters" at their club, I am personally a little reticent at this becoming a "norm" in the world of Rugby League.   It didn't work with Newcastle and Nathan Tinkler and we have to look no further at the problems that have plagued Manly since the Penn family have taken the majority ownership of the Manly club  -

http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/03/03/boardroom-bickering-spells-disaster-sea-eagles/

Would this happen at Parramatta if a passionate rich benefactor was to be part of a group to come to power?

There have to be checks and balances , we saw years ago when the head of our then major sponsor let it be public knowledge that he applied pressure for his choice of appointment for head coach.  Do we want that to happen again?


I will ask the question one more time - WHY DO WE NEED TO VOTE?


To put our weight behind an opinion, to feel that WE have had a say in the direction of the club by getting behind the individuals or group that you believe best represent the continued and or future success of our club.

I am sure that you have your opinion on the running of the club and have your own strong opinion and the election are your chance to have those opinions felt.

I know I cannot wait for the time in which I am eligible to vote , I hope that all 1 Eyed Eels will be turning out.

ADDENDUM EDIT TO THIS BLOG -  DOES ANYONE HAVE A CANDIDATE LIST FOR THE ELECTION.

I'd love to see one added to this blog for people to scrutinise 


Cheers!