Eels Blogs

Image: Shane McCurry, the expert independant leadership consultant, at work.

So our extensive Football Club review by Shane McCurry has concluded and steps are being undertaken to implement its findings.

CEO Bernie Gurr heralded the review as a "roadmap" to the Eels' future success, adding:

"The process involved over 160 interviews with a broad cross section of our Football Club including coaches, players, staff, senior management and the Board as well as former coaches, players and administrators."

So we all looked into the reflective pond at ourselves, introspected into our strengths and weaknesses, and asked who are we. We got some good answers too.

We all love a good review; especially, one focused on better leadership, thus success. All organisations do. All armies, teams, people need to believe in their leaders. Sun Tzu, the great Chinese army general, and author of 'Art of War', stressed the same point over 2,500 years ago.

McCurry: Mr Leadership

Also, McCurry has an impressive resume. He is a heavyweight leadership consultant to such organisations such as the AFL's Richmond, the army, various VIC government groups, the NRL, the NRL's West Tigers, ANZ, Hall & Wilcox, Australian Unity, and so on. And Now us: The Parramatta Eels. Also, I like McCurry. He's cool. He's about "well-being" by "connection", sounding pseduo Buddhist.  With a wide charismatic smile and long impressive beard that very hip. It all soaks in modern leadership ideologies.

The One he missed

But McCurry missed one interview: with our greatest and most successful coach, the legendary late Jack Gibson.

So let's go back to the past, back to basics and see what we can learn about ourselves, from Jack Gibson's writings. Old-School.

Two greats. Peter Sterling & Jack Gibson.

1. The origins of success.

What's the first thing we need for success? Gibson concludes: "Success starts at the front office."

The review looked into all aspects of administration, but many fans on this site appear unimpressed and want Gurr's head. However, is that really the answer?

Many, if not most Eels fans on this forum, would say yes, without a shadow of doubt. But Gibson also noted: "They'd boo Santa Claus, this mob."

It should not be forgotten, most fans lauded Gurr's appointment; because he wasn't someone like Paul Osbourne or Steve Sharp. Gurr had previous premiership success as a CEO and a business background. He wasn't just a one-time popular ex-footballer.

Image: CEO Bernie Gurr. Under fire from unconvinced fans.

Whether Gurr will ultimately bring us a premiership, as he did during his Roosters reign, only time will tell. But Gurr has a history of being creative, and the intent of the 2018 review he orchestrated McCurry to undertake is noble; as introspection and self-knowledge are the keys to success. Another item SunTzu noted in the 'Art of War'.

2. Toughness.

Image: Gibson with the Eels tough premiership winning team.

So bottom line, what do we need to win a premiership ?

"To win a championship, you've got to have a nucleus of five or six real tough, hard competitors. To win anything, the team's got to think tough and that infiltrates into the individual. You've got to have a tough leader."

Today's NRL players are generally fit, fast and physically strong, but the kind of toughness we are talking about is much more than that. It's also inner toughness. An unbreakable will.

Our on-field joint leaders are the talented footballer Gutherson and veteren workhorse Mannah whom are hard-working jovial lovable 'tough'. If I compared him to my late Grandmother, Mannah is very softly spoken and articulate.

But Lets face it, they're not Ray Price granite tough. Not even Beau Scott tough. Price and Scott are both hard heads. Tough-talking. Their body language speaks toughness. Their aura is toughness. They look tough too, even if they have faces only their mothers could love. They're not about being articulate, popular or lovable. They are about 'follow my example' toughness. Tough as nails.

The on-field results appear to support Gibson's views, as well as mine.

image: Ray Price "Mr Pepetual Motion" with The Crow.

Ray Price led the Eels during the 1980s, in our most successful 4-time premiership winning teams. Also, when Scott's body still held together during 2016-17 the Eels looked better, and performed better, didn't they? Our defence looked better, tougher, didn't it?

Toughness is needed for great defence. And in 2018 our defence was an abomination. It wasn't tough. It was hard-working and softly spoken.

So the bottom line is: Though I like Mannah and Gutho, we are never going to win a premiership with them as Captains, albeit Gutho shows potential. Sorry folks.

We have another issue. Do we really have a core group of 5 or 6 genuinely tough as nails unbreakable players ?

From our squad of 2019, it could be argued only only 2 or 3 players are really tough as nails: Nathan Brown and Manu Maʻu, both of whom are also injury plagued. Take those two out of the team and we're softer than melted cheese. Gutho and Alvaro try hard and Mahoney's appears to have a bit of spunk, but it's too early to start talking about him.

Nathan Brown should be our Captain, based on Gibson's ideologies. However, if Gibson is correct, we're not going to be winning a premiership any time soon, until this issue is addressed.

3. Confidence.

Image: Gibson "Played well, done good", with Eric Grothe & Stan Jurd.

You can't win a premiership without a talented roster, right?

Close, but no cigar. Gibson notes: "Talent is secondary to whether players are confident."

Confidence is as clear as day when you have it, and you could climb Everest in your slippers, but as mysterious as the darkest of nights when it's missing.

Image: A habit of losing. A vicious cycle eroding confidence.

How can you get confidence, when losing has become a habit? You need to start winning, no matter how ugly.

This is where Brad Arthur needs to steps in. He needs to find some answers; and quickly.

Image: Brad Arthur. Dead man walking?

It's unfortunate Arthur's coaching account is running low on funds, due to a disastrous 2018 campaign as being a dead man walking has never really led to success and confidence. It's more likely to harbour secret thoughts of escaping the noose. And although support appears to be there from the front office, fans aren't stupid; they are brutal in their thirst for success and know coaches come and go with great ease, in today's coaching merry-go-round.

The review stressed Arthur needed far more expert support. It appears the review is spot-on and successful coaches need good support - it's a given.

But our horrendous defence and prediminantly predictable and impotent structured attack, with our ego-clashing disconnected halves, all suggest we need a complete re-think of our fundamentals. Arthur is going to need some heavyweight support.

We need to start 2019 from a blank page, and start believing we can start winning again. How is the question?

Will the additional expert specialist, High Performance Units and new leadership programmes help instill that level of toughness and confidence we are currently missing?  Time will tell.

Most fans on this site call fans who don't scream for Arthur's head "unicorns" of naivity and unrealism. But is changing coaches again really the answer? It might help with the psychology of a fresh start and possible shot of temporary confidence from a few wins. But after that?

The bottom line is: Even if we acquire confidence and are competitive, and despite the artillery of expertise coaching support helicoptered in to help, Arthur or any new coach is going to be hampered by a lack of natural toughness in the playing group and on-field leaders, and that's a major problem. It's difficult to have a personality transplant overnight.

That could be Arthur's kiss of death, as well as any premiership ambitions we might ever have. Or we might find ourselves with a new coach in 2019 and in two years time find ourselves in a similar predicament, baying for blood.

A final look into the pond

Perhaps there's a reason so many coaches have passed through our revolving doors and performed poorly. Is it time to stop the revolving door and tough it out for once?