Not sure how seriously we should take this story....
Rival groups who attempted to wrest control of the Parramatta Eels board before the NSW government intervened fear coach Brad Arthur will walk away from the club and next season will be "dead" if an administrator lingers at the embattled club.
Having had their motions rejected for "legal reasons" on Friday, the three leaders of groups which agitated for an extraordinary general meeting next month have laid bare their concerns Arthur could turn his back on a club in administrative limbo.
An administrator will be placed in charge of the Eels – possibly by early this week – after Deputy Premier and Minister for Justice Troy Grant announced he will remove the same seven directors on the leagues club and football club boards.
Eels chairman Steve Sharp wrote to Grant on Saturday night effectively quitting and requesting the appointment of an administrator, but the men who were previously behind a push to overthrow the board maintain Arthur's patience could be worn thin if an administrator remains in place into 2017.
"The administrator has got to have time to find their feet and they've got to have time to deal with the urgent things, but you don't want them there for a long time because what happens to the team? That's my main concern," said Brendon Noney, who headed up one of three groups which generated support for an extraordinary general meeting.
"If this goes on for too long and it goes into next season then next season is dead. It's as simple as that. I think we would be in a lot of jeopardy of losing Brad Arthur to be frank.
"He's been a saint up until now – a saviour for our club – and some people might disagree with that. But he's the only bloke that's been running the joint in a competent way. And we don't want to lose him.
"I suspect if this goes on for too long we may lose the coach. And if we lose the coach we lose the players."
Tough times: There are concerns coach Brad Arthur could walk away from the club if an administrator lingers at the embattled Eels. Photo: Kirk Gilmour
Arthur is under contract until the end of next season and has not only held the side together during the salary cap scandal, but while battling high-profile incidents involving former skipper Kieran Foran, Corey Norman, Semi Radradra and Nathan Peats.
Local businessman Andrew Eagleston, who was also forming a ticket to help trigger the extraordinary general meeting, stressed the Eels needed some wise heads to immediately surround Arthur after a diabolical year off the field.
"We can appoint the right people around football and those positions can provide the stability and platform for the club to move forward," said Eagleston, whose model for the new Eels board would include independent directors. "And the coach is a big part of those plans. Having an administrator appointed for a period of time is not positive for the club. It doesn't allow us to move forward."
Noney, Eagleston and long-time Parramatta Leagues Club member Chris Losco, who generated more than the 100 signatures to stage a coup before Grant's intervention over the weekend, all had their resolutions for a historic member-forced meeting rejected on Friday.
That decision could be revisited by the administrator.
"It was pretty disappointing none of us were personally phoned [to explain why they were dismissed]," Losco said. "The football part of the business needs urgent leadership and we need the administrator to appoint an interim CEO and interim football director to assist Brad Arthur and the team."
It remains unclear whether the Eels' appeal of the NRL's salary cap sanctions – lodged on behalf of the club's dysfunctional board on Friday – will stand.
Parramatta's de facto chief Ian Schubert was awaiting news on the administrator on Monday before confirming the status of the appeal
The NRL stripped the Eels of 12 competition points, the Auckland Nines title and fined them $1 million for cheating the salary cap by $3 million since 2013.
Noney and Losco stressed the so-called "Gang of Five" – chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao and executives Daniel Anderson and John Boulous – should dip into their own pockets to fight NRL de-registrations now Grant has moved to axe the board.
"If they want to keep going they should fund it themselves," Losco said.
The Eels' threadbare finals hopes are all but extinguished after western Sydney rivals Penrith reeled in an early 14-point deficit at Pepper Stadium on Sunday.
Replies
brad arthur wont leave the eels now or next year, brads did the hard yards , unlike the board brad infact has the backing of the media even andrew johns and matty johns and all the fox sports staf in the nrl and seems to have todd greenberge on side too, brad smart and wont leave now why would he hes coaching price has doubled this year, or asking price the nrl should bring out the war chest for brad arthur, and make brad the nsw coach.
brad tonight proved he never needed watmough or foran or hayne this season and even went well with out semi.
brad has the respect from every where ..hes a winner.
What a crock of shit article, this is the reason why Chris's proposal was the best and why factions are killing this club.
yes sign brad arthur to a mil contract so the bronco's or st george or new zealand dont pinch him..
he put to much into the eels to lose and leave no doubt.
The CEO appoints a football manager after consulting with BA
Footy club sorted.
In the background the Adminsistrator reforms the leagues club and football clubs constitutions.
If the footy club is sorted then the leagues club is a seperate operation. The club needs an independent dictator and that will help BA rather then dealing with muppets like the board.
What is all this crap about a Dictator - unless you morons have no memory at all THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT STARTED OUR DEMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fitzgerald was a Dictator who started all the rot and to quote dear old Tanya - "We don't need to revisit the mistakes of the past"
Now an Administrator is possibly the best outcome to retain Brad Arthur.
Brad tells him who he wants and the administrator organises it for him - thereby allowing Brad to step away from all the things (non coaching) he has had to deal with over the past months.
He will stay with the right people in charge, no question. He doesn't need a board of factionalists, he needs a proper functioning and experienced football executive team.
Read what i said- we need a dictator at the moment to sort out our front office and constitutional issues. That independent dictator is the administrator
No where did I say we need a long term fitzy
We need to be run like a business with one professional person as head honcho.
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 5 Next