If Brad Arthur were deposed tomorrow, you'd hardly find an Eels fan who would disagree.
Only 18 months after a somewhat unexpected grand final appearance, Parramatta's fall from grace has been swift and brutal.
A massive injury toll cruelled their 2023 season, despite showing glimpses of the side they could be. Despite a pre-season that promised improvement, the side has done nothing but regress, and now the pressure mounts on head coach Arthur.
While injuries to Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson have had, and will continue to impact the side, they have been no excuse for some of the insipid displays put on by the blue and gold.
Two second half maulings at the hands of the Raiders and an extremely under-manned Dolphins led Arthur to state his side were only part-time footballers.
A more spirited yet still mediocre performance against Manly showed there was still some fight in the side.
More than there has been at fellow cellar dwellers Souths, anyway.
But as much as Arthur has called on his charges to step up, the calls for Arthur to change aren't quite as loud, nor is he being quizzed about it in the media.
Arthur's classic tactic is to bash and barge using his middle forwards to plow a hole through the opposition's centre. Maybe he's a student of the likes of Alexander the Great, or Napoleon, who would famously use their most damaging weapon (For Alexander, his cavalry, for Napoleon, his cannons) to attack the opposition's middle and cause them to break?
However, he probably wasn't paying full attention as both legendary generals were known for their flexibility and adaptability. For Alexander it was his ability to draw out and decimate the Persians at Issus and Gaugamela, for Napoleon, it was his ongoing battles against Austria and the 1st and 2nd coalitions where his manouevrability allowed him to separate and demolish opposing armies.
There have been valid criticisms over Arthur's squad. Concerns over the ages of his middle and edge forwards, while in the backs they haven't replaced those that have come before.
But further thought should be given to how Arthur is using the players at his disposal.
A lot of sides are moving away from having their forwards doing all the dirty work. Penrith use their back 5 in yardage to allow their forwards to attack in good ball, and pile on defensive pressure, the Raiders did the same to great effect against the Eels.
Parramatta is clearly vulnerable both on the edges and, as the game winds on, through the middle, particularly around the ruck.
Arthur could try to assuage this by either copying the same tactic, or reduce the minutes of his ageing middle forwards and use some of the younger cattle such as Wiremu Greig and Luca Moretti to inject greater energy into the side.
Plenty of focus too should be on Mark O'Neill. He may have been the one in charge when Parramatta executed a squad refresh in 2019/20, but you can't rest on decisions made 5 years ago.
A cursory look at what the best sides were doing last year should have been enough to realise a change in both tactics and personnel were needed to pick things back up in 2024.
Alas, none of that has happened.
Arthur's current strategy is like trying to use the Schlieffen Plan when Blitzkrieg is far more effective.
The coming month could very well decide Parramatta's future and Arthur's fate. Brisbane, Melbourne, Souths and Cronulla. Only against the Rabbitohs would the Eels be favourites and there's no guarantee they will actually show up.
Replies
Yes we all know, this is why the fans and media need to keep piling on the pressure.
They've had there hand on the button for years and they still haven't pulled the trigger aren't you worried that if they finally do and BAs gone aren't you still concerned the root of the issue is still running the club.
Of course but we can't do anything about that, all we can do is hope and put pressure on them to start doing a better job and that starts with changing the coach.
You are talking about the same people that are rumoured to have passed on Wayne Bennett mate.You know they can off load the coach but the cancer is still there mate.It's almost a band aid because the powers that be you can't trust them to make the important decisions.
If they can't make a tough call now by showing BA the door how is that really fixing the real issue at Parra.They had the opportunity above and have side stepped it.
Do you have any faith in the next guy they hire to come in here under there stewardship to succeed.It feels like the same discussion is going to be had in a year or 2 because the new guy isn't setup for success.
Totally sick of it Raptor like we all are.
What a great summary you've compiled there! Anyone with doubts as to why we've had enough simply just needs to read your summary.
Thought for a while there things might turn and we'd earned the right as fans to show up and know that our team was prepared for the fight ...sadly usually knew in the first five mins whether they were up for it or not. This is the coaching staffs job to ensure they are.
your summary totally sums up all our distress and fear there is more to come somehow :(
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