Interesting questions have been raised (constantly) about our club and a SCAPEGOAT to blame.
Personally I am usually quick in seeing obvious problems and when you look at the period my experience covers, I have seen most of the things that only Parramatta supporter's can lament and relate to.
This particular one is a quandry, I think MONS needs to go, but I don't actually blame him for any of the events that recognise the damage that has been outlined. I think he could be sitting back in his arm chair asking how he ended up in this mess?.......... I don't think he has ever been the final decision maker on most of the things we would like to blame him for.
The other protaganist and yes Scapegoat is Jim Saratinos? So I am going to critique both him and MON's and explain why they have been blamed
The pathways coaches are recognised for their strong roles in rescuing the situation post Covid and I see no blame evolving there (unless it is still evolving).....the fan base tend's to overate them (our juniors) because we should be so strong in this area, yes we are a Development Club and we do provide a lot of players.....we would it seems not be overly good at bringing through the ones that we would like to claim. Maybe we are just victim's of that process as we have struggled to obtain balance with juniors and recruitment and in endeavoring to satisfy that equation.......Fcuked up Both!
Reverting to MONS you need to go back to his recruitment, he probably was never the right guy to table as General Manager Football whereas the reality is that the first grade coach in both BA's and JR's terms have been the final arbitar in almost all decisions outside of the financial impact of cap and policy. I think MON's has probably done a fine job in structuring and recruiting pathway coaches, even the women's coach.
So this leads me to the final "scapegoat" Bernie Gurr! What!! you say....the guys the best thing to happen post the renaissance!.... yes that's true! he did a great job...but did he finish it?
I blame Bernie because he recruited MON as a General Manager Football, a role that he showed was pretty toothless because BA's power was at its peak and he (BA) really was the guy, making the decisions on recruitment and retention. Yes the position (GM) was part of the review, but a more constructive process would have allowed the person to grow into the role where the structure allowed it to.
MON's went about his business developing pathways and faciltating people in lower level's behind First and Second Grade and executing signings made for him. Never really empowered in the primary sense..
Jim Saratinos inherited Bernie's role, Jim is obviously a fine administrator and financial manager.....as a CEO empowered to be much more decisive about football matters, he simply wasn't !
Based on his inexperience in that role which he basically stayed out of and during the initial period that he came in, he saw/ recognised that BA had things under control and was content to leave it at that.
Intelligent people do quickly learn just the same and all the time this was happening Jim was learning heaps about the football side and I can only presume making judgements of the relative incumbents. He never had the football background or experience that Bernie had, who would have maybe acted very differently if he chose to stay on.....he left for greener pastures in the states, but is to this day still a passionate Parramatta supporter.
So we were left with our primary scapegoats and to evaluate the thoughts that come through this forum, we need to understand better than we do that things are not as Black and White to just go out and attack individuals for the perception of their failures.
Too many people on here put themselves in a position of decision makers, whereas they have no real understanding of how business works or things happen, everyone is entitled to an opinion, not saying that, just saying that the intelligence and actual judgement of making these things happen are stuffed up in a lot of busineses without thinking the guys have no fcuking idea!
I can only think of our politicians in comparison, but just remember, you put them there as well!!!
I don't have the answers BTW but Iam writing this so an understanding of the pieces that make up the "Parra Lament" are understood better. Everyone seems to have the answers by "sacking MON and JS" without understanding how pieces fit and what needs to be done......My initial reaction is that MON needs to go, because his credibility has now got huge question marks and that JIM needs to stay as I think we need a CEO like him but with the understanding of having proper GM Football who reports through him.....the GM Football needs a lot of thought because I would actually have Ryles also reporting to him, with a clear defintion I might add. Obviously that person needs to be very "powerful" to command such a role!
An after thought by the way and not a recommendation, is that Jason Ryles could be a great GM Football and he appoints a coach to work under him! Early days for such a move, but I think that's where a lot of these processes need to head in the sense of how a coach is perceived......Foz's example of a coach and what he is achieving is an example that the modern day coach can keep it simple and the GM does the slogging!
An heirachel structure at Parra could be GM Football runs all Football Matters.....reports through CEO for Finance & Administration Matters...... . First Grade Coach reports through and appointed by GM Football,........ Manager Pathways and Administration reports through GM Football.
Replies
Thanks PG, I'm glad you read it.
A good soldier is actually a compliment and one you should be pleased with. Armies ride on the value of good soldiers supported by good leaders......you should not undersell yourself as we need both. You decide what "cap" suits you, but remember you have to wear it once you decide!
Go back and read the message and your response and then you may understand why "you were not listening".
I honestly am astouded by your blogs and so called salient advice ....mate you really have tickets on yourself......go stand in front of the mirror and flagilate yourself Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
Who in your summation leads the negotiations and works out the black and white details of a players contract. Whom ever that person is, is the person that needs help. There are only 4 on the R&R committee. Sarantinos, O'Neil, Ryles, Rogers.
Are you suggesting it's Sarantinos or Ryles that is negotiating with player managers, and managing the salary cap.
At the end of the day, it dosnt really matter whomever it is or who the collective are, they need help, they need someone that is respected , can get the players they go after. I believe you when you say O'Neil is respected by player managers, but i saw an interview with Dylan Brown about his last contract with the Eels and how he and his manager pushed stupid requests in the form of contract clauses, and laughed about it when the club agreed to them. That was not showing respect, that was a complete bitch slap across the face to who ever approved it at the club.That right there is an example of how out of their depth our negotiator was at that time. We have to be better.
Bluey, I wrote a long summation in the form of the blog....
You now ask me questions that I cannot answer and make no apologies for same i.e.
How would I know who leads the negotiations and works out the b/w details? I was suggesting unequivalently that the final decision was with the coach.....my informant said that and I do not know otherwise.
You state that it doesn't matter who it is ....they need help......was that not what i said in my blog and in reply to your post?
No worries, i thought you had some inside scoop Pops, with the player manager angle. I was hoping to learn something. I was agreeing with you re the last paragraph, just adding my thoughts as well.
No worries mate, I always enjoy your challenges and learn by them as well.
Blue Eel, your story about Brown and his manager laughing about clauses they had accepted does in fact suggest the negotiator made the wrong call. Fair point. But it also suggests Brown is telling fibs when he says it was not about the money. The club refused to increase his pay so he took those clauses and ran, and it is a bit too unbelievable those clauses were thus not thrown in originally to give himself the means to go after more money.
The other way of interpreting the Brown saga is that if he took what was already a SEVEN figure salary he had a contract until the end of 2031. That is a tremendoous commitment by the Eels as a club, and Brown dudded them for cash.
All true, disrespected the negotiator, disrespected the club. Its always about money and when it isn't , it is but they don't know it.
'Some people earn respect, some command it, some want it and never get it, others never want it and have it in bucketloads.
Blue Eel, the thought that kept coming back to me about Dylbag$ was that I didn't think the player options were clearly and simply bad negotiator failures. I understand they were weaponized and so we can now say "bad idea" (same Luai!). But the club basically said to Brown, at a young age, we know you're probably thinking "do I decide this huge future thing now". Brown was obviously immature at the time, just look at his later behaviour off field. So player optioins in a away were saying "we are placing some trust in your".
For those saying that is a crazy idea, why are platey options placing trust, well because an absolutely essential feature of trust relations are vulnerability relations. You want someone who you are not sure or know does not trust you to trust you? Be vulnerable to them. It's called a form of bootstrapping to get from no trust to trust. So the Eels were a bit vulnerable (player options), gave security to 2013 at seven figure amounts, and I think thery were saying to Brown that he could trust them. Brown then stabbed them in the eye.
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