FOOTY fans quite rightfully yawn long and wide during club elections.
Nobody gives two hoots if the local car salesman grabs a spot on his club board, as long as the franchise keeps winning and the right players are signed on healthy contracts.
The Parramatta Eels are a diabolical exception to all of this. As the team that used to be the pride of the west wallows near the bottom of the NRL ladder, and star signing Kieran Foran looks grimly at the politics of the place, this is a club that has fallen victim to factional brawls, back stabbing and a Sopranos-style drama.
The ongoing drama at Parramatta could have Kieran Foran looking over his shoulder.
This is not a column about who is running for a board seat, or who should be running for a board seat, or who will win an election that is one of a string of many over several years that have fractured the place.
This is about the coach, Brad Arthur, who has played the politics brilliantly by forcing his bosses into three contract upgrades since he became the mentor at a club that simply cannot manage its own affairs.
It is about how a club with an apparently super player list, minus just one fullback in Jarryd Hayne, can capitulate so badly that they are now sitting in 15th place after being penned in for top four honours.
It is also about the NRL administration which has steadfastly refused to intervene in Eels business over a decade because of the rivers of gold that flow from the leagues club.
Instead of addressing the real issues of governance and transparency at Parramatta, the NRL has turned a blind eye to the office brawls and ballot box high jinks, allowing scenes to unfold that involve police arresting dodgy members to prevent them voting.
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The four day leagues club election started on Thursday. If you hope to get the full, true story of why exactly any of these tickets represent, you might be sadly left wanting.
Just about everybody is aligned to someone or other who is running, vested interests overtaking common sense in another gut wrenching ballot, which will tear the place asunder again.
All of them say the Eels will win next year’s competition. It has been three decades since they did but we are told that this election will fix that and the trophy will be raised in 2016.
Coach Arthur, managed by the same brothers who run Daly Cherry-Evans’ affairs, has jumped all over the troubles and drawn three pay rises out of the place since he arrived at the club in 2012.
The Orr brothers (not a bad country band but a management team), Gavin and Chris have a habit of offering coaches and players around to just about anyone while they are still under contract, then milking a pay rise so their charges can announce they are “committed” to the place anyway.
Arthur was linked to Manly earlier this season. He did little to dispel the rumours and was happy to play the Eels and the Eagles while both clubs suffered dreadfully throughout the speculation.
Arthur’s record as a coach, and here is the crux of the matter, is hardly the stuff of inspiration. Until the Eels signed him, he was Craig Bellamy’s deputy in Melbourne and Geoff Toovey’s at Manly. Since he joined the Eels on a three-year deal, his winning record is just 45 per cent.
He arrived in a blaze of glory, and long-suffering Eels fans had every right to think the head office troubles could be erased by a man who appeared to be in possession of the talent to lead Parramatta out of the desert.
Brad Arthur’s future appears safe despite a questionable winning record.
Instead, Hayne’s exit to the NFL has triggered a malaise in the place that threatens to derail this season and beyond.
Halfback Chris Sandow plays like a bloke without a coach, great one week, terrible the next. Star recruit Anthony Watmough has not struck a blow since he arrived in the blue and gold at the start of the season. The once rock hard, tough as bootstraps forward looks like a passenger and unlikely to lead a forward pack into finals football.
This at a club that boasts one of the biggest junior nurseries in rugby league. Where are the young stars?
Why spend millions on past-their-best signings when there are superstars undoubtedly waiting in the wings playing on local grounds every weekend?
None of the tough questions are ever answered at Parramatta. The quagmire created by constant board mutinies that see former greats jump into separate camps in search of power, has crippled the place.
Steve Sharp, one of those former greats, is heading up a ticket. He told The Daily Telegraph this week that all will be back on track once he is elected, that Arthur is safe and that the Eels are winning without Hayne.
Once more, the blue and gold army are asked to buy this stuff and place their faith in another faction leader.
I thought Manly was the worst run footy club in the NRL. The Tigers were second worst.
The unfolding debacle at Parramatta makes those two look like corporate juggernauts.
Replies
This dope doesnt even realize that sharp is the current chairman.... what a dope.
Knowing a little about your subject goes some way towards credibility. Knowing nothing about it yet pontificating over it shows stupidity imo.
This should come with a viewer warning, given it's by Rebecca Wilson. I seriously don't get the point of this article other than Parramatta bashing.
We're not broke (ala the Wests Tigers), we don't have players walking out (ala Manly). I wouldn't say we're in that big of a crisis. But seriously, the media are tearing us apart. Worst article I've ever read.
A lot of this is media driven. I think Gronk over on LU put it perfectly when he said.
""The Board" cannot prevent merkins nominating and spreading propaganda designed to create instability. "The Board" cannot stop the SMH and Telecrap publishing stories which are designed to spread unthruths and cause division. There is zero that can be done about this and frankly until such time that Fitzy, Spags and their henchman f**k right off and stop pretending that they give a crap about this great club this problem will never go away."
By skimming over the issues you have done a great disservice to the very individuals who are doing their utmost to stop the very thing you are describing. If you had dug, even a millimetre deeper and looked at the place properly you would see a club that was a shambles but is making great progress under the watch of Steve Sharp and his Board. The factions causing all the unrest are commonly known as the Spagnolo faction and the Fitzgerald faction. Maybe you should ask why these two factions who have previously each had a chance at running the Eels only to have been responsible for years of mediocrity and wooden spoons will not allow the current Board the clear air to continue to get on with the job. Lazy journalism Rebecca and certainly not helping. Thanks for nothing.
Spot on Muttman, you said it all.
Calling this journalism in any sense is very generous of you Mutt.
Just another glowing example of why women should stay away from commenting on running footy clubs, i know Rebecca, our dogs play together at Rushcutters park, She will be copping a big dose of the snake next time i see her.
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