As we transition with our rebuilding phase, I'm wondering if we have gone about it the wrong way around.
We have a great Home ground, we have great fans that will support the club, we have a world class training centre, we have the new constitution and Leagues Club to rival most others, We have the shiny new coach and assistant coach's, and we have a world class Halfback, with a new culture developing.
It appears that we have been checking off for some time all the ingredients required to have a winning club. This brings me to what I see as a major fault within our club.
It appears we are able to identify the players we wish to sign, there are many examples of that within our system right now, none better then Iongi, Lomax, Addo Carr and Walker. However there also appears to be a problem with getting classy players that are being courted by other teams over the line and sigining with our club. The 4 players I mentioned were not being courted by any other club.
So how do we fix it. If we are identifying where the club was falling behind with all of the above and we set about turning it around and fixing it, to the boards credit, then surely the same Board can see we are seriously lacking in the art of getting a quality player that other clubs want to join our squad.
What is it that is lacking in this area. Is it a lack of understanding of what makes the player tick, are possible recruits issues, fears, not being addressed during the negotiations, is it a stigma that players don't like our club, Is it the rookie coach might not be good, is it a lack of third party deals or investment clubs etc. Do the player managers not get on with our club. There must be something that is turning off potential recruits. Over the last couple of years we have lost so many players and potential coach's for that matter, that the club has identified as wanting or wanting to keep, and we havnt been able to get them accross the line.
So I do wonder who at our club is identifying the problem, and what needs to be done to turn this around. Over the next 12 months, we as a club have a huge war chest of salary cap $$ to be spent, but it won't matter if the club cannot sign the good 1st choice players they are targeting.
It makes me wonder, what our club would look like if we were to recruit say Gus Gould. Would that even be possible. I do wonder what type of $$ would it take to hire someone like him. We seem to be very light on in the reputation and signing power of our current head of football. I'd happily pay Gus Gould $2m a season to be our recruitment spokesperson, the man that makes the deal, that courts the new player. Surely someone of his experience and stature would be a crucial and club defining signing. Perhaps the very last piece of the Eels puzzle.
Im no fan of Mark O'Neill head of football operations, I have made that very clear. So how do we get the club to at least review what mistakes have been made or continue to be made that turns so many players away from us.
I think it's crucial for any future success, more so then any one player. We should be going for the best of the best people out there to be working on our contract negotiations and selling our vision to new recruit prospects. We search high and low for the best layers, then why don't we do that at Boss level, at management level.
Im not sure of whom we should even target if we were to replace Mark O'Neill, but i am of the strongest opinion that the club to move forward must as a matter of urgency delve very deep into what is going wrong at this level, and fix it. We have an oppurtunity with our war chest to really go after some serious talent right now,
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Good question BE. We have a cake shop and other related products in a small bakery in a small town in Alstonville.( If you are around Adam you should be interested) .The bakery is called "Home" and has about 8 staff crowded in a tiny area working non stop. The shop is always full of patrons waiting 10 to 15 minutes to be served. Visitors are often seen taking photos of cakes in the window... Another bakery across the road was quite well attended before this bakery came into town. Hardly anyone is to be seen there now.
What is the magic this new business has to draw so much interest? Who would wait 15 minutes to be served to buy some cake when there is a similar shop with few customers across the road?
Quality of product and word of mouth maybe.?
How do you replicate something like this in a footy club?
I don't know. Maybe something to do with finding what is the quality product and let word of mouth play out.
It's a vicious cycle but winning definitely helps. "If I go there I'm a good chance of playing finals / GF and therefore rep honours". It's a similar story with retaining young talent. "Why leave when I can stay and win a comp?"
Short term: No doubt Ryles and his team are doing their part but they can't shoulder all the responsibility. Dylan Walker showed how desperately this side needed experience. After Penrith got flogged last week Ivan Cleary said 'you can't run on potential forever'. To be a genuine threat you need that experience in amongst the rookies. Even a few 50-100 game players added to our pack would make such a massive difference.
Longer Term: Hopefully this year's rookies are sticking around to be 50-100 gamers for us and we're adding more and more juniors rookies to bolster the squad and so the production line truly begins. That's when we're flying high.
But for now we need experience. We're asking too much of rookies to go an entire season. And unfortunately it seems we'll be forced to take players no other club wants.
My dad passed away at the beginning of this month so I was in Alstonville a few weeks ago. I've got to say these days I'm not overly familiar with the all the eating spots in the main drag through town. There's the old post office which is now a cafe, across the pedestrian crossing is another and mum mentioned the old Thai restaurant further up the street is now one as well. The only bakery I know of is the old Macarthy's bakery around the corner (which is now called something else). I haven't lived there for over 30 years so things change. Let me know which one is yours mate and I'll take mum down and check it out.
Sorry to hear your Dad passed away mate . It must be especially tough on your mum. The shop is called Home Just past the petrol station towards the school. The butcher across from Home is also a very high quality Shop with a great selection of cold meats as well.
Tad It is great to see you adpopting capitalist principles, you just explained very simply why socialism doesn't work and enterprise does. (gee I hope the succesful one wasn't backed by a big business enterprise, that would create a different feeling about the product, would it not, especially that business employing the 8 people. lol).
Bluey, I think this answers your question as well, word of mouth and trust has not been good for 20 years for Parra, that word "stigma" is the problem.
Poor management represents the "shop" on the other side of the street that is not doing so well. They may have found a "rat"out the back and the "stigma"prevails.
Parra's management is going through that evolution and still has "rats" like Spagnolo running around the fence trying to get back in.
You know my views on O'Neil, I think he is more a possum than a rat and I wrote on a blog an alternative about his retirement.
The management is restrictive in term's of momentum because of the nature of a licenced club operating in such an environment as Parra has evolved. We haven't a Politis, Launday, Broco's Businessman, Storm Tripp etc.
This can change and the style of management will be based on long term planning that we are witnessing at present.
O'Neill obviously has been kept for a reason, the nature of our board makeup would not tolerate fools. Fong would argue they are fools, I would suggest that OTHER THAN A DICTATORSHIP that no better system is available. New and further recruitment with sporting type backgrounds and an association with business will also evolve.
I'm less worried about losing the Blaizes, Sanders and Galvins by reputation that is created by the perception of their being failures. That's why a lot of our punters are so dirty, they may be used to losing, but they don't like it just the same. WHO DOES.
Frankly the one horse races are the best, they mean you get something, rather than winning the lottery by buying the most tickets. We can only buy or development so many players to have a strong 2nd and Ist Grade set up. The purchase of say someone like Sandon Smith could be an exceptional opportunity because we gained experience by losing a race. I always try and look at reasons for things to happen and remain an optimist (Unicorn) by choice.
I would prefer an optimist Pops, they are more fun to hang out with, have a beer and chat with. However, the take charge and lead ethos within me always wants to know, who if anyone is looking for and identifying problems that are holding us back and what are they doing about that problem.
Like I've said many times before the players are subjective and people will have their preference and opinion on each one.But for us to improve we must find out why a host of players and the two high profile coach's were not interested in coming or staying at Parra. I think it's crucial.
Perhaps the reason as you suggest is that we needed to lose those players for the problem to be picked up and now the Board are looking at the Big question. Why can't we attract players in a multi horse race and what or whom is not up to negotiations.
It strikes me as truely amazing that we have heard on 3 occassions how the Board / Management of our club honestly thought we had certain players all but signed with definite commitments. I think Marty Taupau we had him here, all but starting on Monday, they lost him to Brisbane at midnight, They proclaimed that Blaize was good as, done and dusted, he was staying , will sign on Monday, once again he was gone within a blink of an eye. Galvin, last Friday they were telling those close to the board and Management that they had their man he was signing next business day, then gone. Something is amiss within our Head of football dept and or Contract Negotiators me feels.
Poppa I don't have an issue with Capitalism. Cottage Industry Capitalism is fine with me. My issue is with Capitalism centred around Monopoly and the background work done to remove genuine competition. Capitalism in the extremes manipulate the system.They don,t like boundaries.They don't like payinga fair share of tax and are interested in profits only and greed. The Communist system as it is in Russia is filled with privatization with Oligarchy self interest much like monopoly Capitalism. We have a record flood on the mid north coast with thousands of people in despair.Would monopoly Capitalism or Oligarchy be interested in looking after the welfare of those affected. Would they be willing to repair infrastructure like Roads,Hospitals, Energy infrastructure etc. Would they be interested in free education pensions, health care, defence services etc. Socialism looks after those community services. Are you happy to dispense with those commitments to our general progress as a liveable society?
so what are you trying to say Tad? sounds like you want to be a "liberal" voter, just stay away from those evil greens Taddy!
What policies from the Greens are the ones you don't like Pops. My main issue is everybody is born in only their own skin.Norhing else Let them live on an equal footing with everyone in a free competitive environment. Unfortunately some parents can stuff their lives and nothing much can be done about it.Let the "system" give them every opportunity to live to there potential despite the type of care they get from their starting blocks.
I don't know what news sources you follow Pops This is one example of unfair privilege.. Heaps of this stuff happening. Any examples of similar stuff coming from Geens?
https://youtu.be/y3EvpKevImk?si=VUrvsJ2ezUoZg7G3
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