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,
Replies
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
Poppa I often wake up around 3 to 5 am. I am still thinking about my own Political influencers. Tha names that resonate the most for me over Labor or the Greens are people like Ted Mack, Andrew Wilke,Tony Windsor, Oakshot, Pockoc ( who I like alot) and Cheryl Kernot and a few other Independents who are more affiliated with their community interests rather than those trying to shape our mindset around voting against our own humble interests. Cheers
I am sorry BE for kinda hijacking your good blog . Politics and how it affects people's daily lives really gets to me
So you're telling me that the Galvin's really aren't Parra fans? Nooo
Hey Bluey, don't knock the Unicorns we know how to enjoy a beer!
This is titled Unicorn weds one eyed eeler. Oh to get my horn back!
Ps , I understand Walker isn't development, but he'll go close to buy of the year if he keeps his form to date
My daughter has a friend who recently visited us. She is in her 50,s driver's an old car and struggles materially. Has spent a fair bit of time in India studying Buddhism. She is currently doing a Buddhist Master's degree in Buddhist philosophy. I asked her if Buddhist mental practice and discipline would be an asset for something such as football. She replied " definitely".
Money can be a powerful incentive for many as bait. For others a bigger bait is a sense of being a master of your craft. It's all about getting the right incentive with the right mindset for the particular person you want on board. We all have different needs .
Yes Tad, very good points.