Who should coach Eels in 2025, Why and how do we get them?
After 37 years without a Premiership Eels supporters seem unable to fantasize and just want to be realists - refering to the Coach 2024 blog that was just meant to ask who people (hypothetically) thought was the best coach for the eels at the moment regardless of any realistic chance that this would happen.
While I hate the Storm because they robbed us of a Hayne era premiership, they do seem to have had a core of very smart footballers. Not sure who is the best out of Bellamy, Smith, Cronk and Slatter. However, there seems likely a change of guard at Storm with one or both of Smith and Slatter taking over from Bellamy. Don't think we have a chance of Smith or Cronk. Bellamy has the track record as an elite coach who can bring premierships, and has the reputation. We need someone of that callibre to get a fairer deal from the NRL and Bellamy may be able to bring a few rising stars from the Storm system - including the ones that started at Parra. He would also be able to attract players for reasonable money from other clubs. My first choice would be Bellamy. How is maybe unrealistic; but, Bellamy has only had success in the Storm system. He gave up/failed at SOO. To really be considered an elite coach like Bennett or Gibson he needs to succeed in another system. Hassler and Cleary in my book are not elite coaches. Hassler only succeeded in the Manly system but failed at the Dogs. Cleary failed at Penrith and Tigers and only succeeded in the Penrith system once everything was in place for him. Bellamy's legacy needs proof in another system and what better than the Eels system that is not a basket case but has not produced a Premiership for 37 years and does not look close to cracking a spot as a top tier team. Time for the next gen at Storm and he needs to proove his ability elsewhere. If that does not work I would try Slatter. I doubt he would see us as anything but a stepping stone to a side he would prefer to coach and we may risk players going with him. However, so be it if he can produce a premiership for us before he leaves, which is a good chance if he can reproduce what he has done in SOO and does not need the think-tank he had around him or can still acces it.
BTW the best coaches voted in the 2024 blog were BA, Slatter, Hannay, Bellamy, McDermott, Bennett, Holbrook, Cronk, Ben Teo, Barrett, Ryan Carr, Madge, John Morriss and Hornby
Replies
I'm for BA. I think he has been tremendous in what were difficult times during the early part of his Parra career. I think it's difficult to manage a team of young men in their physical prime, and with super inflated ego's. Every team has these issues, but I believe he really looks after his players. (Remember what I was like when I was in my early 20's)
There was a story last year sometime about how he and his wife helped Maratha Niokore and his wife, you could sense there was genuine love for BA from the players and their partners. Wouldn't we all want to be in that environment.
I understand it's business and a professional sport and winning is important - but so is a happily locker room and I think BA does that!
Could we build a better defensive structure - yes. Could we recruit some exceptional high quality backs - yes. They know that! Is front office politics an issue - probably - but BA can't control that!
I think the shit he copped over JA was unwarranted. We as fans need to be more like Golden Retreivers with waggy tails and love for our team, rather than having the knives out all the time.
When I started high school the joke was - "What did Buck Rogers say when he landed in the 25th century? - Has Parramatta won a grand final yet!" - and then the next year we started our golden period of 4 Grand Finals in 6 years. It was good to be a Parramatta Supporter. It still is. Even if it's 37 years and counting.
BA is a Parramatta supporter. He has my support. Go 2024!
BA absolutely deserved the flak he got, JA did not. Start of last year I posted on TCT that if BA kept playing JA when not justified it would generate hate against JA. It was an obvious consequence. JA deserved to play games when Moses was out but he was not a utility, impact player and should not have forced DB out of position. The hate JA got was predictable and BA should have forseen it and avoided it by only playing his son when justified. JA just gave 110% and did not deserve the hate. It shows BAs lack of insight creating that problem. It was all on him.
I am sticking solid with BA we just need better recruitment and retention staff for mind Mark O'Neil has to go! Not BA! We would not have lost so many if someone who had a clue was in charge!
We've been trying to fill voids for 3 or 4 years now and miss everytime. Our R&R team are hopeless. Both ex tigers Neville's need replacing .
Politely, Get a new name. I have been on here for over 15 years. Adding a 77, COME ON!
We will have this same discussion in 10 years time when BA has been a 20 year coach for us and still not won a premiership.
Facts are we don't have a squad capable of winning a premiership although that can be rectified with a few key signings.
We also have a coach who just wants to be everyone's mate and not hold players accountable for poor efforts. In fact he appears to reward poor effort by giving average players 200 hundred chances to prove they aren't average.
BA is like Mal Meninga. He is a a good man manager but an average coach. Give him assistant's like Mal had during his SOO run and see how much further we can go.
Keep going down the path we are on and it's more bleak years for us without a premiership.
Yes I don't know why people are harping on about Barrett being some great assistant. He's a nuffie who's proven he is hopeless when he was given the reigns. I'm not buying his time at Penrith as his reference , they're doing pretty damn good without him. Anyone can be successful when a teams flying. But when he's had a gig at teams that need something , he's done fuck all. Infact we went backwards when he arrived.
BA obviously likes to surround himself with these dopes , and the dopes above BA are happy to have other dopes around so they're not being pressured from below for being more dopey than the non dopes in their employment. A bunch of dopes aren't going to call out the upper management for being dopes , and then every dopes happy just doping along pretending not to be dead set dopes.
Well after 1 season Webster showed what a good coach can do. No one had him in their sights. So takes away the argument of who.
Webster is this years Todd Payten story . Let's see him back it up or manage a team struck down with an injury crisis. Not taking anything away from him , he may well be the next Jack Gibson, but it's only early days and he's had a pretty good run this season.
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