If I may, I want to talk about us fans for a moment.
We loved Ivan but that has turned sour. He hasn't yet taken us to the finals but a vast majority of us believed in him and wanted him long term.
Over 200 pages now suggest that as fans, many of us have not only lost the love but resent him being our head coach any longer.
The meeting with Penrith (however harmless we want to believe it was) was the catalyst for this extreme about face from the fans. Silly Ivan.
Right now we are a very disillusioned mob and the club needs to step up.
Ivan has a job now to convince players that he wants to build a winning dynasty here - an impossible task, considering he wants to coach his son at Penrith and build his real winning dynasty over there.
Our position on the open market is shot and the faith of his own players here must be highly dubious. I don't see how this point is arguable. (Note: Benji's comments in this regard are moot. He is only staying for another season and he would play under any coach, surely!)
Whether or not Ivan sits or goes to Panthers is a separate question. So, let's no think of it as conceding to the Panthers just yet.
But we all need to now Ivan is a sitting duck. If he stays on this year and maybe even next year he will bear the brunt from the fans, regardless of results. Being that it will be really difficult to improve our team (based on the above) it is a matter of time before poor results follow and "Ivan Out" signs appear at games. That seems harsh, but it will happen. We are a passionate lot and we want what is best for the Tigers. We all want and need a stable coaching environment, and that cannot be achieved as long as Ivan is about.
The damage is done. I think a good proportion of the fan's appreciate it is irreparable.
As such it is a pretty simple, but really sad equation; if Tigers management want the fans back, Ivan has to go.