Legend Ben Elias says Wests Tigers split down middle

Enough of this us v them. Balmain and Wests are dead! Time to make the Wests Tigers powerful again. Get rid of the board and replace them with an independent one. If it means to base the team at Campbelltown then so be it. Play one or two games at LO and the rest at CS. To many old heads having a say. Just like the fossils at the NSWRL/QRL who for so long tried to stop the independent commission so are the current board of the Wests Tigers. Give us members a say in this club and i am sure the club will head in the right direction. And on a separate note I believe that Sheens is the major cause of our current problems, has he left any club in a good position after he has left?
 
@Gladesville Tiger said:
Enough of this us v them. Balmain and Wests are dead! Time to make the Wests Tigers powerful again. Get rid of the board and replace them with an independent one. If it means to base the team at Campbelltown then so be it. Play one or two games at LO and the rest at CS. To many old heads having a say. Just like the fossils at the NSWRL/QRL who for so long tried to stop the independent commission so are the current board of the Wests Tigers. Give us members a say in this club and i am sure the club will head in the right direction. And on a separate note I believe that Sheens is the major cause of our current problems, has he left any club in a good position after he has left?

Yep,similar to my own views,long time Balmain member/fan but for the Tiger to survive we have to work with Wests and that means Campbelltown is our long term future.
 
I was so peeved to read this story this morning. Just shut Benny. We already knew where he stood on everything and it's not surprising where this story came from given our on field problems. Wests Tigers needs an outlook which just places Balmain and Wests in a quiet room out the back collecting dust. Why? Because we've proven for too long now that we can't make it work any other way. It's embarrassing to have this stupid, childish infighting keep rearing its ugly head. The sooner both clubs take a back seat, the better.
 
Do you want Balmain back?

Surely a more diplomatic answer along the lines of ''Balmain will always be in my blood but the priority now is Wests Tigers and they are the future '' would be more appropriate. He sounds like just another dinosaur whinging on a forum.

He preaches for unity then in the same interview throws Wests under the bus without evidence and says he wants Balmain back. Wouldn't that kill Wests Tigers? 😕
 
I dont care what Elias has to say, i Was a Balmain supporter, i AM NOW a wests tigers supporter, i wish these old dinosaurs ( Elias, Roudonikis } and the rest of the ancient Balmain and West's players would either get on board Wests Tigers or get lost, they do more damage than good. I wish they would realise the more arguing at board level and in the media the more they are ripping our club apart. If that's they're attitude then they can bugger off. The new Parra chairman { i think } said Parra will become the club for the people, but that will only happen if our club drop's it's bundle. Right now the Wests Tigers are the club for the people. Let's remember 2005 when we won the comp, even supporter's of other club's were happy { except cowboy's } because the battler's won, the battler's showed everyone it could be done, no one rated us, but when we won everyone was happy because were a club everyone can relate to, because we are the battlers. Let's not stuff that up by allowing these former player's to ruin it. We as supporters have to stand firm and continuously tell them to zip it. Because if we can't how can we expect the media, other supporters to. This is the club we love good and bad personally i would'nt have it any other way, the tough times are great cause they make the good time's all the more sweeter. Sorry for the long rant but the divided board is an issue dear to me cheer's guy's. :sign:
 
No wonder the average punters have this sort of mentality when former board members carry on like this. Get on board or walk away Benny.
 
He wouldnt discuss the BLC development

Mentioned he sat down with Blocker, Sirro and Jnr…suggested they get Tommy, Ned Kelly & maybe someone like Mick Liubinskas to sort all this out

Said balmain propped up Wests share for the JV for the first 4 or 5 years.
 
I fail to see how Benny's comments can be considered helpful.

Glad to see he considers the Wests Tigers a success. To ensure their continued success, maybe he can try to be less provocative and more constructive.
 
I dunno why everyones down on benny

This is what we need, someone to bring to attention the crap thats going on at board level, I applaud him for it, IF WTs priorities are his prime motives (never easy to trust him wholly unfortunately)

But if what he's sayings true, which it seems to me to be the case….then keeping mum about it all is hardly going to change things

Problems need identifying before they can be addressed, hopefully pressure on the board can result in some positives for the club

As for his comment on balmain coming back - meh, at least hes honest - which is funny I guess
 
If it sheds light on the division at board level, and the failure of dinosaurs to grasp the concept of 1 club….then its helpful.

The other stuff is just Benny being Benny, he was always a ****stirrer.
 
I laugh at those that believe ridding the Wests Tigers of its Magpies and Balmain influence will magically make things better.

Boards rarely get along at the best of times let alone when the going gets tough.

And at the moment, Balmain isn't paying its obligation to the Wests Tigers on time. This puts stress on the other side of the joint venture and I cannot blame the Wests Group for using this situation to better leverage themselves back into this joint venture.

To the Wests Groups credit, they have never once mentioned removing Balmain from the Joint Venture or disbanding the Wests Tigers. I'm fairly confident (much to Benny's disgust) that the Wests Tigers are here to stay.

For those that want Wests Tigers to be an independent club they have to realise that the Wests Group and Balmain Tigers have been the most loyal financial supporters to the Wests Tigers from day dot to now. Sponsors come and go, Private owners lose interest.

If you really want more say in the Wests Tigers, become a members of Wests Ashfield Leagues Club and Balmain Tigers and drive change from within.But that's too hard for most. They'd rather just whinge about how unfair it all is on the internet.
 
Nothing is magic, its common sense. Having a 50/50 split and an us vs them mentality in the group charged to make the big decisions is just ludicrous.

They need to learn to work together or just PO!

And I'd become a Wests Ashfield member but I'm afraid the 1000km drive would be quite a struggle.
 
@innsaneink said:
I dunno why everyones down on benny

This is what we need, someone to bring to attention the crap thats going on at board level, I applaud him for it, IF WTs priorities are his prime motives (never easy to trust him wholly unfortunately)

But if what he's sayings true, which it seems to me to be the case….then keeping mum about it all is hardly going to change things

Problems need identifying before they can be addressed, hopefully pressure on the board can result in some positives for the club

As for his comment on balmain coming back - meh, at least hes honest - which is funny I guess

What problems has Benny identified that can be realistically addressed ? The problems that exist now existed on day one and will more than likely exist in year 2051\. By the very nature of being a joint venture we have this dysfunctional structure that can't be dismantled by one party without detriment to the other. Benny said we are all in it together and that s the way it will stay. For better or for worse !
 
Fire the board. Do what Cronulla and Parra have done. We want quality people who are passionate about the joint venture. I don't care if they are local businessmen etc… If they love the new club, they can help it prosper. The old boards will never agree 100%. Someone is always gonna get screwed. Maybe do as somone above suggested and move its base to Cambeltown and make that our home ground, our fortress. Put money into it, harrass the local government for upgrades etc.... No wonder everybody is laughing at us, we suck on the field and off. Get it sorted boards, or we will all go down together and nobody wins. Sort it :sign:
 
Who could force the board to quit or force all shareholders to give up their shares in WT? Does the fan base push for a independent board at the risk of cutting off the Ashfield umbilical cord of money?

In regards to expansion, i believe that any Sydney clubs that have had to merge means the new merged team / JV is automatically exempt from any forced re-locations.
 
@innsaneink said:
I dunno why everyones down on benny

This is what we need, someone to bring to attention the crap thats going on at board level, I applaud him for it, IF WTs priorities are his prime motives (never easy to trust him wholly unfortunately)

But if what he's sayings true, which it seems to me to be the case….then keeping mum about it all is hardly going to change things

Problems need identifying before they can be addressed, hopefully pressure on the board can result in some positives for the club

As for his comment on balmain coming back - meh, at least hes honest - which is funny I guess

Yeah being honest and having your say is one thing, but it's not like Benny isn't telling us anything new. We know the board is a shambles, we know that Balmain is in trouble, and we know some of the fans amongst us would still prefer to see Balmain and the Maggies running around (especially the players whom spilt blood for those clubs.)

What he should be doing is advising fans on how to address that change, not make flippant comments and stir the pot.

As previously mentioned, we should all become members of Wests and Balmain and force change from the inside.
 
@Cultured Bogan said:
@innsaneink said:
I dunno why everyones down on benny

This is what we need, someone to bring to attention the crap thats going on at board level, I applaud him for it, IF WTs priorities are his prime motives (never easy to trust him wholly unfortunately)

But if what he's sayings true, which it seems to me to be the case….then keeping mum about it all is hardly going to change things

Problems need identifying before they can be addressed, hopefully pressure on the board can result in some positives for the club

As for his comment on balmain coming back - meh, at least hes honest - which is funny I guess

Yeah being honest and having your say is one thing, but it's not like Benny isn't telling us anything new. We know the board is a shambles, we know that Balmain is in trouble, and we know some of the fans amongst us would still prefer to see Balmain and the Maggies running around (especially the players whom spilt blood for those clubs.)

What he should be doing is advising fans on how to address that change, not make flippant comments and stir the pot.

As previously mentioned, we should all become members of Wests and Balmain and force change from the inside.

How does one become a board member?
I'd be interested just to know what is REALLY going on but doubt I'd get far with my age/experience.
Would be great to have access to all the board meeting minutes…. especially from about mid last year.
Some things need to be transparent so people like Benny can't skew and use passion to lead the blind to their own needs and goals.
 
I think when a club is struggling it is for its loyal supporters to unite and focus on supporting the boys on the paddock.

We have to play the cards we have been dealt this season and we need to make the best of a tough situation.
 
@Anthism said:
@Cultured Bogan said:
How does one become a board member?
I'd be interested just to know what is REALLY going on but doubt I'd get far with my age/experience.
Would be great to have access to all the board meeting minutes…. especially from about mid last year.
Some things need to be transparent so people like Benny can't skew and use passion to lead the blind to their own needs and goals.

First is first, you need to join either the Magpies or Balmain Football Club

Magpies membership is $30 a year
http://www.westsmagpies.com.au/home/001/php/membership.php

Balmain Tigers membership is $15 a year
http://tigers.org.au/index.php/membership/
 
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