@Eddie said:
Maybe i am over reacting however i am also a realist, i try and look at it coldly. I know the injuries have been shocking. However our high performance team and training base is surely a factor here? At least to an extent
How are we going to attract members and sponsors next year with this utter shambolic and highly embarrassing end to the season on and off the pitch? We are a complete laughing stock in the press and in the rugby league public at the minute. Our members will go further down and our sponsors as well for a club that is cash strapped. We don't even have 10k members, next year i will be susprised if thy get 6-7k.
Lets remember the NRL are already propping the club up. We have already come begging for help. Soon they will have control. Once they have control what is to stop them moving the team to Perth? It would make sense for them? It would make sense for the competition? It would maybe even make snense for the club i dont know.
Of course i want the team to stay in Sydney forever however I am also a realist. We are far below nearly all clubs in several areas (marquee players, sponsors, money, grounds, etc etc) A couple more years like this and we will be in quick sand.
Totally agree about the High performance team and Training facilities being an issue. Injuries at our club have been a huge problem for quite some time now and never seems to improve. Training facilities by all reports are well under standard compared to other teams which most definitely would have some sort of bearing on injury rehab. I was actually hopeful that the internal review done by B.Smith was focussing on this issue as I think its at the root of our problems. If we could consistently get our top 17 out on the field I would be confident that we would be sitting nicely in the top 8 right now.
Attracting members over the off season will be a difficult task. As you stated traditionally we struggle to attract members at the best of times. Sponsors want to be associated with a winning team that gets them the most exposure. Obviously the winning part lets us down regularly but even when we have a poorly performing team we still get quite a lot of exposure in the press and are a popular team with Channel 9 showing a lot of our games on free to air which sponsors love.
Both fans & sponsors will need to see improvements made in the offseason if they are going to invest their cash in our club via membership/sponsorship.
Firstly the NRL needs to appoint their 3 new board directors ASAP. Then we can finalise the remaining members from Wests and Balmain. Until this happens our club seems to be just circling in a holding pattern. Genuine leadership at board level is required to progress, Im hopeful the new NRL directors will provide this and bring some sort of resolution to the constant Wests/Balmain squabbling at board level that's been derailing our club for 15 years.
Once the board is in place then its time to sort out the CEO, Coaching, recruitment and Medical/Training staff.
The decisions on all these are crucial especially the CEO and Coaching Staff, a smart decision here that's popular with Fans + Sponsors could really build momentum with the fans during the offseason. Make the right decisions on these hiring's and its far easier to market the club to the fan base and bring in the much needed membership and sponsors.
Very important offseason for the club coming up. If we make the right moves and going by the clubs track record it probably is a big IF then Im positive that the club can progress in the right direction. I have to think that having 3 independent directors supplied by the NRL can only help us.
Overall the playing roster is strong, yes it needs a lot of improvement in certain areas but the base for a good team is certainly there. Once you start winning games then amazingly all the negative stuff you see in the press seems to disappear. Just look at Manly, their club is almost as dysfunctional as ours but they get the results each year.
No need for us to hit the eject button just yet.
Could the NRL move us. Well yes if they continually have to prop us up financially they probably could. However everything I read/hear from the NRL is that they lean towards expansion over relocation so I think things would have to be bad for quite some time under their guidance before they would even consider moving us to Perth or anywhere else for that matter. Of course I'm in no position to know for sure but that's how I see it at the moment.
