By now, frequent readers of this site will know that I am a
massive Parramatta Eels fan. Over the last two months I have written a number
of blogs about the team including one considering the pertinent question of 'what's
the matter Parramatta', wondering 'when
not good enough is just not good enough anymore' and considering the
removal of Ken
Edwards. There have been others which you can check out in our blog
history.
Throughout my time as a Parramatta Eels supporter and more
widely as an NRL supporter, I have always felt that winning was not the most
important thing to me. I have always wanted a team I can be proud of and one
which represents not only my Club, but the NRL Community in a positive way.
That's why, as a Parramatta supporter, despite the disappointment of the last
few years, I have still been able to call myself a Parramatta supporter with
pride.
However, after yesterday's performance it got me thinking
about how much losing is affecting not only the team, but the Parramatta Eels
as a whole.
I have written throughout the course of the season about the
many problems which seem to be crippling Parramatta and as a result, ensuring
that Parramatta have not been close to the top 8, since we led the competition
at the conclusion of Round 1.
These have included coaching with the latest rumour being
that Ricky Stuart has been made an offer he cannot refuse by the Raiders and
that he will be departing the Eels within 2 weeks to replace the recently
sacked David Furner. Over the past 4 years I have argued that because Parramatta
has changed coaches so many times, we have been unable to get any sense of
stability in regard to our on field performance. Whenever a new coach comes in
they have new ideas in relation to tactics, in relation to player recruitment
and in relation to the strategic direction of the Club. As a result of
Parramatta having so many changes in coaches, we have been particularly
unstable. But, would winning change all this? I think the answer is yes.
Winning would probably have meant Daniel Anderson and Stephen Kearney had kept
their jobs. Winning probably would have meant that Parramatta hadn't had 3
coaches in the last 5 years. Losing has put tremendous pressure on our coaching
staff and has ultimately contributed to their removal.
Would winning help in regard to members frustrations?
Throughout the year I have heard many complaints in regard to the way
Parramatta treats its members. While there has been improvement, there is still
plenty of work to be done. My question is, if Parramatta were winning would
Parramatta members care less about the content of their membership packs, that
their membership packs were sent out late, that the weren't receiving enough
communication from the club etc etc.
Would winning meant that Parramatta wasn't so unstable at a
board level too. As we all know the two clubs that are reported to have had the
most difficulty at a board level this year are the Parramatta Eels and the
Wests Tigers. It is no surprise that these two are the clubs languishing at the
bottom of the table. Would winning have meant less pressure on Roy Spagnolo and
3P? Would winning have meant that Stephen Sharp and Roy Spagnolo could behave
more amiably towards each other? Would winning mean that we could have possibly
had a united board?
Finally, how important is winning to our members? While, I
will continue to renew my membership no matter what the results are, would
Parramatta's members base have been further improved if we actually started to
win some games? Would we be having less issues in regard to sponsorship?
What frightens me a little bit about the Eels is that
despite our ridiculously poor performances on the field over the last couple of
years, we still have an extremely strong membership base (over 17,000). An
upgrade for Parramatta Stadium was announced earlier this year. The Western
Sydney Wanderers undoubtedly contributed to this, but for a club so
dramatically underperforming, the government is still paying attention to us.
The prospects for a winning and successful Parramatta terrify me.
It then very much becomes a chicken and the egg scenario. Do
all the above factors need to be sorted out before Parramatta start winning
games (the idea that a fish rots from its head) or will other aspects of the
Club begin to improve once the boys start winning on field again.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Love,
@LadiesWhoLeague
No comments:
Post a Comment