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Parramatta Leagues Club board sacked, administrator appointed

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
73,552
Just read the last few days of this thread... there is some truths in some posts, some half truths and some very close guesses... and some total inaccurate posts but it has been as much fun reading this as it would have been reading interview transcripts.

I think you accidentally deleted the rest of your post, which set the record straight.

:p
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
148,308
Yeah I know. You don't like your name mentioned, do you Spags ?
Must of missed my post about Max's motion getting up and no one from the past being involved with the club ever, Spags was a failure. No excuses for him whatsoever but you continually make excuses for Sharp and his failure of a board.
 

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
73,552
Must of missed my post about Max's motion getting up and no one from the past being involved with the club ever, Spags was a failure. No excuses for him whatsoever but you continually make excuses for Sharp and his failure of a board.

You must have missed my posts about Sharp being the cover-up king.
 

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
73,552
After making excuses for him and his crew, like always.

If you are tying to criticise me for being loyal, then I don't care.

Was I loyal to Sharp when first elected ? Of course. I always said that when I have the facts then I am quite happy to kick him out.

Merkins who know me from way back will recall that I was staunchly loyal to Brian Smith and Daniel Anderson.

I am still seeking facts on Sharp and as they emerge my attitude has changed. If that gives you the opportunity to gloat bc you were right, then by all means enjoy your time in the sunshine.

I think that I am a good judge of character and I am unfazed that I stood behind Smith, Anderson and Sharp. I still think that they are good people to the core. Not that they were perfect or they they did not deserve the chop.

I am also proud that I called out Spags, SK, etc as f**k knuckles from the start.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
84,172
I was loyal to them all, and nobody knows how much was anybody's fault. Most of our failure can be attributed to the white ants working against whoever was in charge at the time. And I'm sure anybody who's been rissoled from our boardroom has gone on to join the ranks of the backstabbers. Except Sharp and co because the platform for backstabbers has been temporarily stopped.
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
148,308
If you are tying to criticise me for being loyal, then I don't care.

Was I loyal to Sharp when first elected ? Of course. I always said that when I have the facts then I am quite happy to kick him out.

Merkins who know me from way back will recall that I was staunchly loyal to Brian Smith and Daniel Anderson.

I am still seeking facts on Sharp and as they emerge my attitude has changed. If that gives you the opportunity to gloat bc you were right, then by all means enjoy your time in the sunshine.

I think that I am a good judge of character and I am unfazed that I stood behind Smith, Anderson and Sharp. I still think that they are good people to the core. Not that they were perfect or they they did not deserve the chop.

I am also proud that I called out Spags, SK, etc as f**k knuckles from the start.
Im loyal to the team and the club, not the f**knuckles running the club.

I won't deny I was glad when Spags got rid of Fitzy and thought he would do good things for the club.

I was wrong and I'm happy to admit it.

The truth will set you free mate.
 

Gazzamatta

Coach
Messages
14,143
1. My basic understanding is Spags initiated the cap/third party issues (probably similar to every other club).
2. Sharp realised the issues once in power and gave Seward the job of fixing said issues.
3. Seward followed industry procedures to correct the issues probably after seeking advice from his Mentor.
4. Sharp found out what Seward was doing and instead of owning up decided to cover up and pray and sack Seward.
5. Seward said F**k you and became the whistle blower.
6. Game over.
Penalty Broncos.
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
http://www.afr.com/business/sport/p...g-way-for-offfield-turnaround-20170831-gy8lmm

Parramatta's on-field surge paving way for off-field turnaround

by John Stensholt

Parramatta's top four finish in the NRL is one of the best turnaround stories in any football code this year. The sleeping giant of the NRL – it last won the grand final in 1986 – will play finals for the first time since 2009 and it has achieved its highest position on the ladder in 12 years.

But under renowned insolvency practitioner Max Donnelly, the club has also made a start on what needs to be a huge turnaround off the field as well.

The Eels will play minor premiers Melbourne Storm in the first week of the NRL finals this weekend, but Donnelly believes an upcoming meeting for the Parramatta Leagues Club, the huge licensed venue underpinning the football team, is probably even more crucial to the club's long-term survival.

On September 13, a specially convened general meeting for Parramatta Leagues' members will be held at Sydney's Rosehill Racecourse – carparking at Parramatta is tight due to a big refurbishment being undertaken – will vote on Donnelly's pitch to change the organisation's constitution.

Donnelly has put some strict conditions on who could be a Parramatta Leagues director, including a requirement that no previous board member be able to stand, a director must have qualifications from the Australian Institute of Company Directors or agree to undertake study within 12 months, not have previously been disqualified from being a company director, as well as having other board-specific skills and qualifications.


"Simply, what has happened in the past can't happen again," Donnelly tells The Australian Financial Review. "And this is the way to do it.

"Yes it has upset some people and it is not going to be easy. The constitution says we need at least 75 per cent of people to vote yes and they have to vote in person. I want to change this in the future, but this is what we have to do now."

Perpetual crisis

Parramatta was in a state of perpetual crisis when the Leagues Club board was sacked and replaced with Donnelly in July last year by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority after club officials were accused of using inflated invoices to secretly pay players. The Eels had by then been fined by the NRL for cheating the salary cap, had competition points deducted and some officials were deregistered.

Former chief executive Scott Seward was given a two-year good behaviour bond in July after he had earlier pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining $221,106.50 from Parramatta Leagues by arranging and authorising false invoices between November 2014 and June 2015. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has agreed to appeal his sentence in the District Court.

Meanwhile, the thriving leagues club had pumped about $30 million into the football team over four years to keep it afloat, and the board – which included some ex-players – had been providing advice to the coach about tactics and player recruitment.

Yet despite all the dramas, Parramatta managed to win their last two games of the 2016 season.

"I thought then that the coach is obviously doing something right and has the support of the players, given they were doing so well," says Donnelly. "There was matches I remember when we only had one of our top 10 [highest paid] players on the park."

After a slow start under coach Brad Arthur this season, Parramatta has surged in the past few months, winning 11 of their last 13 matches, including beating the top two – Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos – away from home.

Donnelly has helped rebuild the football club by appointing a new board – previously, some directors were on both the football club and leagues club boards – that included current and former Telstra, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank executives, new CEO Bernie Gurr and bringing in other key management staff.

Major sponsor

The turnaround is not complete yet, as Donnelly readily admits. The Parramatta Leagues Club last year provided about $12 million to cover the football club's loss, and will have to put in close to $10 million this year to plug the gap. It also has not cut spending on its junior development program or on the elite-level football department.

Parramatta were unable to attract a major sponsor this season, and while it has signed a record number of football club members, at 24,000, average crowds for their home matches have fallen for the fourth consecutive season.

Donnelly says the Parramatta faithful were not keen on the club's temporary move to ANZ Stadium while Parramatta Stadium is redeveloped into a cutting-edge 30,000 capacity arena that will open in 2019.

But a strong season on the field will set the club up for a brighter future next year and beyond off it, with membership, sponsorship and corporate support likely to rise in 2018.

The hoped-for constitutional changes will also likely see Donnelly out of a job by next year as well, though that is the nature of his administrator role.

Until then, he's got September 13 to worry about.

"We just need as many people to get there to vote as possible. That's my message to everyone out there. Please get there and vote."
 

phantom eel

First Grade
Messages
6,327
Is the 13 Sept Egm at Rosehill during the day? Is there a mid-week race meeting on?

If so, it might be worth going...
 

Delboy

First Grade
Messages
6,813
Was there, evident that certain people had mobilised support from the ususal sections to ensure no reforms would be passed

They spoke against the motion with childish and quite pointless statements that drew applause from the factions they had enticed to attend. The ex CEO still entertains the idea that is his club and looked like his support came from the older members of theVikings. It was like the recent AGMs with negative speakers and supporters lining up to oppose the chair.

Until the people concerned are no longer around, the club will have to endure their factional opposition, appeared the support came from members over the retirement age. Not too many younger voters attended to even the debate.
 
Messages
42,876
Maybe it's not so bad. The proposed reforms might have been akin to cutting off your arm because your finger is infected. Although I hope to hell we get a premiership soon, which would also further erode the possibility of these merkins getting back in.
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
148,308
Gee whiz what is wrong with some of the people that follow the club??

How will we ever move forward as a club with these clowns still involved and their dopey mates happy to keep them in power???
 
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