Crisis rocks Parramatta club as director quits

[bartman]

I tend to agree with Cookie. I don't want this to be a Fitzy vs Spag fight (again) but the most crap we had to deal with was when Fitzy was in charge was when he'd bad mouth Storm or the like. Towards the end of his tenure he did take up the bat for the clubs re: the pokie tax and did paint a picture of gloom and doom, which if he had his time again he would surely not cast a shadow over his own club's future.

However our darkest days have been since the election to oust him. 3P ran a dirty campaign and told a lot of lies (insolvent club etc) and sadly the controversy has not gone away since then.

No I am not advocating for Fitzy's return nor do i think that we'd be better off if Fitzy wasn't shown the door. We were in need of a change and like Johnny Howard, it was time for Fitzy to go.

Yes there has been a turnaround in finances for the club and the team have done well (in parts) however a cynic might say that the success could be attributed to the passing of the GFC, the rise of Jarryd Hayne and a successful NRL based Membership drive, rather than the management of 3P.

Sadly the cowboys we have in charge now give me no confidence that they can turn the reputation of the club around and keep us out of the papers. I am very tired of being the joke team of the NRL TBH.

Well said G, agree with everything there.

 

[parra pete]

Well said G, agree with everything there.

The thing about it...It is not just restricted to Parramatta...
Too much money going to the wrong people.

Ozzie $270K for being the CEO of a Football Club and it is not enough (apparently).....C'mon....

 

[PJ Marshal]

wheres sangreal86 he would heat up this debate

all i can say is i blame everyone who campaigned for 3p for this , because we have to blame someone , by the way does anyone have any of those really trendy and hard hitting yellow t-shirts they were handing out to wear at games? Id like to get one and wear it at car park rallys

 

[howardjones]

Teflon Spag is the puppet master....he's only in it for himself. Ask current and former players about the great property deals he introduced them to.

We may all give each other stick but no genuine NRL lover wants any of the teams to be punted or their fans to suffer...we South Sydney members have dealt with enough crap management to cover the whole comp.

 

[Gronk]

Eels turmoil could derail team, says Hilditch

Greg Prichard

October 21, 2011

On leave while investigation is conducted ... Parramatta chief executive Paul Osborne.

RON HILDITCH, one of Parramatta's favourite sons and a former member of the board that now finds itself in turmoil, has urged the people in charge at the club to sort out the mess as soon as possible or risk ruining next season.
Hilditch's call comes as the Eels prepare to lose their major sponsor, Pirtek, if the outcome of a board investigation into allegations of financial irregularities and accusations of bullying is deemed unsatisfactory.
Parramatta chief executive Paul Osborne has gone on leave as the investigation continues.

''I'm telling you for a fact that instability affects players,'' Hilditch told the Herald last night. ''Some might say it doesn't, but it does. They need a stable environment in which they not only have the support of the board and club management, but don't have to deal with distractions.
''Jack Gibson was never more right than when he said, 'Winning starts in the front office, and that if you don't get it right there you've got no hope of doing well on the field.' If the players aren't focused on what they have to do, it's inevitable that it takes a toll on their performance.''
Hilditch has been closely associated with Parramatta for almost his entire adult life. He played prop in the club's first premiership-winning team, in 1981, and represented NSW and Australia as well, before coaching the Eels from 1994 to 1996. He was subsequently a long-time board member before resigning because of ill health in March last year.
Hilditch said he was not in a position to lay blame on anyone for the situation because he didn't know the facts in full, but he warned that any investigation needed to be fearless.
''I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but obviously there is something wrong at Parramatta at the moment,'' he said. ''All of these allegations and accusations are a bad look for the front office, and by the front office I mean the board and the chief executive.
''If they're having an investigation, then they need to do it properly. It has to be fair dinkum, with no wallpapering, so that if anyone has done something they shouldn't have done it comes out.''
Hilditch said he had been disappointed to learn Pirtek's chief executive, Glenn Duncan, had resigned from the board earlier this month. ''I'm only an onlooker now, but I would have thought someone like Glenn Duncan should be a very valued member of the board, because of his expertise as a businessman and the fact his company is the major sponsor,'' Hilditch said.
Pirtek has been the major sponsor for seven years, with another two years left on its deal with the club. This deal is understood to be worth $1 million a year.
Now an investigation of Parramatta is under way, it should no longer be simply assumed Pirtek will automatically continue with its sponsorship. The company will view developments with great interest.
Duncan explained his resignation in the Herald on October 15, saying: ''The recent decisions of the board go against all my business principles which place me in a position of no longer being able to meet my expectations and duties as a director.''
Pirtek is an Australia-wide company that is heavily involved in the community. It sponsors the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, the Eels and a number of lower-profile sporting teams in various centres.
Sponsoring the Eels has so far been good for Pirtek's brand, and the company obviously would not want to see the association end.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ys-hilditch-20111020-1mafe.html#ixzz1bLvoLMYA

 

[Maroubra Eel]

Careful Ron. You will have the dis-creditors in a flap.

 

[spiderdan]

Hilditch has a point. In 2009 when the power struggle was at a high in the lead up to the elections the team was awful. Post elections I recall hindy commenting about how the players tried to not let it affect them but they couldn't help it and it did, but once it was out of the way they could concentrate on playing again. Seemed that shortly after the team got its confidence back and played great in the back half of that year. Not saying it was the reason but just pointing out hindy's comments.

On a sidenote, osbourne's comments re: quade Cooper indicate to me further that the board wasn't working with da (da says he doesn't want qc there but Ossie kept pursuing him without Anderson, despite the claims da had all the say in recruiting). I guess a positive with sk is that in that regard the club seem to have stepped back to let him do his thing. Whatever comes of this, when he gets back I hope he has the players focussed on playing and not the potential shit storm at the club (if allegations are true).

 

[HevyDevy]

Hilditch has a point. In 2009 when the power struggle was at a high in the lead up to the elections the team was awful. Post elections I recall hindy commenting about how the players tried to not let it affect them but they couldn't help it and it did, but once it was out of the way they could concentrate on playing again. Seemed that shortly after the team got its confidence back and played great in the back half of that year. Not saying it was the reason but just pointing out hindy's comments.

On a sidenote, osbourne's comments re: quade Cooper indicate to me further that the board wasn't working with da (da says he doesn't want qc there but Ossie kept pursuing him without Anderson, despite the claims da had all the say in recruiting). I guess a positive with sk is that in that regard the club seem to have stepped back to let him do his thing. Whatever comes of this, when he gets back I hope he has the players focussed on playing and not the potential shit storm at the club (if allegations are true).

Mate, the other thing: the board chased petty much every high profile (and plenty not high profile) player on the market for a while there and I guarantee DA wasn't telling them to do so.

And Gronk, I agree it will be very difficult to turn around the reputation of the club when it is the board itself that is responsible for our regular appearances in the papers. When you've got board members using the Tele as a tool to play mind games with employees they're trying to get rid of, it's a problem.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

So who is the link to Josh Massoud? I don't get all the stuff he writes? Somebody at the club must be telling him what to write.

 

[Gronk]

Mate, the other thing: the board chased petty much every high profile (and plenty not high profile) player on the market for a while there and I guarantee DA wasn't telling them to do so.

And Gronk, I agree it will be very difficult to turn around the reputation of the club when it is the board itself that is responsible for our regular appearances in the papers. When you've got board members using the Tele as a tool to play mind games with employees they're trying to get rid of, it's a problem.

Agree. This needs to end before the players get back. We want unity and focus. As Hitman said it f**ks with the player's heads. They say they don't read the papers, but they do and it definitely effects their on-field performances.

 

[Gronk]

So who is the link to Josh Massoud? I don't get all the stuff he writes? Somebody at the club must be telling him what to write.

Since 3P arrived, there seems to be a hotline to the Telecrap. Fitzy and Brian Smith NEVER talked to them. The best they could come up with is NO COMMENT from both of them.

 

[Tony Bongo]

They're getting a lot of mileage out of that picture.

 

[HevyDevy]

So who is the link to Josh Massoud? I don't get all the stuff he writes? Somebody at the club must be telling him what to write.

The Tele supported 3P the elections in 2009 and they have a close relationship. There are two board members in-particular that speak with the Tele boys on a regular basis.

 

[Stagger eel]

The Tele supported 3P the elections in 2009 and they have a close relationship. There are two board members in-particular that speak with the Tele boys on a regular basis.

I seem to recall Dean Ritchie backing the emperor at every opportunity, and the other mob got mire than enough mileage out of Hadley, Kent, McClynott etc.. But hey, we're all ok with that one I guess lol

 

[HevyDevy]

I seem to recall Dean Ritchie backing the emperor at every opportunity, and the other mob got mire than enough mileage out of Hadley, Kent, McClynott etc.. But hey, we're all ok with that one I guess lol

Lol, you're an idiot Stagger. I have no idea why you're being defensive. I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with Buzz and Josh supporting 3P - just pointing out that it happened.

You may also notice that Bulldog doesn't break Parra yarns. The relationship isn't with him.

In future, when I'm pointing out facts rather than offering opinion, you don't need to fire up.

 

[parra pete]

Lol, you're an idiot Stagger. I have no idea why you're being defensive. I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with Buzz and Josh supporting 3P - just pointing out that it happened.

You may also notice that Bulldog doesn't break Parra yarns. The relationship isn't with him.

In future, when I'm pointing out facts rather than offering opinion, you don't need to fire up.

Geeees....He's into ya Muzza....

 

[mickdo]

Since 3P arrived, there seems to be a hotline to the Telecrap. Fitzy and Brian Smith NEVER talked to them. The best they could come up with is NO COMMENT from both of them.

LOL, they just spoke to Hadley instead :lol::crazy:

 

[Bigfella]

Since 3P arrived, there seems to be a hotline to the Telecrap. Fitzy and Brian Smith NEVER talked to them. The best they could come up with is NO COMMENT from both of them.

:lol::lol::lol:

 

[hybrideel]

what i find funny is how they pulled the bit about being in danger of losing the sponsorship out of thin air. There was absolutely no word from Pirtek regarding reviewing the sponsorship or waiting on the outcome of the investigation. They just threw in a complete assumption that Pirtek would review the partnership with absolutely nothing to back it up.

 

[Gronk]

Since 3P arrived, there seems to be a hotline to the Telecrap. Fitzy and Brian Smith NEVER talked to them. The best they could come up with is NO COMMENT from both of them.

LOL, they just spoke to Hadley instead :lol::crazy:

:lol::lol::lol:

No, Abbott & Costello, that was during the elections. I was specifically talking about before the elections. There was zero controversy from the back office.

Again, I don't want Fitzy within a 100km of the club these days. You can try all you like to paint a positive picture of 3P, but the bottom line is that we are not seen as a highly professional outfit compared to some clubs.