Damian Irvine

[Mr Angry]

Onya Beeker!

 

[Puff2010]

By the time Irvine's board came to power the club had been mismanaged for years. Debt was over $13m and growing, no clear plans to grow revenue streams and the bank nervy about calling in the loan.

Irvine and Craig Douglas with the support of some others reworked the cost structure of the business to stop the bleeding and got the development up and running. They structured the deal to get the up front payment to retire a significant portion of debt to ensure the immediate survival of the club.

The consequence of the lean structures was a lack of leadership and governance which allowed the supplement issue to get out of control. Irvine made a bad call by speaking with Rothfield. Rothfield had been sniping for ages and should have been considered an enemy of the club.

My sense is that some people were put out by the aggressive campaigning of the Keogh camp in the election. Coupled with this was the blatant cheerleading from Rothfield. All of this painted the Irvine board and especially Irvine himself as being responsible for the asada issue whilst Keogh's board were responsible for getting the development up. Using the platform of reinstating Flanagan regardless of evidence was a populist position that pissed off some long term supporters who did not appreciate the irony of the Chairman getting axed when the coach, who had responsibility for the football department (hence the supplement program) was supported.

History has always been written by the winners and in this case the Keogh board won. The legacy of Irvine and Douglas is the development and the fact the club is still in existence. For this they should have the gratitude of every Sharks fan and at an appropriate time formal recognition from the club.

Having said that, Keogh's board has settled into the job and are doing well. There are less leaks to Rothfield and they have made a good appointment to the CEO position.

For the record, I don't know Irvine or Keogh. Never met either of them.

Well said. Damien Irvine and Craig Douglas together with others on the board at that time should be recognised for the smarts in their tough decision making at a time when the club was in dire straits. They made decisions that set the club up and not only for this year but years to come - they had foresight . Can't say that for Keogh and Gorman. Fly by nighties who go missing in action (not to be seen during for instance Fifita issue). At least Irvine and Douglas were on the front foot for the club, not just to enhance their personal cv like the present mob

 

[Card Shark]

I can't necessarily agree with the last bit mate, they've done a pretty good job themselves but they can't take all the credit for where we are, far from it.

 

[millersnose]

Fly by nighties who go missing in action (not to be seen during for instance Fifita issue). At least Irvine and Douglas were on the front foot for the club, not just to enhance their personal cv like the present mob

There is much to be said about not entertaining the press during crisis.
I dunno if even Mr Irvine would be quite so jubilant about some of the " front foot" mutterings of his tenure.
This is all old argument that should be left behind and if you want to push your political agenda here you should at least have the decency to be specific about your criticisms. Especially two days before the grand final.

 

[Card Shark]

There is much to be said about not entertaining the press during crisis.

Ain't that the truth.

Harder said than done though with the number of crisis we've had in the last 10 years.

Moving on....we have a grand final to win & then all the bad times will be forgotten!!

 

[Eion]

I can't wait for this to be over. Can't friggen sleep, woke up at 5 with bloody Upup Cronulla on perpetual loop in my head. Driving me bonkers.

 

[carcharias]

I can't wait for this to be over. Can't friggen sleep, woke up at 5 with bloody Upup Cronulla on perpetual loop in my head. Driving me bonkers.

You're not alone there mate

Imagine that trumpet dude

 

[shadowboxer]

I can't wait for this to be over. Can't friggen sleep, woke up at 5 with bloody Upup Cronulla on perpetual loop in my head. Driving me bonkers.

Enjoy the week they say. I am almost over it.
Been copping it at work, people playing the song at work, on the train, in the street....
Similar woke this morning at 430, went for a walk up and about Cronulla - quiet and peaceful.....calm before the storm - enjoy one and all

 

[coolumsharkie]

Irvine v Keogh for me is now a non issue. They treated him like poo, and rode off his misfortune to get in power. He was smart but heartless.

A few years on and the club is going great. Absolutely. I don't agree with everything the Keogh board does, I despise how they got in but where the club is now is great. Could they have done what Irvine did on zero budget and would they have even tried? Different question. All I'd ask is in time is for Damian to be recognised in some way.

As for Rothfield? He doesn't even like rugby league let alone the sharks.

Too true gm. Keogh's mob is responsible for obtaining Lyal also to some degree. Can't fault them now.

 

[Wozza]

Seriously, some of the comments posted hear about Irvine are laughable trying to paint this guy as the "saviour" of the Sharks. No one questions his support of the team or how hard he tried but to suggest it was him and only him who could have kept the Sharks afloat is simply bull$hit. His tenure at the club can be defined by some good decisions as well as some pretty poor ones but what stands out in my mind is the poor level of sponsorship, the non communication with 2 successive coaches and players and the appalling handling of the ASADA affair which led to his early resignation, all of which doesn't wash through the rose coloured glasses by some of his mates on this forum.

 

[Weaponhead]

Seriously, some of the comments posted hear about Irvine are laughable trying to paint this guy as the "saviour" of the Sharks. No one questions his support of the team or how hard he tried but to suggest it was him and only him who could have kept the Sharks afloat is simply bull$hit. His tenure at the club can be defined by some good decisions as well as some pretty poor ones but what stands out in my mind is the poor level of sponsorship, the non communication with 2 successive coaches and players and the appalling handling of the ASADA affair which led to his early resignation, all of which doesn't wash through the rose coloured glasses by some of his mates on this forum.

Of course others could have saved the Sharks but they didn't. The club was a basket case.

Did they get every decision right? Of course not. Did they structure a deal to get 10 million to get the debt under control and eliminate the threat of the club folding? Yes.

For the record, I have never met Irvine. I just appreciate his (and others) role in starting the transformation of the club from basket case to grand finalists with a solid financial future.