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Why Steve Sharp had to quit Parramatta Eels
DAVID RICCIO, The Daily Telegraph
July 16, 2016 10:34pm
THIS is the reason why desperate Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp has called on NSW deputy premier Troy Grant to take control of the embattled NRL club.
In a bombshell statement, Sharp pleaded with the government to put the club into administration then start fresh with a new board.
The development came as Steve Allen, one of Australia’s leading media analysts, responsible for orchestrating multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals, including aligning Kia Motors with the Australian Open Tennis tournament, has declared the Eels as “the most embarrassing club in Australian sport.”
“I can’t think of anyone who has imploded like this,’’ Allen said.
“At a moment in time, other teams have imploded, but never from the first kick of the season until now. Every week there’s a new revelation and none of it is good. You are right. He should have said every day!
“There’s been nothing as sustained as this. Every week brings a new episode of a train wreck. See above. The problem is, it’s rotten at both ends. We’ve never seen that before. You couldn’t get a worse report card for the board. And to follow that, now we’ve got nothing but trouble with all their stars.’’ Semi, Foran, Norman. Do we have any bigger stars than that? You are not going to suggest Mannah is a star are you?
In a major development to the Eels’ ever-evolving crisis, Grant told 2GB radio that he had the legislative powers to turf the entire Parramatta board.
“As the minister I don’t have any fear or favour in acting in the best interests of the Parramatta Leagues Club members and or ultimately the NRL footy club,’’ Grant said.
PARRA-LYSED BRAND
Allen, the chief executive of Fusion strategy and former managing director of Dentsu’s Australian media buying agency AIS Media, said his job as a strategist was to analyse the value of a client’s company or brand.
“The Parramatta Eels is easy, there’s no value,’’ Allen said. You cant highlight this on its own. He then goes on to suggest that there may be value in the future if we sort our shit out. Fairly logical.
“There is intrinsic value, but there is no value right now.
“The intrinsic value is gambling that it’s going to come good and the team is going to play well sometime in the future. That’s all that is left now, intrinsic value.’’
Asked why he believed major jersey sponsor Dyldam stuck with the Eels, Allen replied: “Well, a lot of people once they’ve made a decision never want to admit that you got it wrong.
“There’s a huge resistance to make the call, ‘we simply stuffed up — we got it wrong’.’’
EELS TARNISH ORIGIN
The day before State of Origin III last Wednesday, damaging headlines emerged that Eels star Corey Norman had sent a sexually explicit video to other NRL players which also included vision of an elderly man apparently snorting cocaine.
On game day, it was the lead news item on almost every major news bulletin, robbing the NRL of priceless positive PR ahead of the final Origin match of the series.
“Origin is the showpiece,’’ Allen said.
“It certainly tarnished the overall image of NRL, therefore whether its State of Origin or whether it's the code, it’s been tarnished.
“It therefore makes it more difficult for corporates to consider. It makes it more difficult for families to consider and therefore viewers.
“All these sports deals for television, whether its pay-TV or free-to-air, they’re all written on the back of audiences — that’s the currency.
“So if audiences drop because of all the turmoil of one team or a number of teams, bringing the overall code into ill-repute, then it will count somewhere in the future.’’
ADVICE FOR FREE
Asked what he would tell the Eels, should they approach him for advice, Allen said simply: The board has to change.
“They have to put in place a new clean board,’’ Allen said.
“Because I think some of what is now happening with the players stems from that.
“If the players know that there’s chaos in the boardroom and there’s all kinds of alleged deals going on, then why would they (players) be disciplined?
“Why wouldn’t they (players) say; ‘well, if the fat cats are doing things that aren’t quite proper, why the hell shouldn’t we?’ So when the great Jack Gibson said "winning starts at the front office" or when people talk about a "fish rotting from the head", they are wrong?
“So, if they came to me or an advertiser came to me, the very first thing I’d say is, until a clean sweep of the board occurs and they get a chief executive that’s cleaner than clean, the problem will not go away.’’
THE SHARKS MODEL
Allen pointed to the Cronulla Sharks’ rebuild following the 2014 ASADA scandal as the copybook version of how the Eels can save themselves.
The Sharks overhauled their dysfunctional board by replacing them with directors with minimal ties to the club or rugby league who also boast a portfolio of rich business acumen.
“Absolutely the Sharks have shown how it’s done, no question,’’ Allen said.
“But even with the Sharks, their board was nowhere near as tarnished as this board.
“They had some problems at board level, but this is just rotten at the top.
“Maybe there is an honest one (at the Eels), but you can’t see it. Standing on their digs is the craziest thing. They’re not analysing what’s in front of the club and they’re not doing the right thing for the club.’’
