I have had some feedback that the petition I wrote is 'political' and that I should give the
new board more time. The problem I have is that I didn't write the petition to the new board, because I don't see it as a new board. I wrote it to the
current board's of the PLC, the PDRL and the PNL (NRL) and management.
It also appears that comprehension isn't a pre-requisite for being an Eels supporter so I thought I should elaborate on some of the points from the petition to make it clearer.
To the respective Boards, CEO's and management teams of the Parramatta Leagues Club Group, the Parramatta District Rugby League Club and the Parramatta National Rugby League Club,
Maybe I should have addressed it by name to each individual, however the below are
collectively represented by the groups addressed in the petition and for brevity I used the
collective not the individual - sorry.
Addressees are individually named as:
Stephen Sharp (Chairman - PLC)
Roy Spagnolo OAM (Chairmain - PDRL)
Tom Issa
Lawrence Shepherd
Peter Serrao
Robert Sassen
Eric Grothe Snr
Sid Kelly
Eric Grothe Jnr
Ray Price (OAM)
Robert Bentley (CEO - PL Group)
Ken Edwards (CEO - PDRL, PNL)
Since the change to the Board of Directors of the PDRLC in December 2008 and subsequent change to the Board of the PLC in April 2009, there has been a consistent amount of change at both management and board level and as a result an increasing level of instability in the management of the aforementioned clubs. In this time we have seen 4
CEO's, 3 coaches and a number of Football Operations Managers come and go and this has coincided with a level of performance of the NRL football team that has seen us repeatedly endup towards the bottom of the NRL ladder.
Please feel free anybody to correct me if any of this is incorrect, otherwise I will leave it in situ.
In addition, there has been on a consistent basis 'leaks' of club information to sections of the media that is portraying the club in a bad light and potentially impacting
negatively on player recruitment, sponsorship, membership and game day attendance - all
issues that we should be looking to strengthen and not further weaken.
Again, if you believe this above statement is inaccurate and there have not been consistent
leaks of club information, please educate me as I read the papers and have seen this for
myself.
Since the most recent elections for the Board of the PLC Group, this position has not improved and with two separate 'factions' controlling aspects of our club, is likely to
worsen with ongoing in-fighting between Directors.
Has there been an improvement? We still have leaks so maybe not. We have 2 distinct
factions (3P and ParraFirst) in the above list of people in control of our club and each
with differing views and ideals, resulting in in-fighting that has been occurring since both
groups started campaining late last year - not at election day in April. Would love to be
corrected on this but again, the evidence is out there in the big wide world for all to see.
From the external view of the members and supporters of this great club, it appears that the current Directors of both Boards are focussed on firstly their own agendas and not the betterment of the club and the members that have elected them.
This paragraph is definitely open to interpretation, depending on how close individuals are
to particular board members or execs. My interpretation is based on conversations that
are/were private between myself and a number of the above-mentioned people. Other people have different views and that's fine - no obligation to sign the petition.
We the undersigned members and supporters of the Parramatta Eels now say ENOUGH!"
We demand that as our elected representatives you focus on working TOGETHER to bring the pride that is missing back to OUR club and OUR team.
This demand is simply a definitive statement that re-inforces the views of the electorate
going into the ballot box and summarising what we believe (my interpretation of course) that the members and supporters want - pride in the club and the NRL team. Again, if you don't support this point, don't sign the petition.
We demand that you immediately STOP THE LEAKS of information and mis-information that are bringing OUR club into disrepute in the press on a regular basis.
If the leaks exist, should they continue? If they don't exist, even better. However we all
know they do and we all know they are coming from one or more of the addressees to this
petition. I have NO definitive knowledge of whom they are coming from, hence the reason tthe above are all recipients of this petition. If someone has irrefutable proof of where the leaks are coming from, please let me know. I will happily address a personal letter to that person but I do need proof, not hearsay.
We demand that you cease the IN-FIGHTING and BACK-STABBING factional behaviour that is splitting OUR club down the middle.
Like it or not, we have 2 factions and therefore we have in-fighting and back-stabbing behaviours evident at present. I personally do not wish to wait until the next PDRL elections in Dec 2015 for there to be a single faction in control of our club (in fact I would rather there be no factions) so this demand is simply a desire for unity. And it is not about unity on the PLC board or the PDRL board separately, but unity between all boards who jointly run our club.
We demand that you immediately REMOVE any personal agendas from the role you play in leading OUR club and that if you are unable to do so, that you REMOVE yourself from OUR club.
If none of the board has a personal agenda to achieve they should have no problems reading this request and ignoring it. If they do, then it is directed to them and as this wasn't a personal petition to any one individual then the recipients can take it however it relates to them. As I mentioned above, I have has conversations with certain of the recipients and I interpreted these conversations to be personal agendas before club objectives.
The Parramatta Eels can and will once again be the "Pride of the West" and a powerhouse in the NRL, however as the concerned members and supporters of this club we need you, the Directors and Managers appointed to achieve this goal to focus on being "ONE TEAM, with ONE GOAL - TOGETHER".
If you don't want this outcome - don't sign the petition - EASY.
Go the EELS.
