Stay or Go....
Brian Smith is a good coach. As amazing as it must be to hear that from a Parramatta fan at the moment, it is true. He has taken the club from the very depths of the premiership ladder to the pinnacle in 2001 despite not winning the one that mattered. He has developed players like Hindmarsh, Cayless, Lyon and many other players from promising juniors to the quality players they are today. He has presided over seven straight club championships and one minor premiership. Sure, he hasn’t won a premiership but he did turn around the fortunes of a flagging club and point them in a direction they became familiar with during the late seventies and early eighties.
Right now however, the club is returning to the grim dark days of the early to mid nineties where Parramatta was stalled in the bottom five. I stand by my statement that Brian is a good coach, however I feel that he has given all he can to the Eels over the past eight years. Realistically he has probably been at the helm for three years too long. Games that the team should win are a struggle, while others are intolerable to say the least. Many players have left and gone onto bigger and better things while those players that replace them languish now in first division or on the scrap heap. The team looks as if they have run out of ideas and as the apparent originator of those ideas Brian’s tenure should be reassessed.
At the top of the tree in 2001, having broken records that had stood for quite some time, the Eels were a young and talented team that many considered able to match the feats of past teams who had gone on and won multiple premierships over a period of time.
So what happened?
Subtle changes to the rules left the acting half fed attack of the Eels without the time it had used to their advantage in 2001. The loss of Taylor, Marsh and Buettner took away the nucleus of the halves combination causing a rebuild for the following year. With McFadden and Dykes faltering and Drew seemingly out of form and favour, the Eels struggled to repeat their success of the previous year and take the premiership which had been virtually assured as theirs by the media.
2003 came and went with barely a whimper. For the first time since Smith had taken over as coach the Eels missed the finals despite a last ditch effort at the tail end of the season. Long term injuries to Dykes, Hindmarsh and Cayless among others did not help and depth at the club was sorely tested. The added loss of more players to other clubs again frustrated the faithful especially when these players performed well for their new clubs.
For the 2004 season, Smith decided on a new idea – one that involved recruiting big ugly forwards. Of those forwards recruited only one has appeared in all 20 games while the others have been stuck in Premier League or injured. The combination in the halves has been totally unsettled with at least four players having been used in the halfback position alone. Added to this is the departure after one game of disgruntled backline star Lyon, which pointed to much unrest at the club. Despite some surprise results, the supposed anomaly that was 2003 has declined even further to leave the club in a precarious position just above the wooden spoon.
A reluctance to make changes and drop under performing players or settle on a halves combination leave many Parramatta fans asking whether or not Smith deserves a chance for the 2005 season. With apparent favourites, the careers of some young players seem destined to fail if they do not have confidence restored in their abilities. He has recruited well with the likes of Riddell, Tahu, Morrison and Stringer joining the club, however the Achilles heel of all Eels teams since the departure of one P. Sterling still remains unsorted and subject to much rumour.
In a club that is starved of success, the fans are starting to feel the need for change or at least some reassurance that the debacle that has been the 2004 season will not be repeated. Many supporters believe Smith has had his chances and should bow out gracefully at the end of the season. What will happen remains to be seen however something does need to change and fast.
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