Future in doubt as Manly Sea Eagles go to war

[Stagger eel]

Exclusive by Dean Ritchie
February 13, 2009 12:00am

MANLY's long-term future was sensationally thrown into disarray last night after a board meeting where the two owners clashed heatedly and chief executive Grant Mayer announced he would resign.
The Daily Telegraph understands Mayer was pushed into quitting after the board voted 5-2 against re-appointing him for a further two years. He will leave at the end of this year.
But drama flared after the meeting when co-owner and chairman Scott Penn accused second co-owner Max Delmege of failing to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the club in sponsorship and equity.
In an amazing revelation, Penn could not guarantee Manly's future.
Mayer had the support of Penn but could not convince Delmege he deserved to stay on beyond this season.
The Daily Telegraph understands Mayer and Delmege have been at loggerheads for more than six months. The relationship between Penn and Delmege has deteriorated to the point of no-return.
"This board is totally dysfunctional at the moment," Penn said. "This place is in jeopardy. Absolutely it is at risk.
"There are four parties on the board - the Penns, the Delmeges, the football club and the Leagues Club.
"We (the Penns) are the only ones putting money in. We will be doing everything we can to stop this place falling over. But I can't guarantee that.
"Max Delmege hasn't put in any money for a long time. He's painting this picture but he's not meeting his obligations.
"He still owes the club for sponsorship and equity."
Gallery: Freakish NRL snaps
Penn said the club was teetering on the brink - despite being the reigning premiers.
"If Max can't stump up then he shouldn't be at the table," Penn said. "He's not contributing at the table. How is that fair?"
Asked was his club in crisis, Penn said: "Absolutely."
"We are waiting for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be paid. Max has promised everything but delivered nothing.
"Grant Mayer was ambushed - the victim of external politics."
A furious Delmege last night fired back at Penn's accusations.
"We have put in $12.75 million to Manly, he has put in $2.175 million," Delmege, who was not at last night's meeting, said.
"I am very disappointed with his comments. My intention has always been to save Manly. That has been proven by the amount of money I have put in."
Asked why Mayer quit, Delmege said: "We asked him for a three-year business plan and it didn't happen. Then he spat the dummy and resigned."
Mayer last night denied he quit.
"I haven't resigned. I simply haven't sought a contract extension," Mayer said.
"There are a number of issues that need to be resolved and I felt my action may help with a number of those problems.
"I'm not sure where Max is coming from (in claiming he spat the dummy) as he was not present at the meeting."
Manly hope Mayer will stay on for the year before leaving the club after September.
Mayer privately claimed he had no choice but to resign - the victim of club politics.
The drama will shock players and officials, who found Mayer a progressive CEO who helped mastermind the club's historic 40-0 win over Melbourne in last year's grand final.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25048071-5001023,00.html


FMD!!!!!..I could of sworn I head Delmage on 2KY a few days ago declaring that everything is sweet with Penn. :?

 

[Fein]

Manly fans, please correct me if I am wrong but isn't Penn the better man to have on board over Delmege?

 

[Dutchy]

Correct. In my view anyway.

 

[gong_eagle]

End the civil war


20 Feb 09 @ 06:05pm by Jason Avedissian
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/time-to-close-ranks/

MANLY father-figure Ken Arthurson has implored warring Sea Eagles owners Max Delmege and Scott Penn to put aside their differences to allow the players to focus on defending their NRL crown.

Manly’s week of hell will be on hold in the early hours of Monday morning when Des Hasler’s troops play the Harlequins in a trial match in London.

Following the game, Manly CEO Grant Mayer will unveil a new $1.6 million sponsor.

The match will be the ideal diversion from what has been a traumatic period for the club after an explosive board meeting on February 12 saw Mayer stand down and co-owner Scott Penn claim the Sea Eagles were in financial ruin.

The bickering continued this week, with:

*Club official Peter Peters describing Delmege as “un-Manly”;

*Delmege signs off on a cheque for $228,400, settling his debts;

*Delmege demands both Penn and Peters resign and;

*Penn and Peters defy Delmege, “I have no intention of standing down,” Penn said.

Arthurson told The Manly Daily on Friday, “common sense will prevail” as the club shifts their focus towards defending their NRL crown.

“It’s no good to anyone to air our dirty laundry in public,” he said.

“I think both of them (Delmege and Penn) should get together and common sense will prevail.

“They will and must resolve their differences.

“I have got the highest regard for both families and I’m sure they have got the interests of the club at heart. “They have just got to close up shop, and that’s the end of it.”

Hasler will ensure that when his 23-man squad takes the pitch against the Harlequins ahead of next week’s World Club Challenge clash with Leeds at Elland Road.

 

[wittyfan]

Harsh words from Zorba.

 

[gong_eagle]

Harsh words from Zorba.

needed to be said

 

[Igor]

needed to be said

Peters is an inflated fool and should shut his pie hole. The whole thing reeks of... "Yer, but what have you done for me lately?"

"We have put in $12.75 million to Manly, he has put in $2.175 million," Delmege, who was not at last night's meeting, said.

 

[Igor]

Manly fans, please correct me if I am wrong but isn't Penn the better man to have on board over Delmege?

Why?

 

[gong_eagle]

Dessie won't let strife in boardroom distract Sea Eagles

Steve Menzies | February 22, 2009
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/dessie-wont-let-strife-in/2009/02/21/1234633129948.html


I'm not big on reading papers, but even I've heard that there have been a few dramas at Manly in recent weeks (maybe it's a good thing the boys are over here in London).

It comes as a bit of a surprise so soon after winning the premiership, because good times on the field usually means good times off it. But it hasn't worked out that way and there are obviously some issues.

It's not good news, but I don't think it will stop the Sea Eagles from giving the premiership another big shake this year. Most players are pretty professional when it comes to off-field distractions and can put those things to one side. Everybody is different, but outside things such as this never really got to me. We went through some pretty tough times at the Northern Eagles and that was probably a fair bit worse than what's going on now. I reckon the players will be professional enough to distance themselves from what they read in the papers.

I haven't spoken to the Manly boys about it since they got here. The only bloke I've talked to is Matty Ballin, but I didn't even think to ask him about all the boardroom stuff. I was more interested in when they were getting together to play cards.

Maybe it's a good time to be away. They're all in London seeing some sights, training and getting ready for the World Club Challenge. Dessie is very good at keeping the boys focused. He will make sure everyone's minds are where they should be - on the training and playing field. They're a very strong squad and they'll be right in premiership contention again.

The latest news reminds me a bit of my time at the Northern Eagles. We had two sets of people running the club - the Manly board members and the North Sydney board members. I'm hearing that some people aren't seeing eye to eye, but I'm sure circumstances are different.

Both the Delmege and Penn families have been major factors in making us grand final winners, and we've come a long way in the past few years. I'm sure they have the club's best interests at heart.

 

[Daddycool]

I heard a report that the Penns are the majority stake holder in the club. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but when Max bought the club he acquired 80%, the other 20% being held by the Leagues and Football clubs. He subsequently sold 42% to the Penns, retaining 38% for himself. This would be why Scott Penn is Chairman, because he is the majority stakeholder.

So, yes Max has put $12 million plus into the club, without him the club would have folded and I for one am very grateful.

Now, he did sell his majority stake to the Penns and he signalled his intention to discontinue his major sponsorship arrangement. In essence he is scaling back his financial obligation to the club.

However, he still seems to want to call the shots. I think it's poor form to profit from selling your majority stake on the one hand, then still expect to dictate how the place should be run on the other.

 

[Igor]

Has Max Delmege profitted from Manly? I could be wrong but I doubt it.

 

[Daddycool]

Has Max Delmege profitted from Manly? I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Well, perhaps 'profit' wasn't the right word. My point was....He didn't give his majority stake to the Penns, he sold it to them.

 

[gong_eagle]

25/02/2009 - By Scott Penn on behalf of the Penn FamilyDear Members,There would appear to be a campaign being orchestrated against the Penn’s and Grant Mayer over allegations we want to move the Sea Eagles to the Central Coast. I say for the record this is totally untrue and those spreading the rumours know it. In fact I defended the same claim in December 2007 when there were similar false rumours. We all know the Preference Share protects Brookvale Oval as the Home of the Sea Eagles and we wouldn’t want it any other way.It is important that you all know that as per the minutes of our Board Meeting on 18 April 2007 the Board approved the registration of various Trademarks under the Sea Eagles brand. This included registering Trademarks for both the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles and Central Coast Sea Eagles.The only reason both of these Trademarks were registered was to protect the Sea Eagles brand in these 2 areas given we were looking to use both as feeder areas for the Sea Eagles. We were subsequently advised by the NRL that we couldn’t register the Trademarks as they own the Sea Eagles name and therefore we have allowed the Central Coast Sea Eagles application to lapse. Rest assured we will never move the team to the Central Coast. Why would the Penn family be looking at a $15 Million purchase of the Leagues Club and be working tirelessly with Warringah Council on the redevelopment of Brookvale Oval if we were going to move the team to the Central Coast. It is just not going to happen.In terms of the six games to be taken away as per Bob Reilly’s letter, this was merely a discussion at Board level to look at alternative grounds to play games whilst Brookvale Oval is being redeveloped. The timing of this will more likely be 2011 and the other grounds discussed were Sydney Football Stadium, ANZ Stadium, North Sydney Oval as well as Central Coast Stadium. The Sea Eagles are still awaiting feedback from the Football Club Board. It is disappointing that this discussion has been misrepresented.The Daily Telegraph today has done its own investigation into the campaign being conducted and goes a long way to exposing the false information that is being spread. Once again I would ask those spreading these rumours why they are trying to destroy the club we all love. As Members you all deserve a “Please Explain”. We won the comp, we have the best team both on and off the field and those who have been happy to sit back and watch it happen are now trying to destroy the people who have made it happen. Why?We are currently in the UK and I can assure you that all of our players and coaching staff are completely focussed on the task at hand of bringing home the WCC trophy. We have a very exciting year ahead as we seek back to back premierships and continue our efforts to ensure that we achieve our vision of redeveloping Brookvale Oval and the Leagues Club to the benefit of all our Members and fans.Regards,Scott Penn on behalf of the Penn Family

 

[MANLYMAGIC08]

I am totally confident that this whole fiasco will work itself out. All parties agree on making the Sea Eagles as successful, both on the field and financially as possible, at Brookvale Oval. Some parties feel threatened for various reasons and by running it through the media, has been blown it out of proportion. I firmly agree that an independent mediator(chairman) be appointed in cases like this where parties are at loggerheads.
The team has a great coach who will keep the team focused on the field and success here will secure the teams future.