Breaking point: How Gus v Cleary power struggle came to a head
Michael Chammas Chief Reporter
It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A minor squabble with major ramifications. Ivan vs Gus.
To call it an argument would be unfair on both parties. So too would it be to suggest that the series of events that played out last week alone would lead to Gould walking.
It merely confirmed what many Panthers powerbrokers were hoping to avoid for a while longer.
Perhaps it confirmed to Gould, if he was in any state of denial, that he was no longer wanted. Redundant is the word that’s been thrown around.
Last week’s power struggle highlighted that regardless of the protocols in place, Gould knew only one way. His way.
For so long, and in many roles at different organisations, nothing happened without his blessing.
So when he extended the contract of one of the club’s top 30 players last week, he did so without blinking an eyelid.
But Gus’s way was no longer the way.
The club, to ensure Cleary wasn’t undermined by the general manager when he agreed to join the Panthers last year, set up a recruitment and retention committee.
It’s a group consisting of the chairman, the chief executive, the general manager, the coach and the football manager.
In reality it was a committee formed to ensure Ivan got what Ivan wanted.
So when Cleary found out one of his players had been extended, you could imagine his frustrations.
Not because he didn’t want that player, but because Gould did what Cleary feared he would if he came back.
The alarm bells began ringing. Was history repeating itself? Was this a power play or a simple oversight?
The concerns were raised with the powers that be and Gould was told under no uncertain terms that it wasn’t to happen again.
The mover and shaker was now being moved and shaken.
The man, who eight months earlier had been entrusted with the power to overthrow then coach Anthony Griffin, now had zero jurisdiction over the team he built.
It’s not for this column to decide whether that’s right or wrong, most people have already made up their minds.
To be fair to both Gould and Cleary, they were able to put aside their differences and work amicably over the past few months. But they never worked productively.
Gould was executive general manager by title, but a glorified football manager by role.
When Cleary arrived he was told he wouldn’t have to report to Gould, and he got his wish.
Gould was sidelined, but the coach always had someone looking over his shoulder. He felt that every move was being examined. And with every loss, the feeling of paranoia only grew.
NRL.com understands Cleary never asked for Gould to go, but nor did he flinch when asked at the board meeting on Wednesday if he had any objections with the general manager’s role becoming redundant.
The players, who on Wednesday afternoon were told of Gould’s departure by chairman Dave O’Neill and chief executive Brian Fletcher, had been walking on egg shells for some time.
The elephant in the room was hard to ignore.
What also became hard to ignore for the club was a feeling that because of Gould’s polarising opinions and actions over many years, the club had a constant target on its back.
And in the end, the Panthers felt a need to save itself from the one that saved them.
Gould’s tenure at the Panthers was always under a dark cloud from the moment Cleary arrived in November. But the Panthers believe the fallout from the club’s sex tape saga in the pre-season expedited things, having a greater impact than any power struggle that was taking place.
It was then the club feared Gould was about to walk as a result of the off-field drama.
The actions of men he treated like his own kids shattered him.
Say what you like about Gould, but no one has protected and looked after the players like he has.
It’s often been to the detriment of his own reputation – putting them ahead of himself even when the public’s opinion of him began to erode.
The club did its best to convince him that the actions of the players were in no way a reflection of the culture he has instilled at the Panthers.
He has never cared about the criticism often aimed at him. But this was different. This ate away at everything he has tried to build at the club over the past eight years.
https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/04/25/breaking-point-how-gus-v-cleary-power-struggle-came-to-a-head/
