Home Truths

[thedux]

I would hazard a guess that if this was the Eels message board none of this would be re-printed but I spent Saturday night in deep conversation with an ex-Eels legend about the state of the club and some of the events of the past.

#1 In 1986, Ray Price made the bold statement that the club would not win another comp if Fitzgerald was in charge; 18 years later he is still right!

#2 Noel Cleal left because of a falling-out with Fitzy, not BS.

#3 Cleal also recommended that Parra only keep BS for 3-4 years because his sides in the past had a habit of falling from grace after this period; he seems to be on the money.

#4 Brett Kenny was knocked back for a coaching role by Fitzy when BS was originally signed as they were looking for people with more experience; who did JT coach for all those years before he was an assitant?

#5 The Leagues Club knows they need the Football Club just as much but the Football Club members are too stupid to put Fitzy to the sword because they think the money will dry-up.

Hope this generates some hefty discussion but at least it confirms who is the REAL problem at our club.

 

[Kornstar]

 

[eels1986]

If BS left after 3-4 years then maybe 2001 would never had happened (Smith deserves some credit for that year). JT was singed to be assistant in 2002 not 1997 when BS first signed and back then we weren't travelling very well so experience might have been the way to go - who knows.

 

[Eels Dude]

None of what you've written strikes me as alarming. One the JT issue it has been a trend in the NRL in the recent years to go with younger coaches who have just left the game, it wasn't like that back in '97.

 

[strider]

1) Is old Pricey still pissed off? - still blowing his own trumpet?

2) Bloody Fitzy - nah I am neutral on Fitzy, he's done some weird shit and he cops alot of flack but he's also done alot of good for the club

3) When did Cleal recommend this? - before Smith came? When Smith renewed?... actually when did crusher come to Parra? - I am not sure - he did alot of good for us was a shame to see him go...but why is his word on coaching anything special?

4) I think BS was the right man for the job - say what you want now, but he made the club extremely successful when he came....yeah, there are alot of young ex-players coming into the ranks of coaching...JT is/was a VERY smart footballer - I don't think he gets as much credit for our 2001 performance as he should - he was the best organising half this club has see since Sterlo - it takes a good football brain to be an organiser and I reckon he'd be a very good coach.

5) Well we know waht happens when you have no money in this day - bye bye.

 

[Misty Bee]

Strider, if Fitzgerald turns off the tap, what kind of Parra person would that make him? Worthy of our support?

BTW, Don't knock Ray Price. He remains the greatest servent Parramatta ever had, or ever will. He bled blue and gold in quantities that would recoat the Sistene Chapel.

 

[strider]

I am not saying I like/agree with everything that is Fitzy - but you don't bite the cash cow that keeps you going eh!

I am not knocking Pricey's passion, ability, loyalty, [insert own superlative] - the man was a warhorse for Parra - constantly put himself through all sorts of pain for the club - the man was/is a legend....but in my opinion he has done a few silly things since retiring.

 

[thedux]

The point to the cash situation is that if Fitzy did get voted-out of his FC position the money wouls still be forth-coming for a number of reasons;

1. If the football disappeared, no-one would be going to the Leagues club before, after or during matches

2. Parra isn't the most populated city around but gets a huge influx of patrons that stay around because of the footy.

So would Fitzy risk losing the Parra footy fans and then, in turn, risk losing other footy fans as a result. NO WAY!! He's an idiot but not that stupid. It is the other members of the football club that need a kick up the a#se.

As for Pricey, say what you want but a claim that has stood for 18 years is a big call that now holds some weight.

This legend wasn't knocking BS but was simply stating that the place has a real stale feel to it but Fitzy is too arrogant to say he was wrong. He even agreed that he would have done exactly what BS did when offered a lucrative contract to re-sign.

 

[strider]

OK then - point 5 from the legend discussion is pointless cos it has no logic to it

Well Pricey's claim looks great now - but towards the end of 2001 it was looking pretty damn shaky.....say all you want about BS teams losing GFs, but Pricey's comment came within 6 points of being wrong and it would have been a load of dribble....I don't put much substance on it as a complete and utter truth if it was only a converted try that could have made it a nothing.

 

[parra pete]

Denis Fitzgerald has given the Parramatta Eels his heart and soul. First as a fantastic player and secondly as an administrator.
You don't keep the top job for 26 years if you can't handle it. He hasd given the front office stability. The next longest serving CEO in the NRL? Possibly Shane Richardson with about nine years (Sharks/Penrith) Really what was Noel Cleal's job. Take the boys pig hunting??? The days of recruiting and developing kids from the bush are well and truly in the past. If you want someone now, you buy from the shelf. Examples Willie Tonga, Jamie Lyon, Steve Witt, Jeff Robson, Chad Robinson, Kirk Reynoldson... forget it. His job became redundant. Can't understand Manly taking him on actually. Let him pick the crop from the bush cultivate them and when they are ready to go, offer them a fat contract and pick them up. That's how it works these days under the Salary cap. I'm glad Fitzy had the foresight to see that, and declare Cleal's job no more. Who took his place... No one.
The Club has a great Welfare Officer in John Hutchinson.. the best in the business. It is his job to look after the new boys and help them find job skills for life after football. That's better than taking them pig chasing.
Onya Fitzy, Onya Hutchy. Onya Smithy...Keep up the good work in churning out local talent and EVEN BETTER citizens.

 

[Misty Bee]

Denis Fitzgerald has given the Parramatta Eels his heart and soul. First as a fantastic player and secondly as an administrator.
You don't keep the top job for 26 years if you can't handle it. He hasd given the front office stability. The next longest serving CEO in the NRL? Possibly Shane Richardson with about nine years (Sharks/Penrith) Really what was Noel Cleal's job. Take the boys pig hunting??? The days of recruiting and developing kids from the bush are well and truly in the past. If you want someone now, you buy from the shelf. Examples Willie Tonga, Jamie Lyon, Steve Witt, Jeff Robson, Chad Robinson, Kirk Reynoldson... forget it. His job became redundant. Can't understand Manly taking him on actually. Let him pick the crop from the bush cultivate them and when they are ready to go, offer them a fat contract and pick them up. That's how it works these days under the Salary cap. I'm glad Fitzy had the foresight to see that, and declare Cleal's job no more. Who took his place... No one.
The Club has a great Welfare Officer in John Hutchinson.. the best in the business. It is his job to look after the new boys and help them find job skills for life after football. That's better than taking them pig chasing.
Onya Fitzy, Onya Hutchy. Onya Smithy...Keep up the good work in churning out local talent and EVEN BETTER citizens.

PEWK!!!!!!!!

Are you Denis Fitzgerald?

As a player he was average. PLayed for Oz in an era when there were heaps of injuries, and not a lot of sources to get them from. By 1977, in the middle of his career, he was behind Graham Olling, Bob Jay, Ron Hilditch etc, and was a reserve in the GF.

As an admin - he has been useless. Whats stability when there is no advancement? Fitzy guided Parra from an all conquering juggernaught to a spoon candidate for nigh on a decade. Twas only the absence of a salary cap that enabled Fitzy to buy him out of trouble (he was in deep trouble coming up to elections before he got the Canterbury 4 and then Brian Smith).

He has alienated just about all of Parras legends. Price, Sterlo, Crow, Bear, Bert all have him off their christmas card lists.

He even saw us break the salary cap to come second last!!!!!!

 

[MarkInTheStands]

On the Points you have raised some facts about the club.

1) Parramatta Leagues club Owns the NRL Licence not the football club. Football club has little to do with that, the Football club runs premier league through to HM and Junior League and gets a cut of the Sponsorship monies for wearing the sponsorship.

2) Members of the football club (of which I am one) can not vote out Dennis Fitzgerald, as I have said forever, he is an employee of the club. I have been to 5 AGM's and I have never seen fitzys name on a ballot. The Board would have to be voted out.

3) The Board of the Football club has to contain minimum two and maximum three members of the leagues club board of directors.

Sorry Dux but the person you were talking to doesn't seem to know the current workings of our great club.

 

[parra pete]

See where the Club was placed BEFORE Denis became involved. You are a bitter and twisted person Misty Bee.

 

[thedux]

The person I spoke to IS still a member of the football club. Fitzy sits neatly on Overton's ticket who is the complete puppet. Good 'ol Alan puts his name down, gets voted in unopposed and lets Fitzy continue on his merry way. The whole point to the argument is that Parra is the only club that has the leagues club CEO seemingly in charge of the football club. The patients are running the asylum, so to speak, and it seems to be clouding their judgement. And the fact that the leagues club owns the licence adds weight to the argument that Fitzy has a massive conflict of interest because how can you run a successful footy team if you are trying to run the leagues club as well?

 

[JessEel]

i love ovo (overton) but i hate fitzy... cruel twist of fate :lol:

 

[parra pete]

But then again Jess, who cares who you love and who you hate. In the overall scheme of things DOES IT MATTER.
I'm sure neither Denis or Alan would give a stuff about what you think of them. They are professional people doing a great job running a football Club that has won the past SEVEN Club Championships.
Your rambling posts sound like they come from the mouth of RAY "The Peanut" Hadley. Do you hang on every word he says. When you have been a champion administrator like Denis and given the service he has given to both Rugby League (firstly as a player) and secondly as an administrtator for a period of over 26 YEARS, then maybe your opinions will carry some weight. Until then, be a nice little girl, offer to wash the jumpers or something useful for the Club. Lovely. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Dux,

Chairman Alan Overton is on no ones Ticket but his own,

Fitzy is employed but the Board of Directors, of which Alan is the Chairman,

Alan Overton was a former executive at James Hardies and is more than half the reason we had their sponsorship in the 1980’s

I am still a member of the Football club and know how it works, but as I said in my post it is irrelevant. The Football club does not run the NRL side.

PNRLC (Parramatta National Rugby League Club) is a wholly owned subsidiary of PLCG (Parramatta Leagues Club Group). In 1999 all players coaches and staff had their contacts with the football club voided and new contracts with the leagues club drawn.

The Leagues club runs the NRL side, End of Story. If you want to vote Dennis out here is what you have to do.

Wait until April 2005 for the for the next leagues club board elections, Vote off the current board (but remember you would have had to have voted off the 3 cross members from the football board in the December 2004 football club elections). Then Vote in whoever (Dr Malouf or what ever his name is and his NPT ticket (which co-indecently has not been seen at the Football club elections since 1999 when voting against the creation of the PNRLC) allowing Alan Overton and others to be elected unopposed) to get Dennis fired (with legally justifiable cause)

Best of Luck.

 

[parra pete]

"Misty Bee enquired
Are you Denis Fitzgerald?

As a player he was average. PLayed for Oz in an era when there were heaps of injuries, and not a lot of sources to get them from. "

How come injuries were harder to get it those days. It was a lot tougher than now?
If you were aware of the illness that Denis Fitzgerald endured as a young footballer and his courage to overcome it you would be ASHAMED at saying he was AVERAGE. You do not get to REPRESENT your country if you are AVERAGE. If you are AVERAGE the closest thing you get to football adnministration is being a MODERATOR on a Football Forum.
(There you go, that make me equal to Brian Lara... 400 posts and not out)

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Moving to the conflict of interest, how can being the administrator of the NRL club and the Leagues club be a conflict of interest. Don’t the serve the same purpose.

Dennis is the CEO of the Parramatta Leagues Club Group as well, which means he was the CEO of the Power, the CEO of the Leagues Club, is the CEO of the Football Club, and CEO of the NRL club and possibly the CEO of the Union Club as well.

All these clubs have the same goals don't they? To make money for the Leagues club Group?
The Power does it by brining Soccer Fans to Parramatta Stadium, to gain more of an interest on the Board of the Stadium, (co-incidentally the chairman of the Stadium trust is Alan Overton I believe)
The Eels do the same with a larger contingent of fans in the winter with a larger Merchandise Base
The Leagues club provides entertainment facilities (pokies and shows and restaurants) for the Greater Parramatta Area. The Union club runs the Two Blues Side and provides entertainment facilities (pokies and shows and restaurants) for the Greater Parramatta Area
All of which bring money back to the Parramatta Leagues club group, allowing it to serve its mission statement, Which is to serve its members first and then to promote the game of Rugby League in the Parramatta District secondly.

Also on a Side note, with the Legally Justifiable Causes,
If I was in a position like Dennis, I would not accept one of my KPI or KRI's to be winning a Premiership. There are two many variables that are out of your control. Injuries, suspensions, Referees, Player Performances, so many things go into winning a premiership which you can't control. I would think that his KPI's would be

To Ensure the Parramatta Leagues Club Group & its subsidiaries are a financially viable entities.
To service the members of the Parramatta Leagues club Group & it's subsidiaries with sporting and Entertainment services.
To field a rugby league team that is competitive in the NRL Premiership.

 

[Suitman]

I would think that his KPI's would be

To Ensure the Parramatta Leagues Club Group & its subsidiaries are a financially viable entities.
To service the members of the Parramatta Leagues club Group & it's subsidiaries with sporting and Entertainment services.
To field a rugby league team that is competitive in the NRL Premiership.

But I thought the whole idea of fielding a team in the NRL was to attempt to win it, not just be competitive.
Otherwise, you make some very valid points.

Suity