Misty Bee said:
Suity, I have to say that you have been a tad MIA on this subject when the heat's been really on the last few months. I'm rapt that you hvae posted this finally! Needless to say, I agree with you 100%
Smith once was a good coach. Now is sh*t. Fact - proof is in the Eels table.
The morons that blame injuries ignore clubs like NEwcastle. They are struggling without Joey, and to a lesser extent, long term injuries to Tahu, Hughes, Robbie O, Kennedy etc. The talent on our injury list hasn't been anywhere near theres. Yet they are still in the fight for 8th. Even perennoially talent-lightweight Cronulla are in with a shot. In fact, in the Smith years at Parra, I think you'll find that Cronulla have averaged higher in the premiership than we have.
Parra players don't have the flair that Canterbury, Brisbane, Easts, Melbourne and even North Queensl;and have. They certainly have the talent. But have a friggin look at how they play.
Nathan Hindmarsh - once an untackleable menace on the right - now a tackling machine in defence, and little more than a shitty crab in attack.
Michael Vella - once the bastion on the quick burst to the advantage line and a quick play the ball - now a mid field marshmallow.
Luke Burt - once lightning quick, mature beyond his years, with a great boot. Now a turnstile waiting for the perfect bomb.
Adam Dykes - once Dally M 5/8 of the year - the catalyst for a ton of backline raids at Cronulla, and a kicking game that was second to none. Now, a frustrated crab lamenting shithouse 5/8 selections and centres who can't run into gaps.
Daniel Wagon - once a promising outside back who could read a game quite well. Now, a tackleholic who cannot pass the ball, but leavs inexplicable gaps in defence close to the line.
Willy Tonga - an average up and comer who all of a sudden has the feet of Gasnier in another jumper.
Joel Clinton - a large young lad with soft Greg Drake hitups (read Justin Tsoulos), who now has a premiership and a bag full of Test jumpers.
David Solomona - Once touted as the next Arthur Beetson - we turned a potential ball playing genius into an inept mess, and sent him of to the UK.
Andrew Ryan - a workhorse who got mongrel at the Dogs and now kills it at Origin level.
Parramatta have an old boy's network in place - an untouchable and unaccountable regime that would have been minced at Canterbury long ago. Parra are the one club that's run like a beaurocracy - not a necessarily bad thing, but impossible to change ifit oesn't work. And it doesn't.
6 weeks or so back there was a heap of media pressure on not only Brian SMith, but the board as well. A flukey win v Newy, and it was all gone. Since then, bloked like Colonel and MITS have had a go at me for continuing to seek Smith's sacking, believing that the recent gains have been enough. I reckon we have had better sides than our potential 2005 team - and done sweet FA. 2002 springs to mind, as does 1998-2000. And that's the thing. Too many supporters, some with influence, are happy just to dream hazily aboutthe future, while other clubs are more concerned with getting the present right.
Perfect example - halfback. In 2004, we have had 4 potential halves - all with talent: Dykes, Witt, Thorman and Smith. There have been 2 spots to fill. Daniel Wagon has filled one -and done NOTHING in that time. Dykes, Witt and Thorman have been pitted against each other - when a normal couach would mould them into a combination. Result? Dykjes wants out. Thorman GOT out. Smith isn't being given a run, and is fielding offers from club who know what he is capable of. And Mick Witt, a half with some potential, but probably won't ever become a rep standard half, has the job of guiding around our team of bought stars. As I have said, it's like a p plater being in charge of a formula 1 car. Has Smith not pissed all the halfback talent he has ever had up against the wall, we may not be in this predicament.
I am convinced that too many fans would prefer to see the same old names at the club tha the club become ruthless and seek those that will bring it sucess. And then, paradoxically, the acid that has been scorned on people like Jamie Lyon, who merely withdrew from the NRL for personal reasons, has been disgusting. There are some fans who are more Smith/Fitzgerald fans that Parra fans. A tru Parra fan would want to see the club winning comps, or at the least constantly competetive, as our resources suggest we should. I cannot cop this garbage about Smithy being kept because he is a nice bloke. Otherwise we would have employed Mother Theresa as coach!!!!
Suity, it's about time you got aggro about this! Maintain the rage. Fight for a beter Parramatta, not the pissweak one we have now!!!!!!!!!
YAWN.
What's this shit about people being morons for seeing facts for facts?
FACT: We don't have players in the echelon of Joey, Tahu, BK, etc.
FACT: We do have players which do the job for OUR TEAM (in case you were wondering, the Eels)
FACT: Burt doesn't need to be on Tahu's level to kill it; he needs to perform at HIS best which is more than good enough for our team (the Eels)
FACT: There are only very few players in the NRL who are absolute topline players; Hill didn't make Origin this year; does that mean you wouldn't want him? Varying players fill varying roles in varying teams. I didn't hear many people whinging about how crap Burt is in 2001, or how shit Hopkins was last year, or Stapo this year (except now people suddenly think he's crap).
Fair dinkum, our personnel may or may not make the 17 of another NRL team. That does not necessarily mean they are crap.
And somebody PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE show me which of the players I listed (Dykes, Cannings, Cayless, Grothe, Vaealiki, Lyon, Morris, etc.) would not be in other team's 17. Thos players are quality players people.
And guess what? They just happen to be out.
And players like Graham, Burt and Hindmarsh, who all at one stage were in fine form for us, are now struggling.
WAKE UP. Our injuries ARE a part of the reason we struggle.
There are, of course, other factors - a big one being that IMO Brian just doesn't coach the blokes the way they need to be coached anymore.
But people saying that injuries, suspensions, poor refereeing decisions and other uncontrollable issues DON'T have a bearing on our team - THEY are the morons.
To finish off, why is it that if person A doesn't agree with person B about this topic, that person A is a moron or outsider?
For instance, I partially blame our injury and suspension tolls over the last few years as a contributing factor to our 'success', much like chopping and changing the team and letting talent go and singing average players.
And yet because I have a different creed to others, I am a moron, an outsider, not a true fan, I don't want what's best for the club, yadda yadda yadda.
I agree with a lot of what has been said, but not all of it.
I DO think we have talent. They are just badly out of form.
I DO think injuries and suspensions have played a part.
And I DO also think that Smith's time is up.
