Ok, I'm just going to write what I'm thinking... I'm probably just repeating some of what has already been said, stating some of the obvious, and making mistakes in my facts as I go, however I just want to get everything down so I can make some sense of this whole crazy situation for myself and maybe for other people. Sorry in advance for the length of this post
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<rant>
- The rumours about Elliott's sacking must have come from
somewhere. Whether that was an actual reliable source from inside the club or not, who knows. It could have just been an educated guess from a journalist who realised how hopelessly we have gone for the last 2 seasons and put two and two together that something was likely to happen, for them to turn out right. You would think that it was actually a reliable source though, judging by the people who picked up the story (Voss etc on Channel 9) and the amount of coverage it got - I don't think it would have got that sort of coverage if some random journalist just made it up.
Now, assuming that it actually did come from a reliable source which seems highly likely, we move onto point 2:
- While there were quotes from the Panthers that Elliott had the full support of the board, this is obviously a lie. You don't go from full support (at hiring) to full support near the end of the 2nd season, to "tell us why we shouldn't sack you" a short time later! I realise they are an organisation that has to be mindful of what they say, however rather than flat out lying I would have issued a statement saying
"Matt Elliott at this point in time is still our coach with a season left on his contract, and we haven't made a decision otherwise. Speculation is just that - speculation". Simple. Isn't that much better than saying he has full support and that there are absolutely no basis to the rumours, only to show a short time later that there obviously was? If the above statement was issued, the club wouldn't have looked like absolute idiots when it turns out that Elliott's situation is being closely looked at, as they only said no decision had been made, not no talk has happened at all. The club would have looked much more professional, even though its hard to look professional after a third coach in a row is up for sacking.
- If an emergency meeting is called, why not just decide Elliott's future then and there, with Elliott present to plead his case if need be, rather than putting up the smoke and mirrors not giving away what the meeting was about and then later saying it was simply "a review of the season". It obviously wasn't just "a review of the season", as it was an emergency meeting that was obviously for a reason - to discuss Elliott's future (as was hinted by Elliott at the press conference after the Manly game). If it was just a review of the season, it could have been conducted in a few weeks time if need be couldn't it? It's the off season now! Why did it have to be called all of a sudden? It would have been much better to just get it out in the open that yes, we are having a meeting to determine Matt Elliott's future, and to get it all over and done with in a single quick movement, again making the club look much more professional. But no, let's instead again put up the smoke and mirrors about what the meeting is about, before calling yet another meeting with yet more smoke and mirrors, STILL not formally admitting that Elliott's coaching future is the point of discussion! Doesn't it make sense that the faster this situation is dealt with the less time the club is in the spotlight, rumours are thrown around, and the club is a circus in the media!? Don't get me wrong, I want the right decision to be made and for it not to be rushed, however as I mentioned above it would have been much less painful for it just to be over and done with in a whole day of discussion if need be, not to mention that it would then give either Elliott more time to put this behind him before next season, or the new coach more time to sort out our team for next season!
- Even if Elliott is given a chance to plead his case, what is there that he can say that we don't already know? We have seen the results on the field for the last 2 seasons, and in the end isn't that what really matters? Results mean bums on seats, and money for the club. Also, we have seen the idiocy of Elliott's coaching for the last 2 seasons, and nothing he can say could really defend some of his decisions. Elliott - "I don't really have favourite players while ignoring other players". Yeah right! We have SEEN you pick favourites for the whole year! Elliott - "I didn't really pick Jarrod Sammut on the wing only for a million tries to be scored against him because he wasn't suited to defending on the wing, leading to us losing a game" umm yes you did? There are a million other examples of this I could give, I have just picked a few. We have heard all of this crap in the news every waking second about player unrest blah blah when what we should have been hearing was that Penrith was achieving consistent results on the back of the biggest junior nursery around and good coaching of talent! I can't really think of anything that Elliott could say that could really have anything to do with managements final decision, assuming management have a clue. What does this pleading of a case achieve? What does this second meeting achieve, other then continuing this farce?
Personally, I hope Elliott is sacked tomorrow and an immediate replacement, either Daniel Anderson or Stephen Kearney (at this point I don't really care either way) is named. You would think though that the club would have had someone in their sights, and they would have made SURE this time that they were the right man for the job as to avoid yet a fourth coach sacking in a row. I agree with others that Georgallis is not the solution, as results in Under 20's doesn't necessarily mean results in first grade (same as with players), and it's too big of a risk to take. If he was promoted and he failed with poor results in the first half of the year for example, then what would be the point of sacking/demoting Elliott, and this whole idiotic situation, in the first place?
Does anyone else here agree with me? (If you had the patience to read through the whole post :lol
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I'm just a passionate Panthers fan like everyone else here, a school student, with absolutely no extraordinary knowledge of anything, and even I can see that the way this situation has been handled is an absolute joke and there needs to be a cleanout from the top down at Penrith to make sure a situation like this doesn't arise again.
What does everyone else think?
