I think his leaving the Eels was best for everyone. Good luck to him.
I was angry at him at first for leaving, but once I calmed down, I realised I can't get mad at a guy who did nothing wrong. Our incompetent board members put that get out clause in his contract.
I've never rated the guy, but I think he will succeed at the Raiders - he is committed to them, and with their roster, he should be able to extract something from the side.
The thing is i understand being angry at him. I would be if he did that to my club, but as you point out, at some point you've got to ask who this absurd situation was allowed to play out and the answer is it was allowed to play out because the Parramatta board put in the single most absurd get out clause i have ever heard in my life. Next level incompetence.
His results weren't great, they were awful in fact. His history isnt great either. And Parramatta got out of a coach, whom apparently everyone wanted gone anyway, without having to pay him a dollar more. That's a great result, you should be cheering from the roof tops, except the likes of Loudy and Ron arent, they just keep coming in here, totally steamed and ready to explode. Its hilarious
I dont shy away from the fact im not a fan of his as a coach. He would not have been my choice. But i dont control that and i never will, so all you can do is hope that finally being back at the club he was destined to coach will spark something for him.
Certainly he deserves criticism for his parra stint because it was pretty clear in hindsight he was never in it for the long haul, but then again he's done a lot of good there, he cleaned out the worst roster the NRL has seen in modern history. It's dirty work and he did it and had the good graces to leave to let someone else to rebuild. I can bet my last dollar B.Arthur is sitting at home tonight thankfully Stuart cleaned it out so he didnt have to. His job is now easier for having Stuart there.
We'll see if Stuart-Raiders is the right place, right time scenario. So far, so good, early doors but as ive said, you get a clean slate and whilst i have my concerns, so far i cant fault him. The Raiders have been rubbish for years, arguably since he left the club, it's up to him to fix it and maybe there is something poetic in that that he's here to clean up the mess created since his departure. He is certainly passionate about the club.
But as a Parramatta fan, i just can not understand the continued obsession. It's truly baffling. All ive read is about how much better the eels are without him, how much better the coaching structures are, the board is more unified etc.
Raiders got their man, and it remains to be seen how that pans out.
Eels got their man, and it remains to be seen how that pans out.
Shouldnt the Eels just be content with that?
Apparently not.
