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Eelementary

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
57,125
King-Gutho94 said:


South Sydney are preparing to offer Wayne Bennett a three-year deal as early as next week as the veteran coach weighs up a return to the Rabbitohs.
It comes as Parramatta held a scheduled board meeting on Wednesday night at which it was decided not to follow up on approaches from third parties allegedly acting on behalf of Bennett.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, told the Herald the Eels had been made aware that Bennett had interest in exploring the possibility of joining Parramatta if they moved on from coach Brad Arthur.
The Eels, however, won’t rush into a decision on Arthur’s future despite the Rabbitohs pushing hard for Bennett’s services after terminating the contract of Jason Demetriou on Tuesday.

Parramatta powerbrokers are conscious of the injury predicament that has hampered Arthur’s ability to get the best out of his football team, with Mitchell Moses’ long-term foot injury this week compounded by a knee injury to skipper Clint Gutherson. Eels chairman Sean McElduff declined to comment.
The Eels board want to give Arthur more time to prove he can dig the club out of the hole it currently finds itself in and won’t be pressured into a decision by South Sydney’s urgency to appoint a new coach.

The Rabbitohs are having internal discussions about Bennett’s return to the club and are willing to give him the three-year deal he has indicated he desires.

Sources told the Herald that the Rabbitohs board and owners have endorsed the pursuit of Bennett.

In his previous stint at South Sydney, former head of football Shane Richardson secured Bennett’s services knowing his assistant Jason Demetriou would take over after three seasons. The club made two preliminary finals and one grand final in those three seasons before he left the club.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said Bennett does not want to be restricted, as has been the case in his last two deals with South Sydney and the Dolphins, and wants a minimum three-year deal. The Rabbitohs are open to such a deal.

South Sydney have also shut down any chance of luring Bennett back to the club immediately in a bid to keep their faint finals hopes alive.

Bennett is the short-priced favourite to return for a second stint at Souths, with the club hopeful they can broker a deal in the next fortnight.

The Dolphins already have Bennett’s successor, Kristian Woolf, at the club, while an early exit for Bennett would allow him to start rebuilding the roster.

But Souths do not have the money in their $5.5m football department cap to accommodate Bennett this year – they just paid out $375,000 to Jason Demetriou – and are mindful not to undo all the hard work the Dolphins have done in establishing themselves in the top grade.

“We just won’t do it because we have too much respect for [chief executive] Terry Reader and the team at the Dolphins and what they’ve achieved the past few years – they’ve worked so hard to get to where they are now,” Souths chief executive Blake Solly said.

“We’re not that sort of club. We plan to sign a new coach, and we hope it is a matter of weeks rather than months … but it will be for next year.

“We’re more than happy with Ben and the coaching group we have for the remainder of this year.”

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson welcomed the return of Bennett to the club’s arch rivals.

“It’s always good for the game to have Wayne coaching, the legend that he is, and I think it sounds like it’s already been done, doesn’t it? If Wayne says it’s, it’s done - I think that’s how it works,” Robinson said.

“I think they’ve rolled out the red carpet and said, ‘please say yes’, so I think if that’s the case then if Wayne wants it, and it was a great rivalry a few years ago. He’s the best coach that’s ever been, so it’s a pretty clear choice of his if he wants it.”
Click to expand...

That'll do me.
 
Eelementary

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
57,125
Eelementary said:
That'll do me.
Click to expand...
We've gone backwards for two seasons now, a legitimate top-tier coach reaches out...and we pass on him.

This club is allergic to success.

I'm dumbfounded.

I will not renew my membership, for the first time in 24 years. Why the hell should I give money to a club that actively makes decisions to ensure mediocrity?

I'm done.

Thank Christ for Price, Sterling, Kenny, Cronin, et al - without them, no doubt we'd be 80 years without a title.
 
Happy MEel

Happy MEel

First Grade
Messages
9,849
Stagger eel said:
well it would be dragged out if he still has to choose between both clubs..
Click to expand...
But we could also still be speaking to other options whilst negotiating with Bennett. The main thing is that we would have made a decision on moving BA on and in with a very good shot of getting perhaps the best coach in the game. That would have been a positive for the club.
 
Eelementary

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
57,125
@Tiger5150 - you're a fan of another club.

I'd like your unbiased opinion on this.

Am I over-reacting, here?


We're stuck with Arthur, because the board does not want to make decisions that may prove to be smart business; they're afraid of upsetting players by hiring a new coach (those players can go, as far as I'm concerned, as they've contributed to our current state, and they do not run the ship), and they actively refuse to make positive changes.

Even if signing Bennett didn't result in a Premiership, you can't tell me that the player base would not learn invaluable things from his mentorship.

Seems the only way these imbeciles in charge will realise that the fans have had enough of being a laughingstock, is to financially boycott them.
 
Gronk

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
77,448
Stagger eel said:
what If the club publicly ( or privately) declared their interest to sign the old goat…do any of you seriously believe with another player vying for his signature that old Wayne isn’t going to drag it out for months?

it’s Wayne Bennett ffs….the master manipulator who’s been playing the media to his benefit all his coaching career! …

what if we had a massive crack and then in the 11th hour turns around signs with souths? ..then what?

do you think going through this drama won’t affect us more negatively if we missed out on him?

personally, I’m that the club has made the decision and avoid months of heartache and anguish and instability whilst he makes a decision.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. There are a hell of a lot of assumptions made by people as to how decisions are made. As much as the board is just a bunch of numptys who can’t organise a root in a brothel, it is just as plausible that they said in absolute terms to Mr Cranky - are you all in ? No f**king around, if you are all in ? Then get your arse down here. If not, then we’re out.

Maybe are not going to drag the club through months of BS only to be the front page fodder for the rest of the year after we miss out etc. If you think we are in a downward spiral now, add significant daily coach speculation to the mix and it’s 10 times worse.

Transition from an NRL coach never ends well. They have tried to solve this with Bennett Demetriou and Bennett Woolf, however is that the correct model ?

No matter what, when the club announces that they will be moving in a different direction without BA, it will make the relationship either awkward or untenable. The only way to combat this is to get the coach to agree to take a break from the game or spin some other story. Most coaches still want to have a job however, so Houston we have a problem.
 
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