Slowly and surely the momentum is building to allow us to chase the cancerous blights on South Sydney out of our club forever. Perhaps then we can regain our former position of rightful glory.
Sadly, many supporters still cling to the tragic past and feel our tradition will see us through. Our tradition is currently dead, but we can resuscitate it. Since 1990 when George Piggins took over control of our club lock, stock and barrel, we have gone from bad to worse.
In 1989 we won the minor premiership. In 1990 when George decided he was capable of doing everything and concentrated on his Leagues Club we won 2 games, finished with the Wooden Spoon and had 652 points scored against us. Such a turn around in 12 months should have set the alarm bells ringing. It didnt.
Lets look at the following years performances:
1991 7 wins
1992 7 wins
1993 6 wins
1994 9 wins
1995 4 wins
1996 5 wins
1997 4 wins
1998 5 wins
1999 10 wins
2002 5 wins
2003 3 wins
Even after looking at these frightening figures we STILL have fans saying everything will be okay. Reaching double figures for wins ONCE (1999) in 13 years is not good enough and will not be okay. Thankfully Piggins has more or less gone, but his lingering influence and apathy regarding Souths must also be removed.
This means his puppets on the board must go, to hopefully allow a new board to drag us kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
I implore ALL Souths fans to renew your membership. Your vote is powerful and it places fear in the hearts of those who have tried to destroy us with their incompetence and apathy.
Lets move on to 2003. Three wins, three. A pathetic effort by anyones standards.
Yet still we hear that all will be fine in 2004. Why should we continue to believe the stale company line of next year will be better when we have heard it every year since 1990 and it never eventuates?
People keep offering excuses for this years disgraceful results, but they are the same excuses weve been repetitiously offered since 1990.
If you cant see a pattern here of continual blame for our failures, and never any responsibility accepted, then I fear for your senses of reality.
Let me ask you, as a South Sydney fan how many more years are you willing to accept it will be better next year?
What will it take to actually make you realize it will not be better next year unless someone, or ALL of us stand and be counted?
David Tapp has probably been the biggest managerial flop in South Sydneys history.
He simply must go if we are to have not only a chance of success, but far more importantly survival.
His record of competence in 2003 reads like a rejected Fawlty Towers script.
He contradicted his own Chairman in the press regarding the amount we would spend on a coach, he promised 4 to 5 genuine first grade players for 2004, the closest hes come is Terry Hill.
He totally ballsed up the Rennie signing, he attacks a Souths fan publicly in a forum he had previously discredited in the press, after apologizing and saying it wouldnt happen again he has an interview with RLW and the Sunday papers and drags us through the muck again. His recruitment so far for 2004 has been poor at best.
Now his precious ego is so bruised from the criticism myself and others dealt out to him on a daily basis on the official Souths forum, he closes down that very same forum.
Perhaps a real CEO might have addressed the issues fans were concerned about. But no, not our Leaky.
Forget the calls of negative posters, it is not and never will be negative to demand success, effort and 100% professional attitudes for our club, THE greatest in the world.
It is however dangerously negative to keep believing the itll be better next year lie and invent excuses for our failures.
Forget your personal feelings about Botak, Wolfy, Wade or myself. Forget the fact you might not like the manner in which some of us deliver the message. But please, at least listen to the message and think about it. If you can even believe 50% of what you are hearing via rumours in the press, supporters close to the club and other innuendo, then that alone should stir you into action.
Keep your membership active, it IS the only weapon you have against those that care little for our survival. Ask questions, listen to the opinions of others. Only then can you make a logical decision and then act on it.
If we dont fight amongst ourselves, but pay each other the respect of LISTENING to the opinions of others who love this club, then we will be far stronger. Debate is healthy, debate is good, but let it not become lost in personal abuse.
If you dont believe a post made by Botak for example, or some point is not clear, ask him. It was not so long ago I was Botaks biggest enemy in the Souths forums. Much abuse was hurled between us. Then one day I sent him a PM and asked some serious questions, and I received some serious answers.
I sat and waited patiently. Sure enough after only a few weeks some of the very things Id been told came out publicly. I stopped calling him a liar and a troublemaker and started to believe he was sending his message NOT to be negative or destroy Souths, but to alert the long suffering Souths fans to just how deeply our managerial problems run.
All any of us can do is tell you what is killing our club.
Only you can believe it and act, or ignore it and accept what we have now, forever.
Souths forever
Christian daRque
Sadly, many supporters still cling to the tragic past and feel our tradition will see us through. Our tradition is currently dead, but we can resuscitate it. Since 1990 when George Piggins took over control of our club lock, stock and barrel, we have gone from bad to worse.
In 1989 we won the minor premiership. In 1990 when George decided he was capable of doing everything and concentrated on his Leagues Club we won 2 games, finished with the Wooden Spoon and had 652 points scored against us. Such a turn around in 12 months should have set the alarm bells ringing. It didnt.
Lets look at the following years performances:
1991 7 wins
1992 7 wins
1993 6 wins
1994 9 wins
1995 4 wins
1996 5 wins
1997 4 wins
1998 5 wins
1999 10 wins
2002 5 wins
2003 3 wins
Even after looking at these frightening figures we STILL have fans saying everything will be okay. Reaching double figures for wins ONCE (1999) in 13 years is not good enough and will not be okay. Thankfully Piggins has more or less gone, but his lingering influence and apathy regarding Souths must also be removed.
This means his puppets on the board must go, to hopefully allow a new board to drag us kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
I implore ALL Souths fans to renew your membership. Your vote is powerful and it places fear in the hearts of those who have tried to destroy us with their incompetence and apathy.
Lets move on to 2003. Three wins, three. A pathetic effort by anyones standards.
Yet still we hear that all will be fine in 2004. Why should we continue to believe the stale company line of next year will be better when we have heard it every year since 1990 and it never eventuates?
People keep offering excuses for this years disgraceful results, but they are the same excuses weve been repetitiously offered since 1990.
If you cant see a pattern here of continual blame for our failures, and never any responsibility accepted, then I fear for your senses of reality.
Let me ask you, as a South Sydney fan how many more years are you willing to accept it will be better next year?
What will it take to actually make you realize it will not be better next year unless someone, or ALL of us stand and be counted?
David Tapp has probably been the biggest managerial flop in South Sydneys history.
He simply must go if we are to have not only a chance of success, but far more importantly survival.
His record of competence in 2003 reads like a rejected Fawlty Towers script.
He contradicted his own Chairman in the press regarding the amount we would spend on a coach, he promised 4 to 5 genuine first grade players for 2004, the closest hes come is Terry Hill.
He totally ballsed up the Rennie signing, he attacks a Souths fan publicly in a forum he had previously discredited in the press, after apologizing and saying it wouldnt happen again he has an interview with RLW and the Sunday papers and drags us through the muck again. His recruitment so far for 2004 has been poor at best.
Now his precious ego is so bruised from the criticism myself and others dealt out to him on a daily basis on the official Souths forum, he closes down that very same forum.
Perhaps a real CEO might have addressed the issues fans were concerned about. But no, not our Leaky.
Forget the calls of negative posters, it is not and never will be negative to demand success, effort and 100% professional attitudes for our club, THE greatest in the world.
It is however dangerously negative to keep believing the itll be better next year lie and invent excuses for our failures.
Forget your personal feelings about Botak, Wolfy, Wade or myself. Forget the fact you might not like the manner in which some of us deliver the message. But please, at least listen to the message and think about it. If you can even believe 50% of what you are hearing via rumours in the press, supporters close to the club and other innuendo, then that alone should stir you into action.
Keep your membership active, it IS the only weapon you have against those that care little for our survival. Ask questions, listen to the opinions of others. Only then can you make a logical decision and then act on it.
If we dont fight amongst ourselves, but pay each other the respect of LISTENING to the opinions of others who love this club, then we will be far stronger. Debate is healthy, debate is good, but let it not become lost in personal abuse.
If you dont believe a post made by Botak for example, or some point is not clear, ask him. It was not so long ago I was Botaks biggest enemy in the Souths forums. Much abuse was hurled between us. Then one day I sent him a PM and asked some serious questions, and I received some serious answers.
I sat and waited patiently. Sure enough after only a few weeks some of the very things Id been told came out publicly. I stopped calling him a liar and a troublemaker and started to believe he was sending his message NOT to be negative or destroy Souths, but to alert the long suffering Souths fans to just how deeply our managerial problems run.
All any of us can do is tell you what is killing our club.
Only you can believe it and act, or ignore it and accept what we have now, forever.
Souths forever
Christian daRque