Who's Next?

[Bartwah]

Christ, Gardner is looking dumber and dumber every day.

Either he’s already decided on O’Brien as coach and run Joey’s involvement past him (despite insisting that the decision hadn’t already been made weeks ago), or he’s making key personnel decisions without running them past the future coach.

Starting to feel very Tinkler-esque. Or is that too harsh a call?

 

[TooheysNew]

Now we are getting it.

 

[Yosh]

Vossy coming in seems like a great call. We got that old ref lad coming in as well right? Also bringing in Joey will bring in a lot of positive PR for the club. I don't see anything wrong with the direction the club is going. We seem to rectify the problems we have by bringing in qualified people.

I think my positive views on our management isn't the popular view on the forum here but to be honest I'm super happy the direction our club is headed. It ain't pretty but it's ruthless. Ruthlessness is something our club has lacked for a long long time.

Bringing in Bossy and Sheens suggests to me that we aren't just run by the boys anymore. When Brian Smith came in, it wasnt pretty but it was what we needed. Any message the management want to send out will be much better received by the masses if it comes from Joey's mouth.

 

[Knight Vision]

'Any role he wants': Newcastle want Joey to be white Knight

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/an...-joey-to-be-white-knight-20190831-p52mpu.html

There's a few interesting nuggets in there.

a great decision. The 8th immortal and we do nothing to utilize it for years. Bring Matty back closer to the club as well. Our halves would benefit .

 

[TooheysNew]

Vossy coming in seems like a great call. We got that old ref lad coming in as well right? Also bringing in Joey will bring in a lot of positive PR for the club. I don't see anything wrong with the direction the club is going. We seem to rectify the problems we have by bringing in qualified people.

I think my positive views on our management isn't the popular view on the forum here but to be honest I'm super happy the direction our club is headed. It ain't pretty but it's ruthless. Ruthlessness is something our club has lacked for a long long time.

Bringing in Bossy and Sheens suggests to me that we aren't just run by the boys anymore. When Brian Smith came in, it wasnt pretty but it was what we needed. Any message the management want to send out will be much better received by the masses if it comes from Joey's mouth.

What exactly is it that you are stoked about?

Because we look absolutely incompetent and laughable.

 

[Knight76]

I'm sure the club has tried to get Joey involved behind the scenes previously and I am aware of the story of a previous falling out.

Announcing this publicly at this time is interesting. Joey has been very vocal with his criticism of late, and fair enough. He cares deeply about the Knights and it must kill him to see the club so low. He would have been shattered with how this season has gone.

Gardner could have approached Joey behind the scenes again but had yelled it publicly. Basically calling Joey out ie put your money where your mouth is.

Joey's response will be interesting given Buderus just walked away.

Fox sports saying worst kept secret in RL to be announced within 48 hours. O'Brien to coach.

 

[Old dog]

Funny how Joey is offered any position he wants but we have Danny B quitting because of lack of knowledge of what’s going on.
Gardner just keeps making decisions of what’s in front but not fixing what’s within.

 

[perverse]

Gardner strikes me as a businessman who rules with a bit of an iron fist, his way or the highway. It's a pretty typical character trait of someone in his position. Whether that's panning out well for us remains to be seen, but it's almost definitely played a role in the recent fallout.

I doubt he even considered consulting the advisory board. It just wouldn't be relevant to him.

It might be better if Wests employ someone a bit more removed from their central operations to run the club. Having said that, control freaks tend to get involved regardless.

 

[Yosh]

What exactly is it that you are stoked about?

Because we look absolutely incompetent and laughable.

Don't think Gardner and Co. care how it looks from the outside. They have a job to do and are doing it. Don't know how it'll all end up but it's better than having a bunch of nuffies run the show.

 

[TooheysNew]

Don't think Gardner and Co. care how it looks from the outside. They have a job to do and are doing it. Don't know how it'll all end up but it's better than having a bunch of nuffies run the show.

There is no "and Co.".

And if they don't care how it looks from the outside, that's part of the problem. Do you honestly believe a player would want to come to a club with a visible shitfight for management? Do you think it's a good thing that we had the lowest crowd for an Old Boys day since 1997, because "from the outside", fans are pissed? Do you believe it's a good thing that we're pissing off ex-players like Matty, Joey and Danny, because of how it looks "from the outside"?

Brailey was interviewed the other day on his thoughts on the whole ordeal, and he was very... thoughtful in his response. The Aidan Guerra interview was also very interesting.

I'm all for savvy management, but we've had a dictator in charge before. How'd that turn out?

 

[Spot On]

Does anyone know if Andrew Johns is currently involved with any NRL club in any capacity?

 

[Yosh]

There is no "and Co.".

And if they don't care how it looks from the outside, that's part of the problem. Do you honestly believe a player would want to come to a club with a visible shitfight for management? Do you think it's a good thing that we had the lowest crowd for an Old Boys day since 1997, because "from the outside", fans are pissed? Do you believe it's a good thing that we're pissing off ex-players like Matty, Joey and Danny, because of how it looks "from the outside"?

Brailey was interviewed the other day on his thoughts on the whole ordeal, and he was very... thoughtful in his response. The Aidan Guerra interview was also very interesting.

I'm all for savvy management, but we've had a dictator in charge before. How'd that turn out?

We definitely had no players come when we could never make the eight ever. The media is making a big deal out of very little.

Overall, the year has been an improvement. Surely no one thinks we haven't improved as a club in the past 2-3 years.

We have a really bright coach coming in with a great resume. The club is financially healthy. The players actually have some talent.

It was going to be much uglier before it got better. All things considered, I think we're doing just fine and we will have a big year in 2020.

 

[TooheysNew]

We definitely had no players come when we could never make the eight ever. The media is making a big deal out of very little.

Overall, the year has been an improvement. Surely no one thinks we haven't improved as a club in the past 2-3 years.

We have a really bright coach coming in with a great resume. The club is financially healthy. The players actually have some talent.

It was going to be much uglier before it got better. All things considered, I think we're doing just fine and we will have a big year in 2020.

You say that because you are buying every line you're being sold, by someone who is trained to sell it. It's cute.

Of course the year has been an improvement. Of course the club has improved over the past 2-3 years. But could it be miles better if not for mismanagement? Absolutely.

You seem to think Brown was the problem, and that now that he's gone our problems are solved. That Gardner and Co can do no wrong.

From your points above:
Attracting players? Brown was definitely a big part of that.
More health financially? Obviously Wests are tipping in the funds, but see how we'd be without having a coach that sorted our broken salary cap and rebuilt our roster.
A squad that has talent? Yep - bringing in some important signings and ditching some absolute overpaid deadwood will do that.

And that's just the publicly reported on side of things.

I guess my question is, do you think this entire situation has been handled as well as it could have? Do you think we have improved, or hurt our reputation as a club throughout this?

 

[Knight Vision]

And if they don't care how it looks from the outside, that's part of the problem

this. Perception is everything. They let the story get out of their control and damaged the brand in the process. Never a good idea.

 

[Burwood]

Let’s hope that Joey’s new role that he picks for himself is CEO.

I have no problem with Gardner doing things like bringing in outside help from past players etc, but doing it through the media isn’t the way I think it should be handled.

He seems to say/do one thing, but then contradicts himself within 24hrs. That article about Joey quotes Gardner as saying that Brown’s preference was not to have outside help when he was coach, but now Gardner is lining up Joey for some role before a new coach is even announced? What if the new coach doesn’t want Joey there?

And if the new coach has already been decided, why not just wait a day or two for that announcement? Or tee up Joey, but do it all behind closed doors and not in the media?

Gardner always seems to be attempting to put out spot fires that he has lit himself.

 

[Yosh]

You say that because you are buying every line you're being sold, by someone who is trained to sell it. It's cute.

Of course the year has been an improvement. Of course the club has improved over the past 2-3 years. But could it be miles better if not for mismanagement? Absolutely.

You seem to think Brown was the problem, and that now that he's gone our problems are solved. That Gardner and Co can do no wrong.

From your points above:
Attracting players? Brown was definitely a big part of that.
More health financially? Obviously Wests are tipping in the funds, but see how we'd be without having a coach that sorted our broken salary cap and rebuilt our roster.
A squad that has talent? Yep - bringing in some important signings and ditching some absolute overpaid deadwood will do that.

And that's just the publicly reported on side of things.

I guess my question is, do you think this entire situation has been handled as well as it could have? Do you think we have improved, or hurt our reputation as a club throughout this?

Can't be perfect. I don't think they did everything perfectly but personally I'm much happier where the club is now than let's say a year or two ago.

I want the Knights to be a successful club. I want to see the stadium 25k plus fans every home game. If it looks ugly but we win and win and win on the field (legally) , I don't care.

Probably a minority on this forum but winning is all that should matter to an organization like the Knights. The city loves the team and is eager to get behind it. Don't like Tinkler and Bennett fool you to thinking any corporate ruthlessness is negative.

Only time will tell and I understand why everyone is so negative about the last month or so. We have all come to expect the worst as Knights fans. Hell, even I don't think we will ever sign SBW anymore but the club is on the way up that's for sure.

 

[Burwood]

Yosh, what is this ruthlessness you keep referring to? Sacking Brown was far from being ruthless, so what exactly has Gardner done?

 

[macavity]

Yosh, you seem to think "ruthless" = "looks like a fool and doesn't care"

A CEO shouldn't make themselves look like a fool, and should care if they do so.

I am not going to rag on Gardner like some others have, but he needs to re-set his image - both with fans and the RL community generally. These things matter when attracting players, fans, and sponsors.

 

[Burwood]

Gardner was going fine up until a few weeks ago- not sure what changed in such a short space of time? It’s almost like one negative thing happened, he’s copped some bad publicity which he isn’t used to, and he’s panicked.

Criticised for going behind Brown’s back and lining up O’Brien? All good, it was just innocent due diligence and no decision has been made. Let’s interview all these other coaching candidates...

Matty Johns criticises him? All good, Gardner will follow some terrific suggestion from the Matty Johns podcast and hire Hagan as some sort of coaching director because it worked so well for the Titans.

Fans vent their frustration at him? Let’s write an open letter to them and push it out through the media.

Andrew Johns critcises him for sabotaging the season? No worries, let’s give him any position in the club that he likes.

It’s time for him to step back into the shadows and have faith in the people he originally selected to run the club and let them do what they should be doing.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

'Any role he wants': Newcastle want Joey to be white Knight

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/an...-joey-to-be-white-knight-20190831-p52mpu.html

There's a few interesting nuggets in there.

Gardner in damage control.
That he needs to go into damage control says a lot.
As sure as hell there won't be a grandstand named after Phil Gardner.
In all of this Gardner gets his name out there and shows he is running the show. It's Tinkler Mk2. Gardner might consult but he does what he wants and just gets a rubber stamp from the Board.
Joey was asked about coaching on TV ages ago and said he didn't want the stress. I doubt he'd want the stress from another Knights job or to be under Gardner's rule.