Magpies Forever
Juniors
- Messages
- 2,208
Something has got to blow surely.
WT seem to be a club under pressure at the moment and so far seem to have successfully kept a wall of silence in place but surely it cannot last too much longer. Something has to surface soon and hit the media.
Any one of these elements, or combination, could cause the whole place to erupt.
The coach- Sheens is under pressure to get results. It would seem that he was only saved from being shown the door after this season by the supposed fact WestsTigers cant afford to pay him out at his stage. He obviously doesn’t want to move on but the NZ Warriors may be a new challenge and safe haven for him if the blowtorch continues over the next few weeks. Previous loyalty to ‘in crowd’ players is out the door in his attempt to stave off his firing, how long will the player loyalty and hence silence remain in place- especially for those who have been shown the door. Sheens obsession in bringing back his old mate Royce Simmons as assistant coach would construe an unfathomable acquiescence if the CEO and board allow it.
The CEO- Humphreys is supposedly his own man, but everything we have heard from him lately gives the opposite impression. All too often protecting Sheens from examination and the results Sheens has achieved to date has not merited this level of protection. The rush to re-sign Sheens in 2011 for a further 3 years in the head coach role must be held accountable to both Humphreys and the board. If things continue to go wrong for WestsTigers the final straw may have been exempting Sheens role in the upcoming review of the 2012 season’s team performance. Handicapping any review beforehand, in not enabling them to join any dots as need be, is not the sign of an honest, open review of what went wrong for the club. The review would be no more than a mere platitude to a growing, vocal, increasingly exasperated fanbase.
The board- alone of the troika of WT management (coach, CEO and board) the board alone is elected by members and they must too be feeling the heat of dissatisfaction in the team’s performance, planning and supervision. The board have powers that can force action on the positions of both CEO and coach. It seems the board, from comments by the chairman Dave Trodden, preferred any extension of Sheens contract in 2011 to be headed towards moving into a role of coaching director and this was eventually changed after Humphreys wanted Sheens to remain as coach.
The Magpies / Tigers / WestsTigers- this long simmering issue most obviously fronted by the team emblem/s, home ground /s and merging lower grades into one unit remains. Neither the old Balmain Tigers or Western Suburbs Magpies can really afford to go it alone and the merged entity of WestsTigers is the logical way forward, however, home grounds and the team emblem remain as issues with the now merged State Cup side for 2014 onwards. WestsTigers currently have 3 home ground s in the SFS, Leichhardt and Campbelltown, plus a training facility at Concord, are attempting to please everyone. The merging of the 2 previous traditional clubs in the State Cup and the resultant ‘winning and losing’ in terms of the team emblems remains an emotive issue- especially on the Magpies side. Ground was given in the NRL team, to lose the emblem entirely at the State Cup level is not a happy thought.
The senior players- senior players such as Farah, Marshall and Fulton, who are the remaining players from 2005 premiership team, must be caught up in all this and have their opinions on the coach, the CEO, the board and the team’s performance. They have given the best years of their playing lives to WestsTigers under Sheens tutelage and the inelegant ditching of their 2005 team-mate Heighington after the 2012 season end, robbing him of a formal crowd farewell, must be weighing on their minds. The loss of their other valued player Ellis, in returning to England, further exposes the playing group to the vagaries of WT recruitment and retention policies, such as they exist. These players must be unhappy with the performance of new recruits such as Blair, on whose recruitment, previous valued friends and players from 2005, such as Bryce Gibbs, were ditched to accommodate.
The NRL squad- has been through years of Sheens inspired positional switches, playing of favourite players, sustained periods of out of form players being continually selected, limited chances for fringe players to get a fair shot at promotion and opportunity, continual absence of selection of traditional halfbacks for the team, Sheens mind games with some players, Benji Marshall centric plays and lack of success on the field in terms of premierships, finals and selection in representative teams. The ever present competitive comparison with other teams, coaches, their successes and failures and how their friends and rivals have compared to their own success as a player. Finally comparison with players that have left WestsTigers for opportunities elsewhere.
The sacked players- so far discarded or sacked players have been pretty diplomatic in their comments about WestsTIgers. How long before someone unloads forcing a response and counter?
WT seem to be a club under pressure at the moment and so far seem to have successfully kept a wall of silence in place but surely it cannot last too much longer. Something has to surface soon and hit the media.
Any one of these elements, or combination, could cause the whole place to erupt.
The coach- Sheens is under pressure to get results. It would seem that he was only saved from being shown the door after this season by the supposed fact WestsTigers cant afford to pay him out at his stage. He obviously doesn’t want to move on but the NZ Warriors may be a new challenge and safe haven for him if the blowtorch continues over the next few weeks. Previous loyalty to ‘in crowd’ players is out the door in his attempt to stave off his firing, how long will the player loyalty and hence silence remain in place- especially for those who have been shown the door. Sheens obsession in bringing back his old mate Royce Simmons as assistant coach would construe an unfathomable acquiescence if the CEO and board allow it.
The CEO- Humphreys is supposedly his own man, but everything we have heard from him lately gives the opposite impression. All too often protecting Sheens from examination and the results Sheens has achieved to date has not merited this level of protection. The rush to re-sign Sheens in 2011 for a further 3 years in the head coach role must be held accountable to both Humphreys and the board. If things continue to go wrong for WestsTigers the final straw may have been exempting Sheens role in the upcoming review of the 2012 season’s team performance. Handicapping any review beforehand, in not enabling them to join any dots as need be, is not the sign of an honest, open review of what went wrong for the club. The review would be no more than a mere platitude to a growing, vocal, increasingly exasperated fanbase.
The board- alone of the troika of WT management (coach, CEO and board) the board alone is elected by members and they must too be feeling the heat of dissatisfaction in the team’s performance, planning and supervision. The board have powers that can force action on the positions of both CEO and coach. It seems the board, from comments by the chairman Dave Trodden, preferred any extension of Sheens contract in 2011 to be headed towards moving into a role of coaching director and this was eventually changed after Humphreys wanted Sheens to remain as coach.
The Magpies / Tigers / WestsTigers- this long simmering issue most obviously fronted by the team emblem/s, home ground /s and merging lower grades into one unit remains. Neither the old Balmain Tigers or Western Suburbs Magpies can really afford to go it alone and the merged entity of WestsTigers is the logical way forward, however, home grounds and the team emblem remain as issues with the now merged State Cup side for 2014 onwards. WestsTigers currently have 3 home ground s in the SFS, Leichhardt and Campbelltown, plus a training facility at Concord, are attempting to please everyone. The merging of the 2 previous traditional clubs in the State Cup and the resultant ‘winning and losing’ in terms of the team emblems remains an emotive issue- especially on the Magpies side. Ground was given in the NRL team, to lose the emblem entirely at the State Cup level is not a happy thought.
The senior players- senior players such as Farah, Marshall and Fulton, who are the remaining players from 2005 premiership team, must be caught up in all this and have their opinions on the coach, the CEO, the board and the team’s performance. They have given the best years of their playing lives to WestsTigers under Sheens tutelage and the inelegant ditching of their 2005 team-mate Heighington after the 2012 season end, robbing him of a formal crowd farewell, must be weighing on their minds. The loss of their other valued player Ellis, in returning to England, further exposes the playing group to the vagaries of WT recruitment and retention policies, such as they exist. These players must be unhappy with the performance of new recruits such as Blair, on whose recruitment, previous valued friends and players from 2005, such as Bryce Gibbs, were ditched to accommodate.
The NRL squad- has been through years of Sheens inspired positional switches, playing of favourite players, sustained periods of out of form players being continually selected, limited chances for fringe players to get a fair shot at promotion and opportunity, continual absence of selection of traditional halfbacks for the team, Sheens mind games with some players, Benji Marshall centric plays and lack of success on the field in terms of premierships, finals and selection in representative teams. The ever present competitive comparison with other teams, coaches, their successes and failures and how their friends and rivals have compared to their own success as a player. Finally comparison with players that have left WestsTigers for opportunities elsewhere.
The sacked players- so far discarded or sacked players have been pretty diplomatic in their comments about WestsTIgers. How long before someone unloads forcing a response and counter?
