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What on earth did the Parramatta Eels fans do to make the footy gods so angry? I thought that I had been behaving myself.
For a club so important to the NRL, with a massive fan-base and a junior base that so many other clubs envy, there are times when it is very hard to be an Eels fan.
Yesterday was one of those days, as it was revealed that Parramatta have been hit with a $525,000 fine and are facing the possibility that competition points will be lost after breaching the salary cap in 2014 and 2015.
Are you kidding me? We finished with the wooden spoon in 2014 – in what world was the club operating above the salary cap and finishing last?
How did this happen? The answer is mismanagement.
The breaches were across the four salary cap bands last year and we will be deducted four competition points in 2016 if we do not undertake an independent governance review. In another example of the Eels making history, this is the first time a club has ever been found to have breached all four tiers of the salary cap.
The payments essentially relate to players who were no longer at the club. Paying more than $750,000 to players who had left – such as Jacob Loko, Cheyse Blair, Matt Ryan and Reni Maitua – had a very big impact on our top and second-tier caps.
Not only is this conduct extremely disappointing and embarrassing, but has obviously had an impact on our ability to recruit for the future. I thank our lucky stars that we have managed to recruit some big names in recent seasons and am still looking forward to seeing Kieran Foran in the blue and gold next year.
Dave Smith has said that the breaches are the result of mismanagement in the past. Is anyone surprised following the circus that has been the governance at the Eels for the last couple of years?
Parramatta have absolutely done the wrong thing. However, this is very different from the situation that the Storm and Bulldogs found themselves in. The Eels were making payments to past players – players who were not contributing to the success of the team on the field. It is a small distinguishing factor, but one which I need to make (for my own sanity).
We need to unite now as a club and as fans.
I wrote about the need for unity and stability last week. With a united board the Parramatta Eels can look forward and work towards cleaning up the mess created by previous administrators.
I have seen plenty of evidence that things are turning around. What the club needs, today more than ever, is for the fans to stick by it. Mismanagement and poor governance cannot be cured overnight – there are systemic issues which need to be addressed and which will take time to resolve.
As disappointing as this news is, let’s get behind our club and make sure that the people in charge know how to do things right.
This is @mary__kaye from @ladieswholeague