Roosters supreme Nick Politis once commented that he had never wanted to appoint Brad Fittler as coach because he couldn’t bear the thought that one day he might have to fire him.
The way things are going that may be a thought which he may seriously have to entertain.
When Fittler, the Roosters golden boy and held in the same sort of esteem as club legends Arthur Beetson and Johnny Peard, was appointed as coach he was hailed as the club’s saviour.
The side was in freefall as the unpopular decision to appoint Chris Anderson was proving to be an unmitigated disaster as they plunged towards a wooden spoon. For a club which had been the benchmark of the competition just a few seasons ago this was unthinkable.
Fittler, his folksy charm a real contrast to Anderson’s abrupt and direct fashion, transformed the team, got them winning and again became the darling of Roosters fans and, importantly, the media.
‘Freddie’ could do no wrong, he was described a ‘breath of fresh air’ who didn’t take coaching too seriously. Oh how the scribes chuckled when he spoke of ducking to the loo during the match. It even made the Fitz files!
The players lined up to tell the press how much they loved playing under him and how much they were learning. A one Mason, W spoke of how Freddie had taught him more in a few months than he had learnt in his entire time at the Bulldogs and that he had learned to love rugby league again.
And the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
How times change.
Now even journos that don’t attend his press conferences are bagging his performances at them. His honesty which was seen as such a breath of fresh air is now is nothing short of a national disgrace as he should be reading out pre-prepared contrite statements filled with clichés about letting the side, the club and the code down.
But it isn’t the press conferences and the irritated responses that will mark his card, it is the performance on the field that are the concern.
The Roosters faded badly at the end of last season and surrendered meekly in the finals.
This season has seen them hammered by Souths in round one before crushing the Raiders, but then getting blown off the park by the Tigers.
Cause for concern? It is probably a bit early, but it doesn’t bring instil a lot of confidence.
But it is the off field stuff which has the Roosters looking like a bunch of chickens minus their heads.
Forget Jake Friend.
It’s secret deals for Todd Carney, filling the war chest for a bid for Karmichael Hunt, and the rumblings of problems with Mason that make you wonder what is going on.
Peter O’Sullivan was lured from Melbourne on the biggest salary of any recruitment manager in the game to find the tri-colours the next Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Israel Folau.
Instead they seem to be monitoring the file marked “bad boys and head cases”.
O’Sullivan has publicly said that someone is leaking misinformation in order to destabilise the club, but these leaks normally come from within which makes things even more perplexing.
This sort of stuff used to always happen down the road at Redfern, now the lunatics look to be plotting a coup of the asylum at Bondi Junction.
It could be a long season.
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