Over the last couple of days I am beginning to feel exhausted, and following conversations with several other Parramatta Eels supporters, I know I am not alone.
I am so tired of the Eels being in the newspapers for the wrong reasons. I am so tired of the politics affecting what my players can do on the field. I am so tired of rebuilding.
But most of all, I am so tired of saying, “There is always next year.”
Is being a football supporter meant to be this hard? Is it meant to hurt this much? Some will say yes – because love hurts sometimes – but I fear that should we continue to walk down this path, people with tremendous love for our club will to walk away.
And that, of course, will be the biggest shame of all.
I recognise that part of this is because the Eels sell newspapers. I get that. As a club we need to get better at celebrating everything positive we achieve, both on and off the field (of which there is much of late). However, the happenings off the field are beginning to reach new heights and they simply cannot be ignored any longer. Our football club is a business, and it is unacceptable.
I fear that the fallout from the Kieran Foran situation will take a decade to tidy up.
Being removed from the facts of the situation at hand, it is very hard to arrive at definitive conclusions, but at the moment, everything points toward our administration dropping the ball.
Here’s what we think we know.
In April 2015, a four-year contract was signed by Foran. That contract was lodged with the NRL, apparently without countersignature of the Eels board. The NRL contacted the club with respect to contract protocol and procedure and the club responded by forwarding another contract, without signature from either party.
In early June a further contract was forwarded to the NRL via the club, reiterating the terms of the second contract, replete with the signature of the club but without Foran’s signature.
On June 14, CEO Scott Seward vacated his position.
On June 22, and from then on, the Eels and Kieran Foran are in negotiation as to whether his contract is valid and whether he will be playing for Parramatta in 2016 and forward.
The Eels’ fiercely loyal fans expect only that our footy team, our 30-odd warriors, will take the pitch every week with one thing in mind – winning a game of footy. We do not expect to win a grand final each year, but we do expect our team to give it their all.
We gladly pay our memberships for no other reason than the fact that we love our club, our colours, our team, and we want to be part of something special.
Sometimes we are fortunate enough to meet the players for whom we shout, sometimes against, but invariably accept as akin to family – along with their adorable idiosyncrasies and infuriating foibles.
But that is the role of the fan, the supporter, the ‘man (or woman) in the street’ who anticipates the weekend just to support the club.
The role of the administration wears two hats. It barracks as loudly and proudly as we, the fans, but it has an even greater responsibility than us. Its responsibility is to resolutely protect the club so future generations can enjoy the experiences that are ours.
Such a responsibility should never rest lightly – nor should it be conferred to those who will not keep that responsibility in the front of their minds.
Today, ours is a club in complete turmoil. It cannot sit well with any Eels fan to be comforted by fans of rival clubs while our club degrades itself so spectacularly.
The warring needs to stop. The factions need to butt out. We need to ensure that the right people are governing our club. People that only have the best interests of the club in their heart and who would never do anything to hurt, humiliate or embarrass our club.
This is not happening at the moment.
We are a tremendously proud club with a rich and dynamic history, and should be the jewel of the NRL. I am so proud to call this club part of me and for me to be part of it.
However, we need to do better. We need to demand more from our administrators.
Even with the lack of success Parramatta has had over the last six years, we still boast one of the highest average crowd attendances, and one of the largest membership bases in the NRL – can you imagine what we could achieve with a little bit of success?
Some very careful thinking needs to be done over the next couple of days and I truly fear the outcome.
Regardless, I will still pay for my membership and still staunchly support the club that I love – even if it means beginning to defend it against people who are supposedly acting in its best interest.
And Kieran Foran, if you are reading this, I would love to have you at my club. You are so talented and would be so precious to a squad which needs some leadership and guidance. However, if you decide to take your talent elsewhere, I completely understand – you are better than this.
This is @mary__kaye from @ladieswholeague
Common Sense
Roar Rookie
Foran wants to play for Brad Arthur, the fact that he is coaching Parramatta is just a detail. The clause is there so that if Brad Arthur gets the sack Foran isn't contractually obligated to stay. The same clause was written into his previous Manly contract to in regards to Des Hasler, but Foran chose not to invoke it as he wanted to stay at Manly. It's also a protection against a disfunctional board room, any sane player would want a clause like that included. The problem that the Eels have with it is the $1m payout if he chose to bail.
John Mahoney
Roar Rookie
Whilst I would love to see Kieran in Blue & Gold next year, the very fact that he wanted the "get out" clasue worries me. I understand why, the club is a shambles, but he knows that going in. If it matters that much to him, why would he even sign in the first place?
baz
Guest
Kate Your wrong I think the Clause is Outrageous and Offensive. Personally i think the NRL should not accept Stupid Clauses and look after the Fans. The fact his manager requested it he should be suspended by the NRL for causing Damage to a Rugby League club That doesn't rely on extra handouts.
Parrafan
Guest
Fitzy wanted us to merge with Wests. They even had hats saying Parramatta Tigers. That was Fitzy's undoing. He couldn't run the leagues club at a profit.
Ozzie Bob
Guest
My club the tigers are no better. We offload Andrew Fifita to the sharks but pay half his bloody wage and he goes on to become an origin prop! Then we can't sign anyone cos we still paying other blokes wages! The tigers, eels, and sharks all have management issues! Need to get footy players off the boards of clubs and get the business types on there!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Mary, your beloved Eels are one of the biggest under achievers in sport. Most NRL Clubs would crave what they have, a bounty of great juniors, plenty of money and a great supporter base. Despite all this they make a complete hash of it every year. I'm not an Eels fan but there ineptitude frustrates the bejaysus out of me. It all starts with the most dysfunctional of Boards, the Fish rots from the head and there is no better example than this Club. A complete overhaul root and branch is required to get the Club where it should be. No more former Club greats wanting to take control, these guys have tried it, been there done that but it's not working. The factionalism is setting the Club back years. These guys think they're taking the Club forward ??? The Club needs an independent Board, a quality CEO allowed to do his job and appoint Craig Bellamy as coach. Get this right and they will return to the glory days.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Poker machine money is not a model for surviving any future.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
I think clubs have been burnt with the backending. The original thought was to keep them if they are still worth it, or offload them to England for the last couple (big dollar) season. What Manly are doing with DCE and plan to do with Foran is what other teams will be doing in the future - paying a player a percentage of the salary cap. As the cap rises so does the player payments. The club isn't committing funds hoping it goes up one year, and the player is compensated as more money becomes available
jamesb
Guest
"The next NRL deal look huge so back end his contract and the cap is not an issue similar to how the Swans got their man…" That's a good point. Manly can be conservative in the first couple of years, then when the next TV deal commences in 2018, backend the contracts. When you hear reports that the NRL could fetch between $1.5-$2 billion, that would mean a huge rise in the salary cap.
Midfielder
Guest
As a Manly fan I am happy ... I lived in WS for yonks and copped plenty for following the mighty ones... Almost every year Parra spend more than we did... yet we copped it in the neck as buying premierships... Fact is we have always been arguably the best managed club in the league especially under Arko ... The next NRL deal look huge so back end his contract and the cap is not an issue similar to how the Swans got their man... Parra along with the Pennies are arguably the worst run clubs for budgets, spending and results... Come along to Gods country and see why they stay .. beaches, life style etc...
no one in particular
Roar Guru
"3 weeks ago the Eels board send a second unsigned contract to the NRL worth $4.2m, without Forans or his managements knowledge." or anybody at the club either, except for Seward
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Fitzy was the guy who lead them through the golden era. As the game and club got bigger he left the football decisions to others – delegating as all good managers do. In his last 14 years there the club made the semi’s 10 times (including 2009). They have not made the semi’s since he left, have 2 wooden spoons and have an average finishing position of 14th. The club since has been full of infighting, sacked coaches, numerous CEO’s, reported financial irregularities and poor recruitment. The previous 30 years they were the model of consistency. Tell us again how Fitzy was the problem
fazed
Guest
I agree, & the problem is with this one it includes for what is more than likely the first time a compensation payment of a years contract money?. I think the NRL needs to look at all contracts & be very much scrutinising those with get out clauses, especially those like this, which apparently also raised the alarm bells with the NRL. I would rather him say no & stay at Manly than have a clause that entitles him to walk & get a years compo, meaning he can earn a new contract at a new club & still get paid by Parra, which is included in the salary cap. Meaning new club signs him for $250000.00 & Parra pays the rest along with the compo, all included in their salary cap. An interesting scenario & what it could lead to.
Common Sense
Guest
How as everyone missed the idea that the Eels tried to pay their salary cap fine out of Foran's pocket? 3 months ago Foran signed a contract worth $4.8m over 4 years. 2 months ago the Eels were fined $525,000 for salary cap breaches. 3 weeks ago the Eels board send a second unsigned contract to the NRL worth $4.2m, without Forans or his managements knowledge. They effectively tried to pull a fast one on him. As soon as the proverbial hit the fan and the situation went public they recanted the $600,000 docking.
Parra
Guest
The NRL should step in and run this once great club as it clearly cannot run itself. The fans and the game deserve better.
TheTruth
Guest
TheTruth said | June 23rd 2015 @ 11:23am | Report comment Agree KK, supported the Eels for over 35 years and whilst I will never support another side, I am pretty much done with them. Opposing parties would seem to prefer Mutually Assured Destruction than actually working together to improve the club. Parra should be close to the biggest club of any code in Aus, yet infighting is destroying the club. At this point, I would be happiest if NRL took complete control over the club and did a clean sweep of everyone involved presently.**copy-pasted from yesterday's article Now all this information about unsigned contracts being submitted?? I am not one for foul language but FMD it is getting nigh on impossible to support this rabble. And the worst part, I am actually beginning to lose interest in any RL beyond Origin and Test matches. I can handle losing (I am an Eels supporter after all) but all this extra stuff is just too much. David Smith please have the NRL take interim control of Parra and clean out all these parra-sites.
Jay C
Roar Guru
100 percent correct it has. We didn't even make the finals one year. That is unacceptable.
Mals
Guest
Why would a "man of his word" like Foran need a get out clause? It's an oxymoron.
Mals
Guest
Been nearly 10 years of failure at the Broncos then :-)
Steve
Guest
Really? As board members it is part of their job to be on top of stuff like this. Saying they didn't know about it is a total cop out. The sooner they privatise and consign the whole lot of them to history the better.