The Cumberland Throw

The Future – It Begins Now With This Proposal

The message of this post is critical. It is a message that needs to be communicated to as many Eels members/fans as possible. For TCT to publish this post should be your barometer as to how important we consider current developments to be.

Although TCT regularly discusses the political landscape at Parramatta between ourselves, we have stringently avoided placing any of our personal opinions on the pages of this website. We have focussed on the footy. The footy was the purpose of our formation. Remarkably, we have managed to do this in what has probably been the most turbulent season in the Eels 70 year history. We have been proud of our adherence to this unofficial mission statement. However, as a communicator to the fans, we have an obligation to inform the fans of important developments occurring behind the scenes.

One of the Cumberland Throw co-founders, Chris Losco, has been involved in a proposal to place highly qualified people on the board of the Parramatta Leagues Club. The following is a message from Chris:

As you might be aware, there is a GM motion being put forward that will ask members to replace the board with pre-selected candidates on the night of the GM. We don’t believe this will result in the best possible board.

Our alternative proposal will ensure the very best candidates can nominate, and be appointed purely on merit. We require 100 signatures from three-year eligible Leagues club members and we’ve set up a website eelsegm.com that you can share.

Download the petition by clicking here.

Petition

Please print the letter, sign it and post to PO Box 599 Baulkham Hills, 1755 or bring it to the front foyer of the Parramatta Leagues Club on Monday, June 13 between 4 and 6pm.

The Proposal

The proposal, for consideration by eligible voting members of the Parramatta Leagues Club (PLC), is that all PLC directors are removed, with the exception of Geoff Gerard. Mr Gerard has agreed that should this proposal succeed, he will form a committee, including an external suitably qualified recruiting firm that has experience in selecting directors. This committee will call for candidates and appoint the next board based on transparent criteria of desirable skills and experience.

Geoff Gerard will also voluntarily step aside once an entirely new board has been selected.

Why is this the best way forward?

This process would encourage the best possible candidates to step forward via a formal interview process. Every candidate will be judged on their merit, avoiding “tickets” and factionalism. We strongly disagree that a GM should be used for members to consider a shallow pool of candidates.

Shouldn’t the members select a board?

The Constitution does not allow for members to call a new election. Also, each election comes with inherent divisiveness and recriminations. This proposal allows a board of high-quality individuals to put the club back onto its feet before the next annual election without any election baggage. Members would be using their democratic right to install the next board based on merit, for the betterment of the club.

Why remove the whole board?

A board should be accountable, and all directors are accountable for the unsuccessful response to Salary Cap allegations. A new board, without the baggage of recent problems, is required for the club to move forward.

How long will this take?
Under the constitution the club must be given 2 months notice, during which time we would hope caretaker provisions would be put in place. Our hope is that the directors may choose to step down earlier to fast-track this process. The process would be completed and a new board installed in time for the Eels to go into the off-season with a fresh team behind it.

Who will step up?

This proposal is being put forward, having spent months canvassing the business community for high-calibre, CEO-level candidates who have indicated their enthusiasm to be a part of a fresh beginning for the club and who would ask to be considered via a merit-based process. This process is the most likely to survey the whole membership to appoint the highest quality board at Parramatta in the shortest timeframe.

The Cumberland Throw endorses and supports this proposal. We hope that you do too.

Sixties

 

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.

27 thoughts on “The Future – It Begins Now With This Proposal

  1. Anonymous

    Anyone reading this who has social media like Twitter or Facebook, you need to get it out there. TCT has it on their Twitter so it can be re-tweeted. The football department are operating without a CEO or football manager. We need to fix things ASAP!

  2. John Eel

    This is the best opportunity we have to get a board that it not tied to any factions. This is a well thought out scenario and should be supported.

    Long term the saviour will be constitutional change and I think that this is the best opportunity to achieve that as well.

  3. Anonymous

    We cannot have the next board being linked to past factions. That needs to end. Likewise, we cannot have a new board which seeks privatisation as a key objective. Eagleston avoided a direct answer on this question when he was on Triple M yesterday. He needs to be up front and let all members know if this is on his agenda. His team stands a good chance of gaining control with minimal vote numbers on the night of an EGM and then taking the team down a path that few members want!

    1. Kev Flynn

      Completely agree with anonymous and his comments.
      After listening to the interview, it reinforces the fact that this man and his unknown faction is not right for our club.
      I fully believe that the alternative proposal put forward in another blog is the way to go.
      Let the club advertise for the best possible candidates making sure there are clear job descriptions and demonstrated criteria that the applicants have to address before they qualify for an interview.
      Let’s get the process right this time and make sure we have the right mix of people to bring our club off it’s knees and once again the club we can all be proud of, on and off the field.

  4. Kev Flynn

    I went over to Parra Leagues this afternoon to hand in my signed petition for the above proposal. Before I did though I had a chat with Chris who is facilitating it and asked him what the recruitment process would be to ensure that we get the right people. He explained to me that Geoff Gerrard as a Director would instruct a firm such as Price Waterhouse Coopers to find the right people for the position and these people would then be interviewed to find the best applicant. They would be interviewed on their skills relevant to the position. Each successful applicant would get the position purely on merit.
    I felt comfortable with his answers and was therefore happy to hand him my signed petition. Good luck with this guys, I really hope it succeeds

  5. Box Hill eel

    I’ve been a member for around 30 years and have only ever voted once, to rid Parra of Fitzgerald’s cronyism, but I’m that fed up with the factions that have plagued our wonderful club for so long, that I’m motivated to do what I can to end this rubbish. We the fans generally dont care who’s in the front office, stay in the background and do your job. The proposal here gives us a chance to move forward and be the successful club that we all crave, count me in.

    1. sixties Post author

      Hi mate, glad to hear of your support. The important support that will be needed will be on the night of the EGM. We will need people in attendance to ensure that this process is undertaken. The alternative proposal is a coup on the night, with a new group taking the position of the current board without anything more than a show of hands on the night.

      1. Mitchy

        Thanks Sixties, so we would need to attend mate? as I sent my form today (will) to the address we received via to email from 1eyed.

  6. snake

    Finally its great to see the TCT cover something thats really important to the the club, theres so much more to a club than footy talk and its about time the fans are warned and communicated through every angle regarding the future of the club, this site can’t be seen as fair dinkum if it doesn’t cover this stuff imo, so well done for finally venturing away from the safety of footy talk.
    Its always easy to sit on the fence and not want to take sides or offend anybody but a site like this can actually help make a difference in the future of the club with honest talk about the club and whats going on on both sides of the coin, not just the footy side.
    Well done Chris, i think this is a great proposal and i can see its not being done out of self interest, this is the best proposal to date by far and its the most honest it seems.

    1. Chris

      Thanks for your feedback Snake. As Sixties said, we have tried to stay out of the politics and focus on the footy. This issue is so important that it demands analysis and commentary from all Eels fans. A few more points
      1) become a member. Even if you never go to the leagues club, a 10 year membership is only $40. That gives you the right to vote in years 4, 6, 8 and 10. That’s $10 per election !!
      2) regardless of the motion, show up on the night. Usually only 250 attend these things so you could stack a room and get something up by rallying a few key families ! Come on the night and be counted.
      3) the factions won’t last forever. We have a chance to move beyond them now, but we need the membership to get involved, show they care and make an effort.

      We are progressing well with the signatures. There will be another push this weekend because we want to go over the 100 just in case some people don’t have voting rights and were confused. We need your help, your friends and family if we are going to pull it off.

      Thanks to everyone for your support so far and looking forward to it over the next couple of months. It’s going to get very interesting !

    2. sixties Post author

      I think it’s important to refute what you are saying about TCT here Snake. To state that we are fence sitters is quite offensive. We have very strong opinions on this site, and the fact that one of our founders is potentially a key person in a new future at our club is surely indicative of that. You are not privy to what we have been involved with because we choose not to splash our web pages with political arguments. Plenty of other social media outlets are available for that. TCT has always been a place that people can visit to read about football without having political opinion rammed down their throats.
      We get to meetings. We talk to people. We make sure that we are informed. There is importance in the timing and the message. When you see a post like this, on a website that focuses on football, it becomes a more powerful message. In fact, this proposal is aimed at removing the politics from the EGM. We want merit selection, not a political coup, not another faction. That is a strong message that must be communicated.
      I’ll be at the EGM, will you? Come and say g’day.

  7. Chris

    Hi Guys,
    Firstly, a big thanks to everyone for their support thus far. We are well on our way to our signature goal, but we need a final push to give us a reasonable buffer above to 100 required signatures.

    I will be at the game tomorrow night, near the Eels merchandise van in between the train station and gates A-C. You will find me between 6:30 and 7:30pm. Come and say hello, drop off a form or sign one while you’re there if you are a three year voting member of the leagues club.

    Please get your friends, family, neighbours and anyone else you know who is a member and cares about the Eels to take action. If we are to get the best possible board in place, we need to have them selected based on merit.

    More over the weekend.

    Go the Eels !!

    Chris
    chrislosco1@gmail.com

    1. John Eel

      Chris is there any further update on the proposal. Has there been a response from the club yet in regard to the petition.

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