No matter the football code, truly supporting a team is all about emotion. You commit to a team and you stick, thick or thin, good times or bad.
And when it comes to Eels supporters, we’re the NRL equivalent of superglue. With only wooden spoons added to the trophy cabinet over the last 32 years, the bonds have been tested but never broken. How many other clubs consistently grow their membership base after season upon season of failure?
Players come and go. We develop favourites, cheer a little louder for them, and when their time is up, we get a little emotional and then find another to urge on. After more than 50 years supporting the Eels, I’ve been down that road more times than I care to count.
To be fair, the club was blessed during the 1980s. There was a collection of premiership players whose first grade careers began and ended in the Blue and Gold jersey.
Sterling, Kenny, Ella, Grothe, Price, Cronin, Taylor, Sharp, Hilditch – the names were synonymous with the club. There were offers for players to move on, and some took their opportunity to play off seasons in England, but as supporters we never faced that eventuality with the big names. Most of the players held down full time jobs. Footy was a game to be played with your mates and mostly provided a second income.
When the club hit the better years in the late 90s and early 2000s, the likes of Hindmarsh, Burt and Cayless took up the one club mantle. Their names will also only ever be associated with Parra. But times had changed. The Super League had put salaries into the stratosphere and the one club players were scarce.
In a further reminder, Parramatta coach, Brian Smith introduced Eels supporters to the business side of football careers. I lost track of the number of players moved on during his tenure – there were many that experienced success with the club and whose departures left us scratching our heads. As an exercise, try naming a spine during Smith’s ten year reign – the turnover of halves, hookers and fullbacks over that period was absurd.
But what the 80s and the noughties have in common, is that for all of those that stayed, and all of those that moved on, none had their contract talks subjected to the media scrutiny and obsession that exists in 2019.
Back in the golden era of the 80s we had little idea of contract negotiations, and social media was decades away. Ray Price advising team mates that it wasn’t in their best interests to play against him was about as far as media reports would dig.
Present day media coverage seems to be more about the story behind the game than the game itself. And, as fans, our passion is probably only providing more water in the well for the journos to drink from.
We all know how agents play contract negotiations out in the media – especially when it comes to the Parramatta Eels. There’s two major rules:
Rule 1 – when trying to raise the price of contract offers to your client, tell a journo that the Eels have expressed interest.
Rule 2 – when dealing with Eels players, reference the player testing their worth on the open market.
Cue supporter reaction.
In the past, you could add club reaction too. Right now, the club has attempted to block out any outside noise.
But this post is not about the negotiation process. Whether this current approach proves to be successful will be determined down the track.
What has become evident over recent weeks is that there are many supporters venting their spleen at the players who have yet to accept contract offers from the club.
Whilst we all want to believe that the players are as loyal to the club as we are, it’s living in fantasy land to suggest that any player won’t try to maximise their offer from their employer. Would anyone not do the same in their career? I bet there’s plenty of us who have undertaken industrial action or had “chats” with other employers without leaving our jobs.
This is where we as fans need to take a step back and take a deep breath.
Not one player has signed elsewhere as yet. I’m not suggesting that players won’t move on – with so many off-contract it seems a certainty. However, at the moment there are people expressing offence that a player hasn’t accepted an offer and yet the offers being made may or may not be final ones. We don’t know, nor are we entitled to know.
Contract questioning on media day was relentless.
Accusations about a player like Gutherson being selfish are ludicrous in the extreme. This is a bloke who busts a gut for his team, from the training paddock to match day. I’ve watched him fight off all challengers in conditioning tests, then go back to run with stragglers to ensure that they meet the standards. The young players in the team aspire to compete like him. He plays the game at an energy level unmatched by any team mate. He’s done that since he arrived at the Eels.
For what it’s worth, I believe that the negotiations with Gutherson and Moses will lead to both players re-signing. It takes a lot for a player to decide to change clubs. If the current club is in the ballpark with their financial offer, a player weighs up factors outside of money when making their decision.
When it comes to Gutherson and Parramatta, both parties are beneficial to each other. For Parramatta, it would be difficult to find another Gutho on the open market or even within their ranks. To let him go would mean leaving a hole in the roster. For Gutherson, his style of play, leadership and personality suits the Eels dynamic. There would be question marks as to whether he would hold a similar status elsewhere.
As for Moses, remaining with the Eels provides him with the best opportunity to prove his chops as an elite half. Likewise, there are not many halves on the market that the Eels could recruit that could prove a suitable replacement.
In other words, in each negotiation, both parties want to remain together, and it’s in the best interest for both to remain together. The only part that isn’t currently agreed upon is the terms of the contract.
Supporters shouldn’t suppress their passion or emotion for the Eels, but I hope that everyone can take a step back during this media frenzy about contracts. The process might be taking longer than we want, and having it play out in the media is undesirable, but the last thing that we should be doing is firing insults or accusations at players who are wearing the jersey for this season and are likely to be doing so going forward.
That moment!
This is an important year for our club as we bounce back from the disaster that was 2018. Starting this Sunday, the Eels players need our support to help them get home against the Dragons.
I hope we can see a repeat of the atmosphere from the opening match at the stadium. That’s who we are.
Eels forever!
Sixties
So eloquent. Sums it up perfectly. You’ll be hearing nothing but cheers from me come Sunday.
Ditto.
Sixties. I 100% agree with the tone of you article and even notice the club released a statement in similar vein. Not one t supporter wants to lose the King, not one. No one will deny a player to maximise their earnings, it is a business after all. What us died in the wool supporters are sick of is mediocrity, we have had that for way too long. I have been a supporter since ’77, this latest administration, whilst I would not consider the best, have come a long long way in the last few years, I applaud them. What has got up the back of us supporters is how the contract negotiations have come out in the media initially, and yes, the media have then milked that cow, after all, we are the eels and we sell. But I do not believe anyone in the current admin would have leaked to the media we made a supposed low ball offer to Gutho and he was thinking of leaving. If my theory is correct, there can only be one person whom could have leaked this information. This is why the supporters are unhappy. After such a long period of mis-managment, leaks, bad decisions from the admin team, we start to get some semblance of doing things right and the leaks start again due to a player not getting what they want. I do not deny the right of a player to negotiate to get what they deserve, their careers are short. Its the recent history of the eels that culminates in us supporters being unimpressed. There was no need to go to the media if you could not get what you want. No need. That is why most of us as pissed.
Sixties you omitted Rule No.3
Make sure you hire an ethical person to represent you, because your image can be tarnished very quickly.
The NRL were supposedly looking into the role of player managers……
Don’t start me on that investigation.
There is supposition about the leak. There is incredible trust that the players place in their agents. They literally leave it up to them to handle everything. Discussions happen without the players involvement. If, as supporters, people are happy with the club playing hardball and the club shows no signs of being influenced by the media, then we have nothing to get upset about. I simply find the media responses boring and predictable.
I am very impressed with the administration in how they have handled this, superb.
These negotiations could well be a watershed moment for the club. I just hope that the process is able to unfold without supporters making it ugly for the players. There’s no need for that. It won’t improve negotiations or change anything for the better.
!0 year Member, wonderful to read your impassioned support of our footy King. Unfortunately I think you may have missed the real culprit regarding leaks to media, it is almost 99% sure that one of the most unscrupulous player agents in the game was the initiator. I was just a little bit hungry and devoured a couple of biscuits before retiring to my den for an hour or so of inspired bias. Thanks for filling me up with some Great food for thought Sixties, a main meal indeed. I did enjoy the morsel “player not getting what he wanted !0 but I would hardly call it sweets!
Spot on Sixties. Yes, emotion, commitment, loyalty sums up an Eels fan. No other way.
And we’d love the players to feel similarly, but sometimes their hands are forced. The thing is, and this applies to all clubs, players aren’t negotiating contracts with fans. They’re negotiating with people juggling numbers.
Spot on again Sixties.
Well said. My family and I will be there cheering on the boys and cheering a little louder for Gutho. Come on Parra fans don’t let the media win. Stick up for our boys and stick solid.
Don’t ever change mate!
Sixties spot on blog for mine. Like you having followed the eels for so long now no way will I support other teams, at least when playing against us. I remember when Jamie Lyon left and came back to play with Manly, I was not at the game, but reading what happened with the coins being thrown on to the ground was poor really, but at least from my recollections there was none of what we have seen with the current players and the contract negotiations being played out in the public arena.
No matter how I have tried to defend the club and players involved, there has been too much done in the papers. Hasler has come out and said there is no meeting going to happen, with Gutho, yet he seems to think its been arranged, is it another drama created by his manager.
In his ground interview yesterday, he again expressed disappointment at the low balling offer, yet I see that was likely the first offer from the club. One can understand his disappointment but same as happened with MM, Jennings and Taka as well, but nothing out in the media. So the question is who is feeding certain areas of the media with basically Trump news, Fake stuff which if the agent is doing it then he should be called in by the NRL regarding it.
The NRL boss talks about other issues bringing the game into disrepute, well I think what is being played out in the media certainly is something that does not have sponsors flooding in to the game. When the NRL talks of player code of conducts there also needs to be one with player managers/agents as well as with the player and what they have to put up with in interviews
I hope we keep our halves and the spine being intact going forward is what we will be hoping for. We have a big game ahead on Sunday, and there needs to be resolution of the contract drama very quick.
There’s a simple question to be asked. With so many players on the market at the end of this season, across all clubs, why is there so much attention on the Eels? We know the answer. We keep providing those clicks. As long as a player busts his gut on the field for the Eels, he’ll have my support.
One question as to off contract players. In the presser from Bernie he has said there are 14 of contract players to deal with, I have only seen one media source give the same number, yet looking at some of the media sites that have off contract players shown for each club, they tend to show 18 players off contract.
If its 14, as Bernie says it puts a bit more of an equation to the numbers than 19, which also does not show Gower on the list. This is an area that has hardly been picked up on thankfully but shows the predicament the club is in, as to who to keep, and who not. Also the coaching situation, which I believe possibly needs resolving before the player ones are done, and for me I hope that BA is given at least a 3 year extension as it gives something to work with.
Perhaps the answer to your question relating to other clubs and numbers of players off contract is simply that the eels have been betrayed in some quarter with info being released somewhere by someone in or associated with the club that has an interest in creating diversionary tactics.
The Jamie Lyon situation is not comparable. Even Jamie Lyon admits his conduct was poor throughout the whole drama. Our club had signed a deal with him that still had 2 years to go. He walked out on us when we needed quality players. Our club conducted itself with integrity (and paid the consequences) and Jamie did not, he deserves the ongoing derision of all Parra supporters.
The only regrettable things about the coin tossing was:
a) I was on the wrong side of the field to do it
b) If not done correctly it might have been dangerous for other innocent players nearby.
TE, I was using the coin throwing as an example of poor supporter behaviour which is what’s happening now.
Back then IIRC there was not the social media hate groups that swell up as they do today.
well said
Thanks mate.
Sixties I feel for Gutherson n Moses why well they just like the rest of us trying to get top $$$ n to be slamed for it n being called greedy is a joke.
Off topic I have to questions for you.
(1) David Nofoaluma didn’t we chase him last yr only for him to sign a 4 yr deal with the tiger’s. I’ve noticed he hasn’t been in the tiger’s NRL side. Would you Think we should look into him again if tiger’s give him a release ?
(2) George Burgess I keep hearing that we are having another crack at him with south unable to offer him a contract beyond this year. What are you hearing ?
#Eels4life#
1. No – I think we have enough young players in his position.
2. Hasn’t there been talk of a return to England?
(1) ok
(2) I’ve also read somewhere that his looking at going home
Well said. And well done sixties, I reckon that took some energy, to write something sensible about something that maybe should be getting no oxygen. The player manager’s mousetrap.
Thanks mate. I’ve started and stopped this post several times. Debated in my mind the pros and cons of writing about it, and then scrapped it – only to come back. It occurred to me that the reason I kept going away and coming back was all about emotion. Therefore, how difficult must that be for footballers? Their occupation is something that most people used to play because they loved the game and because of the mateship involved. But as it’s their career, professional players have to balance that with making financial decisions and maximising opportunities. Hence their use of agents.
Long time reader, first time commenting. I always look forward to reading your posts even (& most especially) in defeat. It has a calming effect for some strange reason. Thank you for a well-written post yet again. I really hope these contract negotiations can be put to bed so the boys can just concentrate on playing and enjoying their footy. Wouldn’t it be amazing if an announcement can be made tomorrow prior to the game that our key players have re-signed. Imagine how that would lift the boys big time- and the fans too. Wishful thinking I suppose. Regardless, I hope they bring their A-game tomorrow and show the same intensity we witnessed when they played the Tigers. I can’t wait to go back home and cheer our boys tomorrow. Love your work, keep ‘em coming.
Thanks for replying Jojo, and for the kind words. I’m pretty sure the fellas will be fired up after last week. It would be good if the club can turn an announcement into a stadium event when it happens. Especially when BA extends his deal.
Amen to that brother!
Missed this reply sixties but that last sentence cannot happen soon enough, once that happens then we can see stability and the crappo media circus can be cleaned out.
Apologies for the last bit, but I am heartedly sick of it.