How has this year affected you as a fan?

[mjb136]

Priorities have changed as i get older. Whereas i used to burn for days after a loss, i no longer give two ****s. Too much other stuff in the world, and life, to worry about than a result in a footy game.

 

[manly al]

2016 was this very same scenario.
No established 5/8 and players dropping like flies with injuries

Would love the Club to detail why they let Bozo loose on recruitment.

Turns out that his methods were not NRL compliant and the Board never carried out their oversight duties

Certainly agree with your sentiments on a similar scenario in 2016 but has it really been established yet that the club were not essentially cap compliant during those specific previous times .

 

[maxta]

The other day I pulled out a video...before the mind jumps to dirty thoughts they are for a different occasion....
This Manly team left me lost, but I have a remedy.
An old 1987 game I went to as a kid....Manly vs Souths at Redfern oval....
Rambo Gibbs, Big Pommie Ward, Crusher Cleal, Cliffy the Magician ...the list go's on !!!
The fightback - the guts - the belief - the hard ass Attitude.
Sure this was a team full of more stars than the 2018 version, but just the pride and mental toughness on show makes you proud.
If they lost with this whole heated effort would be content, but lets face it - the Win is a massive bonus.
My point being - to support a team that gives everything is so much easier and as a fan, you feel more invested, not because of the success (which is great), but because you know the players are proud to represent Manly and will not go down without a fight.

 

[weev]

In the theme of this thread, a good article:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/is-trent-barrett-strong-enough-to-coach-manly-20180426-p4zbur.html

'"Culture" usually starts and ends with how you treat people.'

And this sums it up. Seeing players and coaches shafted has been my issue. Tooves. Buhrer. Stewart. So many just shunted, or have left acrimoniously (Hasler, Chock), and really what did we get for all this inhumanity? Add the salary cap and match fixing (which is just left hanging) and you have a club with a serious culture issue.

Sure, we'll have rough patches, but its the lack of culture that makes it all seem extra thin.

For example, a good culture embraces Hastings, not pranks him. I miss the club that made men great. Made players reach their best. Instead, we have strip clubs, bullies, AWOL managers and players who are employees on tenure.

 

[Budgie]

In the theme of this thread, a good article:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/is-trent-barrett-strong-enough-to-coach-manly-20180426-p4zbur.html

'"Culture" usually starts and ends with how you treat people.'

And this sums it up. Seeing players and coaches shafted has been my issue. Tooves. Buhrer. Stewart. So many just shunted, or have left acrimoniously (Hasler, Chock), and really what did we get for all this inhumanity? Add the salary cap and match fixing (which is just left hanging) and you have a club with a serious culture issue.

Sure, we'll have rough patches, but its the lack of culture that makes it all seem extra thin.

For example, a good culture embraces Hastings, not pranks him. I miss the club that made men great. Made players reach their best. Instead, we have strip clubs, bullies, AWOL managers and players who are employees on tenure.

Need a triple winner emoji for this. Exactly how I feel.

 

[MissKate]

After feeling somewhat disillusioned with all things Manly for the last 2-3 yrs, this year I just feel sad.

We are in a rut, not sure what first started it (could be a number of things) but it is creeping into every aspect of the club, games, team, just everything.

I am sort of resigned to the fact that we are hot contenders for the spoon this year which would be tragic.

Sitting at last night's game 2 things went through my head:

1. You can't beat the nrl - but I still hold out that we win our appeal - it will be a travesty if we don't
2. You can't beat the refs, but we are currently letting them do just that

However I still hold a glimmer of hope (just look how parra finally turned the corner).

Not sure what needs to happen to break this downward spiral we are currently experiencing but just hope it happens soon as I am not liking the sadness

 

[manly al]

One aspect that probably has not been given much attention is that quite a few of the comp "s teams have improved appreciably since last season and especially some of the teams we have already encounted . Manly and with basically the same group of players as now , managed to turn their form around early last season to go on a good run, then had that late season slump and then to finish the season with a brilliant win over the Panthers . Missing Green is a contributing factor with some of this season 's poor and indifferent form and naturally also the injury issues and there are some tough games approaching but with a similar playing group as last season , should really still be capable of lifting and showing improved form sometime soon .

 

[mikem]

To be honest the results and performances this year have been so bad and so consistent that I have resigned myself to them, in order to lessen my disappointment.
In previous years, when the front office was in turmoil, the team would dig deep and have a go on the field. Unfortunately, this has not happened this year and Barrett looks totally bereft of any solution. The Hastings stuff is odious and making it worse is the fact that we are not being told the facts behind it!

 

[niccipops]

It's very tough to take at moment especially when other things in life aren't going so well. Manly has been a large part of my life and on top of other stuff , doing it tough.

Sad to hear you're doing it tough with other things in life. Hang in there Mick.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

One thing we can say, our thoughts, and this forum, directly influence the media “ speak” as they, or the Minions feeding them, would be glued to this right now!

 

[Loobs]

The way I look at it, the bad times make the good times that much sweeter. Builds character in the players and the club. Much better than supporting an NRL financed favourite like the Storm, who are always at or near the top because of their many unfair advantages, but have no soul, apart from the one they try to manufacture.

I always like to think that the 2008 GF wouldn’t have been anywhere as sweet without 2007’s.

Baz likes to talk about testing resilience of the players. Same applies to the fans. We have not been helped by losing in some cases multiple players to injury early in games when we are low on stocks anyway. I can see us getting out of this hole but like any fall you need to hit the bottom before you can get up again. I think last week was the bottom and I can sense wins coming soon but this season will be a battle. It’s proving to be a battle just to make 17 guys each week.

 

[HappilyManly]

Certainly agree with your sentiments on a similar scenario in 2016 but has it really been established yet that the club were not essentially cap compliant during those specific previous times .

Well Manly are appealing an NRL ruling that states non compliance.

Point was that Bozo did not re-establish a strong roster and the Manly Board did not double check the contracts' components.

Owners need to enforce accountability from all departments at Manly

 

[niccipops]

This season is one of the hardest ever for me in the post super league era. I'm devastated after every loss but I can put it on the shelf and move on. Our team is a shadow of its former self at the moment but there are many reasons for that.

• Greenberg/cap dramas
• The injury list is huge now.
• Lack of depth.
• Lack of resources and funds within the club.
• No senior player leadership and a young team who can find there way to a strip club better than the try line.
• Refs - I know it's tinfoil hat stuff but I believe there's some directive there. I bet no other team has had four 50/50 tries disallowed in four weeks. They also over-review every try we score before awarding. This is obvious. I believe Croker prevented the one that awarded to newy as well.
• A rookie coach who's trying his best but has been thrown in the deep end with this team. A baptism of fire for Trent.

As for the culture of the game, sadly in general, it's not there anymore. Players team hop and all know each other. They stand around smiling and joking after a loss and still get paid way too much money win, lose or draw. This isn't just our club. I watched the bulldog getting interviewed last night and he was chirpy as - shower, pay packet, beer. These guys have no worries.

Supporting Manly is part of my life so I can't and won't turn away. The repair will be slow as our hole is deep but things will turn around.

 

[manly al]

Well Manly are appealing an NRL ruling that states non compliance.

Point was that Bozo did not re-establish a strong roster and the Manly Board did not double check the contracts' components.

Owners need to enforce accountability from all departments at Manly

Fair enough but i still thought that it is going to still revolve around the ' general interpretation ' of the defined ' best endeavour " clause or provision with accessing T P A ' S and so on . So I guess that time will tell and ultimately dependent also on Penn"s level of perseverance and resolve on the matter .

 

[Woodsie]

Very Disappointed but forever hopeful ..... Angry at the NRL and circumstances in general ....

But ever supportive of the team ..... stuck solid for over 55 years ... not going to drop my lollies after 5 loses or even a bad year .....

Go Manly .... give 'em another one ..

 

[Andrew..]

I'm not naive enough to say Toovey was the next messiah but I enjoyed his passion because you could feel how much he loved our club. To see how badly he was treated in 2015 left an extremely bitter aftertaste in my mouth but as a supporter, you try to push on through and get behind the team 100%. I'm not going to sit here and start badmouthing the players but due to the current ownership model, I have never felt so disenfranchised with a club I've spent over 50 years supporting. Someone at the top needs to have a good hard look at themselves and fix this mess or fck off and sell it to someone who actually wants more than a plaything.

 

[malroon]

A loss hits me like a train, sitting watching a game where players drop balls, jumper pull ,run backward,give away dumb penalties , Then I get on here and see some on here giving excuses , the refs , greenturd, our depth , it's up to the 13 on the ground to perform , it's called adversity, that's when you dig deep , not this team, going back thru the years , when we would go thru situations like this we employed the seige mentality ,that picked us up and over the opposition..

 

[sheridanstand78]

It is seasons like this one that sorts out the fair weather fans from the loyal and fair dinkum ones, the crowd was really poor last night!! I attended the game and the whole atmosphere was flat and the game not that clever, I have seen enough over the years to understand that you will not always have a good side to watch and right now we are behind the 8 ball in relation to injuries, confidence, leadership, and accountability!! Stick with the team, things will improve and the current situation will force inevitable change and young and exciting new players will get their chance to shine.

 

[NYEagle]

A really good question, and thanks for opening it up to the swamp of miserables, or basket of deplorables if you will. Be careful what you wish for...........

Personally, I have been affected because I have never felt so empty being a Manly fan. In the past when it has been slump time, we at least had some guns in the team could dish up some surprise results. For example, I enjoyed 2015 because we were still capable of putting together a surge and nearly made the 8 from nowhere.

This year has been awful because I just feel so powerless. The combination of a vacuous coach, agenda driven referees; under the agenda driven NRL (and perhaps owners?) makes me feel concerned that maybe Manly in its current form may never rise again, and that we may well be re-branded and extinct in a couple of years. I'm concerned this could be reality not tin hat.

On top of that, there is no entertainment value in this team. They are slow, tired, and boring to watch. There are too many invaders in the squad, and I feel sorry for the Trobj's, honest Mona Vale boys who came in during the decline years and now have a band of uninspired muppets around them. Too much Penrith involvement influencing this too (Brown, Cartwrong, Barrett) - lemons who fall in the lower tier of NRL intelligence. These are the cast-offs from the glowing west, sold on by snake-oil salesman Phil Gould - with the view to turn around this insipid swampland into the apparent saviour of the NRL. Look at Penrith now - throw enough money and agenda at them and you create an oasis right next to the Rooty Hill RSL Beacon. At least travellers out that way can point at something.

So what of the Northern Beaches?. The old money, once heartland that was stripped of it's only source of land-locked transport - the tram - to become the source of a wonderful Manly led Siege Mentality era. Could it's glory have been it's curse? - it became too expensive and the zoning laws too sparse that it was then to be left for dead as a retirement village and YMCA for travellers. I guess no migrants are going up there, it's too expensive, so lets starve them out and re-zone. The backpackers will be easy to clear out.

NYEagle

 

[NZEaglesFan]

As a fan based in Auckland, NZ it is tough supporting a team from Australia but each year for my Birthday, I spend my own Money to buy a membership even though I do not attend any games. I try buying merchandise from the Club website but I may stop wasting my money from next year. The way our once proud club is being run (Managed and Coached) leave a lot to be desired. It also does not help with all the stuff going on with Salary Cap, NRL, refereeing. To move forward, the club needs a strong administrator and I think Tooves would be ideal.