Ryan
Journey Man
I'll try and get over it.
The notion that the Manly culture is unique is ridiculous and arrogant.
What Jason King said to you (personally .. wow, aren't you wonderful) is identical to the situation at 15 other clubs. Play as a team .. I hope none of the other coaches learns that secret now that you have published it.
And of course we don't have chemistry scoop ... 12 of the players playing last week weren't playing last year. To expect this group to be any thing other than a team in transition is foolish.
Your patriotic rant about Manly showing loyalty, class, passion and pride etc is exactly the same qualities displayed by every club currently going well. Manly don't have a mortgage on any of those things.
To think that players come here devoid of character and any significant values that could be considered Manly is absurd. Many players come here with exactly the culture we need.
The most important factors to returning to the "Manly" days are time together and a consistent playing group.
You hit the nail on the head there woodsie. It IS arrogant, and when we were at our best, that's how opposition fans, coaches & players thought about us. I wore that as a badge of honour with our team.
We were insular. Didn't matter what negative influences tried to destabilise, we always pushed through it.
Also, there is a reason players like Lewis Brown stated they were jealous of Manlys culture - and that is precisely why our brand was different to others. That's from a players mouth, not my opinion.
Yes, every coach wants their players to play as a team, but some playing groups do it better than others.
Rapana and Leilua (apologies for the spelling) have been together a total of 0 years, yet are the most lethal right hand side combination in the game today statistically. So stating consistency and time together is BS. watch them today. I HAVE seen a documentary though where they state they are best mates, and are the happiest they have ever been profesionally.
That's culture. Culture and chemistry.
You know we can respectfully disagree mate. Not sure why my post angered or frustrated you? I'm just stating my opinion and trying to add value on a thread you created.
End of the day, Canberra also have a HEAP of new players, and look where they are. Titans have over achieved with almost a completely new roster. I'm sorry mate, I still disagree.
Get everyone playing with passion for what Manly means. Get the playing group playing like brothers. Have less blokes playing for the $$$$ only, and more for each other, and we'll get much better results on the field.