Like many on here I've been guilty of being down in the dumps in recent times , it's bloody hard not to when in the immediate past you have had 10 wonderful, exhilarating , entertaining and mostly fruitful years which has been just so enjoyable to be a part of.
Every single club would kill to have been Manly in the 2007-2014 era, and whilst they'd never admit it, every supporter as well.
But that's the past , now let me talk about the present.
I won't rehash everything that's been said already that defeats the purpose of this thread.
I don't know if we will win the spoon but so what if we do!, you need to experience the depths of despair to create the hunger to never see it again, and if we win it this year I bet it will be the only one in my lifetime ( maybe not yours).
We can't control the present , it's here, and whatever will be will be!, so let's just be Manly fans and be thankful we still have a club to support.
We, or at least the management can control the future, and they just must!!
Forget the mistakes, forget the present and just concentrate on the future.
So some dot points from me on where we should be headed.
• sign our promising juniors now ( otherwise someone else will)
• start investing in picking up the best young talent we can find, if they work all well and good, if they don't move them out
• move out the non performing duds now , if not now they must be moved out ASAP, there's talent out there ( lots) we just haven't been astute enough to plan to utilise it.
• invest more in the NSW Cup side , it's your depth and it's clear we have little at this stage, but in saying that don't downgrade the top 25 just for this
• restructure the top 25 by having no single position ( bench forwards aside) with players coming off contract at once, the halved situation should NEVER happen again
• aim for a better mix of experience, mid age and youth in the 25, but no more than 2-3 in the plus 30 year bracket
• refresh each year, and yes that means almost NO long standing one club players, controversial I know but part of what I think will be a winning method
• look at modernising our coaching / training structure because clearly something's not right
• if the coach isn't working, just like the players, move them on, loyalty ( and this is said with sadness) means diddly squat in the modern era
• sort the back office out, employ the best they can find and empower them, if they don't work move them out and quickly
• the Peters situation is untenable, he has to go, and all of this is pointless otherwise
• more fan engagement , treat us like fans not customers so more communication, more player access, more fan days, more Q & A's its not rocket science
• sort the media situation out , if Peters is the leak then getting rid of him will do that , otherwise oust whoever is doing it and find someone who knows what they are doing and can protect the brand!
• and if the Brookvale Development is just a pie in the sky plan then a serious look at where to play, involving stake holders needs to be had. The future is about gaining more sponsorship, obtaining more TPA funding , building a fan base and membership will follow, Brooky in its current guise probably doesn't cut it
So there you have it , my memories of the past , my thoughts on the present and the things I'd do for the future.
It's just a pity I'm only a fan and not the CEO.
Thanks for reading and feel free to shoot me down , or conversely build me up !
I love how @mike walker always says " Cheers Mike" so from me
Cheers
Mark
Every single club would kill to have been Manly in the 2007-2014 era, and whilst they'd never admit it, every supporter as well.
But that's the past , now let me talk about the present.
I won't rehash everything that's been said already that defeats the purpose of this thread.
I don't know if we will win the spoon but so what if we do!, you need to experience the depths of despair to create the hunger to never see it again, and if we win it this year I bet it will be the only one in my lifetime ( maybe not yours).
We can't control the present , it's here, and whatever will be will be!, so let's just be Manly fans and be thankful we still have a club to support.
We, or at least the management can control the future, and they just must!!
Forget the mistakes, forget the present and just concentrate on the future.
So some dot points from me on where we should be headed.
• sign our promising juniors now ( otherwise someone else will)
• start investing in picking up the best young talent we can find, if they work all well and good, if they don't move them out
• move out the non performing duds now , if not now they must be moved out ASAP, there's talent out there ( lots) we just haven't been astute enough to plan to utilise it.
• invest more in the NSW Cup side , it's your depth and it's clear we have little at this stage, but in saying that don't downgrade the top 25 just for this
• restructure the top 25 by having no single position ( bench forwards aside) with players coming off contract at once, the halved situation should NEVER happen again
• aim for a better mix of experience, mid age and youth in the 25, but no more than 2-3 in the plus 30 year bracket
• refresh each year, and yes that means almost NO long standing one club players, controversial I know but part of what I think will be a winning method
• look at modernising our coaching / training structure because clearly something's not right
• if the coach isn't working, just like the players, move them on, loyalty ( and this is said with sadness) means diddly squat in the modern era
• sort the back office out, employ the best they can find and empower them, if they don't work move them out and quickly
• the Peters situation is untenable, he has to go, and all of this is pointless otherwise
• more fan engagement , treat us like fans not customers so more communication, more player access, more fan days, more Q & A's its not rocket science
• sort the media situation out , if Peters is the leak then getting rid of him will do that , otherwise oust whoever is doing it and find someone who knows what they are doing and can protect the brand!
• and if the Brookvale Development is just a pie in the sky plan then a serious look at where to play, involving stake holders needs to be had. The future is about gaining more sponsorship, obtaining more TPA funding , building a fan base and membership will follow, Brooky in its current guise probably doesn't cut it
So there you have it , my memories of the past , my thoughts on the present and the things I'd do for the future.
It's just a pity I'm only a fan and not the CEO.
Thanks for reading and feel free to shoot me down , or conversely build me up !
I love how @mike walker always says " Cheers Mike" so from me
Cheers
Mark