THERE is no man on this earth more passionate about Manly than Geoff Toovey.
And right now, the Sea Eagles legend admits he fears for his beloved club’s future.
But rather than sit back and do nothing about it, Toovey has extended an olive branch to the club that sacked him three years ago to make way for Trent Barrett.
Asked by The Daily Telegraph if he would be interested in making a return, Toovey didn’t hesitate: “Of course I would.
“It is the club I have been with for 35 years.
“It has been a big part of my life.”
But in a wide-ranging and heartfelt interview, Toovey also conceded the club had lost its bond with the local community in recent years.
And it reminded him of the dark days of the Northern Eagles.
“You know as well as me, money doesn’t make a club, people make a club,” Toovey said.
“And to be on the outside now, it is hard to see the way the club is going.
“I hate to see the club down on its knees. I hate to see the conflict that has been going on.
“I don’t want to bag the place because I do want to be involved.
“I just want things to be on the right path again.”
Asked if he feared for Manly’s future, Toovey admitted: “Well, yes. I fear that they will either, one, be sold. Or two, people will see an opportunity to relocate and make some money.”
He said Manly now needed to work hard to reconnect with the community, from grassroots, to fans and sponsors.
Not only has the former NRL powerhouse suffered an embarrassing slide down the ladder in recent years, figures show home crowds at Brookvale have also plummeted.
In fact, they dropped by more than 2500 on average this year, and are down almost 40 per cent in the last five years.
“I am involved with the junior football and there is definitely a disconnect between the seniors and juniors,” Toovey continued.
“I know there is disconnect between sponsors and fans.
“We have to try and reignite that community belonging.”
Toovey has received huge support from Manly fans since news of Barrett’s future was made public.
Toovey had a 58 per cent winning record when making the finals in three of his four years as coach, competing in the preliminary final in 2012, the grand final in 2013 and the second week of the play-offs in 2014.
They only finished one point out of the top eight in his final year before he was dumped.
But while almost every coach on the market’s name has been linked to the job in recent weeks, as yet there has been no interest from club officials in relation to one of their favourite sons.
Toovey isn’t the only club legend who has fallen out of favour in recent years.
And it is almost at the point that if something isn’t done now, that bridge to the past may never be mended.
The Sea Eagles are expected to make an announcement in the coming week about who will take over from Barrett.
While Barrett’s assistant John Cartwright is still considered favourite, Jason Taylor contacted The Telegraph and said he was not interested, despite speculation he had thrown his name up for the job.
Taylor said he committed to stay at the Sydney Roosters in 2019 and coach the NSW Cup side at North Sydney.
But Toovey wasn’t too proud to admit he would love to be back at Manly in some capacity.
And he was adamant it was not too late to make Manly great again.
“It is very easy for these things to fall apart but it is terribly difficult to rebuild them again,” Toovey explained.
“I don’t know if you remember but in 2003 after the Northern Eagles we started again.
“And this is where we are back to now.
“It is going to be a long haul to try and get that buy-in by the fans and the community and the sponsors.
“It took us a while to get it back and it took a while to get the right roster to get back up (the NRL ladder).
“It is not panic stations at the moment.
“But it is something that everyone needs to work hard at to achieve.
“It is going to take the same passion and the same pride and the same tenacity to build it again.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...s/news-story/3ff97e00c6623743acbaa6322e13f951
And right now, the Sea Eagles legend admits he fears for his beloved club’s future.
But rather than sit back and do nothing about it, Toovey has extended an olive branch to the club that sacked him three years ago to make way for Trent Barrett.
Asked by The Daily Telegraph if he would be interested in making a return, Toovey didn’t hesitate: “Of course I would.
“It is the club I have been with for 35 years.
“It has been a big part of my life.”
But in a wide-ranging and heartfelt interview, Toovey also conceded the club had lost its bond with the local community in recent years.
And it reminded him of the dark days of the Northern Eagles.
“You know as well as me, money doesn’t make a club, people make a club,” Toovey said.
“And to be on the outside now, it is hard to see the way the club is going.
“I hate to see the club down on its knees. I hate to see the conflict that has been going on.
“I don’t want to bag the place because I do want to be involved.
“I just want things to be on the right path again.”
Asked if he feared for Manly’s future, Toovey admitted: “Well, yes. I fear that they will either, one, be sold. Or two, people will see an opportunity to relocate and make some money.”
He said Manly now needed to work hard to reconnect with the community, from grassroots, to fans and sponsors.
Not only has the former NRL powerhouse suffered an embarrassing slide down the ladder in recent years, figures show home crowds at Brookvale have also plummeted.
In fact, they dropped by more than 2500 on average this year, and are down almost 40 per cent in the last five years.
“I am involved with the junior football and there is definitely a disconnect between the seniors and juniors,” Toovey continued.
“I know there is disconnect between sponsors and fans.
“We have to try and reignite that community belonging.”
Toovey has received huge support from Manly fans since news of Barrett’s future was made public.
Toovey had a 58 per cent winning record when making the finals in three of his four years as coach, competing in the preliminary final in 2012, the grand final in 2013 and the second week of the play-offs in 2014.
They only finished one point out of the top eight in his final year before he was dumped.
But while almost every coach on the market’s name has been linked to the job in recent weeks, as yet there has been no interest from club officials in relation to one of their favourite sons.
Toovey isn’t the only club legend who has fallen out of favour in recent years.
And it is almost at the point that if something isn’t done now, that bridge to the past may never be mended.
The Sea Eagles are expected to make an announcement in the coming week about who will take over from Barrett.
While Barrett’s assistant John Cartwright is still considered favourite, Jason Taylor contacted The Telegraph and said he was not interested, despite speculation he had thrown his name up for the job.
Taylor said he committed to stay at the Sydney Roosters in 2019 and coach the NSW Cup side at North Sydney.
But Toovey wasn’t too proud to admit he would love to be back at Manly in some capacity.
And he was adamant it was not too late to make Manly great again.
“It is very easy for these things to fall apart but it is terribly difficult to rebuild them again,” Toovey explained.
“I don’t know if you remember but in 2003 after the Northern Eagles we started again.
“And this is where we are back to now.
“It is going to be a long haul to try and get that buy-in by the fans and the community and the sponsors.
“It took us a while to get it back and it took a while to get the right roster to get back up (the NRL ladder).
“It is not panic stations at the moment.
“But it is something that everyone needs to work hard at to achieve.
“It is going to take the same passion and the same pride and the same tenacity to build it again.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...s/news-story/3ff97e00c6623743acbaa6322e13f951
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