Manly in Crisis (a mega thread)

[Woodsie]

What! This is hyperbole!!! to the extreme @Woodsie . The club didn’t finish well and they are going to talk about how things can be improved.. the only part of the story that is not scuttlebutt is what mestrov is quoted as saying. To paraphrase he says he would not even call it a review but the club needs to find ways to improve….Don’t you think all clubs that have disappointing seasons are doing the same thing and have been doing this process for years!!!The story is the ambiguity around Des’s contract and it is Manly. The media is playing us like we are all on puppet strings. If it all blows up next week I will be first to pay homage to your mighty tin foil hat mate. 🙂

 

[IQofalimabean]

Thats the way Dessie, defence wins premierships!

 

[Disco]

they should go to the dolphins. serious.
tom is made of glass and will get injured every year and Jake is past his peak.

In his 7 seasons as a certified first grader he has played the below from most games to least.

23 games
23 games
22 games
18 games
12 games
7 games
7 games

So 3 good years, 1 acceptable year and 3 bad years.

Now history doesnt indicate the future either way but I'm interested in your certainty that "Tom is made of glass and will get injured every year"

 

[Woodsie]

It’s pretty depressing really , it seems to have been this way for a decade now.

I bet (see what I did there) that the sponsors are just shaking their heads in astonishment. ...

They will be looking back on the days of just simple drunks having a punch up over a pizza as the glory days ..

When it's the owner, head coach, CEO and half the so called grown ups at the club self destructing ... the embarrassment and shame is off the scale ..

 

[ManlyTragic]

I don’t believe it ! No coach would lock the owner out of the dressing rooms!

I’m calling it BS!

Just sayin’

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

All publicity is good publicity!

So they say

 

[MightyEagles]

Surely they wouldn't go and leave Ben

 

[BOZO]

"Tom is made of glass and will get injured every year"

There is nothing Glassy about Tom Turbo but only Classy

Back luck happens to all of us and the cycle always turns

Great days ahead for the Classy Turbo

 

[davohan123]

Thats the way Dessie, defence wins premierships!

He has shown more defense this week in regard to trying to save his job than he has trying to fix our on field defense this year.

Where has this been all year, that is the fight and hunger the old des use to display in his coaching.

 

[BOZO]

Surely they wouldn't go and leave Ben

Ben Turbo is a Great Looking Fellow

His career is in modelling and not in league

 

[davohan123]

Last year felt like we were finally emerging from the sh*tstorm that this club has been spiralling within since 2013-14...
Sure, football-wise, it still felt like a bit of an illusion as we could not compete with the top sides but the backroom crap had stopped (or quietened down?) and there was real hope (for me at least) that the club was finally getting back to where it needs to be for us to see consistent success...
And then the wheels fell off and here we are again right back in the middle of the storm...
I am really f*cking tired of the storm...

Yep very sad and I am tired of our club being the laughing stock of the NRL.

Just when you think things were looking up this year happens and we as a club are back to square 1 all over again.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

With a hair cut like Jesus he better look out for Judas.

 

[BOZO]

This week will be a telling one re our beloved club's direction in the near future. Just for shiits & giggles I asked myself what changes would I make if I could (without any real knowledge of inside dealings etc).

Assuming we're stuck with Penn, and Des walks:

Coaches:
Of the names thrown up, Madge & Siebold don't particularly scream success. Hales & Flanagan have some merit to varying degrees and Slater would never come. I would put
Flanagan Assistant Coach (Defence structures and wrestle etc)
Walker Bros Assistant Coach (Attack)
Hales Head Coach (General player management etc)
Blend of modern and old-school approaches

Players:
Release DCE. Assuming his 2yr extension is around the 800k mark, find a club in need of an experienced half. If they are happy to give a 3yr×$600k deal for Cpt of Qld, they win, and we foot the remaining 600k for 2023, and 200k for both '24 & '25. Why pay deadweight? If this truly is a clean out, better to do it properly and immediately.

With the extra funds (and assuming there aren't elite 7s and 9s currently available ), I would bring back Cust. He has a great working relationship with Guac, and I would have Humphreys as his understudy/ back-up.

We would also need a little more money to bolster our pack. Not sure where from but grant the release of Bullemor (if he asks), and use remain funds for the last few spots in the 30 to buy:

Klemmar, and

1× hard arse English backrower (Whitehead/Young/Bateman type)

Captaincy:
Jake and Tom co-Captains. Pretty simple one.

Team Selections:
I would go with a young spine that will struggle for 2023 but in time could develop into a formidable group. This would be my team:
1. Weekes
2. Saab / (19. Vaega)
3. Koula
4. Turbo (c)
5. Garrick
6. Schuster
7. Cust* (18. Humphreys)
8. Klemmar*
9. Chan Kum Tong
10. Jake (c)
11. Ola'akautu
12. [English import]*
13. Fulton
14. Lawton (Probably start Karl first 20min)
15. Tuilagi
16. Aloiai
17. Paseka
20. Tuitavake

Reserves:
Tuipulotu, Parker, Burbo, Harper
Croker
Keppie, Sipley, Fifita

We need change . We never got much change to our team under Des accept from injury
More innovation and less stereotype next season

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Honestly of all the bull**** rumours this one takes the cake.

 

[Cameron]

This would have to be 100 out of 10 on the horsesh*t meter

Kent went one further, throwing out a wild rumour: “I got told today they met with Wayne Bennett in a coffee shop, but I don’t know if it’s true.

“I can’t verify that but I’ve had people see it. I rang the coffee shop and he won’t ring me back.”

Who told you that Zorba the hutt

 

[BOZO]

Honestly of all the bull**** rumours this one takes the cake.

The Media is making Money and a Mockery out of our Mediocrity

We must lift our game on and off the field

We are all Accountable

 

[JenEagle]

Yep very sad and I am tired of our club being the laughing stock of the NRL.

Just when you think things were looking up this year happens and we as a club are back to square 1 all over again.

Agree.
We are all sick of it. It’s been years of this stuff.

 

[Wombat64]

insanity

Serenity later

 

[Wombat64]

Yep very sad and I am tired of our club being the laughing stock of the NRL.

Just when you think things were looking up this year happens and we as a club are back to square 1 all over again.

There is always the Tigers ......

 

[frank stokes]

.. and numbnuts still hate on Barrett for saying he wouldn't re-sign at the end of his contract ... starting to sound like he was the smart one to get out of the place ...

Twent may not have been the best coach that Manly has had, he may not be in the top 20, BUT.....
Imo NO coach would have succeeded during his tenure at Manly due to the lack of support (both financial and structural) and the back-biting and in-fighting that was going on around him...
Twent did not bring the toxicity and turmoil with him, this place was a festering cesspool of mismanagement when he got here...
DES-pite the praise lavished upon the prodigal son upon his return, and the great expectations espoused from senior club representatives early-doors, the last couple of months have demonstrated that very little has changed behind the scenes at Manly...