Probably not that bad mtw. I'm sure there will be some positives coming out of this off season:-
1. Major sponsor needs to be a priority. We need to remember this team (at full strength) is a saleable product and will attract prime time. It REALLY shouldn't be that hard a sell. This also relates to ancillary sponsorship.
2. Signings. I believe they have already been done, but the announcements will be strategically released. I was told by someone who works at Manly that the signings of Choc, G Stewart and Lyon were being held over to after Graham took over to make him look great - so it DOES happen....this would happen at every club, in every sport - so absolutely NOTHING under handed is being suggested here.
3. Memberships. He has already done great things with that. He has hired a new membership manager, and people are somewhat surprised by offerings. That's excellent work, and we all need to give kudos for that.
4. Brookvale Oval. More needs to be done in this area.
5. Marketing. More needs to be done in THIS area. People need to be aware of our brand. I remember ads when Ox was here. I remember ads when BK was here. We need to get the Eagles family out in the market place.
6. Second to a major sponsor, the club needs to hire an internal auditor that needs to review the books, advise ways in which revenue can be increased, costs / expenses reduced, and goodwill increased. For some reason, I'm a firm believer that we lack the capability to sign players due to cash, and that it's not about the salary cap. (This is a real worry, and something Lowey has to focus on).
7. Culture. It's up to Graham to create, sustain and improve club culture. He's a self professed people person, so he should have the tools to get the job done. Players should all want to be here (as in 2008). They should be a group of brothers. Embrace this mentality, Graham will find goodwill (us) improve, which then improves cashflow / membership and brand awareness.
I could go on.
BUT, he HAS done some things as I can see, the most positive being a restructure of the membership packages. Ok, they are cheaper because he's ripping games away from Brookvale, but there is a valid reason for that.
I'm looking forward to challenges ahead, and I'm also looking forward to how they are addressed, by Max Delmege's self professed BEST CEO ever in our Graham Lowe!
