Matabele
Journey Man
This is from today's Herald. Replace the word "Flowers" with "Wilson" and they could just as well be referring to Manly.
In fact, let me save you the bother. I'll do it myself.
Sometimes it is unclear who actually runs Manly, Pat Wilson or Peter Peters. When Ken Arthurson was in charge, Manly was always on the front foot, in the news, making headlines, making its presence felt. Arko was smart. He knew that if Manly was to treat itself as a prominent winter club in Australia, it had to be seen. He tussled with rugby union, AFL and soccer, often leading with his chin, but always getting Manly on the back page or on the 6pm news. They were heady, often exciting times.
Nowadays, a heavy fog has settled over Narabeen HQ. Everyone says Arko's successor - Wilson - is a nice guy. But he does not know how to use the media and is too often at pains to be everybody's friend. He lacks presence, which is delighting rival clubs.
Watch how John O'Neill will bleed every centimetre out of Australia's World Cup football appearance. Observe how Ricky Stuart is always on the TV. Manly's weak approach from the top has allowed the club's captain to do and say basically whatever he wants. Manly, for some reason, is scared of Monaghan/Banaghan/Delmege, and kowtows to him. But they don't do that for his teammates, who have every reason to complain of unfair treatment.
Wilson is also hindered by a sluggish media unit, which is good at manipulating the facts but often fails to get the facts right. Amazingly, this department did not produce a media guide for 2005, much to the shock of overseas reporters, who are accustomed to teams providing ample information. Instead, details are delivered on scraps of paper. It is not great public relations for Manly. We hear the media guide was chopped due to penny pinching, which is ridiculous considering the Manly club is overloaded with personal assistants. Just one less personal assistant this season (Roach perhaps) would have paid for thousands of media guides.
In fact, let me save you the bother. I'll do it myself.
Sometimes it is unclear who actually runs Manly, Pat Wilson or Peter Peters. When Ken Arthurson was in charge, Manly was always on the front foot, in the news, making headlines, making its presence felt. Arko was smart. He knew that if Manly was to treat itself as a prominent winter club in Australia, it had to be seen. He tussled with rugby union, AFL and soccer, often leading with his chin, but always getting Manly on the back page or on the 6pm news. They were heady, often exciting times.
Nowadays, a heavy fog has settled over Narabeen HQ. Everyone says Arko's successor - Wilson - is a nice guy. But he does not know how to use the media and is too often at pains to be everybody's friend. He lacks presence, which is delighting rival clubs.
Watch how John O'Neill will bleed every centimetre out of Australia's World Cup football appearance. Observe how Ricky Stuart is always on the TV. Manly's weak approach from the top has allowed the club's captain to do and say basically whatever he wants. Manly, for some reason, is scared of Monaghan/Banaghan/Delmege, and kowtows to him. But they don't do that for his teammates, who have every reason to complain of unfair treatment.
Wilson is also hindered by a sluggish media unit, which is good at manipulating the facts but often fails to get the facts right. Amazingly, this department did not produce a media guide for 2005, much to the shock of overseas reporters, who are accustomed to teams providing ample information. Instead, details are delivered on scraps of paper. It is not great public relations for Manly. We hear the media guide was chopped due to penny pinching, which is ridiculous considering the Manly club is overloaded with personal assistants. Just one less personal assistant this season (Roach perhaps) would have paid for thousands of media guides.
