Tonight's Public Forum

[DSM5]

I can't see why the Libs are promising sporting money to the CC when their hold on those seats will be a one term thing.  Just who on our board has any influence over the employment of Zorba.  I'm beginning to really detest the guy.  Great post Jono.   

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Fluffy, Christina Keneally is a Souths fan.  I'd like to hear more about this 'Brookvale oval Trust' idea. 

 

[Fluffy]

Tom isnt

 

[DSM5]

"Blow that whistle ref".  No credibility.

 

[tookey]

Clover Moore spend $16m in upgrading Redfern oval to a training ground with community use so surely the new sate govt can give us $10-15m to do the same to brookie and also use it for NRL games?

I didn't hear too much objection from Sydney City ratepayers over the spend on Redfern oval.

 

[kurri eagle]

I can't believe that nobody from the club has been in contact with either of the two main parties for 2 years.
Surely the writing has been on the wall for years that Labor in NSW were dead ducks , why has'nt the club actively been lobbying local members for upgrades .
It's no good blaming Tony Abbott , he is in opposition and can do nothing to secure funding but we are about to have a Liberal govt in NSW and treating the soon to be Treasurer like a mug would have to be the dumbest thing possible especially when the club has had no communication with him for 2 years .
Each day lately more i'm concerned with the people who are running this club and their inability to achieve any postive results .
It's almost a deliberate attempt to send the club out the back door , is there an motive behind this ?

 

[DSM5]

Kurri Eagle I don't think there's any malicious motive behind the club's lack of action.  I just think the challenges are to difficult for the CEO and Zorba to get their heads around.  They both come from eras that are well and truly historic.  They are both one dimensional and lack the contacts and professionalism to move the organization forward.  One would hope that Lowe is replaced by a more savvy CEO when his contract is over (I think he has said that he will go at the end of this season) and Zorbs is shown the door.   

 

[lsz]

To be honest i was worried by the open casting call.

You would think the club would have a long term strategy (i am starting to sounds as bad as darren and his kids argument) re funding including lobby groups etc

Clearly it is not a fundamental "right" to get Brookie upgraded. It takes work, lots of work, not pitching up at a local meeting heckling from the back of the room

 

[The Wheel]

The lack of contact probably started when Mayer was sacked/resigned?

 

[Shoe1]

The contact stopped when Kerry sibraa resigned from the board. As an ex senator with respect on both sides of politics, this was a big blow. Reading between the lines of his resignation he couldn't stand the infighting. Regarding the parramatta trust idea for brookie, I suggested this to warringah council's forum on the future of brookie. It would involve transferring management of the park (not necessarily it's ownership) to a trust established by an act of state parliament. This would need a cooperative approach between the council, the state gov and the club, and would not be achieved overnight even if all parties agree. (I  work in the same department as the trust). Even urgent legislation has had a hard time getting priority lately, and under a new government there will be a queue of legislation ready to go. So what would it take to achieve? There needs to be dialogue between local and state gov on this and the best the club can do is to have an experienced person at the table being constructive. Best time to start is now. The local members will be looking for something to achieve in their time in government.

 

[MadMarcus]

I wasn't at the meeting, but it has got me thinking about the performance of each level of government on this issue over the years (Warringah Council excepted, its performance is obviously entirely unsatisfactory) and just how important it is that we get off on the right foot with the NSW Liberals.

Federal Liberal government (1996 - 2007)

During the Super League/Northern Eagles era there was a high likelihood that Brookie would turn into a white elephant because we wouldn't have a club, so I wouldn't have expected to receive much funding from the Federal Liberals during this time (and I don't recall anyone even asking for it). 

Call me cynical, but I wouldn't expect funding unless it was an election promise so that means our opportunities to obtain funding from the Liberals were the 2004 election and the 2007 election.  As far as I can recall no funding was offered in 2004.  Funding was offered by Abbott in 2007 but the Libs lost the election.

Overall, it was disappointing that we didn't get some funding from them but not particularly surprising given the prevailing circumstances during most of their time in power.

Federal Labor Government (2007-)

I wouldn't expect funding for a football stadium in a blue ribbon seat to be high on the agenda for a new government, particularly when they have had the GFC and a change of leadership to deal with in the short period they have been in office.

I expect nothing here, and that is what they are delivering.

NSW Labor Government (1995-)

Overall, I can't really be too critical of NSW Labor in their approach to funding Brookvale Oval.  While $6m is hardly enough, they did give us something.  Of course they spent most of the money looking after their own in Labor seats and shoring up marginals, but that's what political parties do.  Their performance on this issue is much better than their performance on transport and health.  Perhaps they even foresaw that Warringah Council would squander the money.

NSW Liberal Government (2011-)

This is our best opportunity in more than a decade and a half to secure some substantial funding and some real action on Brookie.  Safe Labor seats got funding for stadiums when Labor was in power, now it is our turn.

We need to secure funding as a promise for THIS election, otherwise we will have to wait four long years.  It sounds to me from Jono's report that the club needs to go into damage control and mend the damage that has been done.  This is a opportunity that our club cannot afford to miss.

 

[Phantar]

The last federal coalition govt did fund the new lighting - an important enabler for maintaining a ground as an NRL venue. Tony Abbott has now promised significant monies towards an upgrade at the last two federal elections, so I would expect he would be true to that promise, when they return to office, irrespective of whether he is the new PM or otherwise.

Important to remember too:

The last major upgrade in terms of a new stand commenced when the coalition were still in power in Macquarie Street. Work commenced at the completion of the 1994 season and the Fahey govt lost power in Mar 95.

And Warringah Council (under the administrator) stumped up $4million towards the current upgrades. There is no point in having a shiny new stand in the southeast corner or behind the Hill, if the rest of Brookvale Oval is falling apart.

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"The hard work of so many people was ruined in one moment of stupidity from 3 idiots".

Sad. Don't know who Brendan Donohoe is, then again he doesn't know me either! Not wholly surprised to hear about Wendy Harmer's performance, nor Zorba's. The former is a dsaffected Labor voter anyway. When it comes to the latter, he can only still be there because of his family ties with Penn and because he probably comes cheaply, like Lowe. Zorba obviously has other media gigs to keep him afloat and maybe only gets paid only a 5 figure salary for his role at Manly. Or maybe he does it purely for his love of the Club and receives a pittance. Either way, it's really starting to show.

A decent performer like say, Leanne West (ex-Manly Daily journo and TV reporter) would probably cost the Club in the six figure range, because she doesn't have a radio gig on the hugely unheard radio station Zorba works for, or a Sportal slot where she gets to vent her spleen about current players and reminisce about the good ol' days when it was ok to make fun of someone on the field because they had mental health issues etc. Great image for the Club.....

 

[Gumby]

Interesting piece in today's SMH (online):

"Politics and football: The Manly Sea Eagles are not known as the silvertails for nothing. The NRL toffs have always garnered big support from local Liberals, so imagine the surprise of northern beaches Libs Mike Baird and Brad Hazzard when they were brutally tackled at a newspaper forum over the state of Brookvale Oval. In a well-executed ambush, 30 supporters led by local newspaper commentator Peter ‘‘Zorba’’ Peters said the club desperately needed $20 million to upgrade their ‘‘embarrassing’’ home ground. Apparently they think an incoming Coalition government owes them. ‘‘We have been loyal to the Liberal Party and it's about time they are loyal to us,’’ he said. But $20 million is a lot of loyalty. Baird told the Manly Daily he probably could not attend Sea Eagles games with his children for fear of it being viewed as a political stunt."

 

[Ralphie]

Did we only manage to get 30 people there?

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Jono BEFORE you do that contact Vidmar...apparently something is going on behind the scenes, he'd not a part of it but has heard there might be...so maybe better not to inflame the situation, or at least speak to him first.

 

[Jono]

fair enough, might be a good idea just to leave it be overall and wait to see what happens.

 

[Somatik]

what was the coaster trend at Sharks Leagues Club?

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Replacing all the Sharks Leagues Club Coasters with the "you are on Sea Eagles Turf" ones...VERY funny really

 

[Jonesyv2]

It was more then that mark, it was leaving sea eagles coasters all over the sharkes leagues club. I remember walking into the toilets to see them all stuck right in front of peoples faces on the mirrors above the urinals everywhere

 

[swoop]

Interesting piece in today's SMH (online):

\"Politics and football: The Manly Sea Eagles are not known as the silvertails for nothing. The NRL toffs have always garnered big support from local Liberals, so imagine the surprise of northern beaches Libs Mike Baird and Brad Hazzard when they were brutally tackled at a newspaper forum over the state of Brookvale Oval. In a well-executed ambush, 30 supporters led by local newspaper commentator Peter ‘‘Zorba’’ Peters said the club desperately needed $20 million to upgrade their ‘‘embarrassing’’ home ground. Apparently they think an incoming Coalition government owes them. ‘‘We have been loyal to the Liberal Party and it's about time they are loyal to us,’’ he said. But $20 million is a lot of loyalty. Baird told the Manly Daily he probably could not attend Sea Eagles games with his children for fear of it being viewed as a political stunt.\"

Who the f**k does Zorba think he is? A perfect way to win friends and influence people. This guy is amatuerish at best.

‘‘We have been loyal to the Liberal Party and it's about time they are loyal to us,’’

WTF, I'm embarrassed he's associated with our club, the guy is a liability. You'd think the Penn and Quantum camps would know better, but obviously not.

WHAT A f**kING JOKE!!!!

Jono, could you explain to you liberal mates that Zorba is a peanut and shouldn't be taken seriously.

2 forgetful events in 2 days, good job fellas.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Jono what exactly was being said by the hecklers? That you variously describe as gutter trash rudeness ...disgusting ...brutes abusive and rude ...bullied ...

You have painted a very ugly picture without telling us what was being said. Or was it just a disrespectful tone of voice?

I welcome your account but it makes me want to hear more, from you or anyone else that was present.

I do note that you say "Mike actually said that he wonders whether he can take his kids to see the footy anymore as he’ll just be hated out of the park". However Gumby's post says the SMH reported it as "Baird told the Manly Daily he probably could not attend Sea Eagles games with his children for fear of it being viewed as a political stunt." 2 very different versions.

My faith in the professionalism of Zorba is pretty shaky at present, but the suggestion Des also may have brought the club into disrepute is a pretty heavy accusation. So can anyone provide more details please?