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Nasheed here,
Did Phil Gould get an attack of the guilts over how Bulldogs have treated Raymond Faitala-Mariner?
Phil Gould knows better than most how the media works, so his whinge about being pictured at an awkward meeting says plenty about where the Bulldogs are really at, writes BRENT READ.
Phil Gould isn’t exactly renowned for his sense of humour but the Bulldogs head of football gave us a good old laugh this week. A real side splitter.
It all began when Gus caught up with once-exiled forward Raymond Faitala-Mariner last weekend only days after he had been told to stay away from training.
It just so happened the meeting was caught on a phone camera by someone who was sitting in the vicinity.
Gould was apparently unimpressed so he - or someone close to him - pored over CCTV footage to identify the culprit.
Even shared the footage with a member of the media from a rival publication, perhaps in an attempt to help identify those with their hands on the offending phone.
Having satisfied himself that it was a professional photographer, Gould then took to social media to let the world know.
Not that he had an issue of course. No big deal in his eyes. It’s just that members of the Canterbury League Club were gravely offended and wanted to track down the culprit.
Gould even took to social media to explain how the whole thing played out, insisting he wasn’t really bothered by it all.
“I never care about these things, however, the club is rightfully unimpressed,” Gould wrote.
“Leagues Club CCTV has recorded the person responsible. He has now been identified. I am told that he is a professional photographer.
“I have an image of him, and we also have his name. Again, these things never worry me.
“But I just wonder why a professional photographer happened to be at that particular venue, at that time of day, in a very quiet lounge of the club, and prepared to take the photo that he did? I find it hilarious.
“But I guess that’s the world in which we live. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.”
The responses to Gould’s diatribe were insightful.
This, after all, was a man who once said that if you see him in a meeting in public, it’s because he wants to be seen. Or words to that effect anyway.
Some suggested if Gould was hellbent on keeping the meeting private, perhaps he should have used his office. Maybe even the boardroom.
Anywhere but a lounge at a very public cafe.
Another pointed out that for a bloke who didn’t care, Gould went to an awful lot of trouble to track down the person responsible and then share his findings with the world.
It’s all very contradictory. Gould, as a high-profile member of the media, makes a living out of dissecting the machinations of other football clubs and their teams.
Many consider him a genius.
It’s not uncommon to find the inner workings of his own football club on his own network, in the pages of another newspaper or in a certain Sunday column.
Yet Gould was quick to jump on his high horse on Sunday when this paper got the jump on the Dogs dealings with Faitala-Mariner, which on the face of it appear appalling.
A man who was club captain only a matter of months ago is being squeezed out, although he was thankfully welcomed back to training this week while he remains on their books.
The about-face may have had something to do with the intervention of the players union, which has been monitoring proceedings on multiple fronts at the Bulldogs.
Perhaps someone pointed out to Gould and the Bulldogs that they were arguably in danger of breaching their contract with Faitala-Mariner had they continued to make him stay away.
Or maybe the club and Gould realised there is a way to treat people and Faitala-Mariner deserved better.
Perhaps when he took a break from the one-liners, Gould got an attack of the guilts.
Who knows? At least Faitala-Mariner is now being treated with a level of respect, something his time and service in the game warrants.
The other intriguing thing about the Faitala-Mariner situation is the Bulldogs remain active in the player market even though they have 30 players already under contract for next season.
That’s not including prop Sio Siua Taukeiaho, who is apparently yet to secure a release from French Super League club Catalans.
There are others on their radar as well. It suggests the clean out at the Dogs is far from over. Faitala-Mariner may not be the last player to cop the rough end of the pineapple.
Gould, meanwhile, continued his one-man comedy act later in the week.
“I’m in the Chinese restaurant if any photographers are looking for me,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday.
Sorry Gus, you’re actually not that interesting. But feel free to let us know next time you sit down with one of your players for a difficult conversation.
More than happy to send a snapper along to capture the moment.
Brent Read
@brentread_7
November 17, 2023 - 12:00PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
Did Phil Gould get an attack of the guilts over how Bulldogs have treated Raymond Faitala-Mariner?
Phil Gould knows better than most how the media works, so his whinge about being pictured at an awkward meeting says plenty about where the Bulldogs are really at, writes BRENT READ.
Phil Gould isn’t exactly renowned for his sense of humour but the Bulldogs head of football gave us a good old laugh this week. A real side splitter.
It all began when Gus caught up with once-exiled forward Raymond Faitala-Mariner last weekend only days after he had been told to stay away from training.
It just so happened the meeting was caught on a phone camera by someone who was sitting in the vicinity.
Gould was apparently unimpressed so he - or someone close to him - pored over CCTV footage to identify the culprit.
Even shared the footage with a member of the media from a rival publication, perhaps in an attempt to help identify those with their hands on the offending phone.
Having satisfied himself that it was a professional photographer, Gould then took to social media to let the world know.
Not that he had an issue of course. No big deal in his eyes. It’s just that members of the Canterbury League Club were gravely offended and wanted to track down the culprit.
Gould even took to social media to explain how the whole thing played out, insisting he wasn’t really bothered by it all.
“I never care about these things, however, the club is rightfully unimpressed,” Gould wrote.
“Leagues Club CCTV has recorded the person responsible. He has now been identified. I am told that he is a professional photographer.
“I have an image of him, and we also have his name. Again, these things never worry me.
“But I just wonder why a professional photographer happened to be at that particular venue, at that time of day, in a very quiet lounge of the club, and prepared to take the photo that he did? I find it hilarious.
“But I guess that’s the world in which we live. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.”
The responses to Gould’s diatribe were insightful.
This, after all, was a man who once said that if you see him in a meeting in public, it’s because he wants to be seen. Or words to that effect anyway.
Some suggested if Gould was hellbent on keeping the meeting private, perhaps he should have used his office. Maybe even the boardroom.
Anywhere but a lounge at a very public cafe.
Another pointed out that for a bloke who didn’t care, Gould went to an awful lot of trouble to track down the person responsible and then share his findings with the world.
It’s all very contradictory. Gould, as a high-profile member of the media, makes a living out of dissecting the machinations of other football clubs and their teams.
Many consider him a genius.
It’s not uncommon to find the inner workings of his own football club on his own network, in the pages of another newspaper or in a certain Sunday column.
Yet Gould was quick to jump on his high horse on Sunday when this paper got the jump on the Dogs dealings with Faitala-Mariner, which on the face of it appear appalling.
A man who was club captain only a matter of months ago is being squeezed out, although he was thankfully welcomed back to training this week while he remains on their books.
The about-face may have had something to do with the intervention of the players union, which has been monitoring proceedings on multiple fronts at the Bulldogs.
Perhaps someone pointed out to Gould and the Bulldogs that they were arguably in danger of breaching their contract with Faitala-Mariner had they continued to make him stay away.
Or maybe the club and Gould realised there is a way to treat people and Faitala-Mariner deserved better.
Perhaps when he took a break from the one-liners, Gould got an attack of the guilts.
Who knows? At least Faitala-Mariner is now being treated with a level of respect, something his time and service in the game warrants.
The other intriguing thing about the Faitala-Mariner situation is the Bulldogs remain active in the player market even though they have 30 players already under contract for next season.
That’s not including prop Sio Siua Taukeiaho, who is apparently yet to secure a release from French Super League club Catalans.
There are others on their radar as well. It suggests the clean out at the Dogs is far from over. Faitala-Mariner may not be the last player to cop the rough end of the pineapple.
Gould, meanwhile, continued his one-man comedy act later in the week.
“I’m in the Chinese restaurant if any photographers are looking for me,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday.
Sorry Gus, you’re actually not that interesting. But feel free to let us know next time you sit down with one of your players for a difficult conversation.
More than happy to send a snapper along to capture the moment.
Brent Read
@brentread_7
November 17, 2023 - 12:00PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
