Extreme Marquee Player-good or bad?

[Back to Back]

The reason why the Doggies will have trouble keeping either Mason or SB is simply because no player is bigger than the club.At other clubs this is not so true and that is what has run them into huge problems.Newcastle is the prime example.I am quite sure that Mason will not be offered anything greater than 300 000 and SB will be offered no more than 150 000 for next year.This is why the Dogs are a successful club.

I have no doubt lesser clubs could offer each double what we are offering by offloading deadwood for that special marquee player but what happens to the rest of the team.Newcastle have spent exhorbitant money on Johns and Kennedy over the years.Short term it proved fruitful but now it will hurt them deeply.Junior stocks have plummeted and Kennedy has left grabbing more money from a desparate club.Newcastle have not troubled the premiership engravers for 3 years.Also when Johns is not playing they are chicken fodder for the good sides.Look at our game against them in the second last round.

Any club that is willing to spend stupid money on a 19 year old , no matter who they are, will undoubtedly suffer severely long term.Furthermore, the young player carries the burden of needing to perform week in week out and in non-performing side guess who will be copping the abuse ?

That is why I love the Doggies.They place a figure on a player-what they believe he is worth at that particular time -and if they agree then well and good.If not, there is the door.

This is a reason why in the last 30 years we have made the play-offs about 25 times.Played in 10 grand finals and won 5 of them.
One club has played in 1/3 of the grand finals and have won a 1/6 of them.

Much of the credit goes towards the recruitment and retention policy of the club.

I will be dissapointed if either one leaves but deep down I leave it in the expert hands of the club's administrators.
If they can give me 1 grand final appearance every 3 years on average for the next 30 years as well I am happy with that.

One piece of advice to the two though, ask Vagana what happens when you compromise a good club for a little more money.

 

[Blue Beard]

Some good points in there....I hope for their sake they do stay, but there isn't much we can do if either do decide to leave.....But it makes me cranky when clubs hunt certain players from certain clubs because their development process in flawed and don't have the ability to develop such quality players.
Different story when a player is released by a club, but when clubs poach players it is really frustrating.

 

[Back to Back]

Some good points in there....I hope for their sake they do stay, but there isn't much we can do if either do decide to leave.....But it makes me cranky when clubs hunt certain players from certain clubs because their development process in flawed and don't have the ability to develop such quality players.
Different story when a player is released by a club, but when clubs poach players it is really frustrating.

It is BB but if the junior system is in place and it is a strongly backed club like we are we will just keep churning out talent time and again.

The point you raise is very valid and the nrl must address this by compensating the club for such a loss.Whether it is through some transfer fee or the like.
For example if a kid has been at a club for 4 or 5 years and develops into a player like SB and is lured away.Then the team who does that needs to pay the former club a substantial transfer fee.

But I will say one thing, paying big money for a 19 year old is not good business sense.
Our club does well simply because we are never held to ransom.

If SBs manager came in and told me that Manly or St George are offering him 300 000 and what I am I going to do, I would tell them there is the door, close it on your way out.

Only playmakers and good ones at that are worth that money.

 

[Bulldog Power]

SBW does generate play it could be argued. If he has a bumper year id say 300k wouldnt be that unfair to be paid... unfortunately even though we might get him a bunch of sponsorships and he would still be earning good money, I still think its always a possiblity that we could lose sonny after next year and that we will lose him eventually because gavin orr is agent. he will always pressure his client into taking the big $$$ and he wont be afraid to tell sonny that "your good enough to last at any club, you dont want people saying bulldogs is the only place you could of been a stand out at"

gavin orr is all about the short term $$$ week in, week out chasing contract bucks

 

[Fender]

Actually, in the last 30 years we have won 6 titles (80, 84, 85, 88, 95, 04) and played in losing Grand Finals in 79, 86, 94 and 98. We missed the finals on 11 occasions.

So we've won 20% of the competitions, played in 33% of the Grand Finals and played in 63% of the Finals series.

Just thought I'd correct the stats.

That aside, I agree with the point about marquee players and why we have been so successful.

 

[Back to Back]

Sorry Fend, stats done on the the top of my head.Still should have known we won 6.Stupid me.

 

[Lobo]

Sonny doesn't deserve 300k a year. No one does with maybe, and i mean MAYBE Johns when he was in his prime before he became injury prone and that is only because he was the heart of Newcastle and that was years ago. The money he got offered recently is stupid and as the point was made, a player doesn't make the club and with Newcastles desperate bid, they just sealed their failure for the next 5 years.

You'd have to be Godsent to deserve money like that and only on extreme rare cases we will see stand out players like that.

Especially at his young age(SBW), if he is asking that much and leaves the club for something more, he'll unsettle, become frustrated and lose form.

He should be more focused on his football and developing into a much better and greater player rather then what goes on the outside.

He isn't at his prime, and he still has much chance to slump as is to get better and become a greater impact and quality footballer.

I hope they both stay (Willie and SBW) but it won't suprise me if we don't keep everyone. Personal prefence if I had to make a choice, i'd Take Mason and that is due to the fact he is established and destroys on the pitch no matter what goes on in the outside world.

 

[midas]

i thought the "Team of the 80's" that was chosen without a single Canterbury player despite the club winning 4 premierships and 5 grand final appearances was very indicative of the Bulldogs approach... the club values the collective over the individual, players are viewed more as strands in a rope, rather than links in a chain... take away a strand and the rope still holds, but lose a link and the chain falls apart...

 

[Lobo]

I love exactly how you put that. Perfect.