Magic Wand Time: How would you fix the Mariners?

[bradley]

If you had a magic wand, how would you fix the Mariners?

All hypothetical of course...

My opinions:
- Get Lawrie back, offer him any job he wants, install that Mariners culture back into the club...
- Convince Singo that the Mariners are a worthwhile investment.
- Play an attractive brand of football (not possession based) and instruct players to show a sense of pride in the Mariners jersey.
- Have former Mariners players as ambassadors of the club, getting involved in the community and rebuilding the level of trust that has been lost...
- Allow Central Coast United to always play pre-game before the Mariners (if the schedule allows), rebuild the relationship between local football and the Mariners.
- Rebuild the Yellow Army, atmosphere is dead at CCS nowdays... (Dont know how I would do that but it needs to be addressed)
- Advertise the Mariners all around the Coast, Erina Fair, Tuggerah Shopping Centre, Billboards, people need to know the games are on!!!
- Go back to wearing yellow, get rid of the stripes...

Thoughts?

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Convince Red Bull, Celtic or anyone with billions that CCM is worth buying.

 

[tsd]

pretty simple really. looking backward we have been most successful when

A: spending money on good players
B: playing with an us v the world culture

 

[VicMariner]

I'd find some ex players who have demonstrated the Mariners spirit to come and play some role at the club. I would have these guys demand some metal and backbone from current players.
A strong culture goes a very long way toward having a good team. Both winning and losing are habits.

I would love to see Monty and/or Hutch mentoring the team in some capacity.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Lawrie can get f**ked - someone who dogs you once can never be trusted

 

[Big Al]

Lawrie can get f**ked - someone who dogs you once can never be trusted

This is the same shit Mat Simon cops. When you are not wanted you are not a dog

 

[Big Al]

Play Sydney every week

 

[sydmariner]

Bring back Macca as a striker coach.

 

[yorkshireman]

Bring back Macca as a striker coach.

Not just Macca, get Sterj and Pat Z back in the fold as well.

 

[priorpeter]

This is the same shit Mat Simon cops. When you are not wanted you are not a dog

Matt Simon didn’t (allegedly) purchase hundreds of wooden spoons for the NCL to throw on the pitch at full time yesterday. Nail in the coffin for Lawrie from my point of view.

 

[Wombat]

Lawrie can get f**ked - someone who dogs you once can never be trusted

Remember the class Wee Mac showed when he scored against us and refused to celebrate. Lawrie can f**k right off to Mayfield or Windale or whatever dump he calls home now..................showed that he is a dog.

 

[Big Al]

When your girlfriend cheats on you you don’t refuse to celebrate when you score.

Lawrie is playing it up which is what the derby needs. His tweet said a lot to me. CCM didn’t want me and why can’t i celebrate with the team i work for. Not the team I follow or love the team i work for.

We deserved to be humiliated after that performance. Might wake up the powers that be.

Anyway in my mind Lawrie and Mat are not dogs

 

[FFC Mariner]

He wore their colours and purchased spoons to chuck at us - I know how he was treated too. That was an individual, hate him by all accounts (and he should) but dont shit on the club that made your name

 

[Spacks]

Top Bantz

 

[LFCMariners]

I don't know enough about the Lawrie situation to comment with enough facts to back up my opinion, so I won't. What I can say is that if somebody has the proven ability to do their chosen job well and they genuinely want to be at this club, I'd take them.

Now if I could wave a magic wand and fix CCM?

I'd see a club with a strong emphasis on Central Coast developed players. While there'd absolutely be recruitment from outside the Coast and overseas, the squad would have a strong local presence to it. At the same time, there would be the culture of accountability and pride in the jersey to ensure no player ever thought their spot was safe because of where they grew up or who their junior club was. It's a fact of life you can't keep them all. Some local products will be released or sign for another club, but there'd always be another player (Coast local or otherwise) with the right work ethic to take his place.

That work ethic would be based upon what made this club great in the first place: no dickheads. No egos bigger than the team. A sense of community. An appreciation for hard work over reputation, for doing the small things that count over relying merely on natural talent or flair when you're in the mood to show it. A true appreciation for the fact that even if nobody else rates you, it doesn't matter. Past greats would be shown the respect they deserve by the club. They might have ended up playing elsewhere, but provided they parted ways on amicable terms they'd be welcomed back with open arms in whatever role they could be best put to use for.

Game-days would be the big events they used to be once more, with crowds averaging 13k or more knowing that even if CCM lost, they did everything they could with the players available to get a result. The active support would be solid in number, strong in voice and never, ever take themselves too seriously. The 'Who do we sing for?' call and response would engage the entire stadium and at the end of every match, the kids would be allowed onto the field to kick the ball around.

Put these ingredients together and you'd guarantee a consistent, professionally-run, well-supported, respected, tight-knit community club that people wanted to be a part of- players, staff, volunteers, fans, casuals. Get these qualities and I guarantee the results would take care of themselves. I don't know exactly HOW all this could be brought together, but the thing about waving a magic wand is that you make your wish and it happens!

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Definitely bring back the no dickheads policy.

Was it the relaxation of this policy that started the rot when we signed Reddy, Bosnar, et al?

 

[Insertnamehere]

Lawrie can get f**ked - someone who dogs you once can never be trusted

Like Matt Simon kissing the SFC badge after a goal?

 

[localpom]

Football isn't rocket science. There are a number of issues that we are all aware of. In no particular order -

• Be ruthless with the current squad. It's not just about quality but with our budget every player needs the right mental attitude. Character, positivity, toughness, a never say die attitude, excellent role model for young players, good community awareness. If any current player isn't up to it cut them and bring in players that have these qualities.
• Get the Mariners Culture back. Ask, or beg, former players to be on hand at training and in change rooms pre game. The likes of Monty, Macca, Dutchy, Rosey, Sterj, Gumps.
• Bring back the no dickheads policy.
• I think to win fans back, we need an enticing signing. Not necessarily a marquee but a name that gets people excited.Someone like Wilko maybe.
• Leadership- We need a couple of quality players with the right leadership qualities. As good as Baro, Tommy and Wout are they haven't shown that side.
• Be the fittest side in the comp. Again, with a limited budget this is a more even playing field and no excuses why we can't be.
• Recruit the best possible assistant that also understands our culture. Monty?
• Put a bit more money into a quality pre season. With the rebuild needed we will need a few games, and a few wins will gain momentum.
• We must do well in the FFA cup! Another early exit will have fans fearing the worst before the season starts.

Lots to do.

 

[nebakke]

When your girlfriend cheats on you you don’t refuse to celebrate when you score.

Lawrie is playing it up which is what the derby needs. His tweet said a lot to me. CCM didn’t want me and why can’t i celebrate with the team i work for. Not the team I follow or love the team i work for.

We deserved to be humiliated after that performance. Might wake up the powers that be.

Anyway in my mind Lawrie and Mat are not dogs

For mine, the Lawrie thing goes back well before selling out to Newcastle... He ran on a political platform which in part relied on the trust that he had build with CCM fans. He may not have talked that big about it during his campaign, but you could see it even on here, that there was a general faith and expectation that part of what he would do, if elected, was to speak up for football on the coast in a Rugby dominated council.
In stead, he recused himself from any conversation of influence and backed down whenever he was needed.
For mine he's fallen a long way from where he was with us... That's not to say that I don't see him trying to revive the rivalry, that's an obvious direction to move it and probably a positive one - but every story needs a villain and as part of doing that, he has also accepted that role... So for me, it's a combination of not seeing any reason to trust him anymore and not wanting the Scum CEO anywhere near my club.

My view on Matty is quite different though - emotional and angry that I was after the Sydney goal... But... There's no denying that he was f**ked over by the club and he hasn't generally done much wrong in relation to the fans, up until that Sydney game, so I'm willing to believe that he can be rehabilitated

 

[nebakke]

I think it's pretty obvious that culture is a bit point here... For mine at least, I'll follow the club through thick and thin, if they still represent that Mariners ideal of dogged hard work, representing the coast and happily working with the underdog tag. I was alright with seeing us lose at the start of the season, because at least they fought for it, and I'd even be alright with following a generally mid-tier team, as long as they look like they want to be there.
What I'm decidedly not interested in, is watching 11 man give up for 90 minutes, I could go to any pub in Newcastle and watch twice as many for half the time and much less money.

I brought my sports-crazy teenage nephew to the game on the weekend, he's from a family which is decidedly "Ozzie Sports" focused, so while he's been interested, he's never had the opportunity to go to a football game before. Believe it or not, he actually had a positive experience and it wasn't exclusively about the 10 goals that were scored... It was the atmosphere through the middle of the game, when things were actually moving a bit, and he felt fairly entertained... So he'd love to come with me to another game when they're next up our way, and I reckon I could get a bit of a conversion started, but I also reckon that a lot of that would come down to the return of the spirit - and I don't think he's alone in that.
Return the spirit and the fight and I think we go a long way towards fixing a lot of the other issues.... How do we do that though? I don't really know, but I suspect trying to lure back people like Matty S and Wilko could go a fair way in the right direction.