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THE last time Phil Gould tried to rebuild a footy club was exactly 10 years ago. Penrith fans will be hoping he's more successful this time.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs had been re-admitted to the NRL and George Piggins hired Gould as the boss of recruitment.
Piggins gave him a $2.5 million chequebook (the salary cap in those days) and told him to assemble a competitive first-grade squad for the club's much-anticipated comeback.
He got Adam Muir for $250,000, Russell Richardson $220,000, Paul Stringer $220,000, Jamie Fitzgerald $160,000, Andrew King $150,000, Jason Death $150,000, Glenn Grief $150,000, Andrew Hart $150,000, Owen Craigie $140,000 and Shane Rigon for $100,000. Mostly fair players but not worth the money they earned. Many signed for the opportunity to be coached by Gould under the belief that the guru who'd won premierships at the Bulldogs and the Panthers would remain at the club in a full-time role.
Craig Coleman was the coach but Gould had indicated in negotiations he would be hanging around in a mentoring role.
It wasn't what you would describe as a successful recruitment campaign.
Far from it.
Souths ran second last, winning only five games and losing 19. Only the fact the salary cap-rorting Bulldogs had 37 points deducted saved the club from the embarrassment of the wooden spoon in a terrible comeback year.Long before the competition had been decided, Gus had packed his briefcase and walked. He'd spent Souths' money on an under-performing roster when his mate Nick Politis rang and offered him the coaching director's job at the Roosters to work with Ricky Stuart.
In fairness, he was not under contract to Souths - not that signed agreements ensured he would stick around anyway. He left the Bulldogs in 1989 while still under contract.
He left the Panthers in 1994 while still under contract.
He left the Roosters in 1999 while still under contract.
And he stormed out of Origin at the end of the 2004 series, blaming, not the players, but the media for its coverage of the disgusting behaviour of the team in the year of the text messaging scandal.So now it's back to Penrith ... and more drama, more tension and more rumours of player unrest.
Steve Georgallis was given the caretaker coaching role and told he was on trial for next year. He got punted after one win, replaced by Ivan Cleary.Now the great Petero Civoniceva is out the door too - just a couple of weeks after being told he had a job for life.
An absolute legend of the game and regarded alongside Darren Lockyer, Nathan Hindmarsh, Alan Tongue and Andrew Ryan among rugby league's finest ambassadors.
So where to now? Gould did not return phone calls or a text message yesterday to take the opportunity to explain what was going on at the foot of the mountains. The day before he refused to speak to his other employers at Channel 9 or Fairfax newspapers about the turmoil in recent weeks at the Panthers.
History shows Gus does not have a great track record at this caper of restructuring and resurrecting footy clubs.
It's been two decades since he coached a team to win a premiership. There are some, myself included, who have doubts whether he can deliver another one to the Panthers.
Phil Rothfield
The South Sydney Rabbitohs had been re-admitted to the NRL and George Piggins hired Gould as the boss of recruitment.
Piggins gave him a $2.5 million chequebook (the salary cap in those days) and told him to assemble a competitive first-grade squad for the club's much-anticipated comeback.
He got Adam Muir for $250,000, Russell Richardson $220,000, Paul Stringer $220,000, Jamie Fitzgerald $160,000, Andrew King $150,000, Jason Death $150,000, Glenn Grief $150,000, Andrew Hart $150,000, Owen Craigie $140,000 and Shane Rigon for $100,000. Mostly fair players but not worth the money they earned. Many signed for the opportunity to be coached by Gould under the belief that the guru who'd won premierships at the Bulldogs and the Panthers would remain at the club in a full-time role.
Craig Coleman was the coach but Gould had indicated in negotiations he would be hanging around in a mentoring role.
It wasn't what you would describe as a successful recruitment campaign.
Far from it.
Souths ran second last, winning only five games and losing 19. Only the fact the salary cap-rorting Bulldogs had 37 points deducted saved the club from the embarrassment of the wooden spoon in a terrible comeback year.Long before the competition had been decided, Gus had packed his briefcase and walked. He'd spent Souths' money on an under-performing roster when his mate Nick Politis rang and offered him the coaching director's job at the Roosters to work with Ricky Stuart.
In fairness, he was not under contract to Souths - not that signed agreements ensured he would stick around anyway. He left the Bulldogs in 1989 while still under contract.
He left the Panthers in 1994 while still under contract.
He left the Roosters in 1999 while still under contract.
And he stormed out of Origin at the end of the 2004 series, blaming, not the players, but the media for its coverage of the disgusting behaviour of the team in the year of the text messaging scandal.So now it's back to Penrith ... and more drama, more tension and more rumours of player unrest.
Steve Georgallis was given the caretaker coaching role and told he was on trial for next year. He got punted after one win, replaced by Ivan Cleary.Now the great Petero Civoniceva is out the door too - just a couple of weeks after being told he had a job for life.
An absolute legend of the game and regarded alongside Darren Lockyer, Nathan Hindmarsh, Alan Tongue and Andrew Ryan among rugby league's finest ambassadors.
So where to now? Gould did not return phone calls or a text message yesterday to take the opportunity to explain what was going on at the foot of the mountains. The day before he refused to speak to his other employers at Channel 9 or Fairfax newspapers about the turmoil in recent weeks at the Panthers.
History shows Gus does not have a great track record at this caper of restructuring and resurrecting footy clubs.
It's been two decades since he coached a team to win a premiership. There are some, myself included, who have doubts whether he can deliver another one to the Panthers.
Phil Rothfield
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