The Penrith Panthers have extended the contract of coach Ivan Cleary through to the end of 2016 on the same day they revealed a new logo to club members.
Cleary has done a fantastic job at Penrith so far, especially when you look at the players the club has lost and the “quality” of some of the players they have brought in. The Panthers were favorites to win the Wooden Spoon in 2013 and as it stands right now, they are still a chance of making the finals series.
Locking up Cleary now is a smart move by the Panthers. A number of clubs out there are looking for a new coach and I don’t doubt a few of them would be willing to throw a lot of money at Cleary. He is one of the best things the Penrith Panthers have going for them right now.
The Panthers also revealed a new logo. This is the new logo according to the Sydney Morning Herald:
The new logo drops the word “Penrith” and is supposed to be a bit of a throwback to the clubs old logo.
I think the clubs current logo is great. I don’t see any reason to change it what so ever. For a club that has a major problem with the complete disconnection between its supporters and the clubs itself, changing the logo and dropping the name of the area the club is based in and plays at is a mistake in my opinion.
In the past the Canterbury Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks both make similar moves. They both dropped the name of the areas they represented and wanted to be known as simply the Bulldogs and the Sharks. Both clubs reversed this move soon after and now proudly wear the names of the areas they represent on their jerseys and all of their merchandise.
I live in Penrith, but I’m not emotionally attached to the word “Penrith” having to be on the logo. If they had changed to “Western Sydney Panthers” I could have gone with it. To go with no name though, it smacked of a decision made by some marketing dickhead that managed to convince someone at the club that it would be better for the “brand”.
Just another fucking ridiculous decision by the “……” Panthers really.
The club also announced that they would be playing three grades of football on game days once again in 2014 and that the clubs reserve grade team would be called the Penrith Panthers once again.
To be honest, as a Panthers supporter, I’m over all of the “announcements”. Just give me a winning team. Make me want to reach into my pocket and buy a season ticket…
The people running the club need to stop believing their own bullshit and realize that the clubs long suffering supporter base has abandoned them. The clubs needs to win these people back. The people running the Panthers right now are doing no one any favours. They are not the club, they are temporary employees of the club.
The fans of the Penrith Panthers have had to deal with so much disappointment over so many years that they have just had enough. A new logo won’t change that. They need to drop this stupid idea about a “five year plan” and do what other well run clubs do. Buy some decent players, turn things around quickly and connect with the fan base.
So from now on you can no longer call them “Penrith”. Now the club shall be known as….
