With St George Illawarra stuck in a deep rut after a 0-4 start,ย Channel 9'sย Danny Weidler says the only man who can bring the club back from the brink is former Panthers icon Phil Gould.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Big Sports Breakfast, said that the problems at St George go beyond under-siege coach Paul McGregor and that a complete restructuring of the club is needed after years of poor recruiting decisions.
Gould led the Panthers out of a $100 million debt and turned the club into a frequent finals threat with one of the best development systems in the league. Now, Weidler thinks Gould should weave his magic at St George.
โI think the entire club needs to be blown up and start again,โ he said.
โAnd I think the only person who can restructure that club who has a good football knowledge to do that is Gus."
โI think he would [have the drive and ambition]. I think if there was some sort of financial package down the track. I think he likes a challenge."
โI was speaking to him last night, heโs awake 22.5 hours a day, he doesnโt sleep. He is always thinking. He loves football."
โIโm not saying heโs been offered the role or put his hand up. But he should be the person getting in there and fixing the Dragons because they need fixing.โ
Weidler also has placed the blame on the club's poor performances on recruiting decisions and that these cannot be fixed just by sacking coach Paul McGregor.
โI know Paul McGregorโs copping the blame and he deserves a big whack of the blame but the entire club is a mess,โ he said.
โBen Hunt is a very good player but he doesnโt seem to be mentally in tune enough at the club. Heโs trying his hardest but itโs not quite working."
โAnd Corey Norman, heโs a bit flighty and unfortunately theyโve invested quite a bit of money into him as well.โ
Gould himself spoke onย 100% Footyย on Monday night, backing McGregor and laying down the brunt of the Dragons problems.
โWhat I believe is that sacking Paul McGregor is not going to solve one thing for that club,โ Gould said.
โIt might make the fans feel happy. It might give some players an excuse to get his finger out of his backside and actually do something, but itโs not going to actually help the situation as it is right now."
โWherever they take the review, theyโve got to understand that itโs a long-term fix. They are not going to fix it with a quick-term solution."
โThere are a lot of things in that club that need to be fixed. How many of those can be fixed overnight? Very, very few.โ
