Former Manly supremo Max Delmege has called for the current owners, the Penn family, to step down to allow the Sea Eagles to start afresh and end the internal squabbles that have contributed to the club's current plight.
Manly has gone through five coaches and eight chief executives in recent seasons, culminating in the sacking of Anthony Seibold last week.
Delmege saved the club when it was on the brink of insolvency in 2002 and was in charge when Manly won the 2008 grand final by a record 40-0 against Melbourne.
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But that triumph appears lightyears away, with Manly yet to win a game this season and in search of a new head coach for 2027.
"I always put the fans first – I would often stand with them on the hill – and the fans are hurting," Delmege told Wide World of Sports.
"I speak to a lot of people in the area and see all the comments on social media – everyone is disillusioned with the way the club is going.
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"You need peace and harmony and everyone working together – then you will win games.
"Manly have lost that.
"You can't chop and change coaches and CEOs on a whim. You've got to stick by them. I think sacking Seibold after just three games of a new season was a knee jerk reaction from the owners to take the heat off themselves.
"Some people have egos that are too big – the club becomes a political football for them. The need to remember it's the people's game.
"I think if they care about Manly, they should step aside and stop looking at the club as something they can get kudos or acclaim from.
"The fans want change at the top – they aren't stupid – they realise the club is not being well run."
MANLY'S STORM RAID WON'T BE SUCCESSFUL
Still on Manly and the club's bid to snare highly-respected Storm general manager Frank Ponissi is doomed to fail.
Ponissi and Craig Bellamy have built the Storm into an Australian sporting powerhouse over the past two decades and he would have been a good catch for Manly.
He's actually a Manly boy, having grown up in the area and starting his football career there.
But those close to Ponissi say there is no way he would leave the superb Storm set-up for a basket case like the Sea Eagles.
Even though there's no place like home, Ponissi is well settled in Melbourne and nothing Manly do will entice him to leave.
PNG AIMING FOR ORIGIN SIGNING
Roosters and NSW State of Origin utility Connor Watson is shaping as one of the first targets of the new PNG Chiefs.
The Chiefs now have a recruitment officer – former Bulldogs official Liam Ayoub – and he is putting together a hit list.
With his big match experience and ability to play several positions, Watson would be an ideal signing for the Chiefs for 2028.
His contract with the Roosters expires at the end of 2027 – and even they would find it hard to match the cash-free contracts on offer in PNG.
EELS OUTCAST COPS ANOTHER BLOW
Poor Ryan Matterson can't take a trick.
Offside at Parramatta, struggling with concussion, it's been a forgettable year to date for the former representative forward.
And things didn't get much better when Matto was minding his own business with the injured players group at Eels training last week.
The tall back-rower was minding his own business when a booming kick hit him square on the head, having him seeing stars and possibly setting back his return by a few more weeks.
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