But the simple fact is that the preseason favourites once again failed to turn up with the right attitude and their A game - and now their premiership chances are nothing larger than that great term of hope: a mathematical possibility.

Let the recriminations begin.

Already this season, coach Daniel Anderson has been on the hot seat after making the Grand Final only last year. He is viewed by the Roy Spagnolo-chaired board as a hiring of the previous administration.

Chief executive Paul Osborne has already been dispatched to Melbourne to talk with assistant Stephen Kearney about possibly taking the reins at Parramatta Stadium. Rumours have circulated that the large Polynesian contingent at Parramatta are unhappy and unresponsive to Anderson's authoritarian coaching style. It was also alleged last week that major sponsor Pirtek wanted Kearney to coach Parramatta, an allegation subsequently denied by Pirtek managing director, and Eels board member, Glen Duncan.

Denis Fitzgerald is apparently preparing a ticket to reclaim his position as boss of the club. A group of former players - outside of those currently on the board such as Geoff Gerard, Ray Price and Eric Grothe - are also reportedly putting together a ticket to win control of the embattled Eels boardroom. A series of damaging leaks have crippled the club this year with senior players Nathan Hindmarsh and Nathan Cayless requiring a meeting with senior front office figures last week to ensure they stop.

Leaks, leadership speculation, power plays by groups of faceless men, retribution and in-fighting: this is the 2010 Parramatta Eels, not the Australian Labor Party.

There is no doubt this year has been an incredible disappointment for the Eels. They went into the season as premiership favourites after a late-season run in 2009 saw them surge to the Grand Final. And the club followed that with a recruitment drive that brought in representative players Timana Tahu, Justin Poore and Shane Shackleton.

Yet they have managed only 10 wins this year, including a miserly four against teams currently in the top eight, and are now staring down the barrel of an early end-of-season holiday.

By all measures, 2010 has been a failure of epic proportions for the club.

There is no doubt that front-office inexperience and instability has been a major distraction for the playing group. It is astonishing that a coach who took the club to the decider last year is under pressure to keep his job but that is what Daniel Anderson and the players have had to deal with for the majority of the year.

It has appeared, from the outside, that Anderson's achievements mean nothing because he was an appointment of the previous administration and this new group wanted to make their mark with their own coaching appointment. The leaks emanating from the front office have also caused major angst with confidential information spewing from the club about the form of Nathan Cayless earlier in the year being a major distraction to the team and a great sign of disrespect for a club legend.

There is no doubt that the example set by the front office has seeped down the line and has made the club culture dirty if not toxic.

The inconsistent form of Jarryd Hayne and Feleti Mateo reflect that.

Jarryd Hayne was sensational in the back half of 2009. He was undoubtedly the best player in the NRL over that period and he was rewarded with the Dally M Medal and a Grand Final appearance. Hayne was in rare form, displaying individual brilliance in every facet of the game. It is also important to note that it was a contract year for Hayne, who was looking for a significant pay rise. Hayne received the upgrade reportedly worth $500,000 a season.

His form this season has hardly justified the upgrade. With big money comes big expectations and big responsibilities and Hayne has not met those expectations or responsibilities. His individualistic style has not helped the Eels this year when he has not been at his best while his effort, at times, has been questionable.

With their season on the line against the Tigers last Sunday, Hayne turned in a performance littered with mental errors. On one occasion, he failed to find touch from a penalty. On another, he took a tap when the Eels received a penalty deep in their own territory with less than five minutes to go rather than winning an easy 40 metres from a touch kick. Hayne dropped the ball at a key moment but more tellingly, he did not impose himself on the contest when Parramatta desperately needed him. Such accusations are never made against the likes of Billy Slater.

The only time we have seen the best of Jarryd Hayne this season was in the immediate aftermath of a public lashing from Daniel Anderson, where Hayne showed the form that took the Eels to the Grand Final last season as an apparent reaction to the stern rebuke he took offence to.

Feleti Mateo has all the talent in the world, a rangy and fast ball-playing lock forward who can worry defences with his ability to offload or slice through the line. Yet he has meandered through 2010 with little motivation or commitment to the game - until the last fortnight when he became affronted that the Eels did not have enough money to re-sign him for 2011 (while throwing big bucks at the likes of Cooper Cronk and Quade Cooper).

Parramatta have major problems in the club. Worse, the fault lines are widening. Until the toxic culture is changed, Parramatta's premiership drought will continue. There is no point in paying big money for someone like Jarryd Hayne if the club cannot get the best out of him - and that is clearly something it is unable to do for any extended period.

It is time for the club to define what it is about and get everybody pulling in the one direction. Only then will the team give itself the chance of seeing another period of glory.