Personally feel Tooves was a damn good coach in terms of passion and had a Massive expectation of his players, but I always felt Tooves magnifies the love for the club in spades himself and was willing to do everything in his power to see the side rise to the top and his frustration was often based on players not sharing his desire.
Not sure he was cutting edge tactically and in fact, the team seemed more about winning the physical side of the game and winning off the back of that.
I don't think Toovey got this almighty Premiership winning team as many suggest, as by the time Hasler left it was in a rabble and he basically helped keep a sinking ship afloat....yes there were star players, but the side was far from united and personally feel Toovey was a gutsy coach who bleeds Manly and deserves plenty of respect for that.
Cleary may not have Amazing stats but is a shrewd operator who understands what wins footy games in the modern game....considering the Tigers roster and the inside turmoil they have also endured in recent years....he has glued a few internal wounds and many players you would consider average NRL standard, have exceeded expectation with on field performances.
In fact not many High profile coaches would have got better results than Cleary over the same period so I don't feel the percentages do him justice.
I believe Barrett is a better coach than most give credit for....but he lacks that leadership quality that players are prepared to run over glass and through brick walls for him....and this shows when games are in the balance and the opposition more often than not shows more desire and gets the verdict, though the win over Sharks showed great resolve, though we still let in 32 points which will lose you games more often than not.
I see a fairly solid roster at Manly and in fact, such a squad should be in the 8....the sad part is the quality on paper appears to be there but the vital leadership element is missing....we have some handy players - in fact world class players....but leaders like we have had including BK, Tooves, B Stewart, Lyon were a luxury and this is not Barretts fault.
Look at Storm with Smith, Slater - Souths with Burgess - Illawarra with Graham - Sharks with Gallen, Lewis....the big teams don't just have Great players but Great leaders....this is a key factor of where we sit on the ladder in 2018.
In short I feel Barrett should have better results, but is not as bad as many suggest....he is a reasonable coach still learning his role.
