Ivan Cleary Gone from Penrith

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Gus is no dummy... we have no idea what goes on behind closed doors and obviously there is more to it then Gus simply getting his wires crossed and blaming Clearly for last year without considering the injury toll.
 
So, what happened to Gus' five-year plan? Does it simply mean the 'Riff will win the comp in 2016 with a new coach?
 
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...eary-at-panthers/story-e6frf3tu-1227574683423

Article on Fox Sports going into detail why Gus gave Cleary the flick.
@Bearfax have a read of this. Gus claims he wasn't concerned about Cleary until after Manly were already talking to Barrett, and he only made the decision to sack him after an end of season review. If Gus is telling the truth I really don't think we should worry about Penrith not offering Barrett the top job. I think if he were still there and Cleary got the sack he would have been offered the role.
 
@Bearfax have a read of this. Gus claims he wasn't concerned about Cleary until after Manly were already talking to Barrett, and he only made the decision to sack him after an end of season review. If Gus is telling the truth I really don't think we should worry about Penrith not offering Barrett the top job. I think if he were still there and Cleary got the sack he would have been offered the role.


Like others I think there is far more to the story, including a falling out between Gus and Cleary that was occurring it seems at least as far back as mid season. Sacking a coach who in his years with them has brought them from 15th to fourth and only failed this year because of a significant injury toll which Gus admits to looks to have the same flavour as the Pen's dismissal of Toovey. If Gus is as smart as they suggest, he knew when Barrett was still with them that Cleary was on the outer. Too suggestive of a knee jerk reaction getting rid of Cleary now and suggest it was because he had a recent assessment of his performance to guide him.
 
Yeah I am concerned re Barrett was well now. If he was that good a coach Gus wouldn't have let him go. I don't buy this Gus only made up his mind in the last two weeks rubbish either.
 
Yeah I am concerned re Barrett was well now. If he was that good a coach Gus wouldn't have let him go. I don't buy this Gus only made up his mind in the last two weeks rubbish either.

Considering some put the tap up to Baz at around round 5 this year it was well before Gus would have even thought about making a move (considering they were 1 game away from the GF last year)
 
After round 12 Barrett was effectively cut, and asked to not return, because everyone knew he was "in discussions with" Manly. This was 4/6/15 and the Panthers were 5 wins, 6 losses, 1 bye. (They ended up with 4 more wins, and 9 more losses).

Maybe Gus had decided Cleary had to go by round 12, but I'd doubt it given their results at that stage.
 
Issue is Rex, when did Barrett sign with Manly. Discussions are staple diet for players, coaches etc. Doesnt mean a decision has been made and as seen with DCE, if a club wants someone to stay, they will use all their resources to keep them right to the last moment.

If Barrett signed with Manly way back before Round 12, then Gus's decision to show him the door would be understandable. But at that stage he didnt and of course the Penns maintained that Toovey's status depended upon results which were also unclear by Round 12.

Of course I've no doubt the Penns may well have signed Barrett way back, but on the face of it, we are told NO and in fact Gus didnt immediately send him on his way but gave him time out to think about what decision he was to make. That would suggest therefore that Gus had plenty of time to hold onto Barrett with an alternative offer as neither club said Barrett was signed with Manly until late in the season.

So there's a big question mark regarding what happened behind the scenes and if Gus was or wasnt interested in retaining Barrett
 
Issue is Rex, when did Barrett sign with Manly. Discussions are staple diet for players, coaches etc. Doesnt mean a decision has been made and as seen with DCE, if a club wants someone to stay, they will use all their resources to keep them right to the last moment.

If Barrett signed with Manly way back before Round 12, then Gus's decision to show him the door would be understandable. But at that stage he didnt and of course the Penns maintained that Toovey's status depended upon results which were also unclear by Round 12.

Of course I've no doubt the Penns may well have signed Barrett way back, but on the face of it, we are told NO and in fact Gus didnt immediately send him on his way but gave him time out to think about what decision he was to make. That would suggest therefore that Gus had plenty of time to hold onto Barrett with an alternative offer as neither club said Barrett was signed with Manly until late in the season.

So there's a big question mark regarding what happened behind the scenes and if Gus was or wasnt interested in retaining Barrett
Hi Bearfax. I totally agree that there are big questions marks. We are told little, and the best we can do is speculate by reading between the lines.

My (wild?) speculation is that Manly's decision on Barrett was effectively confirmed before 4/6/15 when Barrett was told by Penrith not to return to training. Yes the signing of contracts might have been seen as a subsequent formality. What thoughts led to this perception?

a) A firm decision was made on Toovey being sacked (once a replacement is found) by the time the Penns bought out ownership. Why? Everything at the time and subsequently seems to point to this.

b) A replacement needed to be found urgently. Recruitment of players depended on a quick decision (perhaps a key reason for Foz deciding to go was the delay in settling the coach?). And recruitment of coaches depended on a quick decision - because they'd all end up taken otherwise.

c) Any first approaches (Ha$ler and the Dalai?) were unsuccessful.

d) Penrith believed Barrett was totally gone by 4/6/15 (perhaps didn't want to risk problems by standing in the way of his career advancement?) and told him to not return to training because they didn't want him pilfering staff/players on the way out.

I may be way off target, but that's how I'm currently reading it.
 
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Im glad we have gone with Barret to be honest. Wouldn't wont dez back, his coaching methods are looking very outdated, cleary's record has been appalling over the last few years bar one good season when they finished 4th. Dali may yet prove to be a successful coach, there are some things he is doing with parra where I think they will be a decent side next year, but Im excited to see what Barret can do with the side next year and like the way our team is heading in a new direction.
 
My reading of this is that Gould doesn't rate Barrett and was happy to let him go even with the knowledge that Cleary's days were numbered. Be interesting to see who is the better judge, Bozo or Gus.
 
Cleary indicated that he wants to come back to the northern beaches. Would be happy to have him and Barrett as coaches next year instead of Cartwright.
 
So gus had a five year plan, sacked players like Jennings and lewis, hired and fired Ivan and Barrett and the panfars had one good season with several average ones esp. with crowds. Playing devils advocate does gus have any fault in this mess or is he untouchable?
 

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