Barrett is the Media's perfect coach.
Handsome, eloquent, played-the-game credibility, turns up to press conferences and says the right things - things the media wants to hear, things they can turn into their insipid sports columns. Barrett has high praise from Media personalities like Gould - so he must be fair dinkum right? - and is generally seen as a good bloke who 'gets' his players and bonds with them having been one himself.
Weirdly, players speak highly of him - whether out of actual loyalty to club/coach or whether because they actually like him as a person. Wonder if those same players respect his coaching ability however, when the big scores and lopsided losses start piling up. Do they respect him as a coach? Or just think of him as a mate?
Problem with Trent is, he has presided now over 2 clubs going backwards under his watch. His track record is going to start to follow him if he gets the boot from Canterbury.
First time at Manly there were some excuses - new coach without huge amount of experience but boundless potential; facilities that didn't enable him; infighting at the club undermined him; didn't get to have every player he would have wanted etc. Overlooking the fact that he had Bozo helping his early decisions in building the team and mentoring him (Maybe some would argue Bozo didn't get it 100% right, but not me - i'm not soiling his memory in defence of Barrett)
Now at Bulldogs its comments like 'they don't have a head-of Football' and 'he inherited a club in a rebuilding phase'. His problem is he makes mediocrity the norm, and a lack of excellence is dressed up in a myriad of excuses - which others buy in to and grant him reprieve for.
Not many other coaches get cut so much slack - Seibold, McGregor, Toovey, Morris are all examples of coaches that couldn't play ducks and drakes to the same degree and avoid the media scrutiny and pressure designed to stoke fan anger and to erode player confidence (because these NRL players ABSOLUTELY read what is written about them, despite them saying they don't). All to make a good story.
Soon enough the fans are whipped up into a frenzy and the players are reading the media releases telling them their club is in crisis, or the coach has lost the room - or whatever other superlative of failure you want to express. If you don't think that **** brings down a coach then you probably haven't seen the recent spate of sackings in the past few years.
Barrett is given a lot of leeway to weave his excuses - and because he usually delivers them in a measured way people think he has a plan to dig them out of it. He builds teams based on individuals and then they lose their sheen under him. God knows what attracts them to a club with him as coach in the first instance. It devalues them on the market, and in some cases shortens their income-earning potential.
At Manly, how was that team in 2018 that finished 2nd-last and had the worst Def record of any Manly team ever, the same as the team in 2019? Hint - it was the same team, just under different guidance.
I don't think Barrett has a plan. He thinks he does, and the media tries to promote that he does, but he is being found out. Say what you like about Des in the down times, but he takes stock and finds a way - this season is proof. 'Oh but its all Turbo' - maybe so, but the cowboys aren't thanking us for resting Turbo are they.
I might be a bit harsh to utter the name of a new, green coach like Barrett in the same sentence as the true coaching prime ranks (Bennett, Bellamy, Hasler, Robinson-with-help), yet he still attracts quality players buying the kool-aid.
Lets see how Addo-Carr and Burton's careers go next year (along with hoever many signings his smoke and mirrors attract moving fwd)