We all get the same info (apart from a few club insiders) and I guess its about how you decide to view it.
From my point of view which will be different to many Des is Manly. Sure there will be those that say his time at the dogs destroyed any legacy he will ever have at the club but for me that was just business. He was pushed out the door by a dysfunctional board and split owners.
The guy has always been front and centre attempting to protect his players. He appears from the outside a very good man manager and someone players will run through walls for. Sure perhaps todays modern day prima Donna's don't agree but all I see is a guy focused in fixing issues and playing footy.
I bet if you asked any of the 2006 - 2011 players for us and a lot of the 2012 - 2016 dogs they would all back that up.
You may not like him but Ennis speaks very highly of Des. So does James Graham whenever the topic comes up.
So to attempt to answer your question directly.
For me the rainbow presser hit home how much this club and football means to this guy. The owner and or management team should have fronted up that presser but no. Our coach and captain was left to pick up the pices.
Regardless of result Des appeared at MF side in his court case.
DW was collected from the watch house after his arrest for DV by Des. Not by a family member or friend. By his coach....
In general coaches don't do that. Des appears to want to help whenever he can. I can only go by what I see (which will be different to some others).
So when I say he's trying to fix the **** show thats exactly what I see. Many would have walked or let others take the heat. Not Des.
I appreciate the reply and to be fair, all the points you have raised are both sound and valid.
I have never said that I dislike Des, to the contrary I have the upmost admiration for his achievements both as a player and coach and respect the dedication that he shows towards his players, seeing them as human beings first and athletes second (e.g. your mention of the DW case, Manase case and others before that).
Des is very passionate about developing people through sport.
A majority of coaches (in times gone by) may not have gone "above and beyond" as Des has done and continues to do; the bond this relationship creates is one which engenders a spirit of camaraderie in the squad and outside of the game, as he is viewed by many as a surrogate "father figure".
Des is rightfully seen as a "man manager" (one of the "rare coaches" who has succeeded and was not a product of one of the so-called "five coaching pillars") and the results [he] achieved were reflective of his steadfast and resolute support of each and every one of his players.
There are a plethora of articles written about Des quoting current and former players who speak glowing of the man, the coach and again, I am not disputing this at all and we both agree that Des was front and centre of the recent "fiasco" due to the insipid management of our Club.
I believe where our differences (for lack of a better word) lie is the "present versus past" tense of his abilities; I can not and will not dispute any of what Des has laid before us and achieved for the Club however, as Wayne Bennett has found, the aura which may have carried a coach throughout his career is no longer the cache that it once was.
The player of today has an army of advisors who scrutinise the entire opportunity a club presents them, the coach (who it is and thoughts of others about them), the football departments, the methodologies/football orthodoxy the club has planned for "X number of years" as well as the executive of a club.
Des is intimately aware of our cap position and has built a roster to ensure that we are cap compliant; we can't sign a "good player" so we look to the young members of the squad who could probably use a game or two in these last rounds however, injury/ies aside, some were not given much of an opportunity to showcase their skills (ten minutes here and there in my humble opinion does not count).
As a fan I am not asking Des to throw them to the lions but at the same time let's see what they can do, some may succeed and others may fail but without the chance to see that, what changes do we, as fans see for the future that give us "hope".
Des having his full-roster will go along way to helping his cause and there were times this year where we played quite well but there were more times when with a full-strength squad, we were found out, excruciatingly slow speed at the ruck, forwards that were seemingly flat-footed most of the time, we had issues well before 25 July 2022.
It will be an interesting off-season for our Club, I want to believe that Des is the man to lead us forward but I struggle to see any collateral from Des that leads me to believe that we won't be having the same conversations next year.
