Firstly I would love Toovey to be coaching this lot with his nous. But it aint going to happen.
So what can we say about Barrett. I've tried to reserve judgement because he's new and we've a lot of new players and a lot of injuries to contend with this year.
I would say Barrett so far gets a C+ (D being a failure), a pass but just a pass. His selections have been at times confusing, but no doubt he has his own agenda and he has had ongoing serious injury issues. He's pulled Manly back from the precipice where we were at risk of inheriting the spoon and he's almost got us back towards the middle of the comp. I think his game plans are a little predictable and for some reason he cant get away from selecting some players in certain positions where they are just not suited. But I think he's beginning to get there slowly.
I think its important to remember our recent hero worshipping of coach Hasler took time to be established and there were many who questioned his ability. In 2004, his first year, he brought Manly in at 13th, only one position higher than the previous year under Sharp. The following year they got into 8th and in 2006, 5th.
I think we have to give this guy another year to determine his qualities. If at the end of 2017 Manly are still lingering in the bottom half of the comp, it would suggest he's not making headway and then ditch him. If he gets Manly into the 8 next year, then we may have someone who can take us back towards the top.