Originally posted by Outoftheblue
I think there may be a few other reasons for Carlton's demise
Has there ever been a greater contrast between the on-field and off-field man than Worsfold? I respect the fact that he got out of the comfort zone and moved to the other side of the country to see what makes a different club tick (turns out it was a time bomb
), before returning to his own. As a coach he doesn't seem to get distracted by things that may seem unfair, but are out of his control (the free-kick count against the Bulldogs, the possibility of having to play a ''home'' final in Melbourne). Was involved in a few incidents on-field that don't reflect well on him, but as a coach he's very impressive.
It is something I've wondered about myself. I guess what I reckon is that Worsfold presents a very different persona outside the club to what goes on behind closed doors- in effect, he's giving the media his 'tribunal face', all the time.
All I know is that the Eagles are playing like a team half inspired/terrified by their coach. The thing about Worsfold as a coach is that he believes in people- sounds a cliched, hackneyed thing to say, but its his one defining quality. He took people like Wooden, Embley, Carroll, Hunter, Green, Haynes, Wilson, Adkins etc etc etc. who were on the outer for various reasons, and he gave them a place in the team, a job to do, and made it clear that he thought they could do it. You look at the case of Embley last year who bloody well DID NOT deserve a 2 year contract, and was lucky not to get the arse from the club. Worsfold trusted him when there was no real reason for him to be trusted, and somehow it worked, simply because they don't want to disappoint them.
You wonder what must have happened after the bulldogs draw. I don't think, Worsfold even raved or ranted, he would just have been...disappointed. The results of that displeasure were 5 changes to the side, and a team desperate to win back their coaches' respect. The result of that, we saw on the weekend.