Fev always had talent - he just never put in the effort. One might ask - if Fev had not almost been sacked by WB, would he have taken the step up when pagan came along?
By Fevs own admission - he didnt put the effort in/was unfit/deserved to be sacked during WB's time. In that respect I think it is difficult for ANY coach to put too much faith into a player let alone have them playing good consistent football. Many have cristicised WB for not showing enough faith in Fev in the early days, sitting him on the bench etc however, If a player makse no real effort to get fit/perform, how much game/ground time should you give him? What type of message does it send to the rest of the team and the team principles when someone who is obviously slack on the training track gets an easy ride into the team?
Perhaps the scribes that watched VFL football back in those days could say whether or not Fev was getting games of football because he deserved it or just because he had too much talent to have it wasted in the reserves.
Anyway, back onto the impact of Pagan vs the impact of the sacking - perhaps it was more than coincidence that the 80goals last season came immediately after Fev was heavily shopped around during trade week (according to media, not necessarily true). That provides a second instance of a step up in performance following a kick in the bum (sacking the first). If that theory is correct then expect another step up in Fev's performance this year following the irish barman/lara bingle incidents this off season.
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