I love it how we ride the waves with wins and losses.
If we have a rare win, opinions change and Pagan can stay. If we suffer a loss, its "on your bike Denis".
At the end of last season some of Denis' greatest allies thought he should move on. Come the Wizzer Cup, he's the messiah!
In my opinion, Pagan should be judged at the end of the year. I dont ride the highs and lows as much as some but prefer to make judgements over his time at Carlton.
Has he been a good list manager? Definitely not in my opinion but he is improving markedly.
Has he been an astute tactician and educated our players to adapt to varying tactics? Not a chance in the first 3 years but we are seeing improvement.
Has he now shown a willingness to adapt and change his ways?
This is the interesting point. Whether it be by his own initiative or driven completely by the board, Pagan is evolving and changing for the better.
Training is a huge improvement. Drills focussing on transition and setting up plays. A far cry from the basic nonsense the players were served up the first 3 years.
As I've stated all along the wins and losses shouldnt be the only determining factor. The test will also be how our coaching panel and players adjust to the impending tactics.
Teams will not allow us to play the game on our own terms if it gives us the 4 points. As we've seen in previous Wizzer Cup campaigns, opposition teams will allow us to play how we want as they have their own structures to fine tune.
As soon as the real stuff comes along, we are muted.
If we play a largely offensive game which gives us a couple of wins, our opponents will act.
What tactics will they use? More numbers in our back half, runners to carry the ball out, isolating our backs, taking our taggers into our forward line to create congestion will all possibly occur.
How will the coaches and players react?
That will be our sign of our improvement as a team. Previously we've had no plan B.
It is a sign of the lack of development in the decision making processes of our players. That will be the point of judgement IMO.
If our players have improving decision making skills.
If our youngsters are improving their general footballing skills under our coaching panel, not just the number ones.
A constant concern has been that we go into games with a set plan and if our opponents have a strategy to counter it, we have no options. Good teams make decisions during games. They can react and adapt. It is a sign that the players have been well versed in the varying tactics of football and know how and when to change.
It also shows that the coaches have an understanding of the impending tactics and believe they have taught the players to be flexible and adaptable.
That will be a tick for Pagan if we can now adapt. Previously we have been totally inflexible.
The next 4 games will tell us a lot.
BV - that is the best summation of where we are at a club on field I have seen! Excellent! This needs to be read every four weeks or so just to keep things in persective - POW right there!
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