Manu Vatuvei
Coach
- Messages
- 17,192
Webster seems to really like players in the hardworking/punch above their weight but aren't really that good mould.
Funny thing is this was also a criticism of Cleary (alongside the related complaint of playing an overly conservative game plan). It seems to be a trait of ex-players who were themselves somewhat limited, and of course it also seems like this combination of factors tends to lead to coaching success. I'm the first to admit I always criticised Cleary when he was here and I've done the same to Webster, even though it's obvious that overall they are very successful.
I think this almost sums up the central "conflict" here, which is between those who want us to embrace the culture of hard work and overachievement that tends to breed success, and those who I'm sure equally crave success but think we might be kneecapping ourselves in certain areas in the pursuit of a particular philosophy. But I guess every coach has a certain philosophy, and every coach tends to have a bias towards certain "types" of player which might sometimes override the fact that said player is not as good as an available alternative. Even the very best do tend to have weaknesses and blind spots which we are entitled to comment on though, and some of the retorts along the lines of "Webster knows what he's doing and he is picking so and so because he knows he'll do a job" can be a bit reductive.