Trent Barrett to take over from Geoff Toovey as Manly coach in 2016

Apparently he lost the playing group a while back. I hear it was Linked to him not offering Glenn Stewart a contract and went from there. He has done a great job but once you lose the players it's over. I also heard Bozo and Zorba wanted Barrett and these two effectively run Manly behind the scenes. Newcastle should snap up Tooves.

The rapid development of the Trbojevic boys and who else??? It sounds like supporters like you, are the problem there at Manly. When the club was going well youse were the only ones that criticized things 'just for the sake of it' by the sounds of you. And "silvertailboy'' I will quote you a segment of the official protest letter by a few board members to the club in protest of Tooveys sacking; "It is bewildering to anyone who follows the game that a Coach who during his tenure has taken his team to every final, including a Grand Final, and currently sits just two wins outside the top eight should be treated in this manner. His position as Coach was undermined even before the Season began and continued relentlessly throughout the entire 2015 season. He has not been treated with the respect he has earned and deserves. I say no more.

Toovey got shafted months ago. As for Barrett, he won't last long at Manly. History tells that Manlys successful when they have a former player in charge as coach.

Trent WHO??? Who the hell is Trent Barrett to replace the great and legend Toovey, he doesn't even come up to the great Tooves boot laces and it proves how inept and amateurish the Sea Eagles are and their management is.

All of a sudden???

Good point Silvertailboy. I'm also a one eyed Manly supporter, and while Toovey was a quality football player I'm still yet to be convinced he is/was a great coach. The thing that stands out to me in his tenure is the fall in Manly's ability to defend well. For a number of years I haven't felt confident watching Manly defend, particularly on the goal line. Under Des, they were ruthless and rock solid (most of the time). Maybe it's an aging roster or other faction factors, but a good coach has a team defending their way to premierships. Rugby league supporters enjoy being outraged and thrive on any supposed controversy. It's the male soap opera of our time and I'm not immune to it... after all here I am. but while I will concede that the club has handled the sacking poorly (with everyone knowing months in advance), these outrages are always ridiculously unbalanced. The Bozo influence in this sacking is blatantly obvious, yet no fingers can be pointed his way because he is a revered player. And now we have other former players having their two cents... many of them sticking up for their mate or possibly reacting to feeling threatened. Nothing wrong with that, but as a supporter, I want what's best for Manly as a club. Watmough leaving... good for club, factions inside manly breaking up... good for club, Bozo coming in and making the hard decisions... good for the club. The club is bigger than a player. It is bigger than the past and current teams or even the fans. It's a combination of all these things and time will tell but I'm hoping these changes were indeed for the best.

How come Toovey is all of a sudden a good guy and great coach. In the three years he has been coaching there has not been one positive story about him or his coaching ability. In fact most have derided his ability and his character. I am a Manly supporter through and through and agree that Toovey is a club legend for his playing ability and service to the club. But I also believe that the club would have gotten the same results over the past three years regardless of who was coach. The playing roster was one of the best if not the best in the NRL and had been playing together for so long that they almost coached themselves. The change in power last November meant that the Penn faction could finally do the things they believed would be in the best interest of the club. I am excited about the future at Manly especially the rapid development of the Trbojevic boys. For all those that believe that this will be the demise of Manly you may be right, But I have followed them for 40+ and the lean years I can count on one hand.

What an absolute farce. This will haunt the Sea Eagles for years to come.

Wow- there are plenty of other NRL coaches around that would love a CV like Toovs- 1 bad season and gone- tough love at Manly. I think there must be something more to it than a bad year....all the DCE stuff and a heap of players leaving - I would say the mood is not great there at the moment and they want to turn it around in the off season so bye bye Toovs......

Very harsh on Toovey. He's had a huge amount of off field issues to deal with in the last 12 months. Would be an amazing effort if Manly made the top 8 this year and I think they can do it.

Good news for the rest of the league, Manly are set to be a basket case for the next few years at least!

I don't think they'll be able to go that far. They could make the finals though. It happened at the Cowboys 2 years ago when they announced that they wouldn't be keeping Neil Henry and Manly still have many very talented players.

It was purely a political decision to axe Toovey not a results based decision. Disgusted in the owners/board of the Manly Sea Eagles. #PennsOut #ZorbaOut

As a member I am absolutely disgusted!!! My membership and cap will be sent back to the club! I'll only rejoin as a member when either the Penns leave or apologies and reinstate Tooves for their evil misdoings! I know Tooves wouldn't want members to cancel their memberships but how can you wear a cap that has 'Stronger Together! Really ??? Go hard for the rest of the season boys!!! Go Manly & out Penns and the faceless cowards!

It amazes me that , you get rid of club legend , who I believe has proven he can coach, for a guy who has no track record except wink wink nudge nudge the guy is a great coach in the making. Manly won't be a finals contender for a number of years I suspect.

Poor Tooves. There literally should be an investigation

Wouldn't it be funny if Manly made the finals, won their matches and took out the Grand Final this year? Ye gads, I hope that happens. Even at the expense of Glebe.

He didn't suck up to the right people.

Not sure what Toovey did wrong to be sacked.

Toovey to Newcastle #confirmed