After the Sea Eagles' abysmal 56-24 smashing at the hands of the Roosters yesterday, speculation has grown that Barrett will be leaving the nest at the end of the year.

Whether he will be axed, or he will walk, the common theme is that the coach won't be at Brookvale much longer as the pressure on him rise.

Manly's 2018 has been dire on and off the field, with only five wins after 18 rounds. On average they are conceding 26.11 points a game.

But talk that Barrett is purely to blame is complete folly.

There is systematic issues at the club that go far beyond the 40-year-old.

Firstly, the Sea Eagles have had to contend with a horror injury toll this season. Lachlan Croker, Curtis Sironen, Api Koroisau, Dylan Walker and Aku Uate have all been out for extended periods, among others.

 


 

Then there has been the salary cap farce that has meant they have been unable to strengthen a very weak squad.

They let Blake Green go to New Zealand and never even made Mitchell Pearce an offer, with Pearce joining the Knights.

Manly are paying for several years of poor recruitment, including the decision to hand Daly Cherry-Evans an eight-year, $10 million contract.

 


 

Too many good players have been allowed to leave Brookie in recent years, from Dean Whare to Peta Hiku, Clint Gutherson, Matt Parcell and Jamie Buhrer.

You compare the current Sea Eagles' squad to any other roster in the NRL and it doesn't look good. The club over-achieved massively last year to make the finals.

In 2018 off-field dramas and culture issues have seen them in the headlines regularly for all the wrong reasons. Jackson Hastings and Darcy Lussick have both departed.

All the while Barrett has been trying to steady a ship that has been taking on water day by day.

 


 


Serious questions need to be asked about the ownership of the club, the Penn family, and about the role Bob Fulton had for three years.

How a team that made four grand finals in six years was allowed to implode so dramatically and terribly..

How the succession plan for after the Brett Stewarts, Jamie Lyons and Steve Matais retired never materialised.

How the club is supposed to compete without new investment when their rivals' operations become more professional, resourced and modernised.

How club legends such as Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart and Geoff Toovey were forced out. About why Manly keeps eating its own.

Under the circumstances, Barrett has done well to keep the Sea Eagles from propping up the bottom of the table.

Getting rid of him, or letting him go, would only further the club's malaise.