Pagan.

[perthgirl]

also heard Mark Harveys wife hates it in perth, cant wait to get back to melbourne...

[reigning premier]

also heard Mark Harveys wife hates it in perth, cant wait to get back to melbourne...

She's only human....

[Damien]

Good coach. Took over Carlton when they were already on the bottom, and then lost all their draft picks and were in horrible debt. Not sure there was a harder task in the game.

Great press conference too, class act.

[Steiger]

He's got a decent record so he'll get another gig anywhere if he wants one.

He did well with the cattle he had to work with at Carlton.

Coaching a power house club that fell from grace was never going to be easy.

[giant]

Good coach. Took over Carlton when they were already on the bottom, and then lost all their draft picks and were in horrible debt. Not sure there was a harder task in the game.

Great press conference too, class act.

More to it than that I reckon - no qn a great coach at North but hasn't covered himself with glory at the Blues & frankly North were in decline by the time he left there.

Carlton can't be the easiest place to coach - the politics must be diabolical - but I think AFL coaching has passed him by.

[TheHood]

He's got a decent record so he'll get another gig anywhere if he wants one.

He did well with the cattle he had to work with at Carlton.

Coaching a power house club that fell from grace was never going to be easy.

It was less about the Cattle and more about the politics and the undermining and the sheer plotting against him that were his undoing.

The Club should be ashamed of the way they have behaved these past 8 years. That's just the public shame part, they have been a blight on footy for 10 years now thanks the "under the table Jack" and co.

Good luck to Denis, he needs a bit.

[doctor swan]

i think everyone is forgetting the players pagan had at nth, any coach bar one would have couched them to a premiership, look at the list a certain wayne carey, mckernan in his prime, archer, stevens, schwass for 1, grant the other, a rock at the back called martyn,king, longmire bagging goals , and so the list goes on. take that as a spine and build around it and play to the strengths and we saw the results. but granted carlton make the swans of the early 90s look world beaters ok not quite but they are that low, and he had a thankless task to lift and build a side that had no short term prospects thanks to pigs arse and other internal politics and that set them back about 5 years.

[hammo]

i think everyone is forgetting the players pagan had at nth, any coach bar one would have couched them to a premiership, look at the list a certain wayne carey, mckernan in his prime, archer, stevens, schwass for 1, grant the other, a rock at the back called martyn,king, longmire bagging goals , and so the list goes on. take that as a spine and build around it and play to the strengths and we saw the results. but granted carlton make the swans of the early 90s look world beaters ok not quite but they are that low, and he had a thankless task to lift and build a side that had no short term prospects thanks to pigs arse and other internal politics and that set them back about 5 years.

Geelong in the late 80s / early 90s had an excellent team including possibly the best player to have ever played the game - they still didn't win a flag. So having good players is certainly a help but you need an equally good coach to mould a premiership side.

I'd like you to name 1 bad premiership coach.

[Industrial Fan]

Two premierships as a coach and had North playing in preliminary finals every other year. How anyone can say that's over-rated is beyond me.

Kangaroos made up the numbers one year.

Took too much time sticking to his game plan. Too much ego. Should have been sacked in 97.

[NMWBloods]

Won a flag in '99 though.

[Damien]

Won a flag in '99 though.

Yep and if they had been accurate in the first half in the '98 Grand Final would have won that one as well.

[big jack]

Harry Beitzel's tribute to pagan

http://sportsnut.com.au/category.php?intid=48

I thought Harry made some interesting comments about Pagan. Denis is a top bloke and even when the axe fell he spoke with real dignity at the press conference.
Hope he gets another club soon.

[Lucky Knickers]

Pagan is a class-act. He took on that role at Carlton when the club, the footy department and their list was a mess.
Despite the rumours and infighting and crap with the coaching position he was always dignified. Good luck to him.

[reigning premier]

Pagan is a class-act. He took on that role at Carlton when the club, the footy department and their list was a mess.
Despite the rumours and infighting and crap with the coaching position he was always dignified. Good luck to him.

He did look pretty dignified yesterday. No whinging, pissing or moaning. Took it like a man and a true professional.

Though, to be honest, he probably took on the job more because they kept throwing wads of money at him until he said stop, rather than because they were so down and out...

[ScottH]

Ratten is care taker coach.