Managing a player who slips up from time-to-time is not easy when you need to consider the impact that has on 40-odd other players, each with their own ambitions and view of the world. As a coach, is it possible to have nuanced set of rules for one player, and a different, more rigid set for the other (less talented) players?
You’d hope the players understand the situation, and realise that their footy team is better with Harley on the field - even if that means the club accommodates his occasional stuff-up - without affecting their work ethic or making them resentful. But that is asking a lot of those players, and runs counter to how humans generally react to inconsistently applied rules. If former Freo players are believed (and please correct me if I’m misremembering this), club chemistry – and ultimately Chris Connelly’s coaching career – took a pretty big hit for trying to accommodate some of Jeff Farmer’s indiscretions. He was a once-in-a-generation talent as well, and keeping him on the field made sense, but it reportedly got a many of the other senior players offside.
And it’s worth noting that Famer had 100-odd more games for Freo under his belt than Bennell.
