Slayer I don't think you are having a go at me.I get your point about the cliche.what surprises me is the number of people who's default position is to support the manager and blame the players, especially when you consider that people have not the first idea of what has been going on in training , in the dressing room etc etc.
I think the structure of the season also plays a part. Players are training for 9 months to effectively rely on key decisions to be right in a 1-4 week period when the 1/4 finals of the championship arrive. If the county has been eliminated before that I guess everyone can take the blame, but the troubled counties all seem to have stemmed from the latter stages of the championship:
If the structure was changed for example to 2 groups of 6, players might not see the effort for 'the big day' as being as crucial and more games should provide more players to get playing time. In short, I think a lot of the frustration to date has come from not getting to the semi final or final and thinking they can go one better with a new manager or setup.