Re: Smith Out : Wed Mar 22, 2017 8:45 pm  

Winslade's Offload wrote:

From that list, I was told that Carvell had so many injuries that he was unable to train. The words used were " he's a ticking time bomb" and I don't remember him playing many more SL games after he left us. Higham is a strange one as well. Didn't he simply leave us mid season after discussing with Leigh when he was still contracted to us ? It certainly left us in the lurch.

I know the comments Re Carvell are incorrect. Without doubt TS has his favourites & if your face no longer fits he drops you like a hot stone, which is what happened to Garreth Carvell, Ben Harrison, Brett Hodgson, etc, & is also happening to certain members of the current squad.

To be one of the best coaches at Super League level, or any top level sport for that matter, tough decisions have to be made & not everyone is going to like it. What sets the best apart is how they handle it & unfortunately, TS does not appear to possess good communication skills when it comes to dealing with players on a one to one basis, preferring not to talk to them at all, rather than talking things through and explaining the situation, hence why they all tend to leave frustrated & under a dark cloud or current players suffering huge dips in confidence and form.

I personally, don`t believe there is the kind of player revolt that has been stated in posts.
These guys don`t go out putting their body`s on the line, purposely to get beat. However, I do think that Tony is not commanding the full respect of the players to the same degree as previous squads, as they are mainly dealing with Agar now on a day to day basis for training, and they all know the history of what has happened / is happening to old & current team mates.

I`m not sure that sacking TS is the answer, but something clearly has to change, when you look at Daryl Powell at Cas, Lee Radford at Hull, they seem to get their players going the extra mile mainly because of their man management skills.

Re: Smith Out : Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:41 pm  

we don't really know for fact the true circumstances of what went on or what's currently happening, but three are off the pitch issues that are affecting performances.

If what is said is true that ts and players fall out the club seem to back smith over the players, I'm not sure how long they can continue to do that without thinking they the common factor is smith himself.

Tough desision a to be made or they at already have been made if it's to not offer smith any further extension I can live with that I am just uneasy about the assumption that smith has an open ended contract that he basically has to resign every so often, it also takes the pressure off him to deliver results as feels is safe in his job, too safe maybe

The saints game will show it's where we're really at I really don't know why it's a sky game other than for em to have a laugh at some of worst teams in the league so far this season !!

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:52 am  

I think we are on tv so often this year because sky expected us to be real deal entertainers this season. Whoever is responsible for our present predicament is letting the club ,sky & our great game down.

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:07 am  

In recent tv games when interviewing at the end I have not seen one of our players make eye contact with TS, Chris Hill was quite animated for his standards but no glance at TS prior to his interview. As Ninearches says the current predicament is letting everyone down!

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:11 am  

ninearches wrote:

I think we are on tv so often this year because sky expected us to be real deal entertainers this season. Whoever is responsible for our present predicament is letting the club ,sky & our great game down.

Like leeds last season.

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:58 am  

Am I the only one on here that thinks that the players bear a significant part of the blame for recent performances. Further if they are deliberately under performing they should be ashamed of themselves.
As for the poster that referred to Radfords man management...didn't their performance only improve AFTER they locked him out of the dressing room?

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:29 pm  

Actually, I'm really looking forward to seeing Saints/Wire on Sky.
Despite your lowly positions its fascinating for a neutral to see how this unfolds for 2 teams that were well fancied when under starters orders. If your lads really turn up you can win, no doubt, but I do mean ....really turn up.

Its going to be really tough for the loser though, One of Cunningham and Smith will be looking down the barrel if they come up away from this one with zero points. Ourselves and Radders were in a similar position before we played our arch rivals at a similar point last year, it turned our season around and we never looked back.
Just get behind your lads Friday, its all you can do.

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:40 pm  

I don't think it's a player revolt. I think that the players have seen how badly TS manages and treats people. The players most definitely do not put their bodies on the line to get beat but as morale is that low and they are unhappy with what has gone on they are struggling to perform as a team. What's crazy is the club seem to protect him over the players

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:41 pm  

morleys_deckchair wrote:

Wood
Carvell
Higham
Hodgson
Bridge
and now Harrison

have all left under a cloud under the last few years.... Not all long serving, but all senior pros, well respected in the dressing room and around the club.

Wood? Didn't the club stick by him after some very odd behaviour?
Carvell, don't think the club did anything wrong (and hardly Mr Loyal himself)
Higham...left US in the lurch
Hodgson I'll concede
Bridge? What did the club do wrong?
Harrison, presumably was paid up BUT could've been handled better.
J Monaghan...can't see anything wrong, in fact most on here called him as past his sell by date before he left.

Re: Smith Out : Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:52 pm  

Captain Hook wrote:

Wood? Didn't the club stick by him after some very odd behaviour?
Carvell, don't think the club did anything wrong (and hardly Mr Loyal himself)
Higham...left US in the lurch
Hodgson I'll concede
Bridge? What did the club do wrong?
Harrison, presumably was paid up BUT could've been handled better.
J Monaghan...can't see anything wrong, in fact most on here called him as past his sell by date before he left.

They all ended on bad terms with TS. Higham asked to leave due to an offer of a better future and this was handled terribly. He was portrayed in a bad way by TS without giving the full story. The club didn't do much wrong in any case but they were all handled badly by TS