Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 3:33 pm  

bonaire wrote:

People going on about culture.Its just an excuse for a team that has too many average players
What is culture in your opinion?

This I don’t get, culture only matters when you’re losing. Hence why no one cared in 2016/2017 when we had a poor culture but a strong togetherness & ability.

It’s also funny TS talking about culture when he’s sign d
Okunbor & Ashworth who have a dodgy history
SKD & Minchiella who also did

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 4:17 pm  

Hullrealist wrote:

Not many players make the number of NRL appearances Okunbor has and most SL players wouldn’t make a single appearance. why was he picked for so long, it Not like his dad was coaching the side.

Probably because he’s not as bad as people are making out. It’s a very valid comparison.

Neither player hit their relative peaks immediately but TS has faith that we’ll see more from Okunbor like he did from SKD and we did from satae/Carlos. Like Wigan did from field & Mago.

46 nrl appearances is only two seasons worth, not really that many? Also, not as if the bulldogs are a top NRL team with an excellent culture? Evans and Reynolds both had 100+ NRL games but were absolute duds, I can't see Okunbor becoming a top player for us unfortunately, I think this is about as good as it gets

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 4:54 pm  

The fact that Tony Smith is defending himself (regardless of the fact it's largely incomprehensible) at least suggests he's feeling the heat and bad will of the fans.

I had been getting the feeling he felt Teflon coated and over assured of his position. I do hope fan frustration is a deafening sound and dominating the halls and offices of Hull FC.

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 4:59 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

46 nrl appearances is only two seasons worth, not really that many? Also, not as if the bulldogs are a top NRL team with an excellent culture? Evans and Reynolds both had 100+ NRL games but were absolute duds, I can't see Okunbor becoming a top player for us unfortunately, I think this is about as good as it gets

Jai Field made 17 appearances in 4 seasons. So 46 in 5 seasons in the NRL does look good on paper for a player coming to SL. He looks pretty average to me, but I think the majority of our team are playing way below their potential.

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 5:41 pm  

I personally think Okunbor is getting overly flacked on here. Granted he isnt the best player in the world but only 2-3 games ago he was one of our better players. The whole teams a dud and with no halfs the second row isnt gonna be great either is it. Lanes doing nothing either,

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 6:39 pm  

Sebasteeno wrote:

I personally think Okunbor is getting overly flacked on here. Granted he isnt the best player in the world but only 2-3 games ago he was one of our better players. The whole teams a dud and with no halfs the second row isnt gonna be great either is it. Lanes doing nothing either,

Lane is our stand in nine Seb as we are desperate and really short of nines in the team.
We only have three in the team of 13.
How can Tinkering Tony turn us around when we only have three nines in the team

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 7:42 pm  

Culture is about your environment. It’s about standards and attitude. A sense of pride and professionalism. It’s about the way the club conducts itself on and off the pitch.

I say the word club here because it’s not just about the players or the coaches, it’s about everything and everyone involved. That is why the clubs like Saints and Wigan constantly compete. Sure, they often have the best coaches and players but the clubs themselves create a positive setup from top to bottom that creates a mission statement of sorts: this is who we are and this is what we are about. It’s something that everyone is expected to buy into. And those that don’t, those that fail to live up to those standards, get moved on.

At times we seemingly create such an environment but it only ever seems to be a fragile thing with us. Doesn’t take much to take it away. Case in point:

To be honest I’m just glad the season is finished and over. It’s been an unbelievably challenging time since the Wakefield game when you know you have nothing to play for. At that point you’re a double glazing salesman trying to sell poor windows to your team really, knowing that there is nothing to play for. Bring on 2019.

This was Radders at the end of the 2018 season. We all recall the difficulties he had that year with injuries but this is quite telling really of what the attitude and culture was at the club back then and perhaps indicative of what it still is now: that as soon as there’s no chance of competing for a trophy, they’re done.

It’s a bit… defeatist to me. It’s also something I don’t believe would be allowed to happen for too long at the top clubs, at the ambitious clubs. They would demand pride in the shirt, demand effort week in and week out regardless of what is or isn’t at stake. It’s what allows them to regroup season after season and compete again.

And as I say, it runs throughout these clubs. I’ve listened to that House of League podcast tonight and by God it sounds like a depressing state of affairs at the club. Going after players no one else was interested in, the state of the training facilities etc. We are where we are now because of the club and decisions made as a whole and that’s not likely to change any time soon. So given the state we are in, would anyone actually be able to do a better job that Tony Smith at this point? Could the club attract anyone better at this time? I have my doubts. Unless there's changes all over, a new coach is just likely to fail once again.

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 8:23 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

46 nrl appearances is only two seasons worth, not really that many? Also, not as if the bulldogs are a top NRL team with an excellent culture? Evans and Reynolds both had 100+ NRL games but were absolute duds, I can't see Okunbor becoming a top player for us unfortunately, I think this is about as good as it gets

Id honestly prefer a player who has barely played at one of the top teams like Penrith, Brisbane etc to one who has been in an unsuccssful team at Canterbury, Wests, Gold Coast etc. We seem to import players from the NRL verisons of HullFC

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Fri Mar 22, 2024 8:54 pm  

Smiths a dinosaur, finished in coaching, Stanley Gene wtaf is he doing at our club? But the problem is ultimately not these two - its the true cancer at the club - Adam Pearson!

Re: Smith - should he stay or should he go? : Sat Mar 23, 2024 7:53 am  

More blind faith utterances ngs from Smith in the local rag today.

I do appreciate he's between a rock and hard place in terms of what he says and how it's received at the minute, but I do take objection to separating fans at the minute.

He's basically said most fans are supportive and well wishing and others are being noisy and counter-productive. I guess I fall into the latter.

I would say I've been driven to be "out spoken" as he puts it, but because I invest in the club (to the same extent most fans do) and feedback honestly on what is returned. If it makes him feel better when I go out out, eat food and dine I do the same thing; invest my money and expect something in return.

He's being far to delicate. He took on a high profile job that is very public facing and no doubt offer very good renumeration.

I've held my tongue for nearly two years; which is fair.