Can't argue with that.

Thanks for not answering my question

An excellent post. i agree wholeheartedly.

Just one question. What does it have to do wit hthe thread?

Wouldn't two championships in four seasons suggest that he delivered as often as he failed





Weren't Huddersfield the only fully-pro side in the NL the year he coached them in that comp?

If he were coach of Wigan, Saints or even Bradford then maybe. Maybe he'd be considered a failure full stop.

As coach of the "mighty" Leeds RLFC those four years were a golden period of success by anyone's standards, despite the mathematics.

Besdies, there was a WCC in there tipping the balance in his favour

bluey lost against cas, a result most expected because of the WCC the week before. most sensible fans also expected a dip mid season,we couldn't go on in the form we have had. if it carries on over 7 or 8 games i've no doubt he will get stick. to hammer him after 3 poor displays in 4 games is stupid.
smith never got stick in 04 or 05, apart from the stupid selection decisions in the CC cup final. picking senior who was clearly unfit and not having a prop on the bench against a massive hull pack was stupid and negligent even.
2006 was awful, we were shocking all the way through and smith rightly got stick as any coach would. 3/4 of 07 was pretty dismal too, only the end of the season was top class.

therefore IMO smith deserved the stick he got at the time although i do recognise his achievments. i just wonder what else could we have won had he had a more sensible approach to selection and tactics at times.

Both thoughts had occured to me.

The thread starter asked: Why are people cutting Bluey some slack whereas they haven't done so in the past?

Perhaps some are recognising that the standard of SL now is such that for a team to dominate and or sustain a run of form would require superhuman effort that is almost impossible.

The remainder IMO either have an inconsistent view, are blinkered, or are unable to see the reasons for the increased parity or standards of play.

I see.

Has the standard really improved that much since last year?

Have our fans really become so more sophisticated in that one year and taking the (correct) view that your post advocates?

I think not.

I think an earlier poster hit the nail on the head. Bluey is liked because he seems personable. Just like Graham Murray. Smith porrtayed a cold, calculating image and therefore fans didn't really warm to him. This is evidenced by the fact that negative comment remains about him despite him being unarguably our greatest ever coach.

This, I think, speaks volumes about how dumb and un-sophistaced our supporter base is (myself excluded, of course).

You don't know how close I was to adding "Or alternatively are knownowt s of the highest order" onto the end of my last post. I almost wish i had now, but I was trying to be dignified.

I think you're probably right in parts.

For the record I always liked Smith, I don't know where I got it from but I heard tell that when he had his psychometric testing for the Huddersfield job back when, he astounded a lot of people.

Being able to complete set of great psychometric tests doesn't make you a great manager - Smith had high and lows in equal measure IMO - was he a great manager he won two GF's but he presided over 2006 one of the Rhinos worst seasons in SL?

I'd say there were quite a few SL seasons worse than 2006 for the Rhinos. 96 was far, far worse (OK, we weren't the Rhinos then) and 2001 wasn't exactly a barrell of laughs either.

Whoa, knee jerkery of the highest order there.

3 grand finals and 2 championships in 4 years after nothing for 32 years!
I can only guess that you will be no more pleased with bluey unless he returns at least 3 grand finals wins in the next 4 years.






Semi final in the cup and third in the league, over the course of Leeds super league history I think that would be nearer the top than bottom.

But for the best coach the club has ever had 'allegedly' it hardly counts as a success - would you not agree?

TVOC will be able to confirm 1996 apart was 2006 the first year we got knocked out of the playoffs round 1?

Made the playoffs and CC semi.

Get a grip.

No, but it does show a cerebral capacity that perhaps outstrips some of the more demonstrative managers out there.

I always saw Smith as someone who was aware of the deeper psychological machinations of a successful side, as Monie was. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why the 2006 season wasn't the start of a long term problem. And one of the reasons that as far as I can see Leeds are one of the most emotionally robust sides in the world. They can and will wobble, but like weebles, they won't fall down.

I like managers who don't feel the need to rant and rave and get all upset about wins and or losses.

You too - we have made the play offs every year since their inception - getting to the semi was hardly an achievement given the teams we played getting there - but to play so well!! in the semi was a real triumph of Smith's motivational skills would you not agree?

Compared to many other coaches, 2006 was a success. By Smith's high standards it was a failure, I'll give you that, but cup semi-finals and a 3rd place finish after the regular rounds was more than a lot of people have achieved.

Anyway, why say alleged? 2 championships, no other Leeds coach has done that.

So in order to denegrate Smith's achievements, you're going to pick a couple of games out of over 100 or so as an example of him not being as good as everyone says he is?

Is Daniel Anderson a sh*t coach because Saints were comprehensively outplayed in the 2007 Grand Final?

do you think daniel anderson would have selected a player for a cup final who couldn't walk the day before the game or pick a bench with no prop against a team with a huge pack in a cup final?

i'm not denying smiths achievments but he let himself down at times

Eccleshill & Tad must be trolling surely.

It would appear so.

just asking the question mate. should he not get stick for the cc final?
was it sensible to play senior and have no prop on the bench?

So basically, every coach there's ever been is hugely over-rated because at some point one of their teams has failed to perform in a big game.

Fair enough, that's the terms of reference defined anyway...