m.skysports.com/article/rugbyleague//9338520 Good news.

m.skysports.com/article/rugbyleague//9338520 Good news.

Hopefully he'll be going no where and staying with us

worse things happen at sea

With these "plays down reports" stories you have to try and read between the lines. If he was leaving for the Dragons he couldn't say it in that interview before it had been released.





It certainly sounds like we are going to have an announcement soon and it's fairly believable that Agar will be joining the staff.

Coming and working under TS will be a good move for Agar who seems to have been highly rated by some people within the game for a while, hence him getting head coach opportunities early despite not being a big name as a player, but as a first team coach he hasn't got it right so far. But Agar will not want to be an assistant for the long term.

I do wonder whether the club are talking to TS about some kind of final contract which makes arrangements for the post-Smith succession, where they want to have someone already on board at the club to promote when he leaves. They can then have input in to recruitment so when they take over they have players that they wanted.

The conversations between Simon Moran and TS might be along the lines of

"Tony, we've had some success with a great team but it's breaking up now and needs rebuilding for a new era, realistically are you up for doing another 5/6 years with us to rebuild a new generation and take it forward, or would you be looking to move on in the next year or so, in which case how do we manage your succession....?"

Praying that the news is a new 30 year deal for Tony.

Theres Some Drama queens on here .. Smiths Going nowhere, theres nothing cryptic in that interview .. New contract will be sorted within the next week or two .

It does sound as though he feels he's not finished with his Warrington Project. He inherited most of the CC winning teams, adding a few players where needed. Now he's got a more substatial rebuilding job on his hands and that in itself may be the "next challenge". Let's hope so. ISWT.

I firmly believe TS isn't going anywhere yet. He will eventually move on but his job isn't done here.
I'd love for him to stay until retirement and the quote "despite arguably reaching the shelf life for a head coach, he is happy to stay on at Warrington for the foreseeable future." Gives a little hope to that but we shall have to wait for an announcement in a couple of weeks.

I would rather tony smith stayed at the wire than anyone else come on board. Long term an ex player would be my choice to carry it on but that's very long term for me. So long as sir tony wants the job he should keep it.

Some on this board were up in arms earlier this season and that is because tony smiths sides have spoilt us in recent seasons but make no mistake about it, it was tony smith that raised the bar at warrington. Before tony we would probably be really happy to be in the position we are in this season but as it stands we all think we should be doing better.

This exactly. Anyone but TS is a step back, the way he got the tactics spot on against Leeds with such a depleted squad proves that.

He needs to rebuild the squad before going anywhere, that will be his next big task.

I think the key to this situation is to get into the mind of Simon Moran. He thinks long term, not short, and he can see 2015 looming which is the end of TS's contract. Far better to have continuity in the job than to have somebody come in without an understanding of the culture of the club, the relationships between the staff, the long term planning etc etc. So I think Moran will want everything sorted out and agreed well before the end of Smith's contract ends, probably by the end of this season.

Presumably, either Moran want's Smith to extend, in which case he could be using Agar's availability as a bargaining chip, or he has decided Agar will take over in 2015 and is bringing him in early to thoroughly familiarise with the club. I think the rumours about Agar being linked with Wire are too strong to be dismissed. Plus as has already been mentioned, coaches rarely hand in their notice without some idea of where they are going next.

As an ex player Harris could be an option for us in the longer term as I am sure he will get fed up of Koukash's interfering!

I don't want any ex players, it'll end in tears and tarnish any good memories

Harris could rebuild his reputation with the fans if he showed his commitment to stay with us for the long term even if we were near the bottom of the table, rather than jumping ship like last time.

Reading between the lines I can only see this as being Smith's final year with us. If memory serves him leaving Leeds was the worst kept secret in rugby league. He never forgave Eddie and Stevo for discussing it on Sky before he had told his players.

I just hope this doesn't turn into a long running distraction as per Nathan Brown at Huddersfield.

Pre-ordained successions usually end up the same way. The coach leaves "with immediate effect" at some point mid season and the successor takes over earlier.

Isn't Tony Smith Football Director or something like that? Essentially means Agar could quite easily come in as 'Head Coach'

He has certainly paid his dues in terms of coaching, I'd give him a go in the future. I think Michael Monaghan would make a good coach and maybe Morley. I think it would be best if it was a player that played under smith though.

I really hope the announcement is a 10 year contract extension though. His shelf life set warrington will never be over for me.

Don't get me wrong I think Smith has been fantastic for us but I'm not sure why some see him as a sort of demigod. Sticking with the one coach forever and a day rarely works.

I know what you're saying but that very much depends on the man you have in charge. I think that the club and tony smith will know when the time is right but I really can't see that the time is now. Anyways it's not demigod more appreciation for the fantastic job that the team have done since tony smith took charge in terms of entertainment and silverware.

If it does happen then the warrington head coach job will be more appealing than it has been before in my lifetime.

I think his title is something like Director of rugby/football and coaching.
I think he was given that roll so Lowes in effect was still first team coach.
I remember in the early part of that season nobody actually knew who the coach was.
Lowes was listed as our coach by the bookies.
Eddies and Stevo didn't really know.
Then Lowes cleared it all up for us by going to Leeds sulking.

If Smith does leave after leading us to grand final success then he can go having achieved all he can(although a WCC would be nice to shut the smellies up once and for all). However, he should have NO input into his successor(see man utd for an example). If he decides to leave then who we bring in should be nothing to do with him, whether he has a close relationship with agar or not. Moran is a rich, successful man who has been watching rugby a long time. I know he is a loyal man who trusts his coaches, but he's still a fan. And i've yet to hear from one fan who thinks this would be a good appointment.

How many Leeds fans were calling for McDermott's head midway through 2011?

Different situation. Tony has played it down and is quite happy where he is. Nathan Brown openly admitted he wanted a job in the NRL and that's why it was a distraction to Huddersfield, because they basically had a coach that wanted to leave.

and was a bit pooh