His previous good work isn't unraveling - his previous good work is exactly that, previous, for which I'm sure everyone who follows Warrington is grateful. His current work is the problem - he's messing up, as you rightly point out. There have been what, five or six decent performances all season and this needs to be improved upon. He does deserve the opportunity to sort this out, but it looks to me like his tenure at the club is coming to a natural end. We'll see what the end of the season brings, but I don't have a massive amount of confidence that Smith can turn all this round - it might help if he was able to project the impression that he actually gave a e about things.

I'd be [ivery[/i interested in Simon Moran's current feelings with the way the team is performing, and the Agar/Smith appointment and dynamic.

Simon is first and foremost a fan, and has been for some time, and is also knowledgeable about the game so I'm sure the sudden, alarming defencies of the team are as apparent to him as anyone on this forum.

Secondly, Simon is a very astute businessman, and his success (as a concert promoter) has been built on giving the public what they want, attracting them and keeping them.

We all know there is a huge mutual respect thing between him and TS, but with his business hat on Simon must be realising that all is not well, and the paying public are not happy. If people were as unhappy with the acts he was promoting as most Wires fans are with the team, and stopped attending gigs as a result, he'd act.

tbh, worthing wire, I don't think we've had a "decent performance" (from what we've got used to) for about two years.
Yes, we've done the double over Leeds this season, but we "did a job on them" on both occasions. We're light years behind where we were in 2011 and 12. Smith's inability to replace an ageing Briers has truly ####ed us.

I can still see Smith here in 5 years time. However, the next few weeks are VITAL, as to our current season, and how we recruit for next. Get either wrong, and I don't think Smith will be long for this club. He's treading a fine line.

I do agree with your last sentence, wholeheartedly. I watched his reactions with Angela Powers last night, and was embarrassed by them. He simply smirked his way through the whole interview, a la Tony Blair in his most smug moment, when he (Smith) had nothing to be smug about. Yes, he isn't naturally comfortable in front of cameras, but it was almost as if a 30odd point hammering was a run of the mill occurrence, especially after loving up, the week before,

I bet some of these people banging on about loyalty don't go every week. Easy to say from a distance.

This poor form hits harder when stood on the terrace watching home and away.

I wonder how many of here wanting Smith out went to Hull KR on Friday?

I went and it's not that I want Smith out!!! I am just worried that maybe he has taken the current set of lads to where he can.

The man has been great for us since watching in Wilderspool days then Cullen gave us stability and a better side.

Tony Smith has delivered trophies, took the side to one of the top in SL and shown us some very entertaining rugby, however, this season is so poor, with Friday being awful!!

As someone has posted previously, I wonder what Simon Moran thinks at the minute.

He'd be right at home here.... he's got a former top side playing terrible rugby. .. His star player only shows glimpses of what he's capable. ..Their defence at times is paper thin and their once reliable attack is misfiring. ..

he lost Glenn Stewart, Anthony watmough, and George rose who all wanted to stay he's replaced them with the horrendous Willie Mason and the only rubbish Burgess brother. ...They've got ageing players like jamie Lyon who can barely get on the field. .. and the injured for 80 minutes in every game Steve matai. They can't keep hold of Foran so they are going to get even worse.

I'm still to catch up on this weekends nrl but I believe manly have just climbed off the bottom of the table. ...

sounds like Toovey is a dead cert for the wires job.

I think that recruitment is the one area where TS has let himself and the club down. The fact that we are 'clueless' in attack at the moment is easily explained. Two years ago we had a spine consisting of three of the most creative players in the game: Hodgson, Briers, Monaghan. Each has left the team in turn. Last year we coped with the last of the trio still opening the gaps for us. The TS plan has been to replace Monaghan with Clarke - a different player but devastating for Cas ( and England in Aus ). This has not worked. Clark has been so disappointing. TS has clearly also anticipated that the other halves at the club would step up. Unfortunately it has proved to be the case that O'Brien ( of whom I've been a great supporter ) and Myler are good, but not great, players, not up to delivering a champion SL side. Patton is still young so we need to give him time ( though I said the same of O'Brien ). Morgan Smith is the 'hot youngster' now in the halves but who knows how his development will turn out over the next two years?

Losing this spine has cost us all of our creativity. The answer in the short term is the almost impossible task of persuading a top Aussie 6/7 to come here. In this regard, TS is in as good a position to deliver as anyone in SL.

I agree. It is his job to get us out of this. He's paid enough, he's good enough, he's experienced enough and respected enough. But the proof is in the proverbial pudding and he's got to dish up better than this...but it's him i want to do it, for sure.

It seems the Giants have just recruited a decent player from the Storm. Is it a case of we are aiming to high with our recruitment or players just do not want to come here to play for us, ive seen other teams signing players from Aus but we seem to be struggling to attract the class player we need why.

Well said.
(You've not been publishing for a while....)

I know an ex director who said he has already told SM, TS has gone beyond his shelf life. He also told him we need a hb and a prop.

I go plenty (no, I didn't go to Hull KR, soz) and I find it utterly unfathomable that there are adults watching Wires who want Tony Smith to go. Kids who know no better? Yeah, maybe. People who remember years and years of underachievement or outright failure that all changed when Tony Smith arrived? Absolutely unbelieveable.

You don't even need to go back to very long before Smith came in to find that failure either. Remember when Matt King was arguing with fans calling him all sorts during a 60 point humiliation in London? Remember when Michael Monaghan was being compared to Michael Sullivan? Remember when Lee Briers was being held up as a figurehead for ten years of Warringtonian underachievement and linked with a move to Dewsbury? Remember when a lifelong fan, born and bred in the town who had served the club with all his heart as a player and coach for many years was getting horrific abuse from the away end in Wigan because he just couldn't push us any further despite his best efforts? Remember when his replacement bombed in no time? Remember when a trip to Knowsley Road was about as appetising as a trip to Dignitas?

All of the above was happening as recently as 2008 or 2009, nevermind a bit further back on the crumbling terraces at Wilderspool watching Wigan win everything in sight. The club was already in the HJ, Simon Moran was already at the helm - hence why the abovementioned King and Monaghan were here in the first place, as well as the likes of Morley, Hicks et al - but Warrington were still Warrington and still not up to the job when it came to actually winning things.

If you do remember all that - and there won't be many on here who don't - then remember who changed it all and be careful what you wish for.

WE'RE ON THE MARCH WITH TONY'S ARMY

oh, in that case, everythings fine.... nothing to see here.

Of course it's not fine, but even Wigan went eight years without a trophy not so long ago and they're the biggest club in the game. Indeed without a salary cap fiddle they were punished for the following season they would have been relegated in that time. Saints who have been the most successful club overall in the Super League era went eight years without winning a Grand Final and lost five in a row. Leeds have had phenomenal success in that period (started off by Tony Smith coincidentally) but went 15 years without a Wembley win while Warrington enjoyed three. I'll leave Bradford out of it because no coach could have solved their financial problems.

The point is no club has a God given right to win everything in sight, and until that honour from upon high suddenly finds itself bestowed on Wires, I'll take a couple of transitional seasons on the chin and get behind the man who gave us our first Challenge Cup in 35 years and our most successful period overall since the 1950s. Calling for his head is absolutely outrageous.

OK lets not call for TS's head. But can we ask him to face the facts that the team look lost and disinterested at the moment. How can we have beaten Leeds twice this season and took Saints and Wigan close yet bomb against lower place teams. Even Tone can't keep blaming short turn arounds and injuries. Yes I know how many long term injuries we have, and have had, but other teams have had the same problems without looking like lost sheep. If the players attitude isn't right then it is TS's job to find out why and solve it. If he can't, or won't admit the problem, then let somebody else try - as long as it isn't Agar.
Compare our teams attitude with that of Castleford. Miles apart.

I think Warrington know exactly who they are signing.
I'm very sure we bagged a halfback when GOB got the u'turn. It maybe have been nothing more than a wink and a nod of a off record promise, but something has to attribute to that decision.
As with Clarke, at that level of patience, it must surely be a biggie.

I think a major reason that we are struggling is the amount of young lads in the team.Saints are have problems & so do Wigan. The clubs who voted to do away with intermediate age groups have done the game a great disservice by agreeing to run with under 19s then straight to superleague....maybe in a year or two the differences in playing staff will even out. The teams who are doing well this year are the ones with bulked up ,open aged ,experienced players ,no matter how mediocre they are but at least they have experience & suddenly start to look good.Admittedly, Saints & Wigan are coping better than us ,but experience does seem to be making a difference this season.

Yeah, I remember that. It was Smith's 2nd game in charge

Haha, fair tackle. You get the general point though.

I do get the general point, but I think we have to be careful with these hagiographies of Smith. His previous work with the club has been tremendous, but his current work is disappointing, to say the least. We may yet end up getting to Wembley and making the play-offs, but present form suggests this is unlikely. As many others have said, the persona he projects of not appearing to give a shiny one about the team's predicament is what bugs me the most. If it's true that he's stepping back from involvement in coaching, then we have to look at what he is actually doing. Recruitment would seem to be his bag if coaching has indeed gone by the wayside - if he can deliver a properly top-notch half-back, I'll be optimistic for next season. Otherwise, it could be time to move on.

It is disappointing that so many seem to accept failure as a strange badge of honour. If you are a company director experiencing growth after years of decline, you don't say "ah well, I've had my fill". You do everything you can to move forward. Look at the clubs who have rested on their laurels over the years- most will never recover.

Warrington have experienced very little failure under Tony Smith and a lot of failure under previous coaches.

Badge of honour or not, Tony Smith deserves nothing but 100% support from Warringtonians.

2 ways to look at this for me now....its would appear that Smith has decided that he needs to rebuild, so he needs to have a clearout... its upset a few of the senior players, who arent happy... A few have jumped ship asap.. the rest are still involved and are making things difficult.

Its not great squad management from Smith, who hasnt recruited well and is to blame for alot of the problems, if not all of them.

Do we let him cut this dead wood out, bring in new players and build a new squad around these young players? if so, then how long do we need to give him? i would say 2 years before were a top side again.

or do we say its his fault, his recruitment has been poor and bring in another possibly younger coach to move us forward.

The obvious problems in the squad could be solved with a clean slate and a new start....

maybe Smith can rebuild the squad and give us a grand final winning team..... Personally i don't think he can from this position... he couldnt bring us a grand final winning team with Morley, Briers, Hodgson, Carvell, King etc....

As has been pointed out he's been at the helm of the greatest Warrington side in recent memory and failed to deliver the top prize. We were the best side for three years on the trot and have no title to show for it. Saints won a grand final with a pretty average squad and we fail with a great side. I can't think of another coach I'd want at present and smith not only needs to turn it around but really kick on too...this should be a golden era. I believe kyle eastmond will be helping us out soon