Next years signings will be crucial for us but by far and away the most important signing of 2011 will be if we can get Tony Smith to extend his contract which finishes at the end of next season. I know everyone will be thinking that it is 18 months away, but as an old boss of mine used to say 'time is coming'.

We have shown over the past 2 or 3 seasons that having class players is not enough, the right manager can turn average players into good ones, good players into great ones and great players into world class players.

i hope we get him at saints top coach

hands off

you can have harry

haha

Little murmur that Saints have already been sniffing. Little bit worrying really, as it suits Smith's profile to a tee; rebuilding exercise, bedding the team into a new stadium. Not good signs for us.

Hope your joking.

I will handcuff myself to him.

i have a plan....
get them numptys to do another sit in protest (circa 2008 a la cullen)

oj dont worry i think TS will stay!!!

Smith won't go to Saints until he's finished the job here. That means Old Trafford, all of the players wearing those silly baseball caps, "We are the Champions", "Simply the Best".

Preferably five or six times in a row, not that I'm greedy.

He'll install his winning mentally and then leave Warrington to someone he'll probably choose!

Clearly the players believe that TS can make them better players and they can win things under him by following his instructions. He could probably tell them that they are bullet proof and they would believe him. Dont get me wrong it is not just about motivation and belief. The same players have not become a great deal more skillful or faster or stronger just more intelligent and are prepared to put a lot more effort in to little things that make a big difference.
I have a problem with Aussie coaches though! Why have these players reacted to TS but not to PC and JL. Is it as simple as people think that Aussie coaches know more about RL because they have produced the best players / teams over the last 35-40 years. If your PE teacher told you how to pass a ball at school then somebody with an aussie accent came up and told you to pass it in another way which would you trust. Do Australian players listen to English coaches thinking this fella hasn't got a clue.
It is sad but not so long ago we had loads of English coaches in SL
Us = PC / JL
Hudds = John Sharp.
Wigan = Noble (i know he has replaced an aussie at Crusaders)
Then look at the improvement in those sides since Aussie coaches have taken over.
Tony Smith is great for us at the minute, given the choice I would love to see him here for a long while yet but I would love for a few British coaches to prove that they can do just as good of a job.

I don't see what advantages Saints would have over us for TS, particularly as he will have been spending time putting his plans in place, recruiting the team he wants, working with the juniors he wants to bring through to the first team, at a club which hadn't won any trophies for years before he came along and giving him the chance to create a bit of history and a dynasty. If he goes to Saints all he can do is repeat what has been done before, ie continue their relentless accumulation of trophies, and if he doesn't - and he will have the Warrington squad shaped in his own handiwork as a rival - he will soon get turned on by their fans.

Bloody hell he's not even had a full season with us yet and all this ballcocks comes out!

Not at all. We've always been really nice to Smithy. Golf claps all round in the recent clash at KR, an old dear brought him some home made Scouse in a tuppaware dish too.

But I'm with you. It would be a strange move for him to make. If anything as a club Warrington have moved ahead of St Helens recently with the facilities and staff at the HJ looking far better than what we have. Smith seems to be aiding the rebuilding the youth system at the club too so the likes of Saints and Wigan should no longer be able to cherry pick from the local amateur sides as has always happened so far.

Saints by this time next season will have a nicer stadium and potentially a team more capable of winning SL again if the acquisitions are right, although Lyon turning us down wasn't ideal.

But given that we need a new coach to start at the latest in Feb next year it means we'll also have to pay compensation. I think it's safe for Wire fans to sleep easy at night. The only potential problem is if he starts dreaming of coaching in the NRL, but that would take a while as they are not so quick to sack coaches over there.

Me thinks our next new coach will have a surname beginning with Sculthorpe and an experienced old head as 'Director of Rugby' or something. Avram Grant will probably be free by then.

He hasn't stopped the slide of Warrington youth going to Saints yet, a number went last season with more looking likely to go August / July time.

Smithy won't leave, unfinished buisness,

These things take time to sort out and I'm sure Warrington will get there.

Has any Warrington academy player gone onto be a first teamer for Saints, other than Scully?

dont think so

Jake Emmit?

yeh played a few games on loan at leigh now

i know some top class players which are set to make the big time in a few years and saints have gone and nicked them from the wire ranks!

Only a handful ever make it from any age group, so even if they took 10 players from us, most would not make it.

True, but if just one of those turned out to be good it would be a worthwhile policy. And it's got to be a concern that this was/is happening?

As Sally pointed out, when has it happened?