I was over the moon when Wakey got B S on the team. I knew that thing would change for the better and to expected a much better feeling about the place. Many have questioned his ability, age, and commitment and even suggested that he would use our club as a stepping stone.
One thing you will always get from Mr Smith is total commitment and a knowledge of the game that can only benefit our club. Team selection taken a while to finalise and along with injuries that tasks taken longer than many expected. He will always pick a team to do a job and I think we may still get a surprise or two before the season ends.
I don't think I have seen a better display of a coached game of rugby from a Wakefield side
He is in my view the best coach in S L and if I was playing the game today I would jump at the opportunity to join a club he coaches.
The club need to get his services sorted out asap .

I agree

Sorry mate, but i'm a bit confused!

Not sure what you mean exactly when you say you haven't seen a better display of coached rugby from Wakefield?! What, like ever?!! I've been following them since the mid 80's, and could probably literally come up with hundreds of better performances than yesterday, but not sure if that's what you mean?! We once won at Leeds 17-0, we've won at Wigan, Saints, Warrington, Catalans, beat them at home by 50 points, beat Cas in Cardiff by 50 under Kear, won a Yorkshire cup final etc etc.....sorry but i'm not following you?!!

Its ok wildmoggy not to worry

Not worried, just confused like I said! But you haven't answered my questions so fair enough.

I have seen very good results and performance in the past.. I'm talking about a team that couldn't even get the basics right and could not string above 4 passes together. Many said that Smith and miller would never form a partnership. Regarding the rugby it was in my view the best coached first half I have seen , from a group of players who have gained in confidence and Belief. That does not happen over night but it was in full view against Bradford. Every player that took the field knew what job they had to do and did it the work ethic was fantastic
I liked J K and at the time I thought he should have been offered a 1 year contract ( we probably would not be in the mess we are in now ) He also managed to get the best out of the players at his disposal , he was the right man for the job at that time.
In Smith we have a seasoned well respected coach the world over who recognised what had to be done from day one .
In my view we are lucky to have him and all his experience will rub off on the team , Club and give the supporters belief.

I agree Brian is doing a good job but whichever way the season turns out who is going to be the coach nesxt season?

Brian Smith will be coaching Wakefield in the SL next season.

There are many things I like about Brian Smith. He seems like top bloke who really wants to make a difference for one thing. I was lucky enough to meet him and have a chat and he is quite inspiring and clearly knowledgeable.

In coaching terms it's interesting to look at the impact he has made.

Two players in particular
Jacob Miller and Jon Molloy

Both have been criticised to the point of some people suggesting we should just sack them without consideration of contract.
They are now two of the best we have. Miller changed the day Smith arrived. From being ordinary to being outstanding in both attitude and skill.
Molloy is looking the strongest of a strong pack so has jumped drastically from making it through half a game and being generally anonymous.

On top of that you have Tim Smith and Richard Owen. Again taking a lot of criticism. Both clearly have issues but until Smith came they were just both thrown back in to the fire and told to get on with it. When Smith came he recognised that Tim had a knee injury that was holding him back and took a brave decision to let him rest even though he is the only play maker we have.
Owen again clearly needed some kind of intervention. He was all over the place, sometimes showing great attitude and then the next minute looking like he couldn't care less. I don't know that Smith made the move or whether Owen did it on his own but his arrival seems to have been the catalyst. Apart from his obvious injury his form changed around completely.

Smith also took tough decisions with some high earning non performers like Sammut and Collis. Both are great players on their day but they were not offering anything. He got rid and then went looking for new talent.
I have no idea how he found all the players he has with so little time but he is clearly well connected and took great advice.
Mullally and Walker have been great finds for us, and Sio in particular is a step up for us. Time will tell on McShane v Moore. I like Tupou. He isn't a fit Collis but he is strong and makes yards and is just what we need to strengthen the back line.

Tansey and Locke are question marks but they have both shown good touches in their limited time.

On top of that, he seems to have changed the whole spirit of the club. The fact that we played well against Salford and beat Bradford convincingly yet he was still focussing on the areas we weren't good at shows how he has attention to detail, without losing the dressing room by complaining about it.

In summary......I like him.....a lot.

Okkkk, thanks for answering

Obviously comparing him to Webster's 'team' then I agree he has given the players direction, belief, probably confidence, and he demands respect, all the things that were seemingly lacking under JW for the majority of the season. But I still think it's a bit early to be singing his praises too highly, some tough tests lie ahead, so i'll reserve my judgement until after the next couple of games, which will really tell us if we have truly turned the corner. I do like the way he comes across though, above all else, he seems an honest bloke, and if you are a player as long as you know where you stand, then that's all you can ask for, but I agree, so far so good. Getting back to Kear, I know his perceived 'style' of play wasn't everybody's cup of tea, but when you think he was thrown in at the deep end in 2006, needing to win 4 out of 6 games, with no honeymoon period of 2 months like BS has had, had to work with what was here, what he achieved was nothing short of remarkable in my opinion, and if BS does keep us up, that's not as good an achievement in my humble opinion.

John Kear had a far more capable squad than Brian Smith has!

There were quite a few players available to Kear that are head and shoulders above anything we've currently got in the team with the possible exception of an on form Tim Smith.

Yeah I agree, but we were staring down the barrel weren't we, so to be in that position in the first place, some of those players were underperforming badly, throwing 22-0 half time scorelines away under Tony Smith, given the timeframe he had, I just think he almost performed a miracle. Possibly, depending on results, we may only have to beat SL opposition once in order to stay up? So for me it won't be as good as an achievement, but it's all about opinions isn't it!!

We needed 4 wins from 6 to get us into a £1Million game, just about identical situations bar some of the opposition being from the Championship but Bradford and Leigh are quality teams.

Halpenny, =#FF0000Demetriou, Evans, Henderson, =#FF0000Tadulala, Rooney, Jeffries, Watene, Obst, Korkidas, =#FF0000Solomona, MacGillivray, =#FF4000Betham.
Replacements: March, Elima, Catic, Latu

There you go, that team shouldn't have been anywhere near the relegation places?!

We'll have to agree to disagree mate, but I do get what you're saying, although the Bradford we have just played are nowhere near the Bradford then, and we had to win at Odsal.

The Bradford game back then was a real do or die and we needed help from Salford (to beat Cas) or we would never have made the decider.

By comparison, the team back then was better although Kear had far less time to turn things round.
It was do or die from the outset
.
The game at Bradford was amazing, especially coupled with Cas getting done at Salford.

The short side move by Solo and Demitriou's getting out of the in goal really stick in the memory.

Certainly a great night.

I'm a fan of Kear too. Not sure we have to choose.

J K was the man of the moment and did a great job. That night at Bradford was brilliant. He always came across well on T V and I still like his comments on BBC. I thought the club should have looked at offering a new deal to him, it all seemed to go a bit sour. He seemed to take loads of stick on on the wakey board and I could never understand why.
Brian Smith if retained will totally change our club round from hit and miss to a more stable and workman like team. He will offer advice on off the field matters and I would like to think the club would benefit from his years of experience and manner. One of the first things he did when he arrived was to draw attention to the fans and made reference regarding the passion.
You will never please all the fans and I have no doubt he will be jumped on now and again by a certain few, some have already had a nibble.

Well at the end of the day, if you are in such a position of first team coach, you are there to be shot down, they all know that when they take the job. Rightly or wrongly, whatever they are doing behind the scenes so to speak, they will all be judged on results. One thing about whether he'll be here next year, we both know he's no fool. If we do stay up, then it's back to playing Wigan, Leeds, Saints etc, not Bradford, Leigh, Sheffield etc! Even now from the squad we have, whether you rate these players or not, the likes of Washbrook, Moore, Locke, Mullally, won't be here, 4 bodies that have to be replaced. We will be behind the eight ball again when it comes to player recruitment, Widnes announcing NRL signings, Salford supposedly announcing at least 5 new players. I think he will only stay if he can be sure he can attract the calibre of player needed to be able to compete next year.

Brian Smith will help attract the better players and im sur he would be looking for the backing he needs from the chairman before putting pen to paper.
The club have limited options when we are in S L next year it can either splash some cash or have a season pretty much like the one we have just had.
If the second options the direction the club decide to take Im sure we will also be looking for another coach.

I'd agree with the last comment.

At present some squad signings like Yates have been made for next season but it's players like Anderson, Scruton, Sio, Godinet etc that need keeping plus a 6 to replace Miller. Unlikely the club will commit unless SL is secured.

Where is Miller going?

Miller has another year unless you are suggesting we'll be cashing in?

That is good news if true, when was that announced?

I remember he initially signed for us for 1 year. When did he extend it?

Was positive he was on a 2 year deal, just checked and you are right. I'll shut up now.

Miller on one year deal and there was a rumour on the forum a few weeks ago that he was going to Paramatta for next season. Hopefully not true and he's been secured for next season with Trinity if we stay in Super League.