A Change of Heart.

[newmanj]

I have been calling for Brian Smith to resign for the last month. I really believe he should leave the club, or would be happy for him to become the director of coaching.

However, after hearing of his offer to the players and management of the club to resign, and them not wanting it, i am happy for him to stay in that capacity.

All we can hope is that the players and administators that made this decision care as much about the club, as Brian obviously does.

Once again i will add to my post, that this is my opinion, for what its worth.

 

[Unreal V]

It is easy to be swayed by sentiment, and again I have no doubt that Smith is a great guy, I hate the bagging he has copped by Hadley and applaud the players sticking up for him but facts are facts he is not doing a good job, if he were the team would not be in the position that it is.

Smith will go eventually, I only hope he leaves with the clubs integrity intact and with no ill feeling. Parramatta needs a new direction, preferabbly forwards and not backwards as we have been sliding. I like the guy, I respect the guy but his time is obviously up.

I hope he can turn things around, it would be a great personal victory and whilst he should be given an opportunity to do this surely it can't be at the expense of the club. He should be put on notice that if we don't make the finals and be competitive in the finals the board will be happy to accept his resignation, I think the club owes him that much, irrespective of the 30 June dead line.

 

[bradeel]

I agree with you 100% newmanj. I actually created a thread titled 'catch 22' yesterday to sum up these similar feelings but it hasn't really created much discussion - probably coz I crapped on a little too much and got a bit carried away i guess...

anyway, the main thrust of my argument was that the club has clearly decided that it would be financial suicide to pay out Brian Smith's contract and i reckon we have little choice but to stop the incessant calls for his head and start getting behind him again. it may not be the ideal, but its all we have got.

 

[newmanj]

Bradeel,

I feel your pain as far as when you post what you believe to be a good topic, with a good argument, and then get very little or no response. Quite disheartening.

Oh well, free speech at its best.

 

[bradeel]

yeah, that's cool - no biggie. Sometimes you get a bit fired up a come out with what you reckon should be a Nobel Prize winning oration but sometimes its the most punchy and to the point pieces that generate a bit more interest coz they are a bit more digestible for people to take in.

appreciate your support.

 

[Eels Dude]

If Smith offered to resign and the players and management told him not to I think those players and officials should be forced to step up and cop the criticism which has been directed at Smith. If the players think Smith is a good head coach, then they should be looking within themselves to find where the problems are lying. Similarly, if the officials think Smith is doing a good job, then they also must look to find where the problems are coming from, and attempt to find a solution.

 

[Parraren]

I'm actually waiting to see what kind of recruitment/retention decisions Smith makes in the coming weeks. There is a large amount of talent coming onto the opent market this year from June 30 and I'm very interested to see whether Smith will continue to go after the 'bargain basement' buys that he has preferred over the years or whether he decides to go after some 'top shelf' players.

I hope Smith learns from his mistakes of the past (and he has admitted to making some past blunders regarding retention & recruitment) and really goes after 'top shelf' talent for next year. If he can do this as well as blood some good young talent this year (as he has started to do) then he might regain my support. We'll see what happens...

 

[newmanj]

One things for sure, it will take more than 1 or 2 wins to convince me of improvement. I think we all thought we were through the rough trot after the start to last year, but my how things can turn the full circle.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

i thought this was going to be:16 HEART TRANSPLANTS and 1 ironman medal.