Eels Appoint Brad Arthur as Head Coach

[Chipmunk]

It would appear from Sharpies comments, as well as other newspaper articles in the last week that Brian Smith as General Manager of Football is a virtual done deal. I think this is a positive move.

 

[oldmancraigy]

It would appear from Sharpies comments, as well as other newspaper articles in the last week that Brian Smith as General Manager of Football is a virtual done deal. I think this is a positive move.

True - he'll be like the "Gus Gould" of the Eels. Except Smith has way more nous for the position than Gould ever would - much better at spotting talent and has a better feel for "running" a club in terms of the footy operations. (Not saying Gould is bad at it, but that there are few better than B Smith in that regard).

The big fear that I have, which can't be cured until it has all panned out, is that Smith won't be able to restrain himself in the same fashion Gould has. Ie, Gould hasn't stuck his beak in at Penrith so much as anyone would notice (and not in a way that seems to have caused overt friction).
Can Smith restrain himself to be an advice giver, sounding board, but be ok when he's ignored?

And if it's Smith, I'd say Jason Taylor is the coach. It's been the 'sounds' that have been running around for quite some time. Will be announced a week after the Roosters season finished.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

he took a huge gamble on kelly though if he didnt step up the way he did it would have been a disaster

the question is was cartwright very very smart or very very lucky? :sarcasm::sarcasm:

I think it was smart - prince was on his last legs so he had to replace him with some one sooner rather then later. Most coaches would have kept an experience half rather then risk a rookie. If Kelly didnt work out I am sure he had other options. Now he is heading into 2014 with some pretty decent young halves rather then working out what to do with prince ( he was still under contract for 2014 I think)

 

[Joshuatheeel]

And if it's Smith, I'd say Jason Taylor is the coach. It's been the 'sounds' that have been running around for quite some time. Will be announced a week after the Roosters season finished.

Cartwrights name being leaked to the media to take pressure of Taylor to allow him to finish his commitments with the roosters? Another red herring just like a few days ago the pommie dude was the front runner.

 

[EelsFan05]

If Smith get the operations job I think JT is the only coach (bar a rookie coach) that will get the job.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Can Smith restrain himself to be an advice giver, sounding board, but be ok when he's ignored?

I share your reservations. I'm not sure that he can.

 

[Twizzle]

Looks like the Australian are taking over from the Telecrap for producing crap articles.

 

[Gronk]

Looks like the Australian are taking over from the Telecrap for producing crap articles.

I think it's just Brent Read who feels left out writing for a rag that nobody bothers about.

 

[Gronk]

If you dig deeper, it seems that the Cartwright rumour was started by a Gold Coast racing twitter dude who seems to be obsessed with the hashtag #sackcarty.

 

[oldmancraigy]

Cartwrights name being leaked to the media to take pressure of Taylor to allow him to finish his commitments with the roosters? Another red herring just like a few days ago the pommie dude was the front runner.

Sounds more than plausible.

I've been expecting JT since Ricky quit - and all based on comments from Sharp weeks before Ricky quit to the effects of "if Ricky quit we would hire JT" - made it sound a bit like he had a plan.

 

[The Colonel]

I have big reservations regarding a Smith/Taylor combination as well. My biggest concern is how Taylor will feel once again working 'under' a director. I also question Taylor's professionalism. I still think he likes being one of the boys too much and hope that he can find the discipline needed to be successful.

The Smith side of things will be interesting. He is very good at what he does outside of the people management. If he can distance himself from that he will get the club lower grades successful once again which has an added effect for the first grade squad. We did however lose as many players under Smith as we have lost to other coaches.

That said there are positives and negatives based around any coach we employ.

 

[oldmancraigy]

I also question Taylor's professionalism. I still think he likes being one of the boys too much and hope that he can find the discipline needed to be successful.

Out of curiosity: what do you base that on?

I would have thought him a very disciplined individual - and certainly he brought a good 'work ethic' to his Souths teams.

 

[Tommy Coco]

I think Henry/Smith is a better fit. I believe both Taylor and Henry are both there own men but perhaps Henry would be less likely to be influence against his own will by Smith as far as coaching is concerned.

It is almost a certain thing that a rookie coach would be /perceived to be run by Smith directly. That perception is probably more fuel to the scandalous journalism we have to endure. I know JT isn't a rookie coach but I thin he is more a rookie than Neil Henry.

I also like the idea of that winning QLD SOO mentality being rubbed off on our team. I realise it is a long bow to draw and they are the enemy, but hey, cop what you can get.

 

[Gronk]

I think that some mud has stuck on JT after getting king hit at the Forresters on that Mad Monday. Facts are that we weren't there and to suggest that he provoked a Poly to thump him does not make sense. Should he have been there ? He may have only been there for 60 mins to say g'day. Not a huge issue for the boss to have a beer with the staff IMHO. Does not mean that I am besties with them, if I do.

 

[Joshuatheeel]

I also question Taylor's professionalism. I still think he likes being one of the boys too much and hope that he can find the discipline needed to be successful.
.

The Souths incident was stupid and should not have happened. However I doubt his professionalism could be questioned considering he has worked as an assistant with two serious title contenders (eels / roosters)

Also it takes real character to do what Taylor has done, obviously he still wanted to come a head coach after the Souths thing but had limited opportunities so he took what he could which was the roosters u20 position. That would have been a massive hit to his ego - but he did it and has worked reall hard to fix up his credibility - you don't do this unless you have some real professionalism.

 

[Bigfella]

Out of curiosity: what do you base that on?

I would have thought him a very disciplined individual - and certainly he brought a good 'work ethic' to his Souths teams.

Are you serious?

He got punched out on the piss with them at mad Monday (by one of them).

 

[84 Baby]

True - he'll be like the "Gus Gould" of the Eels. Except Smith has way more nous for the position than Gould ever would - much better at spotting talent and has a better feel for "running" a club in terms of the footy operations. (Not saying Gould is bad at it, but that there are few better than B Smith in that regard).

The big fear that I have, which can't be cured until it has all panned out, is that Smith won't be able to restrain himself in the same fashion Gould has. Ie, Gould hasn't stuck his beak in at Penrith so much as anyone would notice (and not in a way that seems to have caused overt friction).
Can Smith restrain himself to be an advice giver, sounding board, but be ok when he's ignored?

And if it's Smith, I'd say Jason Taylor is the coach. It's been the 'sounds' that have been running around for quite some time. Will be announced a week after the Roosters season finished.

In terms of Smith restraining himself, I'd have agreed with you up to the point of hearing how he handled himself at the Brumbies this year. He seems pretty relaxed about being "second fiddle." I reckon his job description will be look after NYC/NSW Cup and below, and the NRL coach will approach you for their reasons, you don't approach them. That way Taylor can focus solely on NRL for the next year or 2 and not have to worry about the other teams, then gradually Smith can pass those responsibilities back to Taylor/whoever. It's my belief that the whole problem with dealing with other teams from Matts to NSW Cup has been massive burden on Anderson, Kearney & even Dickface since Hagan/NYC inception and it made them look worse then they actually might have been.

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

I am sure JT has matured alot since that incident and realized his mistakes. He is rated highly by fellow coaches and players and has worked hard to get himself back into contention for a head coach gig. He has worked with Smith before so they would already know how each other work. If Taylor still really wants to coach us like he wanted to in 07, i believe it only makes him a better option. I would like to see him back at the club.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

He's had other incidents too but I reckon he must have grown up and matured since.
Sign him up.

 

[Haynzy]

At that point he was still only a year or two out of playing.
I think now that he is that much older than the players there will be less likely hood of him trying to be one of the boys.