If TS goes Agar will go with him.
Briers will end up caretaker IMO

Very difficult to shift is our Richard! Took our club from top 4 to bottom two in four seasons, seems he has not lost his touch. Still think you'll finish top and we will finish 7th? (logically Jim).

Personally I predict wakey to finish 6th above Sts and Leeds.
I'm a big fan of John Kear. Genuine nice guy that players want to play for and as a team....whereas TS wants players to play for themselves and better themselves individually.
I'd be very happy with him as coach. For sure if we get to Wembley , JK won't gamble on injured players in such a big game.

We are desperate aren't we? Desperate to get shut of Smith and desperate for options judging by some of the candidates on here. John Kear? Is that really the best we could hope for?

It's my choice. Read on mr desperate.

Thankfully it won't be you making the decisions when the time comes.

It's depressing how our squad had depleted since 2009-11. It's going to take a while to fix. And when you have seasons where you recruit the likes of Bailey, Cox, Blythe, Wheeler, Hughes, Crosby, it's obvious we have recruitment problems.

There are some core players who are the standard in my view .

Ratchford
Brown
Lineham
Clark
Hill
Savellio (if he continues to develop well)
Currie
Westerman
Cooper (if he improves)
Atkins (on last seasons form)

The rest are pretty rank if we are being honest.

One name that rarely crops up but should is Jason Demetriou. A lot of Wakey fans have kept tabs on him since he packed in playing and went back to Aus. He won the league in his first season at the level below NRL, was recruited to the junior coaching staff at St George (I think), and then recruited to be Wayne Bennett's right-hand man. He's got steel and fire in his belly and is rising through the ranks in the NRL.

I'd like to think his heart would be at Wakey and could be tempted there first, and he still has a property in Wakey (again, I think), but he's a family man with school-age kids, so it might take money more than heart to tempt him over.

Demetriou seems to have had a very promising start to his coaching career but he's landed a prestigious job there working under Bennett and has a fair chance of being groomed as his successor if he sticks around, so he might not be interested in SL at this point.

He has a Greek passport though so wouldn't need a work permit as an EU citizen....well for now.

I don't believe we have 'rank average players' said on another thread....
How is it we can put up a decent effort against BB, then play a contrasting effort for the next 3?

TS was lost for words following the post match interview vs Salford.
He saw excuses for some individuals lapses, "kicks out on the full", etc... but he knew there is a bigger issue lying before him.

TS is in a position where our team cannot be changed. He may be able to swap a bench spot for a starting spot, but that's about it. He looked all over physically frustrated at his predicament.
So our players must seriously pull their fingers out and address TS predicament for him...!

Possibly only Clark and Savelio have displayed to us they really wanted it and a desire to win when we were behind throughout the starting period of SL. The rest look to be going through the motions and almost look like they have already threw the towel in and just want the 80 mins over.

So our cards are dealt...the team unfortunately picks itself for the visit of the Pies.
My head thought tells me a Pies win without getting out of 2nd gear...and Warrington seem unable to find how grind out of 1st!

My heart tells me Warrington will step it up for this game and will grind out a win....but you know what?...that will be a bitter sweet end for me.
To step up and show that we are able to win is the whole point of this post.....MINDSET.

Hill is the only player with a champion leading mindset for us but currently sit's warching on...We are short of another champion leader on field.
Brown hasn't stepped up to take control of what I thought ought to be natural to him...perhaps that is also a mindset issue...he is afraid as the new boy and is sheepish?

COTW...but win or loose...either way it seems like a loss until we find consistency.

What frustrates me is how nonchalant Smith always seems. I'm not asking him to throw players under the bus, like Cunningham, but a bit of pride wouldn't go amiss.

Take Wane, for example, after they lost to Widnes during the middle 8s. He stormed off in anger, after being asked whether he felt threatened - the answer of course was yes. A few weeks later, his side went on to win the League. Has Smith ever felt slightly threatened? I very much doubt it.

I'm not sure it's pride with Cunningham...more misguided expectations...his side isn't good enough where ours is.

have to agree with RD's previous post. While the squad isnt as bad as some are making out (backline is very poor though), these players can play MUCH better.

In every league game this season, its looked like a squad of players (bar 1 or 2) not really interested.

If they can get themselves up for another big game on the TV and beat wigan, you have to wonder about the mindset of the players.

If the players mind set has gone then we are in for a very poor season and whether we like it or not TS and RA will be walking a tight rope. It is their job to motivate the squad. By the looks of the last 4 games they have only managed this once and that was for a game that didn't count for anything in the "bread and butter" world.

How Smith acts in front of a camera is completely different to how he is behind closed doors.

Smith had the lads back in training Sunday morning. He certainly isn't taking this form well.

That's good to hear moving on and thanks to Morleys deckchair for watching my back.

Completely disagree. In 2013 you had key injuries that affected the team's chance of winning. Nothing to do with Smith, just bad luck. Would Wigan have won if Monaghan and Ratchford had stayed on the field and you hadn't the need to completely reorganise the backs?

I'm afraid that the difference between winning and losing at the top level is often very fine margins, and luck plays a big part.

You can't see him giving the team the hair dryer treatment though can you?Rather have Wane's passion any day than Smith's not that bothered attitude.

I'm sorry runningman, but, I disagree.

TS's couldn't care less smirkiness can grate but IF he is doing his stuff behind the scenes, getting the players in on a Sunday and not having this laissez faire attitude that he portrays publically, then that's better than ranting and raving IMO.

Trent Robinson, the best young coach in the world, would obviously be the dream replacement if Smith were to go but again there's zero chance of luring him similarly with Bennett, Bellamy and Hasler.

Tony Smith left out a fit Brett Hodgson for that 2013 grand final. That defeat had a LOT to do with smith regardless of the injuries. It's 3 and a half years later and I am still unable to fathom what on earth he was thinking

My opinion on smith is that I would be cutting him some slack now if he had delivered at least one grand final in the years 2010-2013 when we had such a superb side. He should have done, but unfortunately he didn't and that is why fans are beginning to turn on him. Some people are saying "could we be like leeds last season?". Well if we had won 7 grand finals in 12 years I would quite happily take a season like leeds had last year.

I may be getting a bit long in the tooth but I really can't get hyped up about all this.
We've got a stronger team than last year.

Losing to Cats away is not the end of the earth. It's difficult to go over there and win. Didn't play well enough to win.
We were brilliant against BB
We came up against a red hot Cas playing at the top of their form. We had the opportunity to win but didn't take it.
We were very poor against Salford and didn't deserve to win. Very few players came out with credit.

That's why I'm looking for and expecting a reaction on Thursday.

In RL - more than arguably any other sport - it's about desire and teamwork. Supporting your mates.
For some reason the desire wasn't there last week.
Let's hope it's a learning opportunity.

On the subject of TS v Wane in front of the camera - I don't honestly care what public image they emit.
TS isn't the best but neither is Wane by a long chalk.
I do care about how they relate to the players and if they get the best out of them.
''Managers'' show their feelings in different ways.
There are only so many times you can give out the 'hairdryer' treatment without it losing it's effectiveness.

i think tony smith has his work cut out this year we seem to have a better team but the poor start whilst not the end of the world it will be a hard fight back up the table if we don't turn it around.

Irrespective of our opinions on individual players we have had a team out there that should have been capable of winning our opening games.

I don't profess to be an expert however something just does not seem right as it didn't a few seasons ago, getting beat is part of sport but we seem to have accepted it before the final whistle is blown which does not bode well for the upcoming games

The problem is, nothing "seems right" when you are on a bad run, but hit a purple patch and win the next few games, and everything looks rosey again. That's why I love the roller coaster of RL. I'm pretty sure this will all be forgotten soon enough.