Talking of tiresome. Have you actually ever posted anything positive? Like ever? You seem like the type who still wouldn't be happy if we were to win the Grand Final this year, you'd probably still harp on about it taking us four attempts and the fact we lost our first six games this season.

I agree FMC and although I'm a supporter of Smith I can see, or more correctly, I will level certain disappointments that I have as 'his failures' we aren't a bunch of 'Stepford Wives'. As an example, hanging on to an aging team a few year's back giving them one last chance to win the GF and the poor recruitment that immediately followed.

There has to be a balance and that's what's often missing, the holding on to he aged team was a gamble that didn't pay off so is to a degree understandable. Imagine the furore if we had a massive 'Allied Carpet' clear out and got nowhere near the second successive GF attempt? The poor recruitment that followed is more disappointing perhaps he was expecting more from the youngsters and his signings, another gamble?

I'm not overjoyed with where we are at the minute, but, will reset my view later on this season, when we have a better understanding of where we be ending up

Ah and there we go with the personal attack.

Classy.

Anything to back that up with like usernames and posts or is that wild speculation?

Personal attack? It was a genuine question. A legitimate question based on the fact I don't think I've ever seen you have anything positive or constructive to say even when we finished top of the league last year.

It's the same tone from Wires71 that it was 10 years ago. I'd understand his point to an extent if we'd gone three years of steady decline and had no trophies or finals to show for it. The main gripe I have is that last season was our most successful for many years, and to want the coach out after 6 games is plain stupid and disrespectful.

Just thought I would repost original question. !!

Not many people were calling for his immediate sack this was also posted before our poor run and it's a legitimate question given our "most successful" season in many years still left many disappointed and feeling that we underachieved.

Our priority is win the Gf with the cc second and lls 3rd so it's a trophy but the 3rd teir of the 3 to win both makes us unarguably the best team that season and that's where the lls has it's value if you win both

talk of getting to a final being a positive yes if your Widnes or waykey maybe something to shout about but we were ahead and blew the cc final and should have won the gf yet did not turn up.

the regal trophy was contested halfway thru the season where as the premiership was an end of season comp..back then winning the league made you champs and every game try goal and drop goal mattered..we won the premiership in 86 from 4th,played widnes at home then wigan away(paul bishop tormented wigan that day) then halifax in final

Although I disagree with a lot of what Wires71 says he does have a consistent argument. He's not just taken a kneejerk approach and changed his mind - before the season started he was arguing that we needed change because we'd had too many seasons of having the best / one of the best squads and not got over the line and won the Grand Final. His suggestion was to bring in a coach like Hasler, Bellamy or Bennett which in my opinion isn't realistic but it's a fair enough point of view. If we could get one of those coaches then I am sure even the most ardent pro-Smith supporter would see it as something worth considering?

Wires71 wants us to win a Grand Final like we all do and he gives his views on here on what he thinks needs to change to get that, there's no crime in doing that as it is a discussion forum.

I still think we will go unbeaten through April and collect team off the month award.

Isn't it mathematically possible to get into the top 8 today?

I'm not going today.
It's my own fault, but as I saw the fixture with a 3 p.m. kick off time, I naturally assumed it was a Sunday game. As I'm already down on a golf competition's start sheet, with a tee off time of 2 p.m., I automatically thought "why should I disrupt my day, just to go and watch Warrington, when they've been boring the t1t5 off me, for the last few seasons".
.....and there lays the problem. WE'RE BORING.

For a few seasons now, we've been on a steady downward spiral of unimaginative rugby. The last 2 - 3 years have been pitiful, in terms of entertainment.

I went went to last GF with my brother (who was a home regular from the end of the 80's to the beginning of SL, but still watches us on TV, now), and as we left, he turned to me and said "that was awful. Joyless rugby". I agreed with him. IT IS. I couldn't deny it. To use a football analogy, we've almost become like Arsenal under George Graham/Don Howe. Dull but effective. One Nil to the Ars-en-al is now prevalent to us

We don't beat men, anymore. We never look for gaps, 50 yards out. We don't take risks. We have wingers making "the hard yards", and forwards finishing the end of sets of six. SURELY THAT'S THE WRONG WAY ROUND, or am I missing something.?

We've got an NFL "legend" on the pitch, but all he does is shout. I want to see exhilarating rugby from him. All I get is crash balls, or a dive over try from a play the ball.

Patton. He looks to have a great kicking game, but ball in hand, he's merely so-so. As somebody said on the Hudds game thread, bar the stadium announcer calling his name, you wouldn't know he'd played.

Bar the opening few games of last season, when Sandow was playing "off the cuff rugby" we've been painful to watch for 5 years, and it boils down to Smith and his acolyte Agar.

I'd love to know why Poching left the club. An assistant here, overseeing exciting rugby, he then "goes" to HKR to fulfill the same role, but at a club with nowhere near our ambition/capabilities. Very strange. Since then, we've steadily declined, in terms of entertainment. No coincidence.

Let the ostriches on here come up with 2 runners ups and a LLS, for last season. That's their prerogative. I go to rugby to be entertained. Not to have the equivalent of 1980's Italian football served up to me.

So, to those who are going this afternoon, I hope we win, but most of all, I hope you are entertained. You deserve it. I've not been for ages.
I'll have my mobile on silent, but checking for updates. I'm just hoping I sink a few putts on the course.

Come on Wire.

Yes, if we win by 57 or more.

This sums it up perfectly for me. This is EXACTLY how i have felt for about 4 seasons now.

Spot on lefty. I have a season ticket but over the last few years there have been home games where I have been really close to not bothering to go just because it is not appealing as it was. That is not about big name aussie players or people like briers.
Last week's game was far from entertaining but the last 5 mins should have been exciting but strangely It wasn't.

I know we should be entertaining in attack but 4 / 5 years ago I was also entertained by our defence. We used to knock the ball out in a legitimate tackle a couple of times a game (without shoulder charges) but I would be surprised if we have done that twice in the first 10 games. When was the last time we saw a gang tackle and somebody pushed (not dragged) into touch. When was the last time we made a tackle 5 yards out but forced the attacker in goal.

I could go on all day about our attack.

Having said all that I think we could win big today but If we did I suspect it would be more "mechanical" than entertaining.

can't argue with any of that.

a 58 point win will see us romp above Saints................

Smith out.

we just need to score 72 unanswered points now in the last 30 mins

I'll take 14 now if on offer.

I can totally sympathize with the points you make Lefty.

I've found it increasingly difficult (until this season) to find the motivation to get to games, purely driven by the style of play now on offer.

I think we were lucky on a couple of fronts through 2011 and 2012: our style of play was brilliant to watch, and in the main it was successful. I could stomach the lack of GF wins (even though I thought we 'deserved it'), purely as we were fun to watch.

However, the rot had already set in for much of Super League by then, with the dual effect of dropping standards (driven by fewer and lower quality imports), and a change in the style of play. We were saved from this by a coach who encouraged open play and players who embraced it and had the skills to exploit it.

Since then, we've lost those players, not been able to replace them with
adequate alternatives (I don't lay the blame for this on the club, as I'm not sure who else we could have brought in: quality options just don't seem available), and had to adapt our style both to contend with other teams and their changed approach, and utilize the players we have; I don't think this is Smith's natural style (it's not how we played under him at first, or Leeds before that), but I don't think he's had any other choice given available resource.

Now we have no forwards who can offload like Solomona, Carvell, etc, our halves have little creative flair, and our backs (apart from
Atkins) seem devoid of any real attacking prowess. We still have some good players, relative to their peers in SL, but the nature of the game has changed and the standard has dropped. I reckon Saints in 2014 were by a distance the worse team I've ever seen be crowned champs; things have improved a bit since then, but not much.

We've remained competitive through this period which has retained some interest, and for me personally this year has offered the chance to get my eldest daughter interested in the sport. But I largely have little interest in many neutral games now as the entertainment Lefty refers to just isn't there.

With any luck Cas can do something this year to change the view on how to win; ideally Wigan will bomb too, to prove the alternative doesn't work, but I fear the bad will out, and the current vogue will continue for a while yet.

This for me is a stronger reason to switch away from Smith than the fact we haven't won a GF under him, or lost our first 6 this year. I no longer remain convinced he is the best man to lead the players likely to be at his disposal to victory in a league played under these type of conditions.

I expect (hope?!) this is just a phase and the game will evolve back into something worthy of being called entertainment again, as dummy half scoots and 'attacking kicks to the corner' really don't float my boat.

I've been feeling the same for the last two years now. Just can't be d at all. Went to Catalan away and been to Leeds at home but that's all this year. I'm still "interested" as will watch on TV but the whole game just isn't interesting me as much as it used to. I used to wake up on game day looking forward to the game but lately I just couldn't really care less. Thought it was just me getting old but obviously I'm not the only one feeling like this.

Not just Warrington, super league in general is poor at the minute. The recent salary cap changes won't make a dent in the problem either.

Sad.

This ^^^

I like Smith and I've enjoyed what he's done for us. However in sport every so often a full 'reset' is what's needed and a whole new and fresh approach. Even with last years exploits, the team didn't look like a champion team, and 2015 / 2017 have showed that Smith is unlikely to repeat the glory years with the team he's built himself.

I feel bad saying that, but I feel it's the truth. Who is out there to replace him? I really don't know. The good young British coaches are now tied down to good deals at their respective clubs. Maybe time to take a punt on an untested Aussie assistant? Would wait until the end if the season of course, to ensure we at least stay up this season. The downside of that is that there's nothing left to look forward to this season - I expect an early exit from the cup and a finish in 8th/9th as the only game we've won convincingly was against Leeds and even then it was touch and go for a period.

Probably where you are now... again.

Actually that's not very fair.. there is a large section of this board that would like a new coach.... and they have been consistent in saying the same things after victories and after defeats.

So they haven't really gone anywhere. Not really the same story for the people on the other side of the fence, so to speak.