Au contraire.

Tony Smith was appointed to the GB gig on the 26th March last year, just after the Round 7 win over Harlequins.

The SL record prior to the appointment was:

WWLWLWW (1.43 points per game)

After the appointment it was:

WLWWWWLWWWLWLLWWWDLW (1.35 points per game)

To be statistically accurate you should take the 7 rounds after the announcement (same as before it). In which case the ratio is 5 wins and 2 defeats in each 7 game set.

Sorry I've been reading tvoc..........

You're probably right.

Either way, whilst I suspect David might be right and for those players in TS's good books there may well have been a rapprochement after he announced he was leaving, the claim that results improved is incorrect.

Rob - lies, damm lies and statistics - you have to compare the quality of the opposition home - who did Leeds play in the first seven games? Also compare the twenty previous games to Smith announcement to the twenty after.

The win ratio only tells half the story - for me it is about how well they play not about if they win - the best performance of last season was the defeat at Saints in the play offs.

Defeat to 8th placed Hull, only one try in a later home defeat to Hull, being kept try-less at Wigan, a home defeat to Wakefield and a home drubbing by Bradford. They all happened after the announcement of departure and don't fit any pattern of improved performance.

The points per game for Tony Smith's tenure:

2004 1.82
2005 1.57
2006 1.44
2007 1.43 (pre announcement)
2007 1.35 (post announcement)

That might give you a decent case for saying Leeds's performance got progressively worse under Tony Smith (though it would ignore external factors) but I don't think it supports any notion that the side picked up once they knew he was off.

What have you changed your mind about, that you judged Smith too harshly?

BTW, I see you had time to reply to a number of other posts after this. What's wrong, mine too searching for you?

My packing is now done.

I have changed my mind over that it is possible for professional atheletes to back off from trying to achieve peak performance in every game they play.


BTW nice piece of issue dodging my "non mind changing" friend....

With a mind as brilliant as mine why on earth would I ever want to change it?

Schoey may get jealous?

I would have thought that results both last season and this actually say something about the whole team (which is largely unchanged under Bluey). The fact is that at their BEST Leeds are capable of beating anyone. However, this team is not and never will be completely dominant. I think the record against Wigan - this year and last - speaks volumes for the fact that if the team is slightly off the boil there are a number of sides around capable of beating them.

As for G1's point, I agree entirely. Some of the stick on here for Smith was farcial in the extreme and seemed to be based on hearsay and a general 'dislike' of the guy. I couldn't give a hoot if the whole team hated him and burnt effigies of him - he still got them to win the GF twice.

How anyone can seriously STILL denigrate the coach who won two GFs on here, and yet support Bluey as though he's playing some sort of 'long-term' poker game, is to be frank, a complete fool. Get over it. Smith won two championships. Until someone else beats that record, he's the best coach Leeds have had in close to 40 years. What next, the old rubbish about how we'd have won in 2004 with DP???

FWIW I believe that Bluey has started to lose patience with some players. His comments after the defeat by Wigan sounded the most frustrated yet. He knows as well as anybody that losing a series of tight games (and lets face it the one win recently was not by the first team) is not the way to go even if we are targetting the CC. If some players expect everything to just 'click' against Sts in the semi and to take the p*ss in the meantime, I think they're deluding themselves.

Gareth makes some good points throughout this thread, so here are mine -

I have thought this for a little while now but Leeds look almost structureless, the more worrying thing for me though is that at points in a game where changes need to made Bluey doesn't do a thing.

Our start to games is shocking, I would love to know how the coaching staff deliver pre game instructions - I aint sure there are any.

Some of the positional decisions border on coaching incompetence and continuing with Ellis at Centre is ridiculous, the fact that Hall is now been exposed by this tactic further shows Blueys change averse management style.

Sinfield continues to hamper the half back combination, his lack of pace both in foot and hand speed is criminal.

Out last play options are pathetic, comes back to structure I guess.

At times we look like we miss a leader, only Senior and Burrow appeared to be delivering any kind of motivation when behind the sticks, Peacock occasionally came in but only rarely.


So the question is, is this 2005? Its a little early to say but its looking that way, the only possitive I can find is that Saints have peaked to early and we've dipped at the right time!!

Everyone should stop there moaning , we are in a dip of form and are still nearly winning games. Looked as though we turned a corner against wigan in the second half, started supporting and off loading more. Bluey has won the WCC has taken us to joint top of the league and a CC Cup Semi. I remember when Leeds fans would have killed for this , the reason he should not got any stick is that he clearly doesn',t deserve it. Get a grip all you moaners we could be Hull and then life would be .