Quote: Yed "It shows though that defence is TS's top priority, which is probably why Penny was frozen out.'"
But that's why TS has won trophies here and will continue to win them (IMO), whilst I feel Penny will probably go on to have an entertaining career, but probably lacking success.
Look at the top sides throughout the years, they rarely get away with not having 'complete' players in there. Richie isn't complete, he's very young and raw but has clear talent that he has shown throughout the season. At his age, at our level and coming from Salford's level, expecting him to step up and do everything was probably too much to ask, Smith knows that and I'm sure Richie will know that, too.
I liked Kev, he was a nice lad who shown bags of effort and desire, but look at Mathers for another great example - it isn't enough, you will be based on what happens on that field and, when you're constantly exposed like Kev was, you won't have too many more chances. Richie's lucky he plays in a position where young players rarely come in and command a spot, he's also lucky that our other half back 'options' (Briers, Mona's) aren't so young themselves, so he knows he is being groomed to fill either spot, he's just been unfortunate enough to not tickle the manager's fancy in the back end of the season. It's all part of the learning curve, and, as much as some like to speculate, that's all it is. As much as some will try and expose Smith, or try and speculate an inconsistency in his coaching, his decisions are purely professional IMO, so I will rarely disagree with a man who I feel makes every decision with acceptable reasons, even if they don't always come off.
