Quote.."If anyone wants to blame me they can !!"
How about i`m sorry for the decisions of team selection i made tonight IT IS MY FAULT and i apologise to all the paying supporters that spent good money to travel with us
Quote.."I didnt want to take any risks with a cup semi in 2 weeks"
Sorry but these comments are unacceptable , all fit players should be showing their worth for a semi spot , thus building momentum for that game and the big ones to follow . So does that mean the Catalan game will be a second string team ... Watch this space because if all this comes tumbling down how " bovered " will we be then....Remember the Leeds play off game Mr Smith !!
All of a sudden in a few seasons we`ve become world class?
Consistant teams who win grand finals year after year are world class , We have not won one !!

Well i hate the play-off system, but it's here and you have to work with what you've got. What is the point in putting your full squad out every week to blitz the league and win the 'hubcap'. Surely it's more prudent to keep everyone fresh especially if they're carrying niggles, target the must win games and field your strongest team for those. The league is no longer a league it's a cup comp, come the end of the season there will be players in our squad that have played half a dozen or so less games than their counterparts.

Because people work hard to earn the money to watch the team home & away. This is the second away game I have spent money on going to watch where I have been frustrated with team selection. I want 17 best players on the pitch unless they are injured. I hate to see fit first team players sat in the stand. I feel cheated Mr Smith. Yes it will be great if we get to Wembley & the GF but what about the money spent on Season tickets & away travel.

ill hapily take a few losses in the year if it means getting to go to wembley or the GF thats a no brainer. he has to play these payers to see if they're upto superleague level yet and some last night were not so he will not mae the same mistae again

+1

+2 and I'm sure a large number of other fans who back Tony Smith in what we are trying to achieve. Remember smashing Leeds home and away in the weekly rounds last year. Can't remember what took place in th play offs

The way people are banging on you'd think he'd picked 10 lads straight out of the u18s. All of the players on the field have significant Super League experience, there were a lot of very experienced players too. There were perhaps more players in there who hadn't played for a while than would be preferably, but the players who performed worst were senior players who have been on the field most of the season.

Blaming selection is actually taking the heat off the non-performers. What concerned me was the lack of brainpower (Bridge's attempted Hollywood pass in our own 10 for example) and the refusal to fight our way back into the game with solid rugby.

I guess - as has been said before - that if we win the CC or GF then all will be forgiven, but for the fans who pay good money I can imagine they feel more than a little short-changed.

I also question the wisdom of ''protecting the players''.
Someone like Briers (unless injured) thrives on playing week in week out, and last year when some were rested I seem to remember we lost when those rested came back.

Maybe TS is just looking towards next year - and it's clear we still need the likes of a Briers.

I got a Grupon voucher for the game and only paid £7.50 but given our performance I still feel short changed.

Just_Browny... I like how you think... I know a lot of Warrington fans and I've seen and heard a lot of them using the ridiculous excuse about the lack of experience throughout the Warrington team... and that being the only reason that Salford won the game on Friday.

Just for the record... The 17 players who turned out for Warrington on Friday had 1,163 appearances for Warrington between them.... Salford players only had 685 appearances for the Reds between them... So as for experience... that one is knocked on the head.

I just wish that Just_Browny could chat to a few of my Warrington fan mates and set them straight without any clear bias.

The Warrington team out there had more than enough experience..And Salford could only play what's in front of them..Thats about it really..

This selection 'controversy' is the biggest non story of the season. He admitted on GMR the other week that he was approaching the season differently than last and that this meant rotation. Hes trying to win 2 trophies and doesnt think we can if he plays his strongest team every week. Hes paid a lot of money to make those decisions.

The fact that he rested quite a few on Friday is not why we lost. The 17 selected had more than enough in them to win that game but too many were poor and, coupled with an excellent Salford performance, it was a perfect storm.

As for his comments being "unacceptable" (laughable) he owes no one an apology.

best post on this salford matter...anyone would think anderson or plange were in charge and wed just lost to gateshead in cup...get a grip

That is a very flawed stat though regarding experience. If you did it using stats of first grade appearances then I'm guessing it would be alot closer. I agree with the point you're trying to make though.

It was only in May,when you won the home game against Salford,when many Warrington supporters were on this forum telling how wonderful it was that your club could produce players from your Academy who could defeat a Super League side.There does appear to be a monumental shift in perspective.

An abiding memory for me will be Tony Smith enthusiastically congratulating the Salford players as they left the pitch.That,for me, showed the measure of the man,and has altered the earlier impression I had formed of him, from interviews I had seen.

Good luck to him and the club for the remainder of the season.