Finally a sensible and realistic post on this forum. Good man

I agree word for word

Very surprised that the players found out through social media, at the same time as the rest of us!

Wonderful post that. I hope you went Odsal in 54.

Great post and that is some impressive long term Wire watching I think when I use the words most successful (not best) I align that with trophies won.

Anyhow, just for the purposes of debate, don't you think Smith inherited an excellent squad, albeit misfiring? His successor won't have that luxury that's for sure.

Cheers. Yes I was at Odsal for the Wembley replay and unlike many others in that massive crowd had a view of the whole match.

After my first Wembley match as a 12 year old in 1950 I went to every final until I left England in 1966. Then after reaching Aus in 1968 I have been to all NRL finals since. Was at the 1999 final when the world attendance record for a rugby league game was set at 108,000 in Sydney.

The attendance at Odsal was given as 102,500 but in my opinion there was a bigger crowd at Odsal than at the Sydney Olympic Stadium.

Despite 2 mammoth crowds, there's a good chance you might be unique for being at both?! Certainly a claim to fame

Top man!

I've never minded Hull at all. I think you have the potential to be the biggest club in the country - looking at your stadium and your fan base (look how you outnumbered Leeds in the CC semi and Wigan in the CC final, who else would do that?)

Cheers for that post.

_______________
As for Tony Smith. He's been great for us but bar last season's anomaly of a season where we did well but overachieved we've steadily gone backwards since 2013 so it's the right time to go. But his achievements from 2009-2013 are historical for this club and I'll always think of Smith fondly.

I also agree with what he says about the sport in general; "The game is becoming less attractive," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

"But that is my vibe on it. I am not bitter because I am finishing at Warrington, I've felt like this for a few years now."

He continued: "I'm not sure that we are growing much as a sport. I think the sport is dwindling and we need some freshness and excitement about the way we promote it."

"I wouldn't be excited about jumping into anything in rugby league just at the moment. I'd love to see some changes before I could get excited about the game as a whole,"

Maybe, rather than go into working with another club, Tony Smith could go into something with a gorverning body and address this?

Confused.

Well i love rugby league but it doesnt excite me anywhere near as it once did. It's a bit like my missus...i love her but she's doesnt excite me anymore...unless she gets the boob job. In conclusion rugby league needs wappage enhancement.

The two statements are entirely consistent. TS loves the game of rugby league but is disillusioned right now at its state. He clearly points the finger in these remarks at Red Hall and many would agree with him.

I'm guessing she doesn't visit this forum

I agree with much of what he says but it can't used as a reason for Warrington's issues this season (if that was his intention). The comments are poorly timed, as many Warrington fans will interpret his message as "I didn't have my heart in it" and make the correlation between that and the apathy within the squad hence poor effort on the field. In which case he should have gone earlier so we could rescue the season.

I suspect that probably wasn't the case and it's just that he's lost his influence on the squad after being here so long, and we need a fresh approach. But still, poorly timed.

Anyway, Dean Pay will be here soon to instil some steel into our defence and reward form rather than reputation. All we need is a good assistant to work on our attack, because we sure as hell don't have any playmakers with that natural x-factor flair.

End of the day, TS is pointing fingers at dead rubbers but if championship teams matched the intensity of SL teams then there wouldn't be as many dead rubbers would there? Having a qualifiers is a good idea IMO and it allows teams who are able to compete to rise to the top. Look at Leigh. Yeas they've been beaten but in the majority of games they've been beaten by a Try or two, they've given teams a game. they've not just been whipping boys, they've matched established SL teams and took them all the way.

Now, had leigh been allowed to come straight up two seasons ago when they finished top would that have happened? no. they'd have been battered every week. when they went into a middle 8's all cocky they had the shock of their lives when it came to matching SL intensity week in week out, rather than 3 or for times a season in the championship.

Look at the top 8 now, Hull, Saints, Wigan & Wakefield are all battling it out for 3rd and 4th. That's incredible, we're down to the last week of the regular league season and its gone all the way to the last round of fixtures to decide who contests for a GF spot.

Its not the system that's broke, the system works. 'Every minute matters' and it does, because had we closed out the magic weekend, or been smarter at Wakefield and Huddersfield we'd be in the Top 8 sitting in 6th place when it came to the split and we'd be a team competing for a semi final place.

So no. I don't agree with TS's comments and if he had addressed the dire situation that everyone could see, he'd be in charge and we'd be excited for a chance of scraping into a final and looking forward to next season.

His own stubbornness has been his downfall. He has his favorite 'undroppables', he always has. Players who come back from injury and just walk straight back into the team. Failure to communicate with the fans and address the problems. After our 5th straight loss changes should have been made. Matty Russell was a turnstile, Hughes couldn't catch a cold, Dwyer inability to create anything around the ruck, Sims ran with the intensity of a toddler... It needed addressing! signings needed to be made but it never happened because Tony Smith was to stubborn to admit that the team he was picking was S&$*. It was insulting to turn out and show the fans the rugby we were playing. He brought in his mate Agar and ever since our creativity and look of enthusiasm within the team has completely vanished, It was never addressed. He can moan and whinge all he wants but all the current problems within our team have started with a decision by the man in charge. Smith.

I can never thank him enough for what he allowed me to witness as a fan, Webley, League leaders, Grand final appearances... It's been the stuff of dreams. However good all that was though, the fact is his shelf life expired in 2013. The club clanged on and on, hoping something might happen instead of growing a set of balls and making a change. so, as a result, we have this season.

We need a new coaching set up (assistant coaches, backroom staff, the lot.) and a complete clearout, top to bottom.