I'm sorry I'm not quite following what you mean? Don't get me wrong I don't want Smith out and have never have done but giving him an extension based on the previous year is baffling to me.

he is (was) out of contract at the end of the year, when should they have offered him a new deal, or decided to find someone new?

I'm guessing you looked for a new coach and found there aren't any on the market that are better than Smith. Sadly all the great ex-NRL players seem to want to go straight into media now.

I'm guessing we had no intention of looking to see who else was available. If TS was happy with staying, he was always going to get a new contract - A view I personally agree with. If he fails to deliver a major trophy in 2016 or 2017, then 2018 may well be his last.

I personally would have put a contract on the table and said "win the Grand Final and its all yours". I suppose there's the problem that he might find a different club if that was the case but that's a risk I would be willing to take.

I can't believe we are even discussing whether Smiths contract should be renewed....NO BRAINER!!!!
Prior to his appointment we could only dream of Wembley, League Leaders Shield & Grand Finals. And now having gone thru a period of player/staff transition we are questioning a new contract???
Wake up & smell the coffee folks!!!!!

I'm happy with it.
I'm enjoying the new TS this season. Not rewarding mediocrity for a change.
Anything less than a model player, your dropped! I'd like to see TS extend it with form too, other than only ever picking on either Penny, Ormsby or Riley over the last 3 years when everyone with a hole up the jackstaff know who was really lacking.
So glad he's now one our better players this year by the way, but I don't put that down to sustained selection.

But had we not have won the grand final we would have been left without a coach in October for the following season, you can't run a club like that, and can't bring in a quality replacement at the drop of a hat.

Very happy with it too. He did cop some flak last season and some of it justified but recruitment this season has been spot on with upgrades to half back and back row. There was a lot of criticism on here when he let Carvell go but injuries had caught up with him and he didn't make much of an impression after. Same with Joel Monaghan and there are 3 pages on the Cas forum where fans are not impressed. Chris Bridge missed half of last season due to injuries and much the same is now happening at Widnes. That is a lot of cap space freed up and credit where it is due.

Gave us roads.

It must be boring winning cups every year, i think i prefer our roller coaster ride.

Happy with stability, Saints have changed their coach more regularly than a Widnes fan changes his underwear and it hasn't really been an improvement has it.

grand final year before last?

As I used to tell Wigan fans in the 80's, "any fool can support a winning team". What I thought, but didn't say "...but it takes a special sort of masochist to support the Wire..."

Judging by their forum even they accept that was a fluke, certainly their play has generally deteriorated.