You should really say what you think.





Who would you have coaching us instead? (If you say Brian Smith I win the argument btw)



Who would you have owning us?

murdock is spot on but then what he's said is obvious. The problem is if you back the wrong coach you end up being further away from where you need to be

What have people got against Brian Smith?

People see him as some kind of messiah, based on a couple of seasons with Hull in the late 80s, but he's won nothing of note in his career as far as I can tell. He's taken teams to finals and lost, and you could say the same about Peter Sharp and Peter Gentle, but people don't get misty eyed over them for some reason.



I've never met him and have nothing personal against him, but just don't see what he would offer.

Maybe so but he took our team of fairly average players and improved them (as a team) massively.



Similar to Daryll Powell and Cas to me.



If he had stuck around who knows but let's be honest there is only one trophy to win in Aus and it takes a special team to win it.



Not saying he would be the answer but it would be interesting to see if he could have the same impact as first time round.

He also built the crow's nest at the Boulevard which he's never had enough credit for.

Personally I had what I thought were pretty low expectations. Murdoch, however, thinks we all expected a 4th placed finish (seriously - that's from his tweets) and only considers this season 'disappointing' when compared to that. Apparently languishing just above two basket-case clubs shouldn't be considered a poor perfromance if we had 'realistic' expectations.

murdoch is running around trying to be everyone's mate to further his fledgling sports management business

Well when you put it like that...





I guess I was optimistic but realistic too, although I did expect better. Losing to Wigan isn't a surprise. A 50 point drubbing is though and shows that we haven't progressed much, if at all this year.



Expectations haven't been managed by the club, and that for me is one of Pearson's failings.

For me, overall Pearson has done a good job. He got rid of Rule who was often accused of being a club apologist under Auntie Kath's reign. I realise that the Gleeson thing probably had more to do with him leaving but the point is that Pearson got rid. He also got rid of Agar and I don't think many people at the time were disappointed with that decision. His investments into the facilities at the club have been brilliant and something that was long overdue.



I think his lack of rugby knowledge has cost him at times. The Mcrae appointment, in hindsight, was a mistake but it was an understandable appointment given that he needed a rugby man in place to help run things. My verdict is still out on Motu Tony.



I think his impatience has let him down too. The appointment of Gentle was generally well received at the time and he did well enough that first year to earn a contract extension only to find himself sacked a year later. I think that was a big mistake on Pearson's part. He was doing a better job than Radford and was doing so from day one.



I'd also say his ambition has let him down. He's hyped up the club and our chances a lot and ultimately we've failed to deliver. He's certainly been more quiet on that front this year but looking back on last year in particular and the whole Bel13ve campaign and I find it somewhat cringeworthy now.



Finally I'd say his naivety has cost him a bit too. Things like the promise of two world class half back signings two years ago was poor. But I have no doubt that he genuinely thought it would be easy to get them.



So in summary, for me he's done some good things and he's done some bad things. I'd rather have AP than still be lumbered with Auntie Kath.

+1



Good post

I was very pessimistic and said 7-10 and even that looks like an optimistic expectation now.

I expected 6th-4th which was clearly well out. Biggest disappointment for me this year overall has been the pack who I thought would be fairly dominant but have held their own at best. Feka, Westy and Ellis apart I've been disappointed with them in general. Early-mid season we did get in field position to score points but I probably didn't factor in a complete shortage of skill behind the forwards - you can't expect to play SL with an abject kicking game and no tactical leader on the field.

I was slightly more optimistic and had us down between 6th and 9th. Even with the squad we have that should have been achievable IMO.