Quote: KaeruJim "We need to see how the team and Smith performs against weaker opposition, when we are being stressed a little less.
Most of the criticisms about passive defence etc. have not really been evident in the last two losses. It still may well be the case that Smith ends up losing his job this year; the problem is that you lot complain about anybody and anything. Brian Mac go so much stick despite being the most successful coach ever. Same people using arguments about "only results matter" also bag BM....
My own frustrations are around some strange decisions around player retention, one or two signings and some in-game decisions which baffle me. I really think Newman and Fus should have been off the field when they got injured; Newman could have had treatment and gone back on later if he pulled up fit; Fus was clearly knackered yet again. They were both liabilities in D, I just don't think the selection that day allowed for injuries to both those players, which is bad luck to a degree.
People still trying to blame RS for a decision Miller made which was clearly wrong, and also blaming him for bagging him in the post-match. A thousand percent RS doesn't coach that kind of decision, and that player in particular has been prone to brain farts from pre-season through. Yes he's great going forward, no complaints, but RS needs to find a way to wind in his excesses/have another player make those kind of kicks.
I don't blame the coach for individuals making those kind of errors, but there comes a point where you can blame him for still selecting those players, or putting them in positions where their weaknesses shine.'"
Good post Jim. Agree with much of that.
What I would say about Miller's short drop out is that it's very symptomatic of how we've played under Smith since start of last season and for me if we had a top coach who the players feared or coached them well, then they wouldn't dare do such a brain fart 99.9% of the time, they'd make better decisions week after week, we consistently make stupid decisions, short kick offs, don't respect the ball, don't earn the hard yards first and that is a reflection of the coaching..
