I'll be honest, when I heard Brian Smith had been appointed I thought it a brave but very wrong choice - I still do to a degree. For a start we were getting the first genuinely top Coach the club has had since I've watched them (though JK comes close) - and we were going to waste it by parachuting him into a situations his coaching methods were totally unsuitable for. Although it can only be speculation I have a feeling that Kear or either Kelly's would have done better, possibly even avoiding the Million Pound Game. It's just my opinion but for me Smith is a thinker, a scrupulous prepper for the team, the season and the game - 95% of what Smith does happened close season. It certainly doesn't usually happen two thirds of the way through a cataclysmic season. The inspirational make do end mend style of Kear for me was far more suitable.
However hats off to Smith because he did it - just. Totally (I suspect) against all his natural instincts he managed to steady the ship and get the result he needed - ironically for him the only time he's ever won a final!
However this coming season we won't be contesting any finals - sadly not the SL Final - hopefully not the MPG. So by luck or by judgement we now have exactly the Coach we need who is now at last in the element in which he excels.
Pre season is as I have said his domain. He may not be the powerhouse he was 15 years ago but IMHO he's still more than capable of putting to together a competitive SL team. He's picked his team many of whom were with him last years. He's recruited a number of decent players to bolster us. He also got rid last season of two of the worst cancers I've seen at this club, Kirke and above all Sammut. Why people wanted us to play this guy is beyond me as it was obvious the guy didn't want to be here and only cared about himself - I don't care how talented he was he was a bad apple. Why Agar, Webster and Carter didn't get rid of him in 2014 is a mystery let alone having him spreading his poison this season.
Do I know the Sammut story for certain, well no I don't but seeing as Smith had him out of the club within weeks of arriving suggests I'm on the right lines.
This shows Smith is still a disciplinarian and can and will punish those who don't tow the line - and boy do we need that. Player for player we will never match the top teams but with a strong team culture and iron discipline we will compete.
From being the wrong man for the job he is IMHO the most right man there is. That's not to say success is a certainty, if the players don't buy in we are screwed but that applies at all clubs. We need some luck especially where injuries are concerned but again few clubs can avoid that one. There are still many things that could take us down but we know that so none of us are in any way complacent.
I expect a ragged first third of the season with a few high and maybe a few more lows. Then I hope that all the training and drills will start to pay off and we start to find form and get results, maybe enough to see us safe. The last third of the season always separates the men from the boys and is where reputations are made - I'll wait and see on that one.
So from me it's go Brian...go Brian
