Smithy going to the Roosters next season (confirmed)

[(.)(.)]

Now that ****es me off. Sorry but he is still our Coach, thats like Gidley going and playing for Sea Eagles this week while we have the bye ! But i still have a soft spot for Brian :/

You know what would pi$$ me off even more? If this guys just making up sh!t because he's bitter.

I watched the Roosters vs Warriors broadcast and never saw or heard anything about Smith being at the game. Not saying he wasn't... though I'd wait for someone else to confirm this. After all... this guy reckons Smith signing with the Roosters was a dog act... even though it's a great opportunity and gives him job security for the next 4 years.

 

[jamesgould]

Now that ****es me off. Sorry but he is still our Coach, thats like Gidley going and playing for Sea Eagles this week while we have the bye ! But i still have a soft spot for Brian :/

Smith often attends other teams games, especially during bye weeks. We play the Roosters again next round, it'll be just as much about us for that game as it will be for next year.

 

[jamesgould]

Can everyone get over this. He is leaving. WOW. Lets focus on a new coach now. It's not as if we are raging favourites for the premiership. There is still room for improvement.

Smith isn't the greatest coach ever. There will be someone just as good or better out there. The team will still be there. Get over it and stop whinging. It's good news in my eyes.

Gunners is in seventh heaven!

 

[GUNNERS]

Gunners is in seventh heaven!

As long as we sign someone that I'm happy with I'll definitely be in 7th heaven.

All these knights supporters are talking about BS as if he is a God. He really isn't. He has done wonderful things but I'm glad to see his back.

 

[steve]

very annoying seeing people criticise smithy for leaving. His decision was not entirely based upon money as many people think. His daughter suffers from a serious condition and he wants to be close to her in sydney while she goes to university. If people think that is a dog act then they themselves are dogs.

 

[~knightsgirljess~]

i think people are just shoocked it happened when it did!

 

[bigdan]

i think people are just shoocked it happened when it did!

I have to agree - to be honest, I'd prefer he had said it at the end of the season.

 

[U23]

I have to agree - to be honest, I'd prefer he had said it at the end of the season.

He can't be entirely to blame though. Could even be the Roosters doing that it was announced now.

Even still, in todays game nothing can be kept secret. Info is going to leak to the media one way or another.

 

[Tim]

He can't be entirely to blame though. Could even be the Roosters doing that it was announced now.

Even still, in todays game nothing can be kept secret. Info is going to leak to the media one way or another.

Also would have left us in a worse position to find a new coach. Earlier the better in that regard

 

[Liam]

Smith often attends other teams games, especially during bye weeks. We play the Roosters again next round, it'll be just as much about us for that game as it will be for next year.

I'd say this given that we have Manly this week and Roosters the week after, Smith may have gone to the Manly game, seen the Roosters game was on the next day and stayed the night in Sydney.

 

[Jonno]

I'd say this given that we have Manly this week and Roosters the week after, Smith may have gone to the Manly game, seen the Roosters game was on the next day and stayed the night in Sydney.

Might even make an appearence at the game tonight, as they are our opponents in the two weeks after Manly and Sydney City.

 

[Liam]

Might even make an appearence at the game tonight, as they are our opponents in the two weeks after Manly and Sydney City.

This is a very fortunate round for Brian!

 

[Sammyyy]

Might even make an appearence at the game tonight, as they are our opponents in the two weeks after Manly and Sydney City.

Doubt it. He was in Newcastle today for the BBQ in the Hunter and also had a press conference up there today.

In the press conference he said that he wanted to stay and that the Roosters offer was too hard to reject and the Knights just couldnt match it so it can be seen as more of a business deal.

Brian Smith hopes taking Newcastle to finals will be parting gift

Outgoing Newcastle coach Brian Smith will see out the 2009 season with the Knights, as he focuses on taking the club as deep as he can into the NRL finals.

Speaking for the first time about his decision to walk out on the final year of his deal with the Knights to take up a four-year contract with the Sydney Roosters, Smith rejected talk he would step down from his Knights role immediately.

And he was adamant the upheaval surrounding his impending departure would not affect Newcastle in the run in to the finals.

“There's a pretty stable group there, there's a lot of desire, there's a lot of confidence, the boys as a group are pretty close to each other and the connections between the players, management and coaches are pretty strong,'' Smith said.

“I don't think any of us will let it split us.''

The Knights are currently fifth on the ladder and eyeing their first taste of finals football since Smith took over at the club in 2007.

Smith said he would not start thinking about the task at hand with the Roosters until after the completion of his commitments with the Knights.

Fox

You can watch part of the conference on Fox Videos

 

[knight-no-7]

Im not fussed anymore, at the time it was a bit shocking, as it was out of the blue. He's made a decision, lets move on .. we have a premiership to win in '09.

 

[Sammyyy]

Brian Smith: My walkout was just business

BRIAN Smith yesterday justified walking out on the Newcastle Knights at the end of the season by claiming it was the business decision he had to make.

In a further sign loyalty in the game is dead and buried, Smith admitted the security of a four-year contract with the Sydney Roosters was the big factor in seeking a release from the final year of his contract at the Knights.

Smith will remain as Newcastle coach until the end of the season with his assistant Rick Stone now at unbackable odds to replace him.

The Knights board met yesterday to rubber-stamp Smith's release but will officially leave a decision on his replacement until the end of August.

But Stone has the support of the hierarchy and the players and now seems certain to get the job.

There were suggestions last night Smith chased the Roosters coaching post because he feared Stone was being groomed to take over at the Knights sooner rather than later.

"He suspected he was on the outer and that there would be a push for Stoney to take over," one source said.

"He could see the writing on the wall because he was never viewed as a long-term coach here.

"It's why there hasn't been a huge backlash to him leaving."

Smith intimated as much yesterday when he said of the Knights' decision to only offer him a new one-year deal at the start of the season: "When it came back as a one-year offer, we all knew what that meant."

In explaining his decision to walk, Smith said it was simply a case of one club wanting a coach and one coach wanting a club.

"It's a business decision. A bit too much has been made of the money. The tenure issue is the big thing," he said.

"I'm 55 years old and I was flattered by a long-term offer, particularly from a strong club like the Roosters.

"I took it as a business decision. When Denis Fitzgerald (former Parramatta CEO) tapped me on the shoulder, it was a business decision. Surely I'm allowed to make one."

Senior Knights stars Adam MacDougall and Steve Simpson were diplomatic about Smith's depart- ure, claiming that they can understand his reasoning.

"It's a cut-throat game now," MacDougall said.

"It's not for me to judge what he has done but he obviously feels it's what he had to do for his future."

Simpson described it as an opportunity too good to pass up.
"It's four years and these days you can't blame him for taking it."

Smith spoke yesterday morning to the players for the first time since news broke of his defection.

After a short get-together, the players then met on their own to talk about the issue before a public training session in front of a couple of hundred supporters at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

The players spoke of not letting the distraction of Smith leaving affect the squad for the rest of the season.

"Myself, Gids (Kurt Gidley) and Simmo spoke and basically just said to the boys we can't afford to let it affect us," MacDougall said.

"We realise we have had a good start to the year and we just want to finish it off for ourselves."

Smith admitted the thought of linking with the troubled Roosters appealed to him. "I just see it as a great opportunity," he said.

Asked did he feel he was walking out on the Knights, he said: "The club is in a great position. Whoever gets the coaching gig in 2010 has an ideal opportunity to move forward."

Daily Telegraph

 

[dutchie]

You know what would pi$$ me off even more? If this guys just making up sh!t because he's bitter.

I watched the Roosters vs Warriors broadcast and never saw or heard anything about Smith being at the game. Not saying he wasn't... though I'd wait for someone else to confirm this. After all... this guy reckons Smith signing with the Roosters was a dog act... even though it's a great opportunity and gives him job security for the next 4 years.

Smith was at the game. Im not sure exactly where he was sitting but he was shown after a roosters try. I'm not bitter, just a bit annoyed at the situation.

It is a dog act because of what the knights board went through to be able to keep him for next year. And then for the players to find out via media leak and only then receiving an sms from BS. Thats not right. Tell the players face to face.

 

[Newcastle Forever]

It is a dog act because of what the knights board went through to be able to keep him for next year. And then for the players to find out via media leak and only then receiving an sms from BS. Thats not right. Tell the players face to face.

It could of been worse, eg Gary van Egmond and the Jets.

 

[jamesgould]

Smith was at the game. Im not sure exactly where he was sitting but he was shown after a roosters try. I'm not bitter, just a bit annoyed at the situation.

It is a dog act because of what the knights board went through to be able to keep him for next year. And then for the players to find out via media leak and only then receiving an sms from BS. Thats not right. Tell the players face to face.

He did want them to find out face to face, but it was leaked. So he texted them so that they would at least hear something from him, before he could get a chance to tell them in person.

 

[stinger]

I'm frankly disgusted by what he has done. I was disapproving of his original appointment but he has grown on me with the side he has built and now he goes and does this. As for it being a 'business deal' I think the team on Granstand radio on Sunday got it right in saying 'can you put a price on winning a premiership?'

This Knights side has grown beautifully over the past 3 seasons and are now very competitive and I think we can be pretty confident of having a genuine shot at a premiership in the next 5 years. Smith is now going to go to the Roosters where he has to again build a team up to make them competitive. How can you leave a club which is heading towards a title, something Smith is yet to achieve in his career, for a club that at the moment looks like they would struggle to beat a park football side.

 

[Ms.Nobody]

For more security, for more money and for another challenge.

Brian Smith was not a long term 10 year coach, he was Mr Fix it for us.

If he didn't go now, and we had a poor season next, what's he going to think? The Knights would have wanted him out and Roosters would have already got another coach.

People are looking way into this, BS has fixed our club, signed our talent to long term deals and made alot of players BELIEVE in themselves.

If anything, the guy deserves a premiership one day. (Lets hope it's 2009.)