The way BS left was unpleasent and showed the flawed side of his nature which we all knew existed and for that reason and others I'm glad he's gone. However there is no doubt in my mind that his pre-season preperations for which he is renowned have paid off big style.

A new Coach can produce an instant effect that's well known, but he can't make a team fit in 14 days, that takes a good close season. From day one I've been saying we look fit and arguing with those who have attempted to suggest we are and use it as an excuse. I don't think anyone can argue that only a fit team can win games in the last ten minutes which is exactly what we have done. No way could this have been achieved in the previous two seasons.

It's also worth noting that nearly all Smith signings either continued with their great form or came good this weekend, England, Moore, Finn and even the much maligned BJB - even A Tupou was starting to look the business before injury. To me this suggests that Smith still knew good players and what was required of them but was undone by his own ego and perhaps a fundamental lack of understanding of the British game.

If Chester is a good Coach in the making then he has to be his own man - but if I were him I'd look at what Smith did pre season and make sure to do it that way again.

I agree with you Vasty that a lot of the success can be attributed to Smith's prep, and I have only good things to say about the guy, both on and off the field.......but he has walked away, so my praise is now reserved for the current coach.
We are playing a different style under Chester and it is working, so he deserves credit for that.

That's magnanimous - and undeniably true; there is no way that fitness at this stage of the season is down to anything other than a good pre-season, so fair credit to Smith for that.

I just hope that whatever Chester has tapped into with this group has some longevity; the emergence of young talent like Jowitt and Crowther must be a big influence - if you're an old-stager, I guess it's refreshing and possibly challenging to see a young kid break through and show pride, enthusiasm and application. Changes the culture of a team and perhaps, raises the bar a bit for everyone?

Definitely agree with that.

In many ways we may be fortunate that after a good start at HKR it went pear shaped for him and hopefully he knows what he got wrong and won't do it agains - he seems level enough to be that kind of a bloke.

I'm fully on the Chester bandwagon, I just like history to be remembered correctly which is so often not the case on these forums..

You would have to be crazy to think that B S didn't bring anything to the table. The club culture needed changing and Im sure C C will tap in to whats left. I was also pleased that B S stayed on after the M P G but Im also please that C C is now the man in charge. Things don't always happen that you can explain, but the outcome looks to be paying dividends .

Yes, I do agree with this.

We are a fitter unit as a whole, and think a lot of this is down to Brian Smith.

What I think Chester has brought in, is more passion and pride in their performances, which I believe stems from the fact that he is local and a fan of the club. I also think that he has tweaked it slightly, so that the structures are still there but not quite as intense, so that the players are actually happy in what they are doing.

I said at the time of his arrival that this can only be good for the club.

You do know what forum you're on?

Well you're on it!

and you

I think I've heard in an interview that Chester paid tribute to the defensive structures put in place by BS.

Agree with all the above - including the "crazy" bit! It's still early days yet and the euphoria from the weekend still lingers but I suspect that, with just an average amount of good luck particularly on the injury front, the best is yet to come.

With hindsight, having BS in a senior advisor role with Chester building and learning ready to take over would have been the perfect scenario if we'd had the money and opportunity to do it.
As it happened we got the same scenario by accident but with no overlap or handover.
It will be harder for Chester to keep it going than it would have been if he'd been able to work with Smith (in a warm room) but it looks like he has jumped straight in and learned on the fly.