Larry Smith call for press conference @ 13h30

Please be himself stepping down. Please Trestman don’t go!!!

Source?

[url=http://www.rds.ca]www.rds.ca[/url]

Yeah, I hope it's not Trestman either, but I guess it wouldn't be a big surprise.

It would be great if all fans from yesterdays game were getting a refund!
Unfortunately that would never happen.

Whatever it's for, IMO it's a pretty stupid move to be doing this before the playoffs. Press conferences are usually a bad thing!

Well, whatever it is, we'll see what he has to say. I may just be something very good, too.

Smith is resigning, effective at the end of the year:

[url=http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/football/montreal-alouettes/Smith+resigns+after+years+with+organization/3795132/story.html]http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/f ... story.html[/url]

Well, I know some of you have posted things about Larry Smith, some good, some bad.

However, when someone leaves an organization, I tend to look at that person's legacy. Football in Quebec seems to be at an all-time level of popularity. Was that Smith's doing? Perhaps not totally, but I believe his contribution had a lot to do with it. This bodes well both for the future of the sport in Quebec, contributing both players and fans for the future. The team, during his tenure, has been a winning team on the field. Makes glad-handing much easier when you represent a good product. The stadium expansion project was a success, also, with consistent sellouts at Molson Stadium.

So, Larry, in retrospect - well done, bud! Your successor will have big shoes to fill.

Now, let's focus on the East Final and another berth in the GC!

Go Als go!!!

But the question is, why now? Why when the playoffs are about to begin? Why not wait just another month until off-season?

Likely because he has something else up his sleeve which he is not prepared to reveal just yet.

Any chance he might want to get involved with a group who wants to bring the CFL to Quebec City? Just a total stab in the dark by me but I would love to see it happen. :thup:

Goodbye Duval! (well i would think so) :roll:

Haha.
Thats what I was thinking too when I first found out.

Sad day for the Als/fans/media.

The "punching bag" of some will be gone at the end of 2010. People will then realize what he meant to the Organization and the fans. Yes,a winning team brings the fans,particularly in Montreal,but there is more. Thanks to Mr.Smith if football at the amateur/college levels has increased so much, in the last ten years.

To me,the Als will no longer be the same,without Larry Smith. The new President/CEO will/should definitely have less to do with football operations. I see a structure similar to the one in Calgary.

Good luck to Mr.Smith in his new "défis".

Richard

Smith did a lot of good for the organization. But also a lot of harm. Pointing out his mistakes isn’t making him a punching-bag.

The new president has to secure us a permanent practice facility for the 2011 season, no ifs, ands, or buts. He also has to improve (read, resuscitate) our relationship with Montreal’s corporate community and grow our profile in the English sports media.

Why English sports media? I would think that it is the whole sports media in Montreal / Quebec but he will need to work harder on the French side than the English side.

Printed: Alouette coverage in The Gazette, albeit not much, is still more than those in Le Devoir, La Presse and Journal de Montreal combined.

TV: CTV Montreal has more coverage than TVA, for sure. RDS does not exactly have equivalent since TSN covers all 8 teams.

Radio: I do not listen to the radio, but I hear that CJAD does a good job, better than NRJ.

True enough. I was thinking more of repairing our relationship with the Gazette and ending the silly Popp-Herb feud of the past few years. Put simply, the new president should make it clear to Popp that he has to talk to the Gazette. I am no Herb fan by any stretch but it’s ridiculous to have our GM carrying on a silent war with the only English newspaper reporter permanently assigned to cover the Als.

The team survived him leaving the first time, I think it will survive this time as well. Larry did some great things for football in Montreal, great things but as he himself said when his son left the organisation, sometimes people need a new challenge and I think this applies to him as well. Larry is a wonderful opportunist, he`ll land on his feet :slight_smile:

We sure cannot blame Mr.Smith if Jim Popp is not talking to Herb/The Gazette. Mr Wetenhall should tell Jim Popp to talk to Herb. Jim Popp is now reporting to the Owner and no longer to the President/CEO. I am positive that this new/revised "organigramme" is one of the reasons why Larry Smith is leaving. Jim Popp has not talked to Herb for now 2 years; he should stop his "boudin" and think about the organization and not his ego. We may not always agree with what Herb writes but, thanks to him, we have news about the Als,particularly in the off-season. He is "fidèle au poste"

Yes,the Als survived when Larry Smith went to the Gazette,but the relation between Mr Prince,Jim Popp,Don Matthews,the media,the community,the players was not the same. They all cheered when Larry came back; I remenber the occasion,when CJAD announced his return on a cold December day.

Richard

I agree Prince was not the right guy. Larry did a good job but it was time to turn the team to someone younger and closer to the fan base. I think anyway.