He was failing and last time I looked he jacked it for the monies of Wigan.

When Noble achieves success on an extremely tight budget, with scope for few overseas players and success built on home-grown youngsters coming through, then I will agree with you. He hasn't done so yet in his career. His skill set is extensive, but would not work for a club now in Bulls' position IMO.

Well last time I looked we were Super League champions at the time he was forced out, that doesn't look like failing to me.

Tight budget or not, the man achieved success and was good at getting the best out of squads year upon year. And don't try and fob me off with the no home grown youngsters lark that so many are brainwashed into believing either because you know full well that Nobbys squads were heavily laden up with homegrown youngsters just as much as Steve Maccas are.

We've had this discussion many times Michael, and its by no means certain who has been brainwashed.

Nobby's squads here were full of expensive antipodeans - we were forever getting slated for that. And other than the excellent Langley where are the long-term home-grown products?

You can ignore the financial realities all you want, but financial realities are totally central to the Bulls' situation. Simple fact - provable fact - is that Bulls were spending far more than their means to keep the squad they did. The audited accounts don't lie. What happened when Nobby realised that the funding would have to be cut significantly if the club was to survive? The players knew.

Nobby brought us massive success. That is something no-one should ever forget or seek to decry IMO. Equally, that success was built on a set of circumstances which no longer apply. IMO he will do well this year with Crusaders, and they will likely beat us in at least one of the games. He's got a load of antipodeans and seasoned professionals to play with. At Wigan, people were playing hell with him for having a team of antipodeans. But, in the end, the Wigan club decided someone else could do better - and they have been proved right.

Adey we're never going to agree. I'm a Nobby fan, I don't rate Macca. You rate Macca and not Nobby. Lets leave it at that.

Hey Michael...I was just about to post pretty well the same! Although I'd add that I rate Nobby for what he did for us at the time in the situation then prevailing, and whilst I rate Macca very highly for what he has managed to do for the club within the resources available, I will happily concede that in pure coaching terms there may be more effective (if not necessarily affordable) options available

One of these days you and I are going to have to have a beer. Might be an interesting chat!

Cool mate. That'd be good.

It would. Soon.

See they are still as touchy as ever on the Pussycats forum? You very diplomatically pointed out another of their inconvenient truths, and lo and behold raw nerve touched and disproportionate reaction, eh? They are good at giving but pretty cräp at taking.

I recall with some clarity that Noble was not pushed. He had a contract that he could have enforced if he wished. His wish was to move to another club under a better contract and the Bulls received a transfer fee for releasing him from their contract.

Connor has been an excellent commentator on the Bull's games and his regular interviews with players have kept the club's press at a high level. He has never been a sensationalist or unreasonable speculative.
I agree with Adey that the T&A article is thought provoking on several levels.
It does read overall as a McNamara CV including insights to information that might have been provided by sources close to Steve. Details of the salary cap expenditure, Macca's "clear and long term plan", and the "reality is murkier" elements of his tenure.
Its much like the sort of thing an agent would put out prior to contract talks, and maybe this is what its all about. Macca's 4 year contract (almost certainly at pretty low money from his appointment) is coming to an end and it would not be surprising if he is looking for a significant increase over the term of the next contract.
Whether he would be worth it is for conjecture by the fans and decision by the board.
Connor alluding to the Bulls not trying hard enough to keep him presuposes that they want to keep him.
Have the rumours of him going to Oz been deliberately fabricated, and is the England job just another lever?

Whatever, contract talks are clearly ongoing and this is significant as it would sugest that Macca wants to stay and the club want him to stay. Perhaps only their valuations differ.

Yah, HKR. I usually go in Cue Gardens before or can get one in the ground whatever.

Oh yeah I know, they are a right set of twonks. 'You'll feel the force of the moderation process and all that'. They are a set of idiots and like you say they can give it out but can't take it. Huddersfield next.

Talk nearer the time?

And "You'll feel the force of the moderation process" - what a total conceited wassock of a comment, eh?

Sure dude.

I know, its just that small timer mentalitiy though.

Didn't Lombardi also say ""Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," SHOULD HAVE GOT RID!



Macca is on the way to deserving a new contract i'd imagine.

At end of last season most of the fans would have been glad to see the back of him, and i still think the board didn't get rid cause of monetary reasons ( understandable mind ).

In this piece, how much is significantly under the cap? That word tells me we are a lot more under cap than i first thought.

Your head is in the clouds mate, nobby couldn't do any better than Steve, there is no bottomless pit or a big enough overseas quota for him to bring in superstars to buy another 5 years of success, that is not what the club needs at all, leave the past behind and continue with Steve's chapter!

A nice piece by an obvious fan. My only concern from that is that he claims Macca has clearly emerged as the man for the England job. In your mind maybe matey, & if it was down to the 4 English 'coaches' rumoured to be shortlisted he would be the best of a very uninspiring bunch.

In my opinion, Noble is very much proving his worth now. He didnt have a full 17 at Christmas and they have already won more games than they did last year!

How many new signings have Wigan made this season?

The Wigan team is the one he built!

Sometimes coaches cant take a job "through to fruition" because the final ingredient is a little bit of change to spice things up. Not neccesarily a better approach, just a different one. Look at how Leeds improved with the same playing squad from Daryl Powell to Tony Smith, and again Tony Smith taking over from Lowes.

IMO McNamara has had a tough job with a lmited and limiting budget. But, we are judged by onfield results! We hav won nothing in his tenure and for the first time missed the play offs. if the RFL are willing to give us some cash to take him now ( cash that we can use as compo to get someone else in), then so be it.

My preference would be for a savvy Australian coach to work with menzies and build a dynasty. beaver's rep is legendary and his name attracts players that any British coach could not. Although, I feel that an experienced top man is needed. Lowes would be a disaster, he's done nothing in coaching as a head coach, Calland has been found out, and Jowitt needs some SL coaching experience before he steps up. The only ex Bradford players worth looking at are Noble and McDermott, but neither would be my preference.

You could not make it up. A few wins against some of the weaker sides in the Super League and all of a sudden it is almost suggesting we move heaven and earth to keep him.

If McNamara wants to walk and let down about the only people who completely stood by him during his tenure (i.e. the board) then let him go. They could (and should IMO) have gotten rid some time ago but now another position may come up he is playing hardball (alledgedly). If so, we should just call his bluff, publicly announce a successor and that will be it sorted.

Underpants gnome alert. Who's the mystery successor?

I wonder if they perhaps haven't offered him a wage rise and he thinks he needs one to stay.

If I had another contract on the table which would clearly pay more money then I would also be going all out to get a payrise too. I would expect my boss to say the kind of thing that Mr Hood has been saying about the time not being right for me to go and the job I would be going to wouldn't give me success etc.

I would also expect him to resist giving me a pay rise at the same time as knowing he could not buy my experience any cheaper from someone new. It's like a poker game in which nobody wants to move and both think the other is bluffing.

Steve could go for the England job and who knows perhaps he could do well. There's plenty of young English talent about these days and one day it will bear fruit.
He could also walk into just about any other superleague club. One or two are perhaps not performing to their owner's expected standards and may be on the lookout for someone who isn't settled where they are.

Steve is in a very strong bargaining position and I wouldn't blame him at all for using that to lever more money out of a notoriously tight club board. I just hope that that is all he has in mind and doesn't really want to leave.

Those who imagine he would be replaced by some kind of miracle working coach-god are living in fairy land.
We might be very lucky and get Jimmy Lowes but he would be starting back where Steve was 4 years ago. Why go backwards now? Anyway with our luck and unwillingness to spend on wages we'd probably end up with Paul Cullen

Can we have another couple of Macnamara threads please, the forum only has 7 and its starting to look uncomfortably tidy. Cheers.

Mr Mod...I started a new thread deliberately because I thought the subject matter was of sufficient importance and interest - and the topic sufficiently differentiated from what had gone before - to justify one.

As long as he paid at the gate, maybe. Otherwise I can't think of one club who would rather have him than their present incumbent or are in a position to get rid to do it. Cats are the major underperformers, Leeds aside (he has no chance of going there), but I think the would go for a bigger name/achiever (no disrespect). Personally I would get rid of Materson at Cas, but that's not going to happen.

You mistake my post for sarcasm. I genuinely will not rest until every thread is about Macnamara. Mwa ha ha ha.

Name them.

Wigan? No
Saints? No
Leeds? No (even though they have had a poor start)
Hull Fc? No - new deal for Agar
Huddersfield? No
Wire? No
Hull Kr? No

Leaving???????

All the lesser sides. Tells it own tale really. (and for what it is worth I reckon Wakey are pretty happy with Kear and Crusaders are happy enough with Nobby)

Catalans, Cas or Salford it is then???

That ain't my job Andrew.

Neither is sacking him but you're happy to offer an opinion on that.