I know some were glad when he left, I was probably one of them. However, you can't ignore the fact that he helped to rebuild us, and whilst he may have struggled to take us to the next level having fallen at the last hurdle on a few occasions, I firmly believe he laid the platform for this year, so some credit has got to go to him.

Cheer Brian!

Stood build him last night as he told O'carroll and Mossop that he is to have a year out and have his agent pester NRL clubs.
Hoping for a vacancy to jump into over there!

To be fair the two Wigan lads seemed over the moon to see him and genuiy happy for him to be (hoping) getting off to Oz

Brian is a top bloke and i'm glad he came to us, we made the right move to replace him though.

Well put.

As much as this was Madge's victory, without the work Nobby did in 06-09 we wouldn't be Champions. (God I love saying that

)

Sorry but i don't buy that. Nobby did a lot of good but MM has turned the same team into champions.

Nobby helped turn around the damage caused by his predecessor (I can't even bring myself to utter his name on this brilliant weekend) and for that every Wigan fan should be grateful.

The simple fact of the matter is that Madge has brought in new ideas and a new team ethos that has paid dividends.

Thank you Nobby and Thank you Madge.

Which is why I said ''Madge's victory''.

I'm taking nothing away from Maguire, he's done absolutely brilliantly to bring the trophy home, but the ''lot of good'' Nobby did that you alluded to will have played a small part.

What the hell did we have Voldermote as coach. MMM must have missed that.

Noble desereves a lot of credit for the way he turned the team around.

I think Brian Nobles contribution to the club is massively overstated. How much of last night was due to anything he did here? Nothing in my opinion. Not a bit. It took a new coaching team , new fitness team and a complete attitude change to win that GF. Look at TL's comments about how Madge helped him. Most of the players say similar things and its obviously not just being nice to the current coach, there is substance to what they say.

The end of 2006 was a false dawn. We played good RL to avoid relegation but instead of being a blip a poor 2007 was in fact a blue print for a poor 2008 and 2009. Why anyone who watched those three seasons can think that despite being poor on the pitch Noble was weaving some magic off it I really don't know.

Dave

A very small part.

I don't wish to sound harsh, but I think the underlined bit is the key phrase.

I've no doubt that Nobby is a top bloke, but I feel he's very limited as a coach. This is his team that Maguire has just won the Grand Final with, but in reality it was never anywhere near winning a title while Nobby himself was in control.

He definitely stabilised us after the Millward disaster - and that took some doing, but I don't think he got us anywhere close to winning a Grand Final. We reached several semi-finals under his tutelage, but apart from right near the end, we nearly always looked to be out of our depth.

I think - if you consider the astonishing transformation we've seen at Wigan since 2006, Nobby only really gets plaudits for about 25% of it. The vast bulk of the glory must go to Madge.

That said, it was good to see him there, chatting with the Wigan lads like they were old friends. In that respect, all's well that ends well.

Almost as bad.

Another good thing about last night - somebody called Potter didn't have a magical night.

I'd agree with pretty much all of that, perhaps I was too praising of Noble in my original reply.

The victory, success and results for 2010 are Maguires, and you're right, with that exact team under Noble this year we wouldn't have done anywhere near as well as we have done.

He saved us from going down, steadied the ship and took us up a level from where we were in 05 and 06 (for a variety of reasons).

One thing I think we can all agree on is that nothing should detract from the job Madge has done in his first season as a Head Coach, and long may it continue.

id echo this whole statement!

"Tutelage" ..... word of the day

Yeah, great post Crunch, sums up my feelings very well.

I think people make out that he did a lot worse than he actually did.
Doesn't really matter anyway they're maguires team and it was down to him this year really.
I was ust made up watching highlights on the bbc and they interview brian and he's behind wigan the whole way, backed to win before the match and i'm sure he said 'we came top of the table' and seemed made up at the end.

Like others I don't wish to be harsh but a thread about Brian Noble has no place on a board full of "Wigan winning the GF" threads.
I, like everyone else, appreciate the turnaround Nobby initiated in 2006 and the fact that we got close (in terms of minutes but nowhere near in terms of ability) to reaching the GF.
BUT 2010 belongs 100% to Maguire, Wane and staff. Furthermore and being totally brutal what Wigan have achieved this year has quite frankly embarrased Noble as a coach and I can't see any NRL club touching him.
I don't think I've spoken to a single oppo fan this season who hasn't said:
"What is Maguire doing? I can't believe it's the same team as last year."

Absolutely spot on. History has proved Nobles contribution ended in 2006. He saved us form relegation and for that I am eternally grateful. I remember at the time people saying it might do us good to go down and I was doing my nut because of the implications of that happening so thank God he came. Alas after that it was poop and the fact Madge took the same team bar Deacon and transformed them from a side never going to get to Old Trafford to a GF winning team speaks volumes.

Lets not forget Radlinski and Wane were pretty livid at the attitude that existed in the club and this existed while Noble was in charge. It's changed completely since he left and we are IMO back to the clinical and professional attitude we first saw under Lowe and Monie but with modern fitness ideas added to the mix.

Dave

I agree with this.

He bought the paint, but Madge took it back, changed the shade and painted the bridge.

So did Brian put humpty dumpty back together again and Madge put him back on the wall?

Have I got that right?

There is absolutely no denying the he helped build the foundations of this Champion side.

Thanks, Brian.

BN's contribution to the win was small. He played a part in us avoiding relegation (but no greater a part than Dobson and Fielden IMO) but he failed to take the club forward.

I do think though that to say this is Madge's victory is overstating the role he has had. Don't get me wrong, I think he is the best coach in SL. I think Madge himself, being a great leader, would acknowledge the part that the whole coaching and backroom staff have played in this win, and indeed the players themselves.

I called for years on this board for a clear out of the backroom and support set-up at Wigan and a change in the culture of the whole club, for us to return to what made the club so successful in the 80s and 90s, an attitude that nothing less than excellence in every area is good enough for Wigan, that the club should embrace new ideas from Australia and even from other sports in a relentless quest to be the best and that the will to win of men like Edwards, Bell and Hanley should once again be the ethos of our club.

When I did this the Noble defenders accused me not only of being wrong about standards having slipped but also about the chances of us ever becoming leaders again - everyone has caught up now, they said. They were wrong on both counts. We had fallen behind but we could become leaders again, and we have!

Wigan once again set the standards to which all other British clubs must aspire.

The challenge now for Madge and the club as a whole is to keep raising the bar. I believe he and Wane understand this, which is why next season is so exciting, so full of potential, not just because our squad will be significantly strengthened not only by our excellent new recruits but also by the return of Hock and the further development of our brilliant youngsters but because I believe that they recognise there are areas for improvement, even though we have demonstrated throughout the season that we have the best side in SL.

If I were to give credit to any one individual for us being in this position, it would be IL.

I said on this board a number of times in recent years that IL should publicly declare his intention to return Wigan to the top and to raise standards at the club again so that we became the leading club in British RL. I was wrong, not about the goal, which IL clearly shared, but in expecting him to say so publicly; it isn't his style. He likes to work quietly and has gone about his business in a steady and sure way.

All Wigan fans should be grateful to our Chairman. He has not only rebuilt the club, he has ushered in a new great era at the greatest club in British RL. In a few months time we will get to show the Australians what British RL has learnt this year - Wigan are back. The challenge from a Saints side much mightier than their Merseyside namesakes will be immense, but I believe we will give a good account of ourselves. For decades the Australians have only really respected one British club side (in the great days of the tours we used to face a virtually full strength Kangaroos side at CP) and whether we win or lose I expect that tradition to continue. Bring it on!

Completely disagree. He has had no influence on the clubs current success IMO. Unless you think Wane and Radlinski were making it up when they said the club had lost its way I can't see how anyone can give Noble any credit. That problem which was at the core of what was wrong at this club happened on Noble's watch. He failed to fix it. He failed to put in place the structures and methods employed by Made & Co and he failed to address the root problems that were preventing the team and club improving so just what did he build exactly? In three and a half years we saw no improvement under Noble which is not building anything.

He left and we look a different team and the players rave about how much better they are coached. Wane had clearly been watching the club lurch along through gritted teeth. It's not rocket science to work out Madge & Co instigated what amounts to a revolution compared to the way Noble ran things.

Dave

Dave,

Just a point on Noble...

He was going to play Sam at fullback long before Madge tried it, just a point to ponder re him seemingly being clueless in your opinion.