If true then there will be too many other considerations for that to happen. He would have to knock back Celtic and presumably we would have to knock back whoever the job has been offered to, assuming it has.

Dave

Why would we want him to?

I've never heard Noble deny it.

If he's now saying he wants more than one year, then fair enough - my second point is disproved. The first, however, stands. It's too early to be using this season as a reason for why we should keep Brian Noble. We haven't won anything yet, and generally our form has been poor-to-average.

Yet Nobby still doesn't seem to realise this. According to an interview I've just seen with him on BBC2, whoever coaches Wigan next season will have a tough act to follow.

To me this indicates that he thinks the current standard is acceptable. That may be a boast he can make if we win the Grand Final, but it's a bit ill-advised at this stage given the many games we've lost that we could and should have won, and which would have meant we'd have been the ones with the week off and might well have been the ones making the Clubcall.

so your saying, if we win the league for the first time in 11 years you would be willing to see the coach who brought us the league leave?

im not nobles biggest fan because of the inconsistancy but if we win the league and he ends up going to celtic i wont be too happy.

Be prepared to be upset then.

You're adopting an unrealistic attitude.

If the deal is already done and the contracts signed, what do you expect the various parties to do?

Yes i will drive him there myself.

I judge him on the last 3 years which as I said have been a transitional period for the club and he has brought us through it, but if we do manage to win the Trophy, i will congratulate him on a job well done a nice way to finish, but sadly the previous 3 years have not been good enough and for that reason I am happy to see him go.

Agreed. It is very difficult to understand where the Noble defenders are coming from.

2006 - Almost relegated
2007 - 2 semi-finals
2008 - 1 semi-final
2009 - 2 semi-finals

HTH.

5 semi-finals - no finals.

HTH

An even more bewildering question is why are some Wigan fans so are easily influenced by the likes of Eddie and Stevo? Every week those muppets ask the question why is Noble leaving, despite having criticised him at length themselves earlier in the year for 'failing to promote Wigan youth', and despite knowing that his departure and replacement must have been sorted out weeks if not months ago, when Wigan didn't even look like making the top eight. They know this full well, yet they mischievously make an issue of it every week. And yet some Wigan fans are apparently swayed by them, believing that replacing a head coach is something you can do over a couple of weeks and then, just as easily if necessary, reverse the process.

I understand the frustration that, just as Noble is leaving, he seems to be getting it right. But I'd ask my fellow Wigan fans to remember that this has happened at the end of almost every year since he took over, and yet we've started the following year with a poor pre-season and subsequent rubbish results up until virtually the end of summer. I'd also ask them not to be influenced by the views of Messrs. Hemmings and Stevenson. They do not have Wigan's best interests at heart. They are a pair of journalists, and poor ones at that, who if they can't get a real story will happily stir one up out of nothing, and if it's at Wigan's expense so much the better.

Not according to the man himself.

As I've already said, if he denies this then fair enough. I can't prove that he's lying any more than he can prove that he isn't. We just have to take him at his word.

But it doesn't really change anything. Up until now we've been poor-to-average, and if we win the GF this year ... great. I'm a Wigan fan too. I'll be delighted. But I'm also a realist and will accept that the process to replace one head-coach with another will have started long before Wigan looked anything like being contenders for the top 8.

In that respect, Nobby's only really got himself to blame. If we'd looked good at the start of the season instead of onluy during the last two weeks maybe the club wouldn't have started looking to replace him so soon.

Again through - as I've already said - if Nobby wins the GF this year, that will be a great way for him to sign off on his time at Wigan. However, we need to win it before we can seriously talk like that.

i think we should support noble and the team for now.we should worry about the coach situation when the season ends.i personally havent been impressed with wigans record in the big games.the team wigan are playing now was shaped by injuries earlier in the season ,noble was forced to play the youngsters but they showed more commitment and passion than so called senior players.playing the youngsters invigorated the rest of the team,not noble

Let us end this utter myth right here and now.

Tell me which youngsters Noble has been forced to play. I have sat and thought about this and the only thing he has been forced to do is play Sam Tomkins in more games than he had maybe planned for. Tomkins at one point was keeping Tim Smith in the reserves. Noble was in no way forced to leave Tim Smith in the reserves,he chose to leave him there. The only other player you may say he has been forced to play is Flanagan simply due to the injury to Bailey and the suspension of Hock. Do you honestly believe any coach would choose Flanagan before those 2 if he had the choice?

idiot

1.. challenge cup semi.. well beaten in that game, the game was over by half time after we got blown away by the catalans. left ourselfs too much to do in the 2nd half.
1.. play-off semi... again well beaten in that match.as a result of a poor season only just sneaked into the play-offs, left ourselfs too much to do.

2. play off semi.. well beaten in that game imo, leeds were all over us, again poor season left ourself too much to do in the play offs.


3.. challenge cup semi... well beaten in that game against wire, blown away in the first half, again left ourselfs too much to do in the 2nd half.

play off semi... to be updated sat night!




have you noticed whats been happening over the last 3yrs??

markyp wrote: i think we should support noble and the team for now.we should worry about the coach situation when the season ends.i personally havent been impressed with wigans record in the big games.the team wigan are playing now was shaped by injuries earlier in the season ,noble was forced to play the youngsters but they showed more commitment and passion than so called senior players.playing the youngsters invigorated the rest of the team,not noble


What are you laughing at and calling this person a idiot?
They are mostly right. If Tim Smith had not been injured Sam would not have got anywhere near as much game time as he has had and as a senior player stated in the WEP Sam's enthusiasm has lifted the team.
Gaz hock being suspended has given more youngsters a chance.
Noble doesn't drop people on form he has his favourites and that is that.
I think you need to wake up.

You have just mentioned two yourself who you say he was forced to play so its hardly a myth is it.

The question is have any of the the players who made their debut this season done so as part of a planned introduction or have they only got a chance due to injury? I would argue it is the latter and that the real myth and something dreamt up by some very recently is such players will only get their chances when injuries occur and until that happens they must wait in the reserves waiting for a first team member in their position to pick up of knock.

I would go further and say over the last three seasons you don't need the fingers of one hand to count the number of young players introduced into the first team other then when Noble had no choice.

Noble is guilty as charges on this one IMO and a myth it is not.

Dave

Thanks for a good post, Dave. We have ended up with the team we have by default, not as a result of planning.

I have to say that I'm getting a bit fed up with some of the Noble defenders on this thread, we have a minority of people who seem to be losing the plot and using expressions like "idiot", "myth" and "nonsense" on this thread. Some of the pro-Noble people on this thread should consider a little more carefully before posting... we are all supposed to be fans of the same team you know!

What i said was if you are being picky (which you obviously are) he was maybe forced into playing Tomkins a bit more than he wanted to (certainly as a starter every week anyway). Any decent coach will try to protect young players and give them rests here and there. The real myth lies with this argument that he was forced into playing any young lads this year which is what you and others are trying to say. If he really wanted to he could put Gleeson at 6 and somebody else at centre and drop Tomkins. He is not being forced to play Tomkins by nobody. He is playing him because he is the best option and he took his chance when the oppurtunity arose not because there is some form of dark energy forcing him to play him.



So your saying Noble had no intention of playing Tomkins,Goulding,O'Carroll,Mossop,Ainscough or Flanagan at all this year? Sorry Dave utter rubbish and you know it. He has used them like any decent coach would do.



What on earth are you on about. 9 out of 10 times young players have to wait for their chance through injury to a senior player or that senior player being off form. How else do you think it works? Do you think they pick the names out of a bag or something at other clubs?



Noble is guilty of doing what any coach does ill give you that one. If you know some better way then please explain.

.........................

So all bets are off then daveO?

You can carry on criticising Noble yet expect others who defend him (See how I say defend and not "He Should get another contract" which is a totally different issue!) to sit back and listen to the same old Crud thrown at him day after day, week after week when Brian Noble's little Pinky has forgotten more about rugby than certain posters Will ever know!

Once again on Saturday!

He was outcoached, out thought, outplayed, played Boring Rugby etc by a Young Innovative coach whilst his Outdated old fashioned methods failed again and he continues to play Older players than the opposition team who continue to pick hundreds of Homegrown British youngsters unlike us!

Oh Sorry

No He didn't. It was the other way round!

Now the Gloves are off Here goes!

There are some "Noble Defenders" on here Yes! But I would bet a Large proportion are willing to accept that it is time to move on "At the end of the Season!".

What the Anti Noble brigade cannot seem to do is let this happen and give Brian Noble any amount of credit when he leaves for what is "WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT!" a GOOD JOB that he ahs done THROUGHOUT the club!

I for one on the Day Brian Noble leaves will Wish him All the Best for his future and Thanks him for his part in "Turning The Ship Around!" and getting us on the fron foot again with regards to Youth Development, player recruitment, Positivity around the club (Although not by some supporters for some reason who don't seem to be happy unless they're complaining!).

I think it is more of a refelction on the Brian Noble Haters than the man himself that they themselves cannot let any opportunity go without Having a go at the Man and not allowing him to leave on Good Terms and seem intent on souring his whole Tenure with weak argumentative inuendo and Half truths whilst sat in their Idylic Ivory Towers with no comeback on any of their so called Expert analysis of anything when inevitably in the same circumstances they would be completely out of their depth!

If you have nothing Good to say, then how's about trying saying Nothing at all!

Now I know I am going to get "Snipped" to bits here but you know what Dave? I don't care.

Beacuase when it comes down to it I don't half get the feeling that whilst I am again going to be 100% behind the team on Saturday I can't help but thinking that maybe, just maybe 1% of the Noble Haters emotions on Saturday will be hoping we lose!

Just so you can say you were right and Noble is the Wrong man!

I think you need to check facts and stop jumpin on everyone else's comments regarding this situation. Everyone seems to think that Tim Smith had more game time than Sam even before Smith got injured at HKR, Sam had played more and started more games than Smith even before the HKR game, and when Sam was starting Smith was playing in the reserves. Check Bilko's site if you want to check. Sam was promised at least 10-15 games before the start of the season, he already got his promise up until the HKR game. Amos Roberts got dropped to the reserves against Salford away making way for Ainscough when his form early in the season wasn't acceptable.

Whether or not Noble is the right or wrong man for the job and Saturday's game are two different things.

No-one will be more pleased than I will be if we win on Saturday.

In fact, now I think about it, logically Noble doubters should celebrate a win even more than Noble defenders. To get to a GF after such a poor start to the season and with so many areas for improvement in the coaching and backroom set-up will be an even greater achievement! For those who think Noble is doing a great job and the team are all superbly fit and well prepared the players' achievement if they beat Saints will be a little less impressive!