Quote ="Alex BP'"Interesting article regarding Eddie Jones here: www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/lo ... 14482.html Although the article says 'But his dream is to coach in the NRL in Australia', I think he means Rugby League in general.'" Well if Edwards can do so well in Union, why cant Jones do the same in League? Would be interesting atleast to see how he turned out if he became a League coach

Quote ="Alex BP'"Interesting article regarding Eddie Jones here: www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/lo ... 14482.html Although the article says 'But his dream is to coach in the NRL in Australia', I think he means Rugby League in general.'" Well if Edwards can do so well in Union, why cant Jones do the same in League? Would be interesting atleast to see how he turned out if he became a League coach

Why are we entertaining the prospect of an RU coach. Its absurb and hopefully IL will view it as such.

sonny money bill is a game breaker . and he knows it . he carved up teams in the nrl by himself

Yeah, we've picked that up.

Who's ever said anything about Noble leaving the club?

By discussing and wanting other coaches isn't exactly a good way to thank a coach who took us from the being the worst team in the league to 3rd two seasons running.

Yes at times we might disagree with his tactics or squad selection, but he's the man who's got us 3rd best from worst in no time at all. Lets play this season and maybe next out first.

Sorting out the cr*p at Wigan isn't an overnight job.

Agreed but seeing basic improvement over the time he has been here which is now 2.5 years should be expected.

The fact of the matter is we have seen no improvement from the displays of the team he took over under Millward, despite the squad being more "his players" at the start of every season.

Well put. I don't think IL would rush to sack Noble with the same speed and eagerness that someone like Whelan would, but if last Sunday's form persists for any length of time this season, I'd be very surprised if an alternative coach wasn't being sought by the mid-way stage. I can't see the club would have any option.

It's not the lack of trophies, but the lack of improvement that is frustrating so many people.

You're making the assumption that they are 'his' players. Not necessarily the case.

So are you claiming that the team he has now, has less players that he wants in the team than the team he took over from Millward?

Are you claiming the team that kicked off the 08 season had more players he wanted in than the 09 season.

Perhaps we are wrong but i think Noble identified long ago that Calderwood and Higham were 2 players he did not want in the team, he has replaced them with Riddell and Roberts for example, or is there something you know that we do not?

I think this 'his players' business is being overstated a little. While I appreciate that coaches have types of player they prefer, at the end of the day they're all professionals and should be able to play a basic professional game. Often last season, and definitely last Sunday, this was distinctly lacking. And the buck for that stops with the coach.

Just because new players arrive, don't be so naive as to assume they are always Noble's choices. Some may be, others are not

Minimal improvement?

I don't call taking a team from rock bottom to 3rd minimal. Has it been done in any other sport? It's drastic improvement on behave of Noble.

Not to mention the total mess behind the scenes which is also work on to improve.

Is it just the fact we are getting bored? Still with Nobby, he has experience in internationals and lots on club level. As far as I can see he has forged a good working relationship with IL and are both working together with aim to make Wigan successful.

IL is a Wigan fan like me and you, he will not want this club to do anything but succeed, but of course there's always red tape and business that will prevent certain deals or movement from happening. Deals than no one outside of the club will know about.

We have to remain relaxed with our someone frustrating team performances and squad selection. Have faith in Nobby for the time being. See what develops over this season.

Even if they are not, given he wanted shut of Higham & Calderwood, surely we should expect improvement now they are gone.

Do you know of any players definetly not his? I heard rumours some time back Riddell wasn't.

Do you think Nobby would have wanted to lose Trent? works both ways.

The argument that the team is not more his than it was when he took over is stupid, i'm not even going to bother continuing with it.

Regards the improvement this is the point, we played our best most consistent rugby with the Millward team minus Brown and Moran + Dobson and Fielden in the last few months of the 06 season. In Nobles time we have never come near that standard of play since nor have we come near that consistency.

Our points for and against has decreased from 07 to 08, and i feel the performances did.

We have the same players making the same errors time and time again and we have the same failing "game plan" time and time again regardless of our opposition.

We as a team are not moving forward, we are not learning from our errors, at best we are stagnating, at worst we are moving backwards which i feel is the case and is a failure.

I said from day one i did not think Noble was the man to take us forward. I would say his time at the club though to date has been a success as he has done what we needed stabilised us. I think it is a huge gamble for his own career to take Wigan on in 09, one that i think he may well regrett. If the links to Les Cats were true i think he would have been much safer career wise to go there, a team much more suited to his style and away from the stoplight.

A poor performance tonight and a loss he is under massive pressure. A poor performance and a win gives him a bit of breathing space. A good performance and win buys him considerable breathing space.

If we do not performe to a reasonable standard tonight regardless of the result and lose to Cas next week then he simply has to go.

Not taking us forward?

ROCK BOTTOM to 3rd is moving us forward! What do you want? instant champs?

In the last 2 years have you seen improvement in the team?

In the last 2 years we've finished 3rd behind Leeds and Saints.

I've seen a team plagued by the salary cap and poor management (before Nobby arrived) move up from rock bottom to 3rd.

Last year, due to no one's fault we lost our best player TB, if he would have honoured his full contract he would still have been here this season, this has had a massive knock-on effect with the halfbacks trying to start up a new partnership. TB was a leader, and had the ability to win a game for us. We now have to live without that. Not Nobby's fault.

I've also seen improved contracts for young Wigan lads keeping them in the Wigan team developing them along

-Hansen (Wigan Acd)
-Lockers
-J Tomkins
-S Tomkins
-Hock
-O Carroll
-Precott
-Ainscough to name a few.

Not letting the youngster go is improvement in the past we've seen
-Briscoe
-Wild
-Robinson
-Ashton

All let go due to contract issues.

Additionally we've replaced under achievers with better players

MacAvoy was starting centre when Nobby came, now we have Carmont.
Richards was in the other centre, he was bad, now he's one of our best players at either wing or FB.
No more Danny Orr or Moron.
Players with other 'issues' are moved on-Brown, Godwin, Moron for the good of the club.

A bigger squad with more young Wigan lads involved.
No longer is the salary being breached
Scouting plans (already scouting for 2010 onwards)
backroom fitness staff added.

Release of other players who weren't good enough
-Tickle
-Calderwood
-Jordan James.

This is a lot of improvement since Nobby arrived.
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In 2007 we finished the league 12 pts behind the winner with a points for and against 267 less than the champs. In 2008 those figures were 14 and 553 respectively. We are falling further behind. And in a comp that the WC showed to be hardly earth shattering in its quality. Why isn't everybody taking this on board?

Good post...although everything is nowhere near perfect at the minute the club has improved since Nobby arrived and even more so since Lenegan took over. Some Wigan fans have to get in the real world and realise that Lindsey and Millward left the club in a right state and it is going to take a few years to rectify...

We are not in the same league as Saints and Leeds just yet. But we still finished 3rd and in 08 came a damn sight closer to beating Leeds that we did in 07.

We've come along way under Nobby.

Fair points but:

last season Wigan only finished 3rd due to Warringtons total failure in the last few games (which surprised many) by rights we should have finished 5th or even 6th, thats is a step down from the previous seson and the points difference was much worse.

how many games in the last two season have the team played well - winning by playing good rugby...not by grinding out results. 3 or 4 a season - nad manybe one or two in the playoffs

how many young players have really had a chance under Noble? Not by being selected due to injury to other players.

Ok we lost McAvoy,James,Orr and Moran yet we have Mathers,Phelps,Coley - a significant improvement? I don't think so.

Noble did well for us in the first season since then the club ahve not gone forward - we are no closer to catching up with Saints and Leeds and if Warrington and Braford get their acts together we could be even further behind.

But how much further do you think nobby can take us? That's the question. For me, we showed nothing last year and have started this in the same vein. Of course, a nice easy victory tonight would help!

This is why we need to give Nobby another season in charge, we've come along way, lets see what happens this season.

When I left the JJB in the snow last Sun I was fed up with another terrible display by the boys in cherry and white.
Was also annoyed at Nobby for his so predictable 'subs by the clock' not the game and how some gluring errors weren't fixed.

But then I realised it's match day one. There's always a bigger picture. Let's see how the season unfolds.