Fair enough.

What we need is a harmonised club.

Its getting a bit tiresome and worrying hearing about the players not liking Noble, the players not liking IL, IL not liking the coach etc etc.

Thats the sort of infighting that needs to stop, and will hopefully be someway down that track now IL has his own man in charge.

Agreed

I was also getting bored and tired with the annual "clear the air talks" this team seemed to have.

Hopefully the times are changing with a new guy coming in

I am not Lenagan's biggest fan by a long way but I applaud his ruthlessness on this occasion. Sentiment shouldn't play a part in decisions like this.

I think Nobby has earned the respect of the vast majority of Wigan fans however and he most certainly can leave with his head held high.

I was getting a bit fed up with everyone getting on Lenagan's back because of the way he treated Noble. I don't think he did much wrong, to be honest.

The problems seemed to start when Lenagan approached Stephen Kearney. He only did that because Noble went in the press and said he'd love to coach in the NRL, and was linked with the Roosters job. Now if I'm running a business, and my manager turns round and says "yeah I'd love to work somewhere else if I was given the opportunity" the first thing I'd do to plan for the future, is approach a few people and say "if my coach goes, would you like to replace him" Its called forward planning, and its common sense not to leave it until your coach finally says he's going to then start panicking because you don't have a replacement.

Noble took it as a personal insult that someone else had been asked whether they'd consider coaching Wigan, and didn't want to sign another contract because of the way he was treated.

Personally I like Noble, and wish Lenagan would have patched things up and kept him on. (I know most people don't agree with me, but Noble has done a lot for Wigan, to expect him to take us from relegation candidates to winners of silverware is a VERY big ask) But for everyone to say the way Lenagan treated Noble was horrible is a bit harsh in my opinion[/i

So do you regularly take a dislike to people you don't know - on first sight, and then are such an ignoramus as to boast about it?

You were born after your time. There'd have plenty of work for you during the Third Reich.

You do realise, do you, that this post alone renders all your future posts on the subject of IL or even Wigan RL almost completely invalid?

AJ, who has several more grains of sense than you - but then so does the average maggot - would do well to start distancing himself from your opinions, or he'll end up getting tarred with the same brush of thick-skulled idiocy.

WTF? LMAO

Did IL bone your sister or something? This kind of unwarranted hatred is just laughable. IMO IL has done the right thing in gettin rid of Noble. He was never going to win us anything. We need a new coach who can bring in some new ideas. We've always looked toothless in attack under Noble, hopefully a new coach can get us a bit more organised and ruthless near the line

Who the hell do you think you are?

If i think IL is the above it is my opinion of him and ill stand by it.

Why dont you ask IL out on a date because your so far up his backside its quite unbelievable.

As for what you think of me i dont give a rats a55! The feeling is mutual only i think a lot worse of you,infact i cant stand you and your arrogant rants at anybody who thinks different than yourself.

For all you people who didn't read the report correctly I'll let you in on something....



IL didn't tell him straight after the game. In fact SSN is saying he resigned.

[url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12196_5605768,00.htmlHere's the link to prove it[/url

HTH

Well off the field I would give most of the credit to the fantastic work the marketing team have done this season. The whole innovative ideas of "The Big One" and the Heinz link up for the Harlequins game was a fantastic idea. One problem that we have had and rugby league has in general is the complete lack of ability to market it's big games. Mick Hogan and the marketing staff have done a brilliant job.

Numerous factors have to be taken into account when you mention attendance. As someone else has pointed out the global recession has had a major impact on everyone and has affected every business in Europe in some form.

But looking more into the two seasons you mention in 2007 - we played Warrington as our first home game. Why is this a factor? Well simply our first game of the season tends to attract a bigger attendance against whoever opponent than it would in a regular super league match. The fact the game was against a local rival who bring a decent away support also has a significant impact on the overall average attendance. The attendance that year against Warrington was 21K whereas this year it was Wakefield with an attendance of 14K. Furthermore in 2007 we played Saints at home twice with one also being the last game of the season to make the play offs. Now usually the last game of the season also brings in a bigger attendance against any opponent than it would a regular super league match because it is the last game of the regular season till February the following year but that year it also had the added spice of us making the play offs. I also presume I don't need to explain the significance of playing Saints twice in one season at home compared to once this season has on the overall attendance?

So although our overall average attendance has dropped it has not been through poor marketing or lack of support. Just certain significant factors in the fixtures and who we play have had a slight affect on the overall average. It is hardly a significant drop. Whereas you think we have problems off the field I think it is another one of our strengths but some of it is not to Ian Lenagan's credit (Not his job) it is done to the credit of our marketing team. We have identified the lack of young supporters as a problem and so have marketed our season tickets to them. £26 is it in the south stand? Not to mention the rugby camps we have put on which rewards youngsters for paying £35 for signing up with a free season ticket! Fantastic offers from Wigan and fantastic value for money for a season ticket.

The way the club is marketing itself off the field is one of our biggest strengths. The credit is down to the hard work of the marketing team. If people credit Mick Hogan then I argue he was an Ian Lenagan appointment.

The Gareth Hock saga was a disappointing one for the club but how Ian Lenagan can be blamed is beyond me. You have a very 'unique' way of thinking if you blame him. The club has made two official statements on the matter which for me is the end of it.

Ian Lenagan and Brian Noble's relationship is up in the air. 'The Times' points out that the two have a different opinion on the way the game went last night but doesn't everybody? No-one's two opinions will be the same and everyone will have their own thoughts on the match. Ian Lenagan and Brian Noble are no different. In fact it is good to listen to other peoples viewpoints and opinions because it can open your eyes to new things that you might not have thought about before. The way the coaching situation has been left is up for debate on another thread. At the end of the day Brian Noble has left Wigan. NOT sacked. This is the right move IMO for many reasons which I will leave on another thread.

Off the field I think the club is better run than the previous management. I think Ian Lenagan encourages a lot more input from fans than the previous management did and (I thought) has a much better relationship with fans from the fans forums. The club was in apparent turmoil before Ian Lenagan took over and behind the scenes I think he has done a lot to rectify previous management errors. It is still a work in progress but so far I think we are on the right track.

Say what you like about Ian Lenagan but it amazes me how far some people will go to criticise someone who is keeping this club afloat who without his financial input we would not be running. When I hear Ian Lenagan speak he speaks with so much passion about the club and clearly has the desire to take us to the top. He talks a lot of sense IMO and I am proud that he represents our club and I whole heartily believe that he is the man to take this club forward.

There is no 'unwarranted hatred' as you put it.

I dont like IL for various reasons. The Noble situation is just the icing on the cake. Hes nothing only a self promoting obnoxious and surly little man IMO.

I for one am very curious to know your reasons for not liking him.

The clue is in the description

Thanks a lot Ian Lenegan what do we get this time another Aussie coach perhaps your decision will baffle me forever

What cheap shots?

Are these fans that are so passionately getting behind Brian Noble the same fans that called for his head three weeks into the season? If you are then you are two faced.

I was one of them fans calling for his head and I stand by it.

I like what I see regarding IL when I go to the fans forum. I, along with other fans on this forum, don't know what he is really like and we can only judge him on what happens at Wigan rugby.
I'm pleased that he wants to bring our youth through to the first team and I'm also pleased that he has let Noble go because I don't like this flat rugby we played. At Saints our players gave their fans lots of ammunition with our many forward passes. Lucky the ref ignored them. Just watched Storm v Eels and neither of them played a flat attack.
IL will have made mistakes as we all do but overall I'm satisfied.

im really looking forward to the next fans forum...


will you be making an appearance??if so i cant wait to hear you confront IFL with all these issue's you have with him or are you just another muppet who slates him on here, gets rather personal and hides behind the safety of their computer screen??

I wonder if RLFANS had existed back in the mid-eighties whether we would have had the same vitriolic postings following the announcement of the departure of Colin Clarke and Alan McInness? (Who'd just won the cup final BTW)!! Back then it took a brave decision by our chairman who knew that the 'right man' could lift Wigan to new levels.

Could history repeat itself here?

To quote Kevin Keegan......'I'd love it, love it for us to win some silverware under our new coach'.

I suggest someone bookmarks these threads, so we can look back on them in 12 months....!!!

Clarke & McInnes actually did another season after winning the cup IIRC.

Overall I think IL has done a very good job.
The finances are on the right path and he's stregthened an already excellent marketing team with Mick Hogan.
I just can't understand what he going on about by saying that's five semis and the squad is better than that.
No they are not!!!!!!!
That's why we've been in five and lost the lot!
The squad needs strengthening. We need bulk in the pack, that's where Saints won it yesterday. Up the middle. We can't go up the middle as the front row isn't strong enough! We need signings in the front row and have needed them for two years prior to IL buying the place.
Noble took over a relegation team and made them into a semi finals team by 2007 when IL took over. Since then we haven't improved.
Noble wanted to sign players and IL wouldn't so who's responsible for us standing still as a semi finals team?
Not Noble I don't think!
We need far more than a new coach if we are to win things.
A bigger (by size) and better squad for starters!

You're a keyboard warrior tosspost. You don't know the guy but you can't stand him - and you're not embarrassed to rant in public about it.

I don't need to say any more, because that says all anyone needs to know about both your intellect and your personality.

From this point on, your views don't count (not that they ever did).

how do you know hes a keyboard warrior?

you dont know this guy buy you call him?......pot kettle black etc

Like him or dislike him I would still rather have him as our chairman than that old fart Whelan to still be involved.

One thing I can say for IL as he has the best interests of the club at heart at the end of the day he is a fan just like us whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

The only thing we as fans can question Lenagan about is the quality of signings. Pryce/Mathers...I can see the logic behind these signings and I know the purse strings are tight but surely give a youth a chance before signing players like these two.

Phelps has been a top signing but I thought Noble got lucky there. In his last game for Canterbury he had a stormer at full back so why did it take Noble over a year to play him there? Especially when we had Mathers!!!

Riddell and Roberts - below average! Not poor but certaintly not good!

Gleeson - OK, give us more consistancy, made us more solid but thats about it.

Once we get Fielden off his stupid contract Lenegan really has to pull some top quality signings out of his not so magic hat IMO.

Sadly, in RHJ's case the evidence is all in front of us.

If someone behaves enough like a pillock - online or off it - you're eventually forced to the conclusion that that's what he is.

Bit of a harsh thread this isn't it. I personally would much rather judge him at the end of 2010 start of 2011 when by then he'll have had some serious money to spend and decisions to make.