Or trying to solidify the group before a derby?

If it had any substance it would have been in the local media before the gossip papers. The timing of the article is questionable to say the least. The number of people who would actually know about this if it was true would be very small and you would have to be an idiot to leak it. So based on reasonable assumptions its utter balls.

Its the Star. Enough said!!

Correct, on all counts IMO.

Pearson does have form for sacking people but he also keeps it very quiet and plays his cards close to his hcest so i would suggest the likelyhood of this story being true are very remote. It may happen at the end of the year but it certainly won't be decided already.

Yeah, like who?

Steve mac n Brian smith as a duo like with England was names I heard before the semi.

It's the ing Star!

Although AP has form for getting rid of Coaches/Managers that under perform I doubt this story has any truth in it whatsoever.
AP has alluded to the fact that so many things were wrong with the club infrastructure, it was massively under invested, the facilities and youth set up etc. These are things that AP, SM & PG have worked on to improve the club as a whole. I am sure whilst he wants success as soon as possible even AP knows this wasnt going to be an overnight success.

Things haven't gone as well in the league as they should have and it is an area of concern I am sure for both AP & PG. The fact we have been missing Horne & Holdsworth for a good chunk of the season and the Price/Chase/Miller issues have not helped either. These reasons are why I think AP will not be sacking PG anytime soon and would be more likely if feeling trigger happy to at least give him the 1st 10 games next season.

Club wont comment for sure, they didn't on Picturegate and they wont now.

They will have a good laugh at it I suspect though, utter rubbish I am sure.

Another piece for the Wembley dressing room wall .

I'm looking at this way if AP is planning on getting rid of PG would he really have agreed to SM going at the end of the season.

Surely he'd have wanted someone like SM's input into who we should get....

I notice Julie Stott (Daily Star) is from Bolton (which is quite close to Wigan). Coincidental or what??

Also previously worked for News of the World and the Sun. What a paragon of journalistic excellence!!

Getting rid of the rubbish?

Not 100% convinced by Gentle, but unless we lose the final and we don't make the play offs he deserves another year IMO.

This

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... story.html

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... story.html

Nothing like a good chuckle amongst the ranks to bond the team, this has backfired on whoever wanted to spoil our week

Very vague as to AP's true thoughts on the matter. If we lose the final and finish below 6th, I could see Gentle being replaced.

Frankly so could I, although it would depend on how we did in the play-offs.

Personally I would give Gentle another year whatever happens. He has got us to our first final in 5 years.

If he is replaced then unless his successor brings instant success (and he would have to in order to justify the change) then a lot of the fans could turn against Pearson, not to mention how unsettling it would be for the players.

I think its time to be patient, like Manchester United were with Ferguson, and see how we do next year.

What successor? As I said before, who is out there and available? Please don't even mention MacNamara, he's hardly delivered anything even approaching success since he hung up his boots. Brian Smith is well past his sell-by date and has won buggerall in his coaching career.

So who, of any proven quality, is available?

Spot on. I'd stick with Gentle

Agree 100%, we gave Fubar ages!

In all fairness that was a different regime who didn't regard on field success in the way that Pearson does. That said I think Gentle will get next year to prove that genuine progress is being made.

Personally I wouldn't get rid of him after 2 seasons, yes maybe we're in a poor position in the table but we're in the Challenge cup final and still in top 8 so chance yet to reach another final. He came in last year with a team what he wasn't familiar with so his aim was probably spend the 2nd year getting used to players and buy players he wanted in his squad and the spend the 3rd year performing and hopefully get results with them. Being a successful coach doesn't take 1 year nor 2 it takes minimum of 3 years to get players you like and build a squad fit for how he likes it so hope he don't go and he gets the chance to give the full potential of what he has not forgetting he wasn't even a coach before he was an assistant.

Sorry if non of this made sense, it did in my mind at the time.