When Wigan couldn't find a win for toffee in 2006 & relegation looked a certainty, Noble took over and we stayed up with some convincing wins and even pushed for the play offs. Admittedly we broke the spirit of the cap to sign Michael Dobson and Stuart Fielden, but ultimately he lifted morale and addressed some immediate issues to turnaround the fortunes of the club.

He then took over a Crusaders side that had just quickly drafted a team together, were thrown in the deep end (exactly like yourselves) and many tipped them to come bottom, but Nobby got them to the play offs.

Brian Noble is a man that couldn't take Wigan to the next level (champions), but he saved us from relegation and took us as far as he could - a play off team. He took a bunch of Aussies at Crusaders and got them to the play offs. He's the perfect coach for the scenario you find yourselves in.

I remember when Denis Betts was at Wigan and I never had confidence in him. Admittedly, the regime at the time were never going to give him much chance, but Kris Radlinski said in his autobiography that Denis could never really put himself across as an authoritative figure as a coach. He's very inexperienced and in the situation you find yourselves in you definitely need an experienced coach! Steve O'Connor has worked wonders at your club, but I feel he made a mistake in going for Denis Betts. I don't say that with the benefit of hindsight, I thought it at the time.

Your board must act NOW. The novelty of Super League will soon wear off with fickle supporters if their team keep getting thumped every week. Betts out and Noble in - it will change your season IMO.

Cadoo I great post and just done a poll on the Widnes site on who should be coach.Yes some players are not good enough but a quality coach will attract players in season 2 and 3.A top coach will get them organised and well drilled even if get beat.

Totally agree off the cuff , this was the guy who I over heard many years ago that Happy Frank Endacott is the worst coach he's ever had oh well say no more

Justin Morgan?

Ive said it before get betts gone, bring cullen down from his office at least he hasvthe experience and he cab attract the top players

Easiest poll to date.

It's time to stop pretending SL and start playing it!

Well said j20 to

totally true

Can anyone confirm that Betts said that we (HKR) were lucky to win on BBC radio?

Wouldn't me surprise if he did.

I'm usually a positive optimistic person and give players coaches the benefit of the doubt. But yesterdays performance and post match comments are inexcusable. I don't think I've had a more miserable experience watching Widnes. We were dreadful, just dreadful.

Hull KR played in the same conditions, scored 36 points and didn't concede a point. Too cold? Fuck off Betts.

He has to go as simple as.

Kite and Phelps and the loanee from Warry will make a difference, but seeing how recruitment is on-going it is also unsettling for the players. The team looks along way off gelling as a unit, I could see no difference in your first match against Wakefield than against us yesterday - if anything you seemed to have gone backwards.

I think you still need to give Betts a chance but maybe he needs a Director of Rugby to support him. . .Brian Noble is only a phone call away.

Betts should have known how cold it can be at HKR. He played there in 6-4 Wigan win in a Challenge Cup game in 1990. It was bitterly cold that day. wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/in ... age_id=409

Betts should have known how cold it can be at HKR. He played there in 6-4 Wigan win in a Challenge Cup game in 1990. It was bitterly cold that day. wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/in ... age_id=409

What I don't understand is, in my opinion, Steve McCormack was given his marching orders (as was John Stankevitch) for a lesser penalty, so to speak.

I don't think many of us were that delusional about our prospects this 1st season back,anyone with any logic KNEW we were going to struggle with the squad we have and now even more so with Watt's injury.We were hoping he could have given us some direction in attack.

Personally I'd hold fire until after the London game / 'give him a chance'. A half decent performance against Wigan, a really decent performance against Hull FC, and a win over London Broncos and I'll be a lot happier.

This

I really doubt any of this is going to happen, its just delaying the enevitable.
We are team with very little idea in attack and shocking in defence. Action needs to be taken as soon as or we will lose more and more support.

A new coach could look around for players to add to your squad.
There's Fisher at Batley who's on loan at Catalans but can't get a game there.
Ryan Hudson is at Cas and can't get a game there due to Milner and Clark.
There is usually a decent NRL player each year who gets a ban and ends up over here. These together with O'Brien, Kite and Phelps together with a coach who knows what he's doing may turn things around and get a win or two.
Leave it as it is and it will carry on as it is.

Yes.

Didn't want to admit it at first but after that shocking performance because of the 'weather', something has to be done.
It seems Betts didn't realise two teams where playing on Sunday. If one team can score 34 points and another not score at all and your excuse is the weather then surely Hull KR's excuse for scoring 34 points should be the weather aswell?
For as long as Widnes have Betts on board I can't see us going anywhere. With him I can see Widnes scoring over 20 points in a game this season once (If we're lucky) however if he is sacked then I still see the same for us.
It's a troubling situation but if he is kept on till the end of the season, just get an experiences defence coach in.

Unrealistic. Which decent player is going to want to join this current Widnes set-up? Quality players will always want to go to quality clubs with a decent record of recent success,and prospects of more success. The likes of Warrington, for instance.


Widnes Vikings don't fall into any of those catagorys.

With this out of there depth set of players,it doesn't really matter who is Widnes coach as you won't be finishing any higher than bottom with such a poor poor squad.

Alfie Langer came to you just after you'd won and then won...........

Andrew Johns came to you just after you'd won and then won.........

Jog on bellend!

To step-up from the Championship, recruit virtually an entirely new squad and then ask the coaching staff to make them instantly competitive is a task very few (if any) club could manage. Widnes have everything in place behind the scenes to become a top 6 SL club by the end of their 3 year licence. Maybe Denis Betts isn't the right man for your club but if a change is made it has to be the right one and not just for the sake of it. Steve O'Connor is clearly dedicated to taking Widnes to the top and from what I've seen I would trust him to continue to lead your club in the right direction. Short term defeats are hard to take but in the long run, won't matter.

Agree 100% mkc.

We can't afford knee jerk reactions every time we get stuffed. FWIW, I don't think Betts is the man for the job. Far too inexperienced and the next coach must be proven, not a gamble on a potentially good coach.

It's tough at the moment but in SOC we trust!

Me too. I retract previous comments about wanting him out and return to my original standpoint.
He's got three games to show us that we are on the right road and are improving.

I think the question is, does Steve O'Connor believe Betts has potential to be a top coach? If so, he has a real chance to develop coach and side together, and O'Connor has always been committed to sustainable growth. THis year was always going to be tough.

I think Widnes need to promote from within, get some talented young lads exposed to Super League and think about years 2 and 3 above all else.

That said, the sustainable business model would be helped if the fans could really enjoy matchdays, which will only last so long if you keep gettinghumped every week.

I reckon if I were a Widnes fan I'd want to see where things stood after the London game. If you've got players complaining of the cold, they have to take some blame for being jessies, not just the coach. Although he shouldn't be joining in...