Yet he is totally non committal and we are now in a very late stage for a deal to be placed on the table, we are now in a position where other clubs can realistically poach him should they want to, which at the moment it seems they do not.

Wigan as a club are a huge club they should/could no longer be able to sign the top players in the world, there is no excuse for not having a top coach at the club. The lack of clamour for BN's signature from the Wigan club or any other speaks volumes in my opinion.

No, he said tonight he wants him to be there next season (and hopes Brian wants to stay - which we know he does), but for that to happen Wigan need to be on form or words to that effect.



Lets not start posting opinion as fact now. You have no idea if any other club are interested in Noble and may make a move IF it becomes apparent that Noble will be leaving Wigan.

IL wants Noble to stay imo, I think their is some hardball from both sides and the deal is being slowed up as a result of our inconsistent league form.

So basically from what IL has said BN is still having to earn a new deal at this late stage, he has yet to manage it. Lets be honest he got a 1 year deal last year which is not a show of faith, the best he can hope for is another 1 year deal regardless of how we finish this year. A great coach that a club like Wigan deserves should not be scratching around for a 1 year deal at this stage of the year in my opinion.

Have standards dropped at this club so far?

We don't know it will only be a 1yr deal next time.

Do you seriously think it will be anything more? I would be very surprised if it comes at all but if it does given the position we are in at the moment anything more than a 1 year deal would be insane.

2 year deal will end up being signed imo.

Just to but in Lenagan said something on the radio earlier on that suggested if Noble got a deal it'll be for 1 year only.

I can't remember the exact wording of it but he made that out. I remember thinking that if he isn't going to back him with more then a year i wouldn't bother at all.

Either he's with him or not. Half ar*ed measures won't do for me.

I heard it after the game sat in the car while waiting for the barrier to go up and the above four points were basically what he said.

I thought as regards your point a) above what he actually did was contradict himself. The way he was going on at the start of the interview I thought he was basically saying there was no one down there to sign.

Then later on he pipes up and says he has seen three players he might be interested in bringing over.

Another confusing aspect of the interview was his comment about young Australian players. Basically he put forward the idea it might be a good thing to sign young Aussie players[i before[/i they gain representative honours instead of 30 something established players. OK I am not a great fan of bringing in older players myself but what would signing young Aussie players mean for our own young players? He wasn't on about signing some young Aussie who was already making a name for himself or one who was considered the real deal but just young Aussie players.

I find this very odd because why would we want to bring in young players of that standard when he was also praising how well our junior sides were doing but at the same time acknowledging it is difficult to keep them all at the club ?

Dave

From memory he said "id love Brian to be here next year". Which to my mind doesn't imply a 1 year deal, merely that he wants him to carry on.

Might be taking it the wrong way though.

Time will tell, but at this late stage i would be stunned if we decide to offer him a deal it will be anything more than another 1 year deal.

Given the coaches we have missed out on by renewing Nobles deal can we afford not to throw big money at Smith who is available or risk missing out on further top coaches should we have to put up with another consistently poor 2010?

I can't remember what he said exactly but the though came into my head at the time that he's edging towards offering him a new one year deal at some point.

I personally would let him go but if Lenagan does plan to keep him it should be on at least a 2 year deal so everybody knows where they stand.

Doing it 1 year at a time isn't the way to go imo.

Smith?! Which one?

I think he went a bit further than just being on form. My view was it is now clearer than ever if Noble wins the CC he can have another year. If he doesn't, he's out. That is just my take on it before anyone goes off on one!

If I am right then it is a worthwhile point to consider if we can wait that long, end of August,to decide assuming we beat Wire.

The other interesting thing was IL saying "another year" for Noble. Not another two or three year contract but just another 12 months. Hardly a great offer IMO.

And of course as IL pointed out BN may have his own plans. He may not want just a one year deal if someone else offers a better deal.



If he wants to stay it looks like the best offer is another 12 months based on results.

Dave

Could well be the case, my dad shares the same opinion.



Now that I assumed was just him referring him to being there next year, not only for 1 year, but merely to still be there next year.

Smith and Brown.

I know Brown was available, I dont understand which Smith is available now?

Brian Smith.

We missed out on Tony.

I thought Brian Smith was at Newcastle?

Right, I knew you couldnt mean Tony, couldn't think for thinking then

Left some time back if memory serves.

I was pretty certain it was meant as another 12 month deal. We would have to hear it again to be sure but I did think he mentioned 12 months as if that was the offer that would be made.

Dave

Quote ="AJ"Left some time back if memory serves.'" Just checked.....still there. www.newcastleknights.com.au/defa ... file-coach Looks to rule that one out.

Quote ="AJ"Left some time back if memory serves.'" Just checked.....still there. www.newcastleknights.com.au/defa ... file-coach Looks to rule that one out.

I thought he made out it would be a 12month deal.

Doing a wonderful job at Newcastle, off contract the end of the year. Able to be approached by Sl clubs.

Quote ="NickyKiss"Just checked.....still there. www.newcastleknights.com.au/defa ... file-coach Looks to rule that one out.'" yeah, again, memory failed, he went to Newcastle didnt he, with Hagan going the other way.

Quote ="NickyKiss"Just checked.....still there. www.newcastleknights.com.au/defa ... file-coach Looks to rule that one out.'" yeah, again, memory failed, he went to Newcastle didnt he, with Hagan going the other way.