We didn't break the cap.

i think with a lot of the fans and i admit i am one of them it's not really anti nobby,but we would love to see the same passion he showed for bradford here at wigan.ok he is a bradford lad but now wigan is his club.

3rd (and battered out of the play-offs) in Elliott's last season and three years since the '97 title, that's a funny, Saints-esque, definition of "dominant".

You mention systems but, as a major part of the coaching staff, surely he was part of developing an maintaining such systems?

Noble isn't perfect but if an Aussie coach had come into SL and had a similar record he'd probably be feted as some kind of coaching guru, unfortunately we generally don't seem to like one of our own doing well.

Do you feel that Bradford were in a stronger position when he arrived or when he left?

Weren't they Current SL & World Champions When they Left?

Jonh, without entering into the debte, you can't use that as the arbiter of a good coach! He was there 5 years and during that time were very successful. That is the correct measure of a coach. Otherwise practically every coach who ever lived would be a 'bad' coach' as they almost invariably leave a job when they are least successful. Very few exceptions apply. In fact, correct me if I'm wrong as I don't follow Union, couldn't you call Shaun Edwards a bad coach under these guidelines were he to leave Wasps now!

Very Perceptive Young Jedi!

But that still won't convince them! It doesnt suit their Agendas (I Omit JonH from that Statement He doesnt take EVERY Oppotunity to Bag Noble, Just Some!

)

It is as valid a line as pointing towards his trophies won with another club in my opinion.

Regards Edwards you could say he is having a bad spell, but for him to be considered a failure he would have to walk away when the club was on a downward spiral. Not sure what state they were in when he took over though so its hard to say.

I do not necessarily think Noble is a bad coach, but i do think he is very limited and his career has proven this to date in my opinion, this year for me will be the acid test where he has the chance to prove he is not as limited as i and some others think.

How long did it take for Alex Ferguson to win something at United ?, that was'nt a bad decision to keep faith with him was it !!!

United (as much as I dislike them) play an attractive game, though. That is Jonh's point. One I fully agree with. We play dull rugby!!

Yeah, but he gave the youngsters a Go didnt he!

Sorry, He did, 8 years after arriving, Going through some rough patches, stabilizing the club, getting them to match and eventually take over the previous Top 2 (Liverpool & Arsenal) and then bringing them into a stable & Successful team! Despite being often described as a Limited coach.





I wonder what we should do???

They didnt around 87/88/89 when he nearly got the sack and at some points were truly awful!
But they gave hon time & Had patience!

Mmm. So, if I get your drift, I have another 4 years to wait before I start enjoying myself again?

They do now, not in the first few seasons until the club stabalised.

Surely you dont go just for enjoyment do you !!!!!!!

Wednesday was great wasn't it.


Or did the adverts come on in your house?

Not really Jonh. What he did at another club is fact and so is a fair arbiter of his abilities as a coach. Whether he can take us to the next level is conjecture and so is merely opinion. There are points from both sides that I agree with (which is the reason I didn't want to enter the debate in absolute terms) and I agree this, and possibly next, season will be the acid test of his time with us.

Re Edwards: As I understand it Wasps have always been one of the top sides and, although I don't know for certain (read: can't be ar*ed looking! haha), feel certain they would have won something within the years precdating Edwards joining. If Wigan were to poach him as a coach now, as they did Nobby, then in your terms he will be a bad coach having left them in a 'worse state' than when he arrived. Just a point I'm making. I, of course, don't regard him as a bad coach!

Not really, They won the FA Cup 90 (That was 4 seasons) and the Premier League in 92/93 (After Blowing it the year earlier).

I think Most Man U Fans would have taken that in Fergusons 4th/5th/6th season after where they had been previous?

Look, The ususal suspects accuse Me & Others of Blindly accepting everything Noble does, That is far from the Truth.

There are many decisions/performances etc That I have been upset about or disagreed with.

My objection is with certain Posters who IMHO it seems can't wait to Bag the club and Hope for Poor performances & results just to Back up their Judgement on Noble/IL and increase their Ego's. (As I said earlier I am partly excusing Jonh on this

).

We as a club are seeing what the shoe is like on the other foot and "Some" fans can't accept that we have had to eat Humble Pie in the Bragging stakes for a While (An maybe a while longer) before the Universe is Back on track.

On the other Hand, I can't wait for the New season and get excited/dissappointed before & after every match, isnt that what supporting a team is all about?

Fell asleep, I've tried, but I just dont know what all the fuss is about, roll on 3 o'clock tomorrow !!!!!!!!!

I agree but it is a fact when he left they were on a downer and one which was not going to get better any time soon, in fact the Bulls like us this year some would claim are putting wrong the rights of previous coaches.

If the decline of a club is long term when a coach leaves then they have failed in my opinion, Wasps i do not think (also not sure and cba checking) the dominant force they became under the coaching of Edwards.

It's hard to judge that, we were certainly no great shakes at the end of 2000, when Elliott left. At the start of the 2006 season the team Noble had put together were doing fairly well, indeed they had just won at Headingley, had won the WCC and were reigning SL champions. Obviously the squad were weaker than the one that finished 2005, but the signs were there that Noble was able to get the best out of them, and they certainly performed better under him than they did once McNamara took charge.

At Bradford Chris Caisley had very little time for youth development and he seemed to think that the club could be continually successful by bringing players in, which is outdated thinking in these salary-capped times. While there is no doubt that Noble is more comfortable using, and getting the best out of, more proven players he cannot really be blamed for the fact that, when finances started to bite, youth development was way down on the list of priorities for the board at the time.

The problem with the anti-Noble brigade is they can't use facts to back up their argument because they don't have any, only hypotheticals and far-stretched opinions.

They try to mar his time at Bradford despite him being their most successful coach by saying he left them in a worse shape than when he took over. Bradford were suffering financially towards the end of Noble's reign and yet they were still champions and world club champions when he left.

They also argue all the hard work had been done for him by Elliott and Smith. Surely if he was such a bad coach he wouldn't have been able to continue and better Bradford's success over a five year spell.

With regards GB he took over when two massive names could no longer play for him in Farrell and Sculthorpe. Any GB manager would struggle with two massive voids in the team like that. Yet still I think his time as GB coach has been vindicated by that shambles in Australia (by presumably one of these "numerous australian coaches" whom some want to replace him with).

At Wigan he took over a club in turmoil with a massively unstructured wage bill. Not only did he pull us clear from relegation (again the anti-Noble brigade use the "any coach could have" line, funny this any coach has managed to be that coach both at Bradford and Wigan) he has managed to stabilise the club and provide a more balanced squad were we now have more competition for places.

I agree the next step is to take us to the next level now that the club has been stabilised but taking us to the next level isn't as easy as that. The next level is Saints and Leeds and their playing prowess is still far superior to ours.

I don't agree with every decision Noble makes when it comes to player selection but at this moment in time I don't think there is anyone out there who could do a better job.

The people calling for Edwards/Hanley/numerous australian coaches now will be the first in line calling for their heads two years down the line when we still haven't won anything.

Take it from me as a Spurs fan. Changing your coach every two or three seasons doesn't work. You may get better performances/results in the first 6 months but you end up going round in a circle back to where you started.

Patience is a virtue. I just hope the Wigan board have it.

But true.

Noble was the most successful coach that we've ever had at Bradford. His record of getting to finals and winning trophies speaks for itself.

The old adage goes that players win you games and coaches lose you games. I guess that seems to be thinking on here amongst those who say that Wigan win in spite of Noble rather than it having anything to do with him.

Of course the Bulls weren't in as strong a position in 2006 as they were in 2001 but I think it's unfair to pin that all on Noble. Finances were the bigger factor and remain the case.

If I were a Wigan fan I'd be wary of bringing in yet another new coach unless we're talking about a serious candidate with a proven up to date record in RL. So that even rules out idols like Edwards and Hanley.

Same here.

If Nobby wins no silverware with us at least he will win one thing, Wigan RL manager long service award