The other thing about Noble, although his main success came with the somewhat bullying style at Bradford, was that Crusaders were one of the most entertaining teams to watch last year. And, as you say, he's definitely more of a draw from a recruitment perspective.

I take your point but a top class coach would also want more top players and backroom staff so it's the whole package. Plus there is no certainty about how many fans we would attract, it's guesswork. Plus the SMC get some of the gate money.

However the my point is that it does not matter, we should still be trying to attract a top class coach regardless.

Our quota wasn't full.

Noble's biggest strength is his ability to get teams defending and attacking as a team and with agression, he w
as unlucky in his time at Wigan that they never made a GF.

Would have him tomorrow!

I'd be delighted with Noble but we all know that out next coach will be James Webster with Andy Last as his assistant.

So does he now reduce our quota options next season?

ive been sick

Mrs B and Pete Smurthwaite telling it it like it is.

We back the club with pass sales and merchandise sales, yet the club don't reward us with decent play on the field. Buck stops with Agar and the board on that.

Slightly. He's effectively half an overseas player - quota but federation trained due to being here before 2008.

Fans expectations and the boards expectations not the same.

This is why I gave up on trying to understand the rules ages ago.

That's about the size of it.

Just had someone on there (Fewings?) saying that sacking Agar would be an admission of failure by the board. So what was the sacking of Kear and Sharp? We've had the same board since 2000ish.

Thanks very much but I have now to surrender I cant understand it at all, so now Wakey have half a quota spot for half an Aussie front row forward,

Think he meant that they had shown a lot of faith in Agar like letting him overhaul the side etc.

Suppose - but are they really just never going to admit they may have got it wrong? That sort of stubbornness is madness.

Even if they just decide not to renew at the end of the contract, that would be the same type of admission, surely.

That is what they meant, but equally the contract extension was granted almost a year ago. If they'd given him an extension last week, I could have understood the point that they'd look like @rses getting rid a week later, but don't think it's really a major factor when they renewed on 1 April last year.

Just make a decision and appoint a new coach, they don't even have to admit they got it wrong just say things like it was not working out etc.

That stubborness could really cost them .

I don't necessarily disagree. But... a proportion of that would go to the SMC though and you'd have to pay off Agar. In the short-term, your new Australian head coach would be James Webster, IMO. Which mightn't be a bad thing.

You spoke very eloquently, btw.

I know it is more than this one game but...

You were undercooked - plenty of time to get up to speed and come good at the right time of year. With a thin squad player an extra pre-season friendly or two would have been risky.

Phelps and Obst mightn't be world beaters, but they are decent players in priority positions. Phelps at FB, Whiting back at centre and Briscoe back on his wing, with Obst spelling Houghton would have looked much better balanced yesterday.

Rovers aren't actually that bad. It doesn't matter to us that you think we're crap and want to extenuate your negatives on that basis, but it isn't an accurate assessment. We'll beat teams that make the play-offs this year - might even have done so.

I said on our other forum that I wouldn't read too much in to the first game, when everyone is rusty - and I'm not, pleased though I am. As I say, I know you've put up with some ropey performances and interesting interchanges over the last couple of seasons, but having come this far it is only sensible to give Agar a chance [ithis[/i season and that, IMO, is a [uminimum[/u of 6-8 games.

I think Mrs B has a very sexy voice.

Call me

Hopefully lol,i would give Rich another 6-8 months to be fair.
He hasnt had a real good run injury wise so give him a shot.

Call you what?

You can have 5 =#FF0000non-fed trained players and you currently do.

CF, MO, CP, EL, SM.

You can have 5 =#FF0000quota overseas players and you now have 4.

CF, MO, CP, SO.

Once you've got your head round the fact that the bits in red are seperate and independent rules, it is pretty straight forward.

Fair points, but even if the cost were double, I reckon we could get gates up 5% if we were competing and entertaining.



Thanks. I'm feeling the love from the Rovers mods tonight.






I don't deny there is a heavy element of "another-fecking-derby-defeat-knee-jerkery" going on here. But the context for me is that I've defended the club resolutely against criticism and been quite snooty about people threatening to not renew their passes. I've praised the board's financial acumen to anyone who'll listen and plenty that have probably exercised the "foe" function on here years ago specifically because of it. I've posted anything that Lee Jenkinson puts in the shop on a special thread and encouraged people to buy, lauding the online shop service. I've been home and away, re-arranging holidays and making financial sacrifices, for the last 3 years in the hope that I see a glimmer of what has compelled the board to pay Agar a generous salary for a job at one of the country's "biggest" (turnover/fanbase/stadium wise) clubs.

After nearly 5 months of anticipation, we end up with a £100k loose forward played in the second row, an impact prop on the bench until the second half whilst Dowes is trampled into the mud, a centre at fullback, a wing at centre, Houghton flogged for 80 minutes on a heavy pitch, and still our only real idea when we're up against it is pass the fecking ball to Manu when he's stood still with 3 defenders on him and hope for a miracle. When we were discussing, again in knee-jerk mode last night, that the only alternative to Agar the board would entertain was McNamara, it tipped me over the edge. Right now, with 3 seasons' experience of Agar's lack of adequate squad balance, non existent gameplans and inability to get the best out of his players, indulge my belief that this will be another season of the same. Being a numbers person, I like a bit of evidence on which to base my expectations, and I'm struggling for anything compelling to spark my innate optimism about my beloved club.

Thanks for the sympathy though.