Bolton_Warrior wrote:I have noticed a few people mentioning how Nobby may have lost the dressing room and how some players may not want to play for him.
I may be a little old fashioned here but I find that sort of thing totally out of order, the players are paid to do a job and not to try and dictate who they play for. IMO if that is the agenda that some of the players have then they are every bit as guilty as Nobby and his tactics for our poor start to the season.
If the tactics/signings of the coach are not good enough then he will get found out sooner or later, I just don't like the idea that some players may have an agenda.
I think you're right in principle, but if the relationship between the coach and the players has completely malfunctioned, then you can only grin and bear it for so long - and the chairman has to make a decision for the benefit of the club.
The other problem is, how do we know whether this is true or not? Certain players report these things, but may actually mean that they
personally are disenchanted (perhaps because they're not being selected enough) and only say that others feel the same way in order to strengthen their case. Other observers, who are not directly involved with the team, may report similar stuff because they too have axes to grind - either they've had their nose pushed out at some time in the past or because they are unofficial spokesmen for those one or two players we mentioned.
While there are several on here who've recently reported unhappiness behind the scenes, I know others who report that the atmosphere in the squad and at training is fine. There were similar contrasting stories last season, when the story broke that Trent Barrett and a couple of others were objecting to Noble's tactics. Other people, however, said that Barrett's attitude was based on self-interest and was causing disruption, and that those 'others' who were objecting were actually just being lazy and ill-disciplined, often using their 'annoyance with Noble' as an excuse to turn up late for training or even to miss it.
Two sides to every story, you see. I'd actually go as far as to be wary of any player or junior coach who moans openly about things going on in the club, as there's only one reason why they'd break these confidences to those who aren't supposed to know - and that's because they're using them as a tool to leak information.
So yes, when these situations develop, the players are often equally responsible. That said, it's not as easy to get rid of troublesome players as it is an underachieving coach, and the final buck stops with Noble when it comes to getting Wigan winning again. If the changing room relationship has genuinely deteriorated, there may only be one solution.