I simply don't think you can blame noble. He managed to get us to 4th last season and that's the highest since 2004 and then in 2003 we managed 3rd but we've declined since then I think it's neither Lenegan nor Noble just a decline of the brand so to speak somehow

However, there is a point I would like to make.

At this point in 2006 (well in mid April so slightly later) Millward was sacked for having not much worse a start. So I wonder what will happen now.

You surely don't think he is blameless? If he has no influence and our current state is all down to the players (what else could be the problem if Noble is blameless?) what do we employ him for?




Read the thread titled : Noble's SL regular rounds record with Wigan.



I don't this point is lost on anyone. Whether IL will tolerate a full season of this if things don't improve (because there is no relegation) is the interesting question.

Dave

I said before this season started that we would be poor this year. The squad is very poor. Its full of average players with not one truely great player among it.

You cannot lose a Trent Barrett and just not replace him yet expect to be a better team. Tim Smith was never going to be the answer and i cannot see why we signed him. I think it was more of a case that we got him to try and help us push for the grand final last year with a view to him playing 7 this year alongside a new stand off. When the new stand off didnt happen IL seemed to suddenly get this idea that Tommy and Timmy would do which everybody could see was a massive gamble. Now we are stuck with 2 scrum halfs one of whom is a better hooker and the other who cannot tackle a big dinner and his defence is so poor that its virtually impossible to play him.

Your Wrong on that one, IL told me himself that Tommy & Timmy were the answer on the 7th November over a Heated debate & A couple of Wines & Lagers!

PS

I told him those 2 couldn't play together as long as they had an hole in their Ar5es! And Just because you have 100million quid doesnt make you a better judge of a player than the rest of us!

Exactly,the 7th of November. By that time it was apparent that the chances of suddenly finding a replacement for Barrett were very slim.

Also,it seems funny how Roberts move was suddenly brought forward a year. Had IL missed out on all the other available players? Was he not prepared to match the money on offer from other clubs? Not that it matters now but im sure we missed out on Greg Bird and Todd Carney? Both stand offs which means IL never had any faith in a Timmy and Tommy pairing. Charlie Seeling who seems to have very close ties with the club mentioned that Noble was hell bent on us getting Greg Bird.

And thats the problem you still expect to be top, it takes years, which your chairman has alluded to, to get to consistant top side. If you can base your team around people like sam etc. i'm sure you'll have the success you had when you built a team around Farrell/radlinski etc

So are most of the teams who have beaten us yet they play better RL than we do. The question most Wigan fans want answering is why the likes of Cas and Wakey play better more attractive RL than we do when on paper we arguably have better players in most positions.

The answer to this question many fans have come up with is that those sides are better coached than we are.

No one is under any illusion we are full of class player though we do have several current internationals in the side. The problem many fans see is Noble isn't even getting the best out of what we have.



Well the simple answer is for Noble not to play Smith and put McIllorum on the bench instead, yet each week the fans ponder what permutation Noble will come up with in the 17 (or 19) as he seemingly tries to force square pegs into round holes (like picking too many back rowers and Smith instead of McIllorum).

Dave

It was brought forward a year simply because he came available a year earlier than expected.

Whether it was a good idea to sign him a year early I have my doubts as I think other areas of the team needed addressing first. If by not signing him a year early Roberts signed for someone else and thus we would not have got him in 2010, so what?

We can only speculate that IL wanted his flying winger he was going on about and so when he was available sooner he signed him or if he was just being too nice and did Roberts a favour! I can't think of any other reasons.

Either way his signing a year early was clearly driven by events and that doesn't look good from a long term planning point of view to me.

Dave

The reason other average teams are better than us is they better halfbacks than us. We simply do not have a decent organiser/halfback in the whole team. Tommy has been proven to be a better 9 than 7,Tim Smith is not up to the job of organising and far too hot and cold and Tomkins is too young to be expected to lead us around the park and organise. There is just no organiser in the whole squad and add to that none of them can kick a long ball if their life depended on it.

What we need to do is decide is Tomkins a long term 6 or 7 and sign a world class organising halfback to partner him. somebody who can direct the play around the field every week and can put a long kick in.