Defo there needs to be a control from the top over the coach especially with a SC in place.

Noble can cry all day that he wants to sign Buderus and other players but if IL feels it’s too much for one guy with the squad like it already is then so should it be. I’d love us to sign world class players but it’s much easier for a team like Leeds who have an already excellent base to add someone like Buderus after losing Toopi and Ellis isn’t it?

Also I truly don’t believe that IL is going around signing players behind Nobles back. Why would Noble still be here if that was true?

I don't think anyone does but there is an issue if a coach says (for example) he wants a prop but the chairman signs a winger.

Early on in his chairmanship IL said we would not be signing a prop because we had 7 on the books already. I distinctly remember that.

Now what if Noble has decided we do need another prop and IL refuses to budge?

I am also pretty convinced it was IL and he alone who decided to sign Roberts early. I heard his Radio Manchester appearance and Roberts was briefly discussed and no other reason than he was available now was given as the reason he was signed. You may also recall not long after he took over IL saying he wanted a flyer on the wing (or some such words).

So I don't think anyone expects Noble to be given a free hand but any coach needs the chairman to sign players in the positions the coach identifies as needing attention. I don't think it is unreasonable for there to be some doubt this is what is happening at Wigan.

That said and given the squad we have Noble should still be getting more out of it even if IL has signed every player on the books.

Dave

This is the main point regarding Noble's coaching abilities. IMO the only question now is whether he goes now-ish or at the end of the season. Without rehashing the 'stability' argument, I'd prefer it if he went at the end of the season unless we have a permanent replacement (preferably a NRL coach) waiting in the wings.

In any event, Noble must know his card's marked by now. How he responds depends on what he wants to do next. If he plans to gets another coaching job, he needs to salvage his reputation - in which case, who knows? We might see him getting more out of the team before the end of the season. His other option is making a living as a TV pundit. In that case, he might not care and things could stay the same or even get a lot worse.

Well Eddie and Stevo aren't getting any younger...... can you picture it in 2 years time Superleague and Boots n all presented for us on Sky sports by "the cliche brothers" Cullen & Noble.....FFS

Good post.

Those 2 points that you highlight were stated by IL and clearly highlight his opinions and thoughts on our transfer strategy and that is not helping us at all.

That being said, with the players we have, we should have won more than 3 from 10.

I have watched Wigan 4 times this season. Once live and three times on Sky.

For a superleague side you are a bottom 6 team at best.I like Ainscough Leulai and Tomkins the rest don,t perform.

Your right, the coach should present the chairman with a list of players he wants, and the chairman should if possible ensure the signing of these players.

However, if everytime Nobby goes to IL with a list and on the top it says prop, after nobby signed fielden and coley. The other week keith mason outplayed fielden and he is far from big or a world beater! IL isnt going to keep signing props.

The five props we have should be more than enough (and we have 7 a third of the squad almost), it is sometimes upto the coach to get the best out of players. You cannot expect IL to keep throwing money away on a new prop who doesnt perform. It is supposed to be Nobby and his teams job to identify players who can perform a role, not the chairman.

Now i agree about Robberts, I honestly dont see the point in signing him, so far he looks like he pretty useless.

Its easy to say we should let the coach do the signing, but as previously posted its not that easy in the days of the Cap, as from previous experience we cant have a open cheque book

Certainly the financial balancing act that the Salary Cap these days requires excludes any possibility of the coach being soley in charge of recruitment, or even having the main say in the matter. And I fail to understand why so many fans don't realise this. It needs to be a team effort with someone who understands the mathematical realities.

I take the views of others on board when they point to odd signings that we've made recently. Some don't seem timely. Others have so far disappointed - Riddell for example. But all this talk about us needing a new prop is not taking into account the economic problem of already having five props, who we are currently paying a considerable chunk to.

You're absolutely right to say that this can't be irrelevant to IL's thinking. To his mind we probably do need another prop, but of the five we currently have, two are internationals - so surely it's better if the head-coach can get these guys firing (at least until the end of their contracts), rather than the chairman laying out money that may be usefully spent elsewhere? It's not as if we don't have other weaknesses in the team.

Yes, I agree that we need a big, crumping prop - which SL team doesn't? But any way I look at it, it seems to me that having six in total would be a waste of cap space, and would probably result in one of the youngsters leaving, which we definitely don't want.

I'm sure a new prop will be signed at the end of this year, when Coley leaves. Until then we'll have to make do with the ones we've got, and hope that something happens in Fielden's life to make him rediscover the pride with which he once played.

Sources inside the club have told me that Noble will only be coach at Wigan until the end of this season!

If you dont believe me - remember this date and what I have posted when it happens!!

That wouldn't be much of a shock considering he is OOC. My hope would be, if this is true, that the new coach is already known and allowed to select the halfback and props we need. IL should not be doing this himself.