: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:04 am  

tyr wrote:

Yes, I'm sick of that "this competition is won in October, not February" line as well. Why didn't the interviewer in question point out that, 9 times out of 10, the comp is won in October by a team that finishes in the top 2? Which is probably not going to feature a team who've lost their first 3 to bottom-half clubs!

I think it's just called 'positive spin'. I don't believe anyone at Wigan seriously thinks that to start with 3 defeats is okay.

If we'd started with 3 victories, they'd be rightly over the moon.

IMO, we're attaching too much importance to a brief interview given by a man under a lot of pressure.

rl : Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:06 am  

From what the Aussie press were saying at the time of Buderus & Hodgson signing is they were both getting a fortune.
IL has stated that the days of Wigan paying over the odds for players are over.
As for me knowing players wages, of course I don't.
IL has said at a FF that there are large contracts in place and that end of 2009 we should be able to get a bettter balance of players/salaries.
He also said that we could only judge him from 2010 because of this.
Lets hope he gives the same latitude to Brian Noble.

: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:18 am  

Cruncher wrote:

I think it's just called 'positive spin'. I don't believe anyone at Wigan seriously thinks that to start with 3 defeats is okay.

If we'd started with 3 victories, they'd be rightly over the moon.

IMO, we're attaching too much importance to a brief interview given by a man under a lot of pressure.

Fair enough. It's not as if I want Noble to panic about this! I'd just feel a bit better if he acknowledged that this is serious, rather than attempting to play it down. I hope he's right and the team comes good and bounces back. But, even if they do, that's 6 competition points gone beyond recall.

: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:25 am  

tyr wrote:

Fair enough. It's not as if I want Noble to panic about this! I'd just feel a bit better if he acknowledged that this is serious, rather than attempting to play it down. I hope he's right and the team comes good and bounces back. But, even if they do, that's 6 competition points gone beyond recall.

There's no doubt it's been a catastrophic start to the season. But I think it's been even more catastrophic for Brian Noble. When he came to Wigan, he was regarded as the best British coach. Since then, that reputation has become badly tarnished. If we now embark on a Millward-type disaster run, Noble may not just get shown the door at Wigan, he might never work as a top-level coach again. IM's stock has never been the same since he almost got us relegated.

: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:31 am  

Too right. If Noble had left after last season, he would have been a very much in demand coach. Now, he needs to start making things happen again at Wigan, or his career will be seriously tarnished.

: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:38 am  

Cruncher wrote:

There's no doubt it's been a catastrophic start to the season. But I think it's been even more catastrophic for Brian Noble. When he came to Wigan, he was regarded as the best British coach. Since then, that reputation has become badly tarnished. If we now embark on a Millward-type disaster run, Noble may not just get shown the door at Wigan, he might never work as a top-level coach again. IM's stock has never been the same since he almost got us relegated.

And that is the cut throat world of top level coaching! You’re only as good as your last set of recent results. If it was any other way the likes of Monie, Mcrae, Millward & Hanley would be in high demand as they have won everything.

I do think tho Noble will get another job after this one as he seems to be the type of person who clubs will employ he has few ‘enemies’ in the game and has a good rep i can't say the same of Hanley or Milward tho. The only problem is it’s not working out for him at Wigan that’s all.

: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:01 pm  

Cruncher wrote:

IMO, we're attaching too much importance to a brief interview given by a man under a lot of pressure.

This is key. Noble is putting whatever kind of spin he can on things to try and keep the pressure off the team. If anyone truely thinks he doesnt care about the results, they are the ones with the real problems.