How often do you need to applaud him for saving us from relegation? Talk about living in the past. He did it, it was great and that was step one out of the way to taking us back to the top but there we stopped progressing.



I am not "sad and bitter" I can just recognise Noble for what he is which is a not a particularly good coach who actually did very little while here for us both on and off the pitch. In fact I'd go are far as saying some of his practices such as sticking to his first 17 and ignoring the rest of the squad until forced into playing them was downright damaging. Why applaud that?





Hide form what?

Dave

You would of been better going for the hiding option because that was laughable.

Living in the past

last 3 years, why complain that people would like to applaud him as an ex Wigan coach? I disagree we stopped progressing, we have just been inconsistant ever since.

You are sad and bitter, because you will not accept that he is a decent coach who did his best for this club and laid some really good foundations. If we were just talking about results on the field in 2008 and 2009 I would agree with you, but there is a bigger picture. He never ignored the rest of the squad though did he.

I will applaud him in thanks for what he did for the club and for all the effort he put in. You won't.

End of.

We didn't stop progressing at all. Let's face it, we over-achieved in 2007 and that was largely down to probably our finest import in SL. We went closer to the GF in '08 and even closer in '09.

Yes, Dave, he isn't a particularly good coach is he? Only the most sucessful coach in SL history.

I feel a bite coming on



I wouldn't say we kept improving that much but we certainly did not go backwards!

I think we improved in 2009 compared to 2008.

You are correct 2007 was down to Barrett really.

The trouble with the Noble argument is people always exaggerate it one way or another. He alone didn't save us from relegation, in fact we were on quite a losing streak before the signing of Fielden and not long after Dobson. I think the three combined eased us away from the trapdoor.

On the other side he is regarded as a failure because he failed to win a trophy or take us to a final. Again I don't think this is all down to Noble more our players bottling it on the big occasion.

Should the squad over the last 3 years have challenged for the title? IMO no. The quality of Leeds and Saints' squads over this period far outweighed any coaching inequalities.

Should the squad have finished 3rd behind Leeds and Saints on the league ladder as well as the play-offs? On paper yes IMO. However this is highly debatable. The difference between our squad over this period and the other challengers for third spot was far more marginal than the difference between the top 2 and the rest.

However it hasn't all been bad as some would like to point out. We've had some memorable games but on the flip side we've also had some games we'd rather forget.

Noble along with IL has done a great job of stabilising this club and laying the foundations for the future coach to work with and go on and take the plaudits. For that we must thank him. Could we have gone on further still if Noble was allowed to sign his first choices and build the squad he wanted - we'll never know.

The stall has been set quite high for Maguire. For him to be deemed a success this squad must finish 4th and reach the GF. Should he be sacked if we don't? Definitely not. I do however think he has a better chance than Noble. Saints look like they are finally on the decline after many years of waiting so there is now room for someone to give a serious challenge to that second spot. Leeds still look too strong for anyone though so any hopes of our title drought ending need to be put on hold for the time being.

Good post.

Some people like Noble and some don't. I don't but I can understand if some do. I'm not wrong and they are not wrong, it just depends on our perspectives.
Certain instances might clour our opinions.
A friend of mine said he didn't like him because her overheard him say, "Knock his effing head off," (referring to Shaun Edwards when they were in opposition).
Another friend is impressed by the amount of work he put into the club.
When he returns with Crusaders, some will applause and some will stay silent. At least we won't boo like other clubs do when some of their ex-players have returned in the Wigan team.

Brian Noble the Marmite of Super League