well at this rate we'll be battling with bradford and wire for that ninth place then

We'll make the play offs easily. I've no doubt about that. But I was really expecting a strong top 4 push this year though and that looks far off. Very disappointing.

It's not just week to week incosistency. Throughout Noble's reign here we've always started games far too slow, especially at the JJB. We always seem to be chasing the game. If we are leading after 20 mins or at half time we rarely let a lead slip because we always finish well.

I still have some sympathy with Noble because they hadn't planned for Barrett to go early and I do believe had he been here we'd be 6 wins 2 defeats ish now because we'd have won all 3 home defeats in the last 20 mins.

But I am losing patience and I am a patient man. I just hope we show up and at the very least compete a week Thursday.

The thing with Nobles teams over the last few years is that we only just win when we do win.

Years ago if we won we would do it in style and we wouldn't get beat at home unless it was Leeds, Saints or Bradford and not by many points at all.

can see what you're saying, but the days of 'years ago' aren't going to come back so easily if at all.

Doesn't this just show Barrett papered over the cracks?

W/L/A stats confirm exactly what I have been saying for some time, that we have never matched our 2006 performance and that we have gone backwards ever since.

Dave

Why?
We're not a good team and dont look good enough to ake the top 8 at the moment. Weve only beaten one team from the top 8 this season so far

How trully great was Barrett then

If he was the sole reason that took us to one game from the GF both seasons..To the e we watch this season.

Greatest signing Ever ?

I dont think people realised how good Trent was for us. Absolutely fantastic player

don't think we relied on him as heavily the 2nd time

Big call in my opinion, Bradford and Wire both have massive improvement in them and one of them has done something about the poor start to the year, i think the Bulls will be soon to follow there lead, if they do i fully expect both teams to leap frog us if we do nothing, at the moment we are in 9th, if these 2 teams do kick on uinder new managment we are in real danger of not making the 8 and if we do scrape in still stand 0 chance in real terms of being a challenger.

Well greatest [isinging [/iever, no because two years out of three does not compare to the great players we signed who were here for a while such as Hanley.

One of the greatest [iplayers[/i to sign for us? Without a doubt IMO. I agree with Bilko that had he been here this year we would have won the three home games but that would have just been delaying the inevitable in that when he left at the end of this season, the inadequacies of our team and coach would have exposed a year later.

Maybe he would have given IL and Noble the breathing space to get to 2010 (when the big contracts are up) with a few honourable defeats in the play offs placating the fans but what I think he did was save Nobles job for this season by dragging a poorly coached team to over achieve.

My view is we did best when Barrett was here when Noble's game plan was ditched by the players when they were chasing games and with Barrett on board they could catch up and overhaul teams like Wakey, Cas and Hudds. Without him we can't.

He was basically the difference between us and those sides and that was enough toi get us into the play offs and two wins in each playoff series while he was here.

Dave

Even more worrying is Noble's record v Stains.
9 games,
Aggregate score 132-290,
1 win, 1 draw and 7 losses (the win and draw only coming at the end of the season when saints had all but secured league leadership).

Every Wigan coach of past had 2 objectives:
Win the Challenge Cup,
Beat St Helens.
Noble has failed on both of these time and again at Wigan.

I feel it has to be now or never for Noble. Beat Saints on Maunday Thursday or walk.

Agreed Barrett was able to create the closest thing we had to a plan B and now we're so one dimensional its unreal.