This is a re-written article from last year, just updated with some new stats, but his win ratio compared against other select coaches who have managed over 200 games is very impressive.

Full Article - rlhttps://wiganrugbyfans.com/2018/02/27/shaun-wane-wigans-greatest-super-league-era-coach/rl

Win Ratio:

Games Wins Percentage
1 Craig Bellamy 434 295 67.97%
2 Shaun Wane 209 138 66.03%
3 Daniel Anderson 263 168 63.88%
4 Michael Maguire 235 145 61.70%
5 Wayne Bennett 869 535 61.57%
6 Trent Robinson 207 126 60.87%
7 Brain Noble 255 155 60.78%
8 Phil Gould 299 177 59.20%
9 Daryl Powell 210 123 58.57%
10 John Monie 271 154 56.83%
11 Brian McDermott 359 196 54.60%
12 Michael Potter 215 115 53.49%
13 David Waite 207 105 50.72%

I'm not sure that's the whole story, though.

If I have any concern with SW it's that he may have been with us a bit too long.

I know that sounds harsh on the guy when he's won us so much. But the average life-span of a coach at a single club tends to be less than Shaun has done with Wigan, and there must be a reason for that.

Faces become too familiar, tactics become stale, it all gets a bit samey and mundane, etc. It was definitely the case last year that motivation seemed to be lacking in most matches after the WCC, culminating in two games at the end of the schedule that could have been construed as an attempt by the players to frag the head-coach (definite memories of the John Player Final '94, for me).

Despite the stats, I think that SW will really need to turn it around this year if he wants to persuade people that he and Wigan RL are still good for each other.

All head coaches have a limited shelf-life and Shaun has been at Wigan for a long time by the standards of a Wigan coach. As your analysis points out, his record is excellent. But some of the high points in your analysis, particularly with respect to attack, were achieved in the post-Maguire period when I'd say in general we had a stronger squad. Having said that, he's been working with a much younger squad since that time and still maintained a good record, especially with respect to trophies.

I have no questions about his ability to motivate the team, but I still think his tactics as far as attack goes are very limited and rely a lot on the style we saw developed under Maguire. By now, we're very easy to read and that is why we often struggle in attack, we're particularly poor at converted attacking position from inside the 10 into points. The fact that this side of Wigan's game has not developed is frustrating from many fans' perspective and that's at the root of disillusion with Wane as head coach.

I agree to an extent but this misconception about our poor attack needs to be clarified. We scored more tries last season than all but 1 club in the competition so our attack wasn’t as bad as people often refer to. We all know the last 2 seasons were poor for us, but I just think it needs perspective.

Sadly he's lost too many games that "matter"

Somehow I'm not surprised that the posts in reply are negative towards Wane, he is one of the most successful coaches we have had, the most in successful superleague and had to adapt to losing lots of players through injury, swapping youth in to replace experience.

Maguire left Wigan at the end of the 2011 season. The first year Wane was in charge we didn't see much change, the fans complained about the same style of play and our tackling was criticised. Wane changed the playing style, both planned and unplanned changes. Players have come and gone and come back again, returned for injury etc. We certainly don't have the same moves that Magure brought, the rigorously structured play has become more fluid and still, we score.

Has he been at Wigan a long time? Yes, but he's successful. In a six-year period, 2 x SL, 2 x CC and 1 x WCC. Leeds have done better, but would you trade Wigan's record for St. Helens? Warrington?

Wanes record only looks the more impressive when you consider the constant departures he’s had to deal with. Don’t get me wrong I still think he’s under a lot of pressure this season because last season was the first year under him where not only was the style of play nit the most attractive but we also lost more games then in any of his previous seasons.

It’s a big big year for Wane. His legacy at the club us set in stone for me but if he wants to keep adding to it, he’s going to need more performances like the Salford and Hull games and less of the Wire showing. It’s a huge game for the players confidence and the fans belief in the team on Friday night imo. The amount of negativity after that Wire game was pretty unbelievable but that will be nothing compared to what we’ll see unless it’s a convincing display on Friday.

I'd go even further than that. I'd say that to lose on Friday doesn't bear thinking about - either for us or Shaun Wane.

The wounds of last year are still too raw, and yet, superficially at least, almost nothing at team level has changed.

People are nervously anticipating a re-run of last year. Warrington hinted at that. A Widnes defeat would confirm it for many, especially as Wigan will almost be a full-strength.

This really is a very important fixture.

One of the reasons it’s so big is because of what is to follow. I can’t help but feel we’re going to need to be full of confidence and energy to get over two teams who embarrassed us at points last season in Wakey and then Castleford. They’re both way bigger sides then us and both love nothing better then to get one over Wigan. If they smell blood then it’ll only add to the pressure.

On the flip side, we can really get some momentum and right a few wrongs in the next few weeks. The optimist says let’s lay some ghosts to rest and get our swagger back. If we do well these next few weeks then we’ll all feel better and have that bit more confidence in the side.

Well that just goes to show relying on statistics is no good. We were second highest try scorers yet finished where we did and won nothing. So when it mattered something wasn't good enough. It's no good scoring a shed load against a poor side in a league game making your average look good if you don't score enough when it matters against the better sides.

The whole debate about Shaun Wane falls down to two things for me;

- Has our play improved?
- Is our squad good enough?

The answer to both questions is a resounding no IMHO.

Yes we’re only 4 games in but I haven’t enjoyed watching a single Wigan game this season. The showing v Hull & Souths in Australia were poor, trumped only by the Warrington display. The Salford/Widnes games were okay but certainly nothing to shout home about.

The HB partnership between Powell and Williams just doesn’t work. Powell is not good enough to be a Super League #7. He is however good enough to be a hooker. Williams needs an organizing HB partner, without that his game falls to pieces and he resorts to the hop/skip/dummy which worked well in his debut season but is easily predicted these days.

Sam Tomkins is not a Super League FB either. His game has also taken a huge decline in the recent seasons and his attitude has taken a nose dive along with it. He is constantly bitching and whinging to the referee acting much more like a petulant child than a rugby league role model. He’s a talented player but he needs to concentrate on his game rather that acting up. If he did that he would be a much better asset to Wigan and England. I’ve taken a serious disliking to him.

That being said, he is and should be at HB with Williams using his vocal skills to the profit of the team by organizing and ordering them around the field.

Our style is poor and hasn’t changed one iota from last season, the only change I can see is this awful “switcheroo” involving Escare/S Tomkins/Powell & Leuluai. It isn’t exciting, speedy or unpredictable. It’s the opposite and SW is stubborn enough to not change it. His blinkers are well and truly on, he can’t be told and he won’t be told.

Our squad is by no means a bad squad but I feel there is a lot of deadwood floating about it and we could do with releasing said deadwood and bringing quality replacements in. Players such as Tautai, Isa, Sutton, Navarette, Leuluai, J Tomkins - they are no longer good enough for a side looking to win all. Sarginson didn’t make that list given he has only just re-signed but he needs to show a vast improvement on what he has shown so far because it’s been poor.

It’s been mentioned elsewhere about the size of the squad (physically) and they are small compared to past seasons. It shows in our go forward and our lack of gaining ground through our forwards. Clubb is poor in attack but defensively sound. Flower is just ok at both. It is rather surprising our lack of size given SW’s eagerness to give us size after Madge and his former playing position. It sounds like a never ending request - we need new props.

This season is huge for SW and for Wigan. Does every coach have a shelf life? I’m not sure, it takes a special and adaptable coach to last a long time ala Fergie or in rugby league terms Brian McDermott. I just don’t see that SW is adaptable, he’s certainly special because of his achievements with the club throughout his entire team coaching the juniors up to the first team. I don’t think you could quantify his achievements and the benefit the club has had from his efforts but his time is coming to an end at Wigan. He’ll go down as a club legend- quite rightly too but he is no longer the man for the job.