Are some fans being fair?

[GeoffN]

My guess is IL will make an announcement when Wigan play their last match - whatever that is.

So at the gala dinner next Monday, then?

[DaveO]

Dave internally everybody knows what is happening. Brian Noble does. He has for quite a while. So clearly his comments in the media should be taken with a pinch of salt and are actually mischevious. He is a manipulator of the media and note if you care to look how his standard soundbite slowly but surely changes over days to give the impression he had no choice but to find a new job.

If he is manipulating the media and it makes Wigan look bad then something needs to be done about it.

You are basically saying he is lying.

Just lets suppose he is. All IL needs to do (given you claim everyone knows about it) to shut Noble up, is make the exact same sort of statement Celtic did. It is that simple. Also why would IL stand by and let his coach lie to the media when it paints him in a bad light?

It makes no sense for IL not to correct Nobles latest comments if they are untrue. The fact he has not suggest they are true.

The fact he does not also just fuels the speculation and if you are correct allows Noble free reign to manipulate the media.

Do you think Celtic would announce that their coach would not be retained if they did not have a replacement signed up or that a journalist would write an article stating that Celtic Crusaders were telling prospective signing for 2010 that Brian Noble was the new coach.

Why not? Why do you think there must be a coach in place already? Noble is out of contract, not being sacked.

If Wigan announce his contract is not being renewed and invited applicants all above board there would be a queue. Instead we have the secret'ism we have.

The rumour on rlfans is now Wane will be the coach and the inevitable question that has been asked is was he first choice. We seem to be going from Kearney to second choice McQuire to 3rd choice Wane and that is assuring no other have knocked IL back.

We all know Mo was very persuasive when it came to securing coaches and this is one area IL has no handicap compared to Mo. No salary cap for coaches wages and I am sure you know as well as I do that under Mo this would have been sported by now with none of this manipulation (if that is what it is) from Noble and no complete silence from the club.

Something they have been telling players for some time. The reporter would not make those statements if he/she was not legally secure. Mr Anti Speculation Noble would throw a hissy fit if it was not true.

How many coaches have been linked with us? No one has been sued for speculation and they never are. Kearney, Hasler Tony Smith and Lam have all been mentioned. I have probably missed a few.

Brian Noble left Bradford in the lurch. He put IFL in a very difficult position by applying for the Catalan job mid season.

No he didn't. He applied for another job and coaches do it all the time. I am sure it is not the first time IL has faced a key employee looking for a job elsewhere.

Oddly that got leaked. At the start of the season again it oddly got leaked that Noble was being linked with Bradford. When Bradford publically killed that rumour the only person furious was Noble. The Celtic rumours have been leaked across the media for a month + I wonder who that suits.

You are IMO reading far too much into it and gettng 2 + 2 = 5. Noble does not have a propaganda machine in place.

Let's just say EVERYBODY at Wigan RLFC knows what is happening re Noble and have done so for some time. There are 3 possible scenarios.

1) Clubs/coaches requesting not announcement until certain events have been concluded

Noble leaving is nothing to do with other clubs, so that announcement could be made. No problem here and stops Noble doing as you say he is, manipulating the press.

2) Wigan RLFC had difficulty securing their first choice replacement coach and thus had nothing to say.

If Noble is going, he is going. Everyone thinks he is so just say so.

3) A media stand off between IFL and Noble with either one wanting the other to make the first move so they can then manipulate the media to their own end.

But you are telling me Noble IS manipulating the media anyway. The only way to stop him is for Wigan to take charge of the situation and drive it not let Noble do as you say he is.

We all KNOW including FANS that BRIAN NOBLE is not being retained. We do not know who the new coach will be. It is not just about the coach because the incoming coach will have to create a new team of coaches as 2, probably 3 of Noble's friends will go with him.

They are two separate things. Noble is out of contract, he is going, we know it, so announce it and shut everyone up such as Stevo about how its a disgrace Noble does not know his future etc etc.

Many fans want to concentrate on the play offs. I do. SL has never been weaker at the top and it is a season when a club like ours should be thinking we can win the GF. Concentrate on the present season and look at the future when the season ends.

I don't believe you because you know very well what the capabilities of this side are coached by Noble. You are now taking a position for the sake of argument I do not believe you hold IMO. You have spent all season complaining we are too far down the league or whatever (rightly so ) to mount a serious challenge for the GF now we should be thinking we can win it? Give me a break.

Dave

[cpwigan]

Dave I honestly believed any club in the 8 has a chance this season. I think Leeds will be stronger in 2010 and remain favourites for 2009 because as we have both said ad infinitum finishing high up gives you an advantage. I think it gives teams an advantage in that they are also used to producing the goods week in week out and rarely crumble. I think Saints are struggling far more than I ever envisaged. Based on what I can see with Paramatta and Saints without him, Daniel Anderson was a hell of a coach. He had coaches like Noble in his pocket. He owned Noble.

Many SL clubs are coached the same old same old though. Cut the mistakes, low risk, hope the opposition make a mistake. That is the weakness of coaches like Noble, Kear, McDermott, Potter, Agar, Matterson, Walters, McRae. All the same old dated ploys. Brown is the only coach to bring something new to SL in 2009.

SL 2009 lacks a real top team and that for me is why anybody can win particularly as by the time we play the GF conditions will be conducive to the same old boring hope the opp make a mistake RL.

Where you are right is your view that great teams need great players. The St George Dragons now operate a salary cap where all the players get virtually the same and they have few if any stars. They have lots of very good players. Week in week out it worked superbly BUT it is now looking like it will backfire as the teams with the real stars like Parra with Hayne, Melbourne with Inglis/Slater and Broncos with Hodges/Falau come to the fore. You and I both know to be a great team you need start quality for the big occasions. A star along cannot win competitions but they can turn finals/big matches your way.

I now think we can win. The odds are against it but early in the season I would have not even given us a chance. Where you and I agree and other want to deny it because it does not suit their agenda is that Tim Smith getting injured was the best thing that ever happened to Wigan in 2009. It gave us Sam T against the coaches wishes. Had that coach had the guts to play him in 2008 we might have reached a GF.

Fans always air on caution well most do. They want what they know. So they want a Bailey. They did not want a Flannagan or a Mossop. They do not want a Farrell or a Davies. Yet in those names could be a real star quality player. Coaches / fans have to be bold and take / want calculated risks. Daniel Anderson got rid of his star halfback at Paramatta and replaced him with Daniel Mortimer who is possibly smaller than Sam T. The media / fans cried for Anderson's head. Now they want to knight him. Can any fan imagine Noble doing that?

[cpwigan]

Dave I think it is obvious that Wane is not Numero Uno choice. We know that because Kearney was offered the job first. I do think Wane create something that IFL wants, succession because he will be backed by future coaches as his backroom staff.

I am deadly serious when I say clubs / coaches often have agreements / requests not to announce things before certain dates. Wane for example is very big on this issue.

The media. It is a loaded gun waiting for IFL. I do not think IFL is anywhere near the league of MO when it comes to the media BUT believe me Noble is a media animal and he has many many allies in the media willing to present stories / issue his way. I don't know how IFL gets out of this dilemna.

We both know what the results say. They say little or no progress under Noble BUT the media say otherwise. I actually emailed GMR Manchester (first time ever) on Sunday and they read the email out. The pundits are not very good on there anyhow but I put those those very points in and they still disagreed without justifying why. Celtic is the perfect job for Noble. He will be his own boss and get them some wins and credibility. He will get any team some wins because he is competing against similarly poor coaches / often clones.

You would be right in your assumption of what I think re the truth of Noble but I am not sure Wigan firing the first shot helps. Wigan are going to get hammered whatever they do by a pro Noble media unless they give him a new contract. Why should the media dictate who gets a coaching job. They already do their best to try to do so. Noble has been signed/sealed and delivered for Celtic for a month + I think Wigan not being able to have a replacement lined up made their silence the only sensible option.