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You have totally lost me Mave.

You seem to say Wrexham/Crusaders had no chance? Mmm this is a club with an existing squad and on top of it a ridiculous quota allowance. I am sure Salford, Castleford etc would love the quota that Crusaders, London (decreasing) and Cats have. Hence on that basis you are wrong and totally misguided.

We are talking about Gareth Thomas but you seem to want a different discussion when that argument is not winnable.

OK I have always said and will continue to say that any British coach unless they are coming from the NRL are never going to be as good as a current/very recent NRL coach. Nor will an Australian or some Australian who has been here for 3 years or more be as good as a current/recent NRL coach. It really is very simple; if you want the best you go to where the best are and in current times that is the NRL. Going back decades it was here which is why the Aussies got Brits over there playing/coaching etc. It's not rocket science.

Crusaders will achieve what this season? Print it here.

I will say what I think. Crusaders a team of mediocre overseas player with what 1/2 Welsh players will not finish higher than 11th. They will not win many more games because as conditions improve expansive RL will prosper. The games they have won have been on the back of the most incredibly mubndane RL and the opposition exemplify why SL will never unless somwething drastic happens compete with the NRL. Catalan were dreadful, the Crusaders were dreadful, the officiating was dubious and I am truly grateful and happy that we have Madge and co instead of Noble.

So come on Mave, talk is cheap, what say you about how Crusaders will fare this season?

As a RL fan I want British RL to be the best and so my duty is not to advocate giving coaches an easy living just because they are British. I want the best and I don't care where they are from just as long as they make British RL better and hopefully the best. Your duty of care is warped IMO.

For the last few years nobby's supporters used the 'they're not his players' excuse as to why Nobby failed to motivate the team at times. Every coach would love a blank chequebook and the freedom he has to get players that fit into his dull coaching philosophy so you can't have it both ways. Besides how he is doing with the team as a whole is not the issue here for me and I wish him luck but putting an unprepared player into an alien sport after 2 weeks has been demonstrated as stupidity at the very least.

cpwigan wrote:You have totally lost me Mave.

You seem to say Wrexham/Crusaders had no chance? Mmm this is a club with an existing squad and on top of it a ridiculous quota allowance. I am sure Salford, Castleford etc would love the quota that Crusaders, London (decreasing) and Cats have. Hence on that basis you are wrong and totally misguided.

http://www.crusadersrfl.com/article.php?id=17039
Crusaders are close to completing the formalities of a move for West Tigers full-back Rhys Hanbury and deals for former State of Origin player Clinton Shifcofske, now at Ulster, and Penrith’s Jarrod Sammut are progressing.

And Thomas may not be the only high-profile recruit from Welsh rugby union.

Gavin Henson and Andy Powell have both been linked with the Crusaders in recent days but Noble would not reveal whether approaches had been made.

Noble said: “We have got the prospect of signing some good players in the next week or so.

“I am interested in anybody I think will add to the club, first and foremost as players.

“I am a fan of Andy Powell, I have said that publicly. I am also a fan of Gavin Henson.

“Some of the players in Welsh rugby union would make terrific rugby league players for sure.

“But nothing is ever done until it is done. Watch this space is all I can help you with.”

Something going on with the Salary cap as well as the quota judging by Nobby's above quotes from the Crusaders site and hearing how much they offered Cooke to try get him there (turned down for family reasons).[/url]

I'm not sure the cap will be an issue at the Crusaders. They couldn't even start signing players until their ownership was sorted out and they lost a ton of players in the off-season because of the visa issue. Their squad is pretty thin and they probably have quite a bit of cap leeway. I'm not surprised they are still recruiting now, and probably will be for some time.

They do play very boring rugby at the moment though, and that I think is intentional.

Of course Mike boring rugby is the way to go when you've got a small squad don't blame him for it. My salary cap point comes not only on the basis of how many players they are likely to be signing but on the info I have been given about the salary they offered Paul Cooke. I don't know the exact figures regarding his salary but I happen to know that the INITIAL offer crusaders made was almost 50% more than his rovers salary. Makes you wonder how much some of their players are getting does it not?

It doesn't matter who Nobby signs or what he says, he will be ridiculed and called by some.

Quite clearly the subject has changed into being all about Nobby by people trying to defend the indefensible. I've not criticised the coaching at crusaders on the whole or even complained about the salary cap or quota situation which is clearly nothing to do with nobby and necessary for them to compete. But what this has to do with him picking Thomas whilst underprepared I'll never know?

FROM A TO B wrote:It doesn't matter who Nobby signs or what he says, he will be ridiculed and called by some.

And supported by some even when the truth hits them full on in the face. Guy you are so obsessed with defending the indefensable that you have made two posts solely about Brian Noble and offer nothing to any other discussions. Both your posts were aimed at me. Not very becoming for a moderator.

Perhaps you should give your Wigan season ticket away and buy a Crusaders one instead.

Paranoid...

You bring up noble in every thread cp. It winds people up.

cpwigan wrote:Fuji very simple question was Gareth Thomas at risk of serious injury last night owing to a naive / wrong running style?

Thought long and hard about replying CP because the core of my argument about the thread was that it was anti Noble. I have to admit that when he drove the ball in and I saw how it did it I cringed because of his body position. But most union forwards drive in that way and the guys they are hitting are usually bigger and more in number than league. Also Rob Burrows always seems to duck into a tackle and he's still aright. To answer your question then the answer must be yes but that could apply also to Rob Burrows I suppose