Did Noble pull it out the bag?

[Wigan_forever1985]

When i watched the match against huddersfield i felt a bit sorry for millward because i thought, well wigan would of probably of beaten them anyway, then i considered noble putting everyone in their preferred positions and the pace the lads played with it seemed maybe he had worked his magic. Then i thought well nah he has only had 48hrs or so not enough time to make a difference but noe that bradford went down 27-4 in his absense maybe noble just is that good? what does everyone think?

[DaveO]

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
When i watched the match against huddersfield i felt a bit sorry for millward because i thought, well wigan would of probably of beaten them anyway, then i considered noble putting everyone in their preferred positions and the pace the lads played with it seemed maybe he had worked his magic.

Apparently putting players into their correct postions was the only input Noble had into the squad selected for Hudds. He insisted on Ashton at f/b, Richards on the wing, Orr & Moran as h/b's.

That suggests to me had it been it up to Farrar and Wilkinson the bizzare selections of the Millward era would have continued. Noble deserves credit for stamping his authority on the selections (as you would expect him to) despite only being at the club 48 ours prior to the game.

Dave

[Cruncher]

In real life, coincidences of this magnitude are extremely rare.

Noble might not have had sufficient time to impose his systems on the Wigan side, but his presence alone has clearly had an impact.

Personally, I don't think Wigan under Millward would have won that match, because they lost potentially easier fixtures - Cas away, Wakefield away, Quins at home - in extremely inept and uninterested fashion.

But it wasn't just the new-look man-for-man eagerness that we saw on Friday night. It was the simple but effective reorganisation that's appeared since Easter Monday.

I don't blame Millward for everything that's gone wrong at Wigan, if any of it, but he's now the past. Noble is most definitely the future.

[bertina]

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
When i watched the match against huddersfield i felt a bit sorry for millward because i thought, well wigan would of probably of beaten them anyway, then i considered noble putting everyone in their preferred positions and the pace the lads played with it seemed maybe he had worked his magic. Then i thought well nah he has only had 48hrs or so not enough time to make a difference but noe that bradford went down 27-4 in his absense maybe noble just is that good? what does everyone think?

One big difference on saturday, ATTITUDE.
They looked like they actually wanted to play, and there have been very few occasions this season when you have been able to say that.
If in his first 48 hours at the club Brian Noble has been able to create some belief in the players, then he deserves every credit for that.
As for Millward, the question must be asked why he couldn't create the same enthusiasm in the same squad of players.
At Huddersfield on saturday I couldn't believe I was watching virtually the same team that I had to suffer on Easter Monday.
Let's just hope it continues!

[DaveO]

TWO EYED WARRIOR posted:
.....but injuries and lack of experience where some of the major contributing issues to his downfall

For the early games this season we were missing just Fletcher, Hock and Rads and still could not come any where near a performance like Saturday's.

Millward started the season (and had several games) with more players available to him than we have available now.

Of the two wins prior to this weekend one didn't have Fletcher on board and neither were in the remotest way comparable to the demolishion of Hudds on Saturday in my opinion. We came back from the dead v Wakey and made tough work of a poor side at home when we played Hudds earlier in the season.

We were still missing Calderwood, Logan, Hansen and Hock (and Rads of course) on Saturday. Apart from Rads and Hock, Millward had the other three in his sides several times before they were injured.

Injuries can't be used as an excuse for Millward in my opinion except in the last couple of games he was in charge, as prior to that the side had no more than the average number of players out you would expect at one time.

Dave



Dave

[- psycho -]

i think actually playing people int heir correct positions was a key part of the win. richards on the wing, ashton at full back and moran and orr at half backs. these were our key players and with fletcher back from his suspension. those 5 were for me the best wigan players on the field closely followed by higham. every player wants to impress their new boss to don't they? its exactly the same in a job. if you are in a new job you want to give your boss the right impression to try and seel yourself.

[thegimble]

Yes without a doubt.

Deeper line of attack. Better defencive organisation.

More responsibility to Orr. Getting the ball wide. Even the kicking game was better not great but a lot better.

These players can play but some like a certain way and unless a coach can adapt as well as the players then things can go wrong.

[cpwigan]

A new coach, a confident voice, his decision to play people in their rightful positions and the return of Fletcher and finally people striving harder to impress = a win.

I think IM had started to lose his own self belief

[ince warrior]

cpwigan posted:
A new coach, a confident voice, his decision to play people in their rightful positions and the return of Fletcher and finally people striving harder to impress = a win.

I think IM had started to lose his own self belief

It certainly looks that way judging by the over-optimistic way he conducted interviews.... it was as if he was trying to convince himself we were alright, even when it was blatantly obvious to everyone that we weren't.