And I'm another one.

Lets look at what Noble did in 2006. Apart from having to sort out the mess that he inherited from Millward, he set up the new training camp at Orrell.

He told Maurice what was required and the whole Orrell social club was transformed into "the best training facilities" of any RL club (a fact often commented on by our Aussie overseas signings)



=#FF4000Investment in youth.

From 2002 to 2006 Wigans senior academy had won ONE Grand Final.



From 2007 - 2010 Wigan have won three and on the occasion they did not win it they finished top of their league.



As with all things it's not one man but a team effort and Brian Noble should be remembered as a very big part of the Wigan resurgence by putting the correct foundations in place for what is to come.

Agreed.

This is fun! I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one, though!



I accept that Nobby had a part to play, especialy in 2006, no arguments there (although anyone would have been an improvement over Millward!).

My point is that I feel, although perhaps he put some foundations in place, he failed to build on them at the time.



It can't be denied that most of our young players were held back, at least as far as first team opportunities go. It was well documented that he would never drop his senior players, except when forced to (which is one of the things Madge is especially praised for).

The likes of Sam & Joel Tomkins, Goulding, Mossop, Flanagan never let us down when they played, but were always dropped when their more senior counterparts were available.

It is simply impossible to envisage Nobby voluntarily dropping players like Feca, Roberts, Phelps, Bailey, Gleeson in favour of the youngsters, yet a large part of this season's success is down to exactly that tactic.







A part, certainly, but not "a very big part", IMO.

[uGeoff, You are Just Wrong![/u

Geoff,

Do you remember 2003 - 2006 when we went with youth. I like many believed it would be the renaissance of the team. However it turned out to be just the opposite.

The likes of Brown, Aspinwall, Tickle, O'Loughlin, Wild, Robinson, Briscoe and Hodgson were not poor players, but putting them all in together almost ruined the club.



Noble HAD to go with experience.



Sadly the experienced players at the club were the likes of Higham, Moran and Vaealiki who were not good enough to help bring the youngsters through.



As you said "we'll probably have to agree to disagree" and there's nothing wrong in that, even if you are wrong.

Bringing them in all together is wrong, of course - but some could have been brought in earlier, to give them game time before it was forced on us. It's not even as if the "senior" players were any better than the youngsters - indeed many of them were eventually (though belatedly) shown the door.

It's still beyond me why he stuck with the likes of Mathers, Colbon, Vaialiki & Smith for so long. They wouldn't have lasted one game with Madge.

nowhere we're still here, just to point out we have had a good couple of years as well!

Sorry, who are you again?





and Geoff, you're just plain wrong!

we've been too busy writing our letters of congratulations about your domination of the sport over the next ten years......well done its a great dynasty you have built...



I am a little dissapointed that you will win everything for the foreseable future but i'm also glad Saints and Bradford will continue to win nothing and Leeds tenure at the top is now just a distant memory.....



And hopefully the England team will contain the Entire Wigan Squad and we can push the Aussies really close in the future four nations



what a bonus your domination is for the sport I think I speak for the rest of Rugby League all over the world when I say Wigan Rugby League thank you



well done on not being presumptuous, arrogant, or ever so slightly pompous,

Its not arrogant or pompus, its a statement of fact that this board has been a wire free board for the last week or two.



Had we lost the final, would it have been the same?

there are three certainties in Life.



Death, taxes and the predictability of wire fans.