Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:04 pm  

Watching the Widnes game last night and wondering why people are making so much of Salford I found myself wondering if Nobby has lost his touch. There are many Bulls fans who believe he took over a good team with us and has done very little elsewhere. Looking at the Doctors reactions at the end I wonder if Nobby has 3-4 months to prove himself before his boss looks down under for a top coach. That Salford team has a few players who went there for a pension (30+) and others who I simply don't rate. Has Nobby spent wisely? Should he be worried?

[Pumpetypump]

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:29 pm  

People awash with money investing in sports teams are generally prone to knee-jerk sackings in all sports. Losing isn't terrible in itself but I'm not seeing any progression in Salford and that's what Noble should be bringing.

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:43 pm  

I will be surprised if he makes it to the end of the season.

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:43 pm  

Pumpetypump wrote:

People awash with money investing in sports teams are generally prone to knee-jerk sackings in all sports. Losing isn't terrible in itself but I'm not seeing any progression in Salford and that's what Noble should be bringing.

Please have some consideration for the feelings of people who maybe older than Mr Noble

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:37 pm  

I don't think so. I think Marwan is expecting a bit to much with a top 4. Salford will be a decent team and difficult to beat once they get going.

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:08 pm  

Bulls4Champs wrote:

I don't think so. I think Marwan is expecting a bit to much with a top 4. Salford will be a decent team and difficult to beat once they get going.

Agree with this - expectations were set too high for this season, and I think they are heavily reliant on Chase at the moment.

To build a successful team, I would like to think that BN will be given another off-season to recruit the 2nd half of his team, lets see what he can do from there. Salford have a good first 13 on paper, but when the injuries start, they look pretty average. I think they are currently without 5/6 of the off season recruits atm.

Nobby has been a success in almost every role he has undertaken after leaving the Bulls, although i'm not sure the Wigan fans will be in unanimous agreement.

[Bullseye]

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:26 pm  

I think Noble didn’t get enough credit from some quarters at Wigan for rescuing them from the mess Millward made there. He took them to a respectable level before Maguire came in and took them one step further and made them into trophy winners.

He might be able to do the same at Salford but IMO they need to build a proper junior set up that can be the basis of future sides. Simply buying a team doesn’t work and never has if you want to win trophies though it may gain mid table respectability. I think most sane Salford fans see mid table as good achievement for this season.

Phil Clarke’s tip of them finishing top is really just a way of him to grab a cheap headline but further devalues his contribution as a pundit.

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 3:15 pm  

You can buy a certain degree of success in any sport but it will never be instant success.

Whether or not Noble has lost his mojo it isn't something anyone could sensibly gauge until he's been in that job for at least 2 seasons.

In the first season he settles down to end up with the squad he wants, which will no doubt develop more as the season goes on. MAybe by the back end of the season they may have started to gel into something like the beginnings of a decent squad, but buying and paying expensive players is no guarantee.

If however he turns out to have got it basically right, then a full off season and next year they may start to develop as a squad and become increasingly competitive, compared with the better teams/squads.

During those 2 seasons (as mentioned above) they also need to work on their junior setup as there is only so much you can buy, you must also produce.

In the 3rd year maybe the odd one or two of the young players might be ready to be gradually introduced into the now cohesive squad.

Anyone who actually thinks Noble can be judged after the first 2 or 3 games is just plain nuts. Anyone who genuinely thinks they could challenge at the top this year isn't far behind. A good cup run with a fair wind and a fine draw would be the limit.

Koukash may talk a brash game but he ain't nuts, and Nobby is going nowhere. One thing I'm sure of is that many people underestimate Dr.K. I reckon he's a much shrewder guy than many give him credit for.

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:49 pm  

Is Nobby past it?

No, but there's question marks over some of his squad.

[Bulliac]

Re: Is Nobby now past it? : Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:16 am  

I think it's fair to say they have brought in one or two to, 'do a job', for a season and not for the long term. With a largely, freshly brought together group of people, it makes sense to have some experienced guys to hang it all together.

Has Nobby lost his mojo? Far, far too early to tell - ask again at the end of August, though I suspect the answer will be, no.