Brian Noble

Sad to see him leave..always loved chatting to him at home games about being a fellow Bradfordian....he gave me the gears once about claiming two home towns..being born in Bradford but claiming York as my home town as I grew up there from age of 2..all the best Brian..pop into Lamport now and then eh?

I have to say I am not surprised, he was really silent these days.

He did a great job though taking us to SL. Next stop Ottawa?

As they say......there is nothing more constant than change.   But.......I don't know if I'm young enough to keep up with it all.....this has been one crazy week for Wolfpack fans.   Chase S. visa nonsense, Tony G. coming on board, SBW back from down under, Greg W. un-seconded from Featherstone, the Club fined for the Brian Mac no show in Salford, and last but not least this about Brian Noble. Can't hardly imagine how the players, coaches, and staff are dealing with it.   Especially the players. On top of all this, pour moi, the absolute vitriol from the TWP haters has set a new record for volume and intensity.   I know that they are a minority, but they sure are relentless in their dislike (hatred even), of/for the Wolfpack.

Dont forget our favourite exile, Sandy Shipley, being invited to the Challenge Cup draw. Same Sandy being bullied on social media. Crazy times.

That's why we need a full time media, a TWP TV, a TWP radio, the howlin' hour to go daily, in both official languages with so many French players on board now.

I just hope the squad dont really follow that social media craziness and that the Wolfpack payroll team get their 8 hours of sleep.

Agree with you CH. This season kickoff turmoil has to stop..One would hope Bob Hunter has been given the authority to steady the ship. And why Greg W was sent on loan when they had such a small squad is beyond me? I think Brian is falling on his sword for the salary cap debacle.

But at the very core of things is the administration of the competition, ie having two separate administrative bodies. RL wants expansion as they, quite rightly in my opinion, see it as the future of RL and a significant number of fans agree especially the enlightened who have been over here to party with us. But a core group are scandalized and see expansion as their bete-noire. They seem to have no confidence that the game is worthy of export and want to deny other parts of the world enjoyment of this fabulous spectacle that is League. They are happy to see the game confined to the heartland and persevering as a small time competition while at the same time moaning about RU getting all the investment and the limelight.  The case can be made that they are playing into the hands of SL owners who fear the competition that comes with expansion and want players remuneration limited in relation to other sports because they really don't have enough money to invest in the game and so let self interest stifle it. Little Britain syndrome..a sad state of affairs.

3 hours ago, Cameron Highlander said:

As they say......there is nothing more constant than change.   But.......I don't know if I'm young enough to keep up with it all.....this has been one crazy week for Wolfpack fans.   Chase S. visa nonsense, Tony G. coming on board, SBW back from down under, Greg W. un-seconded from Featherstone, the Club fined for the Brian Mac no show in Salford, and last but not least this about Brian Noble. Can't hardly imagine how the players, coaches, and staff are dealing with it.   Especially the players. On top of all this, pour moi, the absolute vitriol from the TWP haters has set a new record for volume and intensity.   I know that they are a minority, but they sure are relentless in their dislike (hatred even), of/for the Wolfpack.

At the start of the season I said put on the seatbelts...this one was going to be a wild ride!  Only at game 4 now and the drama would make a high school romance look simple....there will be more..lots more.

Don't let it get you down though...it will all work out in the end so just enjoy the ride and the feeling of living on the edge, its exciting!  I like it but some who like control and stability will feel discomfort...just let it go and enjoy the ride with the wind in the sail!  Its like surfing a big wave in the kayak...just hang in there!

Can't wait for the first game at Lamport...hope the weather is good for a sell out.

The most important thing is Argyle, and he is all in, so nothing to worry about.   Hunter will settle the ship down and the solid backing is there so its all semantics in the end.  The Naysayers think they smell blood but that has happened many times before and every time its a false alarm; just like this time. I'm telling you a psychology major could write a PhD paper on the Naysayers and their weird dynamics of hate for the Pack...its bizarro!

We will do it!  Keep the faith!

For what it's worth, I'm still convinced there's enough quality about the TWP to stay up in SL.

21 hours ago, RobertAM said:

I think Brian is falling on his sword for the salary cap debacle.

I'm thinking this is what's happening here as well.

He was definitely the right man for the job in the lower leagues but I think the team and everything around us grew to quickly for him to keep up with, he's not a business man end of the day. Absolutely 100% thankful for his services and I am curious if he will go to Ottawa to work with Perez on the next startup?

Let's see if we get win #1 today! We should at least have a much better showing than the CC game vs Warrington

7 hours ago, RayCee said:

For what it's worth, I'm still convinced there's enough quality about the TWP to stay up in SL.

I agree but only if we have a full squad..and for numbers we need 26 not 23

21 hours ago, manu266 said:

I have to say I am not surprised, he was really silent these days.

He did a great job though taking us to SL. Next stop Ottawa?

rumour around that he is set to be CEO at Bradford Bulls

2 hours ago, RobertAM said:

I agree but only if we have a full squad..and for numbers we need 26 not 23

It is important the best players are able to play. The skinny squad is definitely the potential fly in the ointment, which - as has been said - may be the reason for Nobby's departure, 

I've been at sea for the past two weeks and haven't been able to post on here but a couple of thoughts:

1.  Even though the team is 0-4, from the games I've watched, they've been in every match (other than against Castleford) and they are not a bad team.  They played four of the best clubs right off the get go and competed on the field. The scores against Salford and Warrington could have easily gone the other way.

2.  Brian Noble was definitely let go for the Salary Cap debacle.  

3.  I'm still saying that they will be able to win 10-12 games this season and should avoid relegation. They will get even better once they get Lussick, Stanley, etc back on the field.

I'm avoiding the main forum for the foreseeable future as it's just a cesspit of toxicity atm.  

Btw, with TWP playing in Super League and Toronto Arrows looking good in MLR, we are in for a real treat this summer in Toronto.  SBW at Lamport in League and Tomas de la Vega for the Arrows! Argentinian capped player and probably the best forward in MLR!

This cap issue really needs addressing..I can see it working in the lower semi pro tiers but expecting full time professionals to put their bodies thru the mill for the wages SL clubs are paying is a scandal..roughly 80,000pds pa or c$ 140,000 on a 26 man squad.

dont just do it for us...increase it for all teams. doesnt have to get out of hand but lets pay these guys properly!

7 hours ago, RobertAM said:

This cap issue really needs addressing..I can see it working in the lower semi pro tiers but expecting full time professionals to put their bodies thru the mill for the wages SL clubs are paying is a scandal..roughly 80,000pds pa or c$ 140,000 on a 26 man squad.

dont just do it for us...increase it for all teams. doesnt have to get out of hand but lets pay these guys properly!

The game would need expansion to afford higher wages. 
I'd like to see a slightly shorter season too and starting a little later. It is supposed to be a summer game. That would also allow Toronto to play more or all of their home games in Canada.

8 hours ago, RobertAM said:

This cap issue really needs addressing..I can see it working in the lower semi pro tiers but expecting full time professionals to put their bodies thru the mill for the wages SL clubs are paying is a scandal..roughly 80,000pds pa or c$ 140,000 on a 26 man squad.

dont just do it for us...increase it for all teams. doesnt have to get out of hand but lets pay these guys properly!

But some of those poor heartland teams couldn't afford to keep up and they'd go out of business... 

As if they've got some God-given right to exist ad infinitum. Rugby League will never thrive until and unless the people who run the game and start treating it like a business and not some old boys club.

The cap has been in place long before you guys were around and many have tried and failed to get it changed unfortunately 

If the money was there, the salary cap would be reviewed, the players would push for it of course.

Now you can say that with better salaries we also get more money, we would get better players, better quality, better attendance, better tv deals, better sponsors, but these more expensive players that you want are not in Europe, so comes the quota issue...

Anyway the more pressing  issue is Who is in charge of the sport direction now at TWP? And who would have the task of recalibrating the team and their coach, or well even fire the coach? I am not saying he needs to go after 0-5 but my rugby league competence is probably equivalent to Bob Hunter's, so who is in charge for such a decision?

7 hours ago, manu266 said:

If the money was there, the salary cap would be reviewed, the players would push for it of course.

Now you can say that with better salaries we also get more money, we would get better players, better quality, better attendance, better tv deals, better sponsors, but these more expensive players that you want are not in Europe, so comes the quota issue...

Anyway the more pressing  issue is Who is in charge of the sport direction now at TWP? And who would have the task of recalibrating the team and their coach, or well even fire the coach? I am not saying he needs to go after 0-5 but my rugby league competence is probably equivalent to Bob Hunter's, so who is in charge for such a decision?

They need to win 2 of the next 5 IMO for Brian McDermott to keep his job.  Any less and he needs to go, especially with the amount of money they are spending.  

I would be really pleased if we beat Wakefield, Huddersfield and Catalans.  

Brian Mc earns his money if he keeps us up and that will, I am sure, happen. I think he will now be calling the shots on recruitment and after season end, provided we are still in it, I think you will see him make wholesale changes especially after Saturdays StH embarrassing display. 

Correct me if I'm wrong but did TWP not sign Brian McD to a 5 year contract last November?  To let him go because of the teams performance to date would seem to me to be a tad premature......and to boot......EXPENSIVE.  Yes, yes, I know the mantra....you can't fire all the players so the coach is the one that must go.  Lets hope that they win a couple of the next 5 like Canadian Rugger alludes to above.

Robert, pretty much agree with most of what you say just above.  Just hope that you are correct on your first sentence.  That happening, (we stay up), to me, is key for TWP's continuing existence.

Its a long season, but its all about finishing 11th at this point. The WP style of play is way more suited to playing in dry conditions and the Lamport advantage will be worth a lot. Still, its a worry that they don't have a win yet. Hull KR is the enemy now. We need to beat them every time out, snag other victories where we can and finish 11th. I watched Hull KR Thursday night and they were awful.. Castleford walked through them on numerous occasions.