As a Wigan fan, a tad disappointed but possibly the right time. Wane has delivered success, not always in the most entertaining way but its been a steady stream of silverware.
However, as a RL fan, if he is to be appointed at Catalan, could be a massive boost the french game. An improvement in the clubs culture is evidently needed, and whilst he won't have quite the rich seam of talent to mine in the south of France like he had in/around Wigan, I'm sure there's a few stars waiting to be discovered.
I wish him all the best, there's not many bigger Wigan fans than him, and he's lived the dream of a lot of us.
Wire_91 wrote:its your first final in about 8 years and now you ravin and rantin about it F**k off, and ill be going old trafford tomoz cheering on the saints and ill be writing on this forum givin you loads of shi* when your drying you eyes and the wire fan will be here handing out the tissues in the thousands, thats if you do take that many fans cause now it looks like its your fans who have jumped on the band wagon now your in a final, this time last year there was only 1000 people in the jjb and now its fillin up cause youve won the league hahaha proper true supporters you are
When Shaun was announced as Maguire's successor, I was very apprehensive. On one hand, I felt Shaun deserves his 'shot' but Maguire had transformed Brian Noble's team beyond recognition and was very hard act to follow. As a fellow Wiganer, I wanted Shaun to do well, but at that time, that was more in hope than expectation. It's fair to say that he exceeded my expectations and then some - and I, for one, was delighted. His record speaks for itself and he will go down as one of the most successful coaches in the club's history.
But the 'official record' doesn't tell the full story - he held the post of head coach when the club pursued a strategy of bringing through academy players at the expense of more experienced signings. So, there's no way that his success was 'bought' on the back of high-profile recruitment and I think he deserves even more kudos for bringing the young lads through and keeping us competitive.
He's also been in position for a long time in a sport where coaches (particularly at our club) don't stay in the job for seven seasons. Watching the team week-in, week-out, it's obvious that we've sustained the defensive ferocity that was a hallmark of the Maguire team, but as an attacking force, we've been fairly one-dimensional for a while now. For me, that's a combination of poor recruitment and Shaun's preferred mode of play, which is to focus on the defensive qualities of his halves. That aspect of team tactics is in urgent need of a refresh, particularly with Sam leaving - and in this respect, with the changes in playing personnel for next year, perhaps this is a good time for him to go.
I'm pleased that, to all intents and purposes, he's left on his own terms because of the many years of service he's put into the club.
And now there should be no shortage of motivation for our players to go out and win everything this season.
I think this is the fairest assessment I've seen so far.
I particularly agree that it's good to see Shaun leave under his own steam. I'm optimistic that it's amicable; there don't look to have been any problems over the weekend, and there's no suggestion that Shaun is off straight away with a caretaker to fill in.
And yes ... the motivation factor for the players ought to be massive.
These are brilliant years. Compared to the mill ward, Noble years anyway.
Couldn't agree more. Accept that not everyone liked the way we played, but I won't half miss the winning mentality of this group if it goes with Wane.
It's nice to have an attacking swagger about you, but I've taken so much pleasure seeing us physically & psychologically batter teams with our defence. Magic was a perfect case in point, but there have been others.
The amount of never say die comebacks we've made too has been completely remarkable. Winning cultures aren't easy to create and very easy to lose. Wane Deserves huge credit for ours, and I really hope that we don't lose it when he walks out the door.
Shaun looked really well on Saturday evening after that great win to see this news this morning is shocking to be honest.
It looks like he’s going out on his terms and I’ll be amazed if he hasn’t already got some form of job lined up,perhaps he will need to brush up on a forgone language who knows?
His record will stand the test of time that’s for sure,yes not the most flowing of rugby at times but pot after pot ended up in the cabinet you can’t argue with that.
I wish him well of course and how this move doesn’t come back and bite us on the backside in the years to come
I've got a feeling that it won't be Catalans. Shaun is very much a family man and even though it is only a short flight I don't think that he would want to be too far away from his grandson and the rest of his family. On a previous post I stated that I got told he had an offer from the Scottish RU as defensive coach which at the time I just dismissed however, stranger things have happened. Distance wise Scotland and Catalan region isn't that much of a difference but for Scotland you just jump in your car for a relatively easy commute to Edinburgh. I just hope he makes the best move for himself and his family.
Sad news, he will be missed. I just hope whoever comes in will keep the same commitment to youth development that he has shown. Few other coaches have been brave enough to give the kids a chance as he has.