Re: Lam 1 year extension : Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:51 pm  

I’m pleased that Lam has signed a one year extension.
Our defence has improved and our wing to wing ball movement was exceptional. If we had a winger on the right wing in the Grand Final, I’m sure we’d have been victorious.
Bibby just doesn’t quite have the speed to finish off half chances.
I’m still worried about our props. They tackle well but apart from Bullock can’t make serious dents in the opposition.
I have read that Saints have signed two more big forwards from Australia so it’s not going to get any easier in our derby battles next season.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Wed Dec 02, 2020 10:31 pm  

He deserves another shot after coming so close..but I suspect its win the big one next time or nothing for him.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 12:02 am  

Correct decision by IL and KR on the position of Head Coach.

Carry on Lammy, you did a great job in making the team play a more attractive style of play in what has been a difficult season both on and off the field.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:59 am  

Grimmy wrote:

Lam would be the only coach to win his first Grand Final later than his second season at a club if he does manage it.

You make a good point there. Should Lam not win one of the two major trophies next season would it put him in the same category as Brian Noble? Or worse?

Let's look at where we were when Noble came in and rescued us:

2006 - Came in and rescued us from certain relegation.
2007 - Stabilised the club in 6th place, took us to two semi finals (a poor loss v Catalans in the cup, battered in the playoff semi by a much better Leeds team).
2008 - 4th in the League, QF loss in the Cup (Leeds Away), Playoff Semi loss (Leeds Away).
2009 - 6th in the League, two semi final losses (Wire Away in the Cup and Saints Away in the Playoffs).

So Noble took us to five semi finals in his four years with us. We had some quality players but just couldn't get us into a Final and the chance of silverware.

I feel with Lam we have an overall better team (and squad) than back then, we were inches away from becoming Champions. Next season should see us stronger I hope.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:04 am  

Father Ted wrote:

Despite the pleasantries the message is clear, deliver a trophy or else!

Seeing that you have said more or less the same thing on the Wigan Fans website, perhaps you can explain in your opinion why any Coach at Wigan needs to win a trophy or else when there is more to being a Head Coach of the club in the eyes of those who appoint the person into the the position of Head Coach.

Although, some think on here that I am anti IL/KR, they have got it right where Lam is concerned in what has been a abnormal and difficult season. We won the league leaders trophy, only lost in the Grand Final on a debatable penalty and defensive mistake and also lost in the semi final of the Challenge Cup by the conditions on the day.

Yourself and a minority might not want Lam as Coach, but it is evident by many of the comments on the local social media that the majority of supporters do!

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:21 am  

We all want titles and trophies and that is the goal he has clearly been set for next year which I think is fair enough and realistic.

In year 3 I think this team can now be called “his team” there is always a transition period from the previous coach to a new coach and given everything he has had to deal with in his 2 seasons it’s probably been a longer one than normal.

Trophies or not I like to judge a team on what I see on the field and a few things have been evident during his tenure such as-

More entertaining to watch
Better defence
Better discipline particularly in the opposition half
Individual player improvement
Less reliance on Locky

I think we are 1 signing away (Prop) from a fantastic squad which is all very exciting.

I’m really happy with this news. I look forward very much to us hitting the ground running in 2021 with a settled side more than capable of challenging on all fronts.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:23 am  

Ruddy Duck wrote:

Seeing that you have said more or less the same thing on the Wigan Fans website, perhaps you can explain in your opinion why any Coach at Wigan needs to win a trophy or else when there is more to being a Head Coach of the club

Not sure when I'm bothering to waste my time to respond to your obvious trolling, but here we go anyway...

That all depends on the expectations of the club. Finals and semi finals aren't good enough for a club like Wigan unfortunately.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:31 am  

MattyB wrote:

You make a good point there. Should Lam not win one of the two major trophies next season would it put him in the same category as Brian Noble? Or worse?

Let's look at where we were when Noble came in and rescued us:

2006 - Came in and rescued us from certain relegation.
2007 - Stabilised the club in 6th place, took us to two semi finals (a poor loss v Catalans in the cup, battered in the playoff semi by a much better Leeds team).
2008 - 4th in the League, QF loss in the Cup (Leeds Away), Playoff Semi loss (Leeds Away).
2009 - 6th in the League, two semi final losses (Wire Away in the Cup and Saints Away in the Playoffs).

So Noble took us to five semi finals in his four years with us. We had some quality players but just couldn't get us into a Final and the chance of silverware.

I feel with Lam we have an overall better team (and squad) than back then, we were inches away from becoming Champions. Next season should see us stronger I hope.

As long as you're getting to a certain minimum standard week-to-week, our system all comes down to how you perform in knockout games. On that basis, despite not taking us to a final, I'd have Noble ahead of Lam so far.

Knockout records
Noble's Wigan as favourites (ignoring non-SL opposition) - W2 L1
Lam's Wigan as favourites - W2 L2

Noble's Wigan as equal or underdog - W8 L5
Lam's Wigan as equal or underdog - W0 L2

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:48 am  

Grimmy wrote:

As long as you're getting to a certain minimum standard week-to-week, our system all comes down to how you perform in knockout games.

I think performance in the weekly rounds is something that, rightly or wrongly, gets overlooked. In many ways you make your own luck by being consistently good. Saints have proven that consistency, week to week, invariably returns a trophy.

I want to win trophies, but I also don't want to feel like the weekly rounds aren't somehow important (especially when fans are in the stands). We as fans shouldn't accept anything less than the best from the players.

Lam has earned his new deal after the CC semi. The week to week consistency we've seen recently is now the benchmark imo.

Also I'm very reluctant to talk about being entertained. For me the GF was the most entertaining game this season, but we only saw two tries. Entrainment is subjective, so you can only really judge on win/loss and trophies.

Re: Lam 1 year extension : Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:04 am  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I want to win trophies, but I also don't want to feel like the weekly rounds aren't somehow important (especially when fans are in the stands). We as fans shouldn't accept anything less than the best from the players..

I used to feel like that under Wane, but it usually resulted in winning trophies.

It's a tough call really. Play like Cas in 2017 but win nothing, or accept a few lacklustre displays and take the big prize at the end?