Shaun Edwards & Wigan (Merged Threads)

[Chris22]

Has not signed a contract with Wigan for 2020! A really odd stance from Wigan not to ask him to sign a contract. With Wigan's form, this intervention couldn't have come at a worse time for them!

Reading between the lines, Wigan seems to be a back up option for him, in the unlikely event that he doesn't get another high-profile Rugby Union coaching job.

Link: https://www.wiltshirebusinessonline.co.uk/sport/national/17507186.wales-coach-shaun-edwards-may-not-be-taking-up-wigan-job-in-2020/

[Cheshire Setter]

To be honest I think there’s less risk in them giving someone like Chester a shot.   He’s proven himself in the modern game, and won’t cost over the odds.

[Damien]

Yeah, there's a lot of rumours flying about and its a very strange state of affairs. The whole 1 year for Lam then Edwards has been very poorly thought out by Lenegan.

[Cheshire Setter]

PS I also realise that I have just made myself a target for disgruntled Wakefield fans

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

Has this confusion contributed to their poor season start?

[Damien]

20 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Has this confusion contributed to their poor season start?

No not about Edwards per se. The poor start is more to do with a change of coach and different tactics and obviously the loss of players and injuries. However I do think giving a coach a 1 year deal and already announcing a coach for year 2 isn't a good move. It leads to far too many changes in little over a year. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

No not about Edwards per se. The poor start is more to do with a change of coach and different tactics and obviously the loss of players and injuries. However I do think giving a coach a 1 year deal and already announcing a coach for year 2 isn't a good move. It leads to far too many changes in little over a year. 

Uncertainty for the players surely a factor too

[The Future is League]

1 hour ago, Chris22 said:

Has not signed a contract with Wigan for 2020! A really odd stance from Wigan not to ask him to sign a contract. With Wigan's form, this intervention couldn't have come at a worse time for them!

Reading between the lines, Wigan seems to be a back up option for him, in the unlikely event that he doesn't get another high-profile Rugby Union coaching job.

Link: https://www.wiltshirebusinessonline.co.uk/sport/national/17507186.wales-coach-shaun-edwards-may-not-be-taking-up-wigan-job-in-2020/

I would be amazed if Edwards was Wigan coach next season.

Don't be surprised if Shaun Wane returns.

[Bert1]

After watching the Wales game yesterday I would bet he’s not coming back.

[Mr Plow]

5 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

I would be amazed if Edwards was Wigan coach next season.

Don't be surprised if Shaun Wane returns.

Would Wane return? Sounds like he’s been pushed to make way for Edwards, doubt he’d want to work for Lenegan again. The whole think looks very amateurish anyway

[EagleEyePie]

The club has made an absolute shambles out of Wexit! I could understand the unusual coaching situation as it was initially presented - that the club had signed Edwards and he was the absolute number one choice but he had commitments so the club looked to fill the gap with Lam for a year. It was odd, but somewhat understandable and if anything reflected pretty well on Edwards and his commitment to see a job to its completion. It soon became clear that things weren't as they were initially presented. As soon as there were hints that Lam would continue if he's successful it became a joke. The only way it made any sense was if Edwards had definitely signed a deal and the Lam situation was the best of an awkward situation.

Now that we know Edwards hasn't signed anything at all then it all looks completely embarrassing. The club now looks likely to miss out on the man who was first choice and is left with an interim coach who apparently hasn't even considered staying on.

We don't even know for sure why Shaun Wane chose to leave. Did he jump before he was pushed or did he just get fed up of the pressure and criticism. It's possible that Lenagan lost Wane as a result of chasing Edwards only for the club to miss out on Edwards too. This situation is utter madness.

I can understand why the club hasn't made Edwards sign a contract - because if Lam was successful and they wanted to keep him on they'd have to pay off Edwards' contract, so hey why not wait and see? That doesn't make it a smart move though! The bottom line is Lam staying on should never have been an option.

[The Future is League]

9 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Would Wane return? Sounds like he’s been pushed to make way for Edwards, doubt he’d want to work for Lenegan again. The whole think looks very amateurish anyway

Lenagan would have to give ground as i don't think he has much choice with Lam struggling and like i have said Edwards won't be back next season.

[Davo5]

Lenaghan & Radlinski couldn't run a raffle,the club is in a mess.

[JDINTHEHIZZOUSE]

I never used to like shaun Edwards,he was always a "do you know who I am" type character when he was younger,a leopard can change its spots because he has proved himself to be quite a good coach,its a rare instance that We could say that rugby leagues loss is rugby unions gain. best of luck to him however he decides to pursue his career,hes a a sucess that as tgg fans,we should be proud of

[Mr Plow]

13 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Lenagan would have to give ground as i don't think he has much choice with Lam struggling and like i have said Edwards won't be back next season.

Still don’t think Wane would return, Lenagans made his bed IMO. They say you should never go back in sport, perhaps it’s best if both parties just move on, Wane can’t stay at Wigan forever

[weloveyouwakefield2]

Wigan announce he has got a three year contract and Shaun Edwards says he still hasn’t seen a contract... bizarre situation..

[Morris Wanchuk]

8 minutes ago, weloveyouwakefield2 said:

Wigan announce he has got a three year contract and Shaun Edwards says he still hasn’t seen a contract... bizarre situation..

Very amateurish on Wigan’s part if true?

[EagleEyePie]

1 minute ago, Mr Plow said:

Still don’t think Wane would return, Lenagans made his bed IMO. They say you should never go back in sport, perhaps it’s best if both parties just move on, Wane can’t stay at Wigan forever

I wouldn't want the club to go back now as it's a bit like suggesting nobody else could possibly be good enough to coach the club successfully. Michael Maguire set everything in motion at Wigan so that's obviously not the case. There are other coaches available and the club needs to move on with the right person in charge.

The situations becomes interesting if Lam doesn't want to stay, or the club don't want Lam to stay. He's currently not performing well. Do the club give him time and wait to see if he is successful and then offer him a longer contract, knowing he could turn it down and go back to the NRL as planned. If we need a new permanent head coach, does he get signed for 2020 and the club persists with Lam even though he won't be around the following year, or replace Lam immediately. It's a real mess right now.

[paulwalker71]

11 minutes ago, weloveyouwakefield2 said:

Wigan announce he has got a three year contract and Shaun Edwards says he still hasn’t seen a contract... bizarre situation..

There's something about this that simply doesn't add up

[Mr Plow]

18 minutes ago, EagleEyePie said:

I wouldn't want the club to go back now as it's a bit like suggesting nobody else could possibly be good enough to coach the club successfully. Michael Maguire set everything in motion at Wigan so that's obviously not the case. There are other coaches available and the club needs to move on with the right person in charge.

The situations becomes interesting if Lam doesn't want to stay, or the club don't want Lam to stay. He's currently not performing well. Do the club give him time and wait to see if he is successful and then offer him a longer contract, knowing he could turn it down and go back to the NRL as planned. If we need a new permanent head coach, does he get signed for 2020 and the club persists with Lam even though he won't be around the following year, or replace Lam immediately. It's a real mess right now.

The whole thing has not been well thought out. If the powers that be wanted a change in coaching staff then fair enough but why did they not want Edwards to sign straight away? 

[Moscow01]

1 minute ago, Mr Plow said:

The whole thing has not been well thought out. If the powers that be wanted a change in coaching staff then fair enough but why did they not want Edwards to sign straight away? 

The Rugby Union World Cup takes place later this year. 

[weloveyouwakefield2]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/shaun-edwards-wigan-warriors-contract-not-signed-future-latest-news-six-nations-wales-grand-slam-a8826936.html

[Trojan]

1 hour ago, Bert1 said:

After watching the Wales game yesterday I would bet he’s not coming back.

I've just posted this on the cross code forum.  He is the key to their success,  They won't release him if they can avoid it.  And TBH if they want him he'd be a fool to leave - and he's nobody's fool

[EagleEyePie]

13 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

The whole thing has not been well thought out. If the powers that be wanted a change in coaching staff then fair enough but why did they not want Edwards to sign straight away? 

They did but Edwards was committed to coaching with Wales at the World Cup. I can understand that to some extent. If the coach you want is only available in 2020 but you're determined he's the right man for the job then I can sort of understand appointing an interim for a year in exceptional circumstances. In this instance I think most Wigan fans were willing to accept that these circumstances were exceptional and that Lenagan and Radlinski had done their homework and were convinced Edwards was the best available after interviewing plenty of options. And to be fair Edwards reputation (albeit in Union) is legendary.

However, we now know that they didn't search for the most suitable candidate, they went straight for Edwards, verbally agreed a deal but didn't get him to sign a contract so they could get out of it if the interim coach was successful. They spent more time sorting out the interim coaching situation.

I can understand why they signed Lam as interim rather than put John Winder in charge. If they gave Winder the job for just a year then it suggests the season is being considered a write off because they don't think he's good enough to be head coach otherwise they'd just give him the job. So the situation required signing an interim coach to ensure fans didn't walk away. It was unusual, but the only real solution if Edwards had signed a contract. Now we know that he didn't the situation is a farce.

[Mr Plow]

46 minutes ago, Moscow01 said:

The Rugby Union World Cup takes place later this year. 

Yeah I know, I mean why did he not sign for 2020 instead of just having a gentleman’s agreement