Familiar?

Good points barnsley but if memory serves me correct, coyle left halfway through the season or a bit after & burnley repaced him with a manager who wasnt up to premier league standard. Dont get me wrong if coyle were to relegate us this season to league 1 then jump ship, my sentiments would remain the same to him as they do to bobby. Like i said, had martinez kept us up & decided to embark upon a new challenge, i would be wishing him every success & hoped it worked out for him. & Like i also said, ive nothing against him personally

If you are a man of firm principles, then you won’t last long in football as a player, a manager or a fan. One team’s hero is another team’s villain. And you have to accept that selfish behaviour is an element of the game.

Wigan sign players – and managers – from lower teams. In turn, their best staff are poached by bigger teams. Contracts are broken with increasing frequency – between clubs and managers, between clubs and players.

I think Martinez was on a rolling contract – either side would have to give notice to end the contract. He may well have told Whelan some time ago that he was ready to move on. He did at least persevere to the end of the season. Coyle, of course, was at a loose end.

I am looking forward to a reasonably successful season. On the evidence so far, I think we are capable of finishing in the top six. It would be more exciting if a local rival – Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley or Bolton – could put up a good challenge.

If its any consolation Runcorn I feel exactly the same as you about RM and for the same reason.

Forget what other managers and players have done and are still doing, Roberto Martinez really gave the impression that Wigan was a special club, after all, Whelan did give him the break he needed to start on the road to were he is now.

I openly have been 100% behind Bobby during his time with us and understood exactly what he was trying to achieve with the club both on and off the field. A few others on here felt the same and were sworn like me into the CL “Lightside” club.

Up to and including the relegation I think he had made great progress, whilst being constantly hampered with money constraints, players who did not fit into his way of playing or fulfil their promise, losing our better players, really poor refs decisions in key games and unbelievable injury problems particularly in defence last season. All in all a great effort, but for all those reasons we got relegated. I don’t believe for one minute the FA cup was a distraction, it should have spurred us on.

Now the bit that turns the fairy story sour for me, is the fact that he jumps ship at the time when the troops needed to gather round, fend off the wolves sniffing at our best players and march back to the EPL. I still think we are good enough to play in that league and saty in it for many more seasons.
Not only does he jump ship, but he comes and raids the backroom staff, some I rated others I deffo didn’t and takes two of our better players and will no doubt return for more.
Yeh, yeah, yeah, that’s what all managers do, but seriously I thought Bobby wasn’t like all managers, he is Mr Wigan Athletic and had allegedly turned down Liverpool and Villa to stay with the love of his life.

Sorry Bobby but I still care for my team with a passion and you have “thrown the towel in” to join another club when I actually thought you did love our club enough to stay and at least make a one season effort to get back in the prem. Christ your only a kid in football managers terms and have a long career ahead of you, just one season it needed mate, for old times sake just one more season.

So that’s were I am on the situation, nobody can change my mind with reasoned discussion and I don’t want to even contemplate going down the route of trying to change any posters views on here or any other forum.

Bobby made a decision and it involved turning his back on Wigan Athletic, so I hope he gets what he deserves at Everton and fails doing handstands, just like the many players who have left our club to go on to “better things”….. they wish!

‘Knumbnuts’ ?

Irony at its finest.

Martinez wasn’t / isn’t the one who renews contracts. Other people in the club do that, and those people were well aware of contracts that were due to expire. But you can’t make a player sign a new contract if he doesn’t want to sign one.

Yes I’m disappointed that Martinez left too, but if you think for a minute that loyalty overrules ambition and financial interests, you’re wet behind the ears.

And as for wishing he’d ‘leave us alone’: Alcaraz was out of contract, Robles wasn’t even our player, and Kone was never going to play Championship football. Managers like to work with their own staff, so when Coyle was appointed it would have been odds on that he’s have gotten rid of Graeme Jones, Dennis Lawrence etc and brought his own people in.

He has said today he doesn’t expect any bids for Leighton Baines.

Looks like Baines is off then.

‘Knumbnuts’ ?

Irony at its finest.

Martinez wasn’t / isn’t the one who renews contracts. Other people in the club do that, and those people were well aware of contracts that were due to expire. But you can’t make a player sign a new contract if he doesn’t want to sign one.

Yes I’m disappointed that Martinez left too, but if you think for a minute that loyalty overrules ambition and financial interests, you’re wet behind the ears.

And as for wishing he’d ‘leave us alone’: Alcaraz was out of contract, Robles wasn’t even our player, and Kone was never going to play Championship football. Managers like to work with their own staff, so when Coyle was appointed it would have been odds on that he’s have gotten rid of Graeme Jones, Dennis Lawrence etc and brought his own people in.[/quote]

As usual, I couldn’t agree more, but I was in a meeting all morning and therefore couldn’t reply to our very own Grumpy knumbnuts before you did.

All I will say is this: Knumbnuts – sorry, Grumpy – you’re name’s not Tony, is it?

I guess we will never know but if I were to start guessing it would be along the lines of.

More money, bigger wage budget, bigger transfer budget, bigger crowds, one of the worlds best youth training facilities, more appreciative message boards, A new challenge, better players to implement his demanding style of play, more club staff, higher wage budget for backroom staff such as a team of data analysts, bigger scouting network, a good influx of young talent to pick from each year.

Just to name a few things like.