https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/45117154 You know. The guy who won everything as a player at Wigan. Is the new Wigan head coach of Wigan in 2020. With Adrian lam to coach the team for a season next year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/45117154 You know. The guy who won everything as a player at Wigan. Is the new Wigan head coach of Wigan in 2020. With Adrian lam to coach the team for a season next year.

He'll have a tough job bringing them back after falling into the bottom 4 next season.

The one that got away......17 years ago

I was derided on WolfWeb back in the day (when I was known as Lefty) on suggesting Edwards being our coach, when DVDV announced his departure. "Too much of a risk" and "let's go for Neil Kelly" I was told.
He goes to union, wins stuff, and then gets a Lions job and makes a success of it, yet it was a risk for some for him to get a coaching job in league.

The fella is a winner. Always has been, always will be.
Like I said, the one that got away.
He'll only make Wigan stronger......boooooooo

Still, he was NEVER onside, in his whole RL career

I remember it well. Wasn't there a rumour that we had all but appointed Kelly and then something happened?

Neil Kelly. Such a stellar career.
....and we ended up with Anderson.
.....and so it began.

“Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a looong time...”

Whatever happened to that Wire2004 fella?

More importantly, what happened to jdrocket on here?

I remember that crazy summer too. We were being linked with Billy McGinty, Paul Terzis, Mike Ford, Neil Kelly and Edwards. I think even Phil Clarke was linked with coaching us!

I was quite pro-Edwards as well for the reasons you say: he was just a relentless winner and there were times (eg when Dorahy was Wigan coach and Wire and Bradford were pushing them all the way) where Edwards seemed to take charge when they were under pressure and act as player-coach.

The main argument against him (other than people just hating him for his achievements with Wigan) was that he would never be anything other than a short-term option for us. If he started to turn us round, we knew that trigger-happy Maurice would sack Stuart Raper and bring Edwards in. Also memories were still fresh of Dean Bell - a similar 'winner', struggling with Leeds.

I think the papers reported that our board had met Edwards but he didn't want to relocate from down south...? does that ring any bells with anyone?

I was also pro-Hanley and in the latter Cullen years I was always banging on about how we should get Hanley in.

I suspect that Shaun in those days had a tendency to alienate people. He appeared to be too focussed at times and probably didn't have the man management skills that he's clearly developed during his time in that other game. Personally I'm glad he's back but don't let anyone from Wigan know that.

Messiah comes back to turn around club fortunes. There will be a statue of him outside the ground next. Always taking their lead from St Helens.

I'm the very same wire2004.
Im a Bit older and a bit wiser. Alot Less active on forums these days. But I do like still read some of the stuff on here still.

Some blasts from the past there, Sally

I'd forgotten the Clarke rumour, and can't remember Terzis' name. Old age, eh?
I think you're right about the Edwards relocation issue. Iirc, he'd recently had a kiddy with that foghorn from M People, so that might have been a spanner in the works. However, I don't think he'd have jumped ship, if the dodgy bookmaker had come calling. You can tell from his cV, he's a loyal fella, plus there's his dad's links with the club.

Regards Hanley, I was keen, too. HOWEVER, apart from Ellery himself, there's only one other love in his life, and that's money. I remember BBC Breakfast doing a film on him, 20 odd years ago, when he was on one of his Aussie season jaunts (May, June, July, when there was no tours that year), and the Aussie press had nicknamed him Salary Hanley (a bit like Money Bill Williams, recently). He WOULD have cost a proverbial arm and leg, and buggered off at the first paycheque waved at him.