Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 2:28 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote:

Wigan's great success over the years has been special. But if Bevan French was suddenly transferred to another top clubs the big games might be a bit more competitive. So they have also made some excellent recruits to add to their Wigan born ones.

Yes exactly. I made this point recently on another thread. Their recruitment has been excellent for the last 5 years. Not that many duffers in this list which have won 1 or more GFs.

2019 - French
2021 - Field
2022 - Miski
2022 - Ellis
2022 - Mago
2023 - Wardle
2023 - Dupree
2023 - King (loan)
2024 - Keighran
2024 - Thompson
2024 - Leeming

Then you think in the same period we have signed the likes of the following, none of which you could call a success.

2019 - Tasi
2019 - Akauola
2019 - Mamo
2019 - Matt Davies
2019 - Jason Clark
2020 - Gelling
2020 - Brand
2020 - Kibula
2021 - Inglis
2022 - Dudson
2022 - Matautia
2022 - Bullock
2022 - Holmes
2022 - Minikin
2022 - Magoulias
2022 - Mikaele
2023 - McGuire
2023 - Russell
2023 - Kasiano
2024 - Musgrove
2024 - Dwyer
2024 - Bruines

There are a lot of "misses" there but, to be fair, we have made some great signings in Ashton, Dufty, Vaughan, Walker, Williams, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 2:49 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Yes exactly. I made this point recently on another thread. Their recruitment has been excellent for the last 5 years. Not that many duffers in this list.

2019 - French
2021 - Field
2022 - Miski
2022 - Ellis
2022 - Mago
2023 - Wardle
2023 - Dupree
2023 - King (loan)
2024 - Keighran
2024 - Thompson
2024 - Leeming

Then you think in the same period we have signed the likes of the following, none of which you could call a success.

2020 - Gelling
2020 - Brand
2020 - Kibula
2021 - Inglis
2022 - Dudson
2022 - Matautia
2022 - Bullock
2022 - Minikin
2022 - Magoulias
2023 - McGuire
2023 - Russell
2023 - Kasiano

I get your point but you could have picked some better Wire recruits than that so it didn't look quite so bad & I'm sure Wigan must have signed the odd duffer. For example in 2019 Wigan recruited Bullock, Hardaker & Sammut.
French & Field are the two diamonds that I was thinking of.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 3:09 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote:

I get your point but you could have picked some better Wire recruits than that so it didn't look quite so bad & I'm sure Wigan must have signed the odd duffer. For example in 2019 Wigan recruited Bullock, Hardaker & Sammut.
French & Field are the two diamonds that I was thinking of.

I listed Ashton, Dufty, Vaughan, Walker, Williams, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon. Who else, signed in the last 5 years, would you add to that list? Have I missed a diamond? Maybe Harrison.

I guess my general point is that our recruitment has been pretty average at best for a while and I missed off Widdop and Luther Burrell. Former was past it, the latter never had it.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 3:10 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Yes exactly. I made this point recently on another thread. Their recruitment has been excellent for the last 5 years. Not that many duffers in this list which have won 1 or more GFs.

2019 - French
2021 - Field
2022 - Miski
2022 - Ellis
2022 - Mago
2023 - Wardle
2023 - Dupree
2023 - King (loan)
2024 - Keighran
2024 - Thompson
2024 - Leeming

Then you think in the same period we have signed the likes of the following, none of which you could call a success.

2019 - Tasi
2019 - Akauola
2019 - Mamo
2019 - Matt Davies
2019 - Jason Clark
2020 - Gelling
2020 - Brand
2020 - Kibula
2021 - Inglis
2022 - Dudson
2022 - Matautia
2022 - Bullock
2022 - Holmes
2022 - Minikin
2022 - Magoulias
2022 - Mikaele
2023 - McGuire
2023 - Russell
2023 - Kasiano
2024 - Musgrove
2024 - Dwyer
2024 - Bruines

There are a lot of "misses" there but, to be fair, we have made some great signings in Ashton, Dufty, Vaughan, Walker, Williams, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon.

You missed our greatest ever signing Roy Asotasi or was it to painful to mention

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 3:18 pm  

karetaker wrote:

You missed our greatest ever signing Roy Asotasi or was it to painful to mention

Ha Ha i just looked at the last 5 years. If we widen it to 10 years big Roy will be on the list alongside a lot of other turkey signings.

I think we need to face facts - our recruitment has not been great.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 3:52 pm  

Yep we have bought some duffers who haven't lasted long. Good idea to look at other clubs' recruitment too. We obviously remember Wire failures but I bet if you looked at Leeds, Hull, Huddersfield & others you'd see a few clangers too.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 4:16 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

I listed Ashton, Dufty, Vaughan, Walker, Williams, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon. Who else, signed in the last 5 years, would you add to that list? Have I missed a diamond? Maybe Harrison.

I didn't pick up these names on original list.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Wed Dec 04, 2024 5:31 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote:

Yep we have bought some duffers who haven't lasted long. Good idea to look at other clubs' recruitment too. We obviously remember Wire failures but I bet if you looked at Leeds, Hull, Huddersfield & others you'd see a few clangers too.

Without a doubt but other clubs could cover it up better than us because we had that buying a win tag on us and everyone including the other clubs fans would pick up on it. That tag was with us for a long time but I like to think that’s going to be in the past now.

Agent: Don’t worry Roy I know a club that will take you and pay you what you want.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Mon Dec 30, 2024 12:31 pm  

Just listened to the podcast and think the interviewer missed a few opportunities to really pick at the scab and to get some real insight, but on the whole I completely believe and understand Cooper. He’s right, and this was my point at the time and the records on here will support this. We were frustrated at failing at the games that matter, as a fan base. But we were in the contest and had proven that we could beat the big teams. We needed to grow the resilience, the skill and the attacking threat. But did not of that and burned the house down in the process.

I do hope that the full truth comes out about Powell and the group of people that are responsible for those two years, because the way Cooper in particular was treated was and is a disgrace.

He cares, you can hear it in his voice, and I would want a man who cares in my squad. You can coach process and positioning, you can’t coach to care about the club, town or its people.

Yes, we needed more than what Price could deliver, but that era is an unmitigated disaster. And the club should have issued an apology for the way that this era came about and ultimately ended, we paid the same money for that period, and it was completely pathetic.

Re: Mike Cooper podcast : Mon Dec 30, 2024 7:13 pm  

Barbed Wire wrote:

Just listened to the podcast and think the interviewer missed a few opportunities to really pick at the scab and to get some real insight, but on the whole I completely believe and understand Cooper. He’s right, and this was my point at the time and the records on here will support this. We were frustrated at failing at the games that matter, as a fan base. But we were in the contest and had proven that we could beat the big teams. We needed to grow the resilience, the skill and the attacking threat. But did not of that and burned the house down in the process.

I do hope that the full truth comes out about Powell and the group of people that are responsible for those two years, because the way Cooper in particular was treated was and is a disgrace.

He cares, you can hear it in his voice, and I would want a man who cares in my squad. You can coach process and positioning, you can’t coach to care about the club, town or its people.

Yes, we needed more than what Price could deliver, but that era is an unmitigated disaster. And the club should have issued an apology for the way that this era came about and ultimately ended, we paid the same money for that period, and it was completely pathetic.

We don’t have a given right to be successful all the time, and without jeopardy, they’d be no thrill.
What stood out for me in Powell’s first season, is the support we gave to the team vs Wigan away, while still knowing we’d get a thrashing.
We let the team know we were still behind them, before the crunch match vs Toulouse.
This change from the fans, after all season being on their backs and booing them.
For those 2 games…our support was immense. A type of support I don’t think I seen before since….
The Wembley CC v Wigan in 1990.
Or the Paul Cullen 100 minutes none stop chanting of barmy army at Wigan.
Games we didn’t have a hope in winning.