Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:16 pm  

Starbug wrote:

Every time you take a DR player, your value as a club deminishes, it really is that simple

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:17 pm  

JENKY wrote:

But low on numbers due to injuries is part of the game.
In all my time watching Leigh we have never been top heavy on players (indeed Rowley arrived on the scene as a player when we had similar problems) but what we have always done is promote from within.
I'd agree the RFL have made it hard for Championship clubs to remain as a stand alone club but I would really love to know how Sheffield can do it yet Leigh need Wigan to put a team out when we get injuries.
if I'm being honest I'd actually argue that we don't need Wigan in all reality and we are using Wigan as a very easy option, what would we do without DR ?
The other thing is how many players are we really short at the moment and are we saying we have no players who can be moved around (part of a coaches job is getting players to sometimes play out of position to get the team a result), Brierley was a bench player recently now he is seen as first choice as he's injured ?
I'm not knocking Rowley for going for DR as any coach would take a easy option when at the end of the day its a full time job for him and failure means no job but surely our club should be better than all of this.
As a fan I don't really want to watch random players from another club thrown at us who are here to get matchfit for the club that pays them (no doubt giving 100%) but are now creating a problem - how many players have Leigh been in for since the partnership was signed, are we actively looking for players, when was the last time we was linked with a player in the Championship or a promising amateur ?.
The bottom line mate is that Starbugs one liner above is right and that's what worries me when we are barely scraping 1,500 fans week in week out.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:26 pm  

I have come to the conclusion we may be becoming so over reliant on fielding Wigan's DR's we may be in danger of stifling our own junior development in some area's.

If on Sunday I see Wigan's Rhodri Lloyd in the side at the expense of our very own young Jimmy Hill (Who did a sterling job for us, performances yet to be bettered by a Wigan club DR) I will be cross.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:27 pm  

JENKY wrote:

No problems with a player leaving who doesn't want to be here but lets stop being a damn charity to players when they leave.
If Sam goes then he goes to Wigan and joins the others in the reserves heading down to South Wales for a match or fighting for a first team spot, its time Leigh ended the utter one sided partnership with Wigan and started looking after our own interests long term rather than everyone else.

One sided? How many Leigh players have played for Wigan recently? Presumably partnership or not he could go to Wigan if he wanted. This way Leigh may still get to use him. Good for Sam, not as bad for Leigh as it might have been.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:31 pm  

Well I hope the lad is'nt reading this because a thread where we should be congratulating the lad and thanking him for his fantastic services is turning into another anti DR and Wigan hate one.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:35 pm  

DemonUK wrote:

Transfer fee? Didn't he recently sign a new long term contract at Leigh.

Let's hope that "you can have him on dual registration occasionally" doesn't become the replacement for a transfer fee.

Don't get me wrong, Hoppy has the potential to go to the top and I'd wish him all the best in that, but if this transfer does happen then let's bank the cash and get a replacement player in on a permanent basis.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:46 pm  

At 24 unfortunately, Sam is to old for the DR agreement we have signed up to.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:56 pm  

He's 23 at most. Until at least Sept. I'm not sure when his birthday is.

Get a transfer fee for him. And getting seeking a proper-long term replacement.

Are our U20s really any good? Are we producing enough Championship standard players? What would be a realistic ratio? Who's come through our ranks recently? Pownall, Hopkins, Briscoe, Nicholson, Rowe (Nicholson and Rowe struggle for game time) who else after that?

Instead of looking at who we can take from Wigan - get down to local clubs and give these guys a chance or if any of the 20s are consistently performing, chuck them in. It's really that simple. We've two top class amateur set ups on our doorstep - use them.

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:06 pm  

Harold Rigby Jnr wrote:

I have come to the conclusion we may be becoming so over reliant on fielding Wigan's DR's we may be in danger of stifling our own junior development in some area's.

If on Sunday I see Wigan's Rhodri Lloyd in the side at the expense of our very own young Jimmy Hill (Who did a sterling job for us, performances yet to be bettered by a Wigan club DR) I will be cross.

Just as an aside Chris Rowe spent most of last year on loan at Wigan

Re: Hopkins to Wigan? : Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:34 pm  

I recall a big thread on the Wigan site about him, some bloke saying he was never going again as his beloved club had become a feeder for Leigh-he hadn't been since they left Central Park though