article wigan observer : Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:16 pm  

let me first say i have been watching wigan for a lifetime,in all that time i have never booed them,always stand and applaud them after all they are my team.in todays wo ian lenigan is having a go at some of the fans,well he should understand this is a free country and every one is allowed their own opinion,don't forget we pay for the privilege to watch.he also says fans should get behind the team.well IL you have 10k season ticket holders plus the weekly support,does that not prove our support even though they have not given us much reason over the last few seasons.i think IL is a little self opinionated and it would do him good if he took a realistic view of what was going on.last season he was at loggerheads with some of the players trent barrett in particular,he actually made his views public.so it is ok for him but not the fans,that to me is a little two faced.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:37 pm  

He can say whatever he likes. He is lord & master of Wigan RL.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:40 pm  

Surely if he had a right to criticise the players when he thought they were wrong then he has the same right to criticise the fans if he thinks that they are wrong.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:45 pm  

yes and by the same reasoning the fans have their opinion.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:06 pm  

Personally I thought the booing was a little premature against Cas. Some people are very quick to boo these days, but it comes from monumental frustration, which I'm sure the chairman must secretly share.

I don't think it's possible for people to sit in complete silence when they're watching their team perform so ineptly.

We should have won the last three games comfortably. We COULD have won them all - in every case there were only a few points in it. But instead, we're three weeks in and already six points off the pace. It's difficult not to boo under circumstances like those.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:47 pm  

I think the point he was trying to make is that the booing was justified against Hudds last season because the players attitude wasn't right. He's saying the players' attitude and effort was there on Friday and therefore the booing isn't justified.

To summise the way I read it was:

Boo when players don't look like they're trying.
Don't boo if the players are trying but things just aren't coming off for them.

Fair statement IMO.

It's got to the point where I'm more confident when we play away from home. It's getting akin to Newcastle et al where the players look terrified of playing in front of their home crowd due to the constant baying for blood.

I respect people's right to boo but I don't necessarily agree with it. As a supporter I see it as our job to support and encourage.

That being said I don't agree with clapping the players off the pitch regardless of performance as that is just as bad IMO. Again that doesn't help either as it sends out a message to the players that they can play this bad and get away with it.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:20 pm  

Woody_woody wrote:

I think the point he was trying to make is that the booing was justified against Hudds last season because the players attitude wasn't right. He's saying the players' attitude and effort was there on Friday and therefore the booing isn't justified.

To summise the way I read it was:

Boo when players don't look like they're trying.
Don't boo if the players are trying but things just aren't coming off for them.

Fair statement IMO.

It's got to the point where I'm more confident when we play away from home. It's getting akin to Newcastle et al where the players look terrified of playing in front of their home crowd due to the constant baying for blood.

I respect people's right to boo but I don't necessarily agree with it. As a supporter I see it as our job to support and encourage.

That being said I don't agree with clapping the players off the pitch regardless of performance as that is just as bad IMO. Again that doesn't help either as it sends out a message to the players that they can play this bad and get away with it.

I'm sorry but IL is just wrong. A number of the squad aren't fit enough to play SL. That alone is deserving of boos. A failure to execute basic plays and show a competent level of discipline is also not good enough. This is Wigan we are talking about, after all.

IL needs to raise his and the club's expectations to where they should be for the game's greatest club - at a very high level.

We won't be back challenging for honours until IL shows some leadership, acknowledges how much work there is to do, how much the culture of failure needs to change and starts taking steps within the club to encourage excellence and ambition rather than engaging in attacks on fans who rightly feel frustrated.

IL may prefer it if people don't boo - he could well get his way as many people won't be booing because they'll simply stop attending matches altogether.

Is that really what he wants?

He could have said nothing about the booing but talked positively about the hard work that everyone was putting in and how under his and BN's leadership the club was committed to climbing the table and mounting a serious play-off challenge that would make Wigan fans proud again....

[Wigan6/Leeds1 Andy]

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:33 pm  

Could someone with the Obby post some quotes for those of us fortunate enough not to live in town anymore. Ta.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:38 pm  

Cruncher wrote:

Personally I thought the booing was a little premature against Cas. Some people are very quick to boo these days, but it comes from monumental frustration, which I'm sure the chairman must secretly share.

I don't think it's possible for people to sit in complete silence when they're watching their team perform so ineptly.

We should have won the last three games comfortably. We COULD have won them all - in every case there were only a few points in it. But instead, we're three weeks in and already six points off the pace. It's difficult not to boo under circumstances like those.

Great post. I agree that the booing was premature against Cas, it does just come from intense frustration.

Anyway, i'm going to London this weekend in a positive mindset and will do my upmost to support the lads.

: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:44 pm  

I'm not a boo-er, but I could understand why others did last Friday.

I don't think they were neccessarily booing that performance in particular, I think the boo's were more aimed at the start of the season and the current situation. We've all been looking forward to the season and we all had high hopes to challenge the top 2, but none of expected us to start so poorly and extreme cirumstances will provoke extreme reactions from the supporters.