: Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:36 pm  

Tronc is killing it in the NRL week after week - a huge coup for Wakefield and a huge disappointment for us.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:38 pm  

MadDogg wrote:

Tronc is killing it in the NRL week after week - a huge coup for Wakefield and a huge disappointment for us.

Absolutely.

Personally i'd much rather we managed to get a James Graham-esque player than an enforcer, one area in particular i think we always look weak is when we are running the ball out of our own 20. Fielden makes no metres, and feka doesn't get enough of a run up, Coley [as good as he's been lately] gets the line up on him quick because of how he walks into the tackle.

I think if we got someone who could just make metre after metre then we'd be so much better off territory wise and that in itself would relieve a lot of the pressure on our backs.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:35 pm  

jonh wrote:

I perhaps think that we were too busy looking for the enforcer, which he is not, I worry that we put all our eggs in one basket with Webb even though it was unlikely he was going to get a visa and when that seemingly failed we had missed the boat on not just Tronc but some other players as well.

Thats my theory anyway.

We all wanted an enforcer but having a player like Tronc at the club who will generate good meters would also have been nice and we could have looked to the enforcer for 2011 once that stone around our neck Fielden is gone.

I think we did not look at the bigger picture and looked to slot the enforcer in at all costs for 2010, rather than looking to secure a meter man and getting the balance right in 2011, which would have been easier had we signed a yard maker for 2010 rather than signing nobody.

Maybe it's that exact strict salary structure that enabled him to be signed, like i said none of us know the actual salary structure inside Wigan, and what potential signings are/are not after, and who else is on the radar. I gave the over the odds figure as an example, and didn't necessarily mean that tronc himself fell into that category.

Only time will tell, but I don't feel for myself (and of course this is only for myself) that it would help to get annoyed at IL when I don't know any facts about the situation or plans for future recruitment.

Re: rl : Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:38 pm  

Father Ted wrote:

Can't believe I read that! "We nearly won the Challenge Cup" When was that?
We lost a semi final last Saturday because we were hopeless. A very average Warrington with one Aussie playing his best rugby over here played us off the park. Second half we had a good 20 minutes.
As I said, we've needed props for years yet IL has failed to bring any in.
He said he looked at six and none were right for Wigan. Yeh, right!
As for having spare money, we said that when Betts had 2 years left on his playing contract. How many times was that said about Vialiki?(sp)
Now it's when Fielden goes!
Wigan RL chairmen have been spinning us that one since we moved into the JJB/DW in 1999.
These are excuses for failure, not reasons!

What's the alternative though ted?

Get upset, get frustrated about something we can do nothing about (unless anybody happens to have spare millions laying around and is prepared to buy the club and hope they can deliver us into the promised land), or support the team and club and hope it gets better.

Re: rl : Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:49 pm  

Steve Ella's Beard wrote:

What's the alternative though ted?

Get upset, get frustrated about something we can do nothing about (unless anybody happens to have spare millions laying around and is prepared to buy the club and hope they can deliver us into the promised land), or support the team and club and hope it gets better.

I think its only right to express our frustration.

I agree all we can do is hope for the situation to change but year on year we are being told the same thing but every season the year it will turnaround is also moving a year into the future.

I do think IFL is the man to take us forward and genuinely like the bloke from what i have seen but he has made mistakes, all we can hope is that he is learning along the way, as it does seem sometimes the same errors from the outside are being repeated, but that is exactly our perspective the outside as it should be, and i do think he is working towards a plan, but he is i feel too eager to be throwing dates about when things will change which gives the fans that extra sense of frustration.

I would prefer if he said little rather than sometimes saying too much, and often offering some strange justifications for events at the club, ie Pirteck sponsorship and looking at Hunt etc as a realistic signing, its the inconsistencies that at the moment are getting to me as a fan.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:52 pm  

Don't get me wrong jonh, not saying there's anything wrong with people expressing their frustration and i'm sorry if i'm coming across like that.

It's more the burn IL brigade that i'm curious as to why they get quite so vehemently upset about a situation over which they have zero control, and know even less of the facts about.

I didn't mean to imply you were part of that category.

Maybe i'm too laid back, I've got a lovely mrs, lovely kids, and I still enjoy my rugby even the losses/frustrations

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:10 pm  

Steve Ella's Beard wrote:

Don't get me wrong jonh, not saying there's anything wrong with people expressing their frustration and i'm sorry if i'm coming across like that.

It's more the burn IL brigade that i'm curious as to why they get quite so vehemently upset about a situation over which they have zero control, and know even less of the facts about.

I didn't mean to imply you were part of that category.

Maybe i'm too laid back, I've got a lovely mrs, lovely kids, and I still enjoy my rugby even the losses/frustrations

I do think IFL is working to a plan, i too have a very happy home life but i am also passionate about the rugby and i in truth cannot enjoy the frustrations.

Having our Chairman stating we are looking at a half and a Prop and not delivering as yet, and making it very public in the media his meetings with agents and players is the main cause of my frustration along with indecission about the coaching or so it seems.

IFL has always stated or on the surface tried to come across as very open with the fans which i hope in truth is not the case, simply because at the moment he does not seem to be living up to some of the big statements he has made, i genuinly think less should be more but when a Chairman does speak to the media/fans it should be very clear and concice and not put unrealistic/non comittal statements out there.

I agree much of this is due to a lack of knowledge from the fans point of view and the dealings should remain behind closed doors until they are 100% confirmed, but i do not think the Chairman should add fuel to the fire contributing to the building of expectations.

IFl may well pull a few aces from the pack and generate some satisfaction for all concerned but missing out on players like Tronc and O'Meley is very frustrating looking at the weaknesses in our own team. Add to this rumours about Bailey going to Saints etc which i agree are only rumours, but at the same time it does make you wonder when we are going to be in a position to improve our great club.

You must have the patience of a Saint (so to speak) but the mixed messages that come from the club and the public way we seem to go about our business do nothing to help our cause at times.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:19 pm  

Maybe i am too patient I kinda had to be pre 84/85 or I would have stopped watching altogether - I was gutted when we lost the CC final to Widnes in 84, but it was still moving in the right direction so I kept the faith.

Like i said jonh, am not classing you in that category of fan, you can always make a reasoned debate about why you're frustrated and that's a good thing.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:26 pm  

Steve Ella's Beard wrote:

Don't get me wrong jonh, not saying there's anything wrong with people expressing their frustration and i'm sorry if i'm coming across like that.

It's more the burn IL brigade that i'm curious as to why they get quite so vehemently upset about a situation over which they have zero control, and know even less of the facts about.

I didn't mean to imply you were part of that category.

Maybe i'm too laid back, I've got a lovely mrs, lovely kids, and I still enjoy my rugby even the losses/frustrations

The main thing IL needs to do now - IMO - is resolve the coaching issue. There are definite difficulties surrounding player recruitment, which many of us aren't aware of. But Nobby is coming to the end of his deal, and head-coach is a position not covered by salary cap restrictions - those are two good reasons for us to get out there and try to bring someone in who can get us up to the next level.

I know that's not easy, but Wigan is still an attractive proposition and we can afford to pay good wages. I doubt that we'd be able to recruit a top NRL coach, but someone like Macguire - a young guy on the up, with a great understanding of the game, and technical stratetic skills - would be ideal.

Despite last Saturday, I still feel the Wigan team is good enough, man for man, to make hay in SL, if only we had a man in charge who could get the best out of it.

But yes, we could make use of a quality prop too, because Fielden and Feka are just not delivering.

: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:28 pm  

Cruncher wrote:

The main thing IL needs to do now - IMO - is resolve the coaching issue. There are definite difficulties surrounding player recruitment, which many of us aren't aware of. But Nobby is coming to the end of his deal, and head-coach is a position not covered by salary cap restrictions - those are two good reasons for us to get out there and try to bring someone in who can get us up to the next level.

I know that's not easy, but Wigan is still an attractive proposition and we can afford to pay good wages. I doubt that we'd be able to recruit a top NRL coach, but someone like Macguire - a young guy on the up, with a great understanding of the game, and technical stratetic skills - would be ideal.

Despite last Saturday, I still feel the Wigan team is good enough, man for man, to make hay in SL, if only we had a man in charge who could get the best out of it.

But yes, we could make use of a quality prop too, because Fielden and Feka are just not delivering.

I definitely could see that making a difference, and I think it may even be possible to get a lot more out of Stuart and Feka with the right training/conditioning