: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:33 pm  

W!64N_ENTHUSI45T wrote:

I know lots of people might not agree with me on this. But....

If we are willing to go and pay a transfer fee to get Chris Bailey out of his contract to be our new halfback then I would actually like to see us go out and try and get a British halfback who is currently under contract and bid for them instead.

My personal choice would be Danny Brough. After seeing him playing against Saints he kicked them to death. He is a big talker and always seems to be shouting orders to the team, again along with his very good kicking game I think he would be an very complementary scrum half to play alongside Tomkins.
Brough would relieve alot of the pressure of organising and kicking from Tomkins while still allowing him to play his own game with Brough having a different style to Tomkins.

This would obviously mean Leuluai playing as a number 9 (and consequently McIllorum going on load etc)

Im not saying Brough would be the 1st choice Id like the team to go after for a halfback but if were going to pay a transfer fee on an overseas player, why not pay one for a British player instead.

Big fish in a small pond, IMO.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:35 pm  

LovesToSpooge wrote:

Well he is going to be better placed at fitting people within the salary cap than I am for the simple reason that he has the facts and figures and runs the club, yet his perception of quality is still to be proved by the signings he makes. Why Lenegan came out and stated the only players I will sign will be "Top quality" talk about hanging yourself, he's lifted peoples expectations for who may join us next year by making that comment and I hope he sticks to it and does as he says.

Running the club, making the signings, paying the wages, balancing the books etc is hardly a simple reason. It actually makes him the ONLY man in Wigan who's fully qualified to make decisions of this sort.

I'm not trying to belittle your knowledge, or the knowledge of other fans. I'm merely observing that whenever Wigan "miss" a big signing, the assumption on this message board seems to be that it's because the chairman is either stupid, or stingy, or slow, or a combination of all three. My contention is that there could be other perfectly valid reasons why we "miss" these expensive signings - and as none of us have access to the club accounts, the probability is that we'll NEVER know what they are. Maybe we should give the guy the benefit of the doubt from time to time? Man for man, Wigan are actually a pretty good team. They're poorly coached, but there are plenty of players in our first team squad that other SL clubs would be glad to have on board.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:35 pm  

W!64N_ENTHUSI45T is certainly right when he says if were gonna pay a transfer fee it might as well be for an English player and I totally agree.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:36 pm  

Brough - Could he be another Orr/Moran?

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:40 pm  

Brough not as good as Tommy IMO

If we cant get a 7 better than what we already have then we wait instead of bringing in people like Brough,Bailey who IMO will be a step back from the 6-7 we already have.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:45 pm  

W!64N_ENTHUSI45T wrote:

I know lots of people might not agree with me on this. But....

If we are willing to go and pay a transfer fee to get Chris Bailey out of his contract to be our new halfback then I would actually like to see us go out and try and get a British halfback who is currently under contract and bid for them instead.

My personal choice would be Danny Brough. After seeing him playing against Saints he kicked them to death. He is a big talker and always seems to be shouting orders to the team, again along with his very good kicking game I think he would be an very complementary scrum half to play alongside Tomkins.
Brough would relieve alot of the pressure of organising and kicking from Tomkins while still allowing him to play his own game with Brough having a different style to Tomkins.

This would obviously mean Leuluai playing as a number 9 (and consequently McIllorum going on load etc)

Im not saying Brough would be the 1st choice Id like the team to go after for a halfback but if were going to pay a transfer fee on an overseas player, why not pay one for a British player instead.

I see your point, in that case why not go for Dobson. Dobson and Tomkins would be a great partnership, Dobson would take so much pressure off Tomkins.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:50 pm  

Its a prop thats vital for wigan alot more than a scrum half..i've been impressed with tomkins and tommy this last few week. they seem to me to be building a good partnership together.

I wont be upset not seeing a new halfback next season but a props a different story.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:51 pm  

Out of interest. If were going to pay a transfer fee and it seems people on here agree that going for a British player in that instance is better who would be best for our situation (taking into account a reasonable transfer fee)

British SL halfbacks off the top of my head

Burrow
McGuire
Pryce
Long
Cooke
Briers
Brough
M Smith
Eastmond
Wheeler
Myler
Ratchford
Orr
Brown
Robinson
Deacon
Bridge

Which of them realistically (fee-wise) would be worth trying to sign?

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:53 pm  

Cruncher wrote:

Running the club, making the signings, paying the wages, balancing the books etc is hardly a simple reason. It actually makes him the ONLY man in Wigan who's fully qualified to make decisions of this sort.

I'm not trying to belittle your knowledge, or the knowledge of other fans. I'm merely observing that whenever Wigan "miss" a big signing, the assumption on this message board seems to be that it's because the chairman is either stupid, or stingy, or slow, or a combination of all three. My contention is that there could be other perfectly valid reasons why we "miss" these expensive signings - and as none of us have access to the club accounts, the probability is that we'll NEVER know what they are. Maybe we should give the guy the benefit of the doubt from time to time? Man for man, Wigan are actually a pretty good team. They're poorly coached, but there are plenty of players in our first team squad that other SL clubs would be glad to have on board.

I know it's not an easy job to run a large business which Wigan RL effectively is and yes there are probably many reasons why we seem to miss out on quality signings, and I was and still am willing to give Lenegan the benefit of the doubt. However seeing this is a forum where people come to express opinions regarding the club I can't help but feel the way I do when we are linked no one, or players that we as fans feel aren't good enough for the Wigan shirt, whilst Saints are linked with Watmough and Kite. Yes I know being linked with a player through the paper means very little but if those are the type of players Saints are targeting and Wigan are chasing the players we think they are, how the hell do we ever expect to progress as a club on the field. As a fan all I want is the best for the club like everyone else, and yes I know we haven't signed anyone yet I just hope that those we do sign are up to the task, we as a club have been stung to many times in the past by overseas players and I want to see the end of it.

: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:53 pm  

Matty smith could easily become your version of sean long, without the attitude