Wigan prepare to announce Hardaker arrival

[Barney841]

I have moved on as you put it if it was up to me he has made his bed as the saying goes he can't pick and choose when it suits him if in was the coach he wouldn't be playing for us now get shut he's nowt but a bully so in my opinion we need to get used to him not being at Wigan in was on stating what he told one of his mates

No probs, I got you mixed up with another poster , I agree, if he doesn't want to be here then ship him out, We should loan him out to Doncaster, yes it could put a dampener on this season but it would show all our current and future players that no player is bigger than the mighty Wigan because currently we are a soft touch

That’s right we are too soft. Letting the players parade around saying they want a crack at the NRL come and get me. Then having them back when they fail.
Also joeb my previous post was aimed at everyone in general, not you

[joeb]

No problem but what have Doncaster done to you

[medlocke]

No problem but what have Doncaster done to you

I once had a bad experience there involving a rotund girl, a jar of lemon curd and a Batman cape :eusa12:

[moto748]

Whether or not someone has said something on the internet, there's been no official statement, so Sam is still a Wigan player until we hear different. Prior to that, it's only speculation. As for shipping him out, I don't see the sense. He played OK on Friday, didn't he? As long as he puts the effort in and stays fit, he should play. I wouldn't have thought that was controversial.

[moto748]

Actually, come to that...

I have moved on as you put it if it was up to me he has made his bed as the saying goes he can't pick and choose when it suits him if in was the coach he wouldn't be playing for us now get shut he's nowt but a bully so in my opinion we need to get used to him not being at Wigan in was on stating what he told one of his mates

Who were you talking about there? Sam Tomkins? It's far from clear.

[DaveO]

Or signed a poorer player maybe. That would have been ok for some. Or we could have given ST a 4 year marquee money but loose a few players. Might be less on the cap but someone foots the bill.

Does not alter the fact that unless the club are paying him less than £75k signing Hardaker makes it harder to retain players as he takes up more of the cap.

If he is on less than £75k there would be no reason not to retain Sam as well. Yes it would cost whatever it costs to do that but so what? I am sure IL is touched by your concern for his wallet why you are I don't know. A cheapskate chairman is not compatible with being chairman of Wigan RL.

There are only two ways to look at this financially. Either Hardaker is on peanuts so we could have both him and Sam or he's earning enough that his increased cost on the cap compared to Sam is what makes it harder for Wigan to retain other players.

It also makes it harder to retain players if we sign a marquee player to replace Sam from outside the club as it would take £150K rather than £75K out of the cap.

More than happy to have him join us. Class player and would have kept ST out of the last world cup squad.

And Cas might have won a GF. If's and buts....he took drugs instead.

Ever thought this is not a salary cap issue as such but could be that ST wants more than IL is going to pay him.

What if ST wants 300k a season. IL does not want to pay that much as someone has to pay for it. Or put this another way we have 10k season tickets approx. Everyone pays 15 pound more and pay ST the extra through that.

The situation is not as simple as some think I feel. Feeling I have is Catalan has offered him massive money that IL will not bank roll.

Yes IL may not want to match the wages he's been offered hence my comment about a cheapskate chairman above. A bit glib perhaps but if you are right then IL wants to run the club on the cheap because whatever Cats have offered him it's not going to be NRL level of wages. If our chairman is not prepared to dig deep to pay the going rate for top players he's just not wealthy enough to be running the club single handed. He needs other money men who will dig deep into their pockets.

IL wanted the marquee rule but apparently either can't afford or doesn't want to take advantage of the freedom that offers. So unless he has another player of equal quality lined up (and I don't mean Hardaker who ought not to be being rewarded with a huge wage for his drug taking) which will cost him as much if not more we are going to go backwards.

As to everyone paying more for tickets, the game long since stopped being financed by gate receipts. The finance comes from TV money, sponsorship and chairmans pockets. The TV money is fixed but it pays virtually the entire first team squads wages which is did not used to. So if money is tight enough not to pay a marquee wage then we are failing on the sponsorship and chairman's contribution front.

At this rate we will be being outspent by Toronto never mind Les Cats.

Plenty of people dislike the salary cap and feel it holds club who can afford to spend back. The marquee rule allows the cap to be "broken" for two players but we can't seemingly afford to take advantage. Ironic if true.

[NICKYKISS]

I amy be in a minority but I wouldn't be giving up on Sam Powell at 7 yet. I think he's been decent in the last couple of games (better than Williams, overall) and is growing into the role. He's had one or two poor games, but I think the criticism of him has been way OTT.

Minority of two then Moto. Don't know why Powell is rubbished so much. Maybe i know nowt but i really don't get it .


Regards , EW

Make that three then,fan favourite Williams is being shown up by him to be honest I don’t think long term he’s the answer but he’s growing into the role.

Talk sensibly about William’s reasonable form but don’t go overboard. Williams at his worst is every bit as good a halfback as Powell is at his best (probably because Powell is a hooker). I’ll take the fact that Williams is having a hit and miss season and even in that type of year he sits on 14 try assists and 4 try’s compared to Powell’s 7 assists and zero try’s. They’re both very good defenders so comparing them in attack doesn’t paint Powell in the best light.

I say all that but I agree Powell is ticking along pretty well. He’s a better hooker then scrum half but he’s filling a hole. Why his performances need to be used to bag Williams is beyond me. As with Sam Tomkins for all these years, forget the hype, the expectation and the pay cheque and just look at the output.

[keptinthedarkfans]

Whether or not someone has said something on the internet, there's been no official statement, so Sam is still a Wigan player until we hear different. Prior to that, it's only speculation. As for shipping him out, I don't see the sense. He played OK on Friday, didn't he? As long as he puts the effort in and stays fit, he should play. I wouldn't have thought that was controversial.

BLOODY HELL SOME SENSE. He is only player in the side at moment with vision. Makes both our half backs look ordinary that's how bad he is. Although I do like Powel tackles like a machine and works hard just not a half back in a million years.

[Mike]

Although I agree that retaining Sam is the way to go, the one thing in mitigation we're he to l3ave is the length of the contract.

His value now maybe top SL earner, but if his contract values him at that for 4 years, that's a bigger gamble.

[Firestarter]

When does our club ever announce something before we already know(99%)?.......when we sign zac are they gonna expect us to be suprised?