I suppose it just boils down to whether you think Higham or Newton is the better hooker. I think you're aware that I, like you, would rather we stuck with Higham than Newton. I feel that Newton is too incident-prone and now too old. And I like Higham's commitment to the club; he's really worn his heart on his sleeve for us, and I'm always glad to see him.DaveO posted:There is nothing wrong talking to any club if you are looking to address a particular weakness in the side but I don't think it makes a lot of sense to talk to Bradford specificaly about Newton, no. We have two perfectly good hookers for 2008.Cruncher posted:
Dave, how can you honestly say it was a bad idea for IL just to talk to Bradford?
Surely you don't genuinely believe that?
Higham is contracted for this season so as we know to get Newton now would involve Higham agreeing to move which would not be guaranteed.
Next season Newton will be 30 so I just would not even consider bringing him back then.
Higham has a full year to run on his contract so I'd expect Wigan to sound him out about now about a new contract and if one could not be agreed then to start looking elsewhere. Not looking elsewhere before deciding where they stand with Higham. It is the wrong way around and can lead to the sort of fiasco we have just seen.
Unless of course it has been decided he will not be offered a new deal already.
Put it this way I reckon it is normal to sort out where your current players are contractually before checking out possible replacements. There is plenty of time if Higham can't be accommodated or is simply not wanted by Nobby. Enquiring about Newton's availability seems very strange to me (and yes I have read IL's reasons for doing so, I just don't think they are very good ones!).
See above. It is just an odd way to go about it IMO. Is Higham not available in 2009? Have the club asked him? Do they want him? If the club answers those questions it would then know if it should start to make enquiries but clearly it just went ahead anyway.What's the harm in club chairmen talking to each other? If he wasn't doing stuff like this, planning ahead, having confidential discussions about who is and who isn't available, and what it might take to bring them to Wigan, then we'd be in grave danger of falling miles behind everyone else.
McNamara must be hugely embarrassed by this of that there is no doubt. It is as if Hood has had to deal with a naughty child. Credit to Hood for this IMO.To me he's guilty of only one thing, being unaware that an idiot like Steve McNamara - and I use my words carefully here, 'idiot' - would immediately seek to cement his own position by warping the truth to make it look like he'd fended off another Wigan attack.
But if IL had determined if we actually needed a new hooker before enquiring about one, none of this would have happened. Do you not agree?
Dave
However, if - and it is an 'if' - Nobby and/or IL think that Newton would be better value, then I guess that's down to them. While I may not agree with them, I'd certainly defend their right to discuss the matter privately with Newton's current employers without the fear of some jumped-up little fart going crying to the press about it.
I feel certain that these kind of behind-the-scenes conversations go on all the time, and that no player's name is sacred (at the end of the day, they're all commodities in a very vibrant market). What doesn't normally happen is that the confidence gets blown sky high, like this one was.
If IL's guilty of anything here, it's assuming that the normal standards of confidentiality, which supposedly apply right across the board, also apply to Wigan. Where some people are concerned, they don't.
