SMITH SIGNS FOR WIGAN!!!

[phibes]

I don't think anyone doubts that there's a large question mark hanging over Tim Smith's signing. Nevertheless, given that we haven't much room under the cap, he looks like a shrewd acquisition to me - as his contract is structured to reflect his level of risk (according to the press release from the club).

My guess is he'll play in the reserves until he's ready, and like Pryce, he won't be rushed into the first team. We have to hope that the club management have a Plan B in case he doesn't work out and we find ourselves short of a half-back next season - but let's all hope it doesn't come to that.

Over on RLFans, some are already booking their ticket to Old Trafford on the back of this signing. On here, we have a guy who's already written him off (but he's already written off the new management at the club after all of six months). Both views are a bit premature, so let's wait and see.

[A49]

Withers, Millard, Pryce, Mathers and now Smith, all with problems.

Why not open a recruitment centre in Lourdes?

[mike binder]

c p wigan must be the wrong time of year are the school exams getting to you ,because you do seem a little down in the dumps and trying to get every1 else don with you including the club

[cpwigan]

If you do not question/hold people to account then how do you expect things to change? Nine and Jeanette will publish their weekly letters of support in the WEP no matter what happens. Is that the way?

To the posters who argued re the quality of SL. It is exciting but that has been achieved by lowering standards/dragging everybody down. Excitement and quality are often at odds with each other.

The 2 clubs who are ahead of the rest are well coached and their key positions 1,6,7,9 and 13 are filled by real quality. Get those positions right and you can carry fairly average players elsewhere. Look at Leeds in recent times or Saints. Injuries etc, they still win and field average players in minor positions. What is happening to our key positions? We are losing the one high quality act we have in those positions.

We have gone from signing players like Trent to offering overseas players trials. Taking self confessed speculative gambles. How is that progress? Why are local products not given trialopportunities. Are Stanton and Ainscough not entitled to be treated identically to Phelps? What message are we sending to our own players?

If we want success we need acoach such as Tim Sheens, Craig Bellamy or Shaun Edwards and to have better players in our key positions. Hence, I am regretfully confident we will win nothing with Brian Noble as coach and worse go backwards.

My last post (no cheering lol). Whatever happened to freedom of speech.

[Doveoverdave]

Barrett to loose now for the rest of the season untill lockers comes back

If Smith is any good and stays on the straight and narrow and we have Barrett at 13 why on earth would Lockers even get in the 17?

Hansen is as good stats-wise (and misses fewer tackles), Hock is a better 2nd row by a long way and so you would have to drop Barrett and I can't see that happening.

If Noble has any sense Lockers will have to wait until 2009 to get his 13 slot back when Barrett leaves.

Dave

Thank heavens you have no influence whatsoever in team selection. Lockers could and would get into ANY team in SL by a country mile!!

[MrDave]

The 2 clubs who are ahead of the rest are well coached and their key positions 1,6,7,9 and 13 are filled by real quality.

Catalans aren't exactly filled with superstars yet still find themselves above Wigan. They also took a big risk moving Thomas Bosc (usually a winger or full back) to half back and it paid off for them.

[mike binder]

If you do not question/hold people to account then how do you expect things to change? Nine and Jeanette will publish their weekly letters of support in the WEP no matter what happens. Is that the way?

To the posters who argued re the quality of SL. It is exciting but that has been achieved by lowering standards/dragging everybody down. Excitement and quality are often at odds with each other.

The 2 clubs who are ahead of the rest are well coached and their key positions 1,6,7,9 and 13 are filled by real quality. Get those positions right and you can carry fairly average players elsewhere. Look at Leeds in recent times or Saints. Injuries etc, they still win and field average players in minor positions. What is happening to our key positions? We are losing the one high quality act we have in those positions.

We have gone from signing players like Trent to offering overseas players trials. Taking self confessed speculative gambles. How is that progress? Why are local products not given trialopportunities. Are Stanton and Ainscough not entitled to be treated identically to Phelps? What message are we sending to our own players?

If we want success we need acoach such as Tim Sheens, Craig Bellamy or Shaun Edwards and to have better players in our key positions. Hence, I am regretfully confident we will win nothing with Brian Noble as coach and worse go backwards.

My last post (no cheering lol). Whatever happened to freedom of speech.

exams defo stressing u out

[Doveoverdave]

Good player the down side is that he is yet another overseas player which means Wigan now have the most overseas players of any club in Super League.
Wigan will have to start getting rid of some overseas players in 2010 so they better make sure they have decent British replacements.

Typical Nobby side, following the same model he did at Bulls.

[Mike]

Just a note. Much though many of you disagree with cpwigan's views. He has every right to express them on this topic. It is called debate. Please do not tell other users to shut up.

Ta

[Exiled Wiganer]

1 On Tim Smith, we cannot be paying him very much at all as we have hardly any money left under the cap for this year. If he doesn't perform, he won't be paid (if I have understood Lenagan's comments). so the downside is minimal. The upside is that we get a player who, on his day, is as good, if not better than every 7 in the competition. It is a risk, but it has to be worth taking. He isn't being signed as a TB replacement, as he is being paid at the same time as TB, thus meaning we still have all of TB's money to play with... maybe they'll try Phelps, in which case I hope to god they do something fantastic with rest of the money under the cap.

2 On CP's point about key players in key positions, I couldn't agree more. We were hoping to keep TB, and still have his money to use to find someone else to play 6. Richards is a very good 1. Piggy will be a very good 9 (if we can't trust Noble's judgement on hookers, we may as well all go home), if Smith comes off we have a better and more constructive 7 than Leuluai (can't see where he fits in if Smith comes off). That leaves 13, where I would like us to see a ball player rather than the (very good but slightly limited) O'Loughlin. I firmly believe that we are going in the right direction.

3 This year, if Pryce is as close to a return as rumour has it, then we could field a back line of - Richards, Pryce, Phelps (?), Carmont, Calderwood, TB and Smith in a few weeks time. That shows 5 changes from Cardiff and is a much better proposition than we have had for a while.

4 On IL's initial signings, he mentioned that they had 170k to play with till the end of this year - with that they have signed Mathers (a failure, but slightly surprisingly), Pryce (what a difference he would make if fit), Carmont (excellent), Phelps (unknown quantity, but the Bulldogs fans seemed sad to see him go) and Tim Smith (potential world beater). That is getting vfm big style as far as I can tell.

5 On youngsters, I have been really pleased with Prescott and Tomkins' (senior) development this year. Both benefitted from playing at NL1 level. Hopefully Coyle will do the same. Tomkins needs to be nurtured, but given how Noble has brought on those 2, i have high hopes he'll do the same for ST.