DaveO wrote:
You are not seriously trying to suggest the wage bill and specifically wages agreed by Mo alone were/was the only reason we lost CP are you?
Dave
Not really, as he'd gone by then, but he set in place the strategy which Robinson & Rathbone continued, essentially spending money based on winning trophies - so when our cup run in particular ended we had to offload all our best players simply to enable temporary survival. After that, all we had left to cover the debt (other than taking up Whelan's offer to develop CP) was to sell the ground.
The problem was a combination of factors and IMO the two main ones were the Whibread stand cost and the ARL/SL war which led to Wigan matching offers for players like Connolly made by the Aussie clubs. These were not normal wage negotiations and were not done by Mo anyway. Robinson and Rathbone didn't simply follow what Mo did IMO as they were held to ransom and paid the inflated wages to keep our star players. I suspect Mo would have handled the situation differently.
Anyway the point I was making is Mo didn't go after class players by trying to get them on board by just offering other players in exchange. If he wanted a player he had DW to back him up with funds for a transfer fee.
ancientnloyal wrote:Maurice Lindsay did his upmost best to get the player he wanted. It took him a while but we eventually got the likes of Miles here. His work rate for Wigan in the earlier days was second to none he always had a drive and desire to get the best.
It seems with Lenegan an aussie club or player says 'No' and then goes "oh, ok, sorry for troubling you..." thats the kind of attitude i am seeing. It wont be long, if not already, that we can sign quality superstar players purely because of the Wigan brand. Lenegan's focus is money, he doesnt want to spend any of his, he wants to make wigan self-profitable like he mentions in the fans forum... to be able to make their own profit without the need for him to bankroll the club Whelan style.
Uncle Mo was opposite. He saw that if we sign the best the attendances would pay off bank debts to purchase players...
Which ultimately cost us Central Park.
Robinson cost us CP Whelan want the JJB on central park
DaveO wrote:
Why IL and BN think a club would want to take the likes of Mathers in a deal just so we can free up the necessary salary cap to get a player like Gleeson on board I have no idea. It is IMO unrealistic to expect clubs to take what IL and BN clearly consider inferior players so we can take one of theirs to strengthen our squad while making theirs weaker!
If there is indeed any truth to this rumour then it may not be quite as unrealistic as you think.
Firstly, if Reardon goes down for his aggravated assault resulting from his domestic turbulence, Warrington are officially with a first choice full back. Contrary to what many people would say, Mathers is a full back and could fill that role.
Secondly I'm cynical enough to take salary cap numbers and transfer fee's with a very liberal pinch of salt.
Thirdly, Smith has Gleeson labelled as a p***pot and may not be quite as keen as you think to keep him
One of my points was that one way in the late 80s early 90s was that a player paid for himself. Mo used publicity for games which brought in extra crowds... he even says that with each big crowd initially chunks of loan got wiped out instantly.
Over time yes the finances became a disaster, so if IL did that I wouldn't mind losing the DW Stadium for a purpose built one (although the JJB is the best in the league for facilities etc)
Personally i would welcome the signing of Gleeson, i think he is a world class centre rather than playing Bailey out of position, though dont want to see Goulding go, think he has potential, but not up to scratch yet.
I think Gleeson regressed as a player when he left Stains and regretfully I think he will go back further if he leaves the Wire and comes to Wigan.
Where is primrose and blue for an objective assessment of the offer of Goulding, Mathers and CASH for Gleeson when we need him.
Mathers + cash possibly but not a second player, we should be playing Karl Pryce at centre if we can ever get him fit.
Regarder une fille en bikini, c'est comme avoir un revolver chargé sur sa table:
Il n'y a rien de mal a ça mais il est difficile de penser à autre chose.
old Hooker wrote
Ithink that Tony Smiths opinion of Gleeson is very true and i am amazed that so many people on this site want Gleeson.We criticise our club for signing over the hill Aussies with a history of bad behaviour so why do we want a man who is clearly past his best, left Saints under a cloud and now is one of the first to be talked about in Smiths clear out.
Because he is one of the best centres in Superleague?
Because he has often won games for an awful Warrington side with his pace, flair, side step and vision?
He will be a great signing for us if we can get him.
And if we can ditch Mathers at the same time, that's a huge bonus.
I've never seen a woman with hairy ears, and I've been to St Helens." John Bishop
"BANG,CRASH,WALLOP, TRY". E. Hemmings describing Palea'asina's try against KR, Play off 26/09/09
exile in Tiger country wrote:old Hooker wrote
Ithink that Tony Smiths opinion of Gleeson is very true and i am amazed that so many people on this site want Gleeson.We criticise our club for signing over the hill Aussies with a history of bad behaviour so why do we want a man who is clearly past his best, left Saints under a cloud and now is one of the first to be talked about in Smiths clear out.
Because he is one of the best centres in Superleague?
Because he has often won games for an awful Warrington side with his pace, flair, side step and vision?
He will be a great signing for us if we can get him.
And if we can ditch Mathers at the same time, that's a huge bonus.
Mathers, agreed, it's the Goulding situation that worries me (and a lot of others).
The Glass Man wrote:Personally i would welcome the signing of Gleeson, i think he is a world class centre rather than playing Bailey out of position, though dont want to see Goulding go, think he has potential, but not up to scratch yet.
Defo need to strengthen the front row aswell!
Well there you have it. We do need to strengthen the front row as many of us have said for some time yet we have supposedly been trying to sign a centre who will not come cheap. If the club can make money available for him why not for addressing what we really need?
If this move for Gleeson was just because he may have become available then isn't this just like signing Roberts a year early? That is, recruitment being driven by events not by a plan?
