Whelan backs the Warriors

[BriH]

If what's reported is correct then I'm glad to hear Mr Whelan is happy for us to play on Friday night, as for the Beeb controlling who plays when that shouldn't happen.

It should be for the RFL to liaise with clubs to see when their grounds are available for the ties then allow broadcasters to select which ties they want to screen.

If the Beeb want Wigan/Saints so much then they should have to make room in their schedules to screen it next Friday it's not as though they show anything that interesting on Friday nights anyway.

C'mon Mr L get em told!

Absolutely agree with this. The Rfl should step in - after all it's their Challenge Cup.

[andycap]

Thinking about this situation personally i think we should withdraw from the cup.

Full Stop the end

At the very least it will stop this thing happening in the future

[HGWarrior]

Why are the quarter finals so early this year? Last year we played on the 23rd July. I notice that the semis are earlier too (15th July) but not the final. Is this to do with the BBC coverage of the Olympics?

[HGWarrior]

When we played against Bradford at Widnes, Dave Whelan said then, that if he had been given more notice then the ground could have been turned around within 24 hrs. Last year when there was a possibility of us playing the day before a Latics match he said something similar and that Ian Lenegan had promised it would be in a fit condition for Latics to use. The only difference I see is that they were at the end of the rugby season and beginning of football. Is it because the pitch has been hammered that much over winter?

[Kittwazzer]

http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/sport/96 ... um=twitter

Fixture impasse leaves fans frustrated

1:31pm Thursday 3rd May 2012 in Sport

SAINTS are still no further down the line in knowing where or when their Challenge Cup tie with Wigan will be played – with the fans now getting restless.

The club have been relegated to the role of bystanders in what has effectively become a stand-off between Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan and the BBC.

BBC wish to televise the game live on Saturday, May 12, but Whelan so far has stated that is not possible given Latics are playing their crucial final Premiership game of the season the following day.

Whelan has urged his Warriors counterpart Ian Lenagan to stand his ground in the hope that the game can be played at DW Stadium on Friday night.

But the situation has reached an impasse which is leaving fans on both sides of Billinge Lump frustrated.

Those fans who work weekends are still unable to request time off work with any certainty in order to go to the game.

The Star understands that supporters have already been calling into the Saints ticket office and shop asking why they cannot buy tickets for the game.

As it stands, it is likely to mean that Saints will now have to open up on Bank Holiday Monday to sell their allocation.

Although Saints have made recommendations to the Warriors over staging the game at Langtree Park where they would get a 15,000 plus crowd, Wigan are obviously reluctant to cede advantage for such a vital game.

If the game is played at a neutral venue, Leigh, Widnes or Salford, capacity limitations and travel for both teams would impact on gate receipts and incur further costs.

[Kittwazzer]

Just heard from a far more reliable source. Whelan has agreed to the match going ahead on the Saturday. Trouble is, my source was told this morning so why no official announcement?

[eccywarrior]

its going be at dw

[jobo]

All this fuss over nothing. It's one of those problems that should have been sorted before it became a problem. Daft.

[wigan/pier]

@MICKtheGLED: Wigan Warriors v St Helens will be screened live on BBC1 and BBC1 HD on Saturday May 12 at 2.30pm. Venue: DW Stadium.

[walshiered]

If the match is anywhere other than at the DW I WILL NOT BE GOING. Sick of this every time we draw a cup match at home, this should have been sorted before the season started as it was always going to be a possibility. The powers that be at RFL are showing themselves to be total amateurs at running a business because this is what it is now. The fans do not count any more we are bottom of the pile when it comes to Sky,the BBC and the RFL, REALLY P***** OF NOW.