Hock to Parramatta?

[Kittwazzer]

As CP says, IL is a businessman and his businesses have to be viable. A lot of clubs are in poor shape financially and I'd bet they are watching Wigan with interest. The only club unlikely to follow suit is Warrington who's chairman will take success at any cost!

[cpwigan]

As CP says, IL is a businessman and his businesses have to be viable. A lot of clubs are in poor shape financially and I'd bet they are watching Wigan with interest. The only club unlikely to follow suit is Warrington who's chairman will take success at any cost!

Exactly that KW. I know IL says he is a fan blah blah blah BUT he runs Wigan with his business head on. The real fans spend a ludicrous % of their income on this club. That is what fans do and what clubs rely on them doing.

I am not sure any SL owner owns the club along philanthropic guidelines. Whatsmore, I think collectively the owners act like a cartel and SL is managed as it is with their backing/blessing rightly or wrongly.

[jasonnlouise]

Parramatta have admitted they will struggle to keep under the salary cap if they sign Folau for the 1st season,could this be used to push the Hock deal through and loan us Folau for a season

[Kittwazzer]

As CP says, IL is a businessman and his businesses have to be viable. A lot of clubs are in poor shape financially and I'd bet they are watching Wigan with interest. The only club unlikely to follow suit is Warrington who's chairman will take success at any cost!

Exactly that KW. I know IL says he is a fan blah blah blah BUT he runs Wigan with his business head on. The real fans spend a ludicrous % of their income on this club. That is what fans do and what clubs rely on them doing.

I am not sure any SL owner owns the club along philanthropic guidelines. Whatsmore, I think collectively the owners act like a cartel and SL is managed as it is with their backing/blessing rightly or wrongly.

I think I prefer the club to run on a sound footing, especially if we're still competing and picking up the odd trophy. Better than spending millions we don't have on players we don't need like we did 20 years ago. That little adventure cost us our spiritual home!

[Matthew]

N.B Hock has never said he wanted to leave. He has not handed a request in etc.

If your boss comes along today and says we want you to move to another firm. Our company will benefit significantly and we think we can easily replace you. Whatsmore you can go somewhere else on at least the same pay if not more what do you do? Moreover, it is the head of the company telling you that you should go!

How many people stay somewhere they are not wanted when they can walk away?

If he doesn't want to go - they can't force him. He has a contract; the only way the club can get rid of him is to sack him if he's done something wrong; which will mean no transfer fee.

You've said it's only IL, so he'll have Wane's (and presumably the rest of the team's) support. How much time do the players spend with IL? If Wane tells him that he wants him to stay; then is that not good enough? If he flatly refuses to leave, what can IL do?

I and a couple of friends have been in this situation (IT not RL), our employer tried to transfer us and we refused. We saw out our contracts. It wasn't personal, it was business and we were quite within our rights to do so.

I'm not saying Hock is desperate for a release; however if he is dead against it; then he'll stay

[cpwigan]

If Hock digs his heels in then yes there is nothing anybody can do BUT would he want to? He has choices. He has IL telling him this could be great business for Wigan even if bad from a RL sense (albeit IL and some fans will say Farrell/Hughes/Tuson can replace Hock. No player is irreplaceable blah blah blah). Personally, I think you can make too many changes in one go and screw things up for several years BUT hey I am just a fan.

The big ? anyhow is will/can Parra stump up the 200K IL wants for Hock?

The move reminds me of Wigan under Jack Robinson. Many quotes by IL are very similar to JR and the thinking is very much the same.

Perhaps IL is happy at leading Wigan out at Wembley and Old Trafford, beyond that he will now be content to see Wigan fall back into the pack and stay chummy with fellow club owners. At the same time, Wigan costs him zero. In fact he may even make a profit when he eventually, if ever sells the club.

A former Chief Exec told me IL was bloody hard to work for. Madge could push him hard particularly as Wigan were still seeking success. Waney may talk the talk but I think IL pushes him around far more than Madge. One man calls the shots at Wigan!

By and large The club owners are perfectly happy with the state of British RL. They incl IL even defend it and criticise any doubters. Costs if anything are going down with no cap changes, measures to reduce costs below first team level etc. Available quality players becoming scarcer and youngsters becoming more and more important BUT also cheaper in the long run etc and far easier to control.

In effect what the gang of 4 led by Lindsay did and what perhaps Moran has done to some extent is to say we will break the 'club' and shake your way of doing things. IL argues young players should be grateful for living the dream etc. To me, RL clubs are owned / controlled al a the Victorians.

We the fans are short changed and taken for mugs IMO.

Remember, no owner spends anywhere near the same % of their income/wealth on their passion for their club as you do!!

Whatever happened to fans forums? Whatever happened to some of the promises made? Are fans valued/respected in RL?

[cpwigan]

As CP says, IL is a businessman and his businesses have to be viable. A lot of clubs are in poor shape financially and I'd bet they are watching Wigan with interest. The only club unlikely to follow suit is Warrington who's chairman will take success at any cost!

Exactly that KW. I know IL says he is a fan blah blah blah BUT he runs Wigan with his business head on. The real fans spend a ludicrous % of their income on this club. That is what fans do and what clubs rely on them doing.

I am not sure any SL owner owns the club along philanthropic guidelines. Whatsmore, I think collectively the owners act like a cartel and SL is managed as it is with their backing/blessing rightly or wrongly.

I think I prefer the club to run on a sound footing, especially if we're still competing and picking up the odd trophy. Better than spending millions we don't have on players we don't need like we did 20 years ago. That little adventure cost us our spiritual home!

I think that 'little adventure' was one of a lifetime and worth moving from CP. Whatsmore, it dragged RL as close as it has been to Australia in the last 30+ years.

Sport is about magic and dreams for both fans AND owners. Owners have to combine business acumen with philanthropy because sport cannot ever be run on purely business lines. We had the best of both with the gang of 4 balancing business and dreams. If anything Robinson on his own tried to run Wigan as a business and it went pear shaped.

Listening to IL who does he sound and talk more like? Lindsay? or Robinson?

Nothing can replace what we enjoyed from the mid 80s to mid 90s. Nothing can replace what Man Utd achieved in the last 2 decades / what Man City achieved in the last 2 seasons. Would City fans swop last season for financial security? Why would any businessman attempt or think he can run a sporting club purely as a business? Ask Allan Sugar! Yes, sport is a mad crazy world but it always will and should be because it is a dreamy magic world of escapism.

[Kittwazzer]

City and Chelsea are mere playthings of their owners. The hundreds of millions they spend is a mere drop in the ocean. The real fun will begin when their owners get bored with their toys and decide they don't want to play with them anymore.

And I dispute that from the mid 80s to mid 90s we 'achieved' success. We 'bought' it with money we didn't have and we were still paying the price as recently as 2006!

[cpwigan]

City and Chelsea are mere playthings of their owners. The hundreds of millions they spend is a mere drop in the ocean. The real fun will begin when their owners get bored with their toys and decide they don't want to play with them anymore.

And I dispute that from the mid 80s to mid 90s we 'achieved' success. We 'bought' it with money we didn't have and we were still paying the price as recently as 2006!

The initial success and indeed the majority was ACHIEVED by investing minimal funding and recouping/achieving far more than umpteen directors had achieved whilst 'enjoying' their positions as Wigan sunk to Div 2 and RL became an embarassing amateur non entity.

Wigan / British RL achieved far far more through some investment and bold dreams than it did when that gang of 4 was broken up to return to single ownership with a pure business ethos. Sport is philanthropy. It always has been, it always will be. The cost to enter that cub is for many sport unobtainable to all but the worlds richest. Perhaps our sport is a niche, the last bastion for the wealthy. A niche that they want to maintain.

No City fan would swap what they have now, no Utd fan would swap what they have, no Liverpool fan would swap what they had nor would any Wigan fan. If success could simply be bought why did Leeds Rhinos not dominate RL in the mid 80s / 90s?

Sport is a marriage of business and dreams.

[cpwigan]

Hopefully Folau going to Parra will end the Hock transfer.