Club statement

[josie andrews]

You would think we where trying to sign Jonathon Thurston at the height of his powers the way some fans are going on ffs

Or just the fact he is clearly the clubs main target, and we've scrimped in other areas to accommodate him, only to miss out. we could have signed Toby King instead of Thornley and other players instead of pissing around failing to sign a main target.

Its not missing out on williams I'm bothered about its the fact the whole recruitment is a joke

Exactly!

[keptinthedarkfans]

Meds suprised at your short sightedness. Doesn't matter who it is the point is we have 75k start on any other club and still can't sign him he knows club inside out so something has to be badly wrong at Wigan and is showing in our club management team looking like they couldn't run a raffle let alone best rugby club in world. Things seem to go more dire by the week

[josie andrews]

Do we still have “talent scouts?” What if anything are they actually doing?

[Fan4Fifty]

I would have loved to have had Williams back and if he was only going to cost £75k on the cap then it's even more galling that we haven't been able to get him. It's OK saying move on and get someone else but we have Hastings leaving, Tommy probably retiring and Smith as a guy learning his trade as a half for next season as it stands. Plus the untested Field maybe. Then Gildart, Bullock, Manfredi and possibly French and Isa leaving.

Quite what this says to the rest of the squad about the club's ambition is difficult to assess but it surely can't be positive.

I know what it probably says to the majority of fans! It's alright saying of each departure 'that's OK we can cope or recruit someone else' but cumulatively there is a serious weaking of the squad, and recent history doesn't give any cause for optimism. We seem to be on a downward spiral as this won't encourage fans new or old, is likely to further reduce income and add more financial pressure.

Is the best we can expect a 4 year deal for Sam Powell and the return of Shaun Wane?

[Dan2266]

If we are not getting Williams then the next best and realistic for me is Aidan Sezer. theres not a chance in hell we will pay a transfer fee for Trueman.

[nathan_rugby]

I wouldn’t be going back with any offers if I were Wigan. This is a good halfback, not a World Class one. He isn’t worth offering silly money for. You don’t pay fortunes for halfbacks with a couple of glaring weaknesses that make you need to get him a style of partner that is perfect to cover his weaknesses (long kicking and organising the team). I’d have loved him back for sensible money and that would still have been marquee money more than likely but there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

Move on and look elsewhere but sort the main issues first. 1-A new coach and 2-a couple of quality forwards.

Agreed.

[fozzieskem]

If we are not getting Williams then the next best and realistic for me is Aidan Sezer. theres not a chance in hell we will pay a transfer fee for Trueman.

I agree with Sezer he is class as for Truman he’s ok but to me has stalled a bit at Cas

[keptinthedarkfans]

Don't go there josie I watch a lot of amateur rugby. And saints scouts are beating us hands down at signing young talent up.

[southportcdm]

I don't blame George for taking the better deal, most of us understand why somebody in a 'high risk' occupation would look after their family first. I worry though that it isn't just about the cash and perhaps other factors have played a part too. I don't believe the 'I wanted a new challenge' angle. That's just a cover for saying I didn't want to go back. For example, what have his mates at the Warriors been telling him about the feeling amongst the players? Surely they wanted him back. What has Bateman been telling him about the coaching situation etc in comparison to Canberra? Does the club give the impression that they're going somewhere or sliding down the ladder? Losing out on George looks like we lack ambition but isn't the end of the world so long as we recruit quality. An above average halfback to play alongside Harry with two top quality props would put us in a position to compete so long as we had a top quality coach. If we're saving money on signings/salaries we have to have the best coaching staff to compete with wire and saints in the future. Our league position is a false one and if things continue to slip as they seem to be doing we'll be the second biggest sporting team in Wigan with crowds of 6-8 000 rattling around in the DW in a couple of seasons.

[nathan_rugby]

Very annoying that we potentially held back from offering Toby King more money in anticipation of using the money for George. He would have been a quality signing.

Its a Paul Deacon type of signing we need to partner Smith anyway whilst he is still being nurtured.