Liam Byrne

[josie andrews]

Have we found the new Matty Smith or Sam Powell?

He’s not that bad.

Not sure why you’d lump Smith in with Powell anyway. The only criticism I can recall of Smith was over his goal kicking which at the time was justified as it was poor. I don’t think anyone thought he wasn’t a good enough player unlike Powell.

I think you may be confusing Matty Smith with Harry Smith there Dave.

I didn’t like to contradict Matty Smith’s goal kicking was exceptional his drop goals especially won us plenty games. Always liked Matty

[Wigan_forever1985]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Anyways we cannot have a team in which everyone is good enough - so someone is always likely to be bottom or towards the bottom of that pile and right now it’s probably Byrne

That said I thing he’s an ok player and with a full team he isn’t in the 17

[nathan_rugby]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Anyways we cannot have a team in which everyone is good enough - so someone is always likely to be bottom or towards the bottom of that pile and right now it’s probably Byrne

That said I thing he’s an ok player and with a full team he isn’t in the 17

It is possible to say that he hasn't improved as expected and may have gone backwards, without people on this forum having uproar and mentioning Sam Powel or scapegoat.

As a few others have said, if he salary is relative to his place in the squad then fair enough.

[The Yonner]

We should take into account the difficulty the props have in getting into the flow when they haven't had much recent game time. Both Byrne and Hill struggled against Saints and that's the main reason in my view.

It's a fundamental weakness in our game that we don't have a proper reserve competition where the props who don't always make the 17 can play regularly, maintain their match fitness and thus be able to "hit the ground running" when they do get called up.

I think if Byrne and Hill get more opportunities over the next few games their performances will improve to the required standard.

Byrne lacks finesse, but he's a big guy who draws a lot of energy from the opposition to bring him down. It's not all about breaking the line and flashy offloads. Byrne can continue to be part of a balanced set of forwards and deserves our support.

[morley pie eater]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Anyways we cannot have a team in which everyone is good enough - so someone is always likely to be bottom or towards the bottom of that pile and right now it’s probably Byrne

That said I thing he’s an ok player and with a full team he isn’t in the 17

Or maybe some just enjoy being a bit provocative? And Meds has been quiet recently.

[Blackpool_Pie]

I was one of the most vocal about Byrne not playing well early last season because he simply wasn't. He was playing pretty poorly and with little enthusiasm but it turned out he was carrying an injury for a prolonged period. Towards the back end of the season he really put his hand up as a strong prop and put out some fine displays. Catalan away certainly sticks in my mind.

This season I had high hopes for him but he's been in and out of the team due to suspensions and not being picked when others are fit. I don't see him as an interchange prop. I think he's best starting. He doesn't impact games massively but at his best, he carries strong and is tough in defence. The problem is, if he doesn't have much consistency, he doesn't really have all that much because as I say, he doesn't have a huge impact. He won't get a few offloads and open a defence up, he doesn't really make huge tackle busting runs or make breaks. However he can be a vital part of the side wearing opposition down making them tackle him again and again because he's a big guy and it must be energy sapping stopping him.
If he can get back to his best where he is making less and less mistakes both in attack and defence, I'd have him starting most games.

However, criticising him is absolutely fine. He has been poor this season. He's been sloppy at times and that has obviously been noticied by Matty Peet as he hasn't been selected when available. People on this site are absolutely allowed their opinion. If you want to look for horrendously negative comments, have a look at the Wigan supporters Facebook page. Rocky has got it every single game he has played and had a lot of awful, derogatory comments made about him.

[DaveO]

Have we found the new Matty Smith or Sam Powell?

He’s not that bad.

Not sure why you’d lump Smith in with Powell anyway. The only criticism I can recall of Smith was over his goal kicking which at the time was justified as it was poor. I don’t think anyone thought he wasn’t a good enough player unlike Powell.

I think you may be confusing Matty Smith with Harry Smith there Dave.

Correct. My mistake.

[DaveO]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Well it wasn't anyone who had an issue with him who brought him up in this thread was it?

[medlocke]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Anyways we cannot have a team in which everyone is good enough - so someone is always likely to be bottom or towards the bottom of that pile and right now it’s probably Byrne

That said I thing he’s an ok player and with a full team he isn’t in the 17

Or maybe some just enjoy being a bit provocative? And Meds has been quiet recently.

Powell is gone, no need to mention him anymore, I like Byrne

Most of my post's get ignored so why bother posting that much, I've decided to be more of silent Mod, online every day ready to hand out warnings, bans and placing post's in their correct forums. fin

[Wigan_forever1985]

Seems to me like the only people who can’t let go of the Sam Powell posts are not the ones who had an issue with him

Well it wasn't anyone who had an issue with him who brought him up in this thread was it?

Exactly