THINGS COULD BE WORSE!!!

[pedro]

Roberts, Richards, Carmont, TL, Hock, TOmkins would walk into any team in the league

[medlocke]

On paper the Wigan team/squad is very strong.

Unfortunately for us we play on turf not paper.

I bet he's not happy with that

[cpwigan]

Backs

I believe Roberts is potentially an excellent signing but he needs to be given freedom to play. Outside backs need to be given opportunities to use their skills as we saw with Ainscough who is large playing uninhibited.

Mathers I would not touch with a barge pole. He had 1 moderately decent season with Leeds. He is dangerous to other professionals IMO.

I would never have signed Phelps. I got criticised because before we signed him I said he was awful after seeing two woeful defensive efforts for Canterbury in 2008. He is a danger too himself IMO. A pre requisite to play for Wigan should alway be good defence.

Goulding. I have a lot of faith in. I do not think fans ever realise just what talent it takes to time your runs into gaps and he has that ability. He has weaknesses too but he's young and some of those can be rectified.

Carmont. Does the business.

Pryce. I o not know what Karl is to be honest. Despite his size I thin he is a winger in the moulds of many Aus / NZ wingers. Prepared to give him time. Worried as to why we have not got him nto condition quicker.

Ainscough is a gem. He has many strengths. A couple of weaknesses but very young.

Pat consistent, where do we play him? I might play him at FB in defence, wing in attack.

Tim Smith. Wishful thinking. The 2005 Tim Smith would have been still playing in the NRL and possible for Origin / Australia. We did not get that player and he is like many a could have been. He is certainly not what we need and an awful role model for our young players.

Tommy. He has talent but not as a half back for me. He does not want to dominate a game or lead a team around the field. Hooker

Sam T. Clearly hs talent. He could offer a little of the X factor we sometimes miss and is a great support player. For me I can imagine him running off Hock and Feka.

Alternatives

Owen Farrel I would offer him a first team contract and play him at stand off. He will probably gravitate to loose forward as he ages.

Ian Thornley I would not hesitate to play him if need be. He will get better and better as the standard he plays in increases. We should be looking for him to replace Carmont when he retires. He's far from the finished article but I see Neil Fox in him when I watch him play.

Stefan Marsh. Utility value. Eventually will lave to another club but in the short term will not let the club down.

Nick Stanton. I would be tempted to re sign him and see what happens. Ainscough and Stanton on the wings was for me an ideal set of wingers. I can understand signing overseas halfbacks, hookers but wingers no.

Forwards

Fielden. I used to get hammered for criticising him but I am sorry to say what has he done in 2009. Where has he been in the first 3 matches. Is he leading the team, setting an example. It is not popular to criticise Fielden but I think he has been one of our worst ever signings and compares to DV because they were.are both on such fantastic salaries.

Piggy. Personality rather than a player. Terrible role model. He played better v Cas but only because he was allowed to sit on his backside for most of the game. When he arrived the fitness staff could not get more than 20 minutes out of him and he is in very bad shape medically re his knee/leg

McLlorum. He has something. He played well v Cas, better than Pig. He got knocked over by Sargent n that game, next tackle he made he sickened the Cas lad he tackled. I like players who can hurt opponents with proper tackles. Could get far better re distribution with good coaching. Interestingly Warren Ryan used to preach about hookers passing off the floor. Seems a dying art.

Feka. I am a Feka fan. Had the club succeeded offloading him to Hull it would have been dire. Somebody said he only played well v Cas in his 2nd stint. I think he played well in both stints. I would like to see him play 3 stints in games and he can get far better but who wants to tackle him?

Coley. He's not a prop and he's not a second rower. Help!!

O'Carrol Will never let anybody down. How far will he go?

Prescott I think he has bags of potential. If he can realise it he could be a great player for the club. His injuries concern me.

Lee Mossop Increasingly I see him as a prop but he would on my bench simply for his ability to play second row or prop.

Ben Davies Real potential. Fantastic footwork for a forward and carries the ball in 2 hands. If our game progresses the forwards will become smaller. SL forwards tend to be bigger than NRL now. Has real fire in his belly. A game v Saints last season he was frighteningly good. If he was needed he would not let anybody down but he will not set the world on fire until he's had a season or so of SL.

Hocky Fantastic talent. He has what Gene Miles had. The quirk of like to run down the left but carrying the ball in his right hand which makes him awkward. Could be far better for us with a good coach and a coach who make him follow some guidelines re ball retention.

JTomkins Fantastic talent. I thought his first stint v Cas was ordinary by his standards but his second showed his true ability. Has a real rugby brain and would benefit from being used more creatively rather than as a battering ram.

Hansen Brilliant squad member. Not a natural rugby player and that holds him back.

Bailey Nice man, solid pro but that is not why we signed him an he will always be a bad signing because we do not need him as a back rower and he is very good money. Signing players so late in their carers is very risky.

Liam Farrel might ultimately be a loose forward but either way incredibly talented with a natural rugby brain. He wants to support the ball carrier which is great. Very un Wigan circa Noble though.

Lockers I believe he has great ability. loose forward / second row? hard to tell. He is not suited to Noble's style of RL and probably tries too hard which has resulted in a very indifferent start to 2009. Many knock ons and pnaltis for interfering at the play of the ball. Unfairly targette by some fans.

Flannagan Utility value. Good defender. Akin to Hansen IMO.

Tuson Utility value. Will be a good NL player.

Alternatives

Not for the first team in 2009 but it will be interesting to see how Liam Thompson goes. Missed 2008 with aserious injury that needed an operation. Comparable to Owen Farrel and Ian Thornley throughout their junior careers. Greg Burke I believe we have signed this 16 year old. A very talented forward and a natural leader.

You will read criticisms and praises but I do not think any team in SL is nything special. Leeds and Saints have a 'team' ethos. Nobody else does espite what they may think.

"The English were more temperamental and harder to work with. The Aussies were more professional about team situations, about the requirements of playing for each other and that sort of thing. I have always found the English players a little more 'me' than 'we' they were always a little more focussed on themselves than on the team. At Parramatta I felt the bottom line was always coming back to 'How can I help the team?' 'did the team win because of the way I played?' There was a responsibility for the players to be as good as they could be as individuals but the underlying thing was always 'the team' " John Monie

[cpwigan]

On paper the Wigan team/squad is very strong.

CPW which of our players would you class as strong, on paper or anywhere else?

Mathers, Roberts, Riddell, Smith, Pryce, Phelps??

IMHO, last time I saw a Wigan team this poor, it included the likes of Steve Breheny, Ness Flowers and Jeff Townend!!

KW a little nes flowers anecdote. When he first signed. The A team were playing Blackpool. I think our hooker was Karalius. The young Blackpool hooker was onto a loser as this was the days of genuine hooking. New as the scrum half and a scrum was called, being a Union player New shouted ball coming in now, The Blackpool hooker won that scrum and every other one in the first half as Ness kindly told him ball coming in now. Karalius had words at half time and at the start of 2nd he told the young hooker, fun over and proceeded to win all the scrum in the second half.

[Wigan Watcher]

THINGS COULD BE WORSE!!!

Dont be silly!

Of course they couldnt be worse, get real!