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markill wrote:

DaveO wrote:

Players will want to go elsewhere and unfortunately, even with contracts that should suggest otherwise in certain cases, it seems difficult to on to hold them.

Well apparently Ratchford signed for Wire instead of us off the back of what Moran could offer because of his links to the O2 and events at the O2 arena. Wire may be as constrained by the cap as us but we will see how they deal with the the exit of senior players over the next couple of seasons. I don't think they will struggle myself.

If we win there are plenty who will envy us but it won't cover up there are playing and coaching issues that need sorting out or next season we will IMO go backwards.

Losing Sam T is always going to be a backwards step on the field and I agree there are concerns. My post was more about it not being time to start begging for a new owner and trying to kick this one out.

However, if gig tickets is the reason Ratchford went to Warrington then that is stupid. I can't accept that as a genuine reason for a professional sports man to decide on a new club. If it was said, it was probably tongue in cheek.

Well he's won at Wembley a few times now and been to a Grand Final - saying that, so have Wigan since 2010

DaveO

I agreed with nearly all of what you said, except for us being a mid table side!!

Really?

We're a top side and barring tinkering and injuries would have finished top with ease.

Although if we are a mid table side then Shaun Wane is an absoultely fantastic coach!!!

Almost a month has gone by since this post, with all the anti Lenighan talk by certain posters, what are your thoughts now, i suppose we must wait to see what replacements he has secured for next year before i make my decision and if these signing are piss poor then for me i will join the Leneghan out brigade :exc:

medlocke wrote:Almost a month has gone by since this post, with all the anti Lenighan talk by certain posters, what are your thoughts now, i suppose we must wait to see what replacements he has secured for next year before i make my decision and if these signing are piss poor then for me i will join the Leneghan out brigade :exc:

Its not what he will get in is worrying me. Is that he is now letting players go early. Who will go next season Lockers, Hansen, Charnley, Crosby etc. Who is to say that if Sean O'Loughlin gets a big offer from the NRL he would be allowed to go early. After all has he not said that he excpects more ot go to the NRL.

Wigan Warriors is now a selling club.

markill wrote:An owner can only spend a limited amount and that amount is less than the owners of clubs competing with us for talent in other leagues/sports so I'm not sure what a mega bucks owner can do, other than potentially dump in a mire if the club isn't so well run and depends on their moeny alone, because if they go we'll be screwed.

The obvious things mega-bucks can do is be used to outbid rivals for the services of those players who are available.

We may be fighting over the scraps compared to the NRL but we will still have to fight for them.

The fact we have a limited salary cap obviously means any owner does not have a huge wage bill compared to other sports wage bills but he is free to outbid anyone for the limited talent available.

He is also free to invest in the best coaching and off field/back room staff.

There is also nothing to be gained by not trying to earn more income from sponsorship and any other income a club can generate as then it could argue from a position of strength for an increase in the salary cap.

Not wanting to work towards an increase in the salary cap which appears to be IL's position is a self defeating and idiotic position IMO. That alone should call into question his suitability as a an owner.

As I said on another thread I reckon IL appears to be happy if Wigan end up as a big fish in a small pond based on home grown talent but doesn't seem to see the need for quality players.

If Green is good enough to win the CC why do we need to work towards a position where we could afford to pay for the likes of Sam is the impression given?

Players will want to go elsewhere and unfortunately, even with contracts that should suggest otherwise in certain cases, it seems difficult to on to hold them.

If IL's approach sees us not competing then maybe a change would be called for, but so far we've shown we can reach finals still. Whilst there are concerns about the way things are going on and to an extent off the pitch, we're still one of the clubs who can and will compete for silverware again.

I can watch Wigan St. Pats "compete". Or Leigh even. I don't want to watch us just compete but I want to see us do so with quality players. At the moment we can't buy them but IL seems to have thrown in the towel about doing so ever again and as I said, seems to be of the view that being a big fish in a small pond is good enough.

How anyone thinks the sport will prosper long term as a professional sport if that is the attitude I really don't know.

reading through the posts on this thread,Ican honestly say what a pile of crap.You expect Lenegan to shell out a lot of his own money,but if he asks you to pay another £50 for a season ticket next year you'll probably hit the roof.

medlocke wrote:For a new owner?, IL has been great for the club, he's dragged us out of the s*** that Whelan left us in and has turned us into a well run club, yet he seems happy enough to sell our top talent or let players leave mid contract without wanting to put his hands in his pocket for some quality replacements, how long is this going to go on for, surely there must be somebody out there with a passion for the club and tons of money to burn who could take over the club.

Seems to me there is a contradiction here, you say a mega bucks owner left us in the mire, but one with less money has turned us into a well run club. So which do you want?

Dr Koukash may be a blessing for Salford, but if he doesn't win trophies or get crowds there, will he get fed up and move on leaving Salford in dire straights.

And in truth how many people are out there with tons of money and the interest and staying power to run a club.

DaveO wrote:I can watch Wigan St. Pats "compete". Or Leigh even. I don't want to watch us just compete but I want to see us do so with quality players. At the moment we can't buy them but IL seems to have thrown in the towel about doing so ever again and as I said, seems to be of the view that being a big fish in a small pond is good enough.

How anyone thinks the sport will prosper long term as a professional sport if that is the attitude I really don't know.

I think IL is going about things the right way, he is trying to make Wigan as self sufficient as possible. If they quality players are coming from within then Wigan are in a much stronger position. Wigan have presence in Wales and in Cumbria to try and get the talented players early.

Unlike in the 80's and early 90's Wigan are not the only big club in English rugby league and are not the only club with money. The more clubs with money the less likely they are to sell players or the more likely clubs are to compete for a signings.

I think IL is actually counting on the sport prospering and more "rich owners" being attracted to the sport and when they are all fighting to sign the "best" players Wigan will already have the best young players signed up.

I would admit that Wigan could have probably signed a very good Aussie over the last few season but when there have been so many "big" signings who have turned out poor (Gelling is not superstar but is an improvement on David Vaeliki)

jao711 wrote:reading through the posts on this thread,Ican honestly say what a pile of crap.You expect Lenegan to shell out a lot of his own money,but if he asks you to pay another £50 for a season ticket next year you'll probably hit the roof.

Why not? Why should ANY owner not invest a considerable amount of money into something they derive so much joy from. What price do you think leading Wigan out to CC Finals or a GF is worth to a wealthy man like IL.

Lest you forget nearly every fan sacrifices a bigger % of their entire wealth on their dream than owners such as IL will.

The posts were all valid until your ill mannered reply!

MrDave wrote:

DaveO wrote:I can watch Wigan St. Pats "compete". Or Leigh even. I don't want to watch us just compete but I want to see us do so with quality players. At the moment we can't buy them but IL seems to have thrown in the towel about doing so ever again and as I said, seems to be of the view that being a big fish in a small pond is good enough.

How anyone thinks the sport will prosper long term as a professional sport if that is the attitude I really don't know.

I think IL is going about things the right way, he is trying to make Wigan as self sufficient as possible. If they quality players are coming from within then Wigan are in a much stronger position. Wigan have presence in Wales and in Cumbria to try and get the talented players early.

Unlike in the 80's and early 90's Wigan are not the only big club in English rugby league and are not the only club with money. The more clubs with money the less likely they are to sell players or the more likely clubs are to compete for a signings.

I think IL is actually counting on the sport prospering and more "rich owners" being attracted to the sport and when they are all fighting to sign the "best" players Wigan will already have the best young players signed up.

I would admit that Wigan could have probably signed a very good Aussie over the last few season but when there have been so many "big" signings who have turned out poor (Gelling is not superstar but is an improvement on David Vaeliki)

Wigan were not the only big club in the 80's / 90's. Leeds were always our equal in terms of wealth etc, we were better managed in terms of investment / expertise.

Other clubs had similar glory following investment, the two Hulls! Halifax Castleford later Saints and the Bulls. Does anybody else here think the two Hulls would swap their great years, of Fax fans, Cas fans, Saints fans, Bulls fans for austerity. Bold investment / calculated gamble produced life time memories for their fans who can recall such days during the less successful / awful days they suffer now.

Wigan do not have all the best youngsters in Britain, far from it. Sure we have depth because of Wigan being such a breeding ground for RL players BUT the best we never ever had a monopoly on the best youngsters. Many of our greatest players came from anywhere but Wigan. Cumbria? We have not secured any great Cumbrian talent since Lee Mossop. There was a Cumbrian kid called Brad Singleton played against us for Leeds. IIRC we currently have a couple of Cumbrians in our academy but so do other clubs. Does anybody think Wigan have exclusive rights to Cumbria? Wales? I have yet to see any potential world class signings made? We once had a young lad but he went back to Wales. REMEMBER what IL promised 5/6 signing from RU areas per season! Where are they?

League isn't going to be flooded by rich owners when they are constrained by the cap and all the other clubs vetoing change (The Dr tried it and was defeated by every club incl Wigan/IL). Most RL owners do not want to spend their money, IL does not, he lives his dreams on the cheap. Why would our present owners want to price themselves out of RL, do Turkeys vote for Xmas?

DV was a bad signing, no worse than Gelling though and we have had some damn good ones also, many heralded big names; Trent, Pat, Hoff, Finch, Lima etc.

RL is being strangled by miserly investors with no ambition!