Phone call from Chief Exec!

[pedro]

we generate more revenue?....Whelan gets 25mil a year from tv for the latics.

[neilbass]

we generate more revenue?....

meant gate receipts. the fact remains to be viable the stadium needs both sports, so surely we have the influence to prevent this happening.

as said elsewhere, if it was a direct clash fair enough - but it isn't!

[cpwigan]

So essentially any Premiership Club sharing a ground will have precedence because it is part of that League's requirements. I can accept that.

I can also accept that a ground share is financially necessary from both quarters.

The mistake for me was DW and IL/JL not forseeing this potential problem and taking it into account when the Premier League were devising the Wigan Athletic fixture list. This was compounded by both parties not considering the potential issue once we had made the play offs and exacerbated by DW not being prepared have Wigan RL play the day before his beloved Latics and in part the RFL not wanting the game played on a Thursday or a Sunday.

A mess but in no way attributable to Hogan and what a welcome to the job.

[highland convert]

Is it not time to cool down and accept the new team are on a steep learning curve. How many on this site new every aspect of the job prior to taking up a new post. IL is flying by the seat of his pants. The old regime made so many mistakes you wanted rid of them. The new boys had no reasonable template to work to. The old management would have moved latic the new can't. Half the site did not want us to make the playoffs. Because results went in our favour we got fourth. Maybe someone wants to do a pole.
Where did you expect us to finish as things stood 4 weeks ago
7th or worse
6th
5th
4th

Answer honestly and I dont think 4th would atract many if any votes. So let the new management settle in. It is a mistake they will not make again or then you would have something to complain about. Direct your anger at JJB not the current boys, you don't want to alienate them in their first year,
Jim

[cpwigan]

IL / JL are not really new boys though HC. Both have past experience with Quins.

My opinion is that this club has been managed ad hoc for a number of years and was/is understaffed. I have every confidence in Mick Hogan based on his past record / reaction to a daunting first week scenario to turn this club around off the field.

On the field, PASS[/code]

[GeoffN]

You're entitled to your opinion, GeoffN, but I think for a Chief Exec to be making phone calls to fans at that time of night speaks volumes. He didn't have to mention SKY, he brought it up not me. I believe he was trying to be open and honest about the club having made a mistake.
That the club have made this error is unforgivable but at least they are making personal contact through Mick Hogan to try to allay fears and APOLOGISE to fans that have contacted them .
This is far better than a carte blanche press release or bulk E-mail to fans that many clubs would have used.

I agree that it's a nice gesture; I don't agree that the excuses he gives are valid ones. And yes, I realise it's not his fault.

[DaveO]

I asked several things about the situation, but what I wanted to know especially was - given how much income we provide to the stadium, especially compared to latics - how come we don't have any leverage/power to persuade the stadium company to change this decision? Reply below :


"The issue is that the football club have to have primacy of tenure in order to get in the Premiership. Yes the situation is far from ideal but we understood that when we took out the latest lease with them.

I still don't see how this means we could not play on Friday.

Latics play on Saturday so there was no clash. Had we finished third thus being drawn to play at home on Saturday then yes there would have been a clash and so someone would have to give way - obviously us by the sound of it.

But this didn't happen. So we are still missing an adequate explanation in my opinion.

Dave

[cpwigan]

In tonights Wigan Observer, Whelan states they could have played on Friday had they given sufficient notice. He said the staff have worked through the night before and would have had to do so again but it takes a fortnight to arrange all the staff required.

[DaveO]

In tonights Wigan Observer, Whelan states they could have played on Friday had they given sufficient notice. He said the staff have worked through the night before and would have had to do so again but it takes a fortnight to arrange all the staff required.

So its nothing to do with primacy of tenure then?

If so I hope Mick Hogan was making a general point about primacy and not saying it was the reason why we could not play on Friday.

If we believe what DW has said I am afraid the buck stops with Wigan RLFC's management team as they clearly didn't expect to finish 4th so didn't think to put the stadium staff on stand-by to ready the stadium should the need arise.

This sort of cock up is one I'd expect resignations or sackings for as it would appear to be entirely the clubs fault an no one else's.

Dave

[cpwigan]

In tonights Wigan Observer, Whelan states they could have played on Friday had they given sufficient notice. He said the staff have worked through the night before and would have had to do so again but it takes a fortnight to arrange all the staff required.

So its nothing to do with primacy of tenure then?

If so I hope Mick Hogan was making a general point about primacy and not saying it was the reason why we could not play on Friday.

If we believe what DW has said I am afraid the buck stops with Wigan RLFC's management team as they clearly didn't expect to finish 4th so didn't think to put the stadium staff on stand-by to ready the stadium should the need arise.

This sort of cock up is one I'd expect resignations or sackings for as it would appear to be entirely the clubs fault an no one else's.

Dave

Here is what the article says DAve;

A spokesman for the Premier League denied national newspaper reports that they have a rule banning 2 games on 1 pitch in a 24 hour period.

Their 2 key rules governing ground sharing are that a Premier League Match "Shall always take precedence over the activities of the other party" and that "all reasonable steps are taken to maintain its pitch in good condition"