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Who says they are leaving?

Whelley Warrior wrote:Who says they are leaving?

I would agree with SEFC. Mossop has a clause similar to Sam in his contract.

The big issues is the number of players a team has to replace at any one time. At our peak in the 80s / 90s we replaced true legends gradually and almost planned. It went belly up when we started to lose several players at once and had to replace them all at the same time.

cpwigan

Exactly what the club has been doing season by season since Leneghan took control of the club

Whelley Warrior wrote:Who says they are leaving?

Me - money talks! We need to secure the likes of Hughes and Faz on long-term deals to ensure that we maintain the nucleus of our squad.

Whelley Warrior wrote:cpwigan

Exactly what the club has been doing season by season since Leneghan took control of the club

So you think having to replace a 7, a 6, a centre, a prop forward, a second rower all in one season is just that

cpwigan

Evidently the club think so with the signings of Thornley, Green, Smith and Taylor.

Time will tell if they are right.

As for second row, we are well covered in that position even without Mr Hock!

Whelley Warrior wrote:cpwigan

Evidently the club think so with the signings of Thornley, Green, Smith and Taylor.

Time will tell if they are right.

As for second row, we are well covered in that position even without Mr Hock!

The clubs hand was forced which you could say was sheer bad luck and/or bad planning. Rads and many others have said it in their autobiographies / interviews. Too much change, too quickly is a recipe for problems. It saw Wigan go from dominating RL to an almighty mess for several years. Moreover some positions are more vital than others. Hence why Leeds have overcome some disruption. Down the line, the loss of Sam, H and Moose could be the straw that breaks the camels back. I have watched some amazing youngsters but know that from all those if A CLUB gets 3 to emerge from one age group they are doing fantastically well.

Whelley Warrior wrote:cpwigan

Exactly what the club has been doing season by season since Leneghan took control of the club

That is complete nonsense.

What happened at the end of last season with the departure of so many senior (and quality) players is exactly the opposite of what happened when the team was at its height of success.

Players of the quality of Andy Gregory and Hanley were replaced with hardly a blip because we did not lose another three or four senior players at the same time.

If you lose so many players at once not only do you have to replace them you have to mould a new team even if you manage to do so. The continuity goes out of the window.

Leeds have had very gradual changes to their squad over recent years and this year Wire's squad hasn't changed at all.

We on the other hand lost two senior props and both half backs and an experienced centre. Even if those who replaced them were as good the continuity has gone out the window.

DaveO

What do you think Wigan have been doing over last three seasons or so with the gradual introduction of quality players, mainly from within their own ranks.

As for Leeds, you find that many of their present squad were thrown into the first team all at once at the start of one season about a decade ago. Nine as I recalled and most still there.

what has happened at Leeds with the nucleus of the same side staying together for such a long time is a rarity, especially in an era with the salary cap and increasing competition for top talent from NRL & RFU. To get four/five players coming through into your first team at the same time in playmaking positions that can stay together for the best part of a decade is almost unheard of across sports.

If you expect that Wigan can do something similar to Leeds getting Sinfield/Burrow/McGuire/JJB/Diskin all at the same time coming into the same team that already had experience around them you're probably being naive.

Look at the side we had at the same time these guys were coming through. How many are still with Wigan? Few. How many of those that aren't are still playing to a good level in SL? Plenty actually. Lockers, Hock, Brown, Robinson, Wild, Aspinwall could have been what Leeds have had. But it just doesn't all line up for clubs everytime.