WiganWarriorsFans.com

Slightly off topic, as I'm not sure that they got direct criticism, but there were players who may undervalued or under-rated by some fans for not being stars or flashy. Ian Potter, maybe Martin Hall, Brian Case-type players.
How would you categorise Colin Whitfield? He was the only player I ever saw being penalised for a voluntary tackle. It was on a match a Bolton, possibly against Batley.

Yep, agree too about Matty Smith

morley pie eater wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:34 pm Slightly off topic, as I'm not sure that they got direct criticism, but there were players who may undervalued or under-rated by some fans for not being stars or flashy. Ian Potter, maybe Martin Hall, Brian Case-type players.
How would you categorise Colin Whitfield? He was the only player I ever saw being penalised for a voluntary tackle. It was on a match a Bolton, possibly against Batley.

Martin Hall is my all time favourite Wigan Hooker

I think for true scapegoat status they would have to be a player who is not just criticised for perceived poor performance but also seen as almost single-handedly being the reason for the team not performing well.

Some players will have been criticised a lot but it can arguably be justified. To dismiss any criticised player as a scapegoat would be suggesting that no player ever plays badly.

Richie Mathers was a player whose criticism seemed to reach scapegoat level in that his presence in the team often seemed to be the one thing stopping us from being a good side to some fans, but it's also fair to say he was not a very good player for us. 2 tries in 25 games for a fullback is pretty shocking. He was even outscored by Feka Paleaaesina and Andy Coley in 2008. So for Mathers I think it was a case of lots of people picking up on the fact he was not very good.

Dennis Moran probably fits the bill of a scapegoat better, as I know many would consider him one of the worst halves we've had in recent memory but his try scoring record in 2005 was pretty good for a player who was supposedly poor. He wasn't an organising halfback which is what most fans were hoping for but also you have to be fair and say he was playing in probably the worst Wigan side of the last 30 years. Halves need a good pack to play behind and the pack we had during that period was terrible, that's the main reason we performed so badly, but I saw plenty of criticism of the halves. Moran was pretty much the definition of a scapegoat.

Matty Smith might fit the bill too. I must admit, I wasn't a big fan of Smith back then and my opinion hasn't changed much in hindsight, but that's largely down to personal opinion of what I think a halfback should be. I have to admit he was a coaches dream though, at least for a certain period of his career. He played such a simple game but did it so well that he was almost a rugby robot. His kicking game was good and if he had good players around him he allowed them to play their best. The reason I wasn't a big fan of his was I felt he had limited creativity or ability to adapt. Once clubs wised up to our attacking plays teams really put him under pressure and he had no answer to it and looked lost in his last couple of years with us. Smith's form dipped while Williams at least had an answer to what other teams threw at him. I think it says it all when we allowed him to leave part way through his contract to join our biggest rivals for no fee at all yet Saints still got the worse end of the deal.

Powell has managed to reach new heights though. It's not just that every defeat will be blamed on him for some way or another, it's that the dislike of Powell has reached the level of conspiracy for some. His very presence in the team the result of Kris Radlinski not only seemingly forcing every coach to play him against their will, but also to praise him whilst doing so, as every coach has. And of course there's Powell's law, which states that the longer a thread is active on this forum the chances of Sam Powell being blamed for something approaches 100%.

Ronnie Braithwaite anyone?

EagleEyePie wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:39 pm And of course there's Powell's law, which states that the longer a thread is active on this forum the chances of Sam Powell being blamed for something approaches 100%.

Genius!

Stanfax wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 10:31 pm Ronnie Braithwaite anyone?

God hes one of my earliest player memories.Winger wasnt he?

morley pie eater wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:34 pm Slightly off topic, as I'm not sure that they got direct criticism, but there were players who may undervalued or under-rated by some fans for not being stars or flashy. Ian Potter, maybe Martin Hall, Brian Case-type players.
How would you categorise Colin Whitfield? He was the only player I ever saw being penalised for a voluntary tackle. It was on a match a Bolton, possibly against Batley.

i'm not so sure if they were under-rated or not by anyone to be fair (forums like this didnt really exist other than people gassing int pub or at the game ). We had many players like those over the years, Ian Lucas, Ian Gildart, Ged Bryne, Mick Cassidy included, who arent flashy, but you got 100% out of them every week and were invaluable to the team

Brian Case wouldnt take a backwards step, Ian Potter would tackle a sherman tank if it drove at him and come off best. They are the types of player that every team needs, to enable the likes of Gregory, Hanley etc to play like they do.

As for Colin Whitfield, i always remember his kicking but have one memory fo him missing from straight in front and costing us a game, and that seems to have stuck with me for best part of 40 years

I remember shaun Edwards being booed when I was a kid. Usually for looking for a gap in the line.

the pieman wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 8:57 am

morley pie eater wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:34 pm Slightly off topic, as I'm not sure that they got direct criticism, but there were players who may undervalued or under-rated by some fans for not being stars or flashy. Ian Potter, maybe Martin Hall, Brian Case-type players.
How would you categorise Colin Whitfield? He was the only player I ever saw being penalised for a voluntary tackle. It was on a match a Bolton, possibly against Batley.

i'm not so sure if they were under-rated or not by anyone to be fair (forums like this didnt really exist other than people gassing int pub or at the game ). We had many players like those over the years, Ian Lucas, Ian Gildart, Ged Bryne, Mick Cassidy included, who arent flashy, but you got 100% out of them every week and were invaluable to the team

Brian Case wouldnt take a backwards step, Ian Potter would tackle a sherman tank if it drove at him and come off best. They are the types of player that every team needs, to enable the likes of Gregory, Hanley etc to play like they do.

As for Colin Whitfield, i always remember his kicking but have one memory fo him missing from straight in front and costing us a game, and that seems to have stuck with me for best part of 40 years

Confusing different calibre of players there.

Ian Lucas wasn't underrated! He was a GB international who's career was cut short through injury while in his prime.

Gildart, Cassidy and Case were never underrated as far as I can remember. Case especially is one of those players that I think would do well in the modern era with today's nutrition and training.

Bryne was "ok" as utility back up but that was it. Nobody expected any more of him and therefore were not disappointed.

Whitfield was an oddity! Blew hot and cold if I remember (and in fairness I don't much thesedays!)

Ian Potter can do no wrong by me for that pass he threw to John Fergusson in 1985!