Higham Knew Nothing About the Netwon Thing

[lucky 13]

Ok I like Micky he seems a good lad tries hard ect ect. If I was him I would be disappointed and upset . He surely has always known that Newton in Nobbys eyes is a better hooker , thats how and why he ended up at Wigan in the first place .
Although the dealings may not sit well with us and we think the club is out of order , that does not mean such things don't happen on a regular basis , things like this go on all the time you would be niave to think they don't .The big difference here is Bradford have made it public for some reason .
I feel for Micky and hope he proves his worth. The money he is reputedly on (every one keeps saying oh hes not on that well if so why did we seem to have so little when IL took over if players are only on average contracts )is as much a reason for this attempted deal as anything else .

[DaveO]

AncientWarrior posted:
Why are people always prepared to think the worst of Wigan (whoever is in charge)?

What do you mean always prepared to think the worst? The evidence is there in this case in that Hood has come out and said Wigan made a formal approach for Newton through the correct channels offering Higham as part of the deal.

Ian Lenegan has categorically denied making an "offer" for Newton (see Tuesday's Observer) and stated that he merely made an enquiry as to when , if at all, Newton would become available. He goes on to say that he has made similar enquiries with other clubs about other players and he considers this to be an ongoing part of his job at Wigan; I find myself in full agreement with this attitude.

Well the Bradford coach and chairman are lying then because they have said Higham was offered in part exchange. That is a lot more than receiving a general enquiry about a players availability don't you think?

In any case unless Wigan wanted to sign him now by making a bid, why make an enquiry about a player where it is common knowledge he is under contract for two more years so by default he is not available?

It is a rather pointless exercise and given we are according to IL, up to our cap limit what was he going to do if Bradford had said he was available?

There is only one thing he could do and that is make room by getting rid of someone else.

I am more prepared to believe Lenegan than the Bradford Press release and I consider this to be mischief-making of the worst degree!!!!

The fact Bradford have said Higham was offered to them as part of the deal makes it virtually certain that is what happened. This isn't the school playground and you can't go around saying things like that and not expect to land yourself and club in some sort of trouble unless they are true statements.

Given Higham is clearly upset about it then if there was nothing in it and it was mischief making then I would expect the club to refute this immediately and publicly to reassure the player, squad (so they know the club doesn't do deals behind players backs) and fans.

It hasn't done that as far as I know.

Dave

[GeoffN]

AncientWarrior posted:



Ian Lenegan has categorically denied making an "offer" for Newton (see Tuesday's Observer) and stated that he merely made an enquiry as to when , if at all, Newton would become available. He goes on to say that he has made similar enquiries with other clubs about other players and he considers this to be an ongoing part of his job at Wigan; I find myself in full agreement with this attitude.

I am more prepared to believe Lenegan than the Bradford Press release and I consider this to be mischief-making of the worst degree!!!!

The Observer comments are now online here:

http://www.wigantoday.net/warriors/Lena ... 3671756.jp

[FROM A TO B]

Couple of cuttings from the original Bradford Press

He contacted the Telegraph & Argus from the club's training camp in Lanzarote to set the record straight.
Why would you contact a paper to set the record straight when no one had heard of the alleged offer?

Rumours had been rife in Wigan that former Bradford boss Noble would move for the talented 29-year-old, who spent six seasons at the Warriors and still lives in the town.

Since his shock move across the Pennines in April 2006, Noble has already plundered his former club for Stuart Fielden and assistant Phil Veivers, tried luring conditioner Martin Clawson and had a bid turned down for Great Britain centre Paul Johnson.

It is also believed Noble was keen on taking Shontayne Hape, while Newton has always been high on his list.

So no definite quotes from Wigan.

It makes me wonder if Wigan are looking into legal action prior to issuing any statement. If the club have made an offer, then they should say so. If not, why not put a statement on the official site (unless it could prejudice future legal action).

Mmmmmmmmm

:eusa16:

[DaveO]

lucky 13 posted:
The money he is reputedly on (every one keeps saying oh hes not on that well if so why did we seem to have so little when IL took over if players are only on average contracts )is as much a reason for this attempted deal as anything else .

This money thing really annoys me. We have (or have had) Fielden, Feka, DV, Barrett, Bailey, Fletcher, Calderwood, and Richards at the club at the same time as Higham who are all high profile players who will be or have been on good money.

Higham is equally as good as many of those and has shown better form than many of them. Of that list only Barrett has been consistently better IMO.

Also if we assume that lot are on good money it just isn't possible for Higham to be on mega-bucks and also Higham was not a player asked to defer some of their wages.

He is IMO worth whatever he is on at Wigan because I am certain it isn't some stupid figure of £200K a year! I have no idea what he actually earns but given the so called stars we have in the side and the number of them who are from overseas ( = high wages) who I would expect to earn more than him it just doesn't add up for him to be a very high earner.

He is however a good professional in his mid twenties who has represented GB. That commands a decent wage in any case.

Dave

[thegimble]

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
stats can be misleading. to say higham creates few tries is incorrect. You have to encompass a broader view. Yes Newton probably does pass the ball more to set-up directly a try. howeer higham makes breaks from the our own 20 and at the halfway line, now as soon as we get there barrett takes over as he is the best player to use in that situation. Now just because higham wasn't the one to feed the try scorer doesn't make him any less a part of it, because he may of made the intial break to get them there in the first place.

Newton is a better ball handler than Higham FACT. Newton is a better distributer FACT. Higham is a cleaner player FACT, Higam is faster FACT, higham is fitter FACT. Higham is younger FACT

Newton is an old style hooker in a game that is moving away from that. Newton is a hooker who is part of the pack, however hookers are now more like an extra back. i agree, to have both of them would be ideal as you got the best of both worlds but if it comes down to a choice, higham gets my vote every time.

FACT when Terry gets into a final the side loses more than wins

FACT when Higham goes to a final the side wins more than they lose.

Higham has a much better tempremant on the big stage than Newton has and has more mobility.

[DaveO]

FROM A TO B posted:
Couple of cuttings from the original Bradford Press

He contacted the Telegraph & Argus from the club's training camp in Lanzarote to set the record straight.
Why would you contact a paper to set the record straight when no one had heard of the alleged offer?

Why indeed but does that prove the offer was not made? Unprofessional to discuss this with the press on Bradford's part but I don't see why that lets Wigan off the hook.

Rumours had been rife in Wigan that former Bradford boss Noble would move for the talented 29-year-old, who spent six seasons at the Warriors and still lives in the town.

Since his shock move across the Pennines in April 2006, Noble has already plundered his former club for Stuart Fielden and assistant Phil Veivers, tried luring conditioner Martin Clawson and had a bid turned down for Great Britain centre Paul Johnson.

It is also believed Noble was keen on taking Shontayne Hape, while Newton has always been high on his list.

So no definite quotes from Wigan.

You have quoted column filling editorial comment. We are all used to that from the WEP!

However what is more interesting are direct quotes rather than press gibberish:

Odsal chairman Peter Hood said: "There was an approach from Wigan made through the proper channels, not through the back door.
"But we're happy with Terry and he's happy with us.
"The deal was of no interest to us whatsoever. "

The "deal" he refers to was the swap deal involving Higham with McNamara quoted as saying why they were not interested in the swap.

Someone is not telling truth and I still think the idea of making general enquiries about players you know to be contracted to other clubs when your own salary cp is full is rather lame.

Dave

[lucky 13]

DaveO posted:

lucky 13 posted:
The money he is reputedly on (every one keeps saying oh hes not on that well if so why did we seem to have so little when IL took over if players are only on average contracts )is as much a reason for this attempted deal as anything else .

This money thing really annoys me. We have (or have had) Fielden, Feka, DV, Barrett, Bailey, Fletcher, Calderwood, and Richards at the club at the same time as Higham who are all high profile players who will be or have been on good money.

Higham is equally as good as many of those and has shown better form than many of them. Of that list only Barrett has been consistently better IMO.

Also if we assume that lot are on good money it just isn't possible for Higham to be on mega-bucks and also Higham was not a player asked to defer some of their wages.

He is IMO worth whatever he is on at Wigan because I am certain it isn't some stupid figure of £200K a year! I have no idea what he actually earns but given the so called stars we have in the side and the number of them who are from overseas ( = high wages) who I would expect to earn more than him it just doesn't add up for him to be a very high earner.

He is however a good professional in his mid twenties who has represented GB. That commands a decent wage in any case.

Dave

Ok lets put it this way , IL stated when he took over the club that some good players were on very good contracts . This was took to mean they were over paid for their ability , he has since hyped up Wigan having top over seas stars such as Barrett who would deserve top money on his showing last year .
If players like Higham are not on top money how have we breached the cap for two seasons while having the smallest of squad depths , lost top earners and yet still struggled to have a squad with depth this year?
You can name 8 wigan players who are top earners , how many could you name from Leeds or Saints ? my guess would be more and yet no cap breaches and a better depth of squad .
Something salary wise at Wigan as been wrong its very obvious .
You state it annoys you how people think a player like Higham can be over paid well I know what you mean when people think they can't

[gillysmyhero]

lucky 13 posted:

DaveO posted:

lucky 13 posted:
The money he is reputedly on (every one keeps saying oh hes not on that well if so why did we seem to have so little when IL took over if players are only on average contracts )is as much a reason for this attempted deal as anything else .

This money thing really annoys me. We have (or have had) Fielden, Feka, DV, Barrett, Bailey, Fletcher, Calderwood, and Richards at the club at the same time as Higham who are all high profile players who will be or have been on good money.

Higham is equally as good as many of those and has shown better form than many of them. Of that list only Barrett has been consistently better IMO.

Also if we assume that lot are on good money it just isn't possible for Higham to be on mega-bucks and also Higham was not a player asked to defer some of their wages.

He is IMO worth whatever he is on at Wigan because I am certain it isn't some stupid figure of £200K a year! I have no idea what he actually earns but given the so called stars we have in the side and the number of them who are from overseas ( = high wages) who I would expect to earn more than him it just doesn't add up for him to be a very high earner.

He is however a good professional in his mid twenties who has represented GB. That commands a decent wage in any case.

Dave

Ok lets put it this way , IL stated when he took over the club that some good players were on very good contracts . This was took to mean they were over paid for their ability , he has since hyped up Wigan having top over seas stars such as Barrett who would deserve top money on his showing last year .
If players like Higham are not on top money how have we breached the cap for two seasons while having the smallest of squad depths , lost top earners and yet still struggled to have a squad with depth this year?
You can name 8 wigan players who are top earners , how many could you name from Leeds or Saints ? my guess would be more and yet no cap breaches and a better depth of squad .
Something salary wise at Wigan as been wrong its very obvious .
You state it annoys you how people think a player like Higham can be over paid well I know what you mean when people think they can't

Is the reason why we broke the salary cap because we didnt do dodgy off shore dealings like a few other clubs have allegedly done.IMO Thats why other clubs have had better depth of squads,not because we are paying top money to every player.

[cpwigan]

What an unedifying mess and one which in many respects is more important than just the player issue. The big question is are IL / Lydon true to their promise? Someobody somewhere is lying. Now it is either Wigan or Bradford. IL needs to do more than deny it. If he believes in what he is quotes as saying in the press then he must threaten legal action.