Calderwood exit confirmed

[butt monkey]

CP has a valid point.

Wigan do not, and have not for quite some years now played to their wings. Where once, the main threat of Wigan's trys came from the likes of Gilly, Fergie, Ford, Lydon, Preston, Mordt and later Robinson and Offiah. The likes of Brett Dallas (especially in his last season) was "starved" of "good ball". Most of his trys were scored on his own making, from blistering dummy half runs, or good support play down the middle, few were specific wingers trys - much the same for Brian Carney, bumping off players with his "second effort".

Nowadays, it appears that the only use for wingers at Wigan is to help share the forwards workload. Watch a game, many a time, the wingers/full back and possibly centres too, will have taken 3-4 tackles returning a kick before a forward ever gets near to taking the ball up. Why?

This has not "just happened". It has become more prevalent at the club over the last five years or so, and might be the main reason (or at least a contributory factor) to why Wigan feel the necessity to play slower, less evasive and less creative, yet bigger players on the wing. :doz:

[RJ]

I am disgusted that Calderwood is leaving apparently because we have a coach who seems to be unable to use him to full effect. Both Calders and Higham have always IMO given their best for the club despite Nobby's apparent inability to use/recognise their talents to best effect. I wish both of them all the best for the future and thanks for all their efforts for the team. If they both come back to bite us we will get all we deserve. I am rapidly losing patience with Noble who only seems to have a plan A and when that goes wrong no other options to back this up. In addition the players seem to me to lack motivation which can only be laid at his door. Our performances are erratic to say the least.

[cpwigan]

CP has a valid point.

Wigan do not, and have not for quite some years now played to their wings. Where once, the main threat of Wigan's trys came from the likes of Gilly, Fergie, Ford, Lydon, Preston, Mordt and later Robinson and Offiah. The likes of Brett Dallas (especially in his last season) was "starved" of "good ball". Most of his trys were scored on his own making, from blistering dummy half runs, or good support play down the middle, few were specific wingers trys - much the same for Brian Carney, bumping off players with his "second effort".

Nowadays, it appears that the only use for wingers at Wigan is to help share the forwards workload. Watch a game, many a time, the wingers/full back and possibly centres too, will have taken 3-4 tackles returning a kick before a forward ever gets near to taking the ball up. Why?

This has not "just happened". It has become more prevalent at the club over the last five years or so, and might be the main reason (or at least a contributory factor) to why Wigan feel the necessity to play slower, less evasive and less creative, yet bigger players on the wing. :doz:

It is true what you say and for some odd reason we even have entire sets where backs just scoot or hit it up one out for yards. Hence, we get wingers who are extra forwards rather than wingers. Now this would be more understandable if we had a pack of bulldozers but we do not. Even Feka has an element of skill to how he plays.

One thing I would say is fans must understand that when our wingers like Calderwood pick the ball up for a scoot close to the touch line they are instructed by Nobby to get the next play of the ball towards the middle. So Calders crabbing across the pitch is sometimes an instruction. Equally I daresay Calders would never try to bulldoze his weay through. That would be stupid.

[butt monkey]

I am of the opinion that Higham will be about as scary an opponent as Wayne Godwin currently is, playing for either Bradford (or previously Hull). His "impact" days are fast becoming behind him and if he joins the likes of Salford he will be play "second fiddle" to Mal Alker.

[DaveO]

Colbon not being good in any position is your opinion, not the coaches or mine for that matter. Only pace lets the lad down

That should rule him out on the wing then. He played centre once this season and was woeful, has never played full back at this level nor second row as far as I am aware.

That is why I don't think he is good enough, why do you think he is any good in these positions, two of which he hasn't played in?

and IMO is unfairly critisised for everything wrong in the back line, people sould focus there critisism on the more higher paid members of the squad and possibly the coaching and tactics before dismissing a player as rubbish, for what the lad gets paid and the effort he puts in each match hes fine by me.

What he gets paid is irrelevant. He is a regular part of the 1st 13 and so ought not be judged on that and what that entails. Not the size of his pay packet. The fact we have other players who may be judged over paid for their contribution doesn't make him run any faster.

But its besides the point, Colbon can play in these positions and has played in these positions for the first team and for acadamy.

When, how often and how effectively? Centre once this season is all I can recall which was a disaster.

Whereas Calderwood only plays on the wing.

Dallas, Carney, Preston, Gill and God knows how many other wingers we have had only played on the wing. It's because they were wingers and it was their natural position. One of the mistakes the club has made recently is playing wingers out of position e.g. Ainscough and Richards.

Dave

[pedro]

good call Dave. problem is Noble wants jacks of all trades and masters of none

[mano]

DID colbon not go to fullback on good friday at st.helens when pat went off.

[Sutty]

He did, and he had an absolute shocker. I feel sorry for him in a way. He tries his best but he's not a centre and cna't set tries up for a winger, he's not played second row, when we last saw him at fullback he was poor and he hasn't got enough pace (IMO) to be a good try scoring winger.
It's nothing personal, just the way I have interpreted his playing.

[Nine]

Won't the time to start shouting be when we see who actually will be playing wing for us next year? Recruitment is not over yet for 2009, is it?

Liam Colbon is a bright, hard-working, honest professional. He is a good squad player, able to cover more than one position adequately (but not fullback, he'd never played there before until chucked in because of injury on Good Friday, so it's hardly fair to blame him for that). However, he's no winger for a top-level SL side and if Nobby leaves him there as first choice next year after he and IL have had chance to reshuffle the squad further, then I'll kick off too. But why don't we wait and see what happens?

You don't rebuild a squad in one season - for 2008 some changes were made but there are quite a few players off-contract at the end of the season and in 2009 we'll have something nearer what BN and IL want.

On Calders I think he's been unlucky with the service he's had as a winger and with the leg break and ankle dislocation he got at Hull. When we've seen him this year he hasn't looked confident and has cut back inside instead of taking people on on the outside. It just didn't work out for him here for a number of reasons, and that's the way it goes for players sometimes. He's always been a hard-working and whole-hearted player for us and I wish him the best in future except when he plays against us.

[Sutty]

I agree with what you are saying Nine. Colbon is an honest hardworking player who gives his all every week. However, surely one of the prerequisites of being a winger in SL are to be either fast or big. he's not massive so doesn't fall into that category and neither is he fast, like I said I feel a bit sorry for him.

I also feel sorry for Calderwood. I bet there aren't many people who were pleased when we signed him. He was scoring for fun at Leeds and I expected it to continue. Having said that, I wasn't taking into account the fact that for the past few years our centres never touched the ball. The last good centres we had were Connolly and Renouf, look how many tries we scored out wide then. In Brett's first season he was scoring for fun til he had his jaw broken at Bradford.

If we replace Calderwood with another quick winger and Phelps turns out to be a good centre and either puts his new winger in for plenty tries or he scores plenty himself, then I will be happy with Nobby's recruitment. However, if we get another slow winger who isn't scoring many tries and is just another number in the squad, then I will start really questioning where we are really going under the new regime.