The squad management has been crap and the winger situation is a perfect example of it. You didn’t need hindsight to question Wigan keeping faith with Manfredi while ending up losing Davies. It might not have been considered a nice thing to do to cut Manfredi loose as soon as he was known he was going to be out for ages but it’s what would, and should, have happened under the previous regime. Wigan also had no qualms about getting rid of G Burgess so that just makes it even more stupid. Had Wigan done so we probably would not be signing Miski.morley pie eater wrote:I wasn't happy to see Tom Davies go. However, I assume that keeping 4 "first grade" wingers wasn't an option, given their wages/expectations and the salary cap.DaveO wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:47 pmI am questioning why when we had four first team wingers very recently and an academy production line we have ended up having to bring in a championship level player.moto748 wrote: So at a time when the club is already being criticised for piling too much on the shoulders of kids without sufficient support from experienced pros, you're suggesting bunging more untested kids into the side?
With four first grade wingers the club should have been able to bring through one of the young players giving them game time but somehow by next season we ended up with having to bring in a replacement for Manfredi. If Wigan had gone and signed a top class winger I’d have no real issue but I don’t understand why a 26 year old championship player was even on the radar.
Then again, like most fans I don't know how much each of Burgess, Davies, Marshall and Manfredi was earning. Neither do I know what any of them was like in training, or what effect they each had on team morale, or any other factors that influenced the club's decision to keep Marshall and Manfredi, but let Davies and Burgess go.
I don't think anyone could have predicted the injuries, or the position we are now in. So I'd suggest that it's with hindsight that you're able to ask your question.
And to describe Miski as "a championship level player" is disingenuous. He currently plays in the championship, but so did Alex Walmesley and Joe Bullock to name but two. And are our young lads "academy level players" because they played in the academy?
Somebody clearly thinks that Miski has the potential to be more than championship level. Time will tell, but implying that anyone who plays in the championship is therefore not of Super League standard is an insult to lots of good players.
It’s also not disingenuous or insulting to question the credentials of any championship player. The fact a few are successful (though Bullock hasn’t set the house on fire has he) should not stop the default position to be raised eyebrows at least when the club decides to sign a 26 year old winger.
If he’d signed for any other club we’d be thinking it was a rather stupid signing based on his age and record and it would be disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
He’s not a young project player but someone who if he was a Manly first grade standard player would never have found his way to London in the first place.