Il doesn't want the club to run at a loss. There is a difference.
IL also wants a successful team, and to keep the club out of the red he will need the club to be winning things and his vision for the likes of Central Park to work.

He's got a very good track record up to now.

Time will tell.

Without a dead king the pretenders an't become the new kings. But knowing how some fans on here minds work, a few more scape goats is probably more accurate though.

I have faith in IL as no one buys a rugby league team to make profits, Ian would have a lot more prosperous investment options available to him than Wigan RLFC. As previous alluded too IL is conscious of avoiding substantial losses, if you want an example of a club who disregarded finances and went for glory look no further than Bradford, if fans ran a club it would end up like that.

I have been a massive supporter of IFL and I think he has done an outstanding job thus far at Wigan.

For those saying this is a business decision I would question that as the finances we must have invested in Hock including his 2 year ban will be massive. Also IFL is a business man and the first key to making a business tick is generating income from sales, and the key market is spectators. Selling Hock will really take one of our entertaining assets from the team and also harm our chances if success, we will not be in a position to recruit a like for like replacement as there are non in the UK and the cap means non will come from the NRL.

The recent trend is a worrying one and if Hock goes I personally feel it will be a massive mistake, but only IFL knows all the facts and from that point if view only he is able to make the fully informed call.

From my point of view I will be less prone to pay to watch games at an increased rate with a massive reduction in quality and entertainment next year. It is a worrying trend that appears to be developing.

there can be no excuses for the way the club is being run the most inportant people are the fans and IL doesen't seem to care about them.
the fans i speak to are completely disillusioned, the heart is being ripped out of the club and i think we will see this in poor crowds next season.

It's like a mass suicide cult on here at times.

Lets wait to see what actually happens (if anything does) and the facts if Hock does go before slitting our wrists, or putting a horse's head in Lenagan's or Hock's bed.

I'm all for not making a loss each year but come on! Yes, I know we didn't reach a final this year which will affect our profits but we can't just keep letting players go to balance the books otherwise we will never reach anymore finals and the problem will just continue. Why spend a three figure sum on Blake Green if the club is so concerned about not making a loss, he's hardly a world beater. Another financial issue is the fact we should have a very significant amount of salary cap free for next season with big earners such as Tommy, Finch, Lima and now Hock going coupled with Fielden and Carmont who won't have been on peanuts. We should be spending this on a quality short term replacement for Carmont and signing an experienced prop, then the rest spent on increasing younger players' wages. Slightly concerned at the moment about where we are heading!

Did you not finish top of the pile this year???

Yep an absolutely awful year for the Wigan Warriors. Finishing top how dreadful must that have been.

Genuine question, what does this post have anything remotely to do with the issue being discussed or any issue raised in the thread?

It was in response to this




If IL did not care about the fans, then I would suggest that the poster is ignoring the on the field success IL has brought to Wigan since he came.

But we are talking about the loss of players and potential players in this offseason and going forward, not last season.

Given he has four years left on his contract and his standing in the game at least the reported amount received for Joel T. That isn't the question that bothers me and I am not sure why you are interested in my valuation either. The question that bothers me is why, given the high esteem he is held as a player in the game why any offers of that ilk were not just declined. A players value is measured more than by just what you can sell him for IMO.

Maybe Wigan will have knocked any offers back and maybe this is all a twitter fuelled rumour that has got out of hand. What do you think?

I think part of the problem is a player having his head turned by a glamorous (NRL against SL) suitor. When a player is being approached it's bound to get them thinking. IF Hock goes it's more likely IL's cashing in on a player who doesn't want to stay and that makes sense (distasteful as it is for fans).

And yes, contracts mean jack when it's a buyers market.

Makes you wonder if IL had an inkling he would leave, and got the lengthy contract as a way of raising funds... shrewd if so...

I am not sure what scape goats has got to do with the issue of whether or not replacing the quality we have lost form the side is as easy and as matter of fact as you seem to think. I do not wish to be insulting or offensive but if you really think its as simple as you imply I think you are a bit deluded. I can't rememberer the last time we let so many experienced players go at once and replaced them with so many inexperienced or lesser players (and that applies whether Hock has gone or not). Yes in 10 years time it will all be history but its about what happens in the meantime as well - success or mediocrity.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Has he got the lottery numbers for next week to hand while he is at it?

Sad to see him go if he leaves, we'll miss his impact, but we have plenty depth in the squad in terms a second rowers. At the end of the day, he's 29, he's hit his peak and for every good thing he does in attack, he generally does something equally stupid and he's one of our poorest defenders in terms of both effort and technique. They may not be as flashy, but I'd be content that a Hansen, Farrell and Lockers back three with Tuson, Hughes and Lloyd waiting in the wings will fill the gap adequately. Hughes and Lloyd in particular have massive potential improvements to come. As good as Hock is, the big trophies won in 2010 and 2011 were without him, so he is far from irreplaceable.

I'm far more concerned about the unproven halves, the depth in the centres and how reliant we'll be on Sam / how he'll be replaced in the long term.

The year we lost Lam, O'Connor, Smith along with others springs to mind, and the repercussions were devastating to our team for several seasons that followed.

In which case as Hansen has reportedly been approached by Dean Bell why doesn't IL offer Hansen to the NZ Warriors [unow[/u and get a fee rather than wait until his contract has expired next year and Wigan get nothing?

What about Mossop? He's on along term deal and rumours about him gong to the NRL have been knocking about. IL ought be able to raise a tidy sum for him as well.

Anyone else of interest to the NRL who we had better get shut of while we can make some money?



Try telling Bradford that.

[urlhttp://web.orange.co.uk/article/sports/parramatta_confirm_hock_talks[/url

we dont have a joel tomkins or a ryan hoffman now though. and they were quality too.

Agreed - but there's no way in current circumstances that the likes of Hoffman will grace SL again, whereas I'd argue that Hughes and Lloyd are at least as good as J Tomkins at a comparable stage of their development.

As much as your first point is correct it matters little in the comparison stakes because we did have Hoffman and now we don't! We did have Joel Tomkins and now we don't and we do have Gaz Hock but won't for long and no replacement of anywhere near the same quality will be available now. A few months back Willie Manu and Gareth Ellis where available but now they're not and we'll have to go with what we've got.

As for your second point it's again correct but matter even less because Joel was 23-24 with 4 or 5 seasons rugby at the back of him when he replaced Hock in 2010. Those 2 you mention are good youngsters but they're no Hock, no Hoffman and no Joel Tomkins of 2010 yet and won't be for a good few seasons.

We need quality players in the team now not in 5 years.

:2837z920

It was, about two weeks ago.

The message this sends to Lloyd etc and the other more established youngsters is that they are at Wigan to develop and then sign for an NRL club once there development is deemed suitable for the NRL.