It seems the obvious option screening the questions before they are put to the chairman, an approach like BBC's question time would work, pre selected WORTHY questions from the audience are chosen.

Just debating whether I should start posting untruths or one sided views of the situation just to join in with all the negativity?



Probably best not as The "Happy Clapper" accusations will start


PS
Thats not just regarding this thread but most of the ones on here at the moment!

I'm going to report this post to the mod's for being recklessly positive!!!!

I have been to all but one of the forum's that Mr. Lenegan has held and frankly could not see any point in having another one because of the questions asked and ridiculously ill informed statements spouted out from the floor.

Seems certain people love a microphone and only think of what they want to say when they have it in their hand.

The format of the evenings developed into a long statement from Mr. Lenegan which covered most issues quite comprehensively, and I really enjoyed the closeness to the information that we had as we heard plans and statistics straight from the horses mouth as it were. The question time format, I think would be a fantastic idea, and I hope someone points this out to him as a great way forward as I miss these evenings and always thought they were a great way to understand the structure, plans and hopes of our club.

I have met Mr. Lenegan a few times at functions and he always comes across as a genuine type of chap who will listen intently to a point well made. It is his way, as a business man he would be a fool not to listen. Whether he agree's or not is his business and I have always found him very approachable and easy to talk to on a level.
So if you think you have a point to make to him, give it a try, you may be surprised at how 'human' he is !

I have only met him twice and found him to be intelligent, articulate and a deep thinker about the club and the game.
As to information, I am happy enough to trust the club. There are things which are mooted which never happen, and some bad news which ought properly to be "managed" to show the club in the best possible light. His handling of the turn over of players has sometimes been frustrating, but given that in this year of all years we are still top and in the Cup, I have only admiration for his good management.
If ever we were going to struggle it would have been this year.
Sam's leaving is a special case - the club is ultimately dealing with forces well beyond its control - TV deals, exchange rates etc. I suspect this is cyclical and we are at the bottom of the cycle, as the game will restructure to give a smaller group of clubs at the top more power and money, while the Aussie dollar will decline as their once booming economy overheats.
Looking to next year, if we get a decent 1, then the improvement in our youngsters should leave us just as strong across the board, and arguably stronger, while Wire and Leeds' key men will be even older.
After monday's display of brilliance by pretty much our A team away to a full strength side of the best (non Wigan) team in the comp, IL's stated intention to invest in our youth looks to bearing glorious fruit.
I would love more announcements though. I hate not having things announced to me.

Captain Dan,

I am hoping the format of this event will be different as the stated purpose is:

"The focus group, held in conjunction with the RFL, will aim to understand the motivations of being a fan, why you do or don't attend games, what your views are of the Club and what your think about Super League."

Based on the above, I would assume it is more about listening to our views rather that IFL giving a presentation. I also assume it is not just about Wigan but our views of Super League and the RFL.

I would hope that this event is organised to maximise the value of our time. Sitting through endless silly questions about weetabix will not cut it for me.

Id love for the RFL to hold a fans forum, would be very interesting

Sam's situation is entirely in IL's control as he holds a legally binding contract over him. I agree with the restof your post. This season's performance has taken me by surprise and I am more than happy for IL to get the praise for that as it is richly deserved. However, that doesn't mean I have to be happy in every regard and, for me, he has been at best acquiescent or at worst complicit in the whole saga. Add to that Mossop's situation also as another example where IMO he has got it wrong, though I see we now have plenty posts claiming Mossop is crap after all. Surprise, surprise. Ateotd whatever happens at our club, good or bad, happens on IL's watch and I see nothing wrong in giving praise or criticism or indeed both as and when they are warranted.

I agree entirely. It's not illogical to offer praise for some things and chuck the brickbats for others. It also hadn't past me by that Mossop was now not that good! It happens to virtually every player that leaves.

Maybe he was always on phone-ins at the start because people wanted to hear from him about his plans for WRLFC. Maybe he isn't on as much now because people aren't interested in speaking to him as often. He can't just rock up and ask to be on. It's obvious that someone likr Koukash is going to be on more since his takeover of Salford.

Let's list what Lenagan has done wrong since his takeover.

We're skint.........no wait we make a profit and continue to recruit new sponsors
We're not challenging........no wait we've come top twice, second once, won both trophies and arestill in with a shout this year.
Our academy has fell apart........no wait it's thriving and we can name a 17 that are all Wigan products and some of whom are wanted by the NRL.
Players are leaving.......stupid Lenagan. He should just break the cap.

I wouldn't presume to suggest others ought to be happy if they feel disinclined. Nor do i think every decision IL has made has been correct. Given that he has to make many decisions, and that the success or otherwise of many of them is out of his control then it is no wonder that he has made mistakes. Personally, I feel that he has made it too easy to leave. But his achievements in making the operation professional and generating our own talent to my mind far outweigh these quibbles.
He is to my mind a uniquely difficult position - the NRL and Dark Side simply have far more money than he is allowed to spend, and we remain the most famous name in world rugby. So, we attract more attention than anyone else. In the light of that, it is so far so very good for mine.

Don't forget it was Dave Whelan who made Orrell Wigan's training base and before IL came along Wigan have always produced top players. Where do you think the likes of Hock, Hansen, Lockers, Micky Mac and others came from?

We are rightly lauded for a good youth program but I can't remember a time since the mid-eighties we haven't been producing players.

This doesn't detract from what young players we do produce currently under IL's leadership but I think people forget the longstanding contributions of others such as Brian Fowley and others who did this for decades before IL arrived.

IL is continuing a tradition not inventing one.



He certainly is in a difficult position and the current debate is all about how he is handling it.

Unrest off the field translates to on field performance.
For the 40 odd years that I've been supporting WRLFC, that's always been the case at this club.

A pi$$ poor performance tonight, IMO, reflects this.

IFL, needs to come clean, officially, to what's going on. OK, the players probably know, but are subjected to some form of gagging clause.

Let the facts be known, all then can digest in unison, Fans included ( Y'know those people who pay out hard earned sponduliks to help pay the wage bill), draw a line under it, and move on.

BTW, I don't subscribe to the 'Backing Up' excuse. We do, and always have had, the option of playing on a Sunday.

At the risk of repeating myself I agree he has done most things very well. However, the Mossop/Sam situation isn't one of them! We were comforted at Joel's departure by Sam's contract. It now looks like so much spin. Why can't you and others see this? He is not superman, he makes mistakes! Others have said that the landscape has changed in the 18 months since Sam signed but that really is putting a shine on things IMO. I am not an out and out IL knocker. Make Mossop stay the course and allow Sam to talk to other clubs next year and I would be happy! He can make mistakes or take chances with things like the Powell signing and I don't really care because, on balance, he gets things right. I'm also willing to admit that the Mossop situation won't be as bad as it looks if he does indeed come back in 2 years because, unlike the cherry and white brigade, I haven't suddenly come to the conclusion that Mosop is crap (not aimed at you of course).

Why do you and others think people can't see?

Some posters on here don't seem to see that its not what they post, but the arrogance with which they post, and the implication that others are stupid that gets other people backs up.

I know he isn't perfect but I would say he's running at a 90% success rate.

With regards to players leaving I see 3 options:

1 - Force them to stay the length of their contract and let them leave for nothing running the risk of a dummy spit and poor performances or paying someone to sit in the stands.

2 - Sell them to another Super League team which makes our rivals stronger and us weaker.

3 - Sell them to the NRL where they can't come back to haunt us.

The last two obviously gives us money to invest in the playing staff, back room staff, training facilities, Central Park, Youth program etc etc.

I think IFL's biggest contribution is getting the backroom staff in place to maximise the performance of the team and player development through the academy.

In the days of the cap any profit the club makes can't be spent on increased salaries, so even if we were able to pay a transfer fee for Inglis we couldn't afford to pay him a competitive salary under the cap without letting other players go. IFL has thus taken the approach to spend profits on player development as it is the only way he can re-invest profits to further improve his business.

You are getting confused with the latest forum on Monday night. This refers to the historic forums that have been held.

Captain Dan I am going to the forum on Monday and asked for clarification as to the format.

The club have confirmed It will consist of about 10 fans and will be conducted by students from Leeds Met on behalf of the RFL.

So I understand it isn't like a normal fans forum were people ask about weetabix!

The club can't make an announcement until there is an announcement to make! The situation is pretty well documented in the media about what is going on i.e Sam in talks with NZW and Wigan in talks with Minnichello. These are complex negotiations but the good thing is IL holds the ace cards so give him some credit for that. Whilst under contract he won't let Sam go unless he gets the right deal all round. Just be patient and wait for the story to unfold. If it pans out the way it is shaping up then for me Minichello in for a couple of years while Tierney develops is a good solution.

The thing is to me that the NRL is a massive draw for quality players and we have plenty. Perhaps the talk around SL is of players who fancy a couple or three years playing there. That doesn't mean they want to emigrate.
With Mossop there is a deal whereby he will return to Wigan at the end of his stint in the NRL. Maybe IL is negotiating this with Sam and the NZW. The transfer fee is often mentioned as well as this could be difficult for the NZW.
Whether we like it or not (and I don't) this is the reality IL/Wigan have to deal with. Morley and Ellis returned and neither went back to Leeds, they went to their rivals. As far as I can make out IL is doing deals that will get the club a transfer fee and ensure the Wigan (academy) players return to the club and provide income whilst they are in the NRL.
I don't like the whole business, probably neither does IL, he has to deal with it though and no doubt is doing what is in Wigan's long term best interests.

That looks to be about the size of it FT, not nice, but reality....

Perhaps we should go back to the time that Whelan owned the club and we in a poor state financially and were cannon fodder for other club's on the field.

As for players leaving for more money and that is what modern sporting life is now all about, Father Ted and Wigan Peer are spot on with their comments.

IL is doing his best for the the club in a difficult time for the game, but if there is one thing wrong with the present running of the club, it is the present practice of not replying to supporter's correspondence or emails.

It does amaze me that some folk appear to be harping back to the Dave Whelan era as if what was happening at Wigan RL then was actually preferable to what is happening now. The same with Mo during his first stint.

There is actually no comparison.

British RL and Wigan in particular are under attack as never before - the NRL and RU are chasing every one of our star players, dangling massive carrots, while we are still hamstrung by a stringent salary cap. This is a problem Mo never had to deal with the first time around, and the second time around - i.e. when Whelan was pulling the strings - we lost the likes of Robinson and Farrell, and only by a miracle called Club Great Britain hung onto Radlinski, so wishing for a return of that era is a fallacy too.

But what actually worries me is that IL - who we know reads these message boards - may get pig sick of seeing this endless skepticism about his control of the club, not to mention the constant suggestion in some quarters that he's milking the club for cash, and decide that it probably isn't worth it any more. I mean, on the other message board there is virtually a 'Lenagan out' campaign - God alone know who those guys think they are, or why they're trying to do it. But they surely can't be genuine fans. All this stuff about 'the club is in the gutter' - with no substantiating evidence ever offered is utterly disgraceful, and goes well beyond simple lack of enthusiasm for club policy. It almost feels libelous to me.

If IL put us up for sale again, there is no guarantee that a we'd get another fan in charge of the club, or someone with the vision to keep us at the top the game, which is where we've mostly been under IL (people actually seem to forget that), or someone who'd be willing to 'pile masses of his own money into the club' - something else that certain people keep saying as if a) it could ever be that simple or b) IL doesn't already do that.

No doubt I'll be called a 'happy clapper' for voicing such an opinion - that popular catch-all phrase - but frankly I don't care. It the truth hurts some people, then good. The truth should.