Certainly don't think we need to make wholesale changes at all.
First thing to address is acceptance that performance throughout the season has been lower than the requirement.

Does the club management (IL/KR) believe we need to be better next year?
If so, what changes are needed to bring this?

Does the club just accept it the way it is (and that a freak injury period was the major factor)?
Will SW acknowledge that perhaps the tactics employed need to be reviewed, how open to change would he be? I think a few decisions need to be made (and yes I'm saying this even though we still have a remote chance of progressing into the playoffs, possible GF and potential championship win again), we have to be seen to change a few things just to get bums on seats next season.

Supporters are leaving in their droves unfortunately, unimpressed with the week-to-week performances despite final appearances and trophy wins.

I agree with most of though I'd replace McIlorum with Isa in your list of players and move Gelling up to "unloaded at the first opportunity". There is one caveat to all this though and that is when Madge arrived he took a squad of underperforming players and with the addition of one player, Paul Deacon, transformed the side. I think we'd have to give quite a few of those players the benefit of the doubt and see what a new coach would get out of them. There are some players in that list that are at the end of their careers and so they might get dropped sooner rather than later under a new coach and I also I think some of the rest would soon start to see first team selection not be the seemingly automatic choice it is for them now, (Gelling and Powell in particular) but several have shown in the pretty recent past much better form than they have done this season. So I think we need to get a new coach and see what he can do with them.

I think Wane has long since lost the dressing room and this is a reason why we do better when Lockers is on the pitch. Not just because he's a great player but because the other players will play for him and listen to him.

I also think there is more than one coach significantly better than Wane in SL than just Powell. Off the top of my head Radford at Hull and Chester at Wakey have outcoached Wane more than once but then that isn't hard we are so predictable. I am not suggesting either should be targets for Wigan or if they would work well here but someone like Chester who I think would get the team doing the basics right would at least stop the rot.

I'd hope we'd be a bit more ambitious than looking to bring in either Radford or Chester, top blokes though they both are.

I take your point, but to me, Cas have done this season what Wigan did in 86/87 - raised the standard of the game to a totally new level. I don't want us to be like Saints, whose answer to Graham Lowe was to employ Alex Murphy. I feel we need to see dramatic changes in our playing and coaching staff in order to try and step up to this new mark.

I do agree, though, that we can't just swing an axe and remove all the dead wood in one go. Contracts, and all that. And yes, you're quite right, some of the players may rediscover themselves under a new, more rigorous regime.

I think we have been in a situation over the past 2 years where due to injuries as a team we have not really got going. I think we as fans underestimate the disruption that causes within the squad.

That said I do think we need a change on the coaching front. IMO any coach, however good has a limited shelf life at a single club before the team begins to stagnate and a change is needed. I believe Wane has reached that time and the club is in need of a fresh approach and new ideas. I don't think we need major changes on the playing front though I'd be looking at a new #7 if TL could be persuaded to start his coaching career. I'd also like to see the difference in stats from this set of props under another coach with different tactics as I think they would be significant.

I doubt it. I imagine most people who have been ST holders for years will continue to buy one when push comes to shove, despite all the (largely justified) moaning. Obviously, though, the brand of rugby on offer this year won't tempt any 'new' ST buyers.

Speaking personally, as a first-time ST buyer this year, I will certainly get one next year. But I have to say, I never expected that the one down-side of my re-location to Wigan this year has been the standard of rugby on offer. Everything else has been great.

And on any proposed player cull, my priorities would be at 7, 8, and 9. Gratitude last season that Powell did a sterling job in replacing MM doesn't alter the fact that he isn't really much of a dummy-half, certainly not compared to our main SL rivals. I'm not anti-Gelling, but at the very least we need cover at centre.

And as for Sam Tomkins... it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to expect that a marquee player should be pretty much the best in the comp at his position, or at least not far off it. Yet there are plenty of better full-backs in SL than him, on current form.

7 - Trent Hodkinson
8 - Julian Bousquet
9 - Shaun Lunt

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Be my picks to improve...however much you may disagree with #9, probably not Wigan quality in most of your eyes, I feel he would be great addition and relatively affordable. I see the scrum half position as most vital to spend any free cap space on!

Think we need more than just one prop. Aside a number 7 the weakest part of the squad is the front row. We have middles who are neither props nor second rowers.
The biggest single problem is per other thread is how do we replace SOL. I don't think anyone in SL can and if there are players in the NRL we probably cannot afford them. I think to replace him we will probably need to change the whole emphasis of how we play and that will take 2 to 3 years.
Along with others I feel that ST will move into the halves next year - not sure if that will work but with the level of investment made by IL in securing ST he will find a place for him somewhere in the starting 13 irrespective of form. I just hope a full pre season will assist ST in attaining better fitness levels.

I certainly wouldn't complain about more than one prop arriving! We've all been talking about ST moving into the halves, but am I the only one who finds my enthusiasm for this idea waning a little? Not saying it wouldn't be 'better than what we have now', though. Are we confident Escaré will be fully fit for the start of the season?

We desperately need an organising half with a top class kicking game - that isn't Sam Tomkins.

Too true. Sam's got it all to do just to prove that he's good enough to keep the no. 1 shirt from Morgan Escare, never mind that he can run and organise the team.

Where are we getting one of those from, who will play for peanuts? I agree with you but we have a salary cap and (as far as I'm aware) no big earners off contract. Realistically for next season the answer needs to come from within, whether that is Leuluai, S.Tomkins, Powell or Shorrocks. The only other viable option I can think of would be to try and sell Manfredi or Burgess to free up room, but even so I'm not sure they would be on comparable wages to a good halfback.

I don't know what Shorrocks is like, as we've barely seen him due to his unfortunate injury record. But none of the others will do the job for me.

I agree that some kind of jiggery-pokery is needed to get someone in, but we can't keep delivering more of the same.

The world has not ended. Wigan can carry on as they are, and be okay at mid/upper table level, but we've all felt for some time that, in truth, we are on the slide. Last Sunday was just the first time we've had the reality of it rammed into our faces. We are still supposed to be Champions, but the reality is that Cas have been setting the pace all season, and we are way, way off it. A gap that huge won't be bridged by simply swapping around the mediocre talents we already have.

Somehow or other, even if it involves losing current playing staff (by any and whatever means possible), we must get someone in who can replace Lockers in the middle and marshal the team.

Along with a complete shake-up of the coaching staff, I'd argue that this is our most pressing priority.

But I'm not sure there is that option. Other than one of the wingers the only (presumably) big earners I'd be willing to part with are S.Tomkins, Leuluai, Nu'uausala, McIlorum and J.Tomkins. Who is realistically going to buy any of them off us? All the rest either won't be on that much, are good players, or we don't have cover for. We can't just offload contracted players so easily.

I know. I doubt anyone would be prepared to come anywhere close to the kind of wages those players have managed to wangle out of Wigan, let alone offer decent transfer fees to acquire them.

But I feel we're at a crisis point, and the club must at least investigate all possible solutions.

Some kind of new broom is desperately needed.

Spot on. Christ knows who we'd get, though.

I genuinely believe Todd Carney would be great for us...yes, he may have his demons, but with a full pre-season, get him fit, get him clicking with GW and give him the confidence and support he could easily re-establish himself as one of the best SH's! Also sorts our kicking problem.

Not sure if Salford see him as a full-time replacement for Dobson though

I don't get the Todd Carney thing. When I've seen him he is absolutely useless.
Maybe there are hidden talents there but cant see IL risking a move for a player who as you say has his demons.
Not a half but if I could sign anyone in SL at the moment it would be McShane. One of the few rugby players left in the competition.
Before we sign any half we need to sort out the forwards. We could have Andy Greg in his pomp but with our present set of "middles" even he would struggle to make any mark on a game.
I know I rabbit on about it but without a decent pack there is absolutely no point in my opinion of signing a top half. Unless the pack are playing to instructions there isn't one prop in our squad who I actually rate. I don't think we will see any of our "middles" ripping it up in the forthcoming World Cup.

There's an extra £50k on the salary cap next year as the increases come through. £50k is peanuts for a top half though and is probably already being planned to be used to pay some young players more.

I'd go for Joe Mellor.

Excellent organisational skills, good kicking game & showing very impressive leadership skills at Widnes.

He was really unlucky with injuries at Wigan as a youngster, otherwise could have been our current 7. I know that he is under contract until 2019 but I'd hate to see him being the next Sean Long and going to Stains!

Yeah if you divide out the salary cap then the average player in the 25 highest earners is on £73k, so you would assume £50k would get us a reserve halfback rather than a starter. As you say, much of it will probably get swallowed in contract re-negotiations.

If Lockers is to go again in 2018 then we need to bring in his replacement now.
Who we'd get i s another matter but I wouldn't like to see him depart and just carry on without him.
This is going to be some bit of recruitment to replace Lockers, if it can be done!

£50k plus Lewis Tierney wages perhaps? Maybe more if Tommy takes his coaching role sooner?

Things change which may give us some wriggle room on the cap - we let Smith go last season while under contract and if the club are doing their job this off-season they'll be trying to offload a number of players for free to freshen up elements of the team or looking to move Leuluai or J Tomkins onto their non-playing jobs early.

I hope you're right, I couldn't believe they were willing to sign Smith. I just can't see why other clubs would want to pay the wages of the players we are willing to offload at the moment, or why Leuluai or J.Tomkins would be willing to take early retirement. Of the top earners I reckon:

Could maybe offload:
Manfredi or Burgess - Probably the most viable option, as they are both very good wingers who other teams would want, and we have Davies, who looks ready to be first choice.
Nu'uausala - MAYBE a chance that an NRL club would take him as squad player, given that they have a much larger cap, so can take a punt or two. Hopefully the homesick stories are accurate
McIlorum - Can't see Wane being too happy to lose his lovechild, but this would be a good move to be honest. Can maybe see some mid-bottom end SL clubs being interested given his CV.

Don't think other clubs would pay their wages/the player would be willing to leave a good contract:
S.Tomkins - Marquee money, seriously doubt any club would take him as their marquee player now.
Leuluai and J.Tomkins - Signed when their stock was much higher than it is now, so I suspect they have quite cushy contracts which other clubs wouldn't be willing/able to match. Can't see why they would go voluntarily.

Would be a bad move for us to get rid of:
Gelling, Gildart, Williams, Flower, Bateman, Farrell and Lockers - Very good players in positions we don't really have much cover in