whether that is the case or not surely the onus is on the people in higher positions to dictate or at least provide input. again that is not wane's fault, if he has been given free reign the fault lies with who has given him that power, not him himself.

Fully understand thanks.

They’ll always be called halfback partners regardless of them being split or not. When I say he needs a ‘partner’ I mean in the sense that he needs somebody to take the burden off him in regards to creating and organising the team. At the minute it feels like all our hopes of breaking a team down fall at his feet and he looks like he’s going under.

Surely they are all accountable. I doubt it was Wane's idea to offer players leaving a lifeline and IMO I don't think IL could wait to re-sign them when they came available again. The recruitment is rubbish (Sarge for goodness sake) but if Wane said he wanted him why wasn't Rads presenting him with alternatives? I don't just meen for Sarge either. Finally it's Wane who runs the team day to day. He sets the tactics, picks the team and makes the substitutions. I doubt IL told him to give Powell the 7 jersey but again all three of them are culpable in giving Powell a pay rise and new deal and doing stuff like signing Navarette on a three year deal off the back of no form at all. If Wane asks for these deals and IL simply agrees you have to question IL's wisdom. It's one thing to not dictate to your coach but another to be flinging money at players you must yourself see are questionable signings.

www.sportingnews.com/au/league/n ... jaznurzq0d In 2018, new Blues coach Brad Fittler has all but guaranteed James Maloney to start in the halves for his side as they look to end Queensland's unquestioned dominance.However, who will partner him is still up in the air with the likes of Nathan Cleary, Jack Bird, Adam Reynolds and Luke Keary all possible candidates.

www.sportingnews.com/au/league/n ... jaznurzq0d In 2018, new Blues coach Brad Fittler has all but guaranteed James Maloney to start in the halves for his side as they look to end Queensland's unquestioned dominance.However, who will partner him is still up in the air with the likes of Nathan Cleary, Jack Bird, Adam Reynolds and Luke Keary all possible candidates.

Sorry Nicky, was said in jest!

I think a lot falls on Lockers. He's the link between the 6 and 7, however teams can see what we're doing coming a mile off. by the time the ball reaches the 6/7 the other teams edge defence is all over them.

I don't even know who our attacking team coach is.

SW has said a couple of times, I've heard at least, that he doesn't sign the players. Kris Rad does that. He just gets on with the coaching side of things.

When he first resigned I was surprised given there was improvement in the team and prospects were on the up. I always thought Wane would either be (at some point as most coaches are) sacked or carried out in a pine box. There was, I thought, no way he'd leave of his own volition. When it was announced I assumed like many others he had a job offer and I thought if so, he's made a smart move leaving while he is doing well. If he wanted a coaching career it was good to move on and not be labelled too much the one club man. I also didn't think his resignation would have a great effect on the team. We won a cup in the year Madge left for example so why would Wane saying he was going make any difference to our prospects? It seemingly has and the one thing that is different that I can see is he is not leaving for positive reasons. He's just resigned with no job to go to and contrary to expectations he has no job offer. If he'd been offered an NRL job as Madge was then he'd be leaving for positive reasons but with no job to go to he's basically just chucked in the towel.

Now that I can see affecting the morale of the squad. He just doesn't want to do the job anymore.

I have never thought Wane has exercised particularly good judgement and he often never knows when to shut up so ends up criticising individual players to the press which most other coaches would never do for example. I think he has exercised ill judgment in announcing his resignation when he did. He had no idea how it might affect the players so him doing that [iwas all about him[/i. He's got an ego the size of a planet so he announced it when it suited him and he got a lot of publicity out of it but given he is just walking away with no job to go to, it's no real surprise if he seemingly can't be bothered his players can't either.

Cruncher said earlier he thought Wane took a gamble in announcing his resignation when he did. What was he hoping to win from his wager? Given the team was going well I can't see why he would do it to get extra motivation to have the players send him off a champion coach. All it's seemingly done is derail the season making his job prospects worse if it carries on. Now that would be ironic. Resigned when his stock was improving even with skeptical fans and succeeds in making himself unemployable.

I pretty much agree with all of that, DaveO.

At the end of last season all the season ticket holders were sent an email asking many questions about their match day experience. In there were questions relating to our performance . I, for one, made my feelings clear about the lack of entertainment over the previous season and beyond. If many others responded in the same way then surely the powers that be must have put this to the coaching team and the writing was probably on the wall from that point forward. I personally feel following that survey this was going to be Wanes final season at Wigan. Bar a couple of matches the arm wresting style has continued unabated . It’s just not entertaining , whether we win trophies or not. The crowds are falling and it looks like Lenegan decided at the beginning of this campaign it would be Wanes last . Maybe Wane was being ironic to tender his notice following one of the teams better displays.
I’m sure it will all come out in the wash at some point

I agree Dave. I said at the time that his timing was all about him and not for the good of the team. Big mistake in my book and one that could end up tarnishing his reputation. I hope not, of course, and we go on to win the GF although that's not looking very likely at the moment.

well yes, i'm not saying that wane has no fault, but my point is this topic is all about him and I don't think the current issues at wigan are exclusively down to him which you also allude to.

i'm glad that others can see my views that the club has not been run well in recent years, away from the pitch I mean. it is a shame wane is now taking this flack, but like I say he needs to fix it by staying on to see out this year. asking for him to go or be sacked immediately is by far and away not the answer is it.

What speaks volumes here....

When has IL ever kept himself shtum? He loves the sound of his own authority all over the radio (ok not as much as the Doc did).

His quietness on this matter is sends a clear signal to me of a big fallout with SW.
SW is a very proud man, he's very proud of his legacy and knows he walk with a high head. I don't believe he purposely announced his resignation as a unsettling for Wigan but because he can no longer work within the margins IL has put in place.
The decision not to continue a pursuit of the best players...like keeping Sam must have been the catalyst...I can't wait for SW's book.

Same here. We did have several injuries/illness to content with and a short turnaround so it could improve quite rapidly but I think what has fans worried is the nature of the defeats and the total seeming lack of effort and direction in all three. Players arguing on the pitch is not a good sign.

Very true and, I suppose, something of a throwback to last year so, by that measure, maybe to be expected. To lose 3 of your 4 first choice props when coming up against a big pack was always going to make it a tough ask.

In truth I didn't expect a win. What I found particularly disappointing yesterday though was that, when someone made an effort as Davies did for his try, we visibly lifted and looked like we had the beating of them or, at the very least, capable of making a game of it. Unfortunately that level of effort was coming in only short bursts and from too few players.

I think SW has a lot to answer for regarding the timing of his announcement. Although it clearly isn't the only factor it is the one that he had the most control over. In that sense it's a problem partly of his own making.

I am scratching my head wondering why at the time I[i didn't [/ithink it could or would have much of an effect.

He resigned shortly before the biggest game of the season up to now, the CC game v Wire, and as I said did so simply because he no longer wants to be Wigan coach or seemingly a coach at all (though what he really wants to do next is not clear to me). To see your leader chuck it in out of the blue when things were going well is bound to have had an effect. I don't think anyone can say the players professionalism should have carried them through this. It [imight[/i in a few games once they get over it but I reckon the shock must have been quite something withing the tight nit environment of a pro sports team. Why Wane could not foresee the risk of this happening I don't know.

The other thought I have on this is given he doesn't want to coach Wigan anymore why did he not walk there and then having announced his resignation? If he doesn't want to be here next season what's the attraction of coaching Wigan for the next few months? Maybe his ego has him thinking the club can't so without him and he's doing it a favour. It all seems a bit condescending.

It was said at the weekend that you won’t hear from Lenagan for a while because he’s not giving any interviews to any media until the future set up if the game is decided.

He’s been quiet on everything.

That's convenient.


A few thoughts on Shaun Wane:

1. I suppose "everyone's a success until they fail" but it it would be a shame indeed if Shaun Wane was to be remembered for this 'omnishambles'; I haven't always liked his team selection or tactics, like many here, but I don't doubt his commitment to the cause, and frankly, I think he deserves better than this. One thing that I never felt was in doubt was the players' commitment to SW, despite some awful footy, I can easily count on the fingers of one hand the number of games where there was an apparent lack of effort.

2. I suspect some kind of falling out with IL behind the scenes; whether the full story ever comes out, who knows? I agree that Wane would have taken a calculated gamble that an announcement now wouldn't upset the team morale too much, but something clearly has, and whether it's that, or the Tomkins affair (and, indeed, what, if any input the Tomkins affair had into Wane's departure), we may never know.

However, suppose Wane had kept quiet till the end of the season, and then it had leaked out? Wouldn't that be the worst of all worlds?

3. Sam Powell. I have defended him to an extent before and am prepared to do so again. He lacks pace and his passing can lack precision. But... he is, by and large, not the problem. In recent games he has comfortably out-performed Williams, who has been entirely anonymous. People who say they can't remember Powell's last assist must have short memories; what about Hamlin's try on last night? Further, (and I'd be interested to hear other posters' comments on this) it seems to be that, for better or worse, despite all the 'split halves ' talk (and yes, we do play split halves, more or less. Like most sides in the SL and the NRL), there is considerably more interplay between Powell and Williams than there was between Tommy and Williams or Smith and Williams. It may not have borne much fruit, but I'd argue it's there!



And as I remarked elsewhere, those who advocate replacing him with Escaré; good luck with getting those tackles made that Powell makes week in, week out

4. Can't see much point in replacing him with Winder for the rest of the season.

If Wane is resigning on those sort of principles and/or has fallen out IL, why is he still here? That sort of resignation is usually followed by a quick exit out of the door. If he's decided he can't work under IL's regime what purpose does he serve by sticking around and why would IL keep him around if his coach has just told him he's leaving because he doesn't like the way he's running the club?

If there was no fallout and IL had planned this to be Wane's last season and Wane was told/found out and resigned as a result I also can't see why IL would not show him the door nor why Wane would want to stay. If the resignation came out of the blue for IL I am still not sure why either party sees it as sensible for him to remain at the club. I can only assume the parting between the two is amicable but if it is, the pair of them have underestimated the impact on the team that announcing it out of the blue like that and at that time has had.

Only in Wane's world are backs picked for their tackling ability, just like he picks wingers and centres for their ability to play prop forward for two drives in every set.

2. If there has been a fall out why is he still here? How can IL keep on a man who's fallen out with him and now resigned, a resignation that has seemingly knocked the stuffing out of the team?

And what is it with the gamble notion? What was he hoping to win from his wager? What is the up side? I can't see one. If he's gambled on it not affecting the team he must have had a compelling reason to resign now and risk the negative effects. I simply do not believe he can't have considered it might have had an effect. If he managed to convince himself it would not, then he is dimmer than I thought. I suspect the reality is he just let his ego drive his decision and resigned when it suited him lapping up the publicity but what gets me is why he is still here. If he is no longer interested in being coach what is he doing here?

There were rumours before Madge resigned as well which were unsettling but what didn't happen was him resigning just before a CC game and for no other reason than he doesn't want to coach Wigan anymore. Madge leaving was handled so much better with IL announcing it, not reacting to a bolt from the blue. I can't emphasise how important I think Wane just walking away with no job lined up is in terms of what it says about his lack of commitment to his players.

3. Sam Powell Is just not good enough.

4. Can't see much point in keeping Wane in the club. He's declared his lack of interest in the job.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00174692 Might want to keep a note in your calendars to look for the financial statements at the end of August. It could be that we are making additional losses to those reported in 2016. Then again the financials could be sound and IL might be calling it a day? It's worth a thought.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00174692 Might want to keep a note in your calendars to look for the financial statements at the end of August. It could be that we are making additional losses to those reported in 2016. Then again the financials could be sound and IL might be calling it a day? It's worth a thought.

I was told last night that Ian Lenagan is on holiday.

And I was told this week (from an untested source) that the turmoil has come because he wants to sell the club and has caused the players insecurities, resulting in a few wanting to move on to some certainty. No idea if true!

Think there’s been some housekeeping going on but I doubt he will sell up just yet

He is.