Surely you can understand why though?

No I can't.

Unless it's those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

I applaud your sentiment, but I don't think the argument presented here supports it.

Yes, certain Wigan fans are way too quick to bag players who are underperforming. But let's be fair, Fielden's had three years now, on a mega salary - and all he's done for us is workhorse type stuff. The fans have wanted and the team has needed much, much more from him. Like it or not, his lack of enforcement effectiveness has been a significant disappointment. The fact that he's from Yorkshire is totally irrelevant - many great Wigan players came from Yorkshire. There is no issue in that respect.

I don't agree with some of the other stuff, either.

SeuSeu was finished by the time Fielden arrived, Hargreaves was (and still is) crap, Fletch - while undoubtedly a class player - was injured or ill a lot of the time. Feka meanwhile may be overweight now in your POV, but I doubt he's much more overweight - if at all - than when he first arrived. Plus, he's been pretty devastating this last third of the season, having not done much wrong before that. The 'kids' in the back row are doing a pretty good job - and it's only been the last couple of weeks that they've had to do that job by themselves. Most of the time during Fielden's service he had Hock, Bailey and O'Loughlin behind him - two internationals and a tough, experienced Aussie.

You're right, Fielden doesn't get much praise despite doing a lot of work. But he is clearly not the prop we thought we were buying, or even the prop he appeared to be in his first half-season with us.

A big problem with Stuart Fielden may well be confidence and with the way some people slate the lad is it any wonder.

He does drop the ball in tackles but can anyone honestly name a player at Wigan who doesn't drop the ball. In many games our style is closer to 'two drives and a knock on' than 'five drives and a kick'. The same applies to penalties all of them do it. Hock was as famed for his brain explosions and stupid offloads as he was for breaking the line yet he does what he did to get a ban and people are decrying the loss to the game. My point is that players will make mistakes during games but this doesn't undo their good work.

Fielden is a very solid performer and as someone said our best all round prop. He may not bust the line like Feka but he doesn't have to go off after 10 minutes either. Anyone who has watched us in the last few years will know how important a hard working defensive player is to our chances. We have had a few players who have been defensively poor in recent years (no need to name them, we all know who) and it is players like Fielden picking up the slack and making the extra tackles that allows us to win the tight games. Not everyone can be the attacking dynamo fans cheer about. Every team needs its unsung heroes to do the hard graft and this is what the likes of Fielden do for us. Without him we could not afford the luxury of Feka.

As for people questioning his attitude what a load of rubbish. Chris Ashton had a cack attitude - he couldn't be bothered to do his job once he was off to union which is why we got shut. Fielden does a lot of hard work in defence as already said and despite it getting him no recognition from the fans he continues to do it as the team needs him to, although he could easily do next to nothing in defence but make 2 or 3 runs at the line in attack then go off for a rest and have his name sung by the fans who slag off any defensively strong player for not attacking more often. There are two stand out examples that speak volumes about his attitude and commitment for Wigan. 1) His reaction after scoring in the cup at Wakefield you could see the delight and determination in the guy (only Sam Tomkins reacts with the same sort of passion). 2) Last season after we lost 34-4 to Huddersfield and the team got booed off. Next game we battered Hull FC and all but one of the players sulked off to the changing room at the final whistle without acknowledging the fans. Stuart Fielden did a lap around the pitch applauding the fans for their support on his own.

We have had some players who deserved a lot of their criticism. Stuart Fielden definitely does not deserve the bile that is directed at him. We are supposed to be SUPPORTERS, some people should look up the meaning of that word.

And before anyone suggests it I am not the man who phoned GMR.

One thing you NEVER hear about Fielden is an unprofessional attitude. have you ever heard anything about him falling all over King Street?

He is the consummate professional.

Not that I'm suggesting he does it anywhere else but don't you think that might be because he lives in Yorkshire?

i think Fieldens situation could just be similar to that of mathers. We all know they can do it, they both give 100% every game.

A change of scenery and/or coach would be likely to rejuvinate the guy.

To be fair I've never heard that about Bryn Hargreaves either. It doesn't mean I want him fronting our pack on a classy halfbacks money.

Fielden to me looks like a man unhappy in his skin or his environment. I don't doubt Nobby has tried what he can to get the best out of him but I think ultimately the player has to want to be where they are or doing what they're doing. Fielden to me simply looks like he'd rather be somewhere else all the time.

Surely all those fans of other clubs based in Yorks would be on here sharpish saying they'd seen him drunk, staggering, taking coke etc if they had? These days there's very few, or no, hiding places.

You've obviously never been down the Calderdale Valley.



It was a tongue in cheek remark about King St.

No,
Talk to any player who plays with or against him.

Have YOU heard different?

Fielden has been stealing a living for the past two years, he doesnt want to play for Wigan and openly slates Wigan fans whenever interviewed on TV, he came to Wigan for the dosh and is happy to bank the money on the back of cowardly performances, i hope for everyones sake he is loaned out to another club next year even if we have to pay 70% of his wages, at least the other 30% could be used to sign a prop with a bit of heart.

With posts like yours is it any wonder?

Look at the stats I posted earlier then tell me why in your opinion he is not the top prop at Wigan.

I dont care for your stats, he has been rubbish for two years and gets knocked around like a rag doll every game, the best paid player in SL should at least show a little heart and fight, unfortunatly he would struggle to fight his way out of a paper bag.

You need to stop getting your knickers in twist. The Yorkshire comment was obviously because you mentioned him not being found laying in a gutter in King St. That might be because he lives about 70 miles away.

I'll post the qualifying statement I did last time again, hopefully this time you'll read it before pulling your handbag out - "Not that I'm suggesting he does it anywhere else".

Obviously not, because it doesn't fit your agenda.

Who is the top prop at Wigan and why?

Agenda?? you mean i see Fielden for the washed up player he is!

Wigans top prop this year has been Coley followed closely by Feka with a fit Prescott in third, Fielden has been a passenger once again, he is scared of runnning the ball in, not a great trait for a prop to have.

Stuart is a solid hard working prop - but he is hamstrung by the mega salary he is paid, it puts a huge amount of pressure on him and its affected his game. However, Maurice offered him the cash - its not his fault - so people should get off his back. He will definately leave Wigan at the end of 2010 and probably play better at somewhere like Wakefield or Huddersfield on half the money.

Overall, yes I do believe he has been a disappointment in terms of value for money, but he has a great opportunity in what might possibly be the last big opportunity of his career against Warrington in two weeks and I really hope he has a stormer and takes us to Wembley.

I dont think he should retire. Stuart is a good player that is struggling for form. For whatever reason I have no idea, and I don't think Stuart does either otherwise he would be able to fix it. I don't believe that getting knocked out by Mason had anything to do with his dip in form or confidence though. Partly I think Stu is trying to play the role of a barnstormer like he did at Bulls, but he always had another 3 quality props around him in thos days and a lot of the time he cam on after 20 minutes when the opposition had been softened up. He's probably trying to hard to live up to his price tag aswell when he shouldn't, it wasn't him that put that value on his head. I reckon he should relax a bit and not put so much pressure on him self, he often looks really frustrated. Just concentrate on running hard and making the tackles Stu and I'm sure it'll come back.

Over the top for me, we need him simply for the shirt. We are a little thin on the ground and him retiring now would be a massive upset for us.

I feel for Fielden, he never seemed the same since Mason copped him one, I haven't seen him shake a fist since. I think he places a lot of responsibility on his own head really, thinking he's got to lead the pack because of the money he is on or because he is one of the senier props.

Not time to refire but maybe a change of clubs would suit all parties.

It's hard to know where to start with Fielden tbh.

His form for Wigan at the moment is ok i suppose by anyones standards but by his own it's pathetic. He looks uninterested and not up for the fight yet still makes enough metres to keep him in that second group of superleague prop forwards like Leuluai, Griffin, Fozzard, Coley etc(the likes of Peacock, Morley,Graham being the top group).

That though isn't good enough for the money we're paying out but theres nothing we can do about it until he's off contract at the end of next season.

The worrying thing for me about Fielden is that since Hocks suspension the rest of the side has upped their games and intensity whereas Fieldens has dropped off



The forwards had a team huddle in the warm up before the Leeds game and he didn't get involved, he just stood at the back on his own. Thats not a good sign.

A year/period out of the game might do him well tbh
Let him assess what he wants to do and if he wants another shot he's got time on his side. Bulk up, let niggles recover, he only looks half the mass he was at bradford.
I feel sorry for the bloke and thats from a Wire fan.

I don't think he will bulk up though which is a problem.

I remember at the end of his first half season with us he did an interview on the Wigan website after he'd pulled out of GB duty to have an operation. He said Noble had told him to have it, have a good rest and to put his feet up and eat some junk food but Fielden said he respected his body to much to do that and wouldn't waste all the work he'd put in over the years.

I got the feeling he's a fitness fanatic who does everything by the book and wouldn't let himself put a couple of stone on.

Adding some bulk would really help his game imo.

Rogues Gallery you seem obsessed with the SL stats site. You are also very selective about the stats you highlight and who you compare.



For his supposed defensive quality why does Fielden miss 41 tackles which is more than any other Wigan prop, 11 more than Coley. More important than pure statistics is whether or not a player dominates the ball carrier and 'hurts' him. Fielden does not hurt opposition players with his tackling. It would be intersting to see how many times Fielden is the main tackler as opposed to be second or third tackler in which highlights the folly or relying on statistics.

We then look at attack where Fielden is the weakest Wigan prop with no clean breaks and very few offloads. The tackle bust stat is a ludicrous stat.

Fans know what they see.