We did spend too large of a proportion on a relatively small amount of the Top players at the club.
Whether you want to believe that or not is up to you but the evidence and a lot of the information given by IL at the original Fans forum supported this theory.

We inheritted a situation due to the SL war in 95ish that meant we payed some really large salaries to key personnel i.e Connolly/Robinson/Farrell/Paul etc and it's no secret that we struggled to get under the original salary caps and had to negotiate with the RFL for dispensation (Something I agreed with).

However

When we then went out and spent large money on the Matty Johns and Renoufs of this world and then HAD TO stay within salary cap it was a time bomb waiting to go off.
For me what suffered at this point mid 2000's was the Off the field investments in youth and the ability to be patient and invest in youth due to being Top Heavy with salaries on the Top earners (We invested large amount of money in Vaeliki/Fletcher/Feka/Barrett/Fielden/Seu seu and I could go on).

I believe this was a result of the pressure building to actually win something short term and when the injuries and other situations kicked in the cards came tumbling down.

IL's idea was to remove the reliance on the top earners and filter a lot more of the money through the youth players and invest in them long term.
I argued with a Saints fan in Oz at the world cup in 2008 (It wasnt JLM23 who comes on here but he was stood with us and actually agreed) that in 2 years Wigan would be a better team/club than Saints.

It would just take a bit of patience and the chance for the youth to develop.

This has led to a better cycle of talent coming through the club and less reliance on siging Top talent from elsewhere that leads to Top money being shelled out.

Your spot on about Tomkins being a Big earner but we all know the negotiations and work Wigan had to put in to keep him and get the salary cap amended etc to keep him.

If we are going to pay Top money then I for one am glad it's on Juniors that have come through the ranks wherever possible and show more of a commitment to the club in general.
Tomkins is top drawer and as good as anything Ive seen at Wigan and I for one wouldn't like to think we ever lost someone like that in the future due to not being able to pay him what he's worth when he's in his teens as we try and chase short term success.

They are busy at our local schools making the squad we have now basically a local high school dream team. How the hell can you say they don't do anything. Look at the squad and under 20 squad and see how many are local lads. I know many a player that passed through St. John Fisher past and present. When i was there you couldn't get away from the endless list of stars it produced. Needless to say that is a portion of the rest of the schools that produced players. You my son are obviously either too young, naive, thick or all 3 to understand.

How long are we giving it before he decides he wants to go back to Australia and wants out of his contract early?

I think he'll stick it out for a year, but that's it.

Local rags quoting around 100k:


[urlhttp://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Green-leave-Hull-KR-good-memories/story-16895684-detail/story.html[/url

Why? According to everyone I have spoke to, he loves it in England and so does his Mrs. He's already been here a while at Hull KR so I dont see your logic in that post at all.

The usual comments have come out all over the net

Not wigan standard, he aint no barrett, what does the wigan club see in him, he aint good enough for wigan.

Wigan lack ambition, move sam to 6, our half backs are sh@, we will nothing for next 5 years, why pay so much etc etc.

Jesus H Christ please change the tune its becoming monotonous drivel, ill give some people some credit they are consistantly tedious with the same comments over and over and over again.

The club has made its decision deal with it as there aint no amount of moaning going to change it

Leneghan out

Well said that man

'"

A demise not caused by the club, but more the doing of the governing bodies introduction of the salary cap and other levelling measures brought in, on that basis the fans should level there moans,groans,complaints etc to the powers that be at red hall and there lack of ambition to drive the game forward and promote the quality side of the game which is taking a real hiding.

rather than clutter facebook etc with very silly and mis-informed posts about a player who a lot havent even seen or seen very little of. id back any moans, groans,detailed petitions and protests against the governing body who are to an extent stifiling the game.

Nothing like touching a raw nerve, I guess.

Your explosion of outrage is noted ... and found to be suspcious.

Don't be surprised if your views aren't shared by the junior coaching staff at St Judes, Orrell St James, Shevington Sharks, Hindley ARL and so on.

I think certain people need to take their rose tinted glasses off regarding the 'superstar' quality across the whole team in years gone by.

Dave O posted the team that Trent was in a few years ago. Look at this for a backline:

Calderwood, Vaeliki, Bailey, Colbon

Personally I wouldn't want any of them to replace any of the team this year. If that is the price of having a NRL superstar than i'll be happy with Blake Green and our current backline.

People also seem to forget we have one of the most exciting young english superstars the game has produced since the like of Hanley and Offiah.

Rather than worrying about whether the Wigan team is as good as years gone by, the problem this sport has, is that bar 2 or 3 other clubs, the standard and consistency is still as poor as ever - to make the game attractive to watch week in week out you need to say games of the intensity of wigan v wire/saints or leeds every week.

Sounds like sour grapes from you as well.

Do you honestly believe that Wigan scouts or any other club scouts don't watch St Judes, Orrell, Shevy Sharks, Hindley or any other club in Wigan? Talk about blinkered!

If you're good enough then you will be spotted and picked up - FACT!

Stop believing the crap that a lot of disgruntled junior coaches/parents constantly push just because little Jimmy isn't good enough.

Blake Green is a very good player, he has a brain, pace and is strong as an Ox (ex back rower). Playing with your pack I reckon he will be even better than he was for us in 2011 will definately cause defences an headache as he isn't predictable. He is at his best inside the oppositions 20m area, where he has scored some excellent tries as well as making tries for others.

If he is just a fill in for 2 seasons, can we have him back in 2015 please.

Oh look, someone who has actually seen him play and knows what they are talking about, unlike the Wigan fans on here that have wrote him off for "not being a big name"

Well said. You are seemingly not allowed to be unhappy about the fact the standard of player we can recruit is going down.

Before Tommy and Finch were known to be leaving I can guarantee you there isn't a regular poster on here would say Smith and Green were better players. Now we have got these two as half backs for 2013 its as if they dare not state the obvious - that our 2013 half backs won't be as good as our 2012 ones.

We may still do very well with these two in the side (if the standard of players in other teams also drops) and I will cheer them on as loud as I do Finch and Tommy but I am not going to delude myself as to their abilities. I hope I am pleasantly surprised by Green as I know little about him and the HKR fans seem to rate him but I already know Smith isn't a patch on Tommy.

Totally agree

Especially after you've quit your original club and gravitated to either Pats or IRB when you're about 14.

I wonder why that happens so much?

As a HKR supporter I am sorry to see Blake Green leave as he is a great player, maybe over exagerated using great but a good stand off, but having said that I do believe we have got the better deal we have signed the guy Travis Burns from Penrith who is supposed to be a better player Wigan will pay his first years contract, using the transfer fee, so we get him for nowt, the rest of his 3 yr contract is the same as what Blake Green was getting ,I assume, he is younger than Green and as I said earlier supposedly a better player. Only time will tell

What has that got to do with Wigan scouts watching other teams?

Lads leave clubs all the time for many different reasons and not because they've been told that thet have to play for either IRB or Pats to be picked up.

In the current under 15's Wigan squad there's 3 players who play for Shevy, 1 whose the current captain of Wigan and 1 who made the England Youth squad. How many Pats players?...none!

Kinda blows your argument out of the water!

In a roundabout way, you've answered your own question there.

Clearly this is a concept you're not unfamiliar with.

As to the rest, maybe NWC have finally grown a pair.

Also, a scrum half from Shevington 15s is on the St Helen's scholarship.
If your good enough, you will be spotted.

Yeah, there are quite a few lads who make it to Saints, Wire, Salford etc from the likes of Orrel, Judes, Shevy. But that only underlines the original point.

Also quite a few who originally get picked up from the likes off Judes, orrell and Shevington at Wigan, don't make out that the Wigan scouts only pick up players from IRB and Pats because you know that isn't the case.

Okay. (Psst ... there goes that flying pig again).

Seriously though, if super-team building has now become a thing of the past at junior level, I'll be delighted.

I'll be watching my grandson play this weekend. Be interesting to see if those involved can confirm what you say.

At the end off the day if the Wigan scouts pick up the correct players, which by the looks off the 16s,18s and 20s results, they do. Then it is irrelevant where the players come from.