Maguire said that if players aren't playing well then they won't be picked for the team?

Just wondering if this applies to players like Sam Tomkins? I watched him at the Wakefield game and I thought he played quite badly...

I know i'm gonna get a load of for saying that, and I know it was his first game in weeks and it was only a friendly, but it just got me thinking? If Sam plays badly, is Maguire going to stick to what he says?

This doesn't just apply to Sam of course, i'm talking about players like Tommy, Richards etc.

S'pose I'm gonna get replies saying, 'Sam hardly ever plays bad enough...' - I think that's rubbish, for those of you who watch the game you will notice that Sam is still very inexperienced, his kicking game is not always top notch, and I still think we need a better partnership at 6 and 7 - Not seen how Deacon fits into the side yet, but, from the Wakefield game, I wasn't impressed at all.

As well as that, It's not as if we haven't got players to replace those who aren't playing well? So there's no excuses there neither, Sam can be replaced, as can Tommy, as can Richards etc. etc.

I think changing the team is too situational to state that any player would be dropped if not playing well.

We might not have anyone else to come in the team without changing positions around.... I wouldn't expect him to be dropped unless there was someone playing really well in the same position in the reserves and Sam had a few shockers. Lets hope no one has to be dropped though.

Tomkins played about 40 minutes in total in a couple of spells iirc. He was quiet in his first spell and got better in the 2nd spell and will probably get better in the Wire game before really stepping it up a pace for the Celtic game.

I'm with you in the fact that players who don't play well on a consistant enough basis shouldn't be in the side but i'd very much doubt Tomkins will ever fall into that category and he's nowhere near to being in it after a 40 minute stint in a 2 bod friendly.

well if you see the team for sunday they have all been dropped so i guess he istrue to his word

Why would it not apply to them?

Aye they were pretty sh*te!

Ainscough did pretty well carrying the kicking tee on though so i'm glad he's kept his place..lol.

I think that saying "Poor performance = not in team" can be mis-read. Any player can have a poor performance. You cannot drop a player because he has had one poor performance or else we would never have a team that could gel and get know each other. The team would never be the same two weeks running. I think it means that if a player is struggling reglarly then he will be replaced , and this is how it should be.

Poor preformence all depends on who the player is aswell. I'd say guys like Carmont, Leuluai and O'Loughlin have bought themsleves a good few weeks worth of poor preformenced before anybody would call for their head and rightfully so. On the other hand peoples form who's been patchy for a while will obviously get less leeway from supporters and calls for their dropping will come much sooner.

At the end of the day players being left out due to poor preformences over a sustained period is something that really should go on at all sports clubs and in the main does. It's just us under Noble have gone away from that system because he was very very very patient with 'most' players.

With any luck we'll all be sat here 15 games into the season struggling to think of any players that should be left out of the side. If that happens then something will have gone very right..................i do however doubt it because it just wouldn't be Wigan without calls for somebodies head!

You have to find the right balance between picking a form team and not making wholesale changes every week. Noble didn't really have a balance, he pretty much picked the same team every week unless someone got injured. Hopefully McGuire will look at form a bit more. However, suggesting Sam Tomkins should be dropped on the back of a pre-season friendly is just daft, particularly as we don't really have anyone pushing for his stand off position. A better case could have been made for dropping Phelps, but I don't think I'd consider that until after the Celtic game.

A player should only be dropped if there is someone better to come in and take their place IMO

sometimes a coach can make a rod for his own back as statements he makes are taken literally.lots have things have to be taken into account ie performance, attitude to training,fitness and general attitude within the club.MM and SW have set down markers for the players and i only hope they do stick to their word,as graham lowe did in his stint at wigan.ok we may not win everything,we may win no trophies just as long as the team go out and show pride in the shirt they are wearing,which in my opinion last season was not always the case.as for the person who suggests a case for phelps being dropped all i can say if everyone had his enthusiasm and pride to play for wigan we would not have a problem,the lad is a real gem and we did not break the bank signing him he is value for money.

If we have the right cover and players are not consistently performing then they should be dropped and I hope Maguire is a man of his word. If the SO/SH position is as interchangeable as people suggest it is nowadays then both Leuluai and Deacon are a threat and will keep a good amount of pressure on him, not to mention Marsh and Mellor.

Personally Sam is the best player we've seen creatively for years so he won't be dropped because he'll always play consistently well to earn a place and will probably outshine other players even when playing poor.

No one did, I said don't drop him at least until after the Celtic game

He's cheap and has a good attitude but so do I, and you wouldn't want me running out at full back. If he carries on defending like he does he'll have to be dropped, I'd be hesitant too though because he's useful in attack and the best back up (Richards) is our best winger.

I think some people are overplaying his defensive problems, seriously go and watch all the game highlights on superleague TV again, they are on the web, and then tell me how many games we lost where Phelps's 'defensive issues' were the reason. Or even how many genuine faults he made (it was a small number I can promise you), and he actually missed less tackles than 2 of the 'top 4' fullback, and made a fair number of tackles more than the other 2 that did miss a tiny number less.

And I think some people are also undervaluing his attack, again look at the same highlights and see how much of an asset he is going forwards, not to mention he was our leading player for Try assists (16th player overall in SL), made more metres than 2 of the 3 'top' fullbacks in SL (Greenshields made more), made more offloads than the 'top 3'.

Really wish people would give the lad a break. I think we're far too critical of 'some' of our own players, whilst putting some opposition players on pedestals that on analysis they don't actually live up to. And that goes for several of our own and several of the other teams, not just Cam.

100% agree with you Phelps was 1 of our better players last season. Defo no 1 this season.