Correctly so too!! the lad won it for a darned good reason too and anyone who actually goes to matches can see that everytime he goes on the field, every club in the world has a number of players like RW as not all the squad can be Fitzys I am afraid but in RW we have one of the best !

RW is a very intelligent lad on and off the field and is a much better footballer than many here give him credit for , is much faster than many credit him for and bangs way above his weight but has suffered from a utility tag and lack of game time due to his awful injuries however this season he is definately going to get plenty of game time and will i am sure prove his worth and repay the undoubted confidence the whole club have in the lad!!
To call him world class is wrong, to call him a cheap utility is an insult to him also as he offers much more than just versitility, as a person you could not meet a nicer fella and as a player he offers much more than Washy IMO .
Lets let the season do the talking because i know RW plans just that !!

Okay... Whiting was SLYP as well as National Lg 1 young player before that. I know some people don't go on to bigger and better things but I do think that there have been mitigating circumstances in his case - i.e. not only has he had horrific injuries but when he has been fit the team has also deen decimated by injuries so he's been asked to fill the accursed utility boots.

No , Agar has to accommodate Radford in there somewhere.

Agree with this.

the difference with RW is that every area he has been asked to cover anyone who has watched him would agree that he could easily fill that position full time as well, be it centre, full back, LF or 2nd
never let us down at all anywhere

You know Radford takes a lot of flakk on here but it will be interesting to see how he fits into the new, more professional approach - I wonder how his levels of fitnedd will be this year. I'm also interested to see if he is being viewed as a second or front rower for the coming season.

Paul Cooke had a fantastic kicking game and a long bullet pass which was the evny of SL at the time.

Garry Schofield and Steve Evans were the best players at reading interceptions I have seen, perhaps we should offer those contracts too?

I am fully aware that not all players can be stars, thats exactly our problem, too many work horses and "solid" players.

Whiting is exactly a Jack of all as he doesn't have any position he could command himself. Not a disservice, just a reasonable assessment.

Even though he doesn't see himself as a 6?

Might be worth seeing how Horne starts the season before writing him off as well.

oops

I meant.... you won't mind those of us thinking it is a reasonable assessment of Whiting when we think he is more than just an average utility player

But "he's a lovely lad", which is all that matters to some of the tunnel visioned fans.

That's all I want in a team - a bunch of lovely lads...

Front row of the stand hopefully

I'd like to see Rich stay but some how don't think he'll be an FC player beyond 2010 if he doesn't play enough. I'd have Rich as 1st choice back up in the centres behind Yeaman and Hall and at loose forward behind Washbrook. So he would get a fair few games if it were up to me. He'd get game time when either Tansey, Horne, Long and Berrigan were out too. I reckon he should be targeting the 13 shirt. Great player to have in the squad.

not tunnel visioned but have a wider view of him having seen more than just the sky games he played in!!

I don't care if he is a 'lovely lad' or not i just think he is worthy of a spot in the starting 17 each week.

me too, but don'tlet facts get in your way.

And Whiting has his own attributes that make up for lack of speed. If Cooke is fast enough, Whiting is.



No. They're too old.

That's like saying:

"Richie Barnett was fast - should we offer him a contract?"



No. That [iwas[/i our problem. Now we've offloaded some of the less capable 'solid' players (Horne, Lee etc), there is definitely a place for someone of Whiting's quality to fill the utility role - even if you don't see him as a first choice player.



His position (within the squad) is that he can play just about anywhere very well.This is a big strength in a salary cap sport.

Where would the fun be in that?
Just think that everything Horne brings to the Stand off position Washbrook is better at, even though neither are "true" 6's.
Also this wouldn't be a problem if Agar played Fitz in the 2nd row and Washbrook at 13.

Isn't it great to have options for a change. Last year even with a fully fit squad it just about picked itself.

indeed it is, and isn't also good to have the majority debating on opinion, not point scoring about who can and cannot get to all games.

Whenever Washbrook has played 6 he's done very well - as well as can be expected for a forward playing out of position. But he's not a 6 by any stretch of the imagination.

Neither's Horne!



























He's a Fullback!

...or a centre...