Lockers, Wane and what needs to change... : Tue May 26, 2015 12:14 pm
I'm not one to jump on the bang wagon of the wane out calls etc, but I am concerned with where this high potential team is going.firstly, Lockers... I love the guy to bits, I've grown up with lockers being one of my fave wigan players after my love affair with the sport began just at the tail end of andy farrells career with wigan. however the reality is now, are wigan too dependant on a man who now seems unable to carry the team like he used to do so well? we should never rely on one player, but of late he seems more of a liability than of benefit to the team. i hate myself for saying that! are we bringing him back in too soon after injury (regularly of late!)? we seem to fit him into the squad just because he is fit, well he certainly isn't match fit even when he plays these days and when he does play he rarely controls the game like he is normally so well known for. is he playing simply because there is no one better in the squad ready or available? a couple of good games later and I'm sure this would change but I'm beginning to wonder (help me with some stats by all means) if we are better off without him.
wane... I've been saying for a couple of years how some of his comments can be cringe worthy and he has certainly been writing a lot of the opposing teams' pre-match team talks so far this season. his love for wigan and the club is second to none and I don't dismiss or detest that, but I simply do not agree with this "get on, bash em and win big" mentality he seems to preach. it doesn't work anymore and the team certainly aren't able to produce that kind of form every week no matter the opponent - the league in my opinion will not allow this anymore (a good thing I suppose, is competition). or is that a mark of lower overall competition standards these days?!
what needs to change... in my opinion something mentally is wrong with the team. the same bunch of players cannot perform with finesse and pull off an impressive win one week then get binned the next should they play away from home. I'm impressed that we at present have a great home record but the players need to stop being preached to about how good they are. they are only as good as their last result and its pretty poor reading these last few weeks. wigan are no longer the massive force they once were and despite our league position we are not entitled to any victory any more. and the players and wane in my opinion need to realise that. i hope that this convenient run of away games will produce a couple of wins to put the away hoodoo to bed. one win and the team will lift. but getting that win is what worries me as i can't see it coming the way wane has the team playing along with his sometimes baffling selections. why drop rocky and play bowen who is suffering from an even worse confidence crisis than the former? why put lockers in for his name alone, he is not ready or able to perform to his usual super high standards, so don't rush him back in. powell is playing in positions the best in RL would sometimes struggle in. settle on a team and pick them if available, stop this constant shifting please! I actually feel the squad depth is not as good as many wiganers think. we have a fantastic youth set up but that doesn't mean they are SL ready and barring those players, our recruitment hasn't been good enough to help subsidise the turnover of departing first team players. MM, despite his workrate, seems to go missing at times and logan is not going to contribute well enough if he doesn't get a good share. why not try starting logan. give bateman a bloody rest. who cares is burgess is leaving, play our best players on merit.
just get players fit and play them, don't just throw them back in because of their squad number or the name on their shirt because they are 50% match fit. make the players earn their place in the team. I understand its hard with injuries and suspensions, but even when selecting from a fully available squad I don't recall seeing the same players trot out each week too much of late. ok, sometimes different benches are required if we are talking opponents and tactics, but just give them some stability. I honestly don't think the players know what they are supposed to be up to at times and I've felt that even further to victories.
the return of sam next year is only going to scratch the surface in my opinion and ultimately I think wane's position should be under discussion, or at least his methods, come the end of the season if we don't compete in the latter stages of the new format of the league. its ok blaming the players, much like I am doing I suppose but the buck stops with the coach and his love for wigan shouldn't be his saving grace. some fans need to look at the bigger picture in my opinion and I think beyond this season, our coaching set up needs to be addressed at length should we not come close enough to any league silverware.... because this team IS capable on paper and there are not many teams in the league on paper that opposing teams will worry too much about. I feel a good back room coach from the NRl would help, much like the madge era. we need a new injection, something a little different to what we are doing at the moment as we can win as many home games as we like but the tactics don't work all the time and they clearly aren't working away from home. I don't recall many wigan coaches being in employment after two or three years with a lack of silverware in the cupboards and the club needs to realise that, should this occur, that wigans greatest fan may not actually be the right man for the job moving forwards... as gutting as that may be.
despite this, I do feel we will see a different team against leeds. but if they don't turn up, its still not that bad... yet. i'll support the players and coach until I'm in my grave but we can only be expected to support them if we feel they are deserving of that right. and its not their right, lets not forget. I'm sure come the end of the season I will be feeling a little different as us wiganers are ever the optimists. and I sincerely hope that I'm proved wrong on every point I've raised. I'd much rather have a red face over some silly comments ive made any day of the week, if we are talking the success of the team as at the end of the day, we are entitled to our own thoughts. it does not make them right or wrong.
this topic will make for a pretty long sig should it come back to bite me in the ass put it that way!
