as a saints fan you should know what happens when you don't add quality and experience to youth. Burned out injured and low confidence usually ruins a career of young players.

I'm not against buying players at all if you can afford it. I wish saints would. Just don't spout off what great youth system you have then buy Smith, Green, Taylor, Bateman etc

Taylor and Bateman have massive potential and would be stupid not to get them, green and smith had to come or we would of have 18-20 year olds playing in the half's and would of probably set them back in development. Green is off after next season and powell, hampshire or williams will be his replacement and bowen is here for a year and will be replaced by either tierny or hampshire.

i get your point that we don't have a squad full of wigan developed players but its hardly the point rogues is trying to make either.

Not arrogance, Wigan are the team to beat again next season

in all honesty i think saints and leeds are going to be the teams to beat next season depending on situations of course.

He constantly posts on here how many home grown players are in the squad. He constantly tells us how many kids play for England that are on wigans books. He constantly tells us Wigan produce more players than any other towns.

obviously he is just on a wind up mission as well as some pride i guess haha. But i dont think even Rogue believes we could win the league with just Wigan developed players.

I wouldn't be so sure

And we do, what is your point? You go on about us being a buying club but who doesn't sign players from other clubs? We buy players to compliment the squad we have here not to force the youngsters out. It's laughable for it to be suggested that Wigan do anything other then look after their youngsters and give them chances to progress. They even let them leave for fresh challenges when they want to because we'd rather have money to re-invest (in all areas, not just transfer fees) then unhappy players on the books.

Look at Wigans side from the GF if you think our club developed players are being held back. Tomkins, Charnley, Goulding, Thornley, Mossop, McIlorum, Hansen, Farrell, O'Loughlin, Crosby and Hughes all came through our system. We have just short of a whole third of England's squad for Saturday made up of Wigan produced players. We've just had an England academy team playing a series against Wales with half of them being Wigan products. We're the Grand Final holders, Challenge cup holders and Academy grand final winners and they're all facts.

A jibe that we're a 'buying club' won't see too many Wiganers losing much sleep but it just doesn't make sense (a buying club is Salford or Warrington). Don't spout off about our youth system when we buy players? Why not?! We buy players and improve them (Smith, Taylor, Green etc being examples) to play them alongside a whole heap of locally produced internationals.

If we had won the double, I'd be arrogant too.

Any team that has success gets called arrogant. Us now, Leeds for years, you guys before that as well and certainly us back in the 80's and 90's. It goes with the territory.

I don't and I've told them the same many times in the past.
BUT Wigan DO produce more players than any other team. Their academy have been champions for five of the last six seasons. Isn't that something to be proud of?

If you look the post that started this debate Team A has 10 academy produced players and Team B has 11


Team A
Bowen
Charnley Goulding Thornley Burgess
Green Smith
Taylor McIlorum Flower
Hansen Farrell
O'Loughlin

Powell Williams Greenwood Lauaki


Team B
Sarginson
Manfredi Hughes Gildart Gelling
Hampshire Powell
Pettybourne Tomkins Dudson
Burke Clubb
Bateman

Crosby Tierney Lloyd Lever

I disagree. I don't recall during 1996-2006 Saints fans being known for being particularly arrogant. Nor do I recall Saints fans claiming they'd be shocked if they didn't win silverware and confidently predicting doubles and trebles.