One thing for sure, he has a great agent. That salary is above the marquee dispensation.

Let's just hope for hyper inflation and a contract that doesn't include a CPI/RPI increase clause.

Ultimately, it’s a shambles. Whether it’s Fitzpatrick, Powell or any combination of them + board members, it’s almost comical.

Powell goes out saying he has full control of recruitment in April, King gets given a bumper deal in May, just over 12 months later goes out on loan only to be shipped out to one of our fiercest rivals for a year while we contribute to his salary (allegedly). All the while we contribute to the development of another Wigan signing by giving them a dozen or so games rather than letting them play reserves at Huddersfield, and STILL fail to find a replacement 4 months on.

It’s pretty much that.

Have tbh someone is making a right freaking balls up embarrassment of our club. We duly deserved any sugar we get threw at us.
We know it’s not SJM and I would say not Powell either.
I can’t rule out the novices, the Chairman and CEO.

Never a dull moment at the Wire

It's a combination of one or more of these

Chairman | Stuart Middleton

Vice Chairman | Prof Steven Broomhead

Directors | Simon Moran, Norman Summers, Mike Lomax, Lance James, Karl Fitzpatrick

CEO | Karl Fitzpatrick

Responsibility vs Accountability.

If what he himself said (to the press, April 2021) is true, Powell is responsible. Karl Fitzpatrick and the board are accountable though, through the appointment of Powell and the delegation of that responsibility.

All this rotting that seems to have happened has coincided with the arrival of the new Chairman and CEO. I'm not accusing or blaming them, but it is certainly coincident.

Maybe we have a bad organisational culture right the way through, and if we do I suppose it's due in part to the club being a bit of a rich man's folly. We seem to just be happy to throw money at things, do things badly or unprofessionally, and not worry about the consequences.

Going back to the comment about King's salary and the story of signing Gildart in a Lymm cafe: Surely it can't be as simple as 'Powell wants xxx player, CEO / Owners throw whatever money player demands'?. Powell seems too shrewd to not realise most of our cultural problems have stemmed from an unbalanced salary structure, and overpaid but underperforming stars? But then, we are apparently paying vast sums to Bullock, who is just an average prop. Add this to the Inglis debacle, the massive salaries for Austin, Widdop and Roberts, and it's no wonder we are a laughing stock.

I just hope Dufty isn't on megabucks, because he may well be the scapegoat next season if we fail to gel.

Right or wrong you expect Dufty, McGuire and Vaughan to be on relative megabucks. What you don't expect is to have King and Bullock on silly money - that is just very poor contract negotiation.

It's a rich mans train set with poor governance.

What stands out in recent years is the lack of forward planning in our recruitment process ,as a result we are panic signing uncommitted or substandard players at inflated prices. A shake up in the scouting & succession planning department is a must.

I think we was all hoping and expecting :
all the wrongs made right,
all the bad made good,
all woes made to laughter
all the years of empty cabinets made full stock.

They done it, they made us a ‘right good laughing stock’!

is there one?

Must be, one day KFP (allegedly) sacked wolfie, the next minute a new wolfie in a mack with a fresh swagger was wandering st Helens with a pair of binoculars, providing priceless scouting reports on our over successful neighbours.

At least Holmes if off anyway. Signing for Leigh.

You are right, we have a succession planning department. Apparently the kit man is next to step up to the hot seat.