Can anyone expand on the Gaskell to Wigan rumours?

There's nothing to expand at the moment.

Its not happening, Saints want to keep him

Correct, it's all conjecture.

those people saying things such as 'smith is a massive step down' dont blame the club. what are the club suppose to do when the SC is staying at the same level year after year.

each year the SC stays at this level the purchasing power of the SC goes down. 5 years ago we had the same SC, yet the general price level has risen, making the salary cap effectively lower. players are not interested in how many £'s they make, its what those £'s can get them, and the simple fact is those £'s can get you a lot less than they could 5 or 10 years ago.

We also got lucky having close links with Melbourne when it all went wrong for them, we got players like Finch and Hoffman who would have never come to a SL club other wise. if people want to replace players like Finch and Tommy with players of equal quality the SC must rise with inflation (at minimum) or preferably higher to show we are growing as a sport, then we will get the better quality players coming over.

For the record, I think smith could be a very good signing. he shows potential in a poor Salford squad, and put him with our coaches, and in our system and I think he could flourish.

A full pre-season working with Harris & Deacon and Smith would have improved 100%

Really? Shaun Long is better than both of them and hes pants. He is a massive step backwards in my eyes also.

with the NRL salary cap going up next year gone are the days when we are able to bring over aussies and kiwis such as leuluai, finch etc because they will all be able to find a good enough contract in the NRL meaning the move over to England is worthless. Wane and Lenegan seem to be playing the signings business quite shrewd really, we are looking beyond 1 year and developing a side for years to come. Hence the signing of Thornley who I feel could become George's replacement next year. Matty Smith may not have set the world on fire yet but he is a very good player, an organiser with a very good kicking and passing game. If finchy goes I can see us moving Sam to 6 and moving russell to full back. I certainly feel Wane and Lenegan have a big signing up their sleeves though with the amount of salary cap space.

Next year we could be looking at a team similar to

1. Russell 2. Charnley 3. Goulding 4. Thornley 5. Richards 6. Tomkins 7. Smith 8. Prescott 9. McIllorum 10. Mossop 11. Hansen 12. Hock 13. O'Loughlin SUBS 14. Dudson 15. Flower 16. Tuson 17. Farrell

That side could stay together for years and could play together at the top for years. I really like SW and IL's philosphy, find players who will fit into the wigan way.

Yep. He's coming to Wigan with Tomkins going in the other direction and Wigan paying a £200k fee.

There's about as much truth in it as that.

What's happening with all the wages from Lima, Carmont, Finch, Fielden, Roberts etc? If Finch does leave then we will bring in a 6 IMO. SW has mentioned recently that he isn't very keen to move Sam back in to the halves.

G a s k e l l t o W i g a n r u m o u r.