Quote: DaveO "Did he say what you have written in the last sentence there or is that your conclusion? I agree by the way but the reason I ask is if he didn't he's missing the obvious in that even if Widnes etc were more competitive unless the money flows into the game and into the players pockets they will still leave.
While its also interesting he blamed the clubs and I don't disagree with that, I don't think we are blame-free as a club either. We let players leave without much of a fight and so are thus contributing to any lowering of standards in the game. There has been a thread recently where it was suggested our chairman's apparent wish to be a big fish in a small pond was as far the ambition went and I don't think we can seriously blame other clubs for Sam's departure given the nature of the contract he signed. Sam might very well think the sport here is not competitive enough but it is IMO a bit of a cop out to use that as an excuse for Sam's departure. It's almost as if he is saying our best players may as well follow suit which is the wrong message. Has the clubs management raised the white flag in attempts to have the best players here and are they trying to blame others for this?'"
Are you going to continue ignoring the overall conditions of the game in the UK forever ... or until we get a new chairman? (And how long will your support for that one last? One day, two, three ... until it becomes apparent that he isn't going to sign the entire NSW squad?)
Do you simply refuse to accept that British RL is currently up against it in a way the likes of Mo never experienced during his first tenure?
Is there any point in me mentioning the NRL, the cashed-up Rugby Union, the ineptitude of Red Hall, the comparative strength of the pound, the gradual financial collapse of the rest of SL, the game's steadily shrinking profile, etc ... or is it genuinely the case that in your mind none of that is in any way responsible for the fact that Wigan can no longer field a team full of world class superstars?
You really are a stuck record, Dave. I expected you to have a field day when ST's departure was finally announced, but you and your mates have actually surpassed that expectation, making up for your lack of numbers with endless, repetitive posts. You're not the only ones who feel anger and betrayal that Sam has gone, and think that maybe the club could have handled it better, but most of us on here are pragmatic enough to see that sometimes you have to make the best you can out of bad but inevitable situations.