There is a lot to lose, if as fans we are asked to accept that this season is a write off then the club must accept that this is a reciprocal arrangement when it comes to ticket sales.
Rugby League is part of the entertainment business, the performances so far this season have been poor with little indication that they are going to get better soon. If the situation is not adressed I could quite easily see gates falling by around 3 /4 k per home game which would be financially disastrous. This in turn would impact next seasons recruitment prospects for SE (or whoever ?)

Incidentally, I think Leeds are in a similar situation, the only difference being that they are now into year two of their team rebuilding program.

I can’t believe some people on here. There is absolutely nothing to suggest we’ll not be competitive when it comes to silverware this season. We haven’t hit anywhere near the levels we’re capable of and when we do we’ll destroy somebody. If we win tomorrow and get the 2 points reinstated on Tuesday we’ll be 5th in the league. Patience is not a common thing amongst our fans but a bit of perspective is needed.

The reason I was saying at that point in October that I felt this season may be a transitional write off and the reason I’ve not seen anything to change my mind was pretty much down to recruitment. We’ve lost two of the best five players in superleague last year (in my opinion) and not replaced them adequately. We didn’t replace Bateman at all because whichever way the club dress it up, Greenwood came in as a replacement for Joel Tomkins and not replacing Bateman has left us a back rower down. Also when Sam Tomkins made his decision known, it was as clear as day that Hardaker would be a different type of fullback and we needed to invest in a quality scrum half. We didn’t do that and instead scraped around and ended up beating Workington to a player. I said last week Sammut will give it a real go but it hardly gets the juices flowing and I just don’t see him being good enough when it really matters.

Lenagan has spoken of crowds being down so we’d have to cut our cloth but sadly that’s only going to drive more people away. I don’t expect the squad to write the year off but in my mind it’s a struggle to see a successful year and if that becomes clear as we go along then I do hope we try a few things and give plenty of youngsters a go to impress.

I’m as patient as they come but also realistic. As I’ve noted above I think we’ve left ourselves short recruitment wise and with the coaching situation, I feel we’re in a bit of limbo. We’ll win enough games to make the play offs and we may have a good cup run but ultimately I can’t honestly see us winning a trophy. I wouldn’t be stunned if we did but it would take some effort shy of Wane, Bateman and Tomkins. I just think experimenting and giving the youth a chance helps bread a bit of patience and goodwill and that may be important.

My comment was a generalisation and directed at you NK. You tend to have a reasoned balanced view and I mostly agree with your points.
For a large part of the Roosters game we were very very good but still with room to improve significantly. That gives me enough optimism to think we’ll have a say in what happens when it matters most.
We need to find form and consistency in a new structure and when we do, we’ll be a force to reckon with. It’s still far too early to disregard Adrian Lam and in terms of the players who left, Bullock has been an ample replacement for Sutton. Hardaker is getting better every game and Greenwood has been superb.
Time will tell but I’m nowhere near ready to hit the panic button yet.

I just wanted to add clarity with it being me that said I see the season as a bit of a transitional write off. I agree with everything you say in regards not panicking and come Tuesday the table may look entirely different. Whatever happens this season I just hope we come out of it knowing a bit more about some of the youngsters. It might not be easy for a coach here for just one year to keep an eye on the future.

Absolutely right. We already know Partington is mature enough for regular 1st games and Byrne has already laid down a marker. Kibula has a big year ahead of him and big things are expected of him. His month a Deswbury is a step up and will give us a better idea of his current level. He’s a very big lad and very skilful but his fitness is my concern with him. I’m sure he’ll get a chance this year.
We have Manfredi and Burgess yet to come back and Sammut added a lot when he came on last week.
It may be a transition season but we shouldn’t write it off as being one in which we won’t compete.

The gates have fallen by that much when we've won trophies - the club can't win.

Correct
Falling gates have as much to do with our own fans slagging our own team off and creating a perception of negativity as it has with thebperf9rmnae of the team.

People wont pay good money to watch star names leave and be replaced by lesser names or kids. People want to see the team strengthened not weakened.

My two friends didn’t renew their season tickets last year because of the style of rugby that Shaun Wane coached. They didn’t think that winning trophies was the be and end all.
Even though we have a new coach this year in Lam, they are still staying away.
Unfortunately, once fans are lost it’s difficult to get them back again.
Sadly, we have lost about 4,000 fans in the past few years.
Star players attract fans. It’s a pity we have lost Bateman and Tomkins but Hardaker is a good signing.
Other ‘stars’ at Wigan are Greenwood, Manfredi, Burgess, O’Loughlin and Williams with the latter expecting to leave and O’Loughlin retiring soon.
With this in mind I can’t see attendances improving.
But I will carry on renewing my season ticket. I can’t imagine life without my passion for Wigan.