When did Halsall and Hanley become wingers? Of course Gildart could play there so could Bullock or Partington or anyone else for that matter. Well according to you we carried a large number of players last season which was ok then but not now? So if Manfredi and Marshall are injured long-term then we should just rely on the other makeshift players?

Please read my posts and tell me where I have said we should make a panic buy.

Probably will, maybe we wont, then again we could. So your argument is that we should make a panic signing if we lose a prop or a hooker but not a winger?

You are saying we should have signed a winger and gone into the season with 3 first choice wingers. Everyone else has told you why we didn't and why we still may not sign one.

Hanley and Halsall are not "wingers" but they can play there as 5th and 6th choice. The same way that John Bateman and Willie Isa have played centre.

You talk about the salary cap but then want specialists in every position from first choice through to sat in the stand all ing season.

KR will not have said to AL and IL when they were planning the squad for this season "what happens if Dom gets arrested for every unsolved crime in New York City? What if Marshy thinks he's a chicken? What if Jake Bibby has a reaction to some nerve tonic? What happens if Bevan falls off the end of the Earth? What happens if the young lads end up with radiation poisoning or bump into some woman whose house is on fire?"

We have enough wingers if everyone is fit to get through the season. If they all fall foul of a misfortune then yes we may be up creek.


F*** this for a game of soldiers, I'm going talking to my 3-year-old, it's a better level of conversation.

It's basic budgeting. However you dress it up, the below statements remain true:
- A team with Marshall, Manfredi and Bibby in it is not an attractive proposition for a winger at the same level as them, because they would be able to go somewhere else and be more confident of starting every week (see Davies, J.Burgess etc).
- If you did convince a winger at that level to sign for us, they would want paying an appropriate salary. That means you need to save that cap space elsewhere. In the example you have me that would mean £150k cap space which is basically French, Hastings or Bateman. If it's someone not at marquee level then we would still need to lose one of the starters to make room.
- The above issue inevitably results in a significant portion of our cap space sat in the stands once Manfredi and Marshall are back fit, just as Hankinson was all last season. I think even Bibby was surplus to requirements for a game or two. Meanwhile you still don't have the player you had to lose to bring in your extra winger.
- A winger who is happy to take a lower wage and accepts the likelihood of not being first choice every week likely won't be as good as Bibby. We might sneak someone better than Hanley/Halsall (basically the wing version of Hankinson or another team's reserve winger on loan) but that's only useful for a short period until players return.

it's the equivalent of having your Ford in for repair and choosing to spend your rent money on a Ferrari rather than catch the train for a bit.

The OP might be onto something tho.

I'm now worried our depth at HB. If having four specialist wingers isn't enough cover for two positions, is only having four specialist HB's enough? You then factor in Hastings can't be trusted and Field has got injured without even playing a game & It's nothing short of downright irresponsibility on the part of the club.

Maybe we should bring in a 5th HB to be sure. Let's make it a good one too. Someone who's got plenty of games under his belt, maybe played SOO and is happy to play every quarter.

Meltdown on here and the FB forums if we get beat Friday

Absolutely

Seems to be in meltdown now..

That's far too sensible. Whilst were at it can we bring Cameron Smith out of retirement and sign Owen Farrell, that could solve the goalkicking problem?

The reason we carried more players at the start of last season was because we had A reserves league.

This year is far more difficult because without one you carry 30plus players and find 10 of them not getting enough game time. What do they do for the next 12 months?

Most clubs run with their best 2 wingers (we had Manfredi and Marshall) then have a utility back up player (we have Bibby, but options of Gildart and French) and youngsters who are "options" (Hanley/Halsall). Not many clubs have as many options.

If we had kept Budgie (and bear in mind with his contract up he may have decided to leave of of his own accord) we would have had to have lost potentially 2 others as Budgies wages would have undoubtedly been more than say Bibby plus Halsall & Hanley for example. Budgie gets injured likenhebhas at Salford and we have 3 less options as they've left.

Im not overjoyed that our 2 first choice wingers are in the stands, the club will know the long term prognosis/implications of this. But the nature of back up and reserve options are that they aren't as good as first choice, and they aren't paid as much tonreflect that (Does anyone think Bibby will be on anywhere near as much as what Sarginson and Budgie were? And I can tell you he's not).

But the more you pay 2nd string/back up options the less you have to pay the first 13 or less of them.

Wigan have managed the cap and IMO find the balance of getting quality and quantity whilst allowing youth progression as well as anyone over the last 10 years.

Correct sir

You didn't need to join in it was your choice.

So you said we had six wingers last season now Hanley and Halsall are not wingers, which is it? It's a matter of opinion and mine differs from yours, and we will just have to see who is right. Unfortunately, in this country people frown on you if you have a different view.