Our Attack was better under Wane than Lam.

Want to see some set plays introduced this year

I think last season showed how much we missed Sam Tomkins. He did so much work off the ball in terms of organisation and talking to players that without him this season just gone, we looked lost. Also he was the man to come up with the match winning plays to get us the win like in some close games in 2018 (the drop goal v leeds from near the touch line springs to mind)

Don’t buy into the ‘our attack was better under wane’ as the only difference is that wane had a genuine match winner to get us out of trouble in games we never looked like winning.

The attack was much the same for me but Wane didn’t ever make statements that his team would play rugby that would blow your socks off. At his original press conference Lam promised attacking and entertaining rugby, to the point where even Edwards joked he would buy a season ticket but aside from a fleeting glimpse of it around April time, we never really saw it. He was actually very conservative in his selections, leaving out attacking players like Escare and Greenwood on a regular basis.

No excuses next season. In terms of personnel, he has some unbelievable attacking talent at his disposal. If you can’t get a back line including French, Hardaker, Manfredi, Gildart and Hastings playing entertaining rugby on the back of a bigger pack and threats on the edge through Farrell and Greenwood, then you’ll struggle to do it with any side.

Our attack last season was as poor as I’ve seen for many years at Wigan, probably since 2006ish when we were in a dire mess.

This season it was highlighted further after Lam’s claim he’d improve our attack.

Lam has so much to improve in 2020. So far I’m not convinced in the slightest.

I agree but there has been glimpses that for me show some promise. He simply has to deliver in 2020. The squad is there to compete and to challenge for trophies, and not wishing to paraphrase our current tool of a Prime Minister; no ifs, no buts and no excuses.

This season will be the acid test for Lam. It was always going to be a difficult year last year, Wane leaving was a massive shift in culture, that alone would make things difficult, then all the other factors were added in, injuries, off field incidents etc.

Like some I saw glimpses of what the team was trying to do we just didn’t do it on a consistent basis.

This year has seen a significant change in playing personnel which should suit Lam’s style a bit more. I suspect we will see a slow start as players bed in and will hopefully pick up as the season goes on.

I would agree with that and it sounds strange to be critical with us finishing 2nd and getting within 80mins of a Grand Final but that to me papered over some blindingly obvious cracks in our defence and attack. Irrespective of off field issues and some injuries I think we should have been better.

I also suspect a slow start, as most teams have anyway. That being said I don’t expect a start like last year which was at times diabolical. I expect improvement week on week and around the June time is where Lam should be judged on the season(s) he’s been here.

I think Lam inherited a very good team which was more than capable of winning and being competitive.
Edwards not coming etc was the best thing for Lam; it gave him a great excuse to use for when the team massively underperformed.

Look at it this way; if you’re a player who’s playing well and loving life under Lam you’d be ecstatic hearing Lam was staying on. No one on that team has any connection or relationship with Edwards; no one was effected by Edwards not arriving.
But that wasn’t the case. The fact is that we were playing poorly at times terrible in a very poor league which was even more highlighted with the void between Saints and the rest.

Correct. Thinking back whilst contributing to the team of the decade thread reminded me that a lot of the players I picked hit their peak around Maguires arrival in 2010. It can't have been a coincidence that so many of them hit career-best form when no one had been signed. Who can we say hit career-best form under Lam? Maybe Powell and some of the youngsters who you would naturally expect to improve with gametime. All established players apart from Powell were either the same or regressed, even Williams who Lam set his stall out right from the offset to improve.

If today's players are far more fitter and athletic then why do they need more substitutions than the less fitter players of yesteryear

Simple really;

They’re fitter and athletic to cope with the physical demands of the more intense, speedy and athletic game than in the 90’s. That increase in intensity and fitness demands means an increase in substitutions must follow.

I disagree, still 6 tackles, drives tackles etc, 10 metres, I think they manage their time wrong and go 100 percent at everything when its not needed like the wrestle in the tackle. In the 80 and 90's they hot them low and they hit them right so wasnt time to offload as much.

They don't need it. The fact is they're fitter, bigger, stronger, plus there's more subs. There's always fresh bodies with much better conditioning. Combine that with the fact the game is all full time, with all kinds of defence coaches, this is why there are far less gaps now. The game isn't what it was in the 90s, simply adopting a few runaround and drop offs and players running from deep isn't going revolutionise anything.

It is the same game in essence only and I disagree with your whole point. The game has evolved from 80’s/90’s/00’s - like all sports have. Our players are all full time (in SL and NRL anyway) which means they’re training anywhere from 6-8 times a week, possibly more. That means fitness levels will naturally increase in both cardiovascular and muscular fitness. That in its own evolved the game from a “few pints and pick of smokes after a game” to diet control and fitness control to try and ensure that when the 17 takes the field they are doing so in prime physical condition.

Moving away from fitness, the other side effect of training as often as they do is that tackle technique and offensive drills are developed into more complex and skilful aspects of the game. The tackle wrestle you rightly refer to has bits from RU and wrestling and is designed to slow down the oppositions play by controlling the ruck. Control the ruck, you control the speed of the game. Control the speed of the game and you put yourself in a position that it’s very difficult to be beaten. It may look simple but I assure you it’s far deeper that a tackle technique.

I get the yearning for yesteryear. Nostalgia is a fantastic feeling but the game has changed and moved on from 30/40yrs ago. If the sport wants to move forward globally and nationally we need to look forward, not look back constantly saying “back in my day” or words to that effect.