I think with the housekeeping we fans may well be seeing this starting,hes not getting any younger so it must be a concern for him if his family dont want to take the club on

That thought also occurred to me as well.

Ian Lenagan has been sensational for this club and deserves the gratitude of each and every fan for the turnaround in our fortunes from when he first took over. He also deserves understanding if he no longer has the time, energy or money to back the clubs losses because he feels he’s done that for long enough now. What he does need to do though is to speak to interested parties if they do have that time and money and if he believes they have the clubs interests at heart and could do a better job then he now can, then I hope he moves the club on and doesn’t hold on to it based solely on wanting to have the prestige of owning his hometown club.

If we are up for sale I would find it very disturbing if we didn’t have any strong interest from suitable parties. We are the biggest rugby league club in the world with the richest history, that article says us not owning our ground would put potential suitors off but we have a good lease agreement and according to reports about Saints it hasn’t helped them out financially owning their ground and the price of the club will factor in not having a ground so would reduce the asking price.

The real problem for me is that this year of transition would likely telescope into several years. It took IL a good two or three years to get an outfit together that could win trophies.

Also, if IL was to step back from the game, where would that leave the essential reforms that are being made, as he seems to be a prime mover?

I think it'd be a disaster for all kinds of reasons.

If the club was up for sale the problem is lack of income streams and declining attendances.

Without owning our own ground and match day facilities in catering and "corporate" which I believe are still owned by Whelco (Dave Whelan) then anyone thinking of buying would know that the club would be a "loss maker" and there are not many people around who have the financial resources to fund losses indefinitely or who are willing to invest large amounts of time in turning the situation around.
I was always amazed when IL actually bought the club.

I believe that the plan is for his son to take over the club but I am not sure if he would have the wallet or the desire to carry on in the long term. I don't use twitter but I believe that he very often comments on Wigan and seems to have a decent feel for the game and club.

My worry is that we need to spend on the squad and we need to spend now. I think the last few years in squad management has been pretty shocking and we need to strengthen the team very significantly if we are to challenge a revised Saints and a Wire club that seems to have far more spending power than us and infinitely superior marketing.

My hope and it is merely hope is that IL continues and that he loosens the purse strings and invests in the squad. My worry is that IL cuts and runs after the sale of the Orrell facility leaving the club void of any tangible assets. Worrying times not helped by the SE debacle.

Didn’t Whelan sell the ground along with the latics?

Sure I read it that way

Yes you are probably correct. I must admit any news relating to the Latics simply goes over me as I have zero interest in football.
Irrespective of ownership though the lack of income streams will be a major deterrent to any prospective buyer

You mention that people won’t want to invest in a loss maker yet now is the time to spend money? So we can make further losses?

As others has said, it may be that he’s trying to get us profitable to increase appetite and get a better deal for himself/the Club.

When selling a business you try to make the balance sheet look as attractive to a potential suiter as possible.

Reduce fixed costs, control variable costs and generate a profit margin or reduce losses on the balance sheet to a controlled minimum.

So in theory you would think the current moves would suggest that is the current thinking behind the recent cost cutting exercise.

With such a niche and well know brand though and the fact the success of the business is not only measured on a balance sheet but also the trophy cabinet then I think it is a somewhat different scinario.

I would suggest these measure indicate the exact opposite to the sale position and IL is doing his upmost to cling on to the club. It’s not like all of a sudden someone who has no knowledge of the game is going to appear and want to suddenly buy Wigan and offload millions into the club to do so.

The only people interested in buying the club will be very familiar with the goings on at the club in the background and on the field. Anyone who wanted to buy the club in my opinion wouldn’t be looking at the balance sheet as a priority.

People who buy sports clubs of our scale generally only do so if they are willing to do it as an expensive hobby, or can see missed opportunities that they feel they can convert to make them profitable.

I’m not sure what IL’s financial position is however I’m not sure he is willing to or has the resources required to maintain a club losing money but is trying his best to retain ownership by making sure he covers his losses.

Very rarely though does that policy bring the infield success that the fans demand.

I think a lot of fans would appreciate an interview with Ian Lenagan on Wigan TV - with no propaganda, tough questions and honest answers.

It’s much needed and something I hope is in his thoughts once he clears a couple of issues up.

Agree with this. More so than a fans forum where Q&A is littered with idiotic questions (what cereal does KR eat....etc). Maybe questions from fans that have been filtered in advance and can be responded to in a detailed manner.

I do think there needs to be a period of ‘settling the boat’ although I think a few much needed wins over the next couple of weeks will help with that. I don’t think anyone was thinking Wigan would win the GF this year (difficult to win back to back) but to be at least competitive is a must for us.

Same here,if I’m honest I thought their deal had fallen through it took so long to complete

I wonder if Latics' new owners would take an interest in buying us out too. There wouldn't be much in it for them financially but surely savvy business folk could see some opportunities in a single ownership arrangement. Who knows!