Ignore what I just said. ALthough I'm sure this will cheer you up.

What about Hock's cash? Is that availiable straight away? If so you should be trying to get someone over now if possible.

Forgot about Carmont.

I can see why they'd release him tbh but we'd struggle to find better. He's had his injury problems this year but in the main his form has been pretty good.

If we have Smith, Carmont and Hock all leaving and i'd presume Lenagan will have got Bailey and possibly Coley to re-sign on lower terms then we must have plnety of room to bring in a prop and another halfback.

I'd keep Carmont above all of the others who were out of contract.

Ainscough and Richards high try count has a lot to do with Carmont imo.

He’s been injured for a little bit of this season but again recently he seems to have come back into a good vein of form. He’s still a good player for me.

He can do another year whilst Goulding & Pryce try to work out what ever weaknesses they have.

if coley is being kept on and were bringing in another prop would that see either prescott/ o'carroll going out on loan and freeing up more cap space??

Tbh i'd see Fielden as the man to make way at this moment in time. He looks to be in a comfort zone at the minute in that he knows he's got a place in the 17 and even him dropping down to the bench hasn't looked to fire him up.

I'd expect if we signed a new prop and kept Coley added to the fact it's fieldens last year we'd see a totally different player.

Thats can only help us.

Am i missing something?

Given we have agreed Pryce is staying for 1 more year at least i would be surprised if we did not retain Carmont. Pryce has not proved himself worthy of a centre spot neither has Goulding, next year is the year they need to step up with a view to taking the shirt from 2011 onwards. It would seem logical Carmont will remain for 1 final year in 2010 to me.

I would be very very surprised if we didn't keep Carmont for another year for the exact reasons you list above jon, nobody I'll feel is up to taking over that centre spot, or not yet anyway.

How can you seriously say that?
Don't we accept by now that we don't have any accurate information relating to existing Wigan salaries, etc.
Our situation re. the cap is not the same as other clubs, so just saying that 'other clubs can do it so we must as well' doesn't mean anything.

No I don't have any info re Wigan players salaries.
However, Smith is no longer at the club and his salary is available.
I do presume that Hock will shortly be given a two year ban and his salary will be available. Contract renewals may bring further money available.
How is our situation re the cap not the same as other clubs? The 2007 "adjustments" will be out of the system end of this year for most players. The only way it could be different is whether IL is now using benefit trusts, image rights and offshore a/cs etc as other clubs do. If he is not then we are at a disadvantage. If he is then surely we are not.
I cannot see with the Smith and Hock situations that plenty monies are not available for signings.
As I said, the players are there and the money is there, so what is the problem?

There isn't necessarily any problem yet. Nowhere is it written that we have to announce new signings at the same time as everyone else.

Although this is a joke? I am concerned by how people are believing that this would be a good move

Two forwards contracts are up at the end of the season and we need to strengthen in those areas as it is a weakness in our team and a reason why we lag behind the top two and it is something that nearly every Wigan fan acknowledges on this board. So why then are people now suggesting just re-signing them is a good move quite frankly baffles me.

We need to replace them with players who will be an improvement. I will stress this again we need improvement and not 'stability'. Especially not in your forwards. Halfbacks I can understand and I would maybe accept this nonsense of 'stability' if we were top of the league and in with a great shout of the grand final but we're not. If we want to get to the top again we're going to have to improve when average players like Coley and Bailey's contracts are up.

The same nonsense 'their form has improved this last season'. Improved from what? Very average! The only reason people have noticed them is because they have actually been above average. Not top draw which you would expect from one of your overseas players in Bailey in particular.

Why in the world we would want to extend Coley and Baileys contracts when players like David Kidwell, Frank Puletua, Carl Webb, Brent Kite are available I don't know.

Just suggests two things to me. Our owner does not know how to handle negotiations and our fans are accepting mediocrity.

dont suppose anything

we let go of all sorts of players last year on suspected mega bucks (barrett, higham) and signed likes of roberts.

when i posted where has the money gone i was shouted down by people saying we have increased contracts of players we already had.

dont assume that players leaving frees up cap space. common sense would say it should but i am in no way convinced our current chairman knows how to successfully use the cap.

we will likely lose smith, fielden, bailey, carmont and sign 2 bog standard sl players.

Why would we want to loan out two brilliant prop forwards who have been hard grafters for the club this season for Andy Coley? Who has only ever turned in above average performances and is pushing the end of his career and has never really out performed Paul Prescott or Eamon O'carroll like a senior player should do.

It's almost as daft as people saying we should loan out Michael McIlorum so we can bring in another halfback and move Leuluai to hooker.

I think you could safely argue that he knows how to use it better than the previous one.

And please don't just dismiss this as an irrelevant point. Mo's miscalculation almost got us relegated out of existance.