On the subject of Ashton anyone see him break that "bloodgate" winger's nose at the weekend

Nigel Wright was so unlucky. He looked such a classy player but just couldn't stay on the field. He had abit of everything really and was a pretty big lad.

As for the others i'd like to think Hock(when he's back) and Feka have the time on their sides to grab their careers by the balls, put past mistakes behind them and move on. They're both hugely talented but have let themselves down(for very different reasons).

Dennis Moran is a player i'd like to have seen in a better Wigan side. He had a nightmare in his time here but if he'd been allowed to play his natural game instead of being asked to organise you never know.

I'll go back a bit furtherPhil Ford

Classy GB Winger, nicknamed the 'Indian Rubber Man' due to his ability to literally 'bounce' out of attempted tackles. Complemented Henderson Gill on the other wing......Had the speed, had the skill, but was unfortunate that he became part of the deal to purchase the best British player for the last 40 years.


Phil Blake

Awesome player, very very classy. Went to Warrington from Wigan (again in a player/cash exchange IIRC), was it for Andy Gregory? (Someone please remind me). I remember at the time not being that bothered he left, but only in recent years I remember him with fondness!

Paul Atcheson.................Could have had a heart but didn't

Phil Blake was at Warrington first and came to Wigan on a short term contract in 1989. He and Les Davidson played a few games games for Wigan as IIRC the Iro brothers were playing on Tour for New Zealand and Wigan drafted Blake and Davidson in.

Didn't Monie want to sign Phil Blake for the next season but we signed Botica instead?

My god! How the mind plays tricks with time!

John Monie wanted to sign him again but got delivered another player instead, Frano Botica. Blake was a class act but who knows if we had got him instead of Frano and his goal kicking whether we would have been as successful.

I agree with Rouges about Wright and Houghton. I was gutted when Wright's career was cut short as he really was a very very good player.

Houghton wasted his talent and in contrast to players like Blake, Monie never rated him.

Another player who never reached the heights he could have was Steven Wild. He's done OK at Hudds but he never quite got the breaks or gave the impression he playing to his full potential here. I think he had a storming debut season, got injured and never quite got back from it before he was let go.

Dave

Does anyone think Joel Tomkins and Darrel Goulding will be in these categories in 2 or 3 years??

IMO its a big season for both of them. Joel needs to create something extra in his game, i think he should be making at least 2 clean breaks in a game, thats what we need from him. He was running good lines off Barrett at the end of the 08 season and he looked top class. Our back row looks very defensive since Hock left.

Personally i don't think DG is good enough. Lacks the pace, size and skill needed to be a quality centre. He has shown the odd glimpse that he's got a bit of skill, but hasn't done it on a regular basis imo.

I think you are slightly off topic here. The players being discussed in Roughes first post were players who could have been greats e.g. Wright if he had not got injured and Haughton who just didn't apply himself but clearly had the talent.

What you are saying here is you think these two players are simply not good enough which is not the same thing.

Dave

Both these players clearly have the talent though. I specifically remember everyone raving about DG when he was coming through the ranks so he "could" be a Wigan great, but probably won't be. I suppose i am slightly off topic in that they are not ex-players so its all a bit hypothetical.

Nigel Wright and Simon Haughton are the obvious ones for me because they showed the class, at times. It wasn't just about potential with them, we knew they could deliver. Both men could have been fixtures at test level, never mind just in the Wigan team.

Spot on. It's always a shame when you know a player can deliver but they fail to do so. Normally it's injury as it was with Wright that gets in the way but when it's lack of application as it was with Haughton that is very frustrating.

I can't remember if it was on this board, Mike's "other" Wigan forum even one of the other small Wigan forums that have come and gone but Simon Haughon's Dad used to post! It made for some interesting threads!

Dave

The reason my first choice as "could have" was Chris Melling was that having watched him graduate through the lower teams you could see that he was a class player.

He was quick, had good hands,was evasive and an excellent kicker of the ball from both open play and at goal.
However, his biggest asset was (thinking about the captain thread) that he was a great communicator (talker) and organiser from the fullback position.
I really believe that he could have been the regular England fullback and Wigan captain by now.

It's such a pity that the two knee injuries (re-constructions) robbed him of those opportunities.