The club can't make an announcement until there is an announcement to make! The situation is pretty well documented in the media about what is going on i.e Sam in talks with NZW and Wigan in talks with Minnichello. These are complex negotiations but the good thing is IL holds the ace cards so give him some credit for that. Whilst under contract he won't let Sam go unless he gets the right deal all round. Just be patient and wait for the story to unfold. If it pans out the way it is shaping up then for me Minichello in for a couple of years while Tierney develops is a good solution.

The thing is to me that the NRL is a massive draw for quality players and we have plenty. Perhaps the talk around SL is of players who fancy a couple or three years playing there. That doesn't mean they want to emigrate.
With Mossop there is a deal whereby he will return to Wigan at the end of his stint in the NRL. Maybe IL is negotiating this with Sam and the NZW. The transfer fee is often mentioned as well as this could be difficult for the NZW.
Whether we like it or not (and I don't) this is the reality IL/Wigan have to deal with. Morley and Ellis returned and neither went back to Leeds, they went to their rivals. As far as I can make out IL is doing deals that will get the club a transfer fee and ensure the Wigan (academy) players return to the club and provide income whilst they are in the NRL.
I don't like the whole business, probably neither does IL, he has to deal with it though and no doubt is doing what is in Wigan's long term best interests.

That looks to be about the size of it FT, not nice, but reality....

Perhaps we should go back to the time that Whelan owned the club and we in a poor state financially and were cannon fodder for other club's on the field.

As for players leaving for more money and that is what modern sporting life is now all about, Father Ted and Wigan Peer are spot on with their comments.

IL is doing his best for the the club in a difficult time for the game, but if there is one thing wrong with the present running of the club, it is the present practice of not replying to supporter's correspondence or emails.

It does amaze me that some folk appear to be harping back to the Dave Whelan era as if what was happening at Wigan RL then was actually preferable to what is happening now. The same with Mo during his first stint.

There is actually no comparison.

British RL and Wigan in particular are under attack as never before - the NRL and RU are chasing every one of our star players, dangling massive carrots, while we are still hamstrung by a stringent salary cap. This is a problem Mo never had to deal with the first time around, and the second time around - i.e. when Whelan was pulling the strings - we lost the likes of Robinson and Farrell, and only by a miracle called Club Great Britain hung onto Radlinski, so wishing for a return of that era is a fallacy too.

But what actually worries me is that IL - who we know reads these message boards - may get pig sick of seeing this endless skepticism about his control of the club, not to mention the constant suggestion in some quarters that he's milking the club for cash, and decide that it probably isn't worth it any more. I mean, on the other message board there is virtually a 'Lenagan out' campaign - God alone know who those guys think they are, or why they're trying to do it. But they surely can't be genuine fans. All this stuff about 'the club is in the gutter' - with no substantiating evidence ever offered is utterly disgraceful, and goes well beyond simple lack of enthusiasm for club policy. It almost feels libelous to me.

If IL put us up for sale again, there is no guarantee that a we'd get another fan in charge of the club, or someone with the vision to keep us at the top the game, which is where we've mostly been under IL (people actually seem to forget that), or someone who'd be willing to 'pile masses of his own money into the club' - something else that certain people keep saying as if a) it could ever be that simple or b) IL doesn't already do that.

No doubt I'll be called a 'happy clapper' for voicing such an opinion - that popular catch-all phrase - but frankly I don't care. It the truth hurts some people, then good. The truth should.

I have seen Hetheringtons attitude quoted by some as being the attitude they would like IL to take. Hetgherington has not had to contend with the money thats now being dangled for players during the time Leeds have had a settled core. Those players are at the back end of their careers, lets see how his supposed resolve is when they come knocking for his young stars. Suggestion is that TMFMISL Is already about to go.

Surely the point is IL should not be facilitating Sams exit from the club at all. As Jinkin Jimmy said if Sam did the 3 years and then decided to speak to clubs that would be fine. The club should not sell him for fear of not getting a transfer fee. It would get a fee anyway if he did the three years as he would still be contracted to the club. So as fas as I can see there is absolutely no justification for selling him after two years.

How much faith would you have in any such deals coming to fruition given Sam's current contract looks to be total BS?

If they word the contract as Leeds did with Harris then it might be that no team will touch him in SL due to that helping to bankrupt the Bulls. I bet if Bradford knew with hindsight which is a wonderful thing eh they would not have signed him.

But that assumes they actually do come back. I don't think a contract saying they will return is any more enforceable than their current contracts. I think all we are going to get is first refusal [iif[/i they come back. If Sam wants to go and play RU after his time down under we won't be able to stop him.

I am also pretty sure there was a time limit this on the Mossop deal as well meaning if he stays longer than three years that doesn't apply anymore.

If they word it that if he returns to the UK then he has to honor his contract then it would entail we still had control of his employment i would imagine a fee would be in order. But i am going to take a punt here. SAm will go to NZW for 2 years come to us for another 2 years and then go to Union.

I watched NZ Warriors v Brisbane this morning (great game)

Konrad Hurrell is a beat of a centre that would do us well for a couple of years.

given that he has already stated he wants to be play in London, and that I cannot imagine us allowing him to play for another SL outfit, (apart from the actual timings) I pretty much agree with you.

Time will tell as to whether Mossop or anyone else returns to SL and Wigan. There's no knowing that right now! I do honestly think though that he will return and play for us in the future.
As for Sam, we don't know anything of a contract yet. If it is with a re-join clause then I doubt another club would come in after the Harris and Bradford/Leeds debacle.
Disappointed if he goes but we will have to get used to it.
No doubt a couple of signings will be announced when Sam's deal is made known as IL/Wigan try and manage the publicity surrounding his departure.
Looking at Saints and the way they allowed Graham and Eastmond to leave plus other clubs who lost players without any compensation I do think IL has learned from their mistakes and is doing his level best to ensure Wigan's short, medium and long term interests are secure.

You'd know all about arrogance. All I have ever tried to do is offer the opinion that it is perfectly legitimate to offer Both praise and criticism. The question I asked was clearly aimed at Conroy, who answered back as he usually does. Why you thought he needed your assistance would be puzzling were it not for your track record. Don't you think he can answer for himself or are you assuming some sort of mantle? Defender of the Wigan faith, perhaps? No, that would be arrogant.....