Neither can I understand the logic in this apparent anti-Ainscough bitterness, though I suspect it stems from something else.

Last season, when everything still seemed to be going wrong at Wigan, Ainscough emerged as a poster boy for many of those who were getting fed up with Brian Noble. Ainscough, they (rightly, IMO) said, did not deserve to be dropped after the start he made to the season. He became the living embodiment of Nobby's weird and ultimately unsuccessful selection process. To a lesser extent, Ainey also became a whip with which to beat Ian Lenagan - it was argued that we should never have signed Amos Roberts when we had such a good young winger in the camp already (though I still believe that Roberts was at least partly signed as cover for full back).

Others, of course, disagreed (both about Nobby and IL). These were entrenched positions, which for a brief time brought out the beast in everyone. Every disagreement about the relative merits of the coach and the chairman seemed to come back to the Ainscough issue. A similar thing had happened a year earlier with Mick Higham, though that dissipated after he left. Ainscough is still with us, of course, so that dispute is still raging, and, if anything, getting more and more personal.

My own view is that Roberts has now turned out to be a far better player than Ainscough, so that specific argument is over. But Pryce getting Ainscough's place is a slightly different matter. He has been poor throughout his time with us up until a couple of weeks ago, yet seems to have been given more chances than Ainscough. This may be down to something as simple as us not being able to loan Pryce out, though it could also be that Maguire and Wane see something in him that they don't (yet) see in Ainscough.

As I trust Maguire a lot more than I'd come to trust Nobby, I'm happy to accept their judgement. But I still don't see why so many fans are now coming out with the "I always thought Ainscough was crap" argument.

I think he deserves a chance. But only if he can keep whatever made him fight under control because last thing we need is a sending off in a big game.
I think he has potential i mean just look at the form he had at cas he was free scoring. I think if he startss to jump for the kicks etc he will start fielding some, grow in confidence and then he will/should be brilliant.

I think people need to remember that even 20 is still young. Just because we Wiganers can remember the likes of Robinson, Farrell and Rads being test class by age 20 doesn't mean every player who hasn't reached a certain standard by that age is washed up. Look at Goulding - when he started I was thinking "this kid looks good" but by the end of last season I was thinking "we gave him a try but he's just not good enough". Now look at him. Does his game still have flaws? Yes but he's come on leaps and bounds for all that. There's every reason to hope Ainscough will do the same.

Well last season he deserved to be in there in place of Roberts and had Madge been the coach last season and both players displayed the form they did, anyone who things Roberts would not have been dropped by Madge for Ainscough is living in cloud cuckoo land IMO. Roberts looked disinterested at times and that is not going to get players games in Madge's Wigan team.

This year as well all know things are different and Roberts looks a different player and that is really all there is to it so coming out with statements like the above is just ignoring the facts IMO.

I agree with Jonh and Crunchers sentiments on this entirely. There is nothing unreasonable in what they have to say including the relative merits of Ainscough and the other players discussed but for the life of me I do not understand why Ainscough gets the stick he does.

Dave

IMO ainy is certainly superleague standard. Will it be at wigan is open to debate. He cant get in the team right now and seems to be overtaken by goulding and pryce. I have no real doubt that ainy could do the job goulding is doing, given the oportunity.He is just not been given the chances. He does have some serious defencive lapses , the high ball being one of them. He would be someone that gets pepered every time. I would like to see him given a run of games to see how he looks then a decision if he is good enough can be properly made.

I've never been quite sure why Ainscough seems to not be everyones cup of tea. There seems to be an element of our fans that actually want to see the lad crash and burn which I find very strange. He had an unbelievable time of it last year and was so unlucky really not to play in more games towards the end of the season but Noble had his reasons and Roberts was playing ok.

In terms of Ainscough's playing ability he is a very simple sort of a winger that just takes scoots from dummy half and finishes trys very well but he is a handfull and has enough about him to have a very good career here at Wigan. He will have to bide his time and be patient but he's only young and he's playing under a coaching staff that will hopefully get the required level of improvment out of him. If he doesn't want to hang around and he's causing problems away from the field then i'm sure Maguire and Wane will deal with him how they see fit.

His reputation with the fans reminds me of how Kevin Browns was after his initial honeymoon period.

With Kevin Brown, everyone had been told how superb he was going to be, and when it became clear that he wasn't, there was a backlash. A slightly cocky attitude didn't help.

With Ainscough, I think the hostility is more evident on this message board than on the terraces, and I wonder if that is more to do with an antipathy to those posters who promote him?

I am sure that has something to do with it.

Dave

With Ainscough I feel i'm somewhere down the middle. I think he's got great potential but he's also got a few flaws that he has to rid from his game if he wants to cut a career out here at Wigan.

I've never quite got the big split down the middle with the fans in regards to him. There seems some that want him to suceed to prove a point on here and those that want him to fail for the same reason.

It's all very very strange.

Exactly -summed the situation up perfectly for me.

I like Ainscough, I really do, he is one of the most exciting prospects we have seen in a long time and has an undoubted quality about him.

Yes he has faults, he doesnt jump when kicks are played towards him, but he can be coached that! The one thing he cant be coached, is how to be tall, and this is the thing I think will hold him back. Every time he plays he will be bombed to death, and yeah they can work on systems and plays to solve this, but inevitably this will fail, and as soon as it does, people will use it as a stick to beat him with!

I believe he has a future at Wigan, but is he willing to wait his turn and solve his problems, when he can go to cas for example, be first choice and still work on his game? I dont however think he has a future at International Level.

By all means think he isnt good enough, but when he pulls on that shirt, get behind him, we have enough fans wanting to snipe and slag off anything in cherry and white, without our own doing it!

Eh? I was just saying you got the right age that they start fielding kicks, wasn't having a dig

Will Wigan be appealing against Hughes getting an 8 match ban? I don't recall Keith Mason getting 8 matches for his punch on Hansen last season. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDKXkbQk1w Just found this: www.therfl.co.uk/about/disciplin ... php?id=860

Will Wigan be appealing against Hughes getting an 8 match ban? I don't recall Keith Mason getting 8 matches for his punch on Hansen last season. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDKXkbQk1w Just found this: www.therfl.co.uk/about/disciplin ... php?id=860

Just to follow on from the Mike McGuire and Gaz Hock threads: during a family trip to ashton baths earlier tonight, my 15 year old daughter shouted 'Mum, Shaun Ainscough is there' so there we all were trying to fathom out whether it was him or not as he was swimming his widths with his goggles on. Her twin, to my lifelong disappointment, said who is he!!!! I decided that it was him as I recognised his tattoos. Then most of the other kids in the pool did, poor lad.

As he got out of the pool, we all realised that he was wearing Cas shorts.

I have no idea what is body fat ratio is nor care, but he brought a smile to the faces of the majority of the kids in my family.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT A DAUGHTER OF MINE HAD NO IDEA WHO SHAUN AINSCOUGH WAS, I am now convinced she was swapped at birth.....