Myler to Wire for 300k

Quote: DaveO "You don't half know how to re-write RL history. I think you will find Widnes and Leeds were hardly averse to splashing the cash as you put it and had varying degrees of success when they did. Leeds failing spectacularly first singing up Hull's star players like Crooks and Schofield and then going after some of Wigan's.

The difference was Wigan were innovative off-field not just in terms of going full time (which only happened in 1991/92 season by the way) but by employing specialist sprint coaches and so on. We also produced many of our own players.

It is however much easier for people like you to ignore all those facts and say basically we bought success. Leeds proved you need more than money to have success. Whether there is that sort of off-field organisation Wigan had back then currently at our club now I have my doubts given the way some players look and play. I remember signing McInty from Wire and seeing him improve here which was not a coincidence. Now the opposite seems to be the case when players leave.

So we can all spend the same money up to the limit of the cap but just like Leeds spent at least as much as Wigan if not more that won't mean the trophies are equally shared out hence the recent dominance of Leeds and Saints.

I know Wire can't break a live cap just as Wigan can't and there may have been loopholes exploited by the likes of Wire and Saints but if there were, you should be in favour of them being closed as you seem so fond of a level playing field.

As to Wigan nearly ruining the game, don't be so stupid. We dominated the cup for 8 years not the league, premiership and regal trophy.

Dave'"

Unfortuntely it's you who is re-writing history. Billy McGinty, for example, was an excellent player at Wire, but like Brian Case, Andy Gregory and others, could not resist the 'Wigan shilling' and miraculously became GB players after their transfer. Wigan undoubtedly almost killed the sport with their reckless spending and disregard for RL as a whole in the decade from 1984 onwards, and bankrupted themselves twice in the process. No other club ( including Leeds whom you malign ) went anywhere close to being on the brink in the way the 80s Pies did. Widnes had a go but with a lot less money had to limit most of their spending to RU players.