EagleEyePie

I don't think Thornley is that bad but he's not top quality. I think he only went down to the Championship because he has another job (electrician I think) so he could afford to go part time. Lower Super League standard based on his career so far though but he may do okay with some quality around him. I would say Hankinson is at exactly the same level. Championship to bottom of Super League standard but his goal kicking does offer more value. Not a lot of quality available at centre but we messed up a bit by going for quantity of player who can cover centre rather than signing a good centre.

I mean we signed a centre in the off-season, we just haven't played him at centre yet. Not that I was massively enthused by the signing of Iain Thornley but I think we should be playing him in his preferred position now Zak has gone. We've also got Halsall who was impressive against Wakefield and is a natural centre. But yes, I share the concerns about now being more reliant on Bibby at centre which he's clearly not suited for, or having back rowers play there.

I think it's just an extension of what happened earlier in the season. He's got a young son (only 1 or 2 years old) and is only spending a small amount of time with him and his family as he moved in Wigan to reduce the commute. For any other player I think Wigan would have allowed them to leave at the end of last season, but because Wigan gave Hardaker another chance that he arguably didn't deserve and invested in getting his personal life sorted they felt entitled to play hard ball and only allow him to leave on their terms (which is understandable). Obviously the issue has come up again in recent weeks and the situation is now seen as unworkable.

Now confirmed by Wigan

It seems he was late for/missed training having stayed with his family in Pontefract after the Wakefield game.

I see Burnley have sacked Sean Dyche. Seems like a decision based entirely on the hope that a new manager might produce a brief upturn in form for the next 8 games. It might pay off, as sometimes managerial changes lead to a short run of improved form before things return to normal. Hard to see long term how a manager could do more at Burnley than Dyche when the board don't give the manager much money to work with by Premier League standards.

Looks like Gildart picked the wrong time and the wrong team for his opportunity in the NRL, although timing is probably down to bad luck due to his injuries. In previous years he'd been really good for Wigan, but last season with the persistent injuries his form completely fell away. He'd been a relatively solid defender, and always seemed to defend well on the occasions he came up against good opposition, but last year his defence was absolutely awful. The drop in standard was pretty shocking. Still showed a bit of class in attack at times but even that side of his game was inconsistent. To be going to the NRL on the back of some of the worst performances of his career and going to a team that is a bit of a shambles has put him on something of a hiding to nothing. Even in his very best form there were obviously aspects of his game that would need improving (his aerial ability is suspect for a league of 6 foot + super athletes) but anything below that form and it's hard to see anything other than him returning home early and signing for Wire next year.

And now Ten Haag has blown it too. To be fair to Pochettino, it's hard to put the blame on him for PSG's failure. They've been doing it since before he arrived. He essentially just hasn't been able to stop PSG doing a PSG, but there's a long list of managers who failed to stop PSG doing a PSG. Just look at Ancelotti and Tuchel as examples of coaches going on to have success almost immediately after they left Paris. Pochettino might end up being a good fit at Utd. Picking managers is a bit of a lottery. Klopp has been successful but he was a slow starter at Dortmund and Liverpool in terms of getting teams up the league. By the end of his time at Dortmund they were going downhill but he's been great for Liverpool. There are probably a few decent candidates for the Utd job but the board will still play a huge part in whether any manager can be successful.

Which sponsors have been Lenagan pushing his own products? The only time I can think of that happening was when we had Animalates as a shirt sponsor, but that was immediately after Applicado FS went bust, and it wasn't sponsorship as much as free advertising because there was nothing else to put there and was only for a handful of games. Asus is a good sponsor as long as they are paying good money to do so. If they aren't then the sponsorship isn't great but it's very rare we get any indication of what individual sponsors are paying. Besides, a cryptocurrency based fan platform with sponsorship deals with one of the biggest football leagues in the world, the current F1 constructors champions and several European football clubs isn't your stereotypical rugby league sponsor. Unfortunately Wigan were one of many who fell for what they were purported to be selling.

How is it not Wigan's 150th year?