They did that, in the 2012/13 season. Mancini was duly fired, three days later.
Smith is bulletproof

We've took risks with props thinking we can buy a Hill after Hill. No such look...England, AsItEasy, Cox.

Lefty I have been vocal in my long memory of LB. He was great only following his near exile to Barrow.
Prior to that, his great games were infrequent.

I've been lambasted (sp?) on our Facebook for saying what many of you are on here. This year, in my book has been a failure. The LLS is nice but frankly means jack sheet now. There should be more reward for coming top, say, putting you straight into the gf. And a bigger trophy. For having the audacity to say these things I've been called a football fan, a glory hunter, ungrateful. For the record my first Wire game was v Hull KR at Wilderspool in the days of Jiffy and Brian Johnson if memory serves. Think I was 5 or 6. I've known Wire mediocrity most of my near 30 years. So, stuff your glory hunter.

But, reality check: This year, we've achieved nothing more than past years. We've not progressed in the honours stakes since 2011. The big one still eludes us. We're a joke to the rest. We've lost two previous grand finals and haven't learnt win the one that we should have won easily. Maybe I'm not giving the pies credit. Wigan lost their last two and come back to win it. THAT is progression. That is growth. We haven't grown. Questions need asking. But since I ask them, I'm not a true fan. I should blindly clap second best. The 'taking part' hasn't been what it's been about since I played for junior Laportes!

Now come on this is unfair. I took a long time to be won over to LB because I felt in the early days he was a player who was great but inconsistent and was overrated by a lot of people BUT there was year on year improvement and from 2006 onwards he was consistently top class, even before TS came.

A great example of a player who was headed down the familiar story of "could have been so much better" but improved himself midway through his career, and fulfilled his ability over the last 7 years.

You can have your opinion Sally. I didn't doubt his talent. I question the frequency of its display.
Pre TS it was erratic, post Cullen it became consistent.
There it lies with Lee. I never said he was pants. He was reluctant and or lazy class and he was great class. I saw no steady incline in his rise to his swan song.

Sorry Matt you sound like a passionate fan and you are entitled to your opinion but the only thing I can agree with is that the LLS should carry greater esteem.

We have grown as club haven't we? We were a hairs breath of the treble FWIW I really fancied us last night but we came up short in the FINAL whilst at Wembley I thought on balance we perhaps deserved the win not taking anything away from FC that's sport. A lot of ifs and buts maybe but re read your own post "Wigan lost their last two and came back to win it" Our day may or may not come but we are doing a bit better than "taking part" fine, fine margins mate we've not been soundly thrashed and the age of this squad gives us something to build on next year

But the LLS doesn't carry greater esteem so people need stop talking about it as a proper trophy.

If it did carry greater esteem who is to say we would have won it... All the top teams would have been solely focused on winning it, rather than building their season towards the GF.

I will say, what I said at the end of 2006, we beat Leeds in the play offs, we win at wigan and did the double over Bradford iirc, it's all window dressing that papered over some severe cracks in the season, I was in favour of moving Cullen on then, And I'm in favour of moving Tony on now.

Pay him off his severance for his new contract, shake his hand for what he's done, but get someone new in.

This attitude is why you men are seen as a joke.

You've narrowly lost the two major finals and you're complaining? You've got ideas above your station.

[codeby [/code
No we have had the investment, squad and facilities to win a grand final for the majority of the last ten years, and failed to do so.

It's time for a change.

Firstly, you didn't need to include the insult in your post, except that's the whole reason for it., that's your posting M.O.

we've got ideas above our station for wanting to be better?

Well excuse us for wanting to WIN a grand final.

There's been threads on booting wane for two years now on your board since it was believed he was taking wigan backwards

Start of the season, playing with flair, scoring for fun, ruthless defence,

end of the season, Couldn't score in a Gentleman's club, defence still pretty good.

Its a good job Smith cant kick from out wide because he made the score board look good.

Russell needs to go and needs to be replaced by an out and out winger. and Evans and Atkins need to go. Sorry, I know he's had a good season but there are no quality centres in SL. We need two world class centres who know how to create space and hit lines and most importantly.... PASS THE EFFING BALL.

Not sure Why people are taking a pop at Hughes and Westerman, I thought our back row had a good game. G. King is not top end SL quality, Toby for all his flaws I'd be inclined to stick with. his footwork and instinctive running shows his real potential. I'm not sure if anyone watched Crosby during the final but I watched a tough non nonsense hard running forward.


At the end of the day the team that beat Hull should have played. It's the best we've looked for months.

That team had Russell at fullback. He might not be a winger but he is still a good fullback.

Our insistence on having players not specialist in key roles is a continued mistake.

I'm guessing you're talking about the Warrington Barmy Army page on FB?
Do yourself a favour mate give it a wide berth I had the same sort of experience on there. It's just young kids and women who fancy most the players that get all defensive if you even dare to criticise the object of their affection..
One of the most commonly used lines is "you're not a true fan" and "our club doesn't need fans like you" Very patronising after 26 years of attending.
Yes there's nothing wrong with being positive I welcome that but there is no balance what so ever on that page.

I've not seen this guy playing week in week out, but haven't seen him put in a performance that justifies a place in a team challenging for trophies. The guy just looks feeble.

You're right, he is a better fullback than he is a Winger but if it was between Hardaker and Russell id be sending Russell on his way. that's my view anyway. I thought Ratch was phenomenal at fullback on Saturday but for me he's still a 6. I like him a lot but I'd be inclined to move him on as well. We can't keep accommodating players because we like them. We have to be ruthless.

Ratchford is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. Undoubtedly a great player but what do you actually do with him week in, week out?

Talented, creative players that can create chances and score their own are a rare commodity in SL and in the Wire side in particular. We have Sandow, Clarke and Ratchford in that category.
He is completed wasted getting smashed returning the ball from full back. 6 or in the centre for me. Our problem is we have Gidley who is not performing creatively in the halves.

He's not a good fullback, we had a bit if a purple patch with him there this year, but overall the 3 years he's been pretty bad.

Don't be forgetting earlier this season when we were switching him away from fb and protecting his like of ability

I said a couple of weeks ago, I'd move on from both ratch and Russell

In that case I'd rather have Ratchford, least he is reasonably exciting to watch. Rather than winger charging in midfield driving his legs.

Losing narrowly always hurts. But Wire came so close to winning all three. Often in top class sport a coach can do no more than send his team out well prepared and then take - the poor refereeing decisions, the bounce of the ball, some good players making rare mistakes and your best players having an off day, to say nothing of the opposition actually turning up.

Tony Smith has had a great season. You can ask no more as a fan, than being in the mix at the end of the season which Wire were. I must be one of the few who think that coming top of the pile after 30 games is still an achievement to be proud of.

Thanks by the way, for making Saturday special. The atmosphere at the ground was great. The fans were a credit to the club. The team and management took defeat gracefully.

Good luck for next season. I suspect you will be very close.

If you'd have said to me...we will offer you a LLS and 2 loser medals before the season, I'd have said no way.
The squad is much better than that. It'll win the two cups and have the LLS sewn up 3 weeks early.

Think some perspective is needed here. We have been running with 2 front line props for most of the season, and not through choice. This has left a very lightweight pack and on Saturday it told. It's been a long season for Hill and Sims (look at the minutes they've been putting in). Players like King, Cox and Bailey were there as squad fillers not star signings.
It's all very well saying sign world class players to replace X and y, but they won't be on world class player wages, and there is a salary cap.
We finished 6th last season. A few of our young players have had more game time than would've been ideal but this will stand us in good stead.
Finally I don't believe for one minute that Matty Blythe is meant to be a "star" signing, but Dom Crosby is a good signing.

You might just be on your own with that one..........just for a change