Quote ="Aboveusonlypie"I don't know whether you are harsh or provocative or both.
Case in point, in the middle of June we won a game at Widnes 7-0. But we had Nick Gregson, an Under 19 second rower, playing at Stand Off for heavens sake. Why would you criticise a team for looking 'clueless' under such circumstances. It was noticeable when Sam got in the team how the team looked much better, but fans are busy re writing history on that now that Sam is public enemy No 1. In fact around that time we gave debuts to Bretherton, Wells, Gregson, Shorrocks, Waterworth and Higginson - all of whom looked pretty much out of their depth (understandably).
When Wane said that you don't know the half of it - why don't you believe him? How can you practise attacking moves if everyone is injured???'"
I don't think anyone doesn't believe him. Why wouldn't we?
But I thought part of the culture we were suppose to be implementing into the squad was a style of play throughout the age groups. So that when the young lads step up, they do so into a system in which they are comfortable.
I fully understand the injuries this year played their part. Again, I do not know anyone who is suggesting otherwise. It seems to me like you are justifying why we had (up to that point) had an 'awful awful' season. In doing so you must concede that very people you are trying to prove wrong, you are in fact supporting their argument.
There have been many studies into this, and owners will always favour win maximisation over utility (enjoyment) maximisation, on the assumption that more wins leads to more profit due to more fans. I would say the evidence of Wigan over the previous 5 or 6 years does not necessarily back this up. We may well be making more money in the short term through winning (I haven't investigated this whatsoever) but the fan numbers are declining substantially. I believe our fans value both winning and utility fairly equally, thus a poor product on the field, no matter how successful will not lead to more fans.
For someone like Man Utd I would say they are definitely in the category of wins over utility. The fans who attend games may moan at the 1-0 wins, but the worldwide support base doesn't care too much about performance, just the prestige of winning.
As a fan I think you certainly have the right to make a judgment of how much enjoyment you get out of the money you invest into the club. And someone who get paid by that money does not really have the right to tell you if your judgment is right or wrong. For one person this is a profession, or the other this is a hobby for which they pay a fair price!
