The thing is he's been spouting twaddle for so long he probably believes it. The Golden-boot-that-never-was bit makes me smile the most particularly as he ends the paragraph with 'being crowned the world's best is the highest honour you can receive' to try and give the impression to people that he was the best player in the world which he wasn't. As a Wigan fan you never went to Leeds fearing what Garry Schofield was going to do, he pulled off a disappearing act in a far more convincing manner than Leon Pryce could ever manage. The whole thing just reminds me of those football players whose claim to fame is that they had trials for United.

My my, a lot of selective memory on display here. Just because he talks 100% bollox doesn't mean he wasn't a top class player in his day. I find it strange that a player's legacy is altered so much by his post playing activities and comments. Look at Mike Gregory as an example of the other side of the coin.

As an opportunist striker and support player, there were few better. And his efforts in that capacity were well rewarded with a panful of tries.

But he was never in the Golden Boot category, IMO. His limitations were finally exposed when he tried to move to stand-off. Didn't he play 6 against us at Wembley once, and get badly shown up?

So you missed the quote form Schofield about Leeds signing Hanley for £250,000? Do you think he went there to play for peanuts?

So although the sarcasm is misplaced you are in effect correct - Leeds were in the same boat as us in those years as far as money went. They flung cash at the team to try and compete like they were printing the stuff themselves.



As Leeds of that era show it takes more than money win trophies. The reason we won so much was because we were the most professional and well drilled outfit in the competition and we turned players like McGinty, Hall and Panapa into good players by employing better methods than just about every other team. We had plenty of home gown players as well such as Edwards, Clarke, Betts and many others.

By hey, if you want to show your ignorance of all that and if it makes you feel better to think we only won those trophies because we had more cash than anyone else you feel free.

I might respect your opinion if you simply acknowledged what went on back then was more than down to money instead of the simplistic nonsense that gets trotted out time and again.

Dave

IMO Gary Schofield is a compulsive liar and fantasist who can't stand to see the game & players develop and improve since his retirement because it will over shadow him and his era. A great ex-player ruined by his weird, odd, false and off the mark ramblings.

Just as we expect pathetic bitter rantings from people like you who support clubs who lacked ambition... Perhaps you should spend more time on your own board in your own pit of despair and delusion.

"It's disappointing to hear Michael Maguire, Wigan's new coach, talking so much about fitness and defence. I hope this doesn't mean they will play with no flair because they might suffer for it - we don't need a coach stifling someone like Sam Tomkins. But they look more stable than in recent years, although not good enough to win something...." prediction 5th


A coach who was responsibel for the best side in the comp at the time said
"attack wins you games, defence wins you the league!" No im sure Garry would realise that the reason his GB teams got tonked so much was because we couldnt defend as good as the Ausies (still cant).

Also fatigue makes cowards of men! I know if im knackered and the other guy is still smashing forwards, im going to get beat.

However just think how good we will be if MM does let us start to attack, we scored a bucket full of points without concentrating on it yet!

Oh I forgot we have only played mugs so far!

Also nice to see on sky that stevo is whinging about our defensive tactics. Its always nice to see people complaining about Wigan. Usually means we a threat!

"Wigan offered Ellery Hanley and £25,000 for me"

Yeah right gary !

You wouldn't even be worth the lace out of one of Hanley's boots.

Very true, take a look on the Leeds board from time to time and you will find that 99% of Leeds fans disagree with the garbage he comes out with but that shouldn't detract from how good a player he was.

He loves talking about himself but I can never understand how he finds all this stuff out?

You could be waiting sometime.

Be fair. It took you less than a day.

Quote ="Cruncher"Be fair. It took you less than a day. '" I've been busy working my website, www.iloveitupthegary.com

Quote ="Cruncher"Be fair. It took you less than a day. '" I've been busy working my website, www.iloveitupthegary.com

I have to agree with this. In his early days he was a fantastic finisher and scored try after try after try for both Hull and Leeds. When he moved to stand off, he became a more than decent playmaker, and at international level, he formed a great partnership with Shaun Edwards.

Schofield is one of the very few British players to be more renowned as an international player than a club player, and that is an achievement in itself.

If you want to see a great display of class, ability and leadership, watch the second test against Australia in 1992.

ohhh he was certainly a good un in his time

Schoey's playing at Odsal tonight in the curtain raiser, kick off at 6.30pm. Come and yell some abuse!

Also the following ex Wigan players will be playing too:

Steve Hampson
Gary Connolly
Martin Dermott
Paul Atcheson
Phil Cantillon
Henry Paul

Hope somebody knocks his head off cant stand the bloke

I'm not saying Gary wasn't a good player, he truly was. I'm just questioning the statements he seems to have to make to big up his own self importance. I've never heard anything suggesting we were trying to sign him, and like I stated it was also at a time when we were letting our top players and earners go - to the huge annoyance of John Monie, because we needed the cash we were bleeding due to the stand etc.

Hear hear,

I know I will come across as being biased but Schofield was arguably one of the greatest players of his generation and even the Aussies realised that at a time when they really thought our players were shocking! Hanley was also great and if anything, I would put them both on a level. Different, but both as influential for whatever side they were playing for.

I also heard a whisper quite a few years ago that Wigan offered Edwards for Schofield in a straight swap...personally I think he was much more of player than Edwards, which his GB performances proves. You don't get to equal the most international appearances for your country if you are not much cop!

Eh?

He's about the only person in rugby league who's tells it like it is and doesn't sugar coat. Especially when talking about england.

I cant actually see whats wrong with anything he said that the OP quoted.

Oh I know, thats right, its Gary Schofield so dont even both reading or listening to what he says, its bound to be rubbish. Thats right isnt it?

I guess some people are too used to the tired old cliches and on the fence nothingness that everyone else within rugby league spouts.

The bloke is an idiot who thinks that just because he was a good player he is the fount of all knowledge. His comments about Michael Maguire at Wigan are totally ridiculous and he always goes on about himself as if he was the greatest player of all time and makes claims such as the Golden boot thing which can't be verified. The thing about Ellery Hanley and the media was due to the fact that he wanted to do his talking on the pitch and didn't want to share information about his private life that the press were interested in, Schofield can't get enough of himself. I would suggest that Gary Schofields issue stems from the fact that he is jealous of him. Hanley got the Golden Boot award, a ridiculous number of winners medals, is in the RL Hall of fame and is respected across the board whereas regardless of how good Schofield was on the pitch has none of the above he has always come across as though he has a chip on his shoulder with bitter little man syndrome. In addition to those points about Hanley there is also this from the independent:

=#0000FF:1ya0bo3bIt was the arrival of Doug Laughton in 1991 that set the scene for the other great cataclysm of his domestic career. "He called me in and told me he was making Ellery Hanley captain whether I liked it or not. The captaincy meant a lot to me, so it was a blow to my pride. Dougie could have handled it a lot better, but I'll admit that I sulked about it."
:1ya0bo3b From the same article its clear why he has a pop at Maurice too =#0000FF:1ya0bo3bHe had criticised the then chief executive of the Rugby League, Maurice Lindsay, over his exclusion from the "loyalty bonus" gravy train set in motion by Super League. "I thought Mr Lindsay kept me out of the World Cup in '95 and I still believe that." now I know his comments were a few years ago but seems a little strange to me this change in POV.

I agree with the poster who said he is a compulsive liar and hypocrite like when he was asked whether his pub was in trouble and he said "It's an absolute load of b******s. I want to know who told you this. Who are they, meddling in my business? Who says the pub is closed?" just before the pub was closed and he was declared bankrupt! And when he appeared in an anti crime video before being found guilty of drink driving.

One final quote I found which I would love to see video evidence of "The best player I played with and against was Peter Sterling. I'd played with him at Hull and, after Australia had flogged us at Elland Road, he sought me out and wanted to swap shirts with me."

So believe his quotes if you want and think we're being petty but the evidence points to the fact that the bloke is a complete moron. Thanks for listening

Wish I'd knocked that kebab out his hand in Oz. Would have been worth getting a smack.