No he should not be offered a contract.

When it comes to Fielden he shouldn't be judged by the comparison of form at Wigan and Bradford.

Ok, he hasn't consistantly played as well as he did at Bradford but he's still one of our key forwards and takes us forward in attack and also defensively. He also has a huge presence about him and is strangely one of our longest serving players.

It's obvious to say he will take a wage cut.

how many metres did he make this week?

If he produces form like the last half of 2008 and takes a severely reduced contract I would say yes

Yes he should at this point in time we need leaders and Fielden is a leader. His work rate is good and no matter what people say about how much he earns you know he will give 100% week in week out and will and has played with injuries. Saying that though he should and will be offered a lessers contract than he is currently on in order to give more money the youngsters coming through who will eventually take his place.

Also a little brancher heard a lot about Ben Davies, is this guy ready for the first team (maybe against Barrow) or what?

about 500 but unfortunately that was from side to side - He is like a windscreen wiper!

he wipes to the left

I would only if there was no REAL game breaking prop we can acquire then yes i would, but on a much reduced salary.

I would definitely offer him a new contract as I think he does a very good job for us and gets precious little thanks from quite a few people.

It goes without saying that it would have to be on reduced terms though.

tbh,simply no.

Why not pal?

Yes but on vastly reduced monies

I dont want him any longer than needs be, unless he takes a 50% pay cut. Through no fault of his own (and fair play to him) his wages have bled this club dry. Nobody knows exact figures but we all know his wages are ridiculously high. His form in his time at Wigan, on the whole has been poor. His performance against Cas this year summed him up for me. He got absolutely banjo'd by a big rough Cas pack

Infact if you add up the 500k plus 150k a year? that is one MASSIVE bad signing. Hindsight is great of course. We all expected the worlds best prop....instead we ended up with a poor mans Brady Malam

It is probably more than that

Not if you are blind



How much would it have cost the club to get relegated in 2006? In 2006 he was what we expected and was IMO instrumental in getting us out of the relegation slot. Since then, like Noble, he hasn't done as well but while his wages are a problem and his form not good enough I reckon he has already paid his way in simple monetary terms. One or two season lack of Sky TV money never mind lost gate money is easily more than we have paid for him and to him I bet.

Dave

I think it is too easy to forget what he and Dobson did 2/3 years ago. He had a presence and Dobson the ability to lead us out of trouble.

Relegation was there for us all to see, no method although Noble had started to sort out the defence with players who were "struggling big time" and we had no go forward.

The introduction of Fielden gave us a momentum and confidence and we went on. But for salary cap issues we were the team on the roll that nobody wanted to play. We also had the attitude that Wigan is best again. So don't have too much of a go at Fielden as he always gives 100% and appreciates the crowd.

I used to hate him at Bradford obviously a sign of the players you would like to have, but my most vivid memory is at the City of Manchester Stadium i.e City's ground now where we lst to The Aussies in the last minute and the team were so disappointed which is understandable but SF came round to salute the fans. This was a big gesture and he was absolutely crestfallen but still was the only one to be brave enough to remember the fans.

I don't think he is the player he wasat Bradford and somebody has intimated too good too young but don't wrire him off, my view a 2 year contract with 3rd year option on a competitive salary i.e. one to match what he would get in other places. My logic is that he never coasts and will relax and get confident again. Iwould also make him my "Club Captain" for attitude and resiliance.

I agree, but based on his comments he made when signing for us, I think he would be off for the first decent offer that came his way, I hope not, but I think he will.

As said by a few, yes I'd offer him a new deal but on a much lower wage. Lose Coley, and use the cash saved by lower wages and Coley being released to find a decent prop.

Cut his (alleged) salary by 2/3 and yes.


I also think he has repaid his current salary by helping keep us up. I know Dobson was instrumental in this too, but imo the impetus that Fielden gave us cannot be underestimated.


I actually think he is a fine prop forward atm. Not an outstanding one as he was at Bradford, but he does a job week in week out.

It's just that under the CC he probably takes up too big a slice

Have a look on the Engage superleague stats all the best props metre wise are from Leeds,Stains, Hull,and Huddersfeild take ya pick.

128 from 16 carries.

And all from a greater amount of carries - 30% more in some cases. Stats like metres made on their own, do not tell the whole story. Fielden's workrate is reflected in other areas, particularly defensively.

Fielden is yet again one of the top props in terms of tackle busts (2nd highest prop behind Feka), tackles (highest prop), marker tackles (highest prop) and compares ok to the top prop metermakers in the league in terms of metres per carry - Graham (7.2m), Peacock (6.6m), Mason (7.8m), Dowes (7.6m), Morley (8.4m), Fielden (7.1m), Palea'aesina (8.8m)

Selected stats never tell the whole story and granted Wigan have played an extra game that skews it a bit, but in the whole Fielden is doing a solid job for Wigan if not the level expected when signed.

A new contract shouldn't be out of the question if the terms of the deal are significantly reduced from his current one.

1) Why not work out tackles/game rather than the total to remove the impact of the extra game on stats, as done in average meters made?
2) Is everyone speculating on what contract Fielden is on or does somebody actually know?

Not a bad return

He's not fit to lace Kylies boots these days. both have taken dramatic steps in different directions.