Been busy with the binoculars this morning Gareth. Apologies for the delay.

“Our duty of care as employers is to help Zak address the fundamental problems that he has had for some time – issues that we believe could and should have been confronted already”.
If that’s not blaming his previous clubs, I don’t know what is.

The worst part is... you’re probably not joking. What did Hardaker have for breakfast? (Don’t say coke, it’s too early).

Hemmings only bought Preston to save them from possibly going under and he bought the club at a reduced rate. He has also shown no ambition other than keeping them financially stable (nothing wrong with that) and they run on one of the lowest budgets in the championship which granted will be significantly more than a rugby league teams budget.
I just don’t see him buying Wigan, I always get the impression he didn’t really want to end up Preston’s owner but was backed into a corner and hasn’t been able to find a suitable buyer. Not sure about his love of rugby league as racing is his main interest but even though he’s one of the richest men in the country I don’t think he will be the bank roller people want.

Your clutching at straws with that one.

I don't think the fault lies entirely at IL's door - it is the day to day running of the club which appears to be failing I would be quite happy for IL to keep looking after the business side of things but it is looking ever more like a change in personnel in the day to day running of the club is required because things cannot carry on the way they are going.

I also wonder about the coaching position as well (and not only for the awful performances) - because ill-discipline seems to be rife both on and off the field and this has got steadily worse this season.

As for TT if that hasn't finished him at the club then we have no hope going forward.

Yet another example of how weak the culture has become at Wigan.

Culture starts from the top and trickles down.

Changes needed and needed very quickly.

Rads and Lam are the obvious ones in the firing line as you can’t sack the owner.

he wasnt wrong though

Well, when I peeked through his window he was wearing a very strange pair of trousers that looked far too big for him.
There was some strange goings on with his breakfast - he was eating with a plastic spoon, but out of a cup. The mind boggles.

In fairness I don’t actually think you could lay a lot of blame at IL’s door other than what’s apparently transpiring now to be a poor choice of day to day running in Radlinski. The other side of that coin is that he went well when times were good but as we all know it’s how a person is when times are not so good which defines them and unlike when he came out of retirement to play for free during our near catastrophic season in ‘06; this time he isn’t seen to be a hero, but much more the villain which is sad when you look at the service he has given this great club.

That being said sport is a cruel and harsh business to be in, there’s no room for sentimentally when it comes to the success of the club. The club is bigger than any one person; look at St Helens and Keiron Cunningham for that prime example of club before person.

For me Lam needs to go - it’s abundantly clear he does not have control of his players on and off the field. A clear lack of discipline and good attitudes in both reflects badly on him and I just cannot see any way back for him.

Radlinski either needs to drastically improve his approach, bring in someone to help drive up standards (I want to say Shaun Wane but I do believe that era has been and gone and should be left that way) or admit he’s out of his depth and take up another role within the club.

Let me make this clear - I do not want IL to leave Wigan RL. It is because of him we have the luxury now of looking back at what we have had since 2010, the places we’ve been, trophies and accolades we’ve won. I, and many others, realise that heavy investment is needed in the staff. We definately have the facilities in Robin Park and Orrell but the staff is sadly lacking. If he can’t invest, why not? Where has the money gone? If he is unwilling to invest further, why? Only at that stage would I, reluctantly, back IL to sell up. It is an absolute last resort and by no means is a quick and easy fix.

I'm not sure we can 100% say that Waney had control of his players either when you look at the Tomkins incidents and the Bateman/Mossop fiasco.

I did acknowledge that in an earlier post but the thing Wane has going for him was results on the pitch, despite the spectacle

And it was those results on the pitch that have papered over the cracks.

I for one wasn't happy with most of our performances under Wane and constantly thought that we would be a better team "when allowed to take the shackles off" and play more expansive rugby but perhaps that isn't the case and Wane actually worked miracles here.

The club has been seen to tolerate poor behaviour related to alcohol and arguably the punishments dished out recently haven't matched those from previous years. Bateman's indiscretion led to a suspension and he missed 8 matches. Radlinski was happy to infer that Joel was sent packing by the club but we all know the move to Hull KR was fortunately timed for the club and allowed them to avoid giving a punishment and brush the incident under the carpet.

But then Hardaker got done for drink driving and he didn't get a suspension. He was given help (that was the right call) and a place immediately in the starting line up. Craig Mullen didn't get a suspension, although he has been frozen out of the first team picture.

Now to me, drink driving is a much more serious offence than scrapping with someone, even though both are serious. So why do we not suspend players when they are caught drink driving? At present it's a case of - get caught drink driving and nothing really happens unless you're not in the first team picture and then you won't play again.

The response to these incidents, particularly Hardaker, has been pathetic. What the club allows to slide will only continue.

Indicative of the worst culture in SL. Culture comes from the top. Rads needs to move out his current role, Lam needs to go and we need to start actually punishing players publicly for drink and drug indiscretions instead of brushing them under the carpet.

Another piece of bad news on a terrible year on and off the pitch.

If someone on my team at work got caught drink-driving is it my/the businesses fault? It wouldn't even enter my mind that it's a workplace culture issue.

Why is it a Wigan problem that TT has put himself in this position? Yes he is a public figure and represents the club but the responsibility to behave off the field starts and ends with him.

One thing that always strikes me with drink-driving cases, (and you only have to read the Court cases in the local paper to see this) is that nearly always, it seems, the culprits are "two times"or "three times" over the limit. In other words, putting the most charitable slant possible on it, it's seldom a case of "I shouldn't have had that extra half-pint", and more like "I was s***-faced"!

And of course, if you're driving around at 4.10 am, you are going to attract the attention of the police.

And as others have said, taking into account the other misdemeanours we've seen lately, this is shameful for the club. Action needs to taken. I can't accept Wigg'n's view that it's nothing to do with the club.

The culture at the club stinks to high heaven, get beat by one of your local rivals in a show piece event and the reaction is to go out and get faced.
I've no doubt it's safe to assume he wasn't the only one, he's just the mug who got caught

I fail to see how it's the club's fault. What are they meant to do, assign each player a minder to watch them during their personal time (job opening for Nottinghamtiger)? The players know the consequences. I'd say the club deserve some blame on the Hardaker one (signing a proven idiot), but couldn't have really foreseen it with Mullen or Tautai. I wonder if we can use this as a reason to get him off the books......probably not given that Hardaker and Mullen are still here.

Two totally different worlds. As someone in the public eye who represents the club in their each and every action they need to behave accordingly. If I was to get done for drink driving they won't list my employer and TBH it probably won't make the news unless I kill someone. A rugby player drink driving will always make the news and puts a marker against the name of the club.

When the club next begin to wonder why attendances are down, perhaps they should ask themselves why the Wigan public would want to watch a team of incompetent liars, cheats and criminals play bad rugby league?

Wtf is he doing out at 4.10 in the morning ?!?! Off to get some more alcohol maybe? The club's culture is in the gutter at the moment and needs sorting asap!

It's a fair point, but there seems to be a difference between most businesses and a professional sports club. And any business can have a bad culture, but it's unlikely that anyone outside that company will become aware of it. Not so in professional sport.

I can't claim to know the ins and outs, but my assumption is Rugby league provides a unique set of circumstances. Players have to live quite different lives from many who work 9 to 5 jobs or what might be considered 'regular' jobs. Rugby league seems to encourage a binge drinking culture which is an issue that's been raised many times by former professionals. The nature of the sport - the training schedules, playing on weekends etc. means players are going to have time to unwind at irregular times and hours compared to most - so there's a good chance they'll spend a lot of time with team mates away from rugby. If there's a culture where players go out and get hammered whenever they have time off then other players are going to follow suit, whether they socialise together or not.

Young players get thrown into this world of professional sport and they are going to look for role models - the players say it themselves - whereas in most jobs you probably wouldn't look at colleagues as role models as such. At least not to the extent that young sports stars seem to. Most jobs you'll have mates outside work who work the same hours and can socialise with at the same time and there's a very distinct difference between work and socialising.

For me that's why it's so important to have good role models in rugby league. It's not so much about young fans, but young players who are probably going to follow the same patterns as those they play alongside. So in these unique circumstances the club should have a certain degree of responsibility towards players to ensure they can cope with this irregular lifestyle. That would include making sure there is the right kind of working environment and the right kind of education for players.

The club might not be able to stop a player drink driving if they choose to, but they can certainly make it so there are serious consequences for those who do it. Take the Hardaker situation. The club offered him help which was commendable, but in terms of punishment for the offence they did little. There seems to be a mentality of 'well I've only had a few so I can risk it'. If they get caught they'll lose their licence but still have a decent job and can keep playing as if nothing happens. And if players keep going out with that attitude others will follow. Actually giving players suitable punishments for drink driving might make others think twice about 'risking it'.

If it's seen as normal for players to go out and get absolutely hammered when they have down time then it's always going to continue and the club and the sport as a whole will always have to contend with numerous drink related incidents.

I have not received any offers to buy my house. That is because it is not for sale. If I put it on the market I'd probably get some. If IL decided to sell the club, you never know, someone might be interested.

Fair point, I’m struggling to come up with an argument to counter it.