I was thinking the same myself, 23rd March, resume training.

23rd March rings a bell with me too.

That date is mentioined in this excellent piece by Andy Wilson in the Guardian.
[urlhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/03/wigan-gareth-hock-drug-ban[/url

If it is tomorrow, I'm sure everyone will join me in wishing him the best and hope he is soon pushing for a first team place.

Did he definitely get clearance though? Last I saw Wigan were asking for it but never saw anything else to say if they actually got it or not.

Is it just me that can't see his 'offload at all costs' game fitting in with Madge's gameplan? I honestly can't see him slotting back into the team in any position.

preccy and coley are big culprits in this department IMO too but they play week in week out if fit

They might throw the odd one. Hock offloads after every carry regardless of game situation, field position or even the availability of a teammate to offload to.

If he wants to fit in then he'll have to stop throwing the dafts ones and concentrate more on his running game.

If he does that he could be devasating because we don't have a forward at the club that can punch holes in defences like Hock can.

I'm sure Madge will sort this small problem out.

i mustn't laugh but you are right about hock



he's a liability, get him out the club! hopefully if he does start back in training tomorrow over the next few months MM and the coaching team will train out any hockisms of the past and adapt his talent for the teams' benefits.

but even going back to when he last played for us though, hock on his day despite giving away knock ons and penalties is still a big threat to any team.

You can’t judge Hock on how he played back then as simply it’s a different Wigan.

Let’s face it we all heard some horror stories about the discipline and poor training methods in those pre Madge days and we only need to look at how Piggy transformed his game with some tough love to realise how much Madge works with the players in training and how good of a COACH he is. Simply all of our players are now better because they’ve been coached by Madge; guys like Coley and Fielden could be different people for the worlds of difference they’ve shown under Madge. Guys like Hansen, Gouulding, Joel and Lockers are defiantly, 100% better players, all make less errors and have all really kicked on under his guidance. I’d happily sit here and argue that Hock is the most naturally talented out of all of them and I’m very excited to see what Madge can do with him.

Exciting times to see how it works out.

If he is getting as big as people say, he is going to be an awesome addition. I just hope the lad can put all that has gone before behind him, and some fans can too. We all make mistakes and its not like he killed anyone. Many of us in his position would have been found wanting i'm sure. Good luck to him. If he now comes under Madge and Wane for "pre-season" he may well soon be wishing he was painting skips again.

He cant play until the ban is over, but can train with the team if approved

But it means by june 31st he will be ready to play

That is an excellent article

Thats a worry....

We can only do that because while I agree with you 100% about how the coaching has improved many players it has not worked with all of them. Feka is the obvious example, it could be argued Ainscough is another. I was really looking forward to Madge sorting Feka out and getting him to be a beast of a prop for us in SL but look what happened. There is no guarantee Hock can adapt to the new regime and if he does not then Madge will select others and Hock will be on his way.

I simply think he’ll go ok because he seems to be working hard and he’s got a hell of a lot of talent.

But as you say you'll never know.

Just seen Hock in dominos pizza in pottery road looks plenty big enough to play prop.

If Hock backs up his words from his interviews in terms of his desire, that alone will see him succeed to some extent.

If he buys in to the Madge ethos and plays with the control Madge likes, what he could achieve is scary.

What you said.

Of course you can, Hock played the same game under a number of coaches. He's a talented lad and a hell of an athlete, but he's never been an intelligent footballer. The point being made is not that he doesn't have talent, which he has in spades or that the new coaching regime haven't improved certain players - they have. The biggest ask for me is if Hock can develop his game to fit into the current gameplan as his natural style is some way outside it.

the same could have been said about lockers , penalty machine etc , look at him now

fact is its up to the players , if they want to stay and play , they need to conform


i cant wait to see him back in a wigan shirt

I agree with most of this. The big question for me is whether Hock can step back up to the plate.

As for his ban, well imo it was a hell of a ban for recreational drug use that wasn't about trying to gain an advantage on the field. As far as I am concerned there is no issue with his past whatsoever.