I see what you mean about Gleesons age, but just look at Gidley at Saints, 31 now and still the best in the league. If its creativity that is the main skill (as with Gleeson) then age doesnt affect that as greatly as agility or speed. Finally we would have a purpose to our right side attack.... it would be worth signing him just for that alone.

I think the key to our long term future in the backs rests on two things getting a good long term SH and Pryce finding form.



Gleeson is still long term planning imo as you can see below taking into account he’s 28 as you said btw;



2009-Carmont &Gleeson 28(2 year deal with another year option in clubs fav)

2010-Carmont & Gleeson 29(Pryce to come in towards the end of season)

2011-Pryce & Gleeson 30(If happy with contribution offer same 3yr deal right?)

2012-Pryce & Gleeson 31

2013-Pryce & Gleeson 32(we’ve got the option in our favour for another year also)



That’s five seasons we could get out of Gleeson with an option for another if we feel he’s up to it! Two centre pairings in 6 seasons Gleeson ‘n’ Carmont and Pryce ‘n’ Gleeson is excellent stability to what has gone on previously. Add to that Roberts on a four year deal and potentially Ainscough spending the foreseeable future at the club and then we are finally getting some decent consistency in our backs aren’t we?



All we would need to do then is take this continuity idea and apply it to getting Dobbo in at SH then we are laughing!



All of it will be wasted if we sign the wrong SH tho as it’s such a key position that we need to get it right first time and stick with it meaning no more-Lam, Moran, Orr, Dobbo, Barrett & Tommy situations. We have to splash the cash, get the right person in who is not only good enough but will be around for a good few years.

Gleesons reaction after being ask by my brothers mate today



"Bloody hell, i've only told my mum and everyone knows"

The =red [size=150LOVELY WOMAN [/size

I don't know whether to laugh or cry after reading the above.



Trying to spin it that this is part of a long term plan because he might be able to hack it in his 30's is bizarre.



When he was on Radio Manchester IL defended the signings of players like Carmont by saying we had to do something to plug the gaps in the side so signing the overseas players we did such as Carmont was a short term fix. The intention was not to keep doing this.



Gleeson while obviously English is another short term fix at 28. Especially if we see a 22 year old with potential go the other way. Gleeson's form is only going one way from now on due to his age. Downward. Same with Carmont.



Wigan used to dump players as they approached their 30's, it was club policy. Not sign them hoping they might be good enough to play on.



Still it's a trait of Noble we first saw with Withers and Millard. He seems to think players who were good three or four years ago won't have lost some pace or form with age.



If we sign Gleeson it should be a warning to any young player at the club if your face does not fit with Noble you will be replaced by a soon to be has-been because Noble doesn't have the skill or patience to work with you.



Dave

Continually Gleeson's wingers are near to the top of the try scoring charts e.g Fa'fili (sp) and Hicks recently. He would be a fantastic signing IMO.

He is 29 in six weeks time





Far too old to be signing a back.



Dave

Gidley signed for Saints when he was 28/29. Are you saying we shouldn't have signed him given the opportunity?

Well, it's made the Sun. www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... gby+League Probably going off speculation on this forum though.

Well, it's made the Sun. www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... gby+League Probably going off speculation on this forum though.

^Lol at pedobear.

So we want and experienced but young, quality but cheap and skillfull and British. We dont want much.



To say Gleeson is to old at 28 is pathetic, I would understand too old if we were after Senior. We could get 4 years out of Gleeson easy, he hasn't had injury problems either (touch wood) so whats the problem apart from he likes a beer? who doesn't after a game? Anyway he has quit the ale this season.

Wow don't even try to put me in the pro Noble camp and I’m far from defending him. I’ve made my thoughts clear about Noble and how I rate his coaching and my OP was far, far from defending him or spinning this signing into something that it isn’t





The fact is IMO Gleeson will be an EXCELLENT signing and one I was calling for about a month or two back. I can’t see what you seem to have against him? As long as Pryce is given the opportunity to play along side him then I can’t see many things wrong with how or centres are potentially shaping up!



Or are you saying changing one centre for the next five/six years is a bad thing for the club?



If we can get five good seasons out of him which given he’s 28 isn’t impossible and he brings out the best in Roberts who is also here to stay then i really can't see a problem in it?



Plenty of players Lam, Barrett, Renouf, Senior, Gidley & Long all have all turned out consistently excellent performances in their 30’s and I can’t see why Gleeson can’t either?

I believe my earlier post sums up my opinion on Gleeson



In Five years time he might be working in a z... oops, He will be 34. Pedobear speaks, this is a stopgap.

Lol listen to yourself! How is a 28year old a stop gap?

As I said he is 29 in six weeks. If we can get four years out of him he will be 33 in his last season. He isn't a prop and his pace will be long gone. It isn't that long ago we used to send players on their way as they approached their 30's not sign them. It was done for a reason.



Forwards you can risk as they don't need a great deal of pace. Backs are not the same by any stretch and he probably has two years at most at his current form.



Add to that it sounds as if we are contemplating swapping him for a 22 year old where has all the indignation gone about us not developing our own young players? Or in a few years time will Goulding's name be added to the list that includes Briscoe etc as someone discusses how we mistakenly let our young players go?



Four years out of him is wishful thinking. If I am right and it's two years tops is that worth getting rid of one of our home grown players for?



Not in my book. It IS short term thinking and anyone arguing it isn't because he has four years left in the tank is deluded.



Furthermore even if we sign him now he isn't going to transform the side. The pack isn't good enough and assuming we can only address that in 2010 he will be 30 before other building blocks are in place.



Dave

This isn't a prop we are on about this is a back. 28 is far too old, and unlike Carmont he has been playing for years. He will not last very long as a good player, he is already starting to deteriorate(sp?).

Are you seriously mental? I really can't work out how you think a 28year old is past it?

My posts are a bit odd because I am refusing to take this seriously out of some hope that it isn't true. He is a poor player in a poor team, he is going to get worse from now on and we are throwing out a better younger player to accomadate him - how is this anything good?

Dave you're having a Giraffe making blanket statements like that. Both Gene Miles and Steve Renouf were older than Gleeson when we signed them (Miles by a couple of years).



No admittedly he's no Gene Miles or Steve Renouf, but even both of those were widely considered to be 'spent forces' when we signed them, and they only did 1 season each (Like some of our other great heroes back in the day).



There's no denying that Martin Gleeson has ability and experience, and if he can be brought in on the right deal (both financially and length of contract) then I'd love to see him in a Wigan shirt.



I really struggle to see where a 'young' top quality centre is going to come from, it's hard to think of a British Centre with more ability (especially to create) and any Antipodean that fits the 'young' title and has bags of ability is going to be pursuing representative honours and therefore a snowballs chance in hell of signing even for silly money.



Whilst it might be a shame for Goulding to go, if indeed he does go (it's all pure speculation at the moment), we're not in a position to consider a) What Goulding himself wants career wise, and b) who the club feels is coming through the ranks in the next couple of Seasons.



I know Goulding has maybe received some undue stick, but whilst planning for the future is one thing, it's good to have experience in the team to.

He is rapidly approaching 29 and there is no way you can expect to get five good seasons out of a back of his age who has been in the game as long as he has. I also think four years for Roberts was a mistake.







What makes you think he can? It is far from an odd opinion that backs come to the end of their careers as they hit 30. It's the normal way things are. The fact you can point to three centres who have played on effectively as older players is not the normal precedent. They are exceptions and I just can't see how we have got to the stage where we justify signing a back because he may still be able to hack it at 34 while at the same time getting rid of one who will be 26 by that time and just hitting his peak!!



Dave

Gleeson being 29 is too old yet Lockyer at 33 would be a superb signing, takes P1$s the really, there are some inteligent people on this site

Are you seriously comparing Lockyer to Gleeson?

And that's assuming he has a peak to actually hit isn't it. Jesus i'm no big fan of Noble, but I also don't train with the lad everyday so I'm in no position to Judge him and where he's likely to end up.



For all we know there could be all sorts going on behind the scenes that's keeping him out of the side or potentially moving clubs.



In an ideal world i'd like to see Goulding stay as well as Gleeson brought in, but if indeed it does happen it might simply not be possible either from the clubs finances or the player's wishes.

Please don't tell me this is happening. We are on the verge of signing one of the best centres in SL. He's also, as it happens a Wigan lad with experience at international level and SL and proven to be a success at more than one club.



We are getting this player with a trade in of Mathers, someone who had been consistently bad and Goulding, someone who time and time again hasn't be able to hold on to the chances he's been given in the first team. Look at Sam and Ainscough in comparison, both grabbed the bull by the horns and held onto their places, that is the kind of youngster we need to award to keep standards high.



Goulding has been given many chances, even the number 3 shirt to outline how much faith the club put in him.



For gods sake, enjoy the moment, at this point we've signed a top centre. be happy, for now we have something we've not had for a while, two proven top centres.