Can Jeff Lima eat more Weetabix than Feka?

You have to think that if there's a Fans Forum coming up then IL must have some good news to announce then or before. If not he'll be inundated with questions about Maguire leaving/his contract, the new coach and Gleeson, all things you'd think he'd be reluctant to talk about.

edit: Which is a shame, as the fact that we are champions, doing well in the league despite a less than ideal start, have several quality youngsters coming through and just beat Saints in the derby are all probably going to be overlooked

Did Madge fall over on Friday?

If people give IL a hard time at the next Fans Forum, purely on the basis of the Maguire and Gleeson situations, then it will be a bad night for Wigan RL.

Stack those issues up against what's been achieved in the last couple of years, and neither can be seen as disasters.

I'd hope that when the chairmen does come on stage for the next forum, the first thing he gets is some rousing applause. Because that's the least he deserves. It's perfectly fair that one or two searching questions will follow, but I hope a few malcontents in the audience don't end up running the whole show, trying to make him squirm.

Completely agree.

I'm sure people will be upset about the Gleeson and Maguire situation. In fact the Maguire situation could be seen as a disaster, but neither are IL's fault and he shouldn't be brought to task over them.

I can just hear the questions now - people demanding to know what it said in Michael Maguire's contract.

Like the chairman of any company would divulge private details of that nature.

IL said in the paper 2 weeks ago that it was a 3 year contract and MM asked to be released for the third and he agreed.

Obviously that is unreasonable, however, what IS reasonable is to understand one simple aspect of the contract and IL's statements.

Namely was it a 3 year deal as sold to us by IL, or was it a 2+1. Pretty fair question.

Well that's an easy one then!

Even if IL confirms it in his opening notes, I'll pretty much guarantee 3 people will ask the question. It seems some people go with the intention of speaking even when their points have been covered over and over again.

These things are pretty much a PR exercise and ground rules are set out from the off about what can and can't be asked but with the addition of some inane questioning they can become quite tedious affairs for me.

One of the problems is that there is only so much that any club management will want or even can be bothered to inform the fans about, particularly with regard to personal arrangements with staff (i.e. players and coaches).

Even if IL confirms in his opening statement that Madge was released early from a three-year contract, some fans will want to know why, and if there were any conditions attached, etc. I can't see IL giving away too many details about that, as I'm guessing it was basically a private agreement between him and Maguire, and it's a near certainty that he's not going to badmouth anyone - either Maguire or Souths - or even express annoyance or irritation, as he always seems to have one eye on future opportunities. So people should perhaps be prepared to be disappointed on that front.

One area, I believe, where fans can quite legitimately expect to be enlightened is with regard to the next coach. The club must be in a quandary at present. Okay, IL has said that Waney is one of the front-runners, but we don't know who else has applied or expressed interest (and if Waney doesn't get the top job, he might walk), so it's a difficult one. But I don't think IL could expect the fans not to have a genuine and understandable interest in this, as potentially all the progress we've made in the last two years could be thrown away if we get it wrong.

As the OP implied, if this issue hasn't been sorted with all parties by the time of the next Forum, it would probably be a good idea not to have the Forum.

Agreed. I went to the first one, but none since, for that reason.

if/when we bring in a new coach, wane might not need to walk.
a new coach might want his own backroom staff....so it could be goodby to rads too,.

theres a good question for IL...would he allow a new coach to bring his own backroom?...and would a new coach come in with his hands tied to keep the present set up???

would a coach even sign on those terms?

Stupid to have one really as we truly have some pathetic fans who would rather say we are doomed than praise the excellent work he's done.

IL has transformed the club and played a master stroke I'm setting up the Madge and Wane combo. It simply wasn't luck but down to a lot of hard work on our chairmans part. He did his homework and spoke to the right people. He's earned the trust that who ever his next pick is we should all go for it.

The Gleeson situation wasn't great but if we let the best centre in SL leave we must have had valid reasons. Again I'm happy to step back and trust IL on this one.

Shame he'll get pillared for it tho.

There is no point doing them, because the thick skulled fans who boo Finch/Pryce etc will demand to know every detail of every point, even when its covered in the rules at the beginning.

The first forum had a corker, IL said he wouldnt talk about players performance. First woman (who sits real close to me at the DW and always has her own agenda) "Do you agree Richie Mathers is crap?" IL rolled his eyes and from their the concept was dead.

The interesting stuff about negotiations with sponsors, players and kit partners is glossed over because he is constantly dealing with idiots such as her above, or fans wishing to stalk whichever player attends.

I went to the last one at the begining of last season and to be fair to mr Chairman he gave out some pretty interesting information.

Unfortunately I reckon she's representative of a worryingly high proportion of fans. A few examples (of which I have many)

During 2006 - "Moran and Orr are the best halfbacks in the league."

"I'd rather have Feka than Graham"

Again during 2006 at "that" Wakefield game - "I'm not bothered if we go down as long as we get to Wembley."

Things I'd like to see addressed.

1) The club shop in the Grand Arcade. Are we getting decent returns on that investment.

2) Has the Stadium been signed over to Wigan Athletic, and if so are there any repercussions for Wigan RL.

3) What has happened to youth recruitment? The U18's look particularly weak this year. Do we need to expand our scouting systems to look at other young sportsmen. i.e Athletics, basketball, football, Athletics etc.

You always get a few fans who queue for 4 hours to get front centre seats..and expect to have every 2nd question but wont like the answers and carry on and on and on and on.

The first two, definitely. The third I think is just part of a natural cycle, more or less, a point Maurice made on SL supermen. Some years' intakes just aren't as good as others.

Now confirmed for Tuesday 10th May.
[urlhttp://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=5931&type=news[/url

Rogues - What's behind question 1? It seems an odd question for a fan to ask. The reason I ask is that I have been disappointed with the shop and the lack of choice. I have been in a few times to buy polo shirts but there is not much of a choice and when you ask the staff they just say "if it isnt on display we havent got it in the size you want!"

On Q3 a mate of mine who is invlolved at Widnes reckons the scouting system at Wigan has gone to pot as they are signing some low quality players.

The shop in the arcade is pretty poor. Ive been in a couple of times trying to spend cash but never seem to come out with anything due to the distinct lack of choice/stock.

If we want to increase merchandise we need to get a decent shop at the ground on matchdays imo. When people go to the match I reckon they are more likely to spend a few quid on merchandise etc. For fans who live further away this is also better as buying off the online shop isnt always feasible with the awkward sizes for some things. Its a pain when you buy something online then have to send it back.