How good was we under Monie in 98. We only let in more than 18 points on one occasion throughout the year in both competitions and we still won the game and other than the Wembley blip we only lost 2 games all year which were both against Leeds who we beat when it mattered in the play offs and Grand Final.

Can you believe that idiot Peter Norbury sacked Monie the next season?

I believe the first thing Maurice Lindsay did when he took over for the second time is offer Monie his job back but Monie refused.

Given there's a thread about fitness, it's interesting to note that just 18 players had more than 10 appearances that season, which perhaps underlined the relative lack of depth we had that would come back to bite us in future seasons.

Can anyone explain how the hell this team lost to Sheffield? Just complacency?

sheffield played well and we didnt

Partly yes. Looking back on it we seemed too arrogant in the tunnel as opposed to being "switched on".

Sheffield were excellent that day though there is no denying.

My first proper season as kid, went to every game that season including Wembley - imagine how gutted I was on the way home at 7!

The biggest mystery in RL. We hammered Sheffield the week after in the league. I suppose it can happen that we just turned up thinking it would be easy and Sheffield had a day were everything just went right for them but i dont buy it and never have. Some players made errors that you would expect from primary school kids..... make of that what you will.

We had lots of depth. When Monie came in at the end of the 97 season, he had to trim the squad down because we had far too many player on the books and many of them were gash such as Paul Koloi and Lee Hansen.

I think it was this season that Nigel Wright played his last game for Wigan

Another question that still baffles me to this day...

How did the 2000 side win nothing?

because saints were so good, plus we did finish top of the league (counted for nothing back then) we had an excellent team then, but the league was full of class players then

Counts for nothing now tbh

Wasnt that the year Endacott did his famous last minute rejig of the whole back line because of an injury to Connolly?

Was it 2001 when Bradford hammered us at OT and we had a team that looked unbeatable on paper? That is an even bigger mystery.

Yes to both. Rads was moved to centre to nullify Newlove. 2001 was a shocker. 2003 we win if Carney stays on.

Peter Norbury or should I say Whelans Stooge would never had been in position to sack Monie, if it had not been for the Shareholders in 1997 selling out the club out by accepting Whelan's offer of £125 for each £1 share which led led to him getting 79% of the shares and ownership of the club.

What took place in 1997 was the darkest day in the club's history and was reflected in the way the team performed for the next season or so including the way they played so bad in the 1998 Challenge Cup Final against Sheffield Eagles.

but we won the GF.....

Ah yes, when Leon Pryce committed assault and got away with it. Always hated him after that.

Whooooaaa

For a start Monie wouldn't have been here in the first place if it werent for Whelans takeover, so you can hardly play that card.
Monie would never have come back under Robinson.

And as for the shareholders, pretty sure Mr Robinson let his feelings be known what he thought of the the shareholders when he ignored their decision to sell the ground to Whelan in Jan97.
Whatever the rights and wrongs were of the decision by Mr Mr Robinson, he was the one who sold Central Park to Tesco, he completely lost the confidence of the shareholders and the fans, and ultimately that led to him selling the club later that year.

Wigan would still be playing at CP if the board would have taken the offer Whelan gave to them

The ground would now belong to Wigan Athletic though

Not necessarily
Just because that's how it played out at the JJB/DW doesn't mean that's how it would have played out at Central park?

No they wouldn't. Whelan offered around £6 million and he knew the value was double that, which is what Robinson got. He would have sold it and still moved to Robin Park, he knew what the cost of upgrading Central Park would be from the cost of building the Whitbread/Boston stand which went way over budget. Whelans modus operandi was always buy low sell high.
There were no grants for upgrading stadia but a new build was different.

True, but there's a bloody good chance. One thing that probably would have occured is the moving of games to other venues (although the pitch would probably have been in better nick)

Correct and Whelan never had any intention of playing at Central Park as he knew that the Council wanted the club to be away from near the town centre and a move to Robin Park was always on the cards as it was promoted by himself at a meeting held at the Riverside Club in 1994.

That's your opinion - and one I wouldn't disagree with too much
However
We'll never know for certain will we?

And after the Shareholders vote and debenture stock Fiasco everything else was irrelevant.

Do you accept though that Monie would not have been back at the club if it weren't for Whelan?