Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:34 pm  

[Gareth] wrote:

Have i missed the official announcement about Thornley???

Suspect the plan was/is to announce it along with a new half back.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:35 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I don't think so, or I may have too.

Kinda like Jake Bibby. All I can find is a comment from Lam saying he's re-signed, but there's nothing official? Again, unless I've missed it?

Just watched the interview with Peet which confirms it but nothing 'official' from the club

Id say its strange but this is Wigan so....

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:25 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

Struggling to understand why the club have put that statement about Hardaker out. Those things are best kept behind closed doors IMO, especially as he is still going to be playing for us.

I agree it’s an odd statement and out of ordinary, but I think it demonstrates just how annoyed the chairman is that he’d speak so openly about an individual player. It’s also a shot across ZH’s bows to say: (a) nobody’s breaking the door down to sign you, and (b) if you think you’re going to sulk and not give 100% through the 2022 season, you’d better think again.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:29 pm  

phibes wrote:

I agree it’s an odd statement and out of ordinary, but I think it demonstrates just how annoyed the chairman is that he’d speak so openly about an individual player. It’s also a shot across ZH’s bows to say: (a) nobody’s breaking the door down to sign you, and (b) if you think you’re going to sulk and not give 100% through the 2022 season, you’d better think again.

Think again because what, they'll teach him a lesson by renewing his contract?

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:47 pm  

It seems like a request for Hardaker to scratch our backs by giving 2022 his all and we’ll scratch his by not taking out that option. Somebody will take the risk on a free, without any shadow of a doubt but it’s a different story putting a lump sum down on a lad that could implode.

I personally think Hardaker owes the club the courtesy of seeing out this deal. They took him on when he had messed up royally and even stood by him when he stuffed up again not long after. It’s that second one I’d be pointing out to him in particular. Wigan put themselves on the line for him and took the ridicule which came with that, alongside picking up the cost of rehab.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:01 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Think again because what, they'll teach him a lesson by renewing his contract?

This is what IL said: "“But remember we also have a second-year option, so the idea he’s going at the end of next year...he’s going at the end of next year only if we let him go."

It's obvious what he meant to everybody, well... almost everybody.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:08 pm  

phibes wrote:

This is what IL said: "“But remember we also have a second-year option, so the idea he’s going at the end of next year...he’s going at the end of next year only if we let him go."

It's obvious what he meant to everybody, well... almost everybody.

I guess it's just me that thinks that's ridiculously stupid. I'm happy with that.

Just to confirm tho, you're saying that if ZH kicks stones all year and sulks then the club will punish him by giving him another deal?

Yeah I'm sure that's how it will work out.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:42 pm  

Joe Bullocks departure was actually announced today, though not hard to miss with it being buried under all of the coaching articles.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:52 pm  

phibes wrote:

I agree it’s an odd statement and out of ordinary, but I think it demonstrates just how annoyed the chairman is that he’d speak so openly about an individual player. It’s also a shot across ZH’s bows to say: (a) nobody’s breaking the door down to sign you, and (b) if you think you’re going to sulk and not give 100% through the 2022 season, you’d better think again.

I think there is a danger that (b) could be exactly what happens to be honest. He is already a volatile character without the club calling him out publicly. If he throws his toys out of the pram then we have significant wasted cap space all season. The second year on his contract is almost irrelevant now. They would be mad to activate it unless he plays so well that a rival will pay us a fee for him for 2023, which seems unlikely given that they won't pay one now and he's unlikely to improve (IMO).

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Oct 06, 2021 7:15 am  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I guess it's just me that thinks that's ridiculously stupid. I'm happy with that.

Just to confirm tho, you're saying that if ZH kicks stones all year and sulks then the club will punish him by giving him another deal?

Yeah I'm sure that's how it will work out.

OK, let’s try this again. ZH has moved to Yorkshire and is obviously looking for a club on the other side of the Pennines. According to the article, the club have even allowed him an opportunity to explore other options. But the chairman is very unhappy with him and has released a public statement to let him know that he won’t get everything his own way & there are limits to how far the club are prepared to play along. Nobody’s going to give him another deal for sulking or showing a crap attitude, it’s simply a bit of a bluff to remind him of his actual contractual conditions.

That’s the purpose of the statement, it’s not meant to be taken literally, it’s one of those ‘what he said vs what he meant’ things.

In reality, the club’s options are limited in this situation and it’s ultimately self-defeating for the player and the club to have ZH sulking around and not playing. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but as Grimmy says, with a character like ZH, it is a high-risk strategy. The club have always been practical in the past when players want out, but if they were going to dig their heels in for once, it might be in this case.