Why would I want us to play rugby union on a muddy field in Upper Dicconson Street?



So you’d be happy with changing colours?

I'm genuinely not that bothered what they are wearing to be honest as long as they're playing entertaining rugby. I've seen Wigan teams do that whilst wearing black, blue, yellow, luminous green!

No problem with that whatsoever.

I agree with entertaining part but personally I’d love us to refrain from wearing other colours unless there is a clash of colours which are very few and far between.



I think we miss out on not using the cherry and white even more on the marketing front.

Whilst I understand people not being a fan of changing our crest, the reasons have been explained over and over. There's no reason to change club colours but there was a reason to change the badge.



That being said, I really don't mind the change of shirt style every 3/4 years. It probably generates a bit more business for the club. If not was just cherry and white hoops every year some people would possibly keep their shirts for 2/3 years rather than buying new merchandise every season.

I don’t think that bothers clubs like say Celtic keeping to green and white hoops. Have Celtic ever had a season in living memory where didn’t play in green and white hoops?



I used club colours to illustrate that all fans have their own rubicon.

For some it was the badge.

For others it’s the colours.

Some fans may not give a fishes tit about any of that if the club wins honours consistently.



I just reacted to a snide comment that was posted about people still feeling sore about the change in the badge. It just makes me sad that in a few years the A&E won’t mean anything to the vast majority of fans.



One good thing about the new badge (even that monstrosity has one ) is that it will be difficult to actually change the shade of cherry within the shirt colours which for me is a good outcome.

This.



In recent years where the club has tried to make money from shirt sales with different designs it has come at a cost of watering down our world famous shirt. The All Blacks shirt is instantly recognisable, as is the Australian RL, Brazil football, Northampton RU, Leicester RU, Celtic FC, Barcelona.



We need to wear traditional cherry and white hoops at every opportunity unless there is a kit clash then wear a blue version, its as simple as that. That way our brand, our club becomes instantly recognisable again regardless of the badge on the shirt.

Celtic are massive, and not just in Scotland. they'll probably sell 100K+ shirts a year regardless. A club like Wigan will be lucky if we break 20K.The club probably feels the need to do something a little different to generate sales in shirts. It is after all a business and needs to generate income.



I noticed Huddersfield have gone back to hoops for the up coming season.

No retro shirts in club shop this afternoon, advised the first batch has sold out (hence why not showing online) and another shipment ordered. Good to see.

Good to hear.



It’s a market they’ll have to tap in to if there genuinely are loads of fans refusing to buy the new stuff (I doubt it’s thousands as suggested earlier but whatever the number, if they’re prepared to buy the retro stuff, then keep it coming).

A fair and anticipated response re Celtic however, our “brand” is Warriors.

I don’t know a single fan who describes us as the Warriors

Opposing fans rarely if ever call us Warriors. We are Pie Eaters, simply Wigan, a few still use Cherry and Whites.



I’m not a marketing guy but I am a finance guy so I fully understand income streams and the need to at the very least to maintain them however, people with far better imagination and design skills could on an annual basis make minor tweaks e.g. no collar or collar, new sponsor, thickness of the hoops, all merchandise should only be in cherry and white never black etc etc.



As a club we’ve invested in Warriors.

I’m still unconvinced even after I believe good sales in 2021 on merchandise. Let’s see what happens over the next few years. Will be interesting to see how the new marketing director moves on this front.

Good stuff. I was getting the away one for Christmas but noticed that they were no longer being advertised in the club shop. Guess I’ll just have to wait now.

I would absolutely kill for a retro home shirt signed by as many players from the early nineties. In fact framed I'd probably pay a couple of hundred quid for it. Whilst I'm not expecting to have every player (some overseas players will be hard to reach by now).



Im thinking the club are planning to lay on a number of events throughout the 150th season. How great would it be to invite the 'dream team squad' from the early nineties. Get them to sign a large number of shirts so that they can be framed and sold for decent money. Another big money maker.

I would imagine the increase in merchandise sales is more to do with the quality of the products rather than the badge. Bought more in the last 2 years than I have over the 10 years prior. I notice the hoodies aren't listed at the moment - was hoping to get hold of one but they seem to have sold out.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"I would absolutely kill for a retro home shirt signed by as many players from the early nineties. In fact framed I'd probably pay a couple of hundred quid for it. Whilst I'm not expecting to have every player (some overseas players will be hard to reach by now). Im thinking the club are planning to lay on a number of events throughout the 150th season. How great would it be to invite the 'dream team squad' from the early nineties. Get them to sign a large number of shirts so that they can be framed and sold for decent money. Another big money maker.'" And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 Quote MattyBIn the Club’s 150th year Wigan Warriors will engage with past players better than ever before. Working with the Past Players Association, we aim to reach out and keep in touch with as many former players who have represented Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club as possible. The Association was previously run by Barbara Thompson who sadly passed away in August this year. For over 30 years, Barbara was also involved with The Riversiders Supporters Club and was most recently the treasurer. As a Club, we are committed to continuing what Barbara left behind, and with the help from Club Historian Keith Sutch, we aim to collect contact details from every living relative and/or every player to have ever represented the Club. Executive Director, Kris Radlinski, said: “2022 will see us engaged with our past players better than ever before. Barbara Thompson ran the Association for so long and we owe it to her legacy to carry it on. 1,113 players have represented our great Club with another five players at least to be given their Heritage Number this year. With many activities planned to celebrate the 150th year, we need to build our database of player contacts, so please get involved if you can help supply details. It is our intention to celebrate the official birthday in November 2022 with a firework display at Robin Park Arena and a parade of past players greater than we have ever assembled.” Adding to the firework display, the Club have a number of other events and plans in place to celebrate the 150th year, including a Heritage Day on Friday 5th August as Wigan host Warrington at the DW Stadium. To commemorate such a historic occasion, the Warriors will mark the Warrington fixture as a day of celebration. On 18th January 1873, Wigan played their first ever game as a Rugby League Club – against Warrington and Round 22 next season will see the whole Club – including past players – come together to celebrate 150 years of history. Most recently this week, the Club launched a past players gym club, where we invite and welcome all former players to use training facilities within our Matrix gym at Robin Park Arena on a regular basis. There are also discussions taking place for a past players event, Q&A nights and an evening dinner. Leadership and Management Director, Shaun Wane, is a big advocate of the Past Players Association. He said: “To have played for my hometown club was my dream as a kid, to have achieved it was even better than I ever imagined. “Making my debut was a day I will always remember for the rest of my life. That is why I am so proud to be known as a Wigan player, the period when we played, or the things we won or how many games we played is irrelevant because the only thing that really matters is that we played for this great Club. “That is what bonds all the past players together, many have wanted to do it but we did it. We are the past players of this great club and we are proud.” The Club are asking former players or the families of former players to get in touch so we can update our contact details data. Please get in touch with us today by filling out our short form below. As we look to expand the Association, we will keep in touch with all members on a regular basis with access to free match home tickets throughout the 2022 season and monthly newsletters. '"

Quote MattyB="MattyB"I would absolutely kill for a retro home shirt signed by as many players from the early nineties. In fact framed I'd probably pay a couple of hundred quid for it. Whilst I'm not expecting to have every player (some overseas players will be hard to reach by now). Im thinking the club are planning to lay on a number of events throughout the 150th season. How great would it be to invite the 'dream team squad' from the early nineties. Get them to sign a large number of shirts so that they can be framed and sold for decent money. Another big money maker.'" And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 Quote MattyBIn the Club’s 150th year Wigan Warriors will engage with past players better than ever before. Working with the Past Players Association, we aim to reach out and keep in touch with as many former players who have represented Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club as possible. The Association was previously run by Barbara Thompson who sadly passed away in August this year. For over 30 years, Barbara was also involved with The Riversiders Supporters Club and was most recently the treasurer. As a Club, we are committed to continuing what Barbara left behind, and with the help from Club Historian Keith Sutch, we aim to collect contact details from every living relative and/or every player to have ever represented the Club. Executive Director, Kris Radlinski, said: “2022 will see us engaged with our past players better than ever before. Barbara Thompson ran the Association for so long and we owe it to her legacy to carry it on. 1,113 players have represented our great Club with another five players at least to be given their Heritage Number this year. With many activities planned to celebrate the 150th year, we need to build our database of player contacts, so please get involved if you can help supply details. It is our intention to celebrate the official birthday in November 2022 with a firework display at Robin Park Arena and a parade of past players greater than we have ever assembled.” Adding to the firework display, the Club have a number of other events and plans in place to celebrate the 150th year, including a Heritage Day on Friday 5th August as Wigan host Warrington at the DW Stadium. To commemorate such a historic occasion, the Warriors will mark the Warrington fixture as a day of celebration. On 18th January 1873, Wigan played their first ever game as a Rugby League Club – against Warrington and Round 22 next season will see the whole Club – including past players – come together to celebrate 150 years of history. Most recently this week, the Club launched a past players gym club, where we invite and welcome all former players to use training facilities within our Matrix gym at Robin Park Arena on a regular basis. There are also discussions taking place for a past players event, Q&A nights and an evening dinner. Leadership and Management Director, Shaun Wane, is a big advocate of the Past Players Association. He said: “To have played for my hometown club was my dream as a kid, to have achieved it was even better than I ever imagined. “Making my debut was a day I will always remember for the rest of my life. That is why I am so proud to be known as a Wigan player, the period when we played, or the things we won or how many games we played is irrelevant because the only thing that really matters is that we played for this great Club. “That is what bonds all the past players together, many have wanted to do it but we did it. We are the past players of this great club and we are proud.” The Club are asking former players or the families of former players to get in touch so we can update our contact details data. Please get in touch with us today by filling out our short form below. As we look to expand the Association, we will keep in touch with all members on a regular basis with access to free match home tickets throughout the 2022 season and monthly newsletters. '"

What is the A&E you keep mentioning Itchy?

As an outsider to this, has anyone noticed that the people most vocal about this were also the people most vocal about BLM and against George Williams as well





I'm not saying there's a pattern there...

What a whopper.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" This is absolutely fantastic and great work by the club. I love this kinda stuff. We've got the greatest history of any RL club and there's a treasure trove to unlock. If they do this right there's something for everyone - from fans who grew up and loved Boston to the ones who grew up with Richards etc + everything in between. I really hope there's a small % aimed at the administrators of the club too. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see Monie, Lowe or even Maurice get involved in this. Even likeable guys like Endacott etc would be a blast from the past too.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" This is absolutely fantastic and great work by the club. I love this kinda stuff. We've got the greatest history of any RL club and there's a treasure trove to unlock. If they do this right there's something for everyone - from fans who grew up and loved Boston to the ones who grew up with Richards etc + everything in between. I really hope there's a small % aimed at the administrators of the club too. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see Monie, Lowe or even Maurice get involved in this. Even likeable guys like Endacott etc would be a blast from the past too.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" It's starting to feel like Wigan Rugby Club again.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" It's starting to feel like Wigan Rugby Club again.

They started in 1888 with a predominantly white shirt and then from 1889- 1904 in green/white vertical stripes. From then until now green/white hoops.

I agree. I mentioned on a post a few weeks back that I like Rads 'legends' interviews and would be great to see a monthly interview with a past legend whether they be a coach or player. There would be so many to choose from that the club literally have years and years worth of footage. Plus it would make a superb archive for existing supporters to cherish and future supporters to learn from.

Indeed it does. Supporters of a club with a rich history of success long for nostalgia and the good thing is there's plenty of money to be made by tapping into it. Anyone familiar with the movie 'Field of Dreams' will recognise the last few scenes where James Earl Jones sums it up beautifully:







By bringing back past players and coaches from the 80s and 90s on a regular basis to Robin Park and the DW on match days would be an absolute goldmine if promoted and merchandised right.

You are spot on but i needs to be done right.

They used to get loads of past players down and they spent the majority (virtually all) of it in Rigalettos hidden away from the vast majority.

I had a great chat with Cowie and Kelvin but they wouold have been better in with the "ordinary" for want of a better word Support.



I remember when Gordon Harrison and (mainly) Keith Mills started trying to rekindle the past players association.. There wasnt even a proper list.

Such a wasted resource.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" This is fantastic and I also really enjoy our history being celebrated. I don't mean to sound pedantic though but if you delve into the club's history I think the club perhaps needs to be careful on referring to it as the club's 150th year. We haven't actually existed for a continuous 150 year period. If we are saying the club was formed in 1872, disbanding in 1877 before reforming in 1879 then there's clearly a gap (of just under 2 years). As I say it could just be me being pedantic but it needs to be correct. On the above basis though you'd say that this is the 150th anniversary year since the club's foundation and it should be celebrated.

Quote MattyB="MattyB"And as if by magic...... after only 90 minutes it almost feels like they are responding to me personally. https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/sta ... B6NRA&s=19 '" This is fantastic and I also really enjoy our history being celebrated. I don't mean to sound pedantic though but if you delve into the club's history I think the club perhaps needs to be careful on referring to it as the club's 150th year. We haven't actually existed for a continuous 150 year period. If we are saying the club was formed in 1872, disbanding in 1877 before reforming in 1879 then there's clearly a gap (of just under 2 years). As I say it could just be me being pedantic but it needs to be correct. On the above basis though you'd say that this is the 150th anniversary year since the club's foundation and it should be celebrated.

You’re right, it is pedantic







But a nice little history lesson