21/10/2024
Joe Wardle's decision to call it a day as a player in order to become Oldham's assistant coach is merely the latest of several announcements to suggest that Roughyeds are indeed on the move.
Two of his comments on Roughyeds TV caught my eye. 1, "There is a lot happening behind the scenes that fans are not aware of," and 2: "Oldham is destined to be back in Super League."
Those sort of comments from a man as well respected as Joe Wardle certainly are sure to strike a chord with fans. That's the first thing I would say. The second is this: The Joe Wardle announcement finally males credence of the previously unpopular decision not to renew Brendan Sheridan's contract.
There always has been, and always will be, tittle-tattle surrounding unpopular decisions, Personally, I make little of allegations of middle-of-the night phone calls etc and counter claims that this was merely an error of timing from the other side of the world.
I have absolutely no doubt that it happened, but does it matter all that much? The point at issue is whether or not Oldham should have gone down this route in the first place. The naming of Wardle as his successor merely put it into perspective and made it far more understandable.
I have no doubt it was a tough decision because Brendan wasn't only a nice guy, one of the best, but in five years here he had worked under a few coaches who had all said he was good at his job. Suffice for me to say, while wishing him the best for what follows, is that two into one won't go; that it would appear to have been a case of A or B; that if not one it was the other; that you can't solve the problem with a chain saw down the middle (you are still left with the poser of which half); that half a man is out of the question; that one of them was bound to be gutted and let down.
There is no room for sentiment in pro sport, as players and coaches have discovered down the years, and Oldham must live with their tough decision, accepting the brickbats or the high-fives, depending on how Wardle does.
If he takes to coaching like I think he will, Joe will be a wow and in Sean Long (head coach) and Andrew Dixon (newly-appointed Head of Performance) Wardle will be surrounded by good men and true.
The signings of Gil Dudson and Adam Milner and the decision of PLT to stay here on loan for another season are other pointers in keeping with all the good news that's coming from the club.
Pity about George Hirst, but you can't win 'em all and with a talent like him at the age of 23, it was always going to be hard to keep him . . . Pretty well impossible when a club like Wigan jumped in first.
Things are generally going great though – and I can't wait to see what Bill Quinn and/or Mike Ford have up their sleeve to tell us next.