Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: NellyWellyWaspy on December 30, 2021, 06:09:20 PM
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He doesn't know, but doesn't want to stay.
About as fragile/available as Marcus, and probably wants a big salary. Can't see anybody snapping him up. These days it is about VFM, and an expensive player who is not often wearing your shirt is not what you want.
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I was wondering this...
If he wants a big salary and doesn't care about league position I'm shocked he left Bath! Alternative is Worcester. No idea where else would have him.
I mean if Minozzi and Marcus Watson leave then potentially us, but given his injury record I hope not. Rather spend cash elsewhere in the squad.
Might take sabbatical overseas. With players like Radwan coming through, why not? He's young enough.
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No not us please.
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Only three possibilities I can see. Japan, France or Sarries.
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Only three possibilities I can see. Japan, France or Sarries.
I think Sarries think themselves adequately stocked for next year already, all buttoned down in contracts. Anybody who does leave them, Sarries already know about. I also imagine most teams have done the same, which is why Bath have let him go. They feel they have the right balance in their squad without him. I also seriously doubt any French team would want him, indeed they too are likely all buttoned up.
I cannot see him being a good fit in Japan, but a USA based team might take a punt, at maybe a tenth of his current contract? And he might feel that is not worth it.
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With Miller almost back ,and Atkinson , with Crossdale slotting in nicely, I am happy with our cover at full back. Don’t forget Cameron Anderson in background too.
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I reckon he could find a French team willing to pay too much for him. 4 Lions caps and a starter in a world cup final... There'll be some rich benefactor eager to throw money at him.
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He isn't injury prone, he's had an Achilles injury that went south.
You wont find more injury prone players than Miller or Marcus. Miller is always injured without actually playing and Marcus has been out for long spells multiple times.
Money aside, i'd take him over both, also over Minozzi. The killer is he's away with England, for that reason plus a decent salary, i'd have to pass, but only for those reasons.
I doubt he'll go aboard, it's a misconception that it's $ utopia, especially given the 250k he'll earn a year with Eng....
He's the kind of player you have to make space for, be interesting to see where he end's up..I can see a fit at Saints, they'll be losing Bit T who's on a wedge apparently, plus Collins may be out of contract...but that's just a guess.
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I agree.
On ability alone, I'd have him in a heart beat.
But availability is the issue - whether it be injuries or England.
It's going to be a tough balancing act for a couple of years.
Every club wants the best players, but the best will likely have the least availability
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I would rather have our focus on recruiting a couple of below the radar centres, who quickly establish themselves as first team players, like Frosty has at hooker.
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I agree.
On ability alone, I'd have him in a heart beat.
But availability is the issue - whether it be injuries or England.
It's going to be a tough balancing act for a couple of years.
Every club wants the best players, but the best will likely have the least availability
With the cap so much lower, clubs now face the prospect of having to release or forgo likely international players in favour of second string players who have, on paper, less chance of a call up. With only one marquee allowed, we will also see less non EQPs. In a way both are good for the Premiership, and likely to lead to a larger pool of players for Eddie to call on. Whilst we can all see that players will want to play for their national team, now most such aspirations will be whispered about, for fear of the implications at contract renewal time. Having an England International squad players in your squad is now an expensive luxury clubs cannot afford. I would say it is fortunate that Eddie seems to favour players from certain teams, and one of those is not Wasps.
I do think we will be at risk, as a nation, of losing International talent when clubs don't want to sign them when they become available. The mere fact that Watson has no team to go to is what I think will become more common. I also think Ford and Genge were both fortunate to find clubs to sign them. Some will not be so lucky.
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I agree.
On ability alone, I'd have him in a heart beat.
But availability is the issue - whether it be injuries or England.
It's going to be a tough balancing act for a couple of years.
Every club wants the best players, but the best will likely have the least availability
With the cap so much lower, clubs now face the prospect of having to release or forgo likely international players in favour of second string players who have, on paper, less chance of a call up. With only one marquee allowed, we will also see less non EQPs. In a way both are good for the Premiership, and likely to lead to a larger pool of players for Eddie to call on. Whilst we can all see that players will want to play for their national team, now most such aspirations will be whispered about, for fear of the implications at contract renewal time. Having an England International squad players in your squad is now an expensive luxury clubs cannot afford. I would say it is fortunate that Eddie seems to favour players from certain teams, and one of those is not Wasps.
I do think we will be at risk, as a nation, of losing International talent when clubs don't want to sign them when they become available. The mere fact that Watson has no team to go to is what I think will become more common. I also think Ford and Genge were both fortunate to find clubs to sign them. Some will not be so lucky.
Good points, but of course current players have high salary expectations and nobody likes taking a pay cut. Over time you players will have to set their pay expectations set lower if they want to play for England.
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I haven't a clue where Watson will end up but Barf supporters also think Jonathan Joseph is off too, in which case I'd like us to put an offer in to him if Fekitoa leaves us at the end of this season.
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I've seen these sentiments that we should sign Joseph elsewhere, u really don't get why. Talented player, but terribly injury prone.
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I’ve never really got the fuss about Watson. A good winger - yes. But to be honest I’d bracket him with the likes of Bassett, O’Flaherty, Thorley and others. He may be a tiny step up on what we’ve got but availability and likely cost make it a non-starter for me. Joseph has more appeal but I agree with a point made above in that on balance I’d prefer a hungry prospect. Assuming we retain most apart from maybe Fekitoa and those in the nicest sense that we choose to lose I think we only really need to recruit at centre - but we need two.
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JJ hasn’t played well for about 3 seasons now and is injured a fair bit not sure he is a good option. Plus I should think he would want a lot of money.
If AW goes to Sarries that would be someone else on a lot of money. Koch can’t be the only person needed to go to get below the cap. Maitland will not be on the same wage as AW. If AW goes to Sarries then I’m afraid question need to be asked again, how can they have 6 lions players and be below the cap
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Was reading the Bath forum yesterday. They weren’t exactly distraught at the thought of him leaving
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Was reading the Bath forum yesterday. They weren’t exactly distraught at the thought of him leaving
I'm torn on him as a player. Probably one of my favourites from when I followed the U-20's (in lieu of Twickenham prices and availability) and thought he was wasted at wing. But I also think he's been somewhat lacking for Bath in recent seasons. They've had much better value out of say, Roko.
I do think he'd be improved from moving clubs - but it's not a compromise in terms of squad cost, that I'd want. I'd much prefer to spend on two centres - a Quins 12 a-like perhaps - and look to expand how we want to play.
In previous "good times" we've often had fairly solid centres with a ball playing 15 to complement the 10 - and dangerous wingers. And in many ways that provides good pay back as the key attacking thinking comes from outside the 12/13 channels. I think such a 12/13 would benefit Jacob too.
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I agree.
On ability alone, I'd have him in a heart beat.
But availability is the issue - whether it be injuries or England.
It's going to be a tough balancing act for a couple of years.
Every club wants the best players, but the best will likely have the least availability
With the cap so much lower, clubs now face the prospect of having to release or forgo likely international players in favour of second string players who have, on paper, less chance of a call up. With only one marquee allowed, we will also see less non EQPs. In a way both are good for the Premiership, and likely to lead to a larger pool of players for Eddie to call on. Whilst we can all see that players will want to play for their national team, now most such aspirations will be whispered about, for fear of the implications at contract renewal time. Having an England International squad players in your squad is now an expensive luxury clubs cannot afford. I would say it is fortunate that Eddie seems to favour players from certain teams, and one of those is not Wasps.
I do think we will be at risk, as a nation, of losing International talent when clubs don't want to sign them when they become available. The mere fact that Watson has no team to go to is what I think will become more common. I also think Ford and Genge were both fortunate to find clubs to sign them. Some will not be so lucky.
I disagree. Ford and Genge lined up moves, there was nothing fortunate about it, they are some of the best players in their position.
As for lost talent, there are only so many places available in so many leagues, and with the French JIF, that net is closing..we'll have a year of realisation of the new rugby norm and it'll setlle down.
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How about AW going to Bristol? Might be the best bet for a decent wedge despite the revised salary cap.
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A lot comes down to how long players (and agents) think this will go on for.
If it's 2 years of lower salaries and then the cap increases again, some players may look at moving to clubs where they may be able to get an increased salary in the future
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I suspect one thing that is certain is that he already has his next move signed and sealed.
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How about AW going to Bristol? Might be the best bet for a decent wedge despite the revised salary cap.
That's exactly what I was thinking
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Irish are the rumoured destination.
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Interesting. That would make sense.
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Seen a bit of speculation (not great source) suggesting we have become the front runners.
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Seen a bit of speculation (not great source) suggesting we have become the front runners.
Hope the hell not!
Too often missing from Bath action - injured or England - for my liking.
Our current Watson is a rarely available player so why double up?
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Seen a bit of speculation (not great source) suggesting we have become the front runners.
What's the source?
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Seen a bit of speculation (not great source) suggesting we have become the front runners.
What's the source?
No thanks. It's centres that we need. Plus he would always be among the walking wounded.
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Seen a bit of speculation (not great source) suggesting we have become the front runners.
What's the source?
No thanks. It's centres that we need. Plus he would always be among the walking wounded.
Completely agree, don't want an international made of glass. But was curious where this came from.
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Heart says: yes please! Absolutely quality player!
But,
Head says: is he injured too often?
It might be that he has had his run of bad luck & a change of team may change his injury status?
Bit of a gamble though, especially given the current wasps injury curse!
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Agree, just don’t see this as value for money at all.
We have just invested in Crossdale at FB who will get better and better and needs to play and investing that much for a winger just doesn’t seem worth it to me.
I’d put all that money into an Estherhuizen equivalent (if there is one) at 12
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Source (inverted comma’s) was ruck. Main reason from seemed to be because we’d got rid of Fekitoa which added to the doubt. I’m not a big fan to be honest and as has been said above I don’t think it would be a good move for us for any number of reasons.
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Excellent player, but as others have said, unlikely to offer particularly good VFM in terms of number of games he'd be likely to play per season.
Turning the tables to see it from AW's point of view, and it possibly looks even more far fetched. "I've had a pretty rotten run with injuries of late, maybe a change of scenery will bring about a change of fortune on the injury front, but where...?"
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Agree, just don’t see this as value for money at all.
We have just invested in Crossdale at FB who will get better and better and needs to play and investing that much for a winger just doesn’t seem worth it to me.
I’d put all that money into an Estherhuizen equivalent (if there is one) at 12
A flippin men to all of this. Crossdale looks like he could turn into proper quality if given a decent chance. I’ve never quite got the adulation for Watson but then I’m in the minority. Also Estherhuizen is a huge part of why Quins have become such a good team. I really liked Wasps backs when we had Siale Piutau, it’s what we’ve sorely missed since he left.
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I really liked Wasps backs when we had Siale Piutau, it’s what we’ve sorely missed since he left
Bristol might be thinking the same!
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What’s he up to now?
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What’s he up to now?
Japan
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Lee's Comments-
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/wasps-respond-to-rumour-they-are-favourites-to-sign-anthony-watson-lee-blackett/
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Lee's Comments-
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/wasps-respond-to-rumour-they-are-favourites-to-sign-anthony-watson-lee-blackett/
Extract from the article.
It was reported that Wasps had been in touch with Watson’s representatives and the hope was that a contract offer would be made at the end of this week.
This allegation, though, was news to Wasps boss Blackett who dismissed the rumour when questioned about Watson on Thursday at his media briefing before this Sunday’s match versus Leicester. “I have not spoken to Anthony Watson,” replied Blackett when quizzed about the speculation that Wasps were poised to sign the England international.
Has he spoken to anyone at the club? “If he was coming to the club he would have spoken to me,” added Blackett, who then muddied the waters with a mischievous follow-up quip. “It doesn’t mean we won’t, does it?”
Following that remark, it was suggested that Marcus Watson could act as the go-between. “Well, there you go, Marcus has spoken to him,” quipped Blackett with a smile to end the discussion about the coveted Bath player.
Oooooh that Lee Blackett is a right tease :) :) :)
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"Has he spoken to anyone at the club?" is a bit of a daft question given that his brother is at the club!
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didn't realise he was only 28, that means he could easily get over his injury issues & be a decent signing.
Jonny Wilkinson went to Toulon at what 30? And was a different player injury wise with move to a different environment
If he had a clean medical & subject to his wage demands I would be interested if I was Lee Blackett
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Interesting bait 'n' switch. The club was accused of talking to his representatives but Lee denied talking to him.
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If he had a clean medical & subject to his wage demands I would be interested if I was Lee Blackett
Surely for that to be the case, you would be showing the door to one brother, whilst opening the door to the other?
A bit brutal.
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Why would you not sign A Watson? Realistically his England days are probably behind him given the emergence of Malins, Steward, Radwan and others, with May also lurking. He is undeniable quality, and his injury record isn't that bad, especially in comparison to 75% of our squad.
If Minozzi was moving on, then it would be a smart bit of business to bring Watson in. Versatile to play 15, but could start on the wing with Crossdale continuing at 15.
Fekitoa doesn't seem to be having the best luck with suitors. I wonder if a lower offer will be made for him to stay?
Saw further up the thread that Collins might be leaving Saints? He would be worth making an offer to. Premiership quality, experienced, versatile, available season-round.
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Anthony Watson still firmly in the England picture when fit. He's mostly played on the wing for England, and Steward is more of a specialist full back; Malins seems to be perennially benched, probably a victim of his versatility, covering 10, wing and FB; Radwan has yet to start a tier 1 test. Personally I would say May is under greater threat of the 2 incumbent wings than Watson who was a Lion just 6 months ago. I'd be delighted to see him at Wasps, but concerned as to whether we'd get real VFM out of him.
It's funny how our expectations have evolved. 10-15 years ago we'd have about half (or more) of our starting XV regularly away with England, and it was a source of pride. Yes we sometimes (but not often) struggled without them, but when we had them all available then we were pretty much unbeatable. It's why I will always be a staunch supporter of the playoff system.
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He is obviously a quality player and would undoubtedly Improve our squad. For me it’s just about the VFM
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AW is definitely still in the mix for more International honours but unless we are losing both Kibirige and Minozzi I would be surprised if we could afford or prioritise a player of Anthony's quality in our Back 3.
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Bobby has added to his earlier piece on the subject:
The thoughts of CoventryLive rugby writer Bobby Bridge...
"It's always tricky putting a head coach on the spot regarding transfer rumours, Lee Blackett was hardly going to confirm the transfer upon me putting the speculation before him. However, he didn't straight bat it or dismiss it completely as an option, which was intriguing.
"There's no doubting, when fit, Anthony Watson is an elite-level performer. You don't go on two Lions tours unless you're a serious talent or earn 51 England caps scoring 22 tries along the way.
"However, his injury record and international commitments have limited him to just 33 Premiership appearances across the past five seasons. Is that really the best way for Wasps to spend their money?
"As Wasps know keenly, ACL injuries are tough ones to recover from but, despite all of his achievements, Watson is still only 27 years of age. That's plenty of time to make a fresh start somewhere. I just don't think it will be with Wasps."
I didn't realise that he had so few Prem appearances. Definitely not VFM.
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Wow I didn't realise it was quite so few either
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Wow that is ridiculously low, that is definitely not VFM