Monthly Archives: August 2011

From Harry to Hugo — What happened to goalscoring?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Reflections and tagged with , , , , ,

Goalscoring

Match day at Springfield Park, early sixties. The smell of meat pies and the familiar marching band music before kick off. Standing in the paddock ready to hear the clip-clopping of the boots as the players emerge from the tunnel. That familiar smell of oil of wintergreen. There must be two thousand here today. The excitement is buliding up: will it be Harry Lyon or Peter Higham at centre forward today? It was a cause for debate between me and my Dad at the time. The to-become-legendary Harry had arrived from Burscough and the classy Peter Higham’s place was now threatened. Which one was our manager, Johnny Ball, going to pick? Higham was a fine centre forward, leading his line with determination and skill, his “league” experience showing through. Lyon was a raw recruit from a tiny club on the railway route to Southport. “Leading the line” was not his great strength. Scoring goals was what Lyon was all about. Ball tried something different for a little while by playing Higham at number 9 and Lyon on the left wing. I can remember Harry scoring a header from that position: a cross to the far post and there he was, having drifted in from the wing. The experiment did not last long. Strikers in those days relied on service from the wings and Lyon could not provide that for Higham . Besides he was wasted there. He was to get a Lyon’s share of goals – 68 in one season – so many of them coming from the crosses from wingers like Walter Stanley.

Times have indeed changed. Latics were in the Cheshire League then, after having left the Lancashire Combination with its “big boot” approach. We would deride teams like Chorley for playing “kick and rush”. Latics were more sophisticated than that: they tried to play good football (although not always succeeding). Alf Ramsey was to step in and win the World Cup for England with his 4-4-2 system: the wingless wonders. The winger became a dying breed, wide midfielders becoming the norm. The game became more defensive worldwide and the number of goals per game in the old First Division dropped.

So what’s new? Well the Latics are now in their seventh season in the Premier League. Hugo Rodallega is our most recognized centre forward. He has scored 22 goals in 89 appearances for the Latics and rumour tells us that Arsenal now want him. But he only scores one goal every four games, a far cry from the days of Harry Lyon. Yes the game has changed since Harry’s time but shouldn’t our centre forwards be scoring more? Jason Scotland couldn’t score goals for Latics, neither could Mauro Boselli, despite their previous successes in other leagues. Henri Camara could but then he lost it. Even the legendary Emile Heskey only scored 15 goals in 82 appearances for us. Why can’t our centre forwards score more goals? Are they not good enough or are they not getting the service they need?

The role of the lone central striker is not much fun. You have two giant and speedy centre halves ready to crunch you as soon as you get the ball. You have to be super-fit and resilient. You have to ”lead the line”, holding the ball up for teammates. Then when you are wiped out from doing that you are expected to score goals too! Latics’ tactics are not dissimilar to those of Barcelona. Even David Villa plays on the left wing sometimes, as does Hugo. But Barcelona score around three goals per game in a pretty strong league. Villa scores a few, whether he plays centrally or wide. So why can’t Rodallega (or Sammon or Di Santo) get more goals? Is the most important aspect of the role of the Latics centre forward to score goals or to lead the line? Di Santo is pretty good at the latter, but one never expects him to score. Sammon poses more of a goal threat but is raw and does not have the Argentinian’s ball skills. Rodallega can do both, but so many times he looks a forlorn figure.

Unlike Lyon, Rodallega is unlikely to get lovely crosses from wingers to get goals (don’t get me wrong, Harry also scored a lot of goals by getting in where it hurts). The wingers are there to turn inside and shoot. The overlapping full back is the better bet. Boyce’s passing and crossing has hugely improved since Martinez took over. Figueroa too can put in a nice cross. What a beauty he put in for Rodallega at Stoke last season! If you put more men forward you have more chance of scoring. However, when you have a porous defence you need to hold back your midfielders for protection. Look at Barcelona – they do not have the best defenders around, but their defensive record is excellent. I read a statistic recently that their right back, Dani Alves, spent more time last season in the opponents’ half of the field than his own. I doubt that will be the case with Boyce and Figueroa. So how do Barcelona defend so well? They defend from the front, often pressing defenders in their own half. They attack and defend as a block. Their movement is fantastic. Every time one of their players has the ball there is a player in space, ready to receive it. They retain the ball and by about sixty minutes the opposing team is tiring from chasing it. They also have players like Xavi and Iniesta who can put in that defence-splitting pass, something we sadly lack. The hope is that players like McCarthy and Diame will eventually have the poise and confidence to do this. Maybe David Jones? If not then I cannot see Rodallega or whoever plays centre forward getting a better goal ratio.

The Martinez project remains a work in progress. He has changed the approach and shows great long-term vision for the club. Latics players have clearly learned something about “movement” (aka “running off the ball”). Hopefully they will mature this season and really get it together as a unit. There has been so much promise but we have lacked consistency in the delivery. Oh for that telling pass or cross for the centre forward!

Wigan 1 Norwich 1: Could have been worse, should have been much better

Posted by Ned in Match Reports and tagged with , , , ,

Match Report: Wigan Athletic 1 Norwich City 1

It is widely accepted that newly promoted teams are at their most dangerous in the first half of the season. Wigan Athletic was not the only club to discover that last year, with Arsenal losing at home to Blackpool and United being humbled at Burnley the year before that. Supporters are out in droves in the stands (the brighter their kits the greater odds of success, apparently), and on the pitch, sheer energy, belief and that winning attitude that comes from promotion, tends to mask inadequacies that so often prove the downfall later in the year.

Yesterday was another example. Though at  times sloppy and indecisive, Latics were a league above Norwich in terms of quality and pace, but the newly promoted side gave it all and got their reward. Poor finishing (two Di Santo headers, Sammon), some brave last ditch defending (De Laet from Rodallega and Moses), the Norwich keeper’s right post (denying Watson a sublime strike from the outside of his right boot), and an uncharacteristic blunder from keeper Ali Al-Habsi kept Latics from taking three points in this one, but sometimes you create your luck, and Norwich did just that.

You can read a more traditional match report here, along with Roberto’s post-match comments (more on those later), but for the time being here are the positives, the negatives, and some player ratings:

Positives:

Lots of goal-scoring chances. Victor Moses must have set a record with the amount of times he went past defenders. He is fantastic to watch and will only get better. Finishing needs work, although he did provide a sublime cross that Di Santo somehow managed to head over the bar. Moses needs to keep a cooler head when stepping into the box. N’Zogbia had that ability to pick out a corner, take his time, curl the ball rather than blast it. Moses tends to snatch at the ball, rushing hit shot. He’s a work in progress, but Norwich certainly couldn’t handle him.

Ben Watson gets better and better. Roberto tipped him for an England call-up this season. He’s an odd player, deceptively skillful;  he took his penalty very well, hit the post with a lovely strike in the second half, and almost set up a winner from the left wing after uncharacteristically beating the Norwich right-back for pace and sliding a cross in.

Maynor Figueroa looked lively, bursting forward and delivering two fantastic crosses, one of which Sammon should have done better with. He looked a bit tired toward the end with a few stray passes, but the side will need him joining the attack as he did yesterday. Probably benefited from Norwich’s concern with Victor Moses down that left flank. Theirs should prove an important partnership as the season goes on.

Negatives:

Poor finishing. Di Santo and Sammon both should have put the game to sleep, but Mo Diame also had a golden chance and went for a Hollywood lob from 4o yards out when he could have waltzed in and laid the ball of for Di Santo or finished himself. Moses might have done better with his final pass or shot on several occasions. Rodallega, on as a sub, looked lively, but you wonder if he would have scored at least one of those crosses had he been in the center-forward role rather than out wide.

Adrian Lopez had an absolute nightmare. Out-muscled, out of position and dodgy in possesion, you had to feel sorry for the guy after missing 10 minutes of the first half getting stitches after a collision with Norwich’s Morison, who by the looks of things has a very hard head. I assume, though haven’t confirmed that  neither Alcaraz nor Gohouri were fit enough to play, but based on this performance, it might be a better option to play Emmerson Boyce in the center with Caldwell, and give Stam another chance at right back.

Poor Al-Habsi. Bad mistake, cost the team two points. I hope, and doubt, it will happen again.

Player Ratings:

Al-Habsi:  4 — Didn’t have much to do, but made a fatal mistake and it visibly affected him for the rest of the match.

Boyce: 5 — Solid, but didn’t get forward much. If Jordi Gomez is going to be playing on the right wing, he will need to make overlapping runs, or that side of the pitch will be completely wasted.

Caldwell: 6 — Solid enough as well, can’t fault him for much, though it appeared he and Lopez had met in a bar the night before the match. But he did make some important blocks.

Lopez: 3 — Really dreadful. A liability. Had to get stitches early in the match, but he’d made a mistake before that, in the buildup to the collision. Looked uncomfortable, too slight against battering rams like Holt and Morison, and it was a relief when Martinez finally withdrew him.

Figueroa: 7 — Very positive attacking play. Used his pace well and looked dangerous. Norwich eventually started fouling him. Delivered a couple crosses that should have led to match-winners.

Watson: 7 — Looked a little rusty, but it promises to be a breakthrough season for him. What a shame his shot didn’t bounce in off the post.

Diame: 5 — Good on the ball, and went on some trademark mazy runs, but ultimately wasted the ball, and faded out of the match for minutes at a time. So much potential, but needs to keep his focus.

McCarthy: 5 — Clearly bothered by the ankle injury sustained against Villareal, James was very quiet by his standards. Played two very classy balls that could have led to goals, but the team will need him fit and firing this season.

Jordi Gomez: 5 — Not a right winger. You can’t really say he did much wrong, but his lack of pace makes that part of the field a non-threat. I suppose he could have been dangerous on set plays if there had been any, but there weren’t.

Moses: 8 — They didn’t know how to handle him. Just needs to work on his finishing, but constantly went past defenders as though they were training cones.

Di Santo: 6 — An infuriating player. Looked energetic and won the penalty (and then made a meal of what might have been a second penalty at the end of the first half), but showed again his lack of finishing. That said, Latics looked less of a threat when he went off.

Subs:

Rodallega: 6 — Looked lively and had one decent effort, and another blocked by about five Norwich defenders. But might have won the match if he’d been playing centrally. Why not put Di Santo out on the left for a bit and move Roda inside?

Sammon: 4 — Uncomfortable on the ball, he ran around a lot but squandered his only chance.

Stam: 5 — Not on the pitch too long, he was Ok.

In Conclusion:

Roberto said after the match that the squad needs two more faces. He also clarified that the recent bid for Peter Odemwingie, West Brom’s excellent striker, was not intended as a replacement for Rodaellega but as an addition. (Phew). Unfortunately, we won’t get him anyway. But assuming at least one of the new arrivals is a decent winger able to play on the left and allowing Rodallega to move inside, I think things look alright. McCarthy will become a key player once his ankle heals. Alcaraz should be back soon, and how he was missed yesterday. Al-Habsi will hopefully bounce back as he did after his only other costly blunder against Man City last year. This should have been three points, but there are enough positives to give hope. And it’s one more point at this stage than last year.

En Español:

Al-Habsi: 4 – No tuvo mucho que hacer, pero cometió un error fatal que visiblemente lo afectó durante el resto del partido.

Boyce: 5 – Solido, pero no consiguió avanzar mucho por esa banda derecha. Si Jordi Gómez va a jugar de puntero derecho, Boyce tendrá que tomar mas riesgos para evitar que ese pasillo derecho se pierda por completo.

Caldwell: 6 – Tambien solido, cumplio.

López: 3 – Realmente terrible. Incómodo con la pelota, perdio el duelo con el delantero Morison, y casi le regala el segundo a Norwich con un pase inexplicable a Ali Al-Habsi. Tiene que mejorar. Sustuvo un fuerte golpe a la cabeza empezando el partido y volvio a la cancha con diez puntos.

Figueroa: 7 – Muy positivo, se lanzo al ataque con peligro. Mando un par de centros que debieron haber terminado en gol.

Watson: 7 – Este promete ser una gran temporada para él. Cobro su penal con autoridad, y por poco gana el partido con un tremendo derechazo.

Diáme: 5 – Vivo y con buena gambeta, pero desaprovecho una exelente oportunidad en la primera parte intentando un tiro espectacular, y se luego se perdio. Mucho potencial, pero le falta concentracion.

McCarthy: 5 – Un poco callado, probablemente por la lesión en el tobillo que sufrio contra el Villareal. Puso dos pases esplendidos que podrían haber marcardo la diferencia. Pero se espera mas de el.

Jordi Gómez: 5 – No es un puntero derecho. No es que alla hecho algo malo — incluso no perdio la bola ni una sola vez — pero su falta de velocidad significa que por costado no hay amenaza.

Moses: 8 – Un crack. Sólo le falta frialdad a la hora de definir, pero tiene fuerza, velocidad, y un dribbling espectacular. Norwich no pudo con el.

Di Santo: 6 – Un jugador exasperante. Corrio, lucho, se gano el penal, pero mostró de nuevo que no tiene definicion. Pero le hizo falta al equipo cuando lo sustituyeron.

Subs:

Rodallega: 6 – Peligroso cuando entro, pero es mejor como centro delantero. Sigue siendo el mejor definidor del equipo. Ya recuperado, tiene que ser titular contra Swansea.

Sammon: 4 – Incómodo con la bola a sus pies, corrió y lucho, pero desperdició su única oportunidad.

Stam: 5 – Solo jugo diez minutos.

McCarthy injury a concern, but less so than last year

Posted by Ned in News and tagged with , , , , , ,

James McCarthy will miss the season opener against Norwich tomorrow afternoon with an ankle injury sustained in the 1-0 friendly win over Villareal, and there is no doubt he will be missed. His return from an injury to the same ankle last season kick-started the Latics’ revival, proving just how important he is to the side.

But I’m tempted to say his absence is a smaller blow with the Latics’ current squad than it proved to be last year. If Latics have a strongest department, it must be the midfield. In addition to the starting trident of Watson, Diame and McCarthy, Roberto can call on the tough-tackling and reliable Honduran Hendry Thomas, promising all-rounder James McArthur, or creative new signing Dave Jones. It’s anyone’s guess who will start tomorrow. Thomas is the most experienced of the bunch, McArthur would be the closest to a like-for-like, while Dave Jones could play the attacking role if Mo Diame drops a bit deeper.

It is comforting and somewhat unfamiliar however, to have three good options to replace a key player ahead of an important match. Now lets hope McCarthy’s replacement doesn’t have a shocker and prove me wrong.

James McCarthy se perdera el partido de mañana contra Norwich por una lesion en su tobillo (el mismo tobillo que lo mantuvo afuera de las canchas la temporada pasada). No hay duda que la ausencia de McCarthy le pesara al equipo, pero el tecnico Roberto Martinez maneja varias opciones en esa zona del campo. El Hondureño Hendry Thomas es el mas experimentado y podria cumplir una labor mas defensiva, permitiendo que Ben Watson y Mo Diame se lanzen al ataque. James McArthur ha mostrado mucha promesa y es buena opcion. Y Dave Jones, el nuevo fichaje, le prestaria creatividad al mediocampo si se le da la oportunidad.

2011-2012 Season Preview

Posted by Ned in Other and tagged with , , , , ,

Quiet Summer: It has been far and away the quietest summer in the club’s Premier League history in terms of transfers, with Charles N’Zogbia the only high profile player out (Aston Villa, 9.5 million) and Ali Al-Habsi the only high profile arrival (Bolton, 4 million). Several players have been released and a couple have come in on free transfers, more on that later, but the relative stability in the squad, particularly given their youth, can only be a good thing. As disappointing as N’Zogbia’s transfer fee was (when you consider Stewart Downing went for 20 million), he wanted out, and it should pay the wages for another year. Such is the unfortunate reality for a small, though fast growing club like Wigan. Attendances and shirt sales are not going to cover the wage bill until that stadium is full and the club shop ships outside the UK. But the young support base is growing, and growing up, so if the team can hang on to Premier League status on this business model, the future is bright. And with talents like James McCarthy, Victor Moses, and Mohammed Diame at the club, you can be sure there will be some big fees coming the club’s way for some time to come.

Roberto Stays: Despite the quiet summer on the player front, Latics were at the center of the one of the biggest summer stories when Roberto decided to turn down Aston Villa’s approach, saying his job was not done at Wigan. Having spent two seasons weeding out the misfits from the Bruce era (my words not his), imposing his style of play, planning for the future and vastly improving the reserve and youth teams, he wanted to stick around and see it through. It is very rare to see a player or manager in football display such loyalty toward a club, particularly one with limited financial resources. It is testament to the genuine relationship Martinez has developed with Dave Whelan and the club itself since his arrival in 1995 as one of the Three Amigos. Even back then, he spoke glowingly of Mr. Whelan.

Players Out: Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa), Stephen Caldwell (Birmingham), Antonio Amaya (Real Betis), Jason Koumas, Daniel De Ridder, Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes, loan)
Of the permanent departures, only N’Zogbia and Stephen Caldwell played a match last season. The big Scot stood in for his brother and Antonlin Alcaraz, and will be fondly remembered for his professional performances at centre back, but was always more a stop-gap than long-term solution. He’ll get a lot more football for Birmingham in the Championship. Expect young Spaniard Roman Golobart to take his place in the squad as fourth choice center-back, behind Caldwell Jr., Alcaraz, Gohouri. Mauro Boselli heads back to the club where he made his name in Argentina on a one-year loan after a disappointing season in England and Italy. I would love to see him return to Wigan and succeed, but it looks more likely he is on his way out.

Players In: Ali Al-Habsi (Bolton), Dave Jones (Wolves), Nouha Dicko (Strasbourg)
Bringing in Al-Habsi permanently will be hugely important if the team is to carry over its momentum from last season. Save for his one blunder at Man City last year, he was probably the best keeper in the league. The fans love him, and he seems to love being at the club. Money well spent. Dave Jones, released by Wolves after they failed to agree a new contract, could prove to be a very astute signing. A left-footed, cultured central midfielder, I could see him easily slotting into the midfield triangle in the attacking role usually occupied by either Mohammed Diame or James McCarthy, when needed. Here’s a cracker he scored for Wolves last year. Apparently he looked right at home in the 3-1 win against Preston. The Wolves fans love him. “Great footballer, nothing left to say” and “Good player with a nice creative streak, good delivery and an eye for goal” were comments on TeamTalk.com after he signed for Wigan. Finally, the unfortunately named Nouha Dicko, who has been on trial at the club in recent weeks and looks to be coming in on a free after Strasbourg were forced to release their players due to financial difficulties. We don’t know too much about him, except he’s a French 19-year-old forward (probably destined to play on one of the wings ala N’Zogbia/Cleverley last year), and Roberto describes him as he does Victor Moses — “a player with that rare special talent.” Lets hope he’s unearthed another gem.

Still Missing: Two forwards, or at least one. With both N’Zogbia and Cleverley gone, the team only has one natural player for that position, Victor Moses. I think we need at least one established modern winger/forward, and another promising player to come off the bench (perhaps that is Dicko, or Callum McManaman). There are still rumors about Sean Wright-Phillips, although one tends to think he will opt for bigger wages or “bigger clubs” in Bolton or Sunderland. Other rumors gone by are the Paraguayan Haedo Valdez and Tranquilo Barnetta, from Switzerland, Mexicans Pablo Barrera and Gio Dos Santos, all of whom would have been excellent but seem to have fallen by the wayside. Valdez wanted to stay in Spain, Barnetta suffered an injury, Dos Santos is probably too big a fish after his big summer at the Gold Cup and Copa America, and West Ham have held on to Barrera. Carlos Vela’s agent recently said he might be sent out on loan again and could be a good option. Watch this space.

Starting Lineup: Assuming James McCarthy is fit and Rodallega and Alcaraz are cleared after their summer exertions at the Copa America, I would assume Roberto will go with the same players that finished last season (with Moses in for N’Zogbia). Al-Habsi; Figueroa, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Boyce; Watson, McCarthy, Diame; Rodallega, Sammon, Moses. I could see him opting for Di Santo rather than Sammon based on pre-season match lineups.

Norwich Prediction: The starting lineup will be very similar to the XI that learned a hard lesson against Blackpool last season. I don’t think they will make the same mistake again. Newly promoted teams are very tough opponents in the first quarter of the season (Latics face all three of them in the first three matches). But Latics have a lot more quality than Norwich, and they know what to expect. Tight, but I think Wigan wins this one.

Season Prediction: After coming so close last season with N’Zogbia, it’s hard to say with any confidence that this season will be better without him. But I think it will. There is stability at the club. Young players coming through, improving. This time last season, the captain was injured, best player on strike, and there were a number of new faces, players who had never played with each other or in the English league. The team now has an established style, defensive consistency, and they work for each other. Plus the league is, in my opinion, less even. The top teams have strengthened but none of the promoted teams have the quality that West Ham or Birmingham had, and squads like Wolves and Blackburn remain unconvincing. Mid-tablers like Villa and Newcastle, that Latics will be targeting, look weaker. That said, the fixture list has been brutal. Playing the promoted teams in the first three fixtures is tough, but playing Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd in the month of December is criminal. We all know Wigan is not the most fashionable and doesn’t make the league or sponsors buckets of money, but the fixture list this year certainly smells fishy. So — I think it will be another battle, if less dramatic than last year. I expect a more consistent season, rather than a season of two halves. 15th. 13th if a top quality player like Wright-Phillips arrives.

New Kits / Nuevos Uniformes

Posted by Ned in Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Home, Away, and Third

Sharp looking home kit, the first solid blue shirt in the top flight. Not convinced by the away kit, though that may be the choice of model. I mean I like Ben Watson, but he wasn’t made for modeling. Third kit not bad though. I might be wrong, but isn’t this the first time the club has had a third kit?

Los nuevos uniformes del Wigan para el año 2011-2012. Primera vez desde que se ascendió a la Premier League que se juega con un azul sólido. ¿Que piensan?