Author Archives: JJ (Tony)

Why Wigan Athletic Must Back Lowe and Rioch

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Specials and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,
Image courtesy of WiganToday

Why are so many Wigan Athletic supporters increasingly unhappy with both the head coach and the sporting director? For some, frustration has already tipped into calls for both to be sacked. But while the anger is understandable, removing either now would risk compounding the very problems that have led to this situation.

Saturday’s defeat to a Blackpool side sitting second from bottom of League One crystallised those frustrations. The Tangerines scored twice after poor defending from a back line missing captain and defensive lynchpin Jason Kerr through injury. Despite having far more shots, Wigan rarely looked like scoring. In a derby where intensity and commitment were expected as a minimum, the performance felt flat and uninspiring.

Latics currently sit 14th with a record of W6 D8 L6, having scored 22 and conceded 23. Given that the club’s staffing budget is reportedly within the top ten in League One, this position feels underwhelming. That perception has driven criticism beyond Ryan Lowe and towards sporting director Gregor Rioch. Yet this is where context matters.

Lowe’s tenure began with genuine promise. There was attacking intent, early momentum and real belief that a play-off challenge might be possible. That optimism unravelled after a limp 4–1 defeat at Bolton. Since then, performances have become more cautious and conservative, with the team focused on grinding out results rather than playing with freedom or flair. Lowe has also damaged goodwill by publicly criticising players and suggesting that supporter expectations “might need to be lowered”. In a club still healing from years of upheaval, those comments landed badly.

But the growing criticism of Rioch deserves closer examination. Supporters questioning recruitment, squad balance and identity are not wrong to ask those questions. However, they are often aimed at a role whose responsibilities and authority are poorly understood from the outside.

Rioch has been at Wigan since December 2013, initially as academy manager. During a decade marked by ownership chaos, financial collapse and administration, the academy was one of the few constants. Under his leadership, Wigan regained EPPP Category Two status and, crucially, continued producing first-team players when the club could not afford to buy them. Those graduates were not a luxury; they were a necessity.

That track record is precisely why Rioch’s promotion to sporting director in August 2023 made sense. It was not just a reward for loyalty, but an attempt to embed long-term thinking at a club that desperately needed stability. His expanded remit — recruitment, first team, academy and overall football strategy — was designed to ensure alignment and avoid the costly stop-start cycles that had plagued Wigan for years.

The logic was sound. With limited funds, Wigan needed clarity: a shared footballing identity, smart recruitment and a seamless pathway from academy to first team. The sporting director role existed to protect that coherence.

The appointment of Ryan Lowe in March 2025 complicated that vision. Lowe arrived with experience and a clear tactical identity, but one fundamentally different from Shaun Maloney’s. Maloney favoured structured possession and patient build-up; Lowe’s approach is more direct, physical and vertical. Neither is inherently wrong, but switching between them under tight financial constraints was always going to carry risk.

This is where frustration has hardened into distrust. Players recruited or developed for one system suddenly looked ill-suited to another. Recruitment had to pivot again without significant resources. Academy players were asked to adapt quickly to new demands. To supporters, it felt like another reset — another change of direction before anything had been allowed to settle.

That sense of drift is what has put Rioch under scrutiny. A sporting director should play a key role in managerial appointments precisely to avoid this kind of misalignment. That does not mean blocking ambition or dictating tactics, but it does mean ensuring that change does not undo years of planning. Whether Rioch had sufficient authority in Lowe’s appointment is unclear. If he did not, the issue lies higher up. If he did, then the long-term consequences were underestimated. Either way, the result has been a perception of poor recruitment that is as much structural as individual.

Seen through that lens, this is not a story about one manager or one transfer window. It is about whether Wigan have truly empowered the sporting director role to do what it was designed to do: provide continuity, limit waste and protect the club from constant reinvention. Without that authority, even the most competent operator will eventually take the blame.

Supporter reaction has been predictably polarised. Some point to recruitment missteps and a lack of ambition; others urge patience, reminding fans just how restricted Wigan’s finances remain. What is often overlooked is that the era of Whelan-level spending is gone. Sustainable progress now depends on youth development, intelligent recruitment and strategic patience — not nostalgia.

Wigan’s predicament is far from unique. Across League One and the wider EFL, clubs face limited budgets, ownership uncertainty and frequent managerial churn. Those that succeed do so not by spending their way out of trouble, but by committing to a clear, consistent strategy.

For Latics, that means rejecting the temptation to “spend to go up”. That route has repeatedly ended in financial disaster for others. The smarter path is to build a repeatable promotion-and-survival model, where managerial changes are evolutionary rather than disruptive. Recent months have shown how damaging the alternative can be.

Budget constraints explain much of the current frustration. Blackpool’s second goal, scored by former Wigan favourite Dale Taylor, was a stark reminder. Blackpool paid Nottingham Forest £1 million for him — a fee entirely beyond Wigan’s reach. Instead, Latics spent around £500,000 in total on Dara Costelloe and Christian Saydee. That is not a lack of ambition; it is financial reality.

On the pitch, the transition between Maloney and Lowe has been anything but smooth. Lowe initially deployed wingers as wing-backs, a role unfamiliar to them. None of the four main strikers has delivered consistently. Since Ryan Trevitt’s injury, creativity in attacking midfield has been lacking, leaving forwards isolated and ineffective.

Given those circumstances, criticism of recruitment is inevitable. Responsibility lies with both Lowe and Rioch, but so do the constraints. Lowe speaks of needing more “quality”, yet his commitment to a back three and wing-backs has required clearing out players while leaving key positions under-resourced. That is a structural issue, not simply a recruitment failure.

This is precisely why stability matters now. After years of turmoil, sacking either Lowe or Rioch would almost certainly set the club back further. The decision to replace Maloney with a stylistically opposite coach was flawed, even if Lowe’s past record suggested he could overachieve. Whether that choice was driven by Rioch, ownership or both is now less important than what happens next.

The priority must be clarity. A defined footballing identity, a realistic recruitment plan and visible alignment between board, sporting director and head coach. January’s transfer window will be critical, not just for additions, but for demonstrating that Wigan are acting proactively rather than lurching from problem to problem.

Frustration is justified. Panic is not. Wigan’s problems will not be solved by another reset — only by finally committing to a clear and consistent path forward.

Wigan Athletic Under Ryan Lowe: From Grit to Something Greater?

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

Wigan Athletic’s time under Ryan Lowe has really been one built on grit. In football, “grinding out results” basically means doing whatever you need to get points, even if it’s a slog. It’s about being organised, disciplined, and prepared to battle for everything. In a league as tight and physical as League One, that kind of mentality often matters more than pretty football. Managers want players who stay switched on, stick to the plan, and don’t fall apart under pressure. It’s not always thrilling to watch, but it turns bad days into draws and half-chances into big wins.

When Lowe arrived in March 2025, Wigan were in a lower mid-table position and seriously struggling for goals — bottom of the league in that department. They weren’t heading straight for relegation, but the season had drifted. Lowe’s arrival felt like a reset — new ideas, fresh energy, and a chance to stabilise things.

Before long, the team leaned fully into that scrappy, hard-working identity. They finished the season in 15th, mostly because they became tougher mentally and harder to beat. They clawed back deficits, held onto narrow leads, and looked like a side willing to dig in. Not glamorous, but effective.

Over the summer, Lowe shaped the squad to fit his preferred 3-1-4-2. That system relies heavily on wing-backs, and the opening game of the new season showed exactly why. Joe Hungbo and Fraser Murray were excellent in the 3-1 win over Northampton — a scoreline that honestly could’ve been bigger. The first 20 minutes were messy and disjointed, but Murray’s goal around the half-hour settled everyone down and suddenly the team looked much more like a unit.

Of course, settling into a new shape and integrating new signings takes time. The early weeks were a mix of positives and frustrations: solid performances, some good results, but also draws where Wigan should’ve taken more. Opposition managers quickly figured out how dangerous the wing-backs were, so Hungbo and Murray started getting much more attention defensively. That’s League One — once you show a threat, everyone finds a way to make life difficult.

After eight league games, Wigan were sitting at W3 D3 L2 with 13 goals scored and 9 conceded — decent, but clearly still a work in progress. Then came Bolton. Wigan had enjoyed a strong record against them recently, and fans saw it as a genuine benchmark of their progress.

But Bolton, led by Steven Schumacher, were flying. They went with two natural wingers and caused Wigan’s wing-backs all sorts of problems. Latics were second best throughout, losing 4-1, and the fans were furious. They felt the team didn’t show enough fight and that Lowe hadn’t treated the derby with the importance it deserved. They even pointed out the lack of cards — Wigan picked up one yellow, Bolton none — which raised questions about the passion and intensity on display.

It did feel like Lowe misjudged the moment. Derbies aren’t just about points; they’re about pride and emotion. If that wasn’t fully communicated to the players, it could explain the flat performance. And once fans start questioning desire, the pressure ramps right up.

The Bolton defeat hit confidence hard. The football tightened up, became more cautious, and the spark in the final third faded. Lowe leaned further into defence-first thinking, which made sense in the moment but dulled the attacking edge even more. The injury to Ryan Trevitt made things worse — without their most creative midfielder, Wigan lacked imagination. The wing-backs also had to focus more on defending, meaning they weren’t getting forward as freely.

All of this made Wigan more solid, but not exactly entertaining. The challenge now is finding the right balance — keeping that grit without switching off the creativity.

As it stands, Latics sit 11th with a record of W6 D7 L5. They’re definitely harder to beat, and while fans still daydream about a run toward the Championship, Lowe has sensibly played that down, treating promotion as a long-term aim rather than something immediate. His popularity has dipped during the rough spells — some fans have even called for him to be sacked, others are simply bored by the football. But given how many managers Wigan have chewed through over the past decade, stability is badly needed. Lowe deserves the time to build something properly.

His spell at Preston is a useful comparison. In his first full Championship season there, they started with a 0-0 at the DW — one of FIVE goalless draws in their first six games. They had one of the smallest budgets in the league, yet still finished 12th. Not spectacular, but quietly impressive.

This season, Wigan reportedly have a top-ten League One budget. So can Lowe get them punching above their weight and pushing into the play-off conversation? A lot will hinge on the January transfer window.

With his commitment to 3-1-4-2, he needs proper wing-backs. He couldn’t sign any specialists in the summer and ended up using Hungbo and Murray — talented players, but natural wingers. Two real wing-backs surely top the shopping list, unless K’Marni Miller returns ready to step up. He also needs more creativity in midfield and better service for the strikers, who simply haven’t scored enough.

And that’s the big question hanging over everything: if the supply improves, will the forwards finally deliver the goals Latics need?

What a difference a win makes

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

It had been doom and gloom among so many Wigan Athletic fans for too long. The team was lying below mid-table in League 1 and the last time Latics had last won an away game under Ryan Lowe was on Good Friday.

The game at Wimbledon looked like it was following on from what we had seen before. The home side were a goal up, despite Wigan having the better chances in a first half when they could have gone ahead. They had not played badly but just did not look like they were going to show killer instinct in front of goal.

Enter the 18-year-old Harrison Bettoni in the 77th minute. With his first touch of the ball, he scored from a sublime free kick curling in to the top corner. Ten minutes later he latched on to a clever flick from Paul Mullin to race through and slot home. The away support went wild with excitement.

After talking about avoiding relegation and sacking Lowe the less tolerant and less patient core among the fan base have started to perk up. One fan even suggested promotion was even a possibility with Latics just 8 points behind the leaders, Cardiff City, after 16 games played.

Although Bettoni’s league debut was spectacular some fans had not heard of him. However, he has been at Wigan since his early teens and was a key player in the youth team. Lowe trusted him with the free kick because he had been taking them in the junior ranks for some time. Bettoni had showed his mettle in a much-improved U21 team and it was to Lowe’s credit that he was given that chance.

Wigan’s U21 team had a tough start to the season, losing their first four games. Their transformation was helped on its way by the arrival of 20-year-old Adam Moseley on trial from Runcorn Linnets. Moseley’s record of 17 goals in 11 games for the U21 team speaks for itself. Although he had been appearing under the name of “Trialist”, posts on social media a week ago told us his name and that he had agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract at Latics. Although this has now been revealed in the local press, nothing yet has appeared on the club website.

The main news on the U21 side recently has been in sending players away on loan. Tom Watson has gone to South Shields, Leo Graham to Bury, Jack Rogers to Macclesfield, Christy Edwards to Witton Albion and K’Marni Miller to Radcliffe FC. Kai Payne went to Oldham Athletic at the start of the season, but injury has limited his appearances to 10 games so far. Some fans have been critical that the club has not secured them loan spells at clubs in higher tiers of English football. However, the majority are short term loans which expire before January.

The U21 team’s last three results have been spectacular. A 9-0 win at Coventry was followed by a 2-1 home win over top of the table Sheffield United, then by a 7-2 win at Barnsley. In the absence of U21 match reports on the club’s website one has had to rely on picking up information from opposing clubs’ sites. In previous years there were pockets of information on players in both the U21 and U18 squads to go with their photographs but there is scant coverage now.

Bettoni’s spectacular debut and Moseley’s acquisition have certainly helped to lift the spirits of supporters. At the beginning of the season, it had looked like Lowe had lots of options with four strikers in his senior squad. However, optimism has faded over the past months as none of the four have convinced. Lowe’s preference, particularly in home games, has been to play with twin strikers. Dara Costelloe and Christian Saydee were his choice for the opening game against Northampton, but both have had three game suspensions after receiving red cards, disrupting their settling into their roles. Paul Mullin and Maleace Asamoah have been largely used as substitutes in League 1 games. Between the four of them they have scored 7 goals.

Moseley will only be available for EFL games from the start of the January transfer window. It will be interesting to see how Lowe handles Bettoni. Will he start against Stevenage on Saturday or be used as an impact sub in the latter stages?

Although Lowe clearly likes the twin striker approach he has also resorted to packing the midfield with two number 6s, two number 10s and a single central striker. The latter system looked viable while Ryan Trevitt was available to provide some goal threat as a #10, but the other midfielders who have played there have rarely looked incisive.

Callum Wright scored a well taken goal against Barnsley and has got into good positions, but lacks the composure of a midfield goalscorer. Lowe might have to continue to persevere with Wright in the hope that the composure will come, even if his career goalscoring record does not suggest that.

In a similar way he has been relying on Christian Saydee to score goals as a central striker. Saydee has scored 2 goals so far at Wigan and his career record is 14 goals in 137 appearances. Although he is unlikely to score many goals as a striker, he is nevertheless a useful player to have on the pitch. He is a powerful and skilful forward able to hold the ball, with an eye for a killer pass through a defence. Some would say his style is reminiscent of Emile Heskey. Others might cite Marc-Antoine Fortune who scored 5 goals in 71 appearances at Wigan, but was nevertheless a regular starter in the Championship.

Following the opening game against Northampton I commented here that “Looking at the current squad there is certainly enough quality to finish in the top half of the table, barring major injuries.”

Since then, Lowe lost Isaac Mabaya early on and Ryan Trevitt since the end of September. However, my comment still holds. If they can be in a mid-table position by the New Year, they will have something to build on and it is by no means impossible that they will reach a playoff position.

If Lowe had money to spend, he would invest in specialist wing backs and creative midfielders. Good, proven strikers don’t come cheap and it is unlikely that Latics will ever splash out the kind of money needed.

In the meantime, he will look at getting the best of the strikers he has at his disposal. Finding the right blend will be key.

Matt Smith’s Return: Boosting Wigan Athletic’s Midfield Options

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Photo courtesy of Wigan Athletic

Matt Smith was a key player in Shaun Maloney’s tenure as Wigan Athletic manager. If any player was almost irreplaceable in the Latics legend’s system, it was he. Maloney favoured a brand of possession football where moves are patiently built up from the back. Smith played the role of pivot in front of the central defenders, providing both extra defensive stability and creativity going forward. His serious hamstring injury near the end of December was a hammer blow to a manager who was struggling to impose his style of play on a young squad.

The Maloney era was one which helped stabilise a club that had come so close to going out of existence. The Scot had to operate on a much-reduced budget than his predecessors and aim towards making the club sustainable though the development of young players. Sadly, he is largely remembered for lacklustre home displays last season that provided scant entertainment for the fans. However, there were moments in his two-year spell where it looked like the manager’s vision might eventually come to fruition. Matt Smith was the catalyst who enabled those glimpses of skilful, flowing football.

Smith is still only 24 years old. An ex-Arsenal youth and under-21 team captain, he spent loan spells at Charlton, Swindon and Doncaster before Maloney signed him on a free transfer in July 2023. Although Maloney used him solely in the pivot role, he had shown himself to be an all-round midfielder in his Gunners days where he notched 7 goals and 22 assists in 94 appearances for the Gunners age group teams  His attacking skills were also prominent in his stay at Doncaster.

In last night’s League Cup victory over Stockport County, he was employed in the #6 role in front of the defence, Baba Adeeko and Tobias Brenan playing further forward as #8s. However, Tyrese Francois has looked comfortable this season in the #6 role, which is also Adeeko’s best position. It leaves Ryan Lowe with options on how to utilise his midfielders. Both Smith and Francois have the skills necessary to play the #8 position. Adeeko’s strength lies in his ability to close down the opposition and protect the defence. Creativity is not his forte.

The return of Matt Smith was a welcome sight last night. Latics fans have not seen enough of him in his two years at the club.  A groin injury in his first season and hamstring injury in his second meant that he has was available for selection for only half the time he has been at the club. Providing he can stay fit he can play a major role in Ryan Lowe’s plans.  

Luton Town 1 Wigan Athletic 0 – Latics go down fighting

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

“For us to have held our own against a good team is really pleasing. I am proud of the boys – they gave us everything.  We threw everything at the game and made changes to try and get a result. I can’t fault the boys – I am really proud of them…… We’re not making excuses, but we had to field a team that we thought could compete, and have loads of energy. I felt like we did that – the goal we conceded is a scruffy one on our behalf. It’s not what we want, of course, but I can’t fault the lads. They stuck to the game plan. Luton were in the Premier League two years ago, and they’ve still got some Premiership and Championship players who shouldn’t be in this division.”

So commented Ryan Lowe after last night’s display at Luton.

It was certainly an improvement on the way Latics played at Leyton Orient. The players had rolled down their sleeves, showed energy and lots of commitment.

It was an odd game in many ways. Lowe had fielded a starting lineup that looked as defensively-minded as any that Wigan have put out since the days of Warren Joyce. However, despite playing with wing backs, Jensen Weir and Luke Robinson, who rarely pushed forward and a lone centre forward in Paul Mullin, they certainly matched the home team in the first half. After 9 minutes the home side had gone ahead when Liam Walsh too easily evaded the right side of Wigan’s defence to cross for George Saville to hit home. But it did not deter Latics and they played with energy and determination, launching balls down the channels to push Luton back and create chances that might have been converted.

Latics had started out with a 3-4-2-1 formation with Baba Adeeko and Tobias Brenan in defensive midfield, with central midfielders and Ryan Trevitt and Callum Wright pushed further forward. Three central strikers had been left on the bench.

Maleace Asamoah was brought on as a second striker for the second half, but it did not do the trick. The targeted long balls had turned into “hopeful” ones and the home team dominated. However, in the dying seconds Sam Tickle came up for a corner, but shot wide when he might have scored.

Lowe retains the backing of the majority of Latics fans. He has done well to build a squad that can compete with most teams in League 1 and there is a long way to go in the season. After suffering so many dull displays in home games last season prior to his arrival, the crowd at the Brick Community Stadium are now getting more entertainment. However, their away performances have been dour to watch.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com