Author Archives: JJ (Tony)

Bournemouth 1 Wigan Athletic 0 – the end of the Honeymoon Period

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, Other and tagged with , ,
Scott Carson was Wigan's best player in a disappointing performance.

Scott Carson was Wigan’s best player in a disappointing team performance.

The honeymoon period for Owen Coyle and the FA Cup winners came to an end at Dean Court.

Latics were brought back to reality as a nervy, but resolute, Bournemouth team proved strong opposition. A succession of errors by Wigan handed the initiative to the home side who took full advantage of a weak performance from referee Graham Scott.

Wigan had brought back Jean Beausejour in place of James McClean on the left wing. Shaun Maloney was to operate in central midfield together with James McCarthy, James McArthur and Ben Watson. By packing his midfield Coyle had to sacrifice width, the result being that Latics rarely looked dangerous in open play in the first half.

The game opened with an error from Wigan in the first minute. McArthur’s slack pass allowed the home side to set up a clear chance for Lewis Grabban but Scott Carson blocked his shot. Latics had to work hard to contain a lively home team but it looked like they were heading to half time with a clean sheet. That was not to be as James Perch lost his concentration and sent a back pass directly to Grabban who took his goal well.

Wigan started the second half with another major error as Beausejour’s clumsy challenge on Brett Pitman resulted in a penalty.  The same player was to see his penalty kick saved by Carson diving to his left. Beausejour was substituted after 56 minutes, together with McArthur. The result was a much more attacking shape for Latics as Coyle brought on wingers Callum McManaman and James McClean.

However, three minutes later McManaman was sent off after the Bournemouth players, staff and crowd put pressure on the referee. In a match where a number of rough challenges had been ignored by the referee, he nevertheless decided that McManaman’s tackle on Pitman merited a straight red card.It hardly looked even a foul.

Ten man Wigan took the game to Bournemouth but could not find a way through. The nearest was a header from Leon Barnett cleared off the line.

The Good

Scott Carson kept Latics in the game with a series of fine saves, including a penalty stop. The big Cumbrian looks like a bargain signing.

It was good to see Coyle throw caution to the wind when he switched to an attacking 4-3-3 formation with McManaman and McClean on the wings, Grant Holt leading the attack and Maloney in an advanced midfield role. It is an option that he may well choose to employ during the course of the season.

The Bad

In their eight years in the Premier League Latics suffered a host of bad refereeing decisions. When they faced the top clubs it was almost an expectation that they would receive no favours from the referee.

This is less likely to be the case in the more egalitarian Championship. However, referees are going to be influenced by the crowd and the pressure of home players. This was certainly the case in this match where the referee and his team made some poor decisions to Bournemouth’s benefit.

Latics’ midfield disappointed: they were unable to provide the central strikers with clear chances for goal and they did not get in the area enough to trouble the Cherries defence. Too often the final pass was a hopeful centre. Moreover the lack of width stifled Wigan’s play.

Although it would be easy to blame the referee for Latics’ woes it was their own errors that handed the initiative to the Cherries.

Player ratings

Scott Carson: 8 – showed his experience and technique with his shot-stopping. His distribution still needs improvement, his long punts being easily dealt with by the opposing defence.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – solid in defence.

Leon Barnett: 7 – continues to play well. Made a number of timely interceptions.

James Perch: 5 – strangely off-key, not only with the back pass that led Bournemouth’s goal.

Stephen Crainey: 5 – worked hard defensively, but his passing needs a lot of improvement.

Ben Watson: 5 – worked hard, but to no avail. His long diagonal passes continue to go astray.

James McCarthy: 5 – disappointing. Still adjusting to his more attacking role.

James McArthur: 5 – not at his sharpest. Taken off after 56 minutes.

Shaun Maloney: 5 – busy as always, but not at his best. Did not produce the kinds of incisive passes that are his trademark.

Grant Holt: 6 – worked hard as always and showed his skill with some nice passes in the first half. Substituted after 65 minutes.

Jean Beausejour: 5 – out of sorts and careless in giving away the penalty. Taken off after 56 minutes.

Substitutes

Callum McManaman: – is the so called “horror tackle” of last season going to haunt him and influence referees against him? Let’s hope that referees will give him a fair crack of the whip this season.

James McClean: – petulant and ineffective.

Marc-Antoine Fortune: – came on after 61 minutes for Holt.  He too was to be starved of decent service from the midfield.

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Bournemouth Preview

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

 

Wigan Athletic travel to the south coast on Saturday to take on newly promoted Bournemouth.

The two clubs have a significant history of encounters, of which Bournemouth have won 13 times and Wigan 14, with 10 draws.

Last season’s FA Cup run started with a 1-1 draw against the Cherries at the DW Stadium, Latics being saved by a Jordi Gomez penalty. A Mauro Boselli goal helped Latics to a narrow 1-0 win in the replay at Dean Court. League 1 Bournemouth provided stiff opposition to the mixed lineups that Wigan put forward in those games. They were to go on to reach second place in their division, getting back into the second tier of English football for the first time in 23 years. Bournemouth’s  league attendances averaged 6,852 last season, in a ground with a capacity of 9,300.

Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic – trade name Bournemouth AFC – was formed in 1899. They have played at Dean Court – currently called Goldsands Stadium after their sponsor – since 1910. In 2001 the stadium was completely remodeled, with the original pitch being turned by 90 degrees.  In 2008 debt forced them into administration, a subsequent 10 point deduction dragging them into relegation to League 2.

Both clubs suffered defeat in their previous match.  Latics went down 2-0 to Manchester United in the Community Shield. The Cherries’ run of 11 matches without defeat came to an abrupt end when they lost 6-1 at Watford. They had won their first league match, beating Charlton 2-1 at Dean Court. Wigan will be hoping to keep up the form they showed in their first league game, when they had an emphatic 4-0 win at Barnsley.

Owen Coyle is likely to name the same lineup that started at Wembley last week. Jean Beausejour was ruled out of the Community Shield match with a thigh injury, but is likely to return to the squad. The winger scored two goals in midweek for Chile in a 6-0 routing of Iraq , the match being played in Denmark. There have been rumours of an impending departure of the Chilean – with Everton and Bordeaux being mentioned  – but this may well prove to be mere media speculation.

Latics are going to need players of Beausejour’s calibre if they are going to push for promotion. James McClean excited Latics supporters at Wembley with his willingness to run at defenders. This is not Beausejour’s style – his key strengths are in his excellent control when receiving the ball in wide positions and in his ability to put in inch-perfect crosses. Both McClean and Beausejour have important roles to play this season and if the two remain available it will allow Coyle to vary his approach.

In midweek James McCarthy completed 90 minutes for Ireland in their 0-0 draw with Wales, James McClean also making a second half appearance for the Irish. Shaun Maloney played 86 minutes for Scotland at Wembley. This season Latics players are going to have to get used to playing three matches in a week and it is expected that McCarthy and Maloney will complete close to the full 90 minutes at Bournemouth.

In the Martinez era so many players would come back jaded and jet-lagged from long journeys during international breaks and performances would dip. Latics now have a minimum of overseas players likely to go off on such journeys.

Getting back into the Premier League is the expectation for Wigan Athletic. The bookmakers currently rate QPR and Watford as being the favourites for winning the Championship this year. Wigan and Reading currently vie for third place at odds at and around 8/1. Owen Coyle will be looking at a positive result at Dean Court in an effort to build up momentum for the promotion push.

If Coyle’s squad has a clear competitive advantage over those of promotion rivals then it is in the area of central midfield. The current trio of James McArthur, James McCarthy and Ben Watson is as good as you will get in the Championship. The likes of Roger Espinoza, Fraser Fyvie, Jordi Gomez and Chris McCann are also competing for places. However, none of them are going to be potential match winners unless they have the ball.

During the Steve Bruce era one recalls Denny Landzaat making a comment to the effect that it was hard to do his job as a central midfielder when the ball so often flew over his head. Landzaat was a class act, but we rarely saw the best of him at Wigan.

Coyle’s team is capable of varying its approach as needed. They have a high quality midfield that can dominate the game through possession football, but then they have central strikers who are adept at chasing long balls and holding them up.

Bournemouth will be keen to win this match. They will be backed by a vocal crowd in a small ground and Latics can expect an initial barrage from the home side. Wigan will need to win the physical tussles in order to play the kind of football that can destroy teams like the Cherries.

Providing Wigan show sufficient resolve for the physical side of play there is no reason why they should not come away with three points.

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Manchester United 2 Wigan Athletic 0 – Latics go down

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

James Perch was unlucky in deflecting Van Persie’s shot into his own goal.

Two goals from Robin Van Persie – a spectacular header after 6 minutes and a lucky deflection in the 59th minute – were enough to give United victory.

Scott Carson in the Wigan goal had no chance with either goal. Despite the bad start Wigan gradually clawed themselves back into the game and Scott Carson was underemployed most of the match, apart from a fine save from a Welbeck shot as half time approached.

Wigan started the game with six new players on the field, including James McClean who joined them in midweek. In contrast United fielded only one new face, that of Wilfried Zaha.

Dave Whelan had pronounced in the week that it was a game for Wigan players to enjoy, without the pressure of having to fight for league points. Maybe that would explain the distinct lack of competitive edge from Wigan in the first 20 minutes as United were allowed to caress the ball round in midfield without physical challenges coming in.

If Roberto Martinez were still manager he would have been enraged by the way Wigan defenders wasted the ball with hopeful long punts which were meat and drink for the Reds defence.

However, as the second half wore on Wigan started to pass the ball around from the back, denying United possession and looking a much better team. Had McClean shown a cool head when put through by a long ball from Stephen Crainey, Wigan could have equalised. However, instead of pushing the ball back to Grant Holt who could have slid the ball in, he shot from the narrowest of angles and it went wide.

A few minutes later Emmerson Boyce had a good opportunity from a free kick, but he headed across the box when a direct header on goal would have produced better results.

Grant Holt and Nemandja Vidic were involved in a series of physical tussles, with the big Serb not coming out on top. It was revealing to see him apparently appealing to referee Mark Clattenberg as the teams were going off for half time.

Wigan started the second half quite well but the deflection off James Perch from Van Persie’s shot left them an uphill task. Owen Coyle wisely made a raft of substititions in the final half hour, saving key players for the more important immediate task of a league match next weekend.

Dave Whelan’s quote that he saw it as “a show game, a bit of a friendly game” was reflected in the tempo of play. There was a real pre-season feel to the match and Wigan really did not too seem too worried about the score.

The Good

Up until the second goal Wigan were in with a chance of leveling the match. After the initial United onslaught they held firm and did not fall apart in the way that they have too often done in the past against the Manchester team.

With so many new players in the lineup it is going to take time for the team to gel. However, the defence looked firm and when they built up moves from the back Latics looked a much better team.

The Bad

Wigan were awful in the first 20 minutes. You simply cannot allow a team of the quality of United so much possession of the ball.

Three out of the back four are new to the team and are adjusting to the concept of passing the ball out of defence, rather than playing a long ball. The goalkeeper Scott Carson was also guilty of kicking too many long balls, when he could have passed to a defender in space.

Player ratings

Scott Carson: 6 – could not be faulted for either goal. Needs to work on his distribution

Emmerson Boyce: 5 – not at his best. Patrice Evra gave him problems in the second half.

Leon Barnett: 8- excellent throughout. Made a memorable sliding clearance from a dangerous low cross from Evra in the second half.

James Perch: 7.5 – so unlucky with the deflection for the second goal. Otherwise played well.

Stephen Crainey: 6 – very involved with a lot of touches on the ball. Needs to work on his distribution.

Ben Watson: 5 – worked hard to stem the flow of United attacks, but not at his best. Substituted after 71 minutes.

James McCarthy: 5 – not at his best. Substituted after 86 minutes.

James McArthur: 5 – together with Watson and McCarthy could not wrestle the midfield out of United’s grasp. Substituted after 60 minutes.

Shaun Maloney: 5 – worked hard to no avail. Substituted after 71 minutes.

Grant Holt: 6 – gave Vidic a torrid time, but had no opportunities for goals. Substituted after 60 minutes.

James McClean: 6 – fast and skillful, but lacking in judgment, not only when clear through on goal. Substituted after 60 minutes.

Substitutes:

After 60 minutes – Chris McCann, Callum McManaman, Marc-Antoine Fortune.

After 71 minutes – Roger Espinoiza, Jordi Gomez.

After 86 minutes – Nouha Dicko.

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Moyes has more to lose than Coyle – Community Shield preview

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

The FA Community Shield

Dave Whelan is well known for supporting his managers and his comments during the week have already taken pressure off Owen Coyle ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield match at Wembley.

Whelan said that he regards the match as “a show game and a bit of a friendly game”. He downplayed its importance in comparison with league games adding that “It is the game in the football season that our boys can enjoy. Every league game is something where there is a lot at stake – three points – and we’ve got to fight for every single point.”

Coyle will be leading out a team that has his stamp on it. He has made ten new signings and at least half of those are likely to start the match.  He has already adapted the tactical system in an almost seamless transition. His players – new and old – are united in the aim of getting Wigan Athletic back into the Premier League. Moreover he has already won over the fans, many of whom were initially leery about his appointment.

For Moyes it is a “no-win”, no matter what the result. Manchester United have beaten Latics in 15 out of the 16 times they have met. Nothing short of an emphatic win is expected by their fans – any other result would be unacceptable. If United do win it will merely be a step forward to the start of the Premier League season. After all what is a win over  a Championship side worth to fans who are expecting their team to win at least one of the Premier League or Champions League?

Moyes has already been under intense media pressure and his progress in the transfer market is under scrutiny. He will be leading out Ferguson’s team at Wembley, not having made any major signings up to this point.

Wigan are likely to go into the match with the same starting lineup that played in the 4-0 win at Barnsley last week. With up to 6 substitutes allowed Coyle might well take the opportunity to give squad members a taste of the Wembley experience. Providing he is fit we can expect Callum McManaman to come on at some time and he will be anxious to impress. The occasion provides dynamic young players like McManaman and James McCarthy a stage upon which they can show their talents in front in front of a large TV audience.

Manchester United won the first Charity Shield – now known as the Community Shield – in 1908. They have won it 19 times – more than any other club.

Just like in the FA Cup Final the odds are stacked against Wigan Athletic and a win for the Reds is by far the most likely outcome.

But Latics fans will continue to “Believe”  –  Wigan have nothing to lose and an upset remains possible.

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Maloney holds the key to promotion

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

Maloney_2747322
Who was the best “playmaker” in the Premier League last season?  Big names from big clubs quickly come to mind – Juan Mata, David Silva, Santi Cozorla, Eden Hazard, Wayne Rooney, to name but a few.

The name of Shaun Maloney probably would not even get a mention from the majority of football fans outside Wigan. Playing for a struggling team and often pushed into a wide role, it was not easy for Maloney to compete for public attention with those more illustrious names as a top playmaker.

A successful playmaker not only helps dictate the flow of his team’s game, but also creates goal opportunities for others. He is also expected to score goals too.

Last season Maloney made 8 assists in the league, the same as Silva and not far behind Rooney (10), Cazorla  and Hazard (11) and Mata (12). He scored 6 goals, which was more than Silva, but a few less than the others.

Playmakers typically receive a lot of attention from opposing defenders, who want to stem the flow of play. Interestingly enough Maloney suffered 89 fouls last year, compared with 79 by Hazard. The others lag well behind on the fouls suffered  – Cazorla 50, Mata 35, Silva 28 and Rooney a mere 18.

Those who know Maloney’s play will not be surprised. He has been the chief creative force for Wigan for the past couple of seasons. He is the player the opposition most want to stop, because if they don’t he is going to have a major impact on the game. Despite the physical attention he received from opposing defences and being injury-prone throughout much of his previous career, Maloney started in 34 of the 38 league matches last season.

Shaun Maloney was Wigan Athletic’s best player last season and without him they would have almost certainly not have maintained their Premier League status the season before. His introduction into the starting lineup lifted a struggling team into an amazing end of season run.

Owen Coyle has almost completed the building of a squad that can take Latics back into the Premier League. He is still lacking in defence and could use at least one more striker. He has adjusted the tactical system to a more orthodox system, with a back four protected by a holding midfield player immediately in front of them and two other central midfield players pushed further forward. The front line consists of a lone centre forward and two wide players.

Up to this point Maloney has been used wide, with the ability to move inside when needed. Although he can be effective as  a wide player the Scot is better employed in a more central attacking midfield role.

It remains to be seen whether Coyle is willing to sacrifice one of the three holding midfielders to put Maloney into that role. He is more likely to start with Maloney nominally playing wide, bringing on another wide player later in the game, enabling Maloney  to play a more central role, if he needs a more attacking approach.

Shaun Maloney is now 30 years old and playing at his peak. He will terrorise Championship defences providing he receives due protection from referees. He suffered five fouls already in the season opener at Barnsley. Although Coyle’s team are going to be more direct in approach than those of the Martinez era, we are still going enjoy champagne football if Maloney is running the show.

Shaun Maloney is one of the most underrated of playmakers in the English game. He is technically gifted, intelligent, makes goals and scores them. Moreover he does not shirk his defensive duties and works hard for his team. His name would be one of the first that many of us would pencil in first on the Latics team sheet.

One hopes that Coyle will use this prized asset wisely. He could be the key towards regaining that Premier League place.

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