Author Archives: JJ (Tony)

Nottingham Forest vs. Wigan Athletic: Match Preview

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

After witnessing champagne moments in Latics’ victory at Southampton on Saturday, up comes another match. It is the Capital One Cup, the latest name for the Football League Cup. Will it be champagne or mere morsels this time around? One recalls the heroics of the 2005-2006 Latics side, knocking out Arsenal in the semi-final, only to be undone by Manchester United in Cardiff. It was not so much champagne football with that Latics side in their first Premier League season, but it was exuberant and exciting.

I liked the name of the “Milk Cup”, that the tournament had in the 80’s when sponsored by Dairy Crest. The League Cup is still with us, despite the sparse attendances it has suffered since its introduction in 1960. In those days the FA Cup was a big thing, drawing in the crowds. Maybe they thought the League Cup could get on that same bandwagon? The reality has been that most Premier League clubs have repeatedly put out weakened teams in this competition, so “giant killing” has been prevalent, at least on outward appearance.

I really enjoyed the Southampton match. Two well taken goals, but more than that it was an oozing of sheer class by Latics that sticks in my mind. There was a spell in the second half where Latics just wouldn’t let Southampton get the ball. The passing ability of Latics’ defenders defies belief compared the norms of previous eras. Robert Martinez has got his team playing stylish, skillful football whilst maintaining a steely, competitive edge. How ironic that Brendan Rodgers has been lauded for the good football his Swansea team played last season. No disrespect to Rodgers, who did a great job taking Swansea into the Premier League and having a good first season. However, it is the Martinez stamp that reigns indelible on the Swansea style of play.

When I trawled the Latics news on the internet a few minutes ago I found headlines such as “Martinez set to rotate squad” and “ Martinez set to test squad depth”. Hardly a surprise. In the old days it would be said that he is putting out his reserve team. I suppose the difference now is that those fringe first team squad players rarely play for the reserves .

So it is an opportunity for squad players who have not started so far this season. If so a possible line-up could be: Pollitt – Lopez, Golobart, Kiernan – Stam, Watson, Fyvie (or Jones), Beausejour (or Jones) – Crusat, Boselli, Miyaichi (or McManaman). Not to forget Mustoe and Redmond plus players from the development squad. On paper this looks like a strong enough lineup, but in reality it would be a team that has never played together. On the more positive side Latics have a way of playing that these players can fit into. Martinez continues to view these matches as opportunities for players to show their mettle and their willingness to challenge for a place in the starting lineup. In reality we have seen some abject performances in the cup competitions over the last few years.

Nottingham Forest finished 19th in the Championship last year. They have won one and drawn two of their matches  this season. Like Wigan, they also need to look at upcoming fixtures. One cannot predict what type of lineup they will put out. How things have changed over recent years. Forest were twice European champions under Brian Clough  when Latics were still newcomers in the fourth tier of the Football League.

It would be nice to have another great run in the League Cup. However, performance in cup competitions under Roberto Martinez has been mediocre – it has clearly not been a priority. However, one hopes that those players who make the lineup tonight will play with the passion, skill and professionalism that the first choice lineup showed at Southampton at the weekend.

Southampton vs. Wigan Athletic: Match Preview

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

I was wondering yesterday when the last time was that Wigan Athletic played Southampton and all I could remember was a cup tie that I went to in the mid 1980’s. It was at The Dell, an awfully designed stadium, but a cauldron of  atmosphere. Latics were in the 3rd division at the time and Southampton in the 1st. My abiding memory is of Danny Wallace’s pace being too much for Cribley , Butler and Co in the Latics defence. We lost 3-0.

Checking the facts today I found this was their last encounter. The two teams have strangely never met before in a league match. Times have certainly changed. Southampton have been through lean times in recent years, the purchase of their new ground in their spiritual home of St Mary’s (hence the ‘Saints’ nickname) seemingly a millstone around their necks. However, under the excellent leadership of old Latics’ goalkeeping favourite, Nigel Adkins, they are back in the big league.

Once again Latics play a newly promoted team early in the season. Southampton put up a very spirited display last week, before going down 3-2 to champions, Manchester City. Spirit and high morale is something we can expect from a promoted team, used to getting good results. They are not team of household names, but nevertheless strive to play good football under Adkins’ influence. In Rickie Lambert they have a centre forward with a superb goalscoring record. He scored a well taken goal against Man City last week, but the jury is still out as to whether he can make the transition to the Premier League. He has scored 79 goals in 129 appearances for the Saints since joining them in 2009! A man marking job by Gary Caldwell might well be on the cards.

Wigan Athletic come into the match following a 2-0 reverse at home to Chelsea, both goals down to the kinds of defensive errors that have dogged them since joining the Premier League. Such errors cannot be afforded against a resurgent Southampton side. Despite Maynor Figueroa’s good performance at wing back last week one hopes that Jean Beausejour is fit so that the Honduran can move back into the centre of defence. The mutual understanding between Figueroa, Caldwell and Alcaraz was a key part of Latics’ success last season. Ivan Ramis is clearly a very capable defender, but it is going to take him time to adjust to the pace of the English game.

As expected it seems Victor Moses is on his way to Chelsea. In terms of excitement he will be sorely missed – with that  “buzz” he has caused around the ground when taking on multiple defenders. His crossing and finishing in general will not be missed. Martinez has the prospect of playing two of his central strikers – Di Santo, Boselli and Kone – together. However, given his previous history and tactical preferences this is unlikely. A wide player is a more likely possibility and there are Crusat, Miyaichi and McManaman to choose from. However, there remains the prospect of playing Gomez in the nominal wide position.

As a newly promoted team Southampton are likely to come into this match with an air of confidence. However, the long term question is whether they have the quality and depth in their squad to stay the course. My hope is that Martinez will field a well balanced, positive lineup, signaling to the opponents that Latics are not a team to trifled with. Too often we have gone into these matches nervously. Let’s have genuine forwards, with wing backs overlapping and central midfield players going box to box. This, combined with a strong defence and work ethic, helped us get fantastic results in the latter part of last year. Let’s go to win it!

A view from the dark side — don’t show opponents too much respect

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

It must be my upbringing in a staunch Wigan Athletic household- I still have a problem with the naming of the East Stand of the DW Stadium. The Boston Stand. My son could pretend that the name is derived from the city where he lives, but the reality is it is a rugby thing. I never had anything against Billy Boston – he was a fantastic rugby league player and a fine host in his pub in Standishgate – but it still rankles.

So here was I packed in like a sardine in the central section of the Boston Stand. Great view though. Wigan Athletic were losing 2-0 to Chelsea after 7 minutes. Both mistakes down to a new defender, in his first game for the club. Hats off to the crowd – nobody got on Ivan Ramis’ back and jeered him. There were comments about the referee, giving the penalty, since Mike Jones was the same arbiter who let Chelsea get two offside goals to beat Latics last year. To be honest, from where we were sat it was hard to see if Ramis deserved the penalty award given against him.

We were a bit numbed by those opening goals, so early in the game. In previous years our teams would have collapsed. Not this team though. They got back into the game playing controlled football, having more possession than their more illustrious and disproportionately more expensive opponents, giving as good as they got. However, as half time approached the dark side reared its ugly head. In this case the dark side was represented by two very friendly, warm Wiganers who complained that Latics weren’t really going at Chelsea. There was some truth in their argument. When Latics were attacking the midfield players were not getting into the box sufficiently. One or two forwards against six or seven defenders makes it unlikely that you will score. But then again Chelsea had players with lightning pace who could break away and kill the game completely if you totally committed yourself forward.

In the second half the Darksiders got more and more frustrated. I had one of two intellectually stimulating verbal exchanges with them, until it came to the point where the more eloquent of the two made a thought- provoking comment: “We show these teams too much respect”. Given the counter-attacking threat of the opponents I thought Latics were using the right approach and I told him that. But, on reflection, I have to agree with him that in some matches in the past Martinez’s teams have been over cautious and let the other team take the initiative. Let’s not talk up the other team and say how capable they are. There is a lot of psychology in Premier League football and we need to get this right. We need to shed the little, humble Wigan tag and get a bit of swagger. However, at the same time let’s have the tactical nous not to shoot ourselves in the foot and not commit ten men forward against a team likely to destroy us if we do.

All football clubs live with darkside supporters – those who don’t like the manager and victimize certain players. However, I thought the Latics’ fans were generally very supportive on Sunday. So many fans have now become appreciative of the good football that Roberto Martinez demands of his team. At one stage the more plain spoken, if less eloquent, of the two Darksiders said that he wanted Martinez gone. I replied that it was not the opinion of the majority of Wigan Athletic supporters. He then suggested I was a rugby man. That ultimate insult made my blood boil, but I managed to keep my head and reply politely that I was not.

Last season we saw something very special – Wigan Athletic beating the elite, not through luck but on merit. Which previous manager prior to Martinez could have had a team playing such great football with such aplomb?

Let’s hang in there with Bob and Dave. Latics are way ahead of where they were. Their plan to take the club forward is unraveling, but it will take time and patience. Apart from the opening minutes it was a fine performance against Chelsea. Let’s look forward to a good performance at Southampton. Believe and keep the faith!

Koné and change? Tactical formations at Wigan Athletic

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

Trawling the internet for news on upcoming football transfers can certainly be entertaining, if often misleading. I quite enjoy it, but have learned to take it with a pinch of salt. This is not to denigrate the work of the internet journalists who give us these revelations: quite often they may have received a tip off from a player’s agent, family member or a club. Sometimes even the player himself. What is clear is that only a small proportion of the transfers reported by our sources, actually happen.

Over these weeks I have read  that Wigan Athletic have been interested in quite a few central strikers. The names of Victor Anichebe and DJ Campbell have been banded about more than others. But why would Latics want a fourth central striker, with Di Santo, Boselli and Sammon already on the books? If they played 4-4-2 it would be perfectly understandable, but our knowledge of Roberto Martinez and his tactical preferences precludes that possibility.

Arouna Kone has now arrived.  Although Kone has not played in the Premier League before he has all the attributes to be successful. He is strong and agile and to score 15 La Liga goals for Levante (the “other” team in Valencia) last season means he is sharp.  No league in the world plays the same kind of fast and physical football that we see in England, but La Liga is a highly competitive league, one of the world’s best. None of Latics’ previous acquisitions from Spanish clubs had established themselves as mainline players to the same degree  as Kone and the other acquisition from Mallorca, Ivan Ramis. I view both as potentially excellent signings.

Let’s get back to those internet transfer gossip sites. Today’s digest suggested Conor Sammon was headed for Derby County. The link between Sammon and Derby has come up repeatedly  but now there is talk of a permanent transfer rather than a loan deal. We may well be back to to three centre forwards again. However, is there going to be sufficient playing time for three central strikers, who are going to be on the same par, despite contrasting styles? Di Santo was developing into a fine centre forward last year, with his brilliant hold-up play and superb technique. Boselli is a natural goalscorer who has come back to Wigan motivated to show us his best. He has a fine pedigree. Kone is maybe a cross between the two in the way he plays.

So how do you fit in three quality central strikers, given the manager’s preference for the lone centre forward? Last year Victor Moses was given licence to roam, cutting in from the wings, getting into central positions. If and when Moses goes there will be wealth of players to compete for his role. Crusat,  Dicko, McManaman and the exciting new loan signing Miyaichi are the natural winger-types, who could slot in there. However, given the quality of the three central strikers now at his disposal, Martinez might choose to play one of them in the Moses  position. This would require some tactical adjustments, with a shift towards a more conventional twin striker system. Let’s hope Martinez has this in mind.

The change in tactical formation midway through last year proved to be the catalyst that helped Latics stay up, defying the odds. It helped to get the best out of the players at Martinez’s disposal. Assuming the Moses transfer, he will soon be faced with a similar challenge – how to get the best out of three quality central strikers, while not leaving out the winger-types. An exciting prospect.

Blind optimism and Latics’ new season

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

One of the lads in my class at school was called Brian. He claimed to be an Horwich RMI supporter.  I thought I was remarkable enough at the time, being a Latics fan, in a town dominated by the cherry and white. There were few of us Latic fanatics at school and if we dared to utter words of blind optimism about our club, our classmates were quick to shoot us down.  The message was – how can you support a measly little non-league football club? Don’t even dream of reaching the heights of our wonderful local rugby team or the football giants in neighbouring cities. However, I considered myself an optimist as far as Wigan Athletic were concerned. It was in my blood – and still is. I trust that those classmates are eating their words now.

To be honest, Brian was even more of an optimist than me. Horwich Railway Mechanics  Institute was in fact a much older football club than Wigan Athletic, having been formed in 1896. Their only major  success over those years was in winning the Lancashire Combination championship in 1957-58.  Coming up on Saturday afternoon at Springfield Park was a Lancashire Junior Cup tie between our two teams. It was akin to David and Goliath. Brian saw it differently — an epic tussle between two of Lancashire’s outstanding non-league clubs. He reeled off the names of RMI’s starting eleven, declaring each player a “good-un”, although it was clear from the intonations of his voice that some were more good than others. He had faith – I thought foolishly so – that RMI would get a good result.

Brian was right that day, the match ended in a draw. My Dad was so furious he said he wouldn’t go and watch the replay in the coming week. Their ground was a freezing, a God-forsaken place on the top if a big hill where the wind ruled the roost, he said. Their pitch was going to be rutted and would make good football impossible.

Fortunately, he relented and we took the short bus ride, and walked up to RMI’s ground at Grundy Hill.  Latics won 5-0, and Brian avoided me at school the next week, although I did quietly admire the genuine faith and optimism he seemed to have in his little club. Later, I became disillusioned to find out that he went to see Bolton more than Horwich.  But then again —  why would he announce himself a  fan of Horwich RMI rather than First Division Bolton? Strange how it turned out that Bolton now play home games  in Horwich, whereas the latest incarnation of RMI plays in Leigh.

So what would an optimist make of Wigan Athletic’s chances this season? That Bob and Dave are still here and therefore the club is continuing to move forward.  The appointment of the admirable Matt Jackson to spearhead the much needed youth system upgrade is to be commended. Boselli  is back and so far has averaged a goal a game in pre-season, having only played a half in each. He remains our potentially most clinical finisher, if not the silky skilled player that Di Santo has become. Both Fyvie and Ramis look like excellent signings. Roberto has also brought in two 19 year olds from elite Spanish clubs, each with good credentials. Assuming no major injuries or loss of form, a place in the top half of the table is a distinct possibility.

So what of Victor Moses? Why are Chelsea putting in such derisory bids for him? The odds are that he will go. He is far from the finished article, mainly with his decision-making in goal-scoring opportunities. He wasted a lot of chances last season. However,  there is a need for  a flair player like Moses, or N’Zogbia before him, to do the unpredictable and unsettle defences. Providing he can avoid injuries I expect Albert Crusat will make more of an impact this year. He is pacy, intelligent and David Silva has shown that slightly built players can flourish in the physical Premier League. It would be a mistake, however, to view Crusat as the replacement for Moses  — they are different types of player – and Dicko and McManaman will also compete for that spot.

Latics’ superb end of season performances, however, were built from the back. The three central defenders — Alcaraz, Caldwell and Figueroa – were outstanding, but one lived in fear of any injury to any of them. There was always the possibility of slotting Boyce into the centre but he was playing possibly the best football of his career at wing back. The signing of the experienced and highly capable Ivan Ramis is therefore welcomed. In fact, Figueroa might miss the first part of the season after being on Olympic duty for Honduras. Expect Ramis to slot in for him – if not it will be Lopez or Golobart.

In goal we have the outstanding Ali Al Habsi. The promising  young goalkeeper, Lee Nicholls, is clearly one for the future, but needs to get more experience before stepping in for the Omani. The 40 year old stalwart, Mike Pollitt, will be the first choice backup ‘keeper. There is newspaper talk about a promising young Australian coming on trial.

Latics are well served for wing backs. Ronnie Stam was in excellent form last season before being left out for Emmerson Boyce, who did spectacularly well. Jean Beausejour was the piece in the jigsaw puzzle that made a big difference in the latter part of last season. Wing back is not a position most clubs use, but Beausejour played in that position for Chile under Marcelo Bielsa. Both he and Stam are specialist wing backs. Ramis’ arrival allows Figueroa to serve as emergency wing-back in the event of injury to Beausejour.

Despite losing Diame and Thomas the midfield looks strong. The classy Ben Watson will fight to get his place back from James MacArthur, although he will face competition from Fraser Fyvie. The excellent James McCarthy is potentially as good as most midfield players in the Premier League and is likely to be our sought after by the big clubs before the end of the season. It may be that Fyvie is seen as his long-term replacement. He is a complete player and the goals that have been missing over the past season are likely to return. All he lacks is a little self belief.  David Jones remains a useful squad player able to play in a variety of positions. He has a great left foot and is an intelligent footballer. Hopefully he will steer clear of injuries this year.

Shaun Maloney was a revelation in the latter games of the season as the playmaker.  He has that kind of quality that can make a difference. His experience in a Celtic team that dominated the SPL has given him the level of self-confidence that most of his teammates lack. His career has been blighted by injury and one doubts his ability to make it through a full season unscathed. Jordi Gomez, the butt of some fans, remains a good footballer, able to play that role. Jordi has learned that he has to work hard off the ball and now covers a lot of ground. He is not a natural tackler, but does a lot of harassing of opponents to complement his considerable skills on the ball. Both Maloney and Gomez are likely to score goals, be it from open play or the penalty spot.

There has been talk of Conor Sammon going out on loan, although he does not seem to know anything about it. Sammon needs regular first team football if he is going to develop further. He is not likely to get it with Di Santo and Boselli ahead of him in the pecking order for the centre forward position. Speaking of loans, Lee Nicholls is already fixed up for a spell at Northampton.  One wonders how many more of last season’s loanees –  Golobart, Kiernan, Mustoe and Redmond – will be sent off again for more first team experience.

Perhaps I am being a blind optimist like my friend Brian, but with Bob and Dave still at the helm this club is going to be steered towards a bright future.  They are a great double act and deserve to succeed at the club. Whether Wigan Athletic have a good season in 2012-13 depends on the players. Shaun Maloney summed things up at the end of the season by suggesting that the great revival was brought about by hard work. We have a pretty good squad this year and with the full commitment of the players a mid-table position is a distinct possibility. Forget about the friendly loss to Real Mallorca. We are in for  a good season. Believe and keep the faith!!