Author Archives: JJ (Tony)

WIGAN ATHLETIC-ASTON VILLA PREVIEW

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

Last summer Aston Villa wanted Roberto Martinez to be their manager. He would have had the opportunity to move to one of England’s oldest and proudest clubs, with the kinds of resources he would never have had at Wigan. It was remarkable in the cynical world of the Premier League that a manager would turn down such an opportunity and continue with a club that constantly struggles to survive at this level. Yes Roberto Martinez is a very special person and he continues to show the intensity of belief in his players and his club that belittles those who knock him. Wigan Athletic might get the kinds of results over these coming weeks to avoid the trap door of relegation. Or they might not. Whatever the outcome they will continue to have direction and purpose as long as Martinez is in charge.

Where would Aston Villa have been had Martinez been appointed? Surely not in 15th place playing more ‘fightball’ than football. With the squad of players they have one would expect them to be heading towards the top eight, playing the kind of attractive football that Martinez would have instilled in them. Instead we see the dull approach so typical of McLeish’s teams. As an ex central defender McLeish bases his philosophy on solid defence. It is no surprise that the skilful Charles N’Zogbia has not flourished playing under McLeish. He made a bad decision in joining Villa under the Scot’s tenure.

Some cynics would say that it is a pity Martinez did not go to Villa, given that Wigan currently lie bottom of the table. However, only two points separate the bottom five teams and a win today would lift Wigan off the bottom, which would provide a significant psychological boost for the players. Although not favoured by the bookmakers’ odds Latics can succeed in finishing the season with more points than Bolton, Blackburn, QPR or Wolves. It is certainly possible, given their fixtures. Martinez deserves commending for building up a decent squad of footballers despite the financial restraints he has to work under. If the unmentionable were to happen and Wigan were to get relegated they have a squad of players good enough to bring them back up, even if some of the more prized assets were to move on. It is the long term planning and foresight from Martinez that makes him one of the game’s finest young managers.

So how will this game pan out? The good news for Latics is that they have a clean bill of health for all of their squad, a rarity at this point in the season. The fine win at Bolton was followed by a useful trip to Oman with another positive result. The memory that sticks in my mind from the Bolton game is that of Wigan having bodies in the opposition  penalty area when attacking. James McArthur got his winning goal through sheer hard graft, running from a deep position to support his attack. It is something that had been lacking throughout the previous course of the season. Let’s hope we see it again today.

Let’s keep the faith and give Roberto Martinez and his team the kind of support they need. Villa will be a tough nut to crack – they are quite capable doing the kind of demolition job done by Sunderland at the DW a few weeks ago – but they are certainly beatable. Let’s hope for some decent refereeing and that little bit of luck that has not been on our side too often this season. Go for it Wigan!

BOLTON WANDERERS-WIGAN ATHLETIC PREVIEW – HANGING AROUND THE DARK SIDE

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Yet another “must win” match for Wigan Athletic? If they lose to Bolton on Saturday are they doomed to go down? Would a draw be a good result? Wigan Athletic are hanging around the dark side, close to the abyss. But so are Bolton. Neither side wants to lose this one.

Bolton Wanderers lie in 18th position, with 20 points, four ahead of Wigan Athletic. They have won 2 out of 12 home matches this season. They have failed to score in 3 of their last 4 league matches. One could say this was an ideal time to play them at the Reebok Stadium. However, Bolton have not lost in their last 8 meetings with Wigan. Last time the teams played, at the DW Stadium in mid October, Bolton had lost 11 of their first 12 matches, but still managed to beat us 3-1. Last time we beat them at the Reebok was in 2008.

What lies in store on Saturday? Is it going to be a turning point for Wigan or another nail in their coffin? Which team can better manage the “fear factor” or at least scrape out a win? To be frank, given the current form of both teams this match could go either way.

Wigan have 16 points from 24 matches so far. In the past three seasons the team finishing in 17th place and surviving the drop was as follows – 2010-11 Wolves (with 40 points), 2009-2010 West Ham (35 points), 2008-2009, Hull City (35 points). If Latics are to reach even the lower 35 point figure they will need 19 points from the last 14 matches. This is an achievable target, providing they play close to their potential. Last season they got 20 points from their last 14 matches with the record of W5 D5 L4. Three of those losses were against Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Would 35 points be enough providing Latics could reach that total? That would largely depend on how the other struggling teams were to fare over the coming months. The bottom five teams are currently within a five point range of each other. There is then a gap of another five points between 15th and 16th place. It is not unusual for a team well above the danger zone at this start of the season to go into freefall and finish in a relegation place. However, the probability is that 3 of today’s bottom 5 teams are going to be relegated. It is therefore critical that Latics get good results in their upcoming “6 pointers” against Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves. They have already shared the honours with QPR, winning one and losing one. Given this scenario it is no wonder that so many Latics supporters consider the Bolton game to be a “must win”. To lose would put Bolton 7 points ahead of them, pushing Wigan closer and closer to relegation.

What of Wigan’s lineup and tactics for this match? It appears that Franco Di Santo is fit again after getting injuries in his last two matches. Roberto Martinez seems to be pretty upbeat about Hugo Rodallaga coming good again now the transfer window is over. He is the only player with any kind of proven goalscoring record in the squad. I expect him to play but implore Martinez not to play him on the left wing where he is so ineffective. He needs to be in the centre. Many Latics followers, myself included, would love to see two central strikers playing together. Di Santo and Rodallega could make a fine combination. However, this would mark a paradigm shift in Martinez’ s thinking and is therefore unlikely. We can only live in hope.

As always let’s keep the faith! Latics are by no means dead and buried at this stage and can turn things around, as they did last season. Let’s go into the match with a positive lineup and try to win it!

WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 EVERTON 1 – A BORE DRAW

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Was this going to be the turning point for the season? Wigan Athletic up by a goal after 76 minutes. Victor Moses runs through with Crusat in a great position. Moses decides to go it alone and the chance to kill off the game is lost. Soon after Everton get their equalizer as Jones and Boyce watch Anichebe leap to glance a header into the net.

Those five minutes were the highlight of a dire contest for the spectator. Harsh weather conditions hardly helped. Everton can scarcely be called an attractive team. Their strategy is based on strong defence. They tend to pick goals up from set plays, especially in the second half. Latics never really looked like scoring against that miserly Everton defence, but for once got a slice of luck, with Neville and Howard conspiring to give away a bizarre own goal. It was that slice of luck we had all been waiting for – the chance to turn around the season after another long winless streak. Alas, it was not to be.

The stats for the match show that Wigan enjoyed 52% of the possession and committed 15 fouls to Everton’s 12. Both teams had 10 shots but the reality was that neither keeper was kept busy. This was a classic bore draw, with neither side able to muster any consistent attacking threat.

The Good

The good is that Latics did not lose. However, this columnist does not agree with the sentiment that this was a point gained. You have to be able to beat mid table teams like Everton if you want to maintain your Premier League status.

The Bad

Once again Wigan’s centre forward was lone in the extreme. Both modified systems –  4-3-3 and 5-3-2 –  allow the possibility of wide players coming forward to attack. The 5-3-2 becomes 3-5-2 when you give your wing backs due licence to play further forward. Put simply it is not the system that is letting Latics down in terms of goalscoring, but their reluctance to put sufficient players into more forward positions. Look at when Latics get the ball in wide positions deep into their opponents half. No matter how well a winger or wing back can cross the ball there have to be bodies inside the box to score. Moreover those players in the box need to attack the ball, rather than wait for it passively. How demoralizing it must be for players like Ronnie Stam to put in beautifully crafted crosses with no end result. The same applies to set pieces. We have the worst record in the division for scoring off set pieces. Our players seem to have lost the ability to aggressively head the ball towards goal. Moreover the delivery of corners and free kicks leaves much to be desired. Oh for a Ryan Taylor or Seb Larsson to take our set pieces.

The reluctance to put more players forward is the hallmark of a struggling team. The risk of losing a goal to counter attack is real and scary to a team lacking in self confidence. However, if you genuinely want to win a match you have to risk losing goals to counter attacks. Latics are at the point of the season where draws are not sufficient. They need to start winning games. A positive spin can be put on the draw in this match by looking at it as not losing, after a string of four successive defeats. There is some validity to that argument, but the time for spin is no more – time is marching out on us – let’s go in to win matches and not be content with a draw. The fear factor needs to be overcome.

Player Ratings

Ali Al Habsi: 6 – For once he had little to do!

Ronnie Stam:6 – Not his best performance, although surprisingly substituted after 65 minutes.

Emmerson Boyce: 5 – Steady but not at his best.

Gary Caldwell: 6 – Marshalled the defence, led by example.

Maynor Figueroa: 5 – Steady but not at his best.

Jean Beausejour: 6 – Worked hard, showing nice touches.

James McCarthy: 6 – Worked hard in front of the defence, but we need to see more of him in attack.

James McArthur: 7 – Showed great commitment: a real team player.

Jordi Gomez: 4 – Poor, justifiably taken off after 64 minutes.

Victor Moses: 4 – Poor. Too often runs head-down into blind alleys.

Franco Di Santo: 5 – Tried hard, but to little effect. Taken off after 69 minutes. Hardly ever plays the full 90 minutes or completes a run of consecutive games. A stop-start season for him.

Substitutes

David Jones: – Came on as substitute for Stam. Looked out of place on the right hand side.

Hugo Rodallega: – Came on for Gomez. Showed commitment and got into some decent positions.

Albert Crusat: – Came on for Di Santo after 69 minutes. Did what he could with little service.

WIGAN ATHLETIC-EVERTON PREVIEW – A GET AWAY FROM THE DARK SIDE?

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The last time Wigan Athletic won at home was on August 27th, when they beat Queens Park Rangers 2-0. They have not won any of their last 9 matches at the DW Stadium. Everton are currently in 10th place and have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 5 of their away games. However, they have only won one of their last 5 away games. Since joining the Premier League Latics have beaten Everton only once at home.

Another “must win” match for Wigan? We seem to have been saying that for some time, but a win over Everton could be a real turning point. Everton are a mid table team at the moment and Latics need to be able to beat teams like that to stay up. Latics have four home games remaining against teams who are currently lying below Everton in the table – Aston Villa (currently 12th), Swansea (14th), WBA (15th) and Wolves (19th) – in addition to those against Manchester United (2nd), Newcastle (5th) and Stoke (9th).

Mohamed Diame is due to return for Wigan following Senegal’s disappointing showing in the African Nations Cup. There is a chance of David Jones being fit and his experience of playing in the left wing back position might well put him ahead of Jean Beausejour if they play the three centre back system. Hugo Rodallega is likely to return, hopefully at centre forward – where despite his lean spell – he is more likely to score than either Di Santo or Sammon. Antolin Alcaraz may be fit and this could pose a selection dilemma for Martinez, with Boyce, Caldwell and Figueroa being the last custodians of the centre back positions.

A lucky deflected shot, a bad penalty, an own goal, a red card – any of these could help Latics overcome Everton if they were to go in our favour. An ounce or two of luck is what we need. Everton are a very well organized team, with a miserly defence which has conceded only 26 goals in 23 matches. They get a lot of goals from set plays and most of their goals come in the second half. They have been perked up by the return of the excellent Landon Donovan from Los Angeles and Steven Pienaar from Tottenham. They have a desperately needed new centre forward in Nikica Jelavic, a 6 ft. 2 in. Croatian, plus Darron Gibson from Manchester United. As has often happened to Wigan this season they are unlucky in having to play a team whose confidence has been boosted, not only with their new arrivals, but also in their 1-0 win over league leaders Manchester City. However, Everton are not one of those top six clubs who throw around monopoly money and compete for the world’s best. They are step below that and are definitely beatable.

One can understand the doom and gloom pervading the blue side of Wigan. Results have been awful this season and points have been thrown away by reckless and frustrating individual errors. However, one can watch the other relegation candidates play and see similar patterns in their performances. What a pity we had those horrible results against Bolton, Blackburn, Wolves and QPR. In each match the other team looked as nervous as Wigan did, but things just did not work out for us. However, those clubs remain in the relegation mire and all we need to do is finish above them and we are safe. The nerves are jangling not only in Wigan. We play three of those teams again before the end of the season, classic “six pointers” that can make a huge difference if we win them.

Let’s go into this game with the right approach. This means putting out a balanced lineup (with players in their natural positions), putting in the sweat and toil needed to close down the other team’s options, but more than anything else – really trying to win the game. Draws are not sufficient at this stage. I am going to stick my neck out here and predict a win for Wigan Athletic. Let’s keep the faith and get away from that dark side!

TOTTENHAM 3 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 – BACK INTO CAPITULATION MODE

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It was sad to see Wigan Athletic revert to capitulation mode again on Tuesday evening. Capitulation mode has been typified this season by allowing a “monopoly” team to completely dominate the match without any significant physical intervention. As reported in this column in previous posts Wigan’s foul count this season has typically been 8 or 9 per game against these teams, as opposed to averaging 13 to 14 against other opposition. It was therefore no surprise after this performance that the foul count against Wigan was only 7, with Tottenham committing one more. The irony is that Latics have committed more fouls this season than any other team in the division. So what happens in these matches? Nobody here is counting a foul as a positive thing, but the stats give much cause for conjecture.

It was something we have seen too often before this season against the big boys. A defence stuck really deep and minimal effort to show any attacking intent in terms of putting men forward, especially in the first half. The scoreline was kind to Wigan – Spurs could have scored a lot more. In the last 20 minutes we saw some spirit, typified by the inspirational Ronnie Stam’s lone and unsupported forays into the Tottenham half. With better finishing his terrific crosses would have resulted in goals, but this was not to be.

Wigan had reverted to their three centre halves formation, with Jean Beausejour put in as left wing back. Nominally a left winger he did pretty well in his defensive role until failing to mark Gareth Bale who scored an opportunist goal in the 29th minute. The goal came as no surprise. Only 5 minutes later Latics suffered that kind of ill luck that happens to struggling teams – or bad play depending how you see things – that saw Maynor Figueroa’s clearance hit Jordi Gomez and bounce back nicely for Modric to hook in Tottenham’s second goal. The scoreline would have been much worse for Wigan at halftime – and throughout the whole match – without another fine goalkeeping display from Ali Al Habsi. Bale and Assou Ekottu form a terrific left sided attacking front for Spurs and they overwhelmed Latics in that first half. A memory sticks in my head of Ronnie Stam being swamped by their attacks with no other Latics player in sight for support. I cannot recall a Premier League match, where for so long, two players seemed to “own’ one sector of the pitch, with so little collective challenge to their dominance.

Wigan rallied to some extent in the second half, but the home team was clearly in command. Once again it was therefore no surprise that Gareth Bale scored a simple goal in the 63rd minute, ignoring Watson’s challenge and stroking the ball home. You could say it was the goal of a genius or a soft goal to give away – your choice. Nobody had marked Bale all evening and he had a field day.

James McArthur came on for Jordi Gomez and he scored an opportunist, if deflected, goal in the 80th minute. Latics then rallied and put Tottenham under pressure in a way that did not seem possible before. Unfortunately their finishing was not to be apparent. Albert Crusat came on after 87 minutes for Ben Watson, but Wigan were a beaten force well before then.

There was controversy in the 73rd minute when Assou Ekotto committed a horrible red card foul against Franco Di Santo, who had to go off to be replaced by Conor Sammon. The referee and his assistant were so close to the play, but neither reacted. Not even a yellow card! One wonders what would have happened if a Wigan player had done this.

The stats reveal Tottenham having 20 shots or target and Wigan 9. Tottenham enjoyed 62% of the possession. There was one yellow card, for Albert Crusat in the 90th minute.

The Good

One could say that the scoreline suggests that Latics did not get “thumped”. Moreover they escaped without anyone being sent off and only one belated yellow card. A goal for James McArthur was a reward for his persistence and endeavour.

The Bad

This dual mode of damage limitation/capitulation  is hard for supporters to take. One could argue that  the end result of 3-1 does not look so bad, but the reality was something else. The woeful lack of ambition in the first half played into Tottenham’s hands and they were allowed to look impressive. The shortage of “steel” in midfield was plain to see.

Tottenham have a vastly superior squad to Wigan. They spend big monopoly money to do it. However, the gulf between Tottenhams’ collective self confidence and the paucity of self belief among Wigan players looked way beyond the difference in technical levels. No surprise, one supposes, with Spurs in 3rd place and Wigan 20th. It is the lack of self belief that is keeping Wigan glued to the bottom of the table.

Player Ratings

Ali Al Habsi: 7 – Another good display. Kept Latics in the game with fine saves.

Ronnie Stam:7 – Struggled defensively in the first half when swamped by left sided attackers, but hung in there and never gave up. An example to his teammates in his “never say die” approach.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – Showed poise and technique, but did not offer enough support to the right side of defence in the first half especially.

Gary Caldwell: 6 – Tried hard to steady a sinking ship.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 – Also tried hard to hold back the Tottenham tide.

Jean Beausejour: 6 – Showed skilful touches, but this was a baptism of fire being asked to play at wing back.

James McCarthy: 5 – Disappointing.

Ben Watson: 5 – Disappointing.

Jordi Gomez: 5 – Ineffective, taken off after 71 minutes.

Victor Moses: 6 – Lack of service gave him little opportunity.

Franco Di Santo: 5 – Did not reach his usual level in terms of holding the ball up as a lone striker. Unconvincing as a finisher.

Substitutes

Conor Sammon: 4 – Visibly lacking in goalscoring confidence. Desperately needs a goal somehow.

James McArthur: 6 – Showed his usual commitment and got into good positions. His goal was somewhat fortunate but well deserved.

Albert Crusat: – Hard to prove your point when brought on in the 87th minute.