Category Archives: Fan Views

Fan views – Part 1: Yanic Wildschut and Jordy Hiwula

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , , , ,

Given that we now have a wider readership than in our earlier days we will occasionally republish articles from our archives, that some may not have seen. We ask our long-established readers will bear with us on this. We will continue to put out our stream of current articles.

Our site stats have shown that our readership has been particularly interested in perspectives of Latics players from fans of their previous clubs. Thanks to contributions made by bloggers on the fan sites of those clubs for these articles from our archives.

Yanic Wildschut – a Middlesbrough fan’s view

wildschut

Written by: Robert Nichols, Fly Me To The Moon fanzine fmttm.com.

Date: October 2, 2105.

 

 

Yanic Wildschut is the kind of player that draws the fans to games. He is fast, strong, powerful and direct. 

 When I say he is fast, let me qualify that by saying Yanic wears athletes compression socks under his football socks. He can give defenders ten yards start and tear past them. A good span of games at Wigan will help him sort out his weak spot, the finished product. Although get him running into the box and it doesn’t matter what he does with his final delivery he will cause mayhem and bag free kicks and penalties by the bucket load.

 If defenders can knock him off the ball. He is, as they used to say in Mark Lawrenson circles, a very big unit.

 Wildcshut has been desperately unlucky at Boro. He helped destroy Oldham away in the 1st round of the League cup. He scored a superb break away goal and was generally far too hot for the other Latics to handle. His promotion to first team action was only a matter of time and indeed we saw more of the same from him at home to Bristol City. Every time he got the ball and went on the run Bristol City were running scared. Yanic was subbed at half time in a tactical switch to allow Stewy Downing to go wide. It didn’t work but we have such a surplus of good wide players, wingers and overlapping full backs that no less than three are out on loan at present. 

 It was expected that Albert Adomah would be leaving but he settled his differences with the manager yet in the meantime we had brought in a talented Uruguayan called De Pena. Thus Carayol, Adam Reach and Wildschut have been allowed on loan. They need first team football rather than Development side starts.

 Wildschut’s debut was as sub at Anfield in the League Cup last season. He was thrown on as a centre forward. And he caused Liverpool threats running through the centre. He scored in League action in a win away at Rotherham. But needs more starts to get consistency.

I would be very excited right now if I was a Wigan fan. Wildschut will destroy defences with pace. He might need a few games to find a level of consistency to impact through 90 minutes. But he is worth the wait because he can split and sprint through a defence in a minute.

Watch him go. And watch Yanic grow.

 

 

Jordy’s arrival at Banks’s Stadium was greeted with something of a whimper, he’d had an nine game, almost goal-less loan spell with Yeovil Town which gave the impression of a player that wasn’t about to turn our campaign around.

However just three minutes into his debut Jordy proved all the doubters wrong as he slotted home, helping the Saddlers to a 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.

Following several solid displays Jordy went on to have his initial one-month loan deal extended to the end of the campaign and finished with nine goals in twenty appearances, including netting twice against Crawley Town and Bristol City.

Jordy is a very capable player, with bags of pace and, given the right formation will surely be a good acquisition for the Latics.

Click here to get a Manchester City view on Hiwula via the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yanic Wildschut – a Middlesbrough fan’s view

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , , , , ,

wildschut

Wigan Athletic have signed 23 year old winger Yanic Wildschut from Middlesbrough on a three month loan. Wildschut has made 11 appearances for Boro, including two this season. He has represented the Netherlands 10 times at under-21 level.

Gary Caldwell told the official Latics website  that:

“He’s something we definitely haven’t got at the moment. We’ve lacked that bit of creativity from the flanks and we were interested as soon as we found out he may be available. With his background – coming through at Ajax – he is technically very comfortable and has had 12 months to get used to the pace of the English game. He is a very powerful boy, who stands at over 6ft tall and one we have been admiring from a distance and with him not being involved at the moment, he is looking for game time. Hopefully it will be an arrangement that suits everyone. We look forward to working with him.”

The 6 ft 1 1⁄2 in tall Wildschut was born in Amsterdam and played in the Ajax academy. He joined second division FC Zwolle and made 33 appearances for them in the 2010-11 season, scoring 3 goals. In summer 2011 he signed for VVV Venlo in the Eredivisie. Wildschut made 61 appearances for VVV, scoring 8 goals before leaving them in the summer of 2013, after they suffered relegation.

In summer 2013 he signed for another Eredivisie side, Heerenveen, on a three year contract. In January 2014 he was sent out on loan to Ado Den Haag until the end of the season, making 7 appearances. Wildschut made 18 appearances for Heerenveen scoring 2 goals.

Middlesbrough signed Wildschut in September 2014 on a two year contract for a fee of around £600,000, with the option of a further year.

In order to learn more about Wildschut’s time at Middlesbrough we contacted Robert Nichols of the Fly Me To The Moon fanzine fmttm.com.

Here’s over to Robert:

Yanic Wildschut is the kind of player that draws the fans to games. He is fast, strong, powerful and direct. 

 When I say he is fast, let me qualify that by saying Yanic wears athletes compression socks under his football socks. He can give defenders ten yards start and tear past them. A good span of games at Wigan will help him sort out his weak spot, the finished product. Although get him running into the box and it doesn’t matter what he does with his final delivery he will cause mayhem and bag free kicks and penalties by the bucket load.

 If defenders can knock him off the ball. He is, as they used to say in Mark Lawrenson circles, a very big unit.

 Wildcshut has been desperately unlucky at Boro. He helped destroy Oldham away in the 1st round of the League cup. He scored a superb break away goal and was generally far too hot for the other Latics to handle. His promotion to first team action was only a matter of time and indeed we saw more of the same from him at home to Bristol City. Every time he got the ball and went on the run Bristol City were running scared. Yanic was subbed at half time in a tactical switch to allow Stewy Downing to go wide. It didn’t work but we have such a surplus of good wide players, wingers and overlapping full backs that no less than three are out on loan at present. 

 It was expected that Albert Adomah would be leaving but he settled his differences with the manager yet in the meantime we had brought in a talented Uruguayan called De Pena. Thus Carayol, Adam Reach and Wildschut have been allowed on loan. They need first team football rather than Development side starts.

 Wildschut’s debut was as sub at Anfield in the League Cup last season. He was thrown on as a centre forward. And he caused Liverpool threats running through the centre. He scored in League action in a win away at Rotherham. But needs more starts to get consistency.

I would be very excited right now if I was a Wigan fan. Wildcshut will destroy defences with pace. He might need a few games to find a level of consistency to impact through 90 minutes. But he is worth the wait because he can split and sprint through a defence in a minute.

Watch him go. And watch Yanic grow.

A Rangers fan’s view of Haris Vučkić

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , ,

 

Following on from our Rotherham fan’s view on Haris Vučkić we contacted a Rangers fan site for their more recent observations on the player who clearly made an impact in Glasgow.

Thanks to Stewart Franklin of Gersnet Independent Rangers Fansite gersnet.co.uk @GersnetOnline for this in-depth look at the player’s loan spell there in the second part of last season.

When Haris Vuckic signed for Rangers on loan from Newcastle in the January transfer window, it’s safe to say the transfer initially polarised supporter opinion. Although the player’s reputation was impressive enough, conflict between Rangers and Mike Ashley’s Newcastle, meant many Light Blue fans were suspicious of any deal between the clubs – never mind five loan players arriving from the North East.

Vuckic’s first game didn’t help. Although he played reasonably well and scored a fine individual goal, Rangers were beaten 2-1 at home by Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup so the jury remained out. Nevertheless, as the other Newcastle loanees struggled to feature through a combination of injury and illness, Vuckic was able to retain his place in the team going forward. Indeed, a change of manager also improved our form through the rest of the campaign and, it’s fair to say, Vuckic was central to our attempts to achieve promotion back to the Scottish Premiership.

In that sense, the Slovenian not only supplied several excellent goals himself but was a creative force in the side. Mainly featuring in wider positions, Vuckic had the strength and ability to take the ball in and, despite a lack of genuine pace, could beat players in any area of the park. It was through this contribution, Rangers fans started to warm to the player and many fans were certainly open to the idea of a permanent move. Unfortunately, the end of the season wasn’t quite as positive. Vuckic’s form dropped off and in our two final play-off defeats against Motherwell, his flaws were all to obvious and the player struggled to affect these vital games as he had previous matches. Despite an excellent return of 9 goals in 16 appearances his loan spell ultimately ended in disappointment as Rangers failed in their promotion attempt.

In June, Mark Warburton took control and Rangers’ style of play completely changed. The team went from playing an awkward blend of direct football to a fast, free-flowing possession game. Over ten new players arrived (including Tavernier, Waghorn and Kiernan from Wigan) and Rangers have started the season very well. Despite this, the club were still linked with Vuckic through August and the player himself was quoted in the Slovenian media as being happy to return to Scotland. However, our new style of play suggested these rumours were never going to come to fruition and the player moved to the Latics as the transfer window earlier closed this week.

To conclude, I’d suggest Wigan have signed a decent player. Vuckic won’t win you games on his own and there were will be periods where he can go missing. However, he’s clearly talented, will create and score goals if used effectively (probably best playing just off another striker in a free role) and will prove a key signing as Wigan attempt to make their way back to the English Championship. A contract extension at Newcastle suggests the North East club still have faith in the lad and I think Rangers fans will also keenly follow his development. Certainly this will be a big year for the lad’s career and only time will tell if he can show the kind of genuine consistency to fulfil his early potential.”

All the best for the new season and thanks for the three lads above who’ve all started well! Amazed we got them so cheaply from you chaps!

Haris Vučkić – a Rotherham fan’s view

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , ,

The 23 year old Slovenian Haris Vuckic has signed for Wigan Athletic on a one year loan from Newcastle United that will include any potential play-off games. He had recently signed a new contract for the Geordies.

The 6 ft 1 in tall Vuckic is a talented player, with a good left foot, who can play in a variety of attacking positions.He has represented Slovenia at all age levels, including  a senior debut against Scotland in February 2012. Vuckic is set to play an important part in Latics’ bid for promotion.

On signing Vuckic Gary Caldwell said: “Haris had a great season on loan at Rangers last season and he is a quality addition to our forward line, a creative player with an eye for goal.Newcastle rate him highly but he needs to keep progressing and is looking to play as regularly as possible. We are delighted he has chosen Wigan Athletic.”

Haris Vučkić was born in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, but played for NK Domžale, some 9 miles away. Vuckic made his debut for NK in the Slovenian PrvaLiga when still only 15 years old, leading the club to be fined for fielding an underage player. On reaching his sixteenth birthday some three months later he went on to play another four games for NK before being signed by Newcastle.

Vuckic was soon to make his mark in Newcastle’s under-18 and reserve sides. He made his senior debut as a late substitute in a League Cup match in August 2009, less than a week after turning 17.  A few days later he made his league debut in a similar fashion against Leicester City. However,he was unable to gain a regular first team spot, his appearances being in pre-season games and the League Cup. He was to make his Premier League debut as a substitute in August 2011, with a  starting debut against West Bromwich Albion in December 2011.

In February 2012 he went on a one month loan to Cardiff City, making 5 appearances and scoring one goal. In late November 2013 Vuckic joined Rotherham United on a one month loan that was to be extended until the end of the season. He made 22 appearances for the Millers, including their victorious play-off final against Leyton Orient, scoring four goals during his stay.

In February 2014 Vuckic was one of five Newcastle players who joined Rangers on loan. He was to score 9 goals in 16 appearances for the Ibrox club.

Vuckic made 20 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions, scoring one goal.

In order to learn more about Vuckic’s time at Rotherham we reached out to It’s Millers Time @millerstimerufc).

Here’s over to them:

Vuckic has good experience of League One having spent more than half the season on loan at Rotherham in 2013/14.

At the time, he was a bit raw and untested and was used mainly as a substitute by boss Steve Evans, but he did make an impact.

He can play as an out-and-out striker, in a target man role, is comfortable playing behind the main striker and can also be employed on the left. He is tall, has good aerial ability, but also can run with the ball and beat men.

 

A Bolton fan’s view of Andy Kellett

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , ,

Photo courtesy of Manchester United magazine

Wigan Athletic yesterday announced the signing of 21 year old full back/wing back Andy Kellett from Bolton Wanderers.

Kellett was born in Bolton and came through the Wanderers academy to make his first team debut as a substitute against Leicester City in April 2014. He again came off the bench in the next match against Sheffield Wednesday. In October Kellett joined League 2 club Plymouth Argyle on a one month loan, which was extended a further month.He was to make 12 appearances, scoring one goal .

Although Kellett was more likely expecting a return to Plymouth in the second half of the season he was to join Manchester United on loan in early February 2015. A Daily Telegraph  article tells how Bolton’s first team coach Garry Parker broke the news to Kellett of United’s interest in him.

“Sit down Andy, We’ve got some good news and some bad news. “You’re not going back to Plymouth,” was the bad news. After that body blow, Kellett asked to hear the good.“You’re going to Manchester United,” Parker said.

Kellett went on to make 10 appearances for United’s development squad before returning to Bolton.

In order to learn more about Kellett we reached out to Chris Mann of the Burnden Aces fan site http://www.burndenaces.co.uk (Twitter @BurndenAces ).

Here’s over to Chris:

The lasting memory of transfer deadline day from times gone by usually hindered around Harry Redknapp talking to reporters from his car, or crowds gathering at stadiums and training grounds with indescribable adult-themed objects.

A new trend seems to have been set, however, and that is ‘Transfer Deadline Day = Andy Kellett is on the move’.

Having spent the early part of last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle, Kellett had looked set to return to Home Park only to become one of the country’s biggest talking points when he sealed an 11th-hour switch to Manchester United back in February.

United were short of options at full-back, but the move baffled supporters of both clubs. As predicted, though, Kellett’s time at Old Trafford was consigned to the development squad that would eventually go on to win the Under-21 Premier League title.

Kellett signed on at Wanderers as a seven-year old and, having impressed at youth level, made his senior debut in April 2014 – making a total of three appearances before the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

Hopes were high for the hometown boy, but a change in management seemed to put the brakes on his progression and it quickly became obvious that he just wasn’t rated by Neil Lennon.

His big chance arrived in a game at Rotherham United in January, prior to his United move, but a shambolic performance from the entire team saw Kellett sacrificed after 51 minutes – at 3-0 down – and he hasn’t been anywhere near the first-team since.

Kellett was a popular figure amongst the Bolton fans, many of whom believe he should have been given more of an opportunity. But Lennon has granted chances to the likes of Zach Clough, Josh Vela and Tom Walker, while a group of other names are also on the verge of breaking through, so the manager has shown he will put his faith in youth if he deems them good enough.

It’s a shame to see him leave, but Kellett had entered the final year of his contract and wasn’t being considered for what has been a position lacking in cover. Lennon hasn’t made many mistakes in terms of player recruitment so far, so we’ll trust his judgement and wish Kellett the best of luck down the road.