Category Archives: Match Previews

Blackburn Preview – Latics to rest key players

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

A trip to Ewood Park has been known to fill Wigan Athletic supporters with a sense of foreboding. Latics have only won there once and that was at the end of the 2011-12 season when they were miraculously staying up and Blackburn were being relegated from the Premier League. An Antolin Alcaraz header gave Latics a 1-0 win. The next best result was Paul Jewell’s side getting a 1-1 draw there in the 2005-06 season. The other seven confrontations went Blackburn’s way.

But this time around Latics fans will not worry too much about the result. Wigan are already assured of a playoff place and will want to rest their key players ahead of the home game against either Derby or QPR next Thursday or Friday. Blackburn will be hoping that Latics put out their second string, praying that they can get an avalanche of goals and that Brighton and Reading both lose. That far-fetched scenario would be enough for them to leapfrog into a playoff place.

Latics will certainly look at resting key players, but still have enough strength in depth to ensure a fair contest tomorrow. Rosler might well give Honduran left back Juan Carlos Garcia his league debut. Thomas Rogne is also likely to feature in the centre of defence. The big Swede Markus Holgersson still has not featured in the first team and has not played for the development squad for some time. If he is fit will he make his debut at right back?

Nicky Maynard is due to return at centre forward. Jack Collison will step into central midfield. James McClean, Josh McEachran and Nick Powell might reappear, despite not having even made the bench for the match at Birmingham.

The pressure if off Latics, but on Blackburn tomorrow. However, Lancashire derbies can be full-blooded affairs and strange things can happen. Rosler will want his players to stay clear of injuries and disciplinary sanctions, but nevertheless represent their club with pride.

The likelihood is a Blackburn victory, but Latics’ fringe players are a talented bunch who might surprise us tomorrow. It will depend on their willingness to slug it out with the opposition in the true tradition of a Lancashire derby.

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Latics could give Blackpool a hiding

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

 

Ex-Blackpool player Stephen Crainey thinks the game is massive for both sides.

The word “massive” has become an integral part of the modern day footballers’ vocabulary. In everyday English it roughly translates to “important”, but it can also signify “crucial”.

Ex-Blackpool player Stephen Crainey used it this week when he described Saturday’s clash with his old club as “a massive game for both sides”.

In reality the game is more “massive” for Blackpool than Latics. The Tangerines are in the drop zone, being in 22nd place, with only two games left. Failure to get at least a point at the DW Stadium on Saturday would put them in severe danger of relegation. On the other hand Wigan have three games left in which they need to amass the three points needed to secure a playoff spot.

Six months have passed since the Seasiders beat Owen Coyle’s Wigan Athletic in a bad tempered match at Bloomfield Road. It seems like an eternity. Latics have since been transformed by Uwe Rosler and their presence in the playoff zone is giving the other teams up there lots of food for thought.

On the other hand Blackpool have been in a downward spiral since then. Manager Paul Ince was sacked in January and his son Tom, their star player, went to Crystal Palace. Experienced Scottish international midfielder, Barry Ferguson, took over as player-manager on a temporary basis. At the time Blackpool were in 14th place, nine points outside the top six, eight points above the relegation zone.

Despite a run of poor results the 36 year-old Ferguson remains popular with their fans, whose anger and frustration is being vented more towards Chairman Karl Oyston. In a recent home defeat to Burnley fans threw tennis balls and tangerines on to the pitch, twice holding up play, in protest against the Chairman. The anger is down to a perceived unwillingness of Oyston to invest in the club the profit made from their time in the Premier League a couple of years ago, together with not appointing a manager on a permanent basis.

Blackpool come into the match following an invaluable point gained in a 1-1 draw at promotion hopefuls Brighton, after having lost 12 of their previous 15 away games. They will have ample support at the DW Stadium on Saturday through Oyston providing 3,000 free tickets for season ticket holders which were quickly snapped up. Moreover the Blackpool Supporters Association are providing them with free transport.

However, it looks like the Tangerines may be without talisman Ricardo Fuller through injury. They have not won a game without him since he made his debut in August. Blackpool have scored just 36 goals in 44 league matches this season, only Charlton having scored less.

Wigan Athletic go into this match with a far superior squad to that of their opponents. Moreover manager Uwe Rosler is likely to put forward his strongest lineup, in order to secure the playoff spot. Latics have had some poor results against teams in the lower reaches of the division, but they see this game as important and they will be up for it.

With a solid defence, a midfield trio of McArthur, Espinoza and Gomez and the likes of Maloney, McManaman, Powell and Waghorn up front Latics look far too good for their Lancashire neighbours.

If Latics play at the level they displayed a week ago against Reading, Blackpool will be in for a hiding.

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Burnley Preview – Can Latics do it again?

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

“After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust cart” is a saying that can so often hold true in football. Wigan Athletic fans will be hoping that will not be the case when their team visits Burnley tomorrow.

Over the course of a season a team can reach its highs, but they are so often spread apart. Highs rarely come in consecutive games, but for Latics’ over the past week it has been the case. A superb performance in the FA Cup semi-final draw with Arsenal was followed by the best home display of the season, with a resounding 3-0 win over fellow play-off contenders, Reading. Both results were obtained by Latics playing high quality football.

But can they reach their third high in the space of nine days by getting a good result at Turf Moor? Or will it be an anticlimax?

The trip to Burnley was never going to be easy. Moreover it is a particularly big one for the hosts since they can win automatic promotion by beating Wigan.

Burnley have had a wonderful season, consistently punching above their weight. Somehow they have managed to stay clear of the large-scale injury problems that have dogged promotion rivals, although striker Sam Vokes will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury. However, the 25 goal Danny Ings will play up front with Ashley Barnes, signed from Brighton in the January transfer window.

Uwe Rosler will rotate his squad as always. He has stated that some players who were not even on the bench on Good Friday will make the team tomorrow. That appears to point at the likes of Gary Caldwell and Josh McEachran.

Nicky Maynard and James McClean are due to reappear in attack and Rob Kiernan and Stephen Crainey in defence. Rosler might well revert to a 3-5-2 formation, with Caldwell and Kiernan in the backline. The in-form Callum McManaman is likely to be rested, although he might make the bench. Shaun Maloney might well come on at some time in the proceedings, although he is unlikely to start his second game in three days following his recuperation from long-term injury.

The last two performances have shown the kind of quality football that Rosler’s Latics can produce. However, they are also capable of grinding out results away from home against promotion rivals, as to which Brighton and Derby can attest.

A good result at Burnley will consolidate Latics’ playoff position. It might not be pretty to watch, but Wigan have enough strength in depth to more than match their East Lancashire opponents.

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Maloney and Callum ready for Reading

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews and tagged with , , ,
Shaun Maloney
Callum McManaman

What a refreshing sight it was to see a sparking Callum McManaman running at the Arsenal defence on Saturday. It was almost like a glimpse from the past. When he plays like that few defences can contain him. Per Mertesacker will not be the last player to give away a penalty against the young winger, who outdid him on pace.

A week or two back if someone had said that McManaman would be back to his best and Shaun Maloney would be back in action it would have been hard to believe. Maloney sat on the bench at Wembley, but would most likely have come on for the extra time period if it were not for the unfortunate injury to Ivan Ramis, which required Uwe Rosler to use a defender as his third substitution. But the Scot had somehow played for the whole ninety minutes in the previous match against Millwall, despite not having played competively for some six months.

Maloney and McManaman, together with the departed Arouna Kone, provided the attacking thrust for Roberto Martinez’s cup winning side. A centre forward of Kone’s class was always going to be difficult to replace since he was not only a superb target man but also had an eye for goal. We have seen a succession of players in that position this season – Grant Holt, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Nicky Maynard and Nick Powell – but none has so far managed to get the balance between the two main facets of a central striker’s game. Until the end of the regular season Uwe Rosler will rotate Fortune, Maynard and Powell, although the young Manchester United loanee probably has the edge on claiming a starting position should Latics reach the playoffs.

Wigan’s injury problems continue, following Ivan Ramis’ sad exit in the FA Cup Semi Final. The Spaniard had been on superb form since coming back from injury. However, Latics are well covered for central defenders. Apart from a missed penalty that he should probably never have taken, Gary Caldwell made a successful return from long-term injury against Arsenal, surprisingly getting the nod ahead of the dependable Leon Barnett.

Since his hamstring injury at Ipswich Barnett has not been able to re-establish himself as the automatic choice he was previously. However, Rosler might well be holding him back until he regains full fitness. Barnett is the best header of the ball in the Latics defence and might well be preferred against teams who play a more direct style.

On the bright side it was good to see Roger Espinoza on the bench at Wembley, following a hernia operation. With the non-emergence of Ryan Tunnicliffe Latics have been short of options in midfield. A national newspaper reported last week that Tunnicliffe’s loan period had been cut short by Rosler with the player sent back to Fulham.

Having to play Reading at home on Good Friday and Burnley away on Easter Monday, Rosler will continue to rotate his squad. However, he is likely to put forward his strongest lineup against Reading, who lie a place below Latics in the playoff zone. It could well be close to that which lined up at Wembley, but with Maloney and Martyn Waghorn stepping in. The exciting, if enigmatic, James McClean did not make the bench at Wembley but will also come into consideration.

Reading themselves have some injury problems. According to their manager, ex-Latics goalkeeper Nigel Adkins  “It’s been the story of the season. I don’t know who we’ll have available for Wigan, we’ll have to have a roll call with everybody. The easy thing would be to say ‘there you go, have a few weeks off’ but we just can’t afford that. We’ve got to keep pushing as much as we can, with all the players. We’re probably rushing people back a bit sooner than we would ideally want, but that’s where we are at this stage of the season.”

Given the injury problems Latics have faced this season, Adkins is unlikely to receive any sympathy from them. However, the visitors could well be without a handful of their senior players for the clash tomorrow.

Latics have been afforded a recuperation period of six days since the FA Cup Semi Final, rather than the 3-4 days that has been the norm over the last couple of months.

They go into the game relatively fresh, with McManaman and Maloney ready to cause problems for the Royals.

Three points for Latics is definitely on the cards.

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The Dream refuses to die – but who will play?

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

Martinez

When Wigan Athletic won the FA Cup it really was a dream come true. Who could ever have imagined that they would be within close distance of making it come true again just eleven months later?

Just like last year Latics had a difficult time disposing of a team a division below them in the early rounds. Last season it was Bournemouth, this time around it was MK Dons. Martinez’s team had an amazing 3-0 win at Everton in the sixth round, while Rosler’s side also shocked the pundits with a 2-1 win at Manchester City.

However, Martinez’s team were to meet Millwall in the semi-final. Arsenal present a different proposition.

Whatever happens at Wembley tomorrow this team has done the club proud. They have got to the semi-final on merit following three successive victories over Premier League teams.

Latics had gone into the match at the Etihad following a series of good results, having won 4-1 at promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest in the previous game. Nevertheless they were facing a City team that had won 12 of its 13 home games in the Premier League and had already thrashed Latics 5-0 in the League cup.

As with the FA Cup Final last year against the same club, Latics’ manager got his tactics spot-on. Rosler’s team plays a more pragmatic style of football than that of Martinez. From the start they went at City, their high pressing game stemming the flow of the Citizens’ play. When Latics’ went 2-0 up not long after half time they dug in to conserve the result. City were to get a controversial goal that should have been disallowed for offside, but they were to pummel Wigan’s defence. With grim determination and a tiny bit of luck on their side Latics held on to get their victory.

At the Etihad, Rosler played a conservative 3-5-2 system, with Marc-Antoine Fortune and Callum McManaman upfront. However, the midfielders – Jordi Gomez in particular – pushed forward in the first half. He had surprised us by playing Chris McCann in the left of the backline trio. Leon Barnett was to take over that role after half time, due to the unfortunate injury to the Irishman.

Rosler will almost certainly adopt a similar approach tomorrow. Arsenal tend to pack their midfield with a lot of players and Wigan will need strength in numbers there to compete. James McArthur and Jordi Gomez will play in central midfield with James Perch and Jean Beausejour playing wide. However, it is that third central midfield position that will be up for grabs.

Jack Collison has the most experience, but played a full game in midweek plus most of the second half last Saturday. Would his knee stand up to him taking a starting role tomorrow? Josh McEachran played there at the Etihad, but has not figured much recently and was taken off at half time on Tuesday. However, this is an entirely different kind of match to the league encounter against Millwall and might well suit the young Chelsea loanee.

The lineup could well be that which began the second half at the Etihad, with the exception of Jean Beausejour for Stephen Crainey at left wing back : Carson ; Boyce, Ramis, Barnett; Perch, McArthur, Gomez, McEachran, Beausejour; McManaman, Fortune.

The 29 year old Michael Oliver has been named as referee for the encounter. Coincidentally he officiated last year’s semi-final against Millwall. One of the features of Rosler’s regime has been in the discipline shown by his players, with no red cards received. They will need to show that same kind of resolve tomorrow against a skilful Arsenal team whose supporters will be in the large majority at the Stadium, ready to pressurize the young referee.

The fourth placed team in the Premier League is playing against the fifth placed team from the division below, which has already played 55 matches this season. So once again the odds are heavily stacked against the Latics. However, only a fool would count them out.

The dream is still alive.

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