Category Archives: News

Southampton 0 Wigan Athletic 2: Mature Latics win tricky fixture

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Saturday’s was a calm and measured performance in which, as time went on, the gulf in experience and class between the two sides appeared to widen.

Had Adam Lallana’s excellent long range strike not been expertly tipped onto the bar by Ali Al-Habsi in the first half, we might be telling a different story. As it was, Wigan limited Southampton to hopeful long range efforts or deep crosses in the first half, before pouncing early in the second and cruising from there on out.

Indeed there was a period of about 4-5 minutes in the second half as Latics pinged the ball around park when it was a like watching Spain — Southampton couldn’t get near them. Statistics will suggest Southampton had the better of the goal attempts, but each of Latics breakaways was incisive and dangerous, while the newly promoted side couldn’t find a way through. The first goal resulted from a cheeky Shaun Maloney flick, which Franco Di Santo raced onto and smashed into the roof of the net. The second was a little more controversial as new-boy Arouna Koné forcefully dispossessed a Southampton defender close to midfield before racing down the pitch to thump home.

The Good:

This performance — as did the final 80 minutes against Chelsea — mirrored the excellent form that kept us up last season. The passing, midfield pressing and levels of concentration were outstanding. The finishes from each striker were as emphatic as any in our Premier League days. New signings Koné and Ramis got another 90 minutes under their belts and performed well.

The Bad:

Not much, really. I felt Victor Moses was missed in the first half and would have been a useful outlet when the team was trying to weather the early storm. Some matches will require players with a bit of dribbling and pace, and the hope is that players like Albert Crusat, Ryo Miyaichi or Callum McManaman can fill that void. But overall we can safely say the squad is strong and full of options, and didn’t miss Vic in this particular fixture.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 8 — Fantastic. Kept Wigan in it, and ahead, with some brilliant reflex saves. Wisely punched away long range efforts in rainy conditions.

Antolin Alcaraz: 7.5 — Very strong and assured performance from the Paraguayan. It was a pleasure to watch all three centre-backs stroking the ball around, their distribution was excellent.

Gary Caldwell: 7.5 — See Alcaraz.

Ivan Ramis: 7.5 — See Caldwell and Alcaraz. A much more assured showing after that difficult debut against Chelsea. Looked the part.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Didn’t get forward quite as much as we’d like, but didn’t let anyone down.

Emmerson Boyce: 7 — Typically solid, played a delicious chipped cross from a tight angle in the second half that the strikers weren’t ready for.

James McArthur: 7.5 — Made some fantastic tackles in the first half, and enjoyed possession in the second.

James McCarthy: 7.5 — See McArthur. Still hoping to see him appear in more advanced positions from time to time.

Shaun Maloney: 7.5 — Quiet in the first half when the team was on the back foot, but excellent in the second before being withdrawn. As usual, provided the creative spark that put us ahead.

Franco Di Santo: 7.5 — An odd and interesting day for the Argentine. Accustomed to leading the line as target man, he played a wider role for much of the match with Koné ahead. We saw a lot less of him holding the ball up, chasing down defenders, and instead saw him pop up out of nowhere to score a very well-taken goal.

Arouna Koné: 7 — Improved as the match went on. His first touch let him down a few times, but he combined very well with Jordi, before smashing home late in the game. A hugely promising signing.

Subs:

Jordi Gomez: 7.5 — Playing in-the-hole, he caused plenty of trouble in his half an hour on the pitch. A ferocious long range effort and fantastic through ball to Koné stand out.

Jean Beausejour: 7 — Nothing flash, but came on as a left winger and was neat in his play. Will be hoping to push his way back into the lineup, having proved his fitness.

Mauro Boselli: N/A — Only on the pitch for a couple minutes, but it was good to see him back. No doubt he will get a chance to shine against Forest on Tuesday.

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!

Chelsea reaction: The good, the bad and the player ratings

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Each week, after the dust has settled, we’ll be taking a look back on the latest Wigan Athletic result. This week, we examine the lessons from the 2-0 home loss to Chelsea. If you missed our match report, please check it out here.

The Good:

1. Momentum: Despite the wooden start, Latics played in very much the same flowing style and tactical shape as they ended last season. Even the most optimistic of us had felt there was a possibility the team would lose their momentum, or that Roberto might revert to his previously preferred 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 formation. Rustiness and fitness issues aside, the XI on the pitch looked no weaker than last season — while the seven on the bench looked stronger.

2. Maynor Figueroa, the wingback: While the signing of Ivan Ramis provides necessary cover and competition for the established back three, this match confirms it does the same at left wingback. Jean Beausejour remains untouchable when fit, a specialist in his position whose form swung Latics fortunes last season. But Maynor proved on Sunday that he is an excellent option, far more suited that the willing, but ill-suited Dave Jones, who filled the position before Beausejour’s arrival in January. His through ball for Franco Di Santo in the first half was particularly impressive — great vision.

3. Depth: Players like Ryo Miyaichi, Ronnie Stam and Callum McManaman weren’t even on the bench. Nouha Dicko was allowed to leave for a season-long loan at Blackpool. How far we’ve come in the last few years.

4. Statistics: While  we concede that Chelsea were 2-0 up for almost 90% of the match, Wigan were as good or better than them for most of the game. Latics enjoyed 7 corners to Chelsea’s 1, 15 goal attempts to Chelsea’s 6, and 52% possession of the ball.

The Bad:

1. Baptism of fire for Ivan: Having been turned a little too easily by Eden Hazard in midfield in the build-up to the first goal, the defender then lunged at the French attacker in the box, giving away a penalty minutes later. Rough start, but he improved as the match went on.

2. Injuries: Both Shaun Maloney and James McArthur had to be withdrawn with niggles. It has since been reported that they should be fit to play Southampton this weekend, but the McArthur back issue in particular has the potential to continue flaring up if he doesn’t get adequate rest and treatment.

3. Opportunity lost: With a better start, Latics might have gotten something out of this game. Chelsea were good on the break, but wouldn’t have been playing on the break quite as much if they hadn’t taken that early lead.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 6 — Didn’t have much to do other than retrieve the ball from the back of his net.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — A little rusty in the first half but got better as the game went on, and even contributed the attacking effort in the second.

Gary Caldwell: 7 — Good display from the captain, steady in defense and strong in distribution.

Ivan Ramis: 5 — The early mistakes ultimately cost Latics the points, but there was much to like about his reaction to them. Should prove a good addition once settled.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Looked instantly comfortable in the left-wingback role.

Emmerson Boyce: 7 — Strong and steady when defending, delivered some quality crosses in the first half.

James McArthur: 6 — Did okay despite a bit of rust, before being withdrawn due to a recurrence of his back injury.

James McCarthy: 7.5 — Very strong in midfield, rarely gave the ball away, great range of passing. We only wish he would shoot more often.

Shaun Maloney: 7.5 — Excellent in the first half, creative, energetic and positive.

Victor Moses: 7 — Gave the Chelsea fullbacks a torrid time when he ran at them. A few poor crosses but a few excellent ones as well, plus a snapshot from an impossible angle that troubled Peter Cech in the first half. Hope he stays.

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Got into some good positions but headed narrowly over early on and took a heavy touch after being sent through by Figueroa late in the first half.

Subs:

Jordi Gomez: 6.5 — Latics did lose some of their positivity when Maloney went off, but Jordi was fairly involved, drew fouls for the team, and might have scored on several occasions.

Arouna Koné: 7 — His first few touches were nervy, but he kept the ball and his movement was hugely promising. He got on the end of two or three crosses and almost scored from each of them.

Ben Watson: 6 — A little rusty as many of his teammates, didn’t contribute an immense amount but didn’t let anyone down either.

Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 2: Fatal five minutes mask a promising display

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

There was a time, not long ago, when conceding two goals in the first few minutes against a top six side almost guaranteed a hammering. Indeed, Chelsea have inflicted two such high-scoring morale wreckers in the last three years. Say what you will about the first five minutes in yesterday’s season opener, this team is lights years ahead of where it was, even a single year ago.

If you’d picked up the match seven minutes in (and ignored the scoreboard), you would have witnessed a pleasing first-half display of cultured possession football. Crosses were flying in from both sides of the pitch, Victor Moses was enjoying himself, the midfield looked comfortable, and but for a heavy first touch, Di Santo might have scored.

Unfortunately, as Roberto did in his post-match interviews, we must acknowledge those hapless opening exchanges. The match had barely gotten underway when Eden Hazard skilfully — but all too easily — turned Ivan Ramis near the midfield circle and found Branislav Ivanovic with a perfect through ball down the right wing. Chased by Figueroa, who was playing at left wing-back rather than his customary left centre-back position due to an injury to Jean Beausejour, the Chelsea fullback finished coolly past Al-Habsi to make it 1-0. Moments later, Chelsea’s marquee summer signing was causing panic once again, tempting Ramis into a lunge in the penalty box. Referee Mike Jones pointed to the spot and Frank Lampard rarely misses.

It was a tough start for the Spanish centre-back, who is not only adapting to a new country and culture, but a new tactical system with three centre-backs, and faster pace of play. All only a week or so after joining the club, and against the defending European Champions. Midfielders and strikers often get the benefit of being given 15-20 minutes at the end of the match to bed in, as new Ivorian striker Arouna Koné did later on. For Ramis, it was straight into the fire. But he improved as the game went on, and indeed cleared off the line brilliantly to deny Fernando Torres a second-half goal. Despite the mistakes — which were not characteristic of his game in Spain — he showed enough to suggest that once adapted, he will be a good addition.

Jean Beausejour missed his first match through injury since signing for the club in January. In his place, Maynor Figueroa performed well enough to suggest we now have cover, not only for the three centre-back positions, but for the wing-backs on both sides as well. Emmerson Boyce, down the right, was great and just seems to get better with age.

Much of Wigan’s momentum was lost when Shaun Maloney had to be withdrawn with a groin injury early in the second half. Roberto has since admitted both Maloney and MacArthur were taken off with little niggles as a precaution rather than due to serious injuries. Jordi Gomez, Maloney’s replacement, drew fouls and got himself in good positions, but ultimately failed with his finishing. Ben Watson, on for MacArthur, looked a little rusty but is a fine option from the bench. Neither of them filled the void left by Maloney, who along with Moses, has become our creative spark.

Things started to turn Chelsea’s way and a third goal looked likely. But some exciting end-to-end stuff produced Ramis’ aforementioned goal-line clearance and a surging Victor Moses run and cross down the other end. By then Arouna Koné had come on for his Wigan debut, and showed great promise with a trio of decent half-chances. He immediately appeared to have what Di Santo lacks — the movement and instincts necessary to know where to be when a cross comes into the box. Di Santo has just about everything else, but seldom gets on the end of crosses to head, poke, prod, or hammer home.

Wigan finished the match in the ascendancy and were quite unlucky not to emerge goalless. The usual questions will emerge about profligacy in front of goal, but Chelsea won the Champions League on the back of excellent defending (and a healthy slice of luck). They are not easy to break down.

All things considered, this was an encouraging performance. News outlets have of course focused on Hazard and Chelsea’s exciting new strikeforce, but Latics enjoyed more possession, created 15 goal attempts to Chelsea’s six, seven corners to the visitors’ one. The boys played in much the same way they ended last season — minus the defensive intensity in those first few minutes — and the news signings got a game under their belts.

Southampton promises to be a tricky fixture after their near-miss at the Etihad on Sunday. But if we play the way we did for 80 minutes, we’ll be in with a good chance to notch our first points of the season. Stay tuned for The Good, The Bad and Player Ratings, coming soon.