Category Archives: Other

Uwe Rösler – a fan’s view from Norway

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

Viking_Stavanger

Uwe Rösler’s longest stay in football management up to this point was at Stavanger in Norway.

He coached local club Viking for three seasons, starting in November 2006, following  a short spell as coach at Lillestrøm.

Stavanger is a beautiful port town in the south west of Norway, where the climate is moderated  the Gulf Stream.  Although much less snowy compared with other parts of the country, its average annual rainfall exceeds that of Manchester by around 50%.

Viking is Norway’s most established club, having been formed in 1899.

We reached out to a Viking Stavanger fanatic, Wim Keeremen, to get a view on Rösler’s time  there.  Thanks to Wim for the interesting article that follows.

In his first season  Uwe Rösler  built on the foundations laid by Tom Nordlie. In the previous season  Nordlie had come in late and he and striker Ijeh saved the team from  relegation in the final games of the season, coming down to the last game.

Under Rösler  Viking ended third, their best position in the previous twelve seasons.

 People  liked Rösler both as a coach and person. They liked his direct approach, delivered in a mixture of Norwegian, English and German.

 Norwegian football fans are lovers of English football, and anyone having played over there, is likely to get a lot of credit here. But people were questioning  whether the third   place finish was down  to  Rösler, or from Nordlie’s legacy

 In the next two seasons  Viking finished sixth and tenth . In the press, Rösler was often called ‘very German’, the implication being that he was very direct and methodic, always to the point, if a little abrupt.

 A friend commented that: ‘The last year showed his lack of experience. He had issues with the reporters and went rather grumpy. He was clearly affected by the rainy days in Stavanger.’

 By the time Rösler left Stavanger, relations  with the press had turned rather sour. At the press conference he gave after resigning his  ob, he bitterly criticized the local media – the ‘Stavanger Aftenblad ‘and ‘Rogalands Avis’ – for having crossed a line. He said they had spread lies, gossip and downright bullied him and his family to the point where his kids felt uncomfortable in Stavanger.

 Strangely enough journalists were rather fond of him, as a character. He has an excellent sense of humour, and it became a sport to look for the ultimate ‘Rösler quote’ – in  English or Norwegian.

 These things having been said, it is clear that Rösler is an intelligent man, and he is building his career step by step.

 Today, he is a better coach than when he was here. He has much more experience now.

 He has been showing recently that he is a better coach than several of the Premier League managers.

 Rösler is a self-made man, who has been through adversity and dealt with it. He has learned from experience. He has gone through so much, starting his coaching career in Norway, then in the English League 1 , now on to the English Championship Division.

We in Stavanger will be watching Uwe  Rösler’s progress with great interest. 

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Maribor 2 Wigan Athletic 1 – unlucky Latics go out with dignity

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, Other and tagged with , , , , , ,
The Ljudskivrt Stadium in, Maribor

The Ljudskivrt Stadium in, Maribor

A controversial refereeing decision was a hammer blow for a Latics side that was back to playing good football and a goal ahead. If they could have kept their lead they would have qualified for the Round of 32, as Zulte Waregem were to lose at home to Rubin Kazan. The decision made for uneven contest and hard though Latics tried it was to prove not enough.

It is ironic that this should be the match in which the referee became the issue. Up to this point the standard of arbitrage in the Europa League games had made that of the Championship look woeful in comparison.

Latics were a goal up when a shot from the edge of the box hit Chris McCann’s arm. McCann had turned his back to the shot and the ball hit an upraised arm. It was clearly not intentional, but the Polish referee Szymon Marciniak not only gave a penalty, but also gave McCann a yellow card. Since he already had one after 25 minutes he was sent off.

In the space of a minute Latics went from euphoria to despair. They had matched the home side, playing neat possession football, going ahead with a penalty from the rejuvenated Jordi Gomez after a foul on Nick Powell in the 41st minute. Not long before the Spaniard’s superb free kick had hit the post. Then a minute later came the worst case scenario, although Carson parried Dejan Mezga’s  penalty kick on to the post the ball rebounded back to the same player who scored.

Uwe Rosler put out as positive a lineup as he could, given the resources he had.  James Perch came in at right back, Thomas Rogne in the centre of defence and Jean Beausejour at left back. James McArthur and Chris McCann were in the holding midfield roles. Callum McManaman played on the right, Roger Espinoza nominally on the left. Nick Powell was the lone centre forward, with Jordi Gomez playing in the ‘hole’ behind him

It was refreshing to see the style of football Latics played, even in the early stages. The ball was on the ground, they looked comfortable and although they did not create clear-cut chances early on they nullified the home side.

It clearly suited the ex-Martinez players, who looked a class above what they were under Owen Coyle. Gomez, Beausejour and McArthur in particular looked classy and clearly enjoying their game.

The sending off completely changed the match. Wigan brought on Ben Watson after half time to replace McCann, having to sacrifice McManaman who had looked lively on the right wing.

10 men Latics continued to play with spirit and skill but a superb strike from outside the area by Zeljko Filipovic put the hosts 2-1 up. As Wigan pushed forward Nusmir Fajic took advantage of the space available and should have added to the home team’s tally, but hit his shot wife when one on one with Carson.

From then on it was all Wigan. The Maribor penalty area was besieged, especially in the last 10 minutes of the match.

Marc-Antoine Fortune had come on for Powell after 65 minutes and he was unlucky in the closing minutes as Handanovic, at full stretch, pushed his shot away. The big keeper then saved a powerful drive from Watson.

In the end Latics could not get that equalizer and Maribor marched on to the next round.

The Good

What a pleasure it was to see Latics playing good football again. They looked like a re-energised team.

There was a clear tactical formation and each player played his part for the full 90 minutes. The distribution from defence was much better as the centre backs resisted hoofing the ball or making back passes to the goalkeeper. Instead they made short passes to midfield players who dropped back to receive.  Carson managed to minimize his habitual punts up field, instead trying to find a team mate closer by.

Playing Beausejour at left back was an attacking move. It is always going to be a gamble, given his defensive frailties. However, the Chilean effectively played as an extra attacker, helping build up moves and putting over tantalizing crosses. Having Espinoza playing on the same side meant that there was going to be some cover if the ball was lost.

Jordi Gomez was a revelation in the creative midfield role. He was tireless in his efforts and his passing was excellent. There has been a lot of conjecture as to whether Gomez can function in the high tempo style that Rosler is going to demand. This performance suggests he can make the transition.

The Bad

Latics still lack a central striker who can make a difference. Maribor were rocking in the last ten minutes, but there was just no one to put the loose balls into the net.

Player Ratings

Scott Carson: 7 – did all that was asked of him defensively, including a penalty save. Rosler has clearly spoken to him about his distribution, which was much improved.

James Perch: 6 – looked much better on the right flank than on the left.

Leon Barnett: 6 – solid in defence.

Thomas Rogne: 6 – solid and his distribution was much better.

Jean Beausejour: 8 – back in from the cold. A fine performance of attacking full back play.

James McArthur: 7 – deservedly made captain for the night. Looked like the player he was under Martinez. Substituted after 73 minutes.

Chris McCann: 6 – unlucky to be sent off.

Jordi Gomez: 8 – endured trying times under Owen Coyle, but must have impressed his new manager with an excellent performance.

Callum McManaman: 7 – although often surrounded by two or three defenders he stuck to his task and looked useful. One superb cross could have led to a goal, but the central defender got to the ball before Powell. Substituted after 45 minutes.

Nick Powell: 7 – good to see him back on form. He could well be a permanent fixture at centre forward under Rosler. Substituted after 65 minutes.

Roger Espinoza: 6- not at his best and ran the risk of being sent off after a yellow card in the first half. Nevertheless added energy to the team and put in some nice passes.

Substitutes

Ben Watson: – not at his best and almost gave away a goal with a sloppy back pass. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the Rosler style of play.

Marc-Antoine Fortune: – desperately short of goals, with just one to his tally all season. When he has got in shots on goal the goalkeeper has made great saves, as did Handanovic in this match. Could play a role out on the flanks in the new system.

Emmerson Boyce: – came on after 73 minutes, with Perch moving to midfield.

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Another European manager for Latics?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Other and tagged with , , ,
Uwe Rösler. Thanks to Beesotted Brentford for photo.

Uwe Rösler.
Thanks to Beesotted Brentford for photo.

Less than 24 hours ago the bookmakers had Mike Phelan the odds-on favourite to be the new Wigan Athletic manager. Uwe Rösler is now quoted between 1/6 and 1/8 for the job.

With Latics in a downward spiral, after losing again at Leeds on Wednesday, Whelan is keen to get the new appointment finalized quickly.

Rösler has just been awarded the Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month for November. Brentford went unbeaten through November, with four clean sheets in five matches.

Uwe Rösler and his assistant Alan Kernaghan played together for Manchester City, during the mid 1990s. Rösler was a stylish centre forward and Kernaghan a central defender.

Originating from East Germany, Rösler played for leading clubs Lokomotiv and Chemie of Leipzig, Magdeburg and Dynamo Dresden. In 1992, at the age of 24, he went to Nurnburg in West Germany, but found the transition from east to west difficult. Rösler was unable to score in 28 appearances. The following year he went back to Dresden on loan.

Rösler’s career was to take off in 1994 when he joined Manchester City, where he made 150 appearances scoring 50 goals. He left City to go back to Germany in 1998, where he had brief spells at Kaiserslautern and Borussia Tennis Berlin. A return to England with Southampton and West Bromwich  in 2000-2002 was to be followed by a brief stay at Munich’s third club, Unterhacching.

In 2002 Rösler first moved to Norway. He went to Lillestrøm, a small town north of Oslo. His stay as a player was cut short by chest cancer, which he successfully fought.  Rosler took over as manager of Lillestrøm in 2004 and was to stay there for a couple of years before moving to the oil city of Stavanger in the south west. He stayed with local club Viking for three years before joining Molde on the west coast on a short term contract, during which he saved them from relegation.

Rösler took over at Brentford in June 2011. Last year Brentford were in third place in League 1 on the last day of the season. They needed to beat Doncaster to get automatic promotion. With the scores at 0-0 and in the 90th minute Brentford got a penalty, which they missed as the ball hit the crossbar. Doncaster immediately went to the other end to score the winning goal. Brentford were beaten in the playoff final by Yeovil.

Uwe Rösler is a fascinating character who has been through adversity and triumphed. He is well loved at Brentford, where his teams have a reputation for playing good football.

One of the greatest challenges for supporters will be to pronounce his name correctly. Uwe is pronounced ‘oover’ . The ö of Rösler is pronounced like the ur in burn.

If Whelan does appoint Rosler it will be a bold move, as it was when he appointed Roberto Martinez.

His brief would be to get Latics into the playoffs this season. Maybe he could even get them promotion?

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Five things the new man must get right

Posted by Ned in Other, Reflections and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

2013-who

It has been a whirlwind couple of days since the news broke that Dave Whelan had sacked Owen Coyle (sort of), and the rumour mill has been churning out names ever since.

Football certainly has both a sense of timing and humour, after the eventful week that led to Coyle losing his job also saw Rene Meluensteen accept the Fulham position and Steve McClaren supply the damage that ultimately sealed the former Bolton and Burnley manager’s fate.

There have been murmurs that Whelan regrets the short-term mentality of his latest appointment, after witnessing how little time it took Coyle to dismantle the three years of club ethos-building groundwork of his predecessor. One newspaper stretched this rumour to suggest he is specifically looking for his “next Roberto Martinez” — a young and ambitious manager with a long-term view and a twinkle in his eye. What seems more likely is the appointment of someone who, regardless of age, is thinking not just of how to get Wigan out of the Championship, but stay out of the Championship. The popular favourite at the moment is Mike Phelan — more on that here.

In the meantime, our top five recommendations for the new man:

1) No need for a revolution

Coyle could be forgiven for feeling that he was inheriting a disjointed squad after the relegation-fueled exodus at the end of last season. He acted swiftly and admirably to bring in a number of new faces, most of whom on paper, were excellent Championship signings. But it was a huge mistake to try and re-invent the club’s ethos and actively reject the work Martinez had done before him. Even if he felt the tikki-takka stuff wasn’t for him, there was simply not enough time to completely transform the way the team played, gel new signings, and obtain results. In Jordi Gomez, Ben Watson, James McArthur, Emmerson Boyce, Roger Espinoza, Callum McManaman, Jean Beausejour, and Sean Maloney before his injury, he had a set of players who performed key roles in an FA Cup winning squad. He also had Gary Caldwell, Ivan Ramis and Ali Al-Habsi to return from injury, and settled young talents Frazer Fyvie and Nouha Dicko ready to push for first team football. In the end, he rotated the squad so much that the established players at the club who knew each other and had chemistry on the pitch, were rarely in the lineup together.

If there is a concrete lesson for the new man in charge, it is to embrace the strengths the club already possesses and tweak rather than rebuild. Swansea is fantastic example when it comes to such smooth transitions, from Martinez to Paulo Sousa, to Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup.

2) Get the fans back onside

Injuries or not, one got the sense that fan favourites such as Ali Al-Habsi and Sean Maloney were on their way out of the club. Add to this the limited playing time afforded to Roger Espinoza, despite repeated clamouring from the crowd to see him, and it was clear he was losing the supporters.

It would be a very good move to publicly talk up the returns of Al-Habsi and Maloney, give Espinoza a chance, and focus on getting the best out of the club’s established players such as Emmerson Boyce, James McArthur, Ben Watson, Jean Beausejour and the returning Ivan Ramis, who himself was gaining something of a cult following before that terrible knee injury at Fulham last January.

It would also be wise to praise the work of his predecessors. Coyle deserves immense credit for his work assembling a strong squad of players in a short period of time. Even more important, however, is public acknowledgement of what Martinez did, not only delivered the club’s greatest achievement, but investing hugely in the club’s long-term future. It is difficult to replace an icon, but acknowledging his work puts everyone on the same side.

3) Get the best out of Grant Holt

He was the marquee summer signing — the proven goalscorer at this, and just about every other level in English football — but it all seems to have gone wrong. An instinctive finish against Barnsley on day one promised great things, and he’s shown flashes of talent (his setup play for Marc-Antoine Fortune’s winner at Yeovil stands out), but it’s largely been frustrating for the big centre-forward, and in recent weeks, Wigan Athletic supporters. His confidence is clearly low, and he doesn’t appear fully fit after being rushed back from a knee injury several games back, but the biggest problem was tactical.

A striker who scores the vast majority of his goals from crosses was all too frequently playing with the wrong supporting cast. Beausejour — the finest crosser of the ball at the club — was rarely in the lineup at the same time. His starts seemed to coincide with matches in which Latics failed to control possession of the ball, limiting him to counter attacks for which his talents were ill-suited.

With the less-than-prolific Fortune and young, unproven Will Keane the other options in the striking department, it is clear that the new manager needs to get the best out of Holt if Wigan are to stand a chance of being promoted this season. That means providing service.

4) Fill the gaps

The other option, of course, is to spend time and money on another proven striker.

And a left-back, assuming Juan Carlos Garcia needs more time to adapt and Stephen Crainey doesn’t dramatically improve under new leadership.

If Graham Barrow’s 3-5-2 formation in yesterday’s loss against Leeds was anything to go by, neither is deemed one of the club’s best XI. If the new manager goes the same route, a backup for Boyce on the right flank will be a priority.

5) Improve away form

Another loss, this time to Leeds, means Latics have now lost five out of eight away games — the same number as Yeovil and more than Sheffield Wednesday, both in relegation places. Only Barnsley, bottom of the league, have lost more.

Think we missed one? Please leave us a comment below.

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Phelan for Wigan?

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

Mike Phelan

Mike Phelan is the bookmakers’ current favourite for the vacant manager’s job at Wigan Athletic.

The bookmakers consider Ian Holloway to be in close contention, followed by Paul Jewell and Karl Robinson.

Both Phelan and Robinson appeared in the odds with an outside chance of the same job in July.

Phelan is clearly a strong candidate. He had a hugely impressive record as assistant manager at Manchester United from 2008-13, when they won 3 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, a World Club Cup and they reached two Champions League finals.

The 51 year old Phelan is a Lancastrian, being born in Nelson, starting his playing career at Burnley, before moving on to Norwich, Manchester United and West Bromwich. He played once for England.

The question is whether Phelan can be successful as a manager in his own right. However, similar questions were asked about Steve Clarke, who was one of the most highly rated right hand men in English football before successfully taking the reins at West Bromwich.

Were Phelan to be appointed it would be interesting to see who he would bring as his assistant manager, but it would be a surprise if it were not someone with an Old Trafford connection.

The 50 year old Bristolian Ian Holloway is well known, not only for his wacky quotes, but also for taking two clubs through the Championship playoffs into the Premier League. He took Blackpool up in 2009-10, and although they could not stay up he made lots of admirers through his positive footballing approach. He actually took the Tangerines back into the Championship playoffs in 2011-12 where they were beaten by West Ham.

Last season Holloway’s Crystal Palace were to defeat Brighton and Watford in the playoffs to reach the Premier League. However, he left by mutual consent on October 23rd.

Like any experienced football manager in England Holloway has had his ups and downs. He started his managerial career in 1996 as player manager of Bristol Rovers. He suffered relegation with Queens Park Rangers in 2000-01 and Leicester City in 2007-08. In between he was manager at Plymouth, whom he left under acrimonious circumstances for Leicester.

There have been rumours that Paul Jewell – now 49 years old –  might return to Wigan on a short term contract. Dave Whelan brought back Steve Bruce for a successful second spell at Wigan in November 2007, so there is precedent to suggest that a return for the ex-Latics icon is a possibility.

Karl Robinson is the 33 year old MK Dons manager. He played non-league football and was a bustling centre forward. However, at the age of 29 he was the youngest ever to get the UEFA Pro coaching licence. His Dons teams are known for their good football.

In the meantime Dave Whelan has been less than generous in his comments about the departing Owen Coyle.

Whelan is quoted as saying that “You can be lucky and get a great guy and get the right man like I got Roberto (Martinez) or you can be unlucky and get somebody who doesn’t get on with you, doesn’t get on with the team and doesn’t get on with the fans and that is actually what happened with Owen.”

Moreover the Daily Mirror alleges that Graham Barrow was told he would be taking temporary charge before Whelan and Coyle met for their fateful meeting in which the Scot offered to resign.

It is to be hoped that the new manager will receive the kind of support from the Chairman that Roberto Martinez received.

Owen Coyle certainly did not receive that level of support. He took over a playing staff that was decimated at the end of the Martinez era, having to keep transfer fees to a minimum. Moreover he was given a one year contract.

This is not to suggest that Coyle was the right man for Latics, but the dice were loaded against him from the start. Being an ex-manager of local rivals Bolton Wanderers was certainly not in his favour.

The new manager needs to be given adequate time and resources to be able to prove himself.

A couple of good signings in the January transfer window might suffice in bolstering up the current squad into making a genuine challenge for promotion.  That will depend on Whelan trusting the manager’s ability to make good decisions where largish transfer fees are involved.

Dave Whelan is like any other club owner in that sometimes he gets things right in his appointments, but other times he gets them plain wrong.

Paul Jewell, Steve Bruce and Roberto Martinez all did a fantastic job for Latics. Chris Hutchings and Owen Coyle were less successful.

Let’s hope Whelan gets it right this time around.

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