Category Archives: Other

On probation: Latics quarter-season report card

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

Technically, we’re one and a half matches late for a quarter-season analysis. Like most Latics supporters, I tend to need a few days to recover from the latest loss. Fulham and Wolves took a bit longer than usual. But along came the international break, allowing me the space and time to cycle through all five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance — and a new one, faith-based optimism. Warning: this final stage may set you up for another round of the previous. But what if it doesn’t?

I’ll stop short of predicting a turning point in our season this Saturday against Blackburn, as I’ve made that mistake before. But it certainly seems an appropriate time to look back at our disastrous start and assess the individuals involved in it. First, we’ve averaged each player’s match performance ratings this season (which are admittedly subjective and only based on those given by Los Three Amigos writers, but serve as an interesting starting point for discussion). There are some surprises in there, but all interesting and insightful. For instance, defying all emotion, the struggling Gary Caldwell scores the same as reliable Emmerson Boyce. But while Emmerson has been steady and Gary Caldwell poor of late, it was the latter that scored highest (8) points in matches against Swansea and Newcastle. We try to make sense of it all below:

Player Ratings

Ali Al-Habsi: 7.1 — With Moses, our best regular performer. His score would have been higher but for the costly mistake against Norwich on day one, which cost the team 2 points, and probably cost Ali at least 0.2 in this assessment.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.2 — Our most consistent defender, the only one we seem to be able to rely on. He’s one of the few players who seems to be improving as the season goes along. Had a tough day at Villa but otherwise 6s and 7s.

Gary Caldwell: 6.2 — On the whole has looked slow and past it. But he had a couple cracking games, versus Swansea and Newcastle away, defending well and displaying the qualities you look for in a captain. A lot of fans have made him something of a scapegoat, but Roberto has asked a lot of him. So far, he’s had Lopez, Gohouri, Boyce, Alcaraz and Figueroa partner him — five players in 11 matches. The central defensive partnership is the most important on the field and has been completely disrupted. It is telling that his best performances came with Alcaraz/Boyce at Swansea, and then Alcaraz at Newcastle.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Missed the opening part of the season to injury and will miss the next three matches for spitting at an opponent. Started poorly against Bolton, looked good in a couple, then brought shame on himself and the club with the spitting incident at Molineaux. A shame, since he’s the club’s best centre back.

Maynor Figueroa: 6.2 — Was given a few generous ratings when filling in at centre back. Has looked low on confidence recently, his attacking is better than his defending and goals often start down his side. Recently admitted to an Honduran newspaper that he is not in a good moment of form.

Ronnie Stam: 6 — Largely limited to substitute appearances, has done reasonably well when he has come on, but isn’t the solution. Not good enough going forward to be a winger, not good enough at defending to be a right back.

Patrick Van Aanholt: 7 — Was excellent against Everton when Maynor Figueroa was pushed inside, but has since featured very little.

Adrian Lopez: 4.75 — Latics’ lowest rated performer largely thanks to a nightmare against Norwich on opening day. Looks uncomfortable whenever he plays.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — A bit of a nightmare season for him. Sent off trying to mark Gareth Bale, then gave away the crucial goal against Bolton on his return, and looked wobbly at centre half. He’ll need to improve if he remains there throughout Alcaraz’s suspension.

Ben Watson: 6.7 — Consistent. Latics problems have not been in the midfield passing department. Truly masterful against Newcastle — my favourite performance of anyone in a Wigan shirt this season — but otherwise in the 6 and 7s. The question still lingers: is he best-suited to that deep midfield role?  If he tackles like he did at St. James Park yes, if not, no.

Mo Diame: 6.7 — Started slowly but has grown into the season, scored a couple very well taken goals, and looks our best midfielder.

James McCarthy: 5.5 — We expect more. Was probably playing with niggles in the early part of the season, before getting more seriously injured and losing his place to Dave Jones. Lets hope the spell on the sidelines has allowed him to heal. His performances were a catalyst in the team’s turnaround last year, we’ll hope he can do the same this time around.

Dave Jones: 6.9 — Highest-rated midfielder, although he has played fewer matches than the others. He has injected energy and intelligence into the midfield, with four of his five performances 7s.

Jordi Gomez: 6.5 — Started the season well, with an excellent performance at Swansea. But eventually lost his place and hasn’t been seen since.

James McArthur: 5.9 — Hasn’t let the team down in his substitute appearances, but also hasn’t provided much that the other midfielders at the club didn’t already.

Victor Moses: 7.1 — If he’d scored a few goals by now we’d be raving about him. (We’d also not be bottom of the league). His dribbling, pace and strength are unplayable. But his final pass, cross or shot lets him down every time. Is too young and raw to be playing such a crucial role at the club, though he has been extremely unlucky, hitting the post about 4-5 times.

Albert Crusat: 6.4 — Has looked lively in his five appearances, good pace and touch, but needs someone to get on the end of his crosses. Doesn’t seem direct enough to score himself.

Shaun Maloney: 7.5 — His rating is based on a cameo at Villa Park, during which he immediately changed the way the team attacked. Other appearances have been so brief they went unrated. Would like to see more of him.

Hugo Rodallega: 5.9 — Has gotten worse and worse. Desperately needs a goal, but chances won’t come easier than the one he missed at Wolves last week. Are contract talks affecting his form? Frustrating to watch at the moment.

Franco Di Santo: 6.8 — Has played well this season as the lone frontman, but all three goals have come from deflections, and he never seems to be in the right place at the right time. Would probably gel very well with Hugo in a 4-4-2, but we know that’s probably not going to happen.

Conor Sammon: 6 —  10 minutes here and 10 minutes there, hard to judge him. But he certainly deserves his chance. His pace, energy and heart lift the stadium when he comes on.

Conclusions

The exercise has confirmed the obvious. Our defense has been unsettled and inconsistent. The club’s goalscorer is having a bad season. And the man we were banking on to match Charles N’Zogbia’s contribution has played well, but not produced the numbers the Frenchman did. Last season, Hugo and Charlie shared the burden of scoring our goals. But neither Hugo nor Victor Moses has scored this season. Sure, the defense has not played well — but by far the bigger concern is at the other end of the pitch.

Goals conceded, per match, this season: 1.8

Goals conceded, per match, last season: 1.6

Goals scored, per match, this season: 0.63

Goals scored, per match, last season: 1.05

¿Que fue de Hendry Thomas?

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

ENGLISH VERSION

Despues del partido contra Wolves, me senti completamente deprimido, una sensacion demasiado comun para el hincha del Wigan Athletic en lo que va de sus años Premier. “¿Por qué no apoyas a otro equipo? Estas insoportable, y siempre es asi cuando pierden los Latics. Es lo peor que te he visto!”, me dijo mi mujer, y estaba en lo cierto. Tal como Wigan, me hacia falta inspiración este ultimo fin de semana. Estaba hecho un miserable.

Un par de días despues estaba caminando por mi vecindario cuando vi un hombre alto y de piel oscura, vestido con camisa de rayas azul y blancas con el nombre “Thomas” en su espalda. ¿Otro aficionado de los Latics en esta parte lejana del mundo? (el autor vive en Indonesia). ¿Un seguidor de Hendry Thomas? Imposible. Resulto no ser camiseta del Wigan sino el que lucio Honduras en el mundial de Sudafrica. Lo debi haber saludado pero no lo hice. Pero si le vi la cara, y definitivamente no era el mismo Hendry. Seria imposible no reconocer esa cara!

Se me ocurrio que los dioses del futbol me estaban mandando un mensaje. Casualidad o no, me levantó los ánimos y me puse a pensar en Hendry Thomas y sus predecesores en esa labor de destructor, de volante seis: Lee Cattermole, Wilson Palacios y Michael Brown, por ejemplo. ¿Qué pasó con Hendry? Mi ultima memoria de el es del partido contra Tottenham el año pasado cuando regalo un penal. Desde entonces no se ha visto, ni en la banca ni en las reservas. Es dificil saber si se trata de su nivel futbolistico o algo mas. Cuando Roberto Martínez se hizo cargo del Wigan, vendio a Cattermole y a Brown, mientras Palacios ya habia sido cedido al Tottenham. Los tres fueron claves en la transformación de Steve Bruce, quien se decidio en construir el equipo de atras hacia adelante, con una defensa solida y protegida, con un par de atacantes creativos y oportunistas. El futbol no era tan bonito, pero funcionó.

Durante la primera etapa de su temporada debut en la Premier League, Hendry Thomas fue muy efectivo en ese papel de destructor. Las estadísticas confirmaban que el Hondureño era uno de los dos jugadores de la liga con mas pelotas recuperadas. El otro fue Scott Parker — quien fue votado el mejor jugador de la Premier el año pasado. Pero se desvaneció en la última parte de la temporada y no lo hemos vuelto a ver. Desde entonces, Ben Watson — quien ha mejorado en marca pero es mas armador que luchador — se ha establecido en esa posicion.

Para mi, hace falta la labor de Hendry, especialmente en tiempos dificiles como los que estamos viviendo. Algunos dicen que esta version de los Latics estan obsesionados con el fútbol bonito. ¿Pero qué dicen las estadísticas? Hasta ahora, el Wigan Athletic ha cometido 153 faltas, segundo lugar detras de nuestros viejos amigos, Blackburn, con 157. Wigan ha ganado 106 faltas, colocándolos en el puesto 18 con sólo Everton (105) y Blackburn (104) debajo de ellos. QPR ha ganado 159 faltas. Las estadísticas son informativas: los Latics comenten muchas faltas, pero no lo hacen efectivamente. Ni me acuerdo de una falta tactica, para romper ritmo, para frustrar al mejor jugador del rival A nosotros nos hacen faltas estrategicas, profesionales. Nosotros las cometemos desesperados.

Hendry Thomas es un gran contencion. La mayoria de las veces gana la pelota limpiamente, pero cuando no lo hace asi, tambien cumple una labor importantisima — le inyecta miedo al rival. Entra fuerte, es fisico. Sus pases son simples pero no la regala, y el tipo lo da todo por el equipo. Cada equipo necesita un Hendry Thomas.

Roberto debe cambiar su sistema táctico para adaptarse a la situación en la que estamos. Hay espacio para ambos Thomas y Watson. Para sobrevivir en la Premier, le tenemos que dar mas proteccion a nuestra defensa. Le tengo mucha fe a Martinez, un tecnico joven idealista, pero su rigidez táctica es su talón de Aquiles. No se olvide del Hondureño Roberto!

A vision of steel – bring back Hendry Thomas

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

EN ESPANOL

I was utterly depressed  after watching the Wolves match. That sinking feeling that one frequently gets as a Latics fan really hit me for six.  “Why don’t you support another team? You are a pain in the neck to live with when Latics lose. Come to think of it, this is the worst I can remember you being”, remarked my wife.  She was right. Like Latics I was short of inspiration last weekend, downright miserable to be precise.

A couple of days later I was walking down the street when I saw a tallish dark-skinned person wearing a blue and white shirt with the name ‘Thomas’ on the back. Another Latics supporter in this far-flung part of the world? A Hendry Thomas fan?  Surely not. On closer examination I determined that it was not a Wigan Athletic  shirt but the outfit  Honduras had worn in the World Cup, with the blue and white stripes.  I should have plucked up the courage to talk to the man but I didn’t. However, I did see his face and it definitely was not Hendry himself. How could anyone fail to recognize his remarkable visage?

Did this really happen? Was somebody trying to send me a message? Fluke occurence or not,  it certainly cheered me up. It got me thinking about Hendry Thomas and his predecessors in that ‘touch of steel’ role: Lee Cattermole, Wilson Palacios and Michael Brown coming to mind. Whatever happened to Hendry? I remember him giving away a bad penalty, against Tottenham I think it was. Since then he has hardly seemed to exist. Is it a case of one bad game or is there something deeper going on? When Roberto Martinez took over at Wigan both Cattermole and Brown were allowed to go, Palacios having previously been sold to Tottenham.  The three had been key players in Steve Bruce’s transformation of  a Wigan side that had been in complete disarray when he took over from Chris Hutchings. Bruce’s strategy was to build a solid back four with a combative midfield in front of it. Then he would rely on the ‘flair players’ to pinch a goal or two. It worked.

For the first half of his first Premier League season Hendry Thomas was very effective in that midfield destroyer role. Statistics at the time placed him in the top two players in the division for tackles won. Scott Parker was the other one. He faded out in the latter part of the season and this was to be repeated again last year. Ben Watson was to establish himself in that holding role in front of the back four, his tackling really improving and his distribution providing a touch of class.

Am I advocating for the return of the tough Honduran? I certainly am! There are some who say that this Latics team doesn’t get  stuck in enough, that they are obsessed with playing pretty, pretty football. What do the statistics say? Up to this point Wigan Athletic have committed 153 fouls, second only in the fouling league to our old friends, Blackburn, who have 157. Latics have won 106 fouls, placing them in 18th place with only Everton (105) and Blackburn (104) below them.  QPR have won 159 fouls . The stats are illuminating: they suggest Latics foul a lot and don’t get  fouled so much themselves. How many bad Latics fouls do I remember? Any memorable ones? I can remember several of those of the opposition: professional fouling designed to stop our key players. But malicious  Latics fouls are hard to recall. On the flip side: if you pass the ball sideways or back most of the time then you are unlikely to draw a foul. Oh for players with the confidence to run at the opposition and draw fouls, score goals.

Hendry Thomas is a great ball retriever. He does not commit so many more fouls than Latics’ average, but he breathes fear into the opposition. He wins tackles. His distribution is steady and he is a team player. Put him back in and the other team will not feel comfortable on the ball. We are all fed up of watching the other team play!

For goodness sake, Roberto: change your tactical system to fit the situation we are in. There is room for both Watson and Thomas, given a little tactical adjustment. The latter is something you need to think about if you want to keep our team up there. I am one of your greatest fans, but your tactical inflexibility is your Achilles’ heel. Please think of adjusting your mind-set…

Wolves 3 Wigan 1: That sinking feeling

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

For several weeks now, we have sat down to write our match previews with relentless optimism (#keepthefaith), operating under the assumption that at some point in the next match, during a crucial moment, we would get a slice of luck.

This week, we finally did.

1-0 down, just before the stroke of halftime, Emmerson Boyce cleverly drew a penalty by jinking through a pair of Wolves defenders. Ben Watson stepped up, a visible bundle of nerves, and kicked it right at the keeper. It bounced back for an easy tap in, and Latics were back in the match. We finally got that bit of luck.

The problem was everything else. Despite playing far better football, creating chance after chance, Latics continued to single-handedly provide footage for the 12Bet.com How-Not-to-Finish instructional video. The man posing as Hugo Rodallega was culprit-in-chief, tamely toe-poking when through on goal early in the match before missing an absolute sitter — probably the easiest chance he’s had in a Wigan shirt — after chesting down a lovely Franco Di Santo pass with only the goalkeeper to beat. It visibly affected him, but he has cut a forlorn figure for quite some time now. With his agent talking up a potential move to Juventus, Latics Premier League goal-scoring record holder’s stay appears to be coming to a depressing end.

But it’s too easy to make a scapegoat out of the Colombian. Victor Moses was once again devastating in one-on-one wing play, but his final pass, cross, or shot simply fails to yield. The fear with him is that for all his raw talent there is no football brain, no vision. He holds on to the ball too long, keeps his head down when others are making runs for him (Dave Jones made an excellent one in particular after recovering the ball in Wolves territory in the first half), and shoots either too early or too late. This is harsh criticism for a young player who has been denied by posts and outstanding saves all season long, but it is what we’ve missed of N’Zogbia’s game. Coolness under pressure. Can you teach that?

Moving back to the defense. Gohouri was wobbly, while it’s hard to talk about Antolin Alcaraz’s performance after the spitting incident that will see him banned for the next three matches. Needless to say he didn’t have one of his better games. We can only hope a public apology is coming, and the incident doesn’t negatively affect relationships within an already distraught squad.

The way he is performing, it won’t be long before there is an Ali Al-Habsi statue in the town centre. The frustration he must have felt after his defense failed to clear three times before Dave Edwards hammered that second goal in must have been unreal. His agility and reflex saves are second to none in the premiership.

In midfield, Mo Diame and Dave Jones had decent games, and Ben Watson was solid enough. Latics passed well and had the better of the game. They are not the problem. If Diame continues to progress, he will no doubt be making the step to a bigger club sooner or later.

And so it has to be said — barring an astonishing turnaround, Latics look doomed. Last season, West Ham billed their home match against us their “Save our Season” fixture. They beat us, and then in the reverse fixture, we sent then down. The home fixture against Blackburn in two weeks time is certainly a must win if this season is to be saved. But then so was the last one. I’ll be wearing my lucky sombrero and moustache, but how great would it be if the team could put in a performance that didn’t need it?

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habi: 9 — Made a number of excellent saves, inspirational.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.5 — Won the penalty, did some good defending and got forward. But two of the goals came down his side.

Antolin Alcaraz: 5 — Was okay, until the spitting incident.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — Wobbly.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 — Wolves’ first goal just seemed a bit too easy, but otherwise fine.

Ben Watson: 6 — Solid performance, was unhappy to be substituted which at least shows desire.

Dave Jones: 7 — Worked really hard and had an effective game in midfield.

Mo Diame: 8 — Latics best player this season, lively.

Hugo Rodallega: 4 — Miserable. Missed a sitter and several other chances. Sad to watch him perform this way.

Victor Moses: 6 — Great running, no end product.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — If Rodallega has been up to it, he would have emerged from this match with a couple assists and a good energetic, committed performance as centre-forward. His own finishing should have been better when he had half chances, however.

Subs:

Conor Sammon: 7 — Deserves a chance. Had a good effort and looked lively.

Albert Crusat: 6 — Did not assert himself on the game this time.

James McArthur: 6 — Not much to report.

Wigan Athletic 0 Fulham 2: Robbed again, but keeping the faith

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

Quite how Fulham beat us on Saturday is beyond me. Nine corners for Wigan, none for Fulham. Nineteen goal attempts Latics, Cottagers six. We have yet again been punished for the failure to convert our chances. But how many more games will go by in which the law of averages does not apply? How many times more can we possibly hit the post without it bouncing in, taking a slight deflection, or falling to one of our strikers to tap in. How many more corners until we get a lucky bounce? How many more bone-crunching tackles from the opposition before the referee sends one of them off?

We just can’t buy a goal. Victor Moses has to go down in history as one the most unfortunate attackers to set foot in the league. Sure, he is a raw young talent, an erratic finisher who would benefit from a cooler head. But he alone has hit the post 4-5 times already. Time and time again, he gets past his marker with such power and pace, but is denied against all odds by a lunging defender, an inspired keeper, or the woodwork. He was scoring for fun in pre-season. The Gods of the Premier League just aren’t smiling on him. Surely his reward will come soon?

Then there’s Roberto. I thought he made the right decision in sticking with the XI who performed so admirably against Newcastle. He was forced to substitute his most talented midfielder in the first five minutes after some cynical and targeted tackling, particularly that of Steve Sidwell, which typically went unpunished. He eventually brought Di Santo on for Crusat, who was probably tiring. But with one substitute left, still trailing by a goal, the Stam-for-Boyce substitution is infuriating. It’s not that Stam is a bad player, but he had Shaun Maloney and Conor Sammon on the bench. If you don’t throw them on in that situation, when do you?

That said, I don’t blame Roberto’s tactics for this loss, or the one at Newcastle, or so many others. If either of the shots that hit the post had gone in, we would have probably gone on to win. We were after all, the better side.

I suppose it is better to go on an 8-match losing streak in the beginning of the season than towards the end. But if it doesn’t stop in these next couple fixtures, we will have a serious mountain to climb. December and January look to be cruel months on the fixture list. If we go into them in the bottom three, I can’t see us getting out. November is a big, big month.

I’m keeping the faith. Confidence breeds luck, and we have neither at the moment. But if we get a bit of it, everything else is in place for a decent run of results against Wolves, Blackburn and Sunderland. Seven points from those three would propel us into mid-table. And the bottom half of the table is weak. Bolton and Blackburn have continued their mediocrity. Wolves look frail, Swansea and Norwich are doing okay but will find the second half of the season challenging. Sunderland probably have too much quality to get stuck down there, but do look dodgy. Lets go win at Wolves.

A Neutral Would Say

Wigan dominated but got hit on the break. Twice.

Player Ratings

Al Al-Habsi: 6 —  Might have done better with the second goal. Everyone, including him, assumed Dembele would pass wide to Dempsey rather than shoot.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 — Caught out of position for the first goal by a very good Danny Murphy pass. Couldn’t catch Dembele. Showed some good interplay with Victor Moses down right flank.

Gary Caldwell: 6 — Latics didn’t need to do much defending, but still conceded two goals, so it’s hard to give him anything more than a six. Will miss the next match due to accumulation of yellow cards.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Outrun by Dempsey for the first goal. Otherwise solid.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Tricky to grade him. Had his best attacking game in a long time, with some mazy runs and a tremendous left-footed shot that struck the post. But should have cleared in the build-up to the second goal instead of trying to pass his way out of trouble.

Ben Watson: 7 — Decent match for Wigan’s quarterback. So unlucky with an excellent volleyed effort in the first half, tipped over the bar by Schwarzer. Latics controlled possession, which was largely down to his distribution.

Mo Diame: N/A — What a shame. Only on the pitch for the opening minutes after two bad tackles ended his afternoon. Sidwell should have been cautioned. Lets hope it’s a speedy recovery as he is the only Wigan player to have scored a non-deflected goal, or a penalty, this season.

David Jones: 7 — Decent passing from midfield, another good shift. Lots of room for improvement on set pieces though.

Albert Crusat: 7 — Really lively and positive, delivered a range of crosses before making way for Di Santo.

Victor Moses: 8 — Outstanding performance full of invention and running. Saw a gorgeous volley crash off the crossbar in the second half. Was involved in all Wigan’s attacking play.

Hugo Rodallega: 6 — No real chances for Hugo in this one.

Subs:

James McArthur: 6 — Came on for Diame and worked hard, with some neat passing, but did not offer the penetration Diame is capable of.

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Came on in centre-forward role but did not make a big impact.

Ronnie Stam: 6 — Joined the attack as instructed, but his crosses were generally cleared without complication.