Category Archives: Player profiles

Francisco Junior’s future at Wigan

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , ,

Francisco Junior has started in just five games for Wigan Athletic and only finished the full ninety minutes in one of those. He has spent a large proportion of his time at the club injured and is involved in another scandal involving his behavior off the field.

Junior has had a troubled past and some of those demons just don’t seem to go away. But he has nevertheless captured the hearts of so many Wigan Athletic fans with his humility and his sheer footballing ability. His 95th minute winning goal against Swindon on Saturday brought the house down.

I had never even heard of Junior when he made his first appearance in a pre-season friendly against Partick Thistle at Firhill. For me he was the best man on the pitch that night. But I just could not understand at the time why a footballer with such talent would not be well known.

However, I did some research and contacted Everton fan site Toffeeweb for a fan view. The player has clearly had a chequered past. His move from street football in Guinea-Bissau, a country whose per-capita income is one of the lowest in the world, to Benfica was one for the story books. Playing in that Benfica academy led to him representing Portugal at under-19 and under-21 levels. Still only 23 years of age, he retains those silky skills that one associates with the best of Portuguese players. But Junior has still not been able to convince a club that he is worthy of a regular place in their starting lineup. As a footballer he remains “a work in progress”.

Gary Caldwell initially signed Junior from Everton on a one month loan, which was extended to January. The question is whether Latics will seek prolonging his loan or making him a permanent signing. Junior’s contract at Everton is up at the end of the season and he is unlikely to be offered a renewal. The question is whether Caldwell and Latics are willing to take a gamble on the player.

Despite not being able to command a regular place in the starting lineup of a League 1 side, Junior as a footballer cannot be written off.  He is still young and has genuine talent. Can he be steered towards achieving his potential? Could it happen at Wigan?

Despite his lifestyle difficulties, Junior’s humble approach is admirable. A couple of weeks ago he opened his heart – not for the first time – in the guest column for Wigan Today.

However, emotion apart, one of his key comments was “If I can keep my fitness up and avoid injury, I can do my best to help the team and achieve my goals”.

Francisco Junior has the pre-requisites to play at a level well above that of League 1. When he comes on the field for Latics he invariably alters the style of play. His ball skills and movement make him look a class above many of his colleagues. However, he remains largely unable to stamp his authority on to the 90+ minutes of a regular match. Fitness remains a major issue.

Caldwell and his recruitment team have been keen to try to sign the “right kind” of player. Junior is certainly “hungry” for success on the football field, even if his lifestyle excesses provoke questions.

Over the next couple of months Francisco Junior needs to show Gary Caldwell that he merits the club making the effort to negotiate with Everton for his release.

Up to this point he has made five starts, playing beyond the 55th minute on just two occasions. He has made four appearances off the bench.

So many Wigan Athletic supporters are willing Francisco Junior to succeed on the field of play and to overcome his lifestyle problems. He has endeared himself to them through his openness and honesty and his determination to be a better footballer.

But the burning issue for Caldwell is whether the player can reach fitness levels commensurate to challenging for a regular place in the starting lineup.

If that is not the case, it is unlikely that Latics will endeavour to seek his services beyond January.

However, the prospect of a Francisco Junior at the height of physical fitness and revealing his undoubted potential is a mouth-watering prospect for Wigan Athletic fans.

Much depends on Grigg

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , , ,

Grigg

“I guarantee we will have a 20 goal a season striker this season”

So said David Sharpe in June. Was the young chairman suggesting Latics would have a striker who would score 20 goals in the season ahead? Or was he saying that they would be signing a player who had already scored 20 goals in a season?

Less than two weeks after Sharpe had made his statement free agent Craig Davies was signed from Bolton on a two year contract. A week after that Latics paid Brentford around £1m for Will Grigg, who penned a three year deal.

Both had been 20 goal strikers. The 29 year old Davies scored 23 goals for Chesterfield in their promotion season from League 2 in 2010-11. Despite still only being 24 years old Grigg had done it twice. In the 2012-13 season he scored 20 for Walsall, then last season he scored 23 for the MK Dons in their promotion from League 1 to the Championship.

Davies remains a formidable force and has already impressed Latics fans with his all-action performances. Sadly the hamstring problems that haunted him at Bolton have returned, this time in his left leg. The big striker is now back in training, but even the most optimistic of fans will need to cross their fingers that he can stay away from further such problems. Given the likelihood of him receiving further injuries few would bet on Davies being a 20 goal striker this season. Up to this point he has made five starts, with one appearance as a substitute, scoring two goals.

In Davies and Grigg, Latics had signed players with proven goalscoring records in the lower divisions of the Football League. However, they already had another on their books. Grant Holt is now 34 years old and has recently recovered from a serious injury, but will nevertheless be feared by League 1 defences because of his superb goalscoring record in the lower divisions. Holt has reached the 20 goal mark on four occasions, once for Rochdale, once for Shrewsbury and twice for Norwich. Holt is being gradually eased back into playing a full 90 minutes and Latics will surely not rush him. The big man from Carlisle could have a big part to play in the remainder of the season, providing he can stay fit.

However, if Latics were to have a 20 goal striker this season, the odds would surely be on Grigg. On signing him Gary Caldwell said “Will is the one we were after. He’s a goalscorer, that’s what he does and why we’ve signed him. There were other clubs in the chase, including from the Championship, but he’s chosen to come to us and we are very happy about it.”

But with the season at its first quarter Grigg has struggled to reach the goalscoring form that Caldwell would have hoped for. He has scored three goals up to this point, two of which were penalties. After starting in the first six games he missed the Chesterfield match through being on international duty for Northern Ireland. He came back as a 66th minute substitute at Port Vale, but was to pick up an elbow injury which kept him out of the next two games. He made his return as a 77th minute substitute, scoring the equalizer during added-on time against Millwall. Grigg returned to the starting lineup for the next game against Walsall, but was substituted after 70 minutes. However, international call up knocked on the door again and Grigg has missed the last two matches at Crewe and Bury.

Grigg’s season at Wigan has therefore been stop-start up to this point. Caldwell has experienced the frustration of the player being unavailable for three matches without getting on the field of play for Northern Ireland on top of his elbow injury.

At this point last season at MK Dons, Grigg was playing as a lone centre forward in Karl Robinson’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system, alternating with Benik Afobe in that position. He had made six starts, with four appearances as a substitute, scoring six goals including two in the Don’s League Cup victory over Manchester United.

Up to this point Grigg has played in the lone striker role and as a twin striker at Wigan. Caldwell has talked with enthusiasm about the Grigg-Davies partnership. They have started together three times, the most memorable being in the 3-0 destruction of Scunthorpe. The physical presence of Davies creates more space for Grigg and they are Caldwell’s optimal striking duo. The manager also has Holt at hand to play a similar kind of role to Davies and it will be interesting to see if he links the two together at some point in tomorrow’s game against Colchester.

Caldwell also has the option of linklng Grigg together with the physically less imposing, but pacy, Jordy Hiwula. The enigmatic Sanmi Odelusi remains another possibility in a partnership with Grigg.

Up to this point Latics have scored 17 goals in 13 games. Grigg ties with Hiwula and Michael Jacobs in being leading goalscorer with three goals. Recent loan signing Yanic Wildschut has really caught the fans’ attention with two exciting performances, including a blockbuster that will be a contender for goal of the season at Crewe. Hopes are high that the Dutch winger can terrify League 1 defences and score goals. However, the player’s career record reads 16 goals in 132 appearances, a goalscoring ratio similar to that of Jacobs who has also played a s winger during most of his career.

If any Wigan Athletic player is to reach the 20 goal mark this season, it will most likely to be Grigg. He has done it before on two occasions at League 1 level. But Grigg is much more than a goalscorer, his intelligent play and passing enabling him to create chances for others.

Caldwell will surely be counting on Will Grigg as being a cornerstone of his bid for promotion back to the Championship.

 

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The return of Chris McCann

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , , , ,

Mcann

Relegation from the Championship saw a Wigan Athletic fire sale that was surely unparalleled in the club’s history. Players on Championship-level salaries were jettisoned at bargain prices as the club made efforts to drastically slash its wage bill with the prospect of much reduced revenues in League 1. It was anybody’s guess who would remain from last season’s squad as the cull neared its completion.

Many of us thought they would keep up-and-coming young talent and cash in on the players with rich Championship or Premier League experience. It was therefore a surprise to see the 28 year old Chris McCann line up for the opening match of the season at Coventry. Here was a player who had appeared disaffected in the latter part of the previous season, who had not started a game since early February.

McCann could have been expected to be one of the first to be offloaded. But it was not to be. In fact, the Dubliner has played in all eleven league games up to this point. His versatility in being able to play in midfield or on the left side of a central defensive trio has been of paramount importance to Gary Caldwell, given the injury problems he has already had to cope with.

Owen Coyle must rank as one of the most unpopular managers that Wigan Athletic have ever had, although most fans would probably rank Malky Mackay even lower. Coyle lasted less than six months in charge at Wigan before he left “by mutual consent”.

Coyle was given the mountainous task of taking Latics back into the Premier League within a year, together with leading through an historic Europa League campaign. He inherited a group of players who had played under the tutelage of Roberto Martinez, but given the mass exodus of players in the summer he had a lot of recruiting to do.

Coyle’s first signing was to be Chris McCann. The Dubliner had played under him at Burnley and was available for free at the end of his contract. McCann had been at Turf Moor since arriving from Home Farm in 2004. He had an outstanding season in 2008-09, when Burnley won promotion to the top tier of English football. Sadly he sadly was only able to make half a dozen Premier League appearances for the Clarets before receiving a cruciate knee injury. McCann returned in January for a couple of games before injury ruled him out for rest of the season. However, the Irishman was to come back to start in 83 Championship matches over the next two seasons. But he was unable to once more reach the heights of that promotion season form at Burnley, with further knee problems not helping.

McCann’s early performances for Latics were solid, if uninspiring. Some said that Coyle had brought in an ex-player who was not up to par and was snubbing players from the Martinez era. However, McCann gave a fine display against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League, being tireless in defence, with his cultured passing when under pressure helping Latics keep possession. He followed that up with a fine performance at Charlton, being unlucky with a flick header that hit the crossbar. McCann had clearly now settled in and was to become an important cog in Coyle’s machine.

McCann must have wondered what would come next when Uwe Rosler replaced Coyle in December 2013. The Irishman is not the world’s most fortunate footballer and he was sadly sent off in Rosler’s first match in charge, leading to Latics being eliminated from the Europa League. Latics had been a goal up at Maribor when a shot from the edge of the box hit McCann’s upraised arm after he had turned his back to the shooter. It was clearly not intentional, but the Polish referee not only gave a penalty, but also gave McCann a yellow card. Since he already had an earlier one he was sent off.

But McCann was to become a key player for Rosler in Latics’ rise up the table and into the FA Cup semi-finals. He would usually operate on the left of midfield, where his surging runs forward, accurate passing and toughness in the tackle were a real asset. However, from time to time Rosler would play him on the left of a back line of three. He was playing in that position in the FA Cup sixth round match at Manchester City on March 9th, when he sadly fractured his knee cap during the first half of what was to be another stunning victory. Once again a serious injury had interrupted McCann’s career.

He was to make his return as a late substitute at Brighton on November 4th, in the penultimate game of Rosler’s reign. Mackay’s first match as Wigan manager saw them draw 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough, with McCann putting in an excellent performance. He became a frequent starter, although his performances had started to wane. McCann’s last appearance as a starter was on February 7th in a home defeat to Bournemouth. After that he was limited to three appearances off the bench for the remainder of the season.

McCann has staked his claim for a future under the management of Gary Caldwell. He has had his downs in his career, particularly with injuries, but continues to show his resilience. He has bounced back after appearing to be on his way out.

When McCann plays at the back Latics are pretty much guaranteed cultured passes coming in from the left hand side. Moreover at 6 ft 1 in and with a strong tackle McCann is able to cope with the physical side of defensive play.  However, his best position is on the left side of a trio of midfield players. It is from such a position that his attacking abilities are most effectively employed. On occasions when he has been played as one of two holding midfielders he has been less effective.

It has been a remarkable turnaround from McCann. Although seemingly destined to leave the club he has stayed and fought his way back to a regular starting place.

Over the coming weeks, providing the injured players gradually ease their way back in, it will be a challenge for McCann to maintain his place. But then again, given the player’s resilience, who can say that he will not be a key player in Caldwell’s plans?

Jacobs can be a cracker

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with ,
Photo courtesy of Wigan Today.

Photo courtesy of Wigan Today.

“What a cracker – Michael Jacobs joins Latics ” said one headline.

Had Wigan Athletic really signed a cracker, fans wondered?

The name of Michael Jacobs was largely unknown to Latics supporters until he signed from Wolves some four weeks ago. However, his performances up to this point have clearly stirred the interest of Latics fans.

Indeed the most clicked-on post on in the newsnow news aggregator site for Wigan Athletic yesterday was “Everything Is Happening by Michael Jacobs, review: ‘tantalising”. Unfortunately for Latics fans it was turned out to be a Daily Telegraph review of a book written by a writer of the same name who passed away last year.

One might think that Jacobs might be getting fed up of the cracker comments after almost a month at Wigan Athletic. But Jacobs is lively on Twitter, with 15,585 followers and yesterday’s tweet got lots of interest, including a quip from teammate Max Power and a response from @jacobsofficial.

Jacobscrackers

On signing Jacobs, Gary Caldwell had said “I’m really pleased we’ve got this one over the line. Michael knows this league well, and knows what it takes to be successful at this level having played at Wolves when they were promoted in 2014. He is a potential match winner on his day and will add terrific competition to the squad, which is now starting to take shape.”

Michael Jacobs made his debut for Wigan Athletic in the final pre-season game at Blackburn, being replaced by Craig Davies after 62 minutes. He was to make his first competitive appearance a week later in the 2-0 defeat to Coventry, playing behind the central striker, Will Grigg. Jacobs was one of the more impressive performers in a team that could not get its act together that day.

In the next match against Bury in the League Cup, Jacobs started on the left wing as Caldwell switched from 3-5-1-1 to 4-3-3. He had looked lively in the first half, linking up well with left back Reece James, marauding inside to threaten the visitors’ defence. It was Jacobs’ run from the second half kick off that caused Bury defender Peter Clarke to foul him and concede a penalty put away by Grigg. Once again Jacobs had caught the eye in what was a rather disappointing team performance.

Jacobs was again played on the left wing in the next game, a goalless draw with Doncaster. There were moments when he threatened the Yorkshire team’s defence and he had scraped the crossbar with a free kick early on. But it was hard for Jacobs to shine in a team that just did not seem to gel together.

However, we had already seen enough glimpses of skill from Jacobs to see that he would be a key player for Latics this season. But in what position? When he had joined the club he had been labeled as a winger who gets into the box and scores goals. Up to that point he had been played either behind a lone centre forward or on the wing. But against Scunthorpe we were to see him in a new position

.For the game against the Lincolnshire team, Caldwell was to send Latics out in a 3-5-2 formation, with Grigg and Davies up front. Jacobs was to play in attacking midfield role behind that front two. With the security of having Francisco Junior and David Perkins behind him, Jacobs was to have the freedom to link up with the twin strikers and wing backs in attacking positions. Moreover in the absence of Max Power he was to take most of the set pieces. However, Jacobs was not to forget his defensive duties, frequently dropping back to help out.

Caldwell played an attacking game against Scunthorpe and it paid off. With the wing backs pushed far up the field, with twin strikers and Jacobs behind them they had a lot of attacking options. If Caldwell continues to opt for such a formation more goals will surely come. The question is whether the back three are going to be exposed, even with the shield of Junior and Perkins in front of them.

Michael Jacobs, the footballer, is still a work in progress. He is still only 23 but has all the pre-requisites to become a top player. He has pace and technique, not being afraid to take on defenders and shoot. His skill on set pieces could well prove decisive in tight matches. Above all Jacobs has commitment, something that has been sadly lacking over the past year at Wigan.

Jacobs could well turn out to be that “cracker” that the headline was referring to.

Craig Davies – journeyman or saviour?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Davies

“He’s a big, strong boy who is also quick. He is different to what we’ve got and he’ll certainly cause defences some problems.”

The words of Mickey Adams, who certainly had some belief in Craig Davies as a footballer. He had signed the big man for Brighton in February 2009. Some 11 months later, after scoring just one goal in 10 league starts and 11 appearances off the bench, Davies was dispatched on loan to Port Vale, where once again he would be under the tutelage of Adams. Davies made an instant impression at Vale Park and ended his goal drought in his fourth game for his new club.

When Davies came on after 78 minutes against Bury on Tuesday night he did not receive an overwarm welcome from the crowd. Being an ex-Bolton player and the replacement for Grigg did not help his case. Moreover he had not impressed in the 35 minutes he was given as a substitute at Coventry. Some fans condemned him as being lazy. Another categorised him as a “journeyman” who has had as many clubs as Leon Clarke.

But on signing the big Welshman Gary Caldwell had said that “Craig’s a powerful striker who has a proven track record in this division. He’s an experienced player who will inspire those around him and we are absolutely delighted he has chosen to be with us.” Moreover he had later enthused about a Davies-Grigg striking partnership.

So who is the real Craig Davies – the inspirational central striker who can make a real difference to Wigan Athletic this season – or the journeyman who does not make enough effort on the pitch? Is he the 23 goal striker who was instrumental in helping Chesterfield win League 2 or the player who struggled for goals at Brighton?

Davies had begun his Wigan Athletic career as a 77th minute substitute in the pre-season match with Partick Thistle at Firhill. He immediately added a physical presence, although playing wide on the left. Gary Caldwell was being cautious in bringing Davies into play, given the constant injury problems he had last season.

It was therefore a surprise to see Davies start up front with Will Grigg in the match at Dundee just three days later. This time Davies played in the right hand twin striker role and was a real handful for the Dundee defence. He only played for the first 30 minutes, but during that time he had formed a positive impression, his interchange of passes with Grigg provoking a penalty.

So what kind of role will Davies play for Latics this season? When will he be fully fit and in contention for a place in the starting lineup?

Caldwell will continue to give Davies time to get himself in optimal physical condition. In the meantime he will use him as an impact substitute, either for a tiring Grigg or alongside him as a main striker. Up to this point Caldwell has tended to opt for a lone centre forward system, but he is nevertheless pragmatic enough to go for the twin striker scenario when needs arise. Grigg would surely benefit from the presence of Davies, who will ruffle the feathers of any defence, drawing defenders away.

However, there is more to Davies’ game than playing the target man and creating space for others in the penalty box. In his career he has scored 88 goals from 237 starts in league games. He had played for 12 clubs before joining Latics, hence the “journeyman” tag.

Davies will be keen to show that he is much more than just a journeyman. His signing was a gamble by Caldwell, given his career path and his injury issues at Bolton. But if Davies can get fully fit he will have the power and speed to cause a serious threat to opposition defences.

If nothing else Davies will provide Caldwell the option of going direct when the patient building up of play has failed to produce the desired results. Fit and at his best he is a force to be reckoned with.

Only time will tell if Caldwell’s signing of Davies was one of desperation, or of inspiration.