Category Archives: Reflections

Playing ugly to stay up

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Reflections and tagged with , , , ,
Liam Ridgewell - Mackay's first signing.

Liam Ridgewell – Mackay’s first signing.

“He is the man to lead us back into the Premier League, I am convinced of that having met him and discussed the demands of the job ahead of him.”

So said Dave Whelan on November 19th when he announced the appointment of Malky Mackay.

Some seven weeks later the chairman’s judgement is looking decidedly suspect. Rather than leading Latics onward and upward the Scot has led them in the opposite direction up to this point in time.

Mackay’s record so far reads W1 D1 L6. Latics are in 23rd place in the Championship and the threat of relegation is growing increasingly real.

However, who is to say that Whelan will not eventually be proved right? Should Latics avoid relegation who knows what will happen next season?

Should Mackay succeed in doing the improbable – taking Latics back to the Premier league – what kind of football can we expect?

Mackay will base his team on solid defence, with goals from set pieces the order of the day. There will be a strong team spirit and they will not be afraid to get a result by playing ugly. The squad will consist largely of players from the British Isles.

Mackay has talked about the margins. In fact, the five league games lost under his charge have all been by a single goal margin. He clearly believes he is close to making the breakthrough.

The Scot inherited a squad at a low ebb in terms of self confidence. He will bring in fresh faces to provide uplift, even if those new players are potentially no better than those he has already had at his disposal.

He has stated his desire to recruit hungry British players. His first signing is Liam Ridgewell, a combative defender with a wealth of Premier League experience. Ridgewell knows what it is like to play ugly from his time at Birmingham where he played in a ruthless defence with Roger Johnson and Scott Dann. However, that defence provided the foundation for them to win the League Cup.

Whether Ridgewell is “hungry” is up to debate. He will only be at Wigan for six weeks but Mackay will hope his presence will bolster a defence that has let in too many “soft” goals.

Reports suggest that Latics have made a £150,000 bid for Dundee United winger Gary Mackay-Steven and that the bid has been rejected by the “Arabs”. The 24 year old is a fine prospect and can play on either wing.

However, there are other clubs interested and Latics will have to up their bid considerably if they are to compete.

Mackay is also reported to be interested in two English centre forwards who have played for a total of 18 different clubs.

Danny Graham is 29 years of age, currently at Sunderland. He has a career record of 102 goals in 346 league appearances, although he has enjoyed most of his success as a goalscorer playing as a twin striker. Graham played well at Watford under Mackay where he scored 38 goals in 91 league appearances. Heioar Helguson and Marvin Sordell were his main striking partners there. If Mackay can secure Graham’s services it will be on loan until the end of the season.

Ishmael Miller is now 27 years old and has had his ups and downs. The 6 ft 3 in Mancunian is now at his seventh club in Blackpool. He has a career record of 33 goals in 173 league games.

Mackay will hope that the comings and goings in the January transfer window will help provide a different dynamic in his squad. Put simply, the players need to shed that losing mentality.

By the end of February we can expect to see the kind of football that Mackay seeks. By then he will have had time to sufficiently bolster team spirit and get the kinds of results that the fans expect.

The style of football is not going to be sexy, but the priority is to get out of that relegation zone and build up a squad good enough to challenge for promotion next year. At this stage things look bleak, but Mackay still has the time to do what is necessary to get Latics back on track.

Selling off the crown jewels – but who cares?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Reflections and tagged with , , , , ,
Photo courtesy of royal.gov.uk

Photo courtesy of royal.gov.uk

The exodus has all but begun. What seemed almost inconceivable just a few months ago is well underway. The crown jewels are about to be sold, but nobody seems to care.

Shaun Maloney will surely depart over the coming weeks. The media tell us that there are at least four clubs interested in signing him and that Latics are asking for a fee of £1.5m, which they are unlikely to get unless they can instigate a bidding war. It is said that Leicester City have already offered £750,000.

Maloney is an icon at Wigan, largely through his marvelous performances in the latter part of the 2012-13 season and his role as an FA Cup winner. He was the playmaker, the one who would make himself available to receive a pass, able to slot through incisive balls to his forwards. He was excellent on set pieces and would use his dribbling skills to great effect.

However, through reasons of injury or illness or lack of form, the Scot has started in just nine league matches this season. He has starred for his country, showing those kinds of attributes. But for Latics he has not consistently shown that keenness to receive the ball and make things happen. He did those things in Mackay’s first game at home to Middlesbrough, scoring a spectacular free kick and going so close with a previous effort. But since then he has not reproduced such form.

His fans would say that he remains the best midfield player at the club, but is playing in a team that does not know how to play good football. Too often his fellow midfield players will pass the ball behind for the defence to hoof up front. The case comes to mind of Dutch international midfielder Denny Landzaat who got himself into hot water during the Steve Bruce era. Landzaat’s performances at Wigan had been disappointing. When asked about his form by the Dutch media he told them that most of the time the ball from defence went over his head, not to his feet. Landzaat was undoubtedly a skillful player, but he just did not fit in to the Bruce style of play, so he moved on.

At 31 years of age, Maloney will be keen to safeguard his future. Despite having been dogged by injury he has shown that he has the quality to be a better than average player at Premier League level.

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Maloney was a key cog in the machine that played the best football in Wigan Athletic’s history. However, under the Mackay regime he just does not fit.

Most fans will accept the need for Maloney to move, but the case of Oriel Riera is something different. The latest reports suggest that he is about to join Deportivo La Coruña on loan until the end of the season. Promoted last season from the segunda division they are in 16th place in the primera division of La Liga.

Riera’s case contrasts with that of Maloney. The Scot is about to move to a higher league after an unsuccessful spell in a lower one. The Spaniard is about to do the reverse.

Following the recent news of Grant Holt’s long term injury, many of us expected Riera to stay, but it appears that negotiations for his release have been going on for some time. Mackay and his coaching staff have clearly written off the Spaniard and it looks like he will not be coming back after his loan.

Critics will say that Riera lacks the physicality to be successful as a central striker in the Championship. At times he has been anonymous on the field of play, not being able to stamp his mark on the game.

However, most fans will say that he has never been given a fair chance. Riera came to Wigan three years too late. He would have most likely thrived playing in Roberto Martinez’s team. However, the role of the lone centre forward this season has been largely taken up in trying to make something of the long hooves launched by goalkeeper and defenders. One wonders if even the likes of Diego Costa or Robin Van Persie could have done any better receiving that kind of service.

Rather than include Riera in the starting lineup Mackay has resorted either to the goal-shy Marc-Antoine Fortune or James McClean, a left winger playing out of position. The result has been that Latics have only scored one goal from open play since the manager’s arrival.

The club will be keen to bring in funds gathered from Maloney’s transfer and Riera’s loan deal. Andy Delort will surely be among the next to go. The transfer fees paid for Riera and Delort together amounted to around £5m, big money for Latics these days. They will be keen to cut their losses. Further economies will be made shortly when Roger Espinoza will be taken off the wage bill, sadly on his way back to Kansas after a frustrating time at Wigan.

The need for a physically uncompromising defender has been standing out over the course of the season. Media reports suggest that Mackay is about to sign a player who fits the bill. Liam Ridgewell went to Portland Timbers in the MLS in June after being released by West Bromwich Albion. He is an experienced Premier League defender, who can play at centre half or left back.

However, in a time when the club are under attack from the national media they are about to make themselves vulnerable again. Moreover fans have become disillusioned by the attitudes of players who earn more in a couple of weeks than most of them do in a year. Ridgewell will come with the baggage of his antics of a couple of years ago which were reported on the national media. Such behaviour will hardly endear him to the fans at Wigan.

These are trying times for Wigan Athletic supporters. The club seems to have gone into free-fall and there is little light at the end of the tunnel. Fans have grown so disillusioned with the lack of performance of the players that most no longer care about who gets sold off in the transfer window.

There is a general malaise that is dragging the club down. Players who have proved themselves in the past have been pulled down into the mire.

The likelihood is that the players leaving during Mackay’s fire sale will be successful at their new clubs.

The crown jewels of old will most likely be sold off – but what will take their place?

Watford (A) aftermath – how can Malky stop the rot?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, Reflections and tagged with , ,
Chris McCann's 45th minute goal gave Latics hope, but sloppy defence was their downfall.

Chris McCann’s 45th minute goal gave Latics hope, but sloppy defence was their downfall.

Another defeat by a single goal. The Darkside pessimists had suggested that Latics would get badly beaten at Watford. That was not the case, but it is another bad result for Malky Mackay. He has an unenviable record for a new manager of one point gained in four games in charge. Can Mackay turn things around or are Latics heading for League 1?

Seeing the lineup for today’s match gave many of us a sense of foreboding. Not a single recognized central striker on the field, but two on the bench. Was Mackay planning to keep things tight and maybe steal it from a set piece?

In the event Mackay chose to deploy James McClean in the lone striker role. McClean’s strengths are his energy and his pace, but finishing is not his forte. Has the manager already written off the other strikers at the club when he has not seen most of them play in the Championship during his time at the club? Andy Delort might well think that. The Frenchman was brought on in the 86th minute. It would seem rather late but at least it was two minutes earlier than his entrance against Norwich. It can hardly be good for the player’s self -confidence.

Once again Mackay relied on the old guard, shunning the Rosler signings with the exception of Don Cowie and Andrew Taylor who played for him at the two clubs he previously managed. Up to this point it is not bearing fruit and the fans’ patience is wearing thin.

Fans who had been unhappy about Uwe Rosler’s team selections and formations are now seeing a similar pattern with Mackay. Many will say that nothing seems to have changed since Mackay arrived. The team is playing in the same way as before so what was the point of dismissing Rosler? The central striker has continued to be “lone” in the true sense of the word and sloppy defence has given away games which Latics might have won.

In 2012 Wolves had come down to the Championship division after three years in the Premier League. Over the summer they had sold Steven Fletcher (£14m) and Matt Jarvis (£11m) and paid around £2.4m for Bjorn Siguroarson, £2.7m for Bakary Sakho and £2m for Tongo Doumbia. Stale Solbakken had been brought in as manager.

By early October Wolves were in third place, with promotion looking within their grasp. Keen to get rid of the culture remaining from the days of Mick McCarthy as manager, Solbakken had sought empower the players. However, over the next three months Wolves started to drop down the table. There was a lack of discipline, training had become less than stimulating and the manager was largely unprepared to read the riot act when things went wrong on the field of play. Solbakken was sacked in early January after his team got knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Luton. Dean Saunders was appointed to become Wolves’ fourth manager in twelve months, but he was unable to stop the slide and a 23rd place finish saw them relegated.

What happened to Wolves is a sobering prospect for Wigan Athletic followers. The situations differ but there are certain parallels. Unlike Wolves being relegated in their first season back in the Championship, Latics did well. Reaching the playoffs, the FA Cup semi-final and being robbed of progress in the Europa League by a dubious refereeing decision was quite an achievement. However, the rot was setting in in the latter stages of last season and it has continued up to now. Wolves had a wage bill of £25m with lots of players seasoned in the Premier League, but could not hack it in the Championship. Changing managers did not help Wolves, as Saunders could not better Solbakken in terms of results. Latics fans will be hoping that is not going to be the case with Mackay following Rosler.

In March 2013 ex-Wolves winger and BBC pundit Steve Froggatt was quoted as saying: “The team had been on an irreversible slide for a long period of time and Deano had identified what needed changing. I think the board must have thought: ‘If we can get by to the end of this season, then we’ll rebuild for next.’ But having seen the team all year, they should have seen that it was bereft of confidence and ideas. It’s almost that they’ve now decided to bring in one or two players well after the horse has bolted.”

It is to be hoped that Dave Whelan will take note of the board’s fateful decisions at Wolves. Mackay has already talked about offloading players in the January transfer window and bringing in at least a couple of new ones. More than anything else Mackay needs to build an organizational culture upon which he can bring things forward. Each of the previous managers – Martinez, Coyle and Rosler – had their own ideas about how football should be played. There has not only been turnover at managerial level but also in coaching and support staff. Latics are once again in the midst of a culture change within the club.

The result at Watford could have been a lot worse. Moreover Latics had been the more dominant team in the second half until sloppy defence enabled the Hornets’ winner after 82 minutes. But it is yet another defeat.

Mackay has hardly impressed in his brief stay up to this point. However, changing the mentality of a group of players who have got used to not winning is not an easy matter. It is going to take time. It is to be hoped that arrivals and departures over the January transfer window will catalyse the change in culture that Mackay seeks.

In the meantime we will have to see if Mackay will continue to rely on an old guard which has largely let him down.

Not another false dawn for Latics

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

falsedawn

On August 30th Wigan Athletic destroyed Birmingham City 4-0. The performance was a revelation, far removed from the mediocrity of the displays that had preceded it. Moreover Andy Delort was introduced to the Latics faithful before the match started and within a couple of days Adam Forshaw and William Kvist were to be snapped up.

It was such a hopeful time. It looked like Latics were back on the promotion trail.

But the international break meant that the momentum was lost and Latics were to go eight games and eight weeks without a win. The buoyant optimism was replaced by sheer frustration on the part of so many fans. A manager who had enjoyed almost iconic status in early-August was now an object of derision among many. Slogans such as ‘In Uwe We Trust’ and ‘Vorsprung Durch Uwe’ had melted away and #RoslerOut was rearing its head on the social media.

There were some Latics fans who would not have been unhappy for their team to lose at Derby on Saturday, hoping it would precipitate Uwe Rosler’s demise. Most fans wanted them to win, but doubted that it would happen. Then there were the brave few who quoted tales of Latics showing their resilience in bygone times of adversity, boldly predicting an away win.

The display at Derby on Saturday was a throwback to those days last season when Latics were on a great run and Rosler was viewed as the saviour. It was not pretty to watch and Latics picked up five yellow cards compared with the home team’s one. Nevertheless the victory was well deserved. The players battled to get that result, something they had not done in the midweek game against Millwall, in which incidentally no Wigan player got a yellow card. Why was there such a different attitude from the players on Saturday?

It could be said that the inclusion of Roger Espinoza in midfield was the catalyst. Espinoza is not the most technically gifted player in the squad, but he is surely one of the most committed when he gets on the pitch. Playing in the more advanced midfield role he was a livewire in closing down opposition defenders and midfielders, then running at them when in possession.

Emyr Huws and Adam Forshaw close behind Espinoza played with that same kind of passion. Both have the technical ability to do great things in the future. But on Saturday they showed the necessary level of commitment to complement their abilities. Something that had been missing in midfield since James McArthur’s departure.

The conspiracy theorists will say that something changed at the club following that insipid display against Millwall. Perhaps the manager really did clear the air through a heart-to-heart discussion with his players. Or perhaps some of the senior pros helped stifle dissent within the squad. Are there really players who want to leave in January? All this may be speculation and hearsay. Football clubs are masters at keeping such things secret and as fans we can only surmise.

At this moment in time many people are wary of a false dawn. After the Birmingham game there was so much buoyant optimism but it was to be sunk in a tide of indifferent displays.  Four weeks ago against Nottingham Forest the players played with real commitment, which dissipated in the matches that followed. Will the same happen again?

The next three matches are against teams below Latics in the table. However, both Bolton and Fulham have responded to changes in manager and are  on their way up the table. Moreover Brighton, like Latics, have been punching well below their weight this season and will surely get better.

However, the positives from the win at Derby outweigh those from that victory against Birmingham. There was some lovely football in that 4-0 result, but three of the goals came in the first half and Latics went off the boil in the second. The display at Derby showed that the players now have the levels of fitness to play the high tempo, high pressing game that Rosler has wanted all along. Their legs did not go in the second half and they finished as strong as the home side. Moreover since the return of the powerhouse Leon Barnett to the starting lineup Latics have had three shutouts in four games.

Another big plus on Saturday was seeing James McClean getting in there where it hurts to score two opportunist goals. The 4-4-2 system saw first Callum McManaman, then McClean, partner the centre forward upfront. Although McManaman was largely shackled by the Derby defence he thrives on the licence provided by the support striker role. McClean is more used to playing as an orthodox left winger, but he too has the potential to make a success of that role. He is fast and strong, with a powerful left foot, good qualities for that position.

Despite some colourless displays in recent weeks, Latics’ defence has tightened up, conceding only three goals in the last five matches. The absence of James Perch for domestic reasons has meant that James Tavernier has been given three straight starts and he will benefit from the experience. He has the best delivery of crosses and set pieces in the club. He and Perch are different types of players, but having the two available to play at right back gives Rosler good options.

The midfield situation is suddenly looking much rosier. Forshaw and Huws will surely form the midfield for years to come providing they stay injury-free and are not snapped up by bigger clubs. Espinoza’s comeback may be short-lived, given Rosler’s previous reluctance to include him, but his enthusiasm will surely rub off on those around him while he remains. The eventual return of Chris McCann and Ben Watson will add further competition for midfield places.

There are still players in the squad who have not yet hit form. They include not only the ‘new boys’ such as Andy Delort and Oriel Riera, but also such as Shaun Maloney. Part of Rosler’s problem is that his squad is too big and he is going to continue to face difficulties in keeping a happy ship.

The results over the next few games may well be patchy, but if Latics can get to a mid-table position by Christmas they will be within striking distance of the playoffs. With more time the newer acquisitions will become more settled in and we will see them perform closer to their best.

The Birmingham display proved to be a false dawn, but the performance at Derby could set the tone for the rest of the season. If Latics can maintain that level of passion and determination they will quickly rise up the table.

Playing at that level of intensity can be draining for players. However, Rosler has a strong and well balanced squad at his disposal. Squad rotation will continue to be his policy, of necessity.

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Can Rosler turn it around?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Reflections and tagged with , , , ,
merry-go-round2

Dave Whelan needs to avoid another managerial merry-go-round.

Another poor display, this time a goalless draw at home to Brentford, and the winless run now stretches to seven matches. The pressure on Uwe Rosler intensifies.

But it is not the first time that Rosler has faced such pressure, being under siege by those who want him out.

In August of last year Rosler’s Brentford side had seemed destined for better things. They had lost an automatic promotion spot in the last match of the previous season, Marcelo Trotta missing a last minute penalty, then Doncaster scoring a last gasp winner at the other end. They failed in the playoffs. However, the Bees started the 2013-14 season well, with two wins and two draws, but they were to lose four of their next seven games, winning only two. When they lost to lowly Stevenage in the next game the call for him to be sacked reached a crescendo.

The story of Rosler locking his team in the dressing room after the game for a heart-to-heart discussion is folklore at Brentford. The end result was a turnaround in fortunes as the Bees won seven and drew one of the eight games that followed, before his departure to Wigan.

Can Rosler turn it around at Wigan as he did at Brentford? How much more time will Dave Whelan give him if the results of this week’s games against Millwall and Derby are adverse? Can Latics afford to change their manager again? If so, what kind of appointment could we expect?

Rosler is by no means a conventional manager. His team selections and tactical approaches can be baffling. Moreover the marginalization of some of the players in his squad reeks of poor man-management skills. His pre-season programme just did not work, with the result that his team was at a physical disadvantage and would collapse in the second half. Poor results against teams with less talented players have been too often the norm this season. He has not got the best out of his players this season and their confidence is approaching rock bottom.

What has happened up to this point of the season hardly merits further debate, except maybe for the way he has ostracized certain players. That is something he still has time to put right.

Grant Holt is one of the least popular players that Latics have ever signed. However, Rosler’s reported treatment of him beggars belief. Every story has two sides, but what Holt has recently revealed to the press remains disturbing.

Moreover the marginalization of Roger Espinoza is also incomprehensible to fans. So many times this season the midfield has looked ineffective and lethargic. Espinoza may not be the most skilled footballer in the squad, but whenever he comes on to the pitch he shows an infectious dynamism that few can match. Juan Carlos Garcia was sent on loan to Tenerife after spending a year at the club and not playing in a single league game. Fraser Fyvie and Thomas Rogne now find themselves regularly outside the match day squads.

However, Rosler’s history as a manager in Norway and England shows that he has had his downs and still bounced back. He did an exceptional job last season and surely deserves more time to show that he can put things right. A fascinating analysis by Sam Whyte on that excellent site, Vital Wigan Athletic, compares the proportion of wins that the club’s managers have enjoyed over the last decade or so. Rosler’s record of 21 wins in 50 games gives him a 42% win ratio, almost the same as Paul Jewell who won 127 out of 291, a 43% ratio. Owen Coyle won 7 out of 23, a 30% ratio.

Rosler’s critics have been keen to show that at the same point last year, after 12 league games, Coyle’s team had amassed 16 points, five more than this season. However, Coyle had the likes of Jean Beausejour, Jordi Gomez, James McArthur, Chris McCann, Nick Powell and Ben Watson at his disposal. Rosler has had to deal with the departures of so many of his more skilful players, plus serious injuries to others.

Rosler has had to replace too many key players and it is taking time for the replacements time to settle in. This time last year fans were unimpressed by Chris McCann, signed from Burnley as a free agent. However, McCann was to become a key player in Rosler’s setup in an excellent midfield. His serious injury in the FA Cup win at Manchester City was a body blow for the manager.

It is far too early to write off players Rosler has brought to the club. In Don Cowie and Andrew Taylor he signed experienced players who have had played not only in the Premier League but were key players for the Cardiff team that gained promotion from the Championship. He also signed the Denmark national team captain, William Kvist, who played in the Premier League last season. Oriel Riera scored 13 goals in La Liga last year and is clearly capable of doing so in the Championship, providing he receives a modicum of service.

Moreover Rosler has started to sow the seeds for the future. In the second half of last season he signed Martyn Waghorn who was to gain the club’s ‘Young Player of the Year’ award. Midfielders Emyr Huws, 21 years old and Adam Forshaw, 23, are players of real technical ability with work rates to match. Andy Delort, 23, banged in 24 goals for Tours last season, and like Riera, will score goals at Wigan when the service improves. Full backs, James Tavernier, 22, and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, 23, are both talented players who will be carefully groomed for Championship football.

Rosler had little choice in  the departures of Beausejour, Gomez and McArthur because of financial constraints imposed upon him. However, he has been financially astute in the transfer market,  signing players who were free agents and others at close to bargain prices. He has brought in ten new players with his outlay being only marginally more than the money that has come in.

Millwall come to the DW Stadium tomorrow night having done the double over Latics last season. Will it be the turning point, when Rosler’s team embarks on a successful run of results? Lady Luck has hardly shined on Latics so far this season. Will this be the match in which it does? A deflected shot going in or a soft penalty decision in Latics’ favour – the kind of “luck” that this team needs.

If the results against Millwall and Derby were to go against Latics and Whelan were to step in to replace Rosler, what would happen next?

The prospect of a new manager coming in and the whole merry-go-round that tends to follow is not what the club needs. The transition from Coyle to Rosler brought in ten new players, but the German brought only Chris Haslam from his backroom staff at Brentford. However, most managers prefer to bring in their own men and it would involve more upheaval at a time when the club does not need it.

It would be more likely a change from within. The names of Eric Black and Gary Caldwell are already being put forward on the social media.

Despite the poor results so far this season, Rosler has built a strong and well balanced squad. Fitness issues now seem to be resolved and with time the new players will settle in.The challenge for whoever is in charge over these coming months will be to get the best out of those players.

Uwe Rosler has shown before how he can overcome adversity. Who could say with certainly at this stage that he will not bring Latics back into contention for a return to the Premier League?

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