Category Archives: Reflections

The departure of the cup winning icons

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

watsonSteve Bruce signed Ben Watson for Wigan Athletic in January 2009. Watson scored what was considered a crucial goal in a 2-1 win away at Sunderland a couple of months later. But neither Bruce nor Watson could have guessed that the same player would score the most important goal in Latics’ history some four years later.

Ben Watson became a household name through his fantastic header from Shaun Maloney’s corner. He caught the attention of not only the media, but also of other football clubs. Watson’s contract ends in summer and there is a strong possibility that Latics will cash in on any reasonable offer that comes in.

It has never been easy for the likeable Watson at Wigan. In his early years with the club he was sent off on loan to both West Bromwich and Queens Park Rangers. His best season was in 2011-12 when he made 23 starts with 6 appearances from the bench. In the latter part of that season he was superb in the deep-lying playmaker role as Latics shocked the Premier League elite with amazing results.

Jordi Gomez’s contract is also up at the end of the season.

Gomez was pivotal in the cup run, scoring three goals and making four assists. His assist for Callum McManaman’s goal in the semi-final against Millwall will stick in the minds of Wigan supporters for years to come. In the FA Cup Final Gomez had played remarkably well in a midfield holding role, but as fate would decree, he was the one to go off after 81 minutes to allow Watson to come on.

Like Watson, Gomez has never had an easy time at Wigan.

Roberto Martinez brought him to Wigan in the summer of 2009, following excellent performances for Swansea. Gomez tends to polarize opinion at Wigan. His fans regard him as a skilful player who can dictate play and make a difference. His detractors would say he does not like” to get stuck in” and passes the ball sideways or backwards too often

Were either Gomez or Watson to leave Latics this month they would leave behind great memories of their role in the club winning the FA Cup. But why would Latics allow them to leave?

Financial considerations must clearly come into play. Latics have had a huge drop in their revenue through relegation from the Premier League.

A look at what happened to Bolton Wanderers a year before is chilling.

Last season Bolton spent their first year back in the Championship after 11 years in the ‘greed league’. They have recently released the financial figures for the year ending June 2013. It reveals a loss of £50.7m.

They had a turnover of £28.5m, compared with £58.5m the year before. Although they had cut staff salaries down around 33% from the previous year is still came to £37.4m, way beyond turnover. Gate receipts amounted to only £3.8m. It is the broadcast revenue that hit Bolton hardest, at £19m compared with £42m the year before.

Even with a parachute payment of around £16m, Bolton still made a huge loss.

Bolton continue to survive thanks to owner, Eddie Davies, to whom they are indebted by over £150m. However, financial fair play regulations will tighten the knot on Davies’ contribution in the future.

In Latics’ latter years in the Premier League Dave Whelan put them on a sound financial footing. Roberto Martinez worked wonders on a limited budget and won the FA Cup in the process.

It is now a period of adjustment. Wigan Athletic have to deal with the decreased revenues in the Championship and make best use of their parachute payments while they last.

Big money signings in the January transfer windows are unlikely. Latics need to continue to downsize their staffing costs towards Championship norms.

One thing is for sure. The financial gap between the Premier League and the Championship will continue to grow.

Wigan Athletic need to regain their place in the elite league or risk sinking down into the lower echelons when the parachute payments run out. Let’s look at playing the likes of Liverpool or Arsenal, rather than Rochdale or Macclesfield.

In order to maintain financial stability it will not only be the likes of Ben Watson and Jordi Gomez in the shop window for the January sales.

But both players will have a place in the hearts of Wigan Athletic supporters if they do depart this month.

Without them Latics would not have won the FA Cup.

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Evolution over revolution as Wigan welcomes Uwe Rosler

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

2013-rosler

Despite an awful run of form resulting in the club’s lowest league position in the better part of a decade, the formal unveiling of new boss Uwe Rosler at the DW Stadium earlier today appears to have injected a welcome breath of positivity at Wigan Athletic.

Flanked by chief executive Jonathan Jackson and club chairman Dave Whelan, the German hit all the right notes during an insightful half hour press conference. His approach serious and considered, Rosler did much to suggest he will embrace the groundwork set in place at the club by Roberto Martinez, while tweaking the finer details in playing style to suit his own brand of football.

He referenced a high-tempo passing and pressing game employing a 4-3-3 formation, similar in some ways to the Spaniard’s preferred system, but different in others — hinting that there would be an emphasis on pace and energy, and a commitment to pushing bodies forward in attack. Although we will have to wait and see exactly how these changes manifest themselves, the comparison between the Martinez and Rosler blueprints does not sound far off the transition Swansea underwent from Brendan Rodgers tikki-takka to Michael Laudrup’s skill-based but more direct approach.

Whelan once again commented on the hiring process, reiterating the goal of a Premier League return as soon as possible, and backing his new man to be a huge success at Wigan. When asked about specifically about Callum McManaman and James McLean, Rosler described them each as exciting, fast and direct players that would fit his system, while reserving a diplomatic word about room for improvement in McLean’s final pass. He also opined that the change in management and style, plus the fixture congestion with the club taking part in the Europa League group stages, posed huge challenges to the club earlier this season.

There was a quiet resolve and confidence about Rosler’s delivery that is already generating optimism amongst supporters on social media outlets. The hope is that he will be able to swiftly convey it to his new players and that such desire will manifest itself on the pitch in coming weeks. His description of the opportunity as a “dream” to join “such a big club” will likely please many but also felt genuine, while his long-term views and discussion of player development suggest he is in it for the long haul.

More immediately, he made it clear that next weekend’s Championship fixture against Bolton will be the priority, but that the midweek trip to Maribor was a winnable contest. It should also provide him a good chance to get to know some of the personalities in the squad as the Latics embark on their final Europa League group stage adventure as a squad.

Interestingly, the new manager spoke about having developed a relationship with Martinez since Rob Kiernan joined Brentford on loan in 2012, but confirmed that he had not consulted the Spaniard before taking the position over the weekend. In a curious twist of fate, Martinez himself was today in Wigan being honoured at Wigan’s “walk of stars” for his achievement in winning the FA Cup last season. Chairman Whelan, also being honoured at the event, was several minutes late to the press conference as a result.

All of which may have been pure coincidence, but you do get the sense that this was an appointment made with Martinez in mind. Whelan was displeased by Coyle’s rejection of the style his predecessor had spent three years implementing from the youth teams all the way up through the first team. With this appointment, the chairman has made clear his hope for a period of evolution rather than revolution at Wigan Athletic.

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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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Latinos ready for Brighton

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

Both Jean Beausejour and Roger Espinoza have had a busy week, but neither would complain if Owen Coyle put them in the lineup against Brighton on Saturday.

What are the chances?

Beausejour played for the first 81 minutes for Chile at Wembley on Friday, then came on as a substitute after only 8 minutes against Brazil in Toronto on Tuesday, completing the remainder of the match.

Beausejour was a key component of Chile’s fine 2-0 win over England. His expert close control in tight situations, together with his patient approach, helped Chile build dangerous moves down the right hand side of England’s defence.

He came early in Toronto because of an injury to midfield dynamo Marcelo Diaz. Brazil went 1-0 up after 10 minutes but Chile got one back when Eduardo Vargas scored a spectacular goal from his headed pass after 71 minutes

Chile had been far from overwhelmed against Brazil, but eventually went down 2-1 to an 80th minute goal from Robinho.

Chile are certainly seeking the right kind of opposition in preparation for the trip to Brazil in June.

Espinoza played for the first 64 minutes against Brazil in Miami, in front of a crowd of 71,000. When he went off Honduras were losing 2-0. They let in another three without him. Check out  this video clip to see how impressive Espinoza looked in that match. Bleacher Report rated him Honduras’ best performer.

Espinoza came on after 46 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Ecuador in Houston on Tuesday. Honduras were trailing 1-0 at half time, but got to 2-1 ahead until Ecuador equalized in the 89th minute. Both teams had been down to 10 men, Wilson Palacios having been sent off after 84 minutes.

Honduras used a total of 12 substitutes in those two matches, in an attempt to give a wide range of players an opportunity to show what they could do against quality opposition. That Espinoza played 109 minutes in the two games is therefore not a reflection upon his performance.

Brazil are going to be the team to beat in June and Honduras needed to play strong opposition outside their usual opponents in CONCACAF. Ecuador are no push-overs either, having finished fourth in the highly competitive South American qualifying competition.

Despite playing well against world class opposition for their countries neither Beausejour nor Espinoza is likely to make the starting lineup against Brighton.

Beausejour missed recent Latics matches through a foot injury, but currently has to compete with James McClean and Callum McManaman for a place on the left flank.

Despite a Man of the Match performance in Kazan, Espinoza was not retained in the starting lineup at Yeovil. In fact he was brought off the bench with five minutes to go. Coyle is blessed with a strong squad of holding midfield players and has rotated them well, with the exception of Espinoza who he has repeatedly snubbed.

In the Brazil match Espinoza played wide in left midfield, not his best position, but he nevertheless looked very involved, winning the ball and putting in some excellent passes.

Coyle has lined up with both Jordi Gomez and James McArthur in wide midfield positions, with little success. He brought Espinoza off the bench in the Charlton match to play wide on the left and the Honduran did not do badly.

Juan Carlos Garcia was also in the Honduras squad for both matches and came on as a substitute after 81 minutes against Brazil. Coyle still has not started him at left back, although he did play in left midfield in the League Cup loss to Manchester City. It would be a big surprise if he started on Saturday.

There is good news for Latics in that the excellent Ivan Ramis is ready to compete for a place, after 10 months out through injury. It will interesting to see if Coyle is willing to put Ramis in the rotation with Leon Barnett, Thomas Rogne and Ryan Shotton for the centre back positions.

At the time of his injury at Fulham in January, Ramis was looking a quality Premier League defender –  a good reader of the game with a strong tackle. Ramis will have to adjust to the high ball game played by so many teams in the Championship, but at 6’2” he is quite capable in the air.

Passing the ball out of defence is something Ramis is good at and the other centre backs in the squad should take note. Too often they have taken the easy option of the long ball or the pass back to the goalkeeper, the end result more often than not being Latics losing possession.

It looks like Will Keane will be shortly be signed on loan.  Although Keane’s signing would look like  a positive move we will have to wait and see if Dave Whelan is going to allow Coyle to make a big money purchase of an experienced striker with a proven record of success.

With a busy month coming up it is going to be interesting to see how Coyle rotates his squad.

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