Category Archives: Reflections

Europa or Championship for Latics?

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

When Ben Watson scored that wonderful last minute header at Wembley he changed the face of Wigan Athletic FC, as we had known it.

Latics had announced themselves on the global map.

For so many years Latics had to put up with the “little club” tag, seemingly doomed to the lower reaches of the Football League. Outsiders viewed Wigan as a rugby town, a view more than supported by Maurice Lindsay in an infamous television interview in the 1980’s. His stance was symptomatic of the condescending attitude of rugby league followers of the time. It made Latics supporters’  blood boil. Was the club ever going to rid itself of that image?

How times have changed. After eight years in the Premier League and winning the FA Cup, the name of Wigan Athletic is now known worldwide. Although the rugby club remain a big fish in a small pond their football counterpart has moved on.

Latics now have an opportunity to gain further prestige through their participation in the Europa League.

In the days prior to the FA Cup final so many Latics fans were saying that, if they had the choice of staying in the Premier League or winning the FA Cup, they would choose the former. One wonders how many were to think differently when the Cup came to Wigan.

So what would be the priority this time around – promotion out of the Championship or progression in the Europa League?

It could be argued that Latics’ FA Cup run had an adverse effect on their league position in the last campaign. The end of season fixture congestion that resulted in them having to play a make-or-break match at Highbury only three days after the Cup Final victory was cruel and merciless.

However, if anything put Latics out of the Premier League last season it was injuries. The result was a lack of continuity in team selection and a cruel decimation of playing resources at the end of the season when all those fixtures came raining in.

Owen Coyle has worked wonders in the transfer market by bringing in 12 new players since he started in July. It leaves him with a squad of 30 players – marginally bigger than that of Roberto Martinez last season – but containing  Ali Al-Habsi, Gary Caldwell and Ivan Ramis who are still out of action due to long term injuries.

Much will depend on his deployment of the young professionals contained therein. Last year Callum McManaman and Roman Golobart were the ones who made the starting lineup in the league. We will have to wait to see if Coyle will include the other young pros – Adam Buxton, Nouha Dicko, Rob Kiernan, Jordan Mustoe, Lee Nicholls and Danny Redmond – in the rotations.

If Coyle’s squad has a weakness then it is in the area of attack, with only two central strikers available. With Grant Holt already out until October Latics fans will pray that Marc-Antoine Fortune avoids injury.  Coyle continues to look for forwards through the loan market. Speculation suggests that he wants to bring Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn initially on loan with a view to a £9 m permanent move in January. But, however cash-strapped Blackburn might be, they are unlikely to want to lose their most prized asset to local rivals. Moreover Dave Whelan is going to think twice about spending so much on a player who has never played at the highest level of English football.

It will be interesting to see what kind of lineup Coyle chooses for the Zulte Waregem tie on Thursday. It will be an indication of how important he sees the Europa League compared with the Championship.

Latics fans will hope they give a good account of themselves in both.

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A look at Latics’ Europa League opposition – Part 2: NK Maribor

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

Wigan Athletic’s second match in the Europa League is scheduled for October 3rd with a visit from NK Maribor of Slovenia.

Maribor currently top the PrvaLiga – the Slovenian League. After winning their first six league matches they were held to a disappointing 1-1 home draw by Gorica on Sunday.

Last season Maribor won the 10 team PrvaLiga by a margin of 8 points.  As Slovenian champions they entered the  second qualifying round of the 2013-14 Champions League, being drawn against Birkikara of Romania. Home and away victories against the Romanian team put them into the third qualifying round where they met APOEL of Nicosia.

Maribor came away from the first leg in Cyprus with a hard fought 1-1 draw courtesy of a header from Brazilian forward Magno Tavares.  Maribor were to qualify for the playoffs through a 0-0 draw in Slovenia, after having to withstand a second half barrage from the Cypriot team. However, with the Champions League group stage beckoning they were to come unstuck against Czech champions, Viktoria Plzen, losing 3-1 away and 1-0 at home.

Jurij_PivkaMaribor is a beautiful town of around 95,000 inhabitants in the Styria region in the north east  of Slovenia. It is around 60 miles from the capital Ljubljana.

Nogometni  Klub Maribor was founded in 1960. The club initially played in the Yugoslav leagues, competing in the top tier from 1967-72. During that time their highest league position was 10th place in the 1969-70 season.

In 1991 Slovenia had broken away from Yugoslavia and they established their own football league. Since then NK Maribor have dominated the PrvaLiga, winning it 11 times and the Slovenian Cup 8 times.

The Ljudskivrt Stadium

The Ljudskivrt Stadium

NK Maribor play at the Ljudskivrt stadium, built in 1952 on the banks of the Drava River. It has a capacity of 12,994. They play in an all purple kit.

Despite being a small club by European standards Maribor have reached the group stage of the Champions League in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. They frequently lose their prized assets to bigger clubs, but nurture talented young players through their youth programme.

Much of Maribor’s more recent success can be attributed to the appointment of national hero, Zlatko Zahovic, as their Director of Football in 2007. The ex-Benfica and Porto attacking midfielder  was the key figure in  Slovenia  qualifying for both the World Cup and the European Championship in the early 2000’s. He played a record 80 games for his country, scoring 35 goals.

Maribor enter the Europa league after already playing six matches in European competition this season. This well-run club continues to punch above its weight and should not be underestimated.

With such a wealth of experience behind them in European competitions they are going to be hard to beat.

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Latics get Manchester City again as the Coyle revolution stutters

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

The realists might say that Roberto Martinez left Wigan Athletic at the right time.

Despite a meagre budget Martinez kept the club in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons.  In his time at Wigan his teams recorded victories against the elite clubs who dominate the league – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham .

Wigan’s operating budget during Martinez’s tenure was around a quarter or a third of those of the elite clubs. Despite his achievements there were fans who wanted him gone. With the ups came the downs and Latics were on the receiving end of many a hammering from those same clubs.

Martinez’ critics just didn’t like the tiki-taka  style of play and wanted a more direct approach. They never understood why he would not field twin strikers – the term ’lone’ centre forward was an apt description for unfortunates such as Jason Scotland and Hugo Rodallega who got little service or support. They said there were too many foreigners who did not take pride in wearing the Latics shirt. Why weren’t  local lads being given a chance?

However, Martinez had masses of self-belief and courage. He was not to be swayed by his critics and he held firm to his principles. The incredible FA Cup final victory over Manchester City was earned through playing football the Martinez way. They beat City on merit, committing only 5 fouls (compared with City’s 11) and receiving only one yellow card (City had three yellows and one red). It was an exceptional achievement that put Wigan Athletic on the global football map. It was not just the result, but also the style with which it was achieved, that impressed the millions of viewers all over the world.

Through their longevity in the Premier League and winning the FA Cup in such style Wigan Athletic have shed the “small club” image that dogged them for so many years.  However, now that they have risen up the totem pole, so too have expectations. This year Latics are expected to give a good account of themselves in the Europa League, to challenge for promotion from the Championship, at the same time maintaining their reputation for good football.

Owen Coyle is now the man in the Latics hot seat who will have to maintain that same level of strength of conviction shown by his predecessor. Expectations are high and the pressure is on. Wigan’s best chance at getting back into the Premier League is while they have a competitive advantage over other clubs in the Championship through parachute payments.

However, like Martinez before him, Coyle is working under budgetary constraints. It is hard to believe he has sold two players, brought in ten, and still has cash in hand. Coyle’s work in the transfer market is not yet finished – he desperately needs at least one more quality striker and one more defender.

Coyle arrived following a mass exodus of players at the end of the Martinez era. Moreover there remain three players with long-term injuries who would excel at Championship level were they fully fit. Two of them – Ali Al Habsi and Gary Caldwell – were recipients of the club’s ‘Player of the Season’ award for their performances at Premier League level. Add to them  Ivan Ramis, who might well have been in the running for that same award last year had he not suffered a cruciate knee ligament in January.

Coyle has been appointed with a brief of getting immediate success. While Martinez always looked towards the future and took a more long-term view, Coyle does not have that opportunity. Coyle has brought in new players who have the experience and ability to get Latics out of the Championship. Few would be likely to stay at the club for the long haul were Latics to get promoted.

Coyle has had a rollercoaster ride during his couple of months at Wigan. His initial appointment was not well received by many fans, but he managed to win people round by his hard work in the transfer market and his optimistic outlook. Following a 4-0 win over a poor Barnsley side, Latics fans were riding on a wave of optimism . No wins in the following four matches has doused the good cheer and the manager is already under attack from disgruntled fans.

Things have not gone according to plan. In the absence of a strong leader of the back line – like Caldwell and Ramis – there have been defensive weaknesses that have been effectively exploited by the opposition.

Of the new signings only the goalkeeper, Scott Carson, has consistently impressed. Moreover most of the senior pros remaining from the Martinez era have not yet shown their best form.

What a coincidence that Latics have been drawn to play at Manchester City in the Carling Cup  on September 25th.  By then Wigan will have played three more league games, plus their debut fixture in the Europa League.

In the meantime Owen Coyle will be looking at getting his key players back to form. His squad is certainly capable of challenging for promotion, but a showdown with City is a different matter.

It is a long season ahead and the Coyle revolution is going to have its ups and downs. Let’s hope that recent performances prove to be no more than stutters in the path ahead.

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Latics and Height

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

tall&short
Do you need height to win matches in the Championship?

Doncaster Rovers were already 1-0 up in the 43rd minute at the DW Stadium on Tuesday when the 6’2” Bonjani Khumalo crossed the ball to the 6’7” Rob Jones. Jones headed the ball into the path of 6’1” Chris Brown who headed home. Soon after half time Khumalo saw his header strike the post. Then after Wigan’s last minute equalizer a header from 6’1” substitute Billy Painter hit the crossbar in time added on.

To be fair Doncaster’s football is not only about aerial power. Their first goal came from 5’9” striker Theo Robinson who turned and slotted the ball home in style. On the other hand when a team has a defence as tall as Doncaster’s they are less likely to concede headed goals from crosses or set pieces.Latics please take note.

Wigan Athletic’s tallest defender in that match was Leon Barnett, at 6’2’. Both Emmerson Boyce and James Perch are 5’11”, while Stephen Crainey is 5’9”. This is not to say that Wigan didn’t have tall players in their squad. Chris McCann is 6’1”, although not  well known for his heading ability. Central strikers Grant Holt and Marc-Antoine Fortune are both 6’.

Surely the best way to unlock a defence like Doncaster’s is to run at them and not to loft the ball in the air. In order to do that Wigan need to win those 50-50 balls in midfield and use the ball intelligently. The central striker needs support from the flanks and the midfield.

It needs a lot of graft and hard work to overcome teams like Doncaster who can be uncompromising, well organized and industrious. An interesting statistic was that no Latics player received a card, while Doncaster got three yellows.

The Bournemouth and Doncaster games have given Wigan Athletic a wakeup call. Latics are in a period of transition and are struggling to find a consistent style of play. Ideally they should be able to switch from the possession-mode to the direct-mode as required, but this is still a work in progress.

In that final Premier League season the opposition had started to realize that the stylish football played by Roberto Martinez’s teams could be disrupted by “high pressing”, preventing them from stroking the ball around in their own half.

Championship teams will surely follow suit with Owen Coyle’s teams. When this happens Wigan are going to need more ‘off the ball’ movement from players further forward, allowing defenders to bypass the press. This is a different matter to what we have seen so far when defenders have too often put in hopeful punts which have been gratefully received by the opposition defence.

Not all teams in the Championship will pose an aerial threat like Doncaster and the understanding between Leon Barnett and James Perch in the centre of defence will surely grow as the season moves on. But there will be competition for defensive positions.

The Honduran, Juan Carlos Garcia,  6’2” , can play left back or centre back and is likely to be pushing for a place. The 6’4’ Thomas Royne and 6’2” Ivan Ramis remain on the injury list, but their aerial power is going to be useful once they get back to full fitness. If Gary Caldwell can fully recover from hip surgery he will be a real force at this level.

Let’s hope that the last two games have been a learning experience for Latics. The squad is laden with players with the quality to excel at Championship level, but they need to be physically and mentally tougher if they are to regularly beat teams like Doncaster.

The aerial threat of the opposition is minimised when you cut off their supply lines. Doing so requires hard work and commitment.

Only time will tell if this talented Latics squad has the steel to match its skill. The Middlesbrough game on Saturday will give Latics the opportunity to show that they can learn from adversity.

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Wigan Athletic v Dundee United Preview

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

On Saturday,  Wigan Athletic play host to Dundee United at the DW Stadium. It will be their final warm-up fixture before the Championship season starts for the at Barnsley on August 3rd.

By the time it gets to the final pre-season game a manager tends to have a good idea of what his first choice lineup will be.

Owen Coyle has skillfully shuffled his pack in the previous four pre-season games, giving game time plus an opportunity to all his available squad players to show their mettle. However, we can expect the starting lineup for the United match to be pretty similar to the side which lines up at Oakwell.

Dundee United had a disappointing  season last year,  finishing sixth in the SPL  – but important to them  – they were six places above Dundee, who were relegated. The bitter rivalry between the two clubs – whose grounds are just 150 yards apart – continues after already spanning a century.

Dundee – the “True Blues” of the city – were formed in 1893 and have won the Scottish League once, in 1962-63.

Dundee United – originally known as Dundee Hibernian – were formed by the Irish Catholic community in the city in 1909. They changed their original green colours to tangerine in the 1960s. Like their close neighbours they have won the Scottish League once, that being in 1982-83. However, the Blues have had hard times over recent years and it is the Tangerines who have maintained their status in the highest level of Scottish football, as well as reaching the European Cup semi final in 1984 and the UEFA Cup final in 1987.

The last encounter between Wigan and United  was at Tannadice Park three years ago when Latics won 3-1 in a pre-season match, when Mauro Boselli scored two and set up a cracker for Victor Moses from 25 yards.

Owen Coyle will have fond memories of his time at Tannadice, playing for United from 1993-1995, having  joined them from Bolton. He was to return there briefly in 2003-2004.

A team which has finished in mid-table in the SPL is clearly going to offer Coyle’s side some degree of challenge. Results have gone well for Wigan in pre-season up to this point, although the opposition has been weak at times. Latics did well to beat Atromitos, only a day after returning from their US journey, with the associated jet lag. The Greeks have been their strongest opponents so far.

Coyle is still lacking mainline defenders and it looks like big Norwegian centre back Thomas Rogne is still not fit enough to play. If he is  not available the Coyle will have to choose between rookie Adam Buxton at right back or midfielder Chris McCann at centre back, the versatile Emmerson Boyce being able to switch as needed. James Perch, who has had an excellent pre-season at centre back, and the experienced and solid Stephen Crainey will make up the rest of the back four. If fully fit, Scott Carson wil start in goal.

Latics are blessed with a fine squad of midfield players. Coyle has lots of options available. However, Ben Watson is likely to start in the midfield holding role, just in front of the back four. James McCarthy  and James McArthur are favourites to take the other central midfield roles. Callum McManaman and Jean Beausejour are the natural wide players and Marc-Antoine Fortune has done enough to justify selection at centre forward ahead of Grant Holt, with fine displays capped by well taken goals so far.

Shaun Maloney has not appeared as much as he might have liked in the pre-season up to this point, due to a niggling injury. One wonders if Coyle will use him in the playmaker role – where he is most effective – or push him out wide. Maloney could play a key role in the promotion push.

Jordi Gomez and Roger Espinoza have looked lively in pre-season and will also be knocking on the door. Nouha Dicko is at hand to provide the unpredictable element if brought on.

It promises to be a fascinating encounter. It will certainly provide us with an insight into Owen Coyle’s thoughts about the formation of his team, with the new season coming up the following week.

In the meantime Coyle will continue to pursue his transfer targets – at least four more according to his own words – some of which will be on loan. The saga with the transfer of winger Albert Adomah from Bristol City continues to muddle on, but it is going to be defenders that will be the main priority.

Coyle has achieved so much up to this point, but he still has a lot of work to do in getting his squad ready to challenge for a return to the Premier League.

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