Category Archives: Reflections

Wingers hold the key for Latics

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

2012-beausejour

Ben Watson’s great run into the penalty box in the 34th minute of the recent Maribor match enabled him to put Latics into the driving seat with a 2-0 lead. Watson’s header was spot-on, but would not have been possible without a wonderful cross from Jean Beausejour on the left.

One of the features of Latics’ historic first home match in the Europa League was the width with which they played. Maribor were stretched in coping with Callum McManaman on the right and Beausejour on the left.

The Chilean received an ‘assist’ for Watson’s goal, but should have had more as he laid on chances that were spurned, despite his sublime crosses.

There are fans who don’t like Beausejour’s style or say he is lazy. He is not the kind of wide player who can speed past a full back to the by-line. Neither could David Beckham.

However, like Beckham he has the ability to squeeze through inch-perfect crosses from tight situations.  Beausejour played largely as a wing back in the past couple of seasons  – the most demanding position as far as running and sacrifice are concerned. Maybe the Chilean looks a little chubby and ungainly, which gives people the impression that he is lazy. The reality is that he is a team player who does not shirk his responsibilities or hide during a game.

Last season Beausejour provided seven Premier League assists, one less than Shaun Maloney. Although he only joined the club in the January transfer window he led with five assists in the 2011-12 season.  The Chilean has sometimes been employed at left back under Owen Coyle, which is not his best position, but gives the manager more options. If the opposition play without an orthodox right winger Coyle might continue to be tempted to put Beausejour in that position to provide a more attacking balance on the left.

Callum McManaman was starting to look more like himself before he was taken off early in the second half against the Slovenian side. It has been a difficult season for him so far, fighting injuries and illness. At his best he can stretch any defence with his directness and acceleration.

McManaman’s style contrasts with that of Beausejour. The 22 year old is the kind of player who can get to the by-line and cut the ball back. He is also a natural goalscorer and can shoot with both feet. Latics need him back to full fitness.

James McClean is 24 years old and took a pay cut to join Latics. He is fighting to get a place in the starting line-up. McClean’s workrate cannot be faulted and he is not afraid to run at the opponent’s defence. He has a good left foot and genuine pace.

Although he started in 44 Premier League games over the past two seasons he has yet to reach his peak. At times Coyle has played him on the right flank, in the kind of role that Charles N’Zogbia played in the Martinez era. Some say McClean lacks the close control to play in that position, but he can be dangerous when cutting inside to shoot.

McClean’s style also contrasts with that of Beausejour.  The Chilean is best with the ball played to his feet, whereas the Irishman is at his most threatening when he can use his pace to run on to through balls. Coyle will use him on either flank and with continued playing time McClean is going to get better and better.

Nouha Dicko is still only 21 and is another wide player with real pace. His first team opportunities continue to be limited and one wonders when he is finally going to get a start in a league game.

Shaun Maloney remains unavailable through injury. When he comes back he is going to have to fight Jordi Gomez and Nick Powell for his best position – the advanced midfield role. We are likely to see him on the wing at times.

Coyle has wingers who can be match winners. Providing they can stay fit and that the team lines up  with width there are some exciting times ahead for Latics.

Grant Holt and Marc-Antoine Fortune will be licking their lips at the service they are going to get from the wide men.

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Poyet and Wigan

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

The rumours are that Gus Poyet is lined up for the vacant position of Sunderland manager.

A few months ago Dave Whelan was looking for a new manager, but Poyet was still involved in wranglings over his controversial dismissal at Brighton. Where would Wigan Athletic be now if Poyet had taken over at the DW?

Poyet’s Brighton last season had been playing a kind of football akin to that of Wigan Athletic under Roberto Martinez. If Whelan had wanted to carry on the footballing tradition put in place by Martinez, Poyet was the most obvious choice.

Poyet had joined Brighton, struggling in League 1, in November 2009. Within no time the style of play had changed to something unseen before at the south coast club.  Moreover it brought excellent results. Poyet steered the club to safety in that first season, then to the League 1 title in 2010-11, when he was named ‘Manager of the Year’ in the division. Last year Brighton adjusted well and made a late run to reach the playoffs in the Championship, but were thwarted by Crystal Palace.

Why Poyet was sacked soon after remains a mystery, but his record was undeniably good. He had transformed a disjointed, struggling League 1 team into a formidable side who played with an emphasis on skill. Moves built up from the back, with the ball on the ground – not a common sight in the frantic Championship, let alone League 1.

Poyet’s name was one of many banded about by the media to replace Martinez,  but in the end it came down to either Owen Coyle or Steve McClaren, both experienced and capable managers who could do a job for the club. However, once their candidacy was made public the writing was already on the wall for Latics’ playing style, which had been developed over a period of four years at all levels within the club.

Latics were to choose a manager diametrically opposed to the previous one in terms of football philosophy and tactical approach. In contrast, Brighton sought to find someone who could continue to build on the work of Poyet. Oscar Garcia was to be their new appointment.

On his appointment Garcia said that “My obsession is to attack, to attack the opposition, to keep the ball and to have the ball as many times as possible”. They could have been the words of Roberto Martinez or Gus Poyet.

Looking at Garcia’s background it is not surprising that he espouses that philosophy. He was an attacking midfielder for Barcelona in the 1990’s, winning no fewer than 11 trophies in his time with them as a player. From 2010-12 he was in charge of Barcelona’s famous youth academy at La Masia, before going on to take Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Israeli title for the first time in ten years. Maccabi’s owner had wanted to change their philosophy to develop a more attractive style of football.

Neither Garcia at Brighton nor Coyle at Wigan has had an easy start to the season. Brighton and Latics  stand neck-and-neck just below mid-table at this point. Both clubs have had injury problems and have not yet  performed at their best.

It will be interesting to see who is higher in the table at the end of the season. Will it be the club who appointed someone to build on past success by maintaining a certain style of football or will it be the one for which the style is secondary to good results and promotion back to the Premier League?

It seems a long time since Roberto Martinez left Wigan. His Everton team are currently unbeaten and in fourth place in the Premier League. Moreover the quality of their football has noticeably improved in his short tenure there.

Martinez certainly had his up and downs at Wigan, but he proved that a club of relatively modest means can win the FA Cup – on merit, through playing attractive football.

Whether Martinez can maintain the good results at Everton remains to be seen. The Goodison club just don’t have the financial resources to consistently challenge the elite. However, he has certainly confounded his critics and made a good start.

Football would be boring if all teams played in the same way. People like Guardiola and Allardyce have widely different philosophies, but both have produced results out of what they have had available.

The question is not of choosing one style over another, but how to provide progression within a club. Surely Coyle would be wise to build on the good things that Martinez put in place, working on the weaknesses, rather than throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A better defence and a more direct and urgent approach in attack would help.

Only time will tell if Coyle is willing or able to do that. Who knows what would have happened had Poyet been appointed at Wigan in July?

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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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