Category Archives: Specials

Caldwell’s belief

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Specials and tagged with ,
He's a believer

He’s a believer

Dave Whelan preferred rolling contracts for managers. It was therefore no surprise when his grandson and successor, David Sharpe gave one to Gary Caldwell in early April stating that:

‘That shows how much I believe in Gary. It’s definitely not just for the next five games, he’s got a free hit at it really. If he keeps us up it’s a miracle and if we go down it’s expected by everybody in this room but Gary will back himself to keep us up. This is a long-term thing and we’re looking forward to the future with him that gets us back to our identity on and off the pitch and brings the positive times back to this football club.’

But what is a rolling contract? The Financial Times defines it as:

“A contract that continues until an agreed period of notice (amount of time before you are told that you no longer have a job), rather than until a particular date.”

Caldwell’s “rolling contract” can hardly make him feel secure, but the rookie manager exudes a level of confidence and self-belief that suggests he can deal with his situation, even if it was the downfall of his recent predecessors. It appears that previous managers were given pay-offs to sweeten the bitter pill of being dismissed, but given his contractual situation Caldwell cannot automatically expect that.

Caldwell’s optimism about the future of his newly formed team and his belief in a style of play is reminiscent of his ex-boss Roberto Martinez. He is not only eloquent but bold in enunciating his philosophy of football. For a 32 year old manager in his first job he is impressive.

Caldwell’s players are not on rolling contracts. They at least have the security of fixed term contracts. But Caldwell and his recruitment team have been careful with the contracts they have handed out. The over thirties David Perkins, Kevin McNaughton and Jussi Jaaskellainen, were given one year contracts, the youngsters receiving more long term versions.

The club has therefore already covered itself for the worst case scenario of not achieving promotion within these final two years with parachute payments. Were Latics to still be in League One two years from now their salaries budget would be likely to be no more than £3m, compared with around £10m at the present. Further evidence to suggest it is being run on sound, businesslike principles. Far from the norm of so many football clubs in England.

Like any new manager Caldwell has his critics. There are those who never liked him as a player and still don’t as a manager. There are others who don’t like the return to what they consider the tiki-taka approach of Martinez. Some say that Latics are run by a naïve young duo, Caldwell and Sharpe, and question their credibility. Is Caldwell expecting too much from players used to a more direct style of play at their previous clubs to adapt to “tiki taca”? It is results that matter more than anything else at football clubs and Caldwell has won only four of thirteen matches under his charge.

However, the majority of Wigan Athletic supporters stand clearly behind Caldwell. He has restored belief after a period of devastation at the club. Some will question some of his tactical decisions early on in his reign, his preference for three at the back rather than four, his reluctance to employ a twin strike force away from home. But most will forgive the inconsistency that has dogged the opening games, having seen glimpses of what might be.

At this point Latics are in a mid-table position with a record of W3 D1 L3. However, the W2 D1 L0 home record contrasts sharply with the away stats of W1 D0 L3. Latics have not conceded a league goal at home and there is already talk of the DW Stadium becoming a fortress, not to be scaled by visiting teams. Given the woeful home performances of last season, fans can now at least start to look forward to watching their team at the DW. The performance against Scunthorpe was spectacular, and even if those against Doncaster and Crewe were more mundane, they showed that the team can roll up its sleeves and stop the other team from scoring.

Caldwell and his staff have done a remarkable job in recruiting no less than twenty new players, with only the vestiges of those from those of the Rosler era remaining. His immediate target is to inculcate a winning mentality into a club which had lost its way over the previous twelve months. Those new players are not tainted by the lack of self-belief that plagued so many of the squad last season. However, fans will be hoping that the club will enable the new players to settle in much better than those brought in by Rosler last season. It is too early to say if the players Caldwell has brought in are good enough to achieve promotion, but the sheer scale of the reengineering of the playing staff remains impressive.

Not surprisingly a squad of strangers is taking time to gel on the pitch, even if the dressing room might now be a happier place to be. Moreover Caldwell has a young squad, from which some inconsistency in performance is to be expected. Were the majority of those younger players to make the grade this season, helping the club win promotion, they would surely form the backbone of the team for years to come. But nurturing young players within the parameters of promotion bid is asking a lot.

Caldwell’s belief in style of play is not only commendable, but also helps the players to work towards common ends. He is certainly asking a lot from players who have come from clubs where football was played in a different way to come to Wigan and adapt to his style of play. However, he clearly has the belief that they can do it.

Caldwell might have been expected to stick to a consistent formation in each game, giving the players time to adjust to it, to gel. But that has not been the case, the players so often having to switch to different tactical formations. Last Saturday’s substitution of two players after just 40 minutes of play was a shock to many of us and it looked like a young manager making changes too early in the game, leaving himself short of alternatives in the second half. One of the changes was due to injury, but the other was made to enable the team to change to a different shape. It had worked the previous week at Chesterfield so Caldwell boldly tried it again, even if a seasoned manager would have waited at least another twenty minutes to do so.

Caldwell is clearly looking long term, not only in expecting his players to embrace his philosophy of football, but also requiring them to be capable of rapid adjustment to tactical changes.

With a rolling contract Caldwell has minimal job security. However, he continues to have high expectations and has the belief that the players can achieve his targets. Like any football managers he has his detractors, but he has an infectious enthusiasm for the game and a love for the club.

A mid-table position is by no means bad at this stage, while the players continue to gel as a team. The question is how long it will take. Will it happen quickly enough for promotion to be a reality in the current season?

Lots of striking options in the new era

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Other, Specials and tagged with , , , , , , ,
Sharpe promised us a 20 goal striker.

Sharpe promised us a 20 goal striker.

David Sharpe is not afraid to make bold statements. Not only did he prophesy that Latics will smash the league with 100 points, but he also promised a 20 goal a year striker.

Given a tally of 10 points from the first 6 league matches, it leaves another 90 points in the next 40 to reach Sharpe’s target. A tall order, if by no means impossible. Up to this point Craig Davies and Will Grigg have each scored two goals, Jordy Hiwula has one. Attacking midfielder Michael Jacobs also has one.

For Wigan Athletic to reach that 100 point target it will need a major contribution from the strike force. Are the strikers that Latics currently have capable of delivering in a way that those of the past years were unable to?

Last season James McClean was the leading scorer with 6 goals from 37 appearances in all competitions, a sad indictment of the team’s performances. In the previous season under Owen Coyle and Uwe Rosler, Nick Powell led the goalscoring with 12 goals from 38 appearances, closely followed by Jordi Gomez with 11 from 43.

With the arrival of Haris Vuckic and Hiwula, Gary Caldwell has lots of striking options. At this moment in time his preferred choice would seem to be in having  Davies and  Grigg as twin strikers, with Jacobs behind them in an attacking midfield role. However, Grant Holt is progressing towards full fitness following an anterior cruciate injury and if all goes well he can be expected to return during October. Holt can add a kind of physicality to the attack akin to that of Davies,while Hiwula can threaten with his searing pace.

The signing of Vuckic might well complete the attacking jigsaw puzzle for Caldwell. The versatile Slovenian can play the twin striker role, or coming in from wide. Moreover he will surely compete for an attacking midfield role. At Chesterfield both he and Jacobs played attacking midfield roles behind the central striker.

Davies’ recent performances have certainly won over most of the skeptics among the fans. Up to this point he has stayed injury-free and he and Caldwell will be praying that he can stay that way.  Grigg too has impressed with his intelligent play and ball skills. Together they form a formidable striking partnership against League 1 opposition.

Shaq Coulthirst is recovering from a muscle injury, but is likely to return at some point. He too can play wide or in a twin striker role. Media reports suggest that Sanmi Odelusi might go on a short term loan to Portsmouth, seemingly pushed down the striker pecking order by the competition he faces. For Odelusi getting a regular game is important at this stage in his career.

Caldwell will be faced with some difficult choices in choosing his attacking options for Saturday’s visit to Port Vale. Will he play with twin strikers or will he opt for a lone centre forward with two attacking midfielders in support?

Caldwell has been adventurous in his recent formations – with three attacking players and the wing backs pushed far forward, the holding midfield and defence will have to be on its guard. Francisco Junior is due to return from injury and he is the natural option for holding midfield together with David Perkins.

The wins against Chesterfield and Scunthorpe have shown us what Caldwell’s new era team are potentially capable of. There have been moments to cherish. However, the players are still continuing to gel and mixed results are likely to come in over the coming weeks.

However, we have already seen enough to suggest that, in the long run, this “new era” team will prove to be a force to be reckoned with. Sharpe’s promise of a 20 goal striker might even come into fruition.

 

Short term loans or home grown talent?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Specials and tagged with , , , , ,
Francisco Junior's one month loan has been extended to January.

Francisco Junior’s one month loan has been extended to January.

The last match of the 2014-15 season at Brentford typified the kind of football we had been witnessing far too often.

Latics had dominated the game up to the 25th minute, at least in terms of possession. But once a wicked deflection had beaten Lee Nicholls a team with such brittle confidence was never going to be up to the task of getting back into the game. What was to follow was merely a replay of the football we had seen so often over those past months.

Toothless in attack, woeful in defence, passing awful. But there were some saving graces in that 3-0 whitewash.

Gary Caldwell had already sent Leon Clarke back to Wolves and he left out young loanees Josh Murphy, Sheyi  Ojo  and Jerome Sinclair for the visit to Griffin Park.  Moreover he had given Tim Chow the chance to show what he could do in the first team, the 21 year old rewarding his manager’s faith with a headed goal in his first start against Brighton. Caldwell was to give Lee Nicholls his first start of the season in goal. Then after 64 minutes he introduced the 19 year old Jordan Flores and 18 year old Louis Robles for their debuts.

Caldwell’s actions looked like a bold statement at the time, giving a chance to home grown players. Fans had been asking questions for months. Why had Malky Mackay continued to ignore the young talent already at Wigan, giving priority to those from the likes of Liverpool and Norwich?

Caldwell was to continue in a similar vein in the pre-season, bringing in a host of development squad players alongside the senior professionals for the games at Altrincham and Southport.  Then Flores, Robles and Ryan Jennings were to make the starting lineup against Partick Thistle, the latter scoring a well taken goal. Sadly Chow was injured in the next game at Dundee and has not yet reappeared. But Flores was to go a step further with an excellent performance in his first competitive game as a starter against  Bury in the League Cup, with Jennings making his debut off the bench.

Caldwell has sent a clear message to the youth ranks within the club – if you can show you are good enough we will give you the chance. Had he learned from the mistakes of his hapless predecessor?

Mackay’s first signing had been that of Liam Ridgewell on a six week loan. Fans immediately questioned the value of such a short term loan, some suggesting that Portland Timbers had sent him to get match fit for the upcoming MLS season.  Ridgewell certainly did not look fit in his first game, being taken off after 45 minutes at Birmingham. However, little by little he was to impose some stability into a rickety Wigan back line. Mackay was to replace Ridgewell with the loan of Harry Maguire from Hull.

With the departure of thirteen senior players over the January transfer window, Mackay had a mountain to climb. It could be argued that the loan of Ridgewell was  a qualified success and Maguire did even better. Mackay was unlucky in losing the experienced loanee Chris Herd to serious injury early on in his stay, but it was his signing of young, developing players from other clubs that was to mystify the fans.

However, Mackay was faced with the likelihood of a threadbare squad and had to find loan players to bring in. The mid-season loan market was never going to supply Mackay with the quantity of experienced players he needed to fend off relegation. Moreover the signing of young loanees would come with strings attached, their clubs wanting some kind of reassurances that their players would be given first team opportunities.

Despite the positive messages Caldwell has sent out to young players within the club, he has also involved himself in the recruitment of young loan players, with Francisco Junior (23) and Sean Murray (21) being signed on a one month basis, and Jonjoe Kenny (18) for two months.

Having created a positive impression, both on and off the field, Junior’s loan has since been extended until January.  Should he continue to progress there would be a likelihood of a permanent deal, given that the player’s contract at Everton terminates at the end of the season. In the case of Junior it can be argued that the club had given itself time to fully assess the player before committing itself to a more long term deal.

Murray’s  case has been less straightforward. Junior had been recruited in July, giving him time to settle in during the pre-season. Murray joined in early August, making his debut as a 72nd minute substitute  at Coventry. He was ineligible to play in the League Cup match against Bury, but came back as a substitute against Doncaster (54th minute), Scunthorpe (76th minute) and Gillingham (46th minute). Unlike Junior, Murray has a wealth of senior team experience with 75 appearances for Watford, despite being only 21 years old.

With the impending returns of Tim Chow and Emyr Huws from injury, Caldwell has a significant number of midfielders at his disposal. On Saturday he chose to bring on Murray ahead of Max Power who has impressed in his early games for the club. Time is running out on Murray’s loan and Caldwell may be faced with having to make a decision on the player’s future at the club without being able to give him a starting berth.

Kenny is clearly a different type of proposition to Junior and Kenny. Although only 18 years old he is already looking like a future Premier League player.  With the injury to Kevin McNaughton, Caldwell will be leaning heavily on the youngster in the coming weeks. Although there may be possibilities for permanent signings in the cases of Murray and Junior, it is a matter of time before Kenny goes back to Everton. Should Caldwell be able to lengthen Kenny’s loan beyond that initial two months period he will surely do it.

Caldwell has already brought in 15 new players to the club and there will surely be more to come in the next couple of weeks. Some will be permanent signings, others loanees. There will also be more outgoings.

The long saga of Billy Mckay and Dundee United will surely be resolved soon. Caldwell had given Mckay his first start in that Brentford game and it will probably be the Northern Ireland international’s last at the club. With Mckay off the books and Shaq Coulthirst back at Tottenham, Caldwell will be anxious to bring in another striker, even if Grant Holt regains full fitness and is back by October.

Rumours are circulating regarding interest in Wycombe’s 22 year old central defender Aaron Pierre. The futures of both Leon Barnett and Chris McCann remain uncertain.

Caldwell will surely continue to keep the door open for home grown talent. Sending the 18 year old Sam Cosgrove out to Barrow on a short term loan looks like a good move. One wonders if Caldwell will look at similar opportunities for the likes of Flores, Jennings and Robles, or whether he will be able to offer them ample first team opportunities with the club.

In the meantime Caldwell will continue to scour the transfer market. His squad is close to being complete but there are still pieces missing in his jigsaw puzzle. Moreover it will be interesting to see if he will continue to look at short term loans as a means of assessing players with a view to signing them in the future or uses them as temporary to provide replacements to cover for injuries.

The “new era” has begun with one outstanding performance and four indifferent ones. However, the changes in the squad are still not complete and it is going to take some time before everything comes together. Despite the young chairman’s unfortunate “smashing League 1 ” statement it is clear that there are going to be some difficult times ahead for Caldwell and his squad.

A mid-table place by Christmas might be the best that we can expect. It is in the second half of the season that we are most likely to see Caldwell’s plans move towards fruition.

 

 

The Jettisoning to continue

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

jettison

The term “jettison” dates back to the early days of aviation, when goods were cast overboard to lighten the load and make an aeroplane more stable.

Jettisoning goods comes at a cost, but stability is necessary for survival.

The imminent departure of both James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn from Wigan Athletic will be no surprise. They will be following in the paths of former teammates Scott Carson, Andy Delort, Rob Kiernan, James McClean, and Oriol Riera. All jettisoned in the quest to bring the wage bill down to a level more appropriate to a club that is to play in League 1.

Of the seven mentioned above only McClean fetched a transfer fee of note. The combined sales of Delort and Riera probably brought in around 20% of the revenues used to initially sign them. The rumours that Tavernier and Waghorn are to be sold for a joint fee of only £300,000 have come as a bit if a shock to fans, but could well be based on the truth.

Wigan Athletic had 18 senior squad players under contract to 2016 or beyond when last season concluded. Assuming the sale of Tavernier and Waghorn will go ahead they will have jettisoned seven of the eighteen. In return eight new players have been recruited – Donervon Daniels, Craig Davies, Will Grigg, Craig Morgan, Sanmi Odelusi, Richard O’Donnell, David Perkins and Max Power.

Certainly the departure of the seven has provided a means of making way for new players coming in. But it is not the number of players under contract that is the crucial issue at the moment, but more the need to get the highest wage earners off the books. Eleven players remain from last season, some are younger players on more manageable salaries, but the majority will be receiving Championship-level wages.

Over the coming weeks we can expect the departures of the likes of Leon Barnett, Chris McCann, James Perch and Andrew Taylor. All are marketable, being experienced Championship players who have Premier League experience. Significantly neither Barnett not McCann has enjoyed much playing time so far in the pre-season.

Don Cowie and Emyr Huws are injured. It looks like Grant Holt’s return to competitive football will be no earlier than October, as he recovers from a serious ACL injury. The three can be expected to stay, at least until January.

Billy Mckay’s spectacular strike against Altrincham brought positive comments from Gary Caldwell which implied that the Northern Ireland international might stay after all. It looked like David Ball was going to sign, but the player has now gone off for a trial at Barnsley. Maybe it is not only Mckay’s superbly taken goal, but also the situation with Ball, that has swayed Caldwell. However, Caldwell’s talk might well be window dressing, with Dundee United keen to acquire Mckay’s services. Given the woeful lack of opportunity the player has been given since his arrival from Inverness in January, who could blame him for wanting to return to the rich pastures of the SPL where he previously thrived?

What we are witnessing at the moment is a major reengineering of a playing staff and a wage structure. Many fans will argue that Latics have let go players of genuine quality who can do a good job at Championship level or higher. Moreover they have let them go for a pittance in terms of potential transfer value.

There remained a possibility of retaining some of those players, taking the risk in absorbing their “high” salaries, in a bid to get promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt. It was indeed a viable option, but fate has decreed that other higher earners will remain because of injuries. In the case of Huws it could be a blessing in disguise providing the player can rid himself of a possibly career-threatening ankle problem. Given Holt’s age, his serious injury and the abuse he has taken from fans, one wonders if he can make any impact on the season. However, Holt is a resilient character and can never be counted out.

Although the restructuring is largely based on financial parameters there also remains an element of “clearing out the dead wood” from a squad that hugely underachieved last season.  Moreover a wholesale clear-out gives the new manager the opportunity to largely work with his own men.

Caldwell has already imposed his stamp on the style of football the team is playing, which could already be described as “Martinez-esque”. However, Caldwell has already used different formations in pre-season, 4-3-3, 3-4-3 and 3-5-2. It provides the kind of flexibility that was not the norm under Martinez, although Uwe Rosler used it to effect. By varying his tactical approach from game to game, Caldwell will make it difficult for the opposition to stifle a Latics side that will not have the pure style of the Martinez era, but will seek a blend between style and effectiveness. Like Rosler the Scot will also employ the option of changing the formation as the game progresses.

Up to this point Caldwell and his recruitment team have scoured the market for bargains, making a major financial outlay in the reported £1m paid for Will Grigg. That is likely to largely remain the pattern for the acquisition of further players, although there probably remains another £2m in the coffers from outgoing transfers that can be used to make a couple more big signings.

Reports suggest that Sam Clucas of Chesterfield remains on Caldwell’s radar and he is likely to cost in excess of £1m. Moreover Caldwell will almost certainly need a new right back and Swindon’s Nathan Byrne, 23,  could fit the bill, at a price. In the meantime he will look at signing more free agents, such as the 32 year old Kevin McNaughton, ex-Cardiff City, and a full back who can also play in midfield. Rumours have also linked Latics with the ex-Everton 21 year old holding midfielder John Lundstram and 26 year old winger Paul Anderson from Ipswich.

The jettisoning will continue, with at least three more of last year’s squad likely to leave.  In the meantime Caldwell will continue to meld together his much changed squad, liberally sprinkled with bargain basement signings. With less than three weeks to go before the start of the season he faces a considerable challenge in inculcating his style of football into players who will be largely unfamiliar to it.

 

Sharpe’s honeymoon period is over

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

The honeymoon period for the new chairman is coming to an end as a storm rages over Emmerson Boyce’s contract.

 

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”

David Sharpe should take heed of Machiavelli’s words.

A club that was tipped to win the Championship by the highly rated FourFourTwo magazine ended up being relegated. The mistakes of the past two seasons have dragged the club down and there is real danger of the slide continuing.

Is the youthful Sharpe capable of steadying things up and leading the club back to the Promised Land? What clues is Sharpe giving when one reads between the lines of his comments? Where are Latics really heading?

The young chairman is working on the creation of a new order at Wigan Athletic. The upheaval continues amid a climate of uncertainty. What kind of club will Latics be a year from now? What kinds of realistic expectations can fans have of the future?

Sharpe has certainly stepped into a difficult situation, but he continues to put on a brave face in his dealings with the media. Sharpe invariably paints an optimistic picture, whilst acknowledging that mistakes have been made in the past.

However, the initial gloss is now starting to wear off and fans are starting to read between the lines of what Sharpe has said. The sceptics will say that his comments are no more than window-dressing, that the Whelan family is no longer willing to put money into the club and that without it the club will languish in its “natural” position in the lower tiers of English football.

Fans who have been shell-shocked by the events of the past season were dealt a further jolt yesterday with the news of Emmerson Boyce’s impending departure.

 “Our ambition is to regain our Championship status as quickly as possible and we would like Emmerson to be a part of the team this coming season because we feel he could continue to help us . However, the reality of our current situation is that we are in League One and we have to maintain a wage structure in line with our status.”

The Boyce issue was always going to be a tricky one for Sharpe. After nine years at the club the player had become a legend, with massive fan support. According to Boyce the deal he was offered was “laughable”. Sharpe acknowledges that he would like Boyce to continue but clearly his view of a suitable deal differs greatly with the aspirations of the player.

However, by taking a tough stand in the case of out of contract players, Sharpe has set a precedent for the future. The deals he offered to Gaetan Bong and Kim Bo-Kyung were also not acceptable to the players, who will be moving on.

The Boyce scenario is not going down well with the majority of fans who hold the player in such high esteem, but the figures involved in the offer are unlikely to be publicly revealed. Without them it is difficult to take the side of either club or player. However, even if Boyce were to be offered a regular contract it would be on a salary commensurate with League 1, not with one of the Championship or the Premier League to which he had been accustomed. Moreover Boyce will be 36 in September, probably the reason why the club was offering a pay-as-you-play deal. The player made only 26 league starts compared with 50 the previous season.

We await the news regarding a contract renewal for Jermaine Pennant. The winger made an impression through three spectacular goals from free kicks, although he never managed to complete in full 90 minutes in a match since joining in January. Moreover he does not have the pace to pass his full back. However, Pennant does have experience, class and technique. But given the salaries he has earned in the past will he be tempted by an offer commensurate to that of a League 1 club?

Last Friday Sharpe talked about the return of Andy Delort, Rob Kiernan, Oriol Riera and James Tavernier from loan spells:

“They’ll all be in for the start of pre-season on June 25, and they’ll all be big players for us next season.”

The sceptics were quick to dismiss Sharpe’s statement as mere posturing, that most of the four would be gone by the end of August. They were backed up by the Daily Mail reporting on that same day that Cardiff City and Reading were in a battle to sign Kiernan for £100,000.

The retained list published on Monday confirmed that:

“ …..the four remain contracted to Wigan Athletic beyond June 2015, and unless that situation changes, will be returning to pre-season training with the rest of the squad on June 25.”

It was quite a turnaround within the space of three days. Dreams of a Delort-Riera partnership are now appearing less than realistic.

It was also confirmed that Latics have 18 players contracted beyond June 2015, excepting the seriously ill Juan Carlos Garcia. However, as in the case of the four players sent out on loan, the club communique once again includes that proviso “and unless that situation changes” . Contracts will also be offered to the young players Jordan Flores (19 years old), Tim Chow (21), Matty Hamilton (19) and Ryan Jennings (19).

In April Sharpe had stated that Latics were going to need at least ten new players for next season. But a couple of days ago he raised that figure:

“There could be, in the end, up to 15 players we bring in, and that means every day is a challenge.”

Clearly he is expecting more players to leave than he was a month ago.

Should Latics have a squad of 24 senior players, with 15 players of them new, only 9 will remain from last season. Whatever the mathematics it is clear that Sharpe expects at least half of the players with contracts beyond June 2015 to depart.

Sharpe continues to reiterate that the recruitment team of himself, Gary Caldwell, Jonathan Jackson, Graham Barrow and Matt Jackson are meeting on close to a daily basis to look at future acquisitions. He states that:

“There’s probably a list of five or six players in each position who we’re looking at. But the deal’s got to be right for the player and the football club.”

He refers to the wage structure. For the deal to be right for the player and the club, the recruitment team is clearly focusing on players whose salary aspirations would fall within the new wage structure. Typically they would be from clubs in the lower reaches of the Championship, from League 1 or League 2 clubs, or Scotland.

Sharpe also expresses his preference for “young, hungry players between the ages of 24-27, ones who have done it before, who know what it’s like to win promotion, who are willing to learn and put in the hours, and buy into Gary’s brand of football.”

Bringing in 15 new players is a mountain of a task, but media reports suggest that deals are already in motion. They include midfielders John McGinn, 20 years old, from St Mirren and the 21 year old Max Power from Tranmere. It is also rumoured that they have made a £500,000 bid for 24 year old Chesterfield left winger Sam Clucas. The media also reports interest in the rugged 30 year old Rangers central midfield player Ian Black, the 25 year old Bristol City striker Jay Emmanuel Thomas, the 31 year old Australian striker/attacking midfield player Scott McDonald from Celtic and the 31 year old goalkeeper Andy Lonergan from Bolton.

The honeymoon period for David Sharpe has come to its end. Should Boyce depart from the club, as it seems he will, Sharpe will be unpopular with supporters who will feel he could have done more to keep the player at the club. Some have mentioned a possibility of a player/coach position, as was offered to Caldwell. However, at least one media report last summer suggested that Caldwell’s new contract had been on a salary 50% lower than before.

However, Sharpe is already showing the kind of toughness that is going to be required to get the club back on track. Moreover, up to this point, he has shielded rookie manager Caldwell from the brunt of criticism and backed him in reversing the decision regarding Tim Chow’s contract.

The club faces a further period of upheaval, but the hope is that Sharpe and his team can put together an infrastructure that will serve the club for years to come.

Given the current focus on the comings and goings of the playing staff it is not surprising that the matter of the Charnock Richard facility has taken the back burner. Will the club be going ahead with the original plans, even if it is in League 1?

Sharpe’s honeymoon period is over, but he is taking charge of introducing a new order of things at Wigan Athletic. It will be a rough ride for the young chairman.

The question remains whether his new order will be sufficient to elevate Latics back into the higher divisions or whether it will merely provide the sustainability for the club to exist in the lower divisions of the Football League.