Category Archives: Specials

A look at Latics’ Europa League opposition – Part 3: Rubin Kazan

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

Wigan Athletic’s third match in the Europa League will be at home to Rubin Kazan on October 24th.  The return match is scheduled for November 7th .

Rubin are currently in 7th place in the Russian Premier League, but are unbeaten. They have won two and drawn five matches, conceding only three goals. Last season Rubin finished 6th, becoming one of four Russian teams qualifying for the Europa League.

Rubin performed well in the Europa League last year, winning their group, being unbeaten in the six matches. In doing so they beat Inter Milan 3-0 at home after drawing 2-2 at the San Siro. They stunned holders Atletico Madrid in the last 32 with a 2-0 win at the Vicente Calderon Stadium after losing 1-0 in the home leg.

Then followed a 2-0  home victory in extra time over another Spanish team, Levante, after drawing 0-0 in the first leg. The quarter final first leg at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea beat them 3-1. Rubin fought hard in the return match played  in Moscow but a valiant 3-2 win was not enough and saw them eliminated.

Rubin Kazan was founded in 1958 under the name of Iskra. The club never played in the old Soviet Top League and languished in the lower regional leagues until they won promotion to the Russian First Division (the second tier) in 1992. They won the First Division eleven years later, being promoted to the Russian Premier League for the first time in 2003.

Since then they have performed well, winning the championship in 2008 and 2009 and the Russian Cup in 2011-12. They took four points off Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League in 2009-10, including a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp.

Rubin – which means ruby – are based in Kazan, a city of over 1 million people in the Republic of Tatarstan. Kazan is around 460 miles south east of Moscow. It is the eastern-most city with a team competing in this year’s  Europa League group stage. Average daily high temperatures drop from 8º C in October to -1º C in November.

2129__rubin_kazan-home-kitRubin currently play at the Central Stadium, which is municipally owned, accommodating 30,133 spectators . They are shortly due to move the new Kazan Arena – capacity 45,105 – which will host the 2018 World Cup. Rubin’s home kit is ruby red. Around one half of their senior squad are Russians, the remainder foreign players from diverse backgrounds.

In order to reach the group stage of this season’s Europa League, Rubin had to go through three qualifying round. They not only knocked out Jagodina (Serbia), Randers (Denmark) and Molde (Norway), but won all six ties they played.

Rubin have substantial experience over the past ten years in both the Champions League and the Europa League, gaining notable results. They have a tight defence and a dangerous forward in the Venezuelan Salomón Rondón – signed in summer 2012 from Malaga for €10 million – who scored three goals in the games against Inter Milan last year.

Central stadium, Kazan

The Central Stadium, Kazan

Before the draw for the group stage was made Latics were hoping to avoid a trip to Russia. They are going to have to come to terms with the length of the journey and the visit to Tatarstan will be at the onset of winter, when low temperatures are a strong possibility.More than that they are going to meet a side that is going to be difficult to beat.

Group D of the Europa League – with Wigan, Zulte Waregem, NK Maribor and Rubin Kazan – might not have the glamour clubs of some of the other groups.

However, it is going to be very competitive with any one of the four teams having a decent chance of progressing to the next round. There are going to be no easy games.The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, together with 8 third placed teams from the Champions League, will compete in the Round of 32 which starts in February.

The Europa League is a big competition. Last year 193 clubs from 53 countries were involved.  In order to reach the final from the group stage Wigan would need to play 14 matches. When Fulham got there in 2009-10 season from the qualifying rounds they had to play 19  extra games. However, there are significant financial rewards for progressing through the various  stages of the competition.

It will be interesting to see how Owen Coyle approaches the Europa League matches, where the football is going to be a different style than in the fast and furious Championship. He has some players who have already played in the competition for their previous clubs, but for the majority of his squad it will be a learning experience.

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.

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.

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.

McCarthy out, Powell and Shotton in

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

It seemed inevitable that James McCarthy would leave Wigan Athletic and Everton were always going to be the clear favourites to secure his services. Once Everton could confirm the sale of Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United they were going to have the funds to pay Latics the kind of asking price that Dave Whelan demanded. Although not at his best this season, McCarthy will be sorely missed by Latics.

For some time we have been waiting for Owen Coyle to sign another experienced defender and a forward capable of scoring goals. Coyle left it late, but managed to go some way towards providing what was needed through loan signings.

Latics’ interest in 19 year old Manchester United youngster, Nick Powell, had been broadcast in the media for some weeks. It was therefore no surprise when the loan deal was completed on the last day of the transfer window. However, the name of Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom had also been banded about the media, but a deal did not materialize. Wisdom would have fitted the defensive bill through his ability to play at full back or in the centre of defence.

Unable or unwilling to sign Wisdom, Coyle made an eleventh hour move to sign Ryan Shotton from Stoke on a one year loan deal. Shotton is a more experienced player than Wisdom and can also play in any slot in the back four.

Many Latics fans had questioned the need for the signing of an attacking midfield player like Powell, given the presence of playmakers Shaun Maloney and Jordi Gomez in the squad. Even with the departure of McCarthy, Coyle was still going to have a wealth of quality midfield players at his beckoning.

There is no doubt that Powell can score goals, including spectacular ones. At Crewe he had played in a more forward role, scoring 16 goals. On Powell’s  arrival last summer Sir Alex Ferguson stated that  “We see him as a central midfield player. Crewe played him as a forward in behind the striker, but I asked a question of [Alex director of football] Dario Gradi as to whether he thought central midfield was his position. That’s what he thinks, and Nick thinks that’s his position too, so we’re all in accord on that.”

Grant Holt’s injury leaves Latics stretched, with only Marc-Antoine Fortune available to fill the central striker role. It could be that Powell will be asked to step into that position sooner rather than later. Powell is clearly a fine young player and could make a major impact on Latics season, providing he can avoid the injury problems he had at Manchester last season.

The signing of the 24 year old Shotton is going to give Wigan much more defensive cover. The 6’3” Shotton has been used as a full back or midfield player by Stoke, although his natural position is in the centre of defence. He provides cover for Emmerson Boyce at right back. Although the captain remains a fine player he is now 33 and is going to find it difficult to get through a long season without some breaks. Shotton is not a cultured attacking full back like Boyce, but he will add defensive solidity. Shotton took over the long throw-in role from Rory Delap at Stoke and it might well be a ploy that Coyle will favour.

Coyle has now recruited 12 new players since his arrival in July. Both Powell and Shotton on one year loan deals are good signings with the view of getting Latics back to the Premier League.

It is the lack of a third specialist central striker that is the concern, but that might happen when the transfer window reopens in January. Given the audacious attempt to lure Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn it appears that Whelan is willing to pay what is needed to get another top class striker.

Coyle has once again done a good job in the transfer market.

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.

A look at Latics’ Europa League opposition – Part 1: Zulte Waregem

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

Europa

Wigan Athletic’s first match in their Europa League campaign commences on September 19th, with a trip to Belgium  to play Zulte Waregem.

SV Zulte Waregem lie in second place in the Belgian Pro League, currently known through its sponsor’s name as the Jupiler League. They are unbeaten in the first six league games, beating Anderlecht  4-3 at home this afternoon. In a stormy game Anderlecht had two men sent off compared with one for the home team for whom Thorgan Hazard – brother of Eden – was on the score sheet.

Last season Waregem finished in second place behind Anderlecht in the Jupiler League play-offs. That put them into the third qualifying round of this season’s  UEFA Champions League but they were to be defeated by PSV Eindhoven of Holland.

Waregem is a Flemmish-speaking town about 40 miles west of Brussels. Its population is around 36,000.

The original club from the town, TSV Waregem, was founded in 1925. Their major achievements were to win  the Belgian Cup in 1974 and to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1985-86. In 1996 they were relegated to the second division, falling down into the third division in 1999.

In 2001 financial problems led to the Waregem club merging with Zultse VV, from the neighbouring town of Zulte. The new club was to be called Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem.

The new club was soon to climb up the leagues, winning promotion to the first tier in 2004-05.

Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels

Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels

Zulte Waregem play their home league matches at the Regenboog Stadium, the home of their predecessors TSV. It has a capacity of 10,200. However, the ground is not up to UEFA standards and they have played their recent Champions League and Europa League games at Anderlecht’s ground, the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels. Their home kit is all red.

Zulte Waregem come to the group stages of the Europa League following their exit from the Champions League. In the third qualifying round of the Europa League they made resolute performances against  APOEL of Nicosia.  A gutsy display gave them a somewhat fortunate 2-1 away win in the first leg in Cyprus. A tight 1-1 home draw was then enough to see the Belgian team through to the group stage.

Although Zulte Waregem are not well known at international level they will be hard to beat They have prior experience in Europe and are excelling in the Belgian Pro League.

It will be a demanding opening game for Latics in their first European campaign.

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.

A West Brom fan’s view on Marc-Antoine Fortune

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

Fortune

Marc-Antoine Fortune has made a promising start to his career at Wigan Athletic. The 32 year old forward from French Guiana arrived at Wigan following a three year stint at West Bromwich Albion.

We reached out to Iain Bate, editor of fan site westbromwichalbion-mad, for his views on the player. Our thanks go to Iain for the interesting article below.

I’m glad to hear that Marco is doing well at Wigan. I was a little surprised that he dropped down a division into the Championship – although a two-year contract was more than Albion were offering.

Fortune was a good player at Albion – although the more I think, I struggle to remember any real outstanding performances or memorable moments from him. He was always a hard working individual and a team player. But, If I’m honest, he probably lacked that extra bit of quality you need to excel at the highest level.

When he originally joined the club under Tony Mowbray we were desperate for a striker. He joined in January and did well. He scored 5 times in 17 appearances. I remember his debut against Middlesbrough and he ran himself into the ground. He trundled off to a standing ovation with his socks around his ankles. Fortune’s link-up play has always been good. However, he never really offered a goal threat. I wouldn’t say he’s a natural goalscorer – despite his goals from January to May. He was unable to prevent the club from being relegated.

When Fortune came back to the club after a spell in Celtic, he never really reached the level of performance he had when he was at the club the first time around. In fact, he struggled to get in to the side first under Roberto Di Matteo and then Roy Hodgson. His time at The Hawthorns seemed up. He went on loan to Doncaster Rovers in order to get some game time and he came back with renewed vigour and purpose. By this time, Hodgson had moved Fortune away from the centre to the right-hand side.

Marco was intelligent enough to adapt his game and did well as a right-sided forward. He always tracked back and put the required effort in. In fact, he earned himself an extra year at the club. But once Hodgson had moved on he found it difficult to get in the side under Steve Clarke. The arrival of Shane Long, Romelu Lukaku and Markus Rosenberg meant that Fortune wasn’t even considered in a central option any longer.

Fortune didn’t really feature in the first half of last season as Peter Odemwingie and Zoltan Gera kept him out of the side. But, as both either dropped out of favour or were injured, he got his chance to earn himself another deal. He performed well and scored the odd goal. Albion earned him a one-year contract, but he chose more stability at Wigan.

I don’t think you’ll find any Albion fan which would have a bad word to say against Fortune. He maybe lacked the quality to perform regularly at the highest level, but he always tried his best and was liked by the fans. Hopefully we’ll see him at The Hawthorns again soon.

Fortune favours the brave!

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.