Low confidence Latics throw it away – Sheffield Wednesday 2 Wigan Athletic 1

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

 

Malky Mackay has a tough job ahead of him, judging by this performance. In the end a battling Wednesday side might have just about deserved their win, having constantly nibbled away at Wigan’s defence throughout the ninety plus minutes.

But in reality Latics threw the game away. Poor defending presented the home team with two goals and once again they spurned opportunities at the other end.

Mackay made two changes from the team that played against Middlesbrough. The ill Sean Maloney not even on the bench, but Roger Espinoza found himself there. Ben Watson made the starting lineup for the first time in nine months and James McClean was brought in on the left wing.

One wondered if a midfield with Watson and Chris McCann – both in their early days after returning from long-term injuries – was going to cope against a combative Wednesday midfield. In the event they played the holding midfield roles with Adam Forshaw in the more advanced role.

Latics started with energy and enthusiasm, but it was clearly going to be a physical contest against a robust Wednesday side. In the second minute Adam Forshaw went down in the box after an untidy tackle by Glenn Loovens, but the referee did not see it as a penalty.

For once Callum McManaman was seeing his fair share of the ball and he was not afraid to take on defenders. After a good run he had an effort saved by Kieron Westwood. Then Jose Semedo’s powerful shot hit the post, with Scott Carson doing well to block Chris McGuire’s effort from the rebound.

Wigan were to take the lead in the 26th minute when a right wing corner from James McClean was powerfully headed in by Chris McCann, who had been their outstanding performer so far. One wondered if they could hold it, but as has been too often the case they could not do so. In the 28th minute none of the three defenders marking the 6 ft 6 in Atdhe Nuhiu could dispossess him and the unmarked Steve May who scored an easy goal from the Kosovan/Austrian forward’s intelligent pass.

Ex-Everton and Real Madrid winger Royston Drenthe was causing some problems on Latics’ right and he got clean through behind Emmerson Boyce but Carson did well to block his shot. Latics retaliated and McManaman, Fortune and Forshaw all had decent efforts on goal. There had been worrying signs for Latics in the performance of the centre of defence, which looked particularly vulnerable. Ivan Ramis was way off his usual level and Leon Barnett was looking shaky under pressure. The towering Nuhiu and the more mobile May were causing them problems.

Mackay was to take Ramis off at half time, with James Perch moving to right back and Boyce to the centre of defence. Latics could have taken the lead after 53 minutes when Marc-Antoine Fortune headed back a corner for James McClean whose header was blocked on the line. Wigan had been dominating possession, but Wednesday scored in the 70th minute when May out jumped Barnett. His flicked header hit both posts before Andrew Taylor hacked it away. However, the assistant referee indicated that the ball had crossed the line.

Latics fought back. Adam Forshaw was somehow unable to reach a McManaman cross that had ‘’goal” written all over it. Then McManaman‘s drive from inside the box went narrowly wide. However, there had opened up a big gap between defence and midfield and Wednesday’s long balls were catching Latics out. May was clear once again, but Perch managed to make a partial block and Carson saved his effort. Latics pressed right to the end but could not convert their possession into goals.

The Good

The effort was there, but to no avail in the end.

Mackay took a gamble playing both McCann and Watson in midfield. He is clearly looking long term. Watson looked comfortable on the ball, but the frenetic pace of the game did not make it easy for him. However, he will be delighted at playing the full game. McCann was excellent in the first half, but faded in the second.

Mackay had chosen two pacey wingers in his lineup and they looked dangerous on the counterattack in the first half. Callum McManaman was given the licence to take on the multiple defenders who marked him in numbers. He did well to force the goalkeeper into a couple of saves.

The Bad

Wigan’s centre of defence was vulnerable throughout. Ivan Ramis had his worst ever game in a Latics shirt and was substituted at half time. It was sad to see such a classy player so out of touch. Leon Barnett is an experienced and capable central defender, but has had some hard times in recent matches. It is a sign of Wigan’s lack of confidence that such experienced and capable players as Barnett and Ramis could be so out of touch. However, the lack of protection from the midfield surely played a part in it.

There have been concerns over Carson’s distribution since he arrived last year, but in this game it reached almost rock bottom. Carson is a fine shot stopper and did well to keep Latics in the game with important saves. But with three successive managers he has persisted in hoofing the ball for the opposition centre of defence to gobble up. Not only did he do that again yesterday, but also put several clearance kicks into touch.

Once again Fortune toiled alone upfront, chasing long balls. Despite his high workrate he rarely threatens the opposition’s goal and one wonders why Mackay is persisting with him. Delort and Riera sat on the bench throughout. It looked like Mackay had given his two wingers instructions to get the ball across more often. This they did, but there was often nobody near the ball when it came.

Many fans continue to lobby for two men up front, with Delort and Riera being touted as a possible duo. However, Mackay too is an adherent to the one central striker system. At Cardiff he had Helguson, then Campbell in that role. Helguson scored just 8 goals in 38 appearances in 2012-13, when they won the Championship division.

Flowing attacking football is unlikely to be a feature of Mackay’s reign at Wigan. But a solid defence is to be expected. That was not the case yesterday.

Player Ratings

Scott Carson: 6 – made some good stops, but dire in distribution.

Emmerson Boyce: 5.5 – struggling to get back his form of last season.

Ivan Ramis: 4.5 – sad to see such a quality player perform so poorly. Was he 100% fit?

Leon Barnett: 5 – shaky, nervy.

Andrew Taylor: 6 – good in the first half, but Wednesday closed down his attacking moves in the second.

Ben Watson: 5 – did well to complete the 90 plus minutes after such a long layoff.

Chris McCann: 7 – resilient and creative.

Adam Forshaw: 5 – struggled.

Callum McManaman: 6 – looked dangerous, but well watched by the Wednesday defence.

Marc-Antoine Fortune: 6 – full of effort, but no real goal threat.

James McClean: 5.5 – full of his usual effervescence and energy, but his finishing remains poor.

Substitutes

James Perch: – came on after 45 minutes. Solid and hard working.

Roger Espinoza: – brought on too late.

 

 

 

Sheffield Wednesday preview – keeping a settled team?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews and tagged with , , ,
SheffWed

Photo courtesy of SWFC.

Wigan Athletic travelled to Hillsborough on December 18th last year, only their second ever visit to that famous ground that hosted FA Cup semi-finals for so many years. Wigan were on a high. After a miserable run of defeats under Owen Coyle and caretaker management they had welcomed the charismatic Uwe Rosler. Just three days before the German had won his first game in charge, with a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Bolton.

Almost a year on, Wigan Athletic find themselves with another new manager in his second game in charge, once again hoping to turn back a tide of bad results. With all the media hype about emails and racism the mood in Wigan is not as bright as it was a year ago, although there exists a significant faction of supporters who have faith in the ability of new manager, Malky Mackay, to turn things around.

Latics were playing well at Hillsborough a year ago, being 1-0 up through a goal from James McClean, only for the match to be abandoned after 59 minutes because of the torrential rain. They were to return to Hillsborough on February 11th to claim a 3-0 victory with two goals from Nicky Maynard and one from Marc-Antoine Fortune. It signaled the beginning of an eight game unbeaten run in the league with seven wins and a draw.

How times have changed. Latics currently lie in 23rd place in the Championship table, with Wednesday five points above them in 13th place. Strangely enough Wednesday have won only one out of nine home games this season, scoring just three goals. However, their defensive record is strong with only 14 goals conceded in 18 matches.

Latics put up a good performance in Mackay’s first game as manager, drawing 1-1 with high flyers Middlesbrough last Saturday, thanks to a superb free kick from Shaun Maloney. Mackay will be looking at building upon that performance to get a good result at Hillsborough.

One of the main criticisms levelled against Rosler was his constant rotation of the team. It will be therefore be revealing to see if Mackay sticks with the lineup that was a shade unfortunate not to beat Middlesbrough last weekend.

However, a lack of firepower upfront remains a huge concern for Latics. There are plenty of fans who would like to see a frontline pairing of Andy Delort and Oriel Riera. The two played together in midweek for the development squad, Delort scoring two and Riera hitting the post for Jordan Flores to tap in. Would Mackay be willing to vary his tactical formation to allow this to happen?

The big question is whether Mackay’s arrival can lift Latics in the same way that Rosler’s lifted them just over a year ago.

The performance on Saturday will give us at least an indication of whether Latics really can turn around a hugely disappointing start to the season.

Development squad beats Morecambe 4-0.

What Mackay can do for Latics

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

 

Photo courtesy of Sky Sports.

Photo courtesy of Sky Sports.

If you believe what some of the media tell you, Wigan Athletic have gone from being so many peoples’ second favourite football team to their least favourite. All in the space of a couple of weeks.

The furore surrounding Malky Mackay’s appointment and the roasting of Dave Whelan by the national media has changed the view of the club in the eyes of the public.

Without going into the moral rights and wrongs of the broader issues, it is clear that Whelan could have avoided this happening from the start.

Why did he choose Mackay over other candidates with good track records whose recruitment would not have caused such waves? Did Whelan have an inkling of the repercussions that Mackay’s appointment would cause?

If he had anticipated what might follow he must have believed that Mackay stood head and shoulders above the other candidates – that he was the right man to get Latics back to the Premier League. However, the fact that Whelan put a clause in Mackay’s contract “protecting the club” against possible FA action suggests that he had more than an inkling of what was going to happen and made a calculated gamble in the Scot’s appointment.

So what is it about Mackay that made Whelan take the risk to appoint him? Providing FA sanctions do not prevent him continuing at the club, can Mackay lead Latics back to the Promised Land?

Born in Bellshill, some ten miles from the Glasgow city centre, Mackay passed through the youth ranks at Queens Park where he made 70 first team appearances over a three year period. At the age of 21 the powerful young centre half joined Celtic. However, during a five year stay he struggled to command a regular place at Parkhead. In September 1998 he joined Norwich City for £350,000 and he went on to make 212 appearances for the Canaries over a period of six years.

Mackay went on to a one year stint at West Ham, followed by three years at Watford. In his first season playing for the Hornets he achieved the remarkable distinction of being promoted to the Premier League for the third time in three years.

Midway through his first season as a Premier League player in 2006-07, Mackay was appointed first team coach at Vicarage Road. He took over as caretaker manager in November 2008, following the departure of Aidy Boothroyd.  But it proved to be only for five games with Brendan Rodgers being brought in from Chelsea.

However, Rodgers’ reign proved to be short-lived and Mackay was to take over in the summer of 2009. His first season was a struggle. With just five games to go, Watford were in 21st position, but an end of season rally saw them finish in 16th place. Several players on higher salaries left the club over the summer of 2010 and Mackay eventually steered the Hornets into 14th place in the 2010-11 season.

In June 2011 Mackay joined Cardiff City, where he was to enjoy a successful first season. The Welsh club reached the League Cup final, only to be beaten 3-2 by Liverpool on penalties. They reached the Championship playoffs, only to be beaten by West Ham.

The 2012-13 season saw Cardiff win the Championship and Mackay receive the League Managers Association ‘Championship Manager of the Year’ award. However, Mackay and Cardiff owner, Vincent Tan, clearly did not see eye to eye. Being unhappy about Mackay’s transfer dealings over the summer, and with concerns about poor results and the style of play, Tan sacked Mackay in December 2013. The national press has kept us well aware of what happened between Tan and Mackay since then.

Mackay has certainly had his ups and downs in football. As a player he was released by two clubs after he had helped them get promotion to the Premier League. As a manager at Watford he had to deal with the departure of key players for financial reasons and fight against relegation. In his first two seasons at Cardiff he enjoyed considerable success, even if the style of play was not the most exciting to watch. Mackay knows the Championship division as well as any manager could.

Over the coming weeks we can expect Mackay to focus on making Latics a team that is hard to beat. As an ex-centre half he will demand a tight defence. To get goals he is not likely to flood the opposition penalty area with attackers, but will rely on set pieces and on his “flair players” delivering the goods.

With Latics currently second from bottom, Mackay has a task on his hands. However, he knows that he has enough quality in the squad to challenge the best in the division. Latics will surely rise out of the relegation zone, but it is more a question of how quickly they can do it. Promotion this year is not out of the question, but is a long way off at the moment.

Mackay will take things a step at a time and if promotion does not happen this season, he will be planning towards the next. He will surely be aware of the “player power” that helped dislodge his two predecessors at Wigan. He will look at downsizing the squad in the January transfer window and there could be some surprise names exiting the club.

Once again Wigan Athletic are at a turning point. Dave Whelan will be hoping he made the right move in appointing Malky Mackay.

Only time will tell if that is to be the case.

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Malky Mackay – a Cardiff City fan’s view

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , ,

Malky Mackay Cardiff City

The huge media events over recent days have in many ways overshadowed what fans would normally be looking at when a new manager is appointed. Our intention is to take a look at Malky Mackay as a football manager – how did he take Cardiff City into the Premier League, how was he regarded by the fans?

In order to learn more about Mackay’s time at Cardiff we reached out to Benjamin James of the View from the Ninian fan site.

Here’s over to Benjamin:

Malky Mackay came to Cardiff City after Dave Jones had, very much so, taken us as far as he could. Whilst Dave Jones had filled his side with stars such as Bellamy, Chopra, McCormack and Bothroyd, Mackway filled his squad with workman like footballers. Craig Conway, Aron Gunnarsson, Kenny Miller and Don Cowie.

That first season, 2011-12, was expected to be transitional but Mackay got the team playing. His style of football isn’t particularly exciting or ground breaking but he sets his team up to be tough to break down. During his first season, we didn’t concede many but we also didn’t score too many. He still took us to the playoffs, finishing five points clear of 7th, and to a League Cup final which is one of my proudest Cardiff City memories to date.

The next season, the colour change ignored, was a good one on the pitch. With players like Bellamy, Kim Bo-Kyung, Nicky Maynard and Jordon Mutch coming in, it was really only a matter of time before Cardiff went up. Finishing top of the league by eight points, they conceded the second-least and scored the third-most. 10 home wins in a row basically sewed up the title and the points tally would have been more if Cardiff hadn’t drawn six of their last seven games.

Whilst many will point to Malky’s overspending in the PL season, something that I think the Chairman at the time had some responsibility for, Cardiff did well in the PL under Malky. A famous victory over Man City was followed up by draws with Everton, wins over Fulham, Swansea, and a draw with United. His last win, over WBA, left Cardiff in a good position. Our relegation was as much to do with Tan’s destabilising of the club as it was Ole’s inability to get us playing.

For what it’s worth, as a football manager, I liked Malky. In his first season, he restored so much pride back into the football club; pride that Dave Jones had sapped away from us. He also got the players fighting. Fans want to see players who would run through brick walls for the club and we had that in spades.

He spoke to the fans and built bridges that had previously been burnt. As much as I wished he’d spoken out against the red kit, I understand why he probably couldn’t. He was drastically weakened at that point and some fans will never forgive him. And all Cardiff fans, at the time, were on his side when he was battling Tan. Tan was an evil ruler and Malky was standing tall against him. The high point of that season for many was the 45 minute protest at Anfield where Cardiff fans sang his name over and over.

The only criticism I would have of Malky is that he is sometimes reluctant to give attacking players the freedom they need. Craig Noone was a star of our PL season but Malky seemed to hold him back. Rudy Gestede, who is on fire at Blackburn, never really started for us and Malky didn’t really know how to play him. He also struggled with a striker during our PL season; the one he signed was crocked from the beginning and he tried to play Campbell as a target man, poacher and out and out striker all at once.

Sadly, his reign was tainted by the text message row. For what it’s worth, no-one saw it coming and I, a vehement defender of Malky, was shocked by it all. .

It’s time for Riera

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with ,

He was good enough to score 13 goals in 37 matches last year in La Liga. He is hard working, good in the air, a real team player. His club prided itself on playing a more typically English style than is the norm in Spain. He played the lone centre forward role there. Riera  looked the perfect fit for Wigan.

But in the rubble that typified the latter part of Uwe Rosler’s reign, Oriol Riera faded out of view. Put simply, Riera was poorly handled by Rosler. Can Malky Mackay bring out the best in him?

Riera has so far made five starts with five appearances off the bench. He made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 2-2 home draw with Reading. His headed pass set up James McArthur to score a 93rd minute equalizer.

According to McArthur “It’s a nice ball in from Huwsy and Oriol, who has been playing very well, has done brilliantly to flick the ball on for me. Oriol’s a great presence up front, he’s not the biggest striker you’ll see, but he’s so strong and I took a chance that he would win the ball. He won the ball and from there all I needed to do was get it on target and thankfully I did.”

Latics had fallen apart in the second half until McArthur’s late intervention. Sadly it was to become the norm in the matches that followed. The pre-season training programme just had not worked and the lack of fitness exacerbated the difficulties of new players settling in and gelling with their team mates.

Riera started in the second league game at Charlton where Rosler had him rotating with Marc-Antoine Fortune between the centre forward and left wing positions. It just did not work, Riera being taken off at half time. Riera was left out of the starting lineup in the next game at Cardiff, but came on for Fortune after 61 minutes. He made the starting lineup in the next game, when Latics beat a woeful Blackpool team 1-0 thanks to his well taken goal.

The goal would have done Riera’s confidence a world of good. Fans were not over impressed by the win over the Seasiders, but the team’s best performance of the season was to follow. Latics were to take Birmingham apart with a 4-0 win. Riera did not score but it looked like he was starting to adjust to the physicality of the Championship division. He was surely going to get a continued run in the team.

But then came the international break and the transfer window deadline. Andy Delort had been introduced to the home fans in the Birmingham game, but it came as a shock to see the Frenchman preferred to the Spaniard in the depressing 3-1 defeat at Blackburn. It was to signal the end of Riera’s run in the starting lineup, with Delort, Fortune or Martyn Waghorn to compete with for the lone centre forward position.

Up to this point of the season Latics’ centre forwards have scored a paltry two goals. Part of it can be attributed to poor service from midfield and a defence prone to hoofing the ball rather than putting through measured long passes. The wide players have hardly helped. Both Callum McManaman and James McClean are exciting to watch and can unsettle the opposition, but they seldom provide the kind of pinpoint crosses that a central striker feeds upon for his goals.

Looking at the footage of Riera’s goals for Osasuna, so many came from good crosses from the flanks. James Tavernier has the ability to put in such deliveries, but there are question marks about his defensive capabilities as a full back. Were Tavs to be played in a right midfield position he might be able to put in the kind of quality service that a proven goalscorer such as Riera would need.

So many times this season Latics have approached the opponents’ penalty box, but the intelligent runs from the front players have been lacking. At times it has made a mediocre midfield look worse than it really is.

Oriel Riera has more than enough quality to shine in the Championship. He is 6ft tall, good in the air and predatory within the box. At 28 years of age he is at his peak.

It would be sad if Latics could not get the best out of him.