Profiles from the Archives – Part 1: Jean Beausejour and Chris McCann

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

In April we stated our intention of republishing articles from our archives from time to time. It takes a long time for a fan site to get established and Amigos has been no exception. We are now in our third year. Our readership grew slowly in the first year, steadily in the second, but much faster in this third year. Given that we now have a wider readership we decided to occasionally republish articles from our archives, that many may not have seen.

The republishing of the  “Fan View”articles – perspectives of Latics players from fans of their previous clubs – went particularly well, according to the viewing stats.

We now plan to look back to some of the player profiles that we have have written and published over the past couple of years. Once again we ask our long-established readers will bear with us on this. We will continue to put out our stream of current articles.

Let’s start with Jean Beausejour and Chris McCann.

 

Bend it like Beausejour – first published October 9, 2012.

2012-beausejour

Some say he looks a little pudgy. Others complain he doesn’t have the speed to take on defenders. That Birmingham would not have let him go if he were that good. Something of an international journeyman, he has played for ten clubs in a space of ten years, spanning six different countries. Why then did Roberto Martinez continue to pursue Jean Beausejour, following the 2010 World Cup, until finally signing him in January 2012?

After just 15 minutes had gone at Sunderland last Saturday, a sublime cross came over from the left wing that Arouna Kone should have buried to put Latics 1-0 in front. It was the kind of precision pass that David Beckham might have provided in his heyday, curling away from the goalkeeper with pinpoint accuracy. Pure artistry. Neither player is the type to run down the wing and beat a defender for speed. But both somehow are able to get in pinpoint crosses from the tightest of situations, an ability that few players possess. Although Beausejour only joined Latics in January, he led the squad for assists last season.

Let’s not forget his defensive qualities either. Forming a strong partnership with Maynor Figueroa on the left hand side of the defence he provides key defensive cover. Ask Theo Walcott what it is like having Beausejour trail you – the Chilean rendered him totally ineffective in the memorable 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium in April. Beausejour is not elegant, but is a complete player, the classic wing back – able to defend and create goals.

Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo was born in Santiago in June 1984, of a Haitian father and mother from the indigenous Mapuche ethnic group. Beausejour remains a hero with the downtrodden Mapuche people. He started his professional career playing for leading Chilean club, Universidad Católica in 2002 before moving to provincial Concepción where he played for a year. Within the following three years he’d serve stints at Servette of Geneva, Grêmio of Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Gent of Belgium. After returning to Chile for a couple of years he spent the 2009-2010 year playing for Club America, Mexico City’s biggest club.

Beausejour has made 40 plus appearances for Chile, playing under flamboyant Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa for almost three years. Not only did he score the winning goal against Honduras that helped Chile to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup, but he was to play in a classic Bielsa system that had three central defenders and two wing backs. In November 2011, he and four other players were suspendedby Chile FA for 10 matches after arriving in “poor physical” condition, allegedly drunk, before a World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay.

Given Beausejour’s career record of lack of continuity at any one particular club and his suspension from the Chilean national team it was therefore a calculated gamble taken by Roberto Martinez to bring him to Wigan from Birmingham City. However, Beausejour has become a key player in the tactical system adopted by Roberto Martinez. His start to the current season has been marred by a niggling injury but he remains one of the players whose name would be penciled in first on the team sheet. He is 5 ft 11 inches tall and physically strong, not easily deterred.

Jean Beausejour has certainly settled into the Wigan Athletic lineup. A team player, he is solid in defence. When Latics have the ball he is always available, hugging the touchline, stretching the opposition defence. He rarely loses the ball and has a few tricks up his sleeve with quick footwork. His crosses can create havoc in even the best of defences, whether from open play or set pieces. Given his technique one might expect him to more often take direct shots on goal, especially from free kicks. He has proved an excellent signing up to this point and one hopes that his years of wanderlust are over. At 28 years old he is nearing the peak of his career. The best is yet to come, especially if he is encouraged to go for goal from free kicks.

 

McCann silences his critics – first published November 5, 2013

Chris+Mccann

When managers change clubs they often take with them players from their previous club. Roberto Martinez is a prime example in taking Antolin Alcaraz, Arouna Kone, James McCarthy and Joel Robles from Wigan.

It was therefore no surprise when Owen Coyle’s first signing was one of his former players. Most Wigan Athletic fans would have expected it to be someone from Bolton, but it turned out to be a tall Irishman who had played under the Scot at Burnley.

Not many of us had heard much about Chris McCann, who had spent nine years at Burnley after being signed from Dublin club, Home Farm. When we found out more about him, it looked as if maybe Coyle had made a mistake.

McCann’s best season with them was in their promotion year, 2008-09. A cruciate knee injury  early in his first Premier League season proved a severe blow for McCann. He made only eight appearances that season and four in 2010-11, being plagued by injury.

However, the Irishman was to come back to start in 83 Championship matches over the next two seasons.

Owen  Coyle had taken over a fragmented squad at Wigan following Martinez’s departure. There was shortage of players in various positions, particularly the centre of defence and up front. But central midfield was the one area where Latics were well supplied – with James McArthur, Roger Espinoza,  Fraser Fyvie,  Jordi Gomez and Ben Watson – plus James McCarthy, who was to be sold.

McCann’s  performances in his early starts for Latics at home to Doncaster and Middlesbrough and at Zulte Waregem were solid, if uninspiring.

Cynics said that Coyle had brought in an ex-player who was not up to par, but who was ahead of both Espinoza and Fyvie in the pecking order. It looked like Coyle was snubbing  players from the previous regime to bring in his own men.

However, McCann was to come back to the starting lineup with a fine display against Rubin Kazan. That night he was tireless in defence and his cultured passing when under pressure helped Latics keep possession. He followed that up with a fine performance at Charlton, being unlucky with a flick header that hit the crossbar. In the subsequent match against QPR he once again put in a hardworking stint, being denied by the woodwork with a far post header. On Sunday against Huddersfield he once again put in solid defensive shift and this time saw a fine long range shot palmed over the bar by the keeper.

Coyle has so far relied heavily on McArthur and Watson in the midfield holding roles. They bring Premier League quality to the Championship. Both have excellent technique and work tirelessly to win the ball back and support their defence.

However, McCann has already shown that he too is a player of such attributes and will be challenging them for a place in the starting lineup. He too has a touch of quality. At 6’1” he also poses an aerial threat to opposition defences.

Chris McCann has already silenced most of his critics through a series of good displays. He is still only 26 years old and could prove to be a key player for Latics for years to come.

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Andrew Taylor – a Cardiff fan’s view

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

Andrew_Taylor_-_Cardiff_City

Andrew Taylor is the first of Uwe Rosler’s summer signings. The experienced left back still had two more years of his contract remaining at Cardiff City. It is understood that Wigan Athletic have not paid an upfront fee for the 27 year old, but Cardiff will receive a payment if Latics get promotion.

Taylor is an experienced Premier League left back or left midfielder, who was also captain of Cardiff when they won the Championship division in the 2012-13 season. A member of the Middlesbrough team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2004, he was to spend seven years at the north east club, making 125 appearances. He represented England at all age levels, under 16 to under 21. During his time at Middlesbrough he also loan spells at Bradford City and Watford.

Malky Mackay signed Taylor for Cardiff in July 2011, knowing him from their time together at Watford. In his first year he made 44 starts for the Welsh club in the Championship and played in the League Cup final when they were beaten by Liverpool on penalties. The following season he made 43 league appearances, more than any other player, in the team that won the Championship.

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Mackay in January, Taylor fell out of favour. He had made 15 Premier League starts under Mackay, but was to make only three more under the Norwegian.

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

Her’s over to Benjamin:

Andrew Taylor came to Cardiff as one of Malky’s first signings. He’d taken him on loan at Watford and, was clearly, a favourite of his. In his first season, he helped Cardiff City to a League Cup final and the playoffs and was solid throughout. He isn’t a spectacular left-back – rather, he’s incredibly solid and will always put in a shift.

He’s good in attack and generally solid in defence; my main criticism of him would be his tendency to back off players when they run at him. I understand why, as Taylor isn’t the quickest, but he needs to make a challenge at some point.

I’ll admit surprise when it was announced we sold him; he’s a great player to have in the Championship and is reliable. He’s a good guy and is great off the pitch too; he always has time for fans and has, one more than one occasion, handed over his match worn shirt to a disabled fan at Cardiff City. I would like to have kept him but I understand why he’s moved.

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Fan views: Part 6 – Shaun Maloney and Chris McCann

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

Given that we now have a wider readership than in our earlier days we plan to occasionally republish articles from our archives, that many may not have seen. We ask our long-established readers will bear with us on this. We will continue to put out our stream of current articles.

Our site stats have shown that our readership has been particularly interested in perspectives of Latics players from fans of their previous clubs. Thanks to contributions made by bloggers on the fan sites of those clubs for these articles from our archives.

Click here for our previous fan views on Roger Espinoza and James McClean.

Click here for our previous fan views on Martyn Waghorn and Thomas Rogne.

Click here for our previous fan views on Uwe Rösler and Marc-Antoine Fortune.

Click here for our previous fan views on Stephen Crainey and Markus Holgerrson.

Click here for our previous fan views on Josh McEachran and Jack Collison.

 

A Celtic fan’s view of Shaun Maloney.  

maloney-lostbhoys

 

Written by: David Harper of Celtic fan site Lost Bhoys.

Published: February 9, 2011

 

Howdy Wiganites, sorry I have no idea what you call someone from Wigan please excuse my ignorance. Ned asked me to put together a small piece about former Bhoy and new Latic Shaun Maloney. Iʼm a regular blogger and editor on http://www.LostBhoys.com and co-host of the weekly HomeBhoys Celtic fans phone-in show. I started following Celtic home and away from the age of 14 in 1987 so Iʼm pretty well placed to give you a brief rundown on the last of the Seville team to leave Celtic (management team excluded).

Shaun broke into the 1st team in 2001 and if I recall correctly he made his debut at Ibrox against ʻthemʼ. Originally he was deployed as an out and out striker and for the next couple of seasons mostly made appearances from the substitutes bench. It wasnʼt until Gordon Strachan took over the reigns that Shaun found his best position as an attacking left-midfielder which is still his natural position to this day.

Thatʼs when heʼs fit of course and those occasions have been few and far between in his second spell at the club. Heʼs a player that has divided fans ever since his return up north from Aston Villa. Many many fans myself included didnʼt think Maloney should be afforded a return to Celtic after the way we felt he had let us done badly when he left for Villa Park.

Shaun had suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury and despite the fact nobody was sure if he would return the same player Gordon Strachan fought to get the board to offer him a new contract. Celtic were very good to Shaun in this time and when he came back from injury he had his best spell winning both Scottish footballs player and young player of the year.

The disharmony came to be when Shaun played hardball over a new contract and eventually left under a cloud for Martin OʼNeillʼs Villains. Personally I think Maloney was due us a bit more loyalty considering we had taken a chance on him while injured and this was the reason many eyebrows were raised upon his ʻgloriousʼ return. His second spell has been a disaster for the player and a quick check shows he only played 55 games in the last 3 years. Maloney is constantly injured. Iʼll be absolutely astonished if he plays 20 games this season. Actually whenever I hear his name David Bowie singing China Doll creeps into my head. It would seem his hamstring is made of glass.

On his game heʼs a fantastic player who loves to drift in from the left onto his right foot and has a good eye for goal. He certainly isnʼt an out and out winger and isnʼt the kind of guy who will hit the byeline but rather step inside and play neat one-twoʼs around the box. Heʼs often been described as a buzzbomb as he is very busy but heʼs lost a bit of the pace he had when he was younger. Heʼs by no means a slouch though. Ned asked me if heʼs the kind of guy that will get stuck in. Flying into tackles no but heʼll certainly track back and has a good engine to get up and down the flank. I would say one of his biggest assets is heʼs a very intelligent player and reads the game extremely well.

There is no doubt in my mind if he can stay fit and if this is the position Wigan are looking to fill heʼll be a great signing but again I canʼt stress enough his fitness is a major problem.

There is also a myth surrounding him being a dead ball specialist. In his first spell he was quite prolific with free-kicks but this ability seems to have alluded him on his return. Frustratingly his seniority in the team (was stand in captain for a period) often seen him push better candidates to the side before he sailed one harmlessly over the bar. Most notably when Nakamura was in the side who was a real free-kick expert.

You may think reading this that Iʼm being overly harsh and my opinion has been tainted from my disdain at him letting us down. Believe me itʼs not Iʼm being as honest as I can. I think youʼll find most fans have actually forgiven him his sins but at the same time everyone knew it was time for him to move on. Money is tight in the Scottish game and Maloney being one of the larger earners at the club who spent the majority of his time in the physio room was a pay packet that could be better utilised. In saying that heʼs fit and raring to go at the minute so weʼll see how he goes.

Iʼm not sorry to see Shaun go but I wish him the very best of luck in the rest of his career. Heʼs a pretty laid back guy with no billy big boots airs or graces about him and I pray he can get a real run of games under his belt for you. Iʼll watch his career now from afar with interest.

I hope this has been a decent insight into what you have bought and hope I havenʼt panicked you too much with the injury woeʼs. If anyone would like any further info I can be contacted at LostBhoys@gmail.com.

Iʼd like to wish Wigan and Maloney all the best for the season ahead, most sincerely.

 

A Burnley fan’s view of Chris McCann

mccann

 

Written by: Phil Lea aka Turfmanphil, Vital Burnley Editor

Published: August 7, 2013.

 

 

Chris McCann had been a one-club man since he arrived at Turf Moor from his native Ireland in 2004 from Home Farm. Clarets fans had seen him develop into an exciting midfielder but in recent seasons he just doesn’t seem to have been firing on all cylinders and there are a number of theories as to why.

There is no doubt that McCann’s best season was in our promotion season to the top flight during 2008-9 and of course new Wigan boss, Owen Coyle was Burnley manager at the time so it could be argued he brought the best out of him. McCann seemed to relish playing under Coyle and the ‘old magic’ might return now he as at Wigan under his former gaffer.

It was a disastrous season for McCann in the Premier League though. an unfortunate knee injury and subsequent surgery to his cruciate following the game against Sunderland at Turf Moor in September 2009 sidelined the midfielder until December 2009 In his second match back from injury, he picked up a second injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season!

Following Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League the injury woes continued for McCann although he returned and played in three pre-season friendlies, in the first game of Burnley’s tour of Singapore he was taken of with yet another knee injury. He was sent to see a specialist and faced another long lay-off. Clarets fans wondered whether the injuries had some sort of psychological effect on McCann because he never seemed to reach the dizzy heights achieved under Coyle again following his return. He didn’t seem to be going into the tackle as much perhaps conscious of his knee problems and he was certainly not as influential on the game. Eddie Howe bizarrely made him captain too for the 2011-12 season, some thought to keep him at Turf Moor and it was a total failure. The responsibility seemed to affect his game even more and most fans felt he was not skipper material generally being too quiet and ineffective.

Stripped of the responsibility after Jason Shackell became captain, last season was probably McCann’s best for sometime but again he blew hot and cold and his heart did not seem to be in it! He was no doubt thinking about his next career move and he was not even prepared to consider a new contract this summer.

In summary if Coyle can get the best out of McCann like he did during his time at Turf Moor, you will be getting a very strong and effective attacking midfielder who will also score quite a few goals for you during a season. It might be the new lease of life, McCann needs to get his career back on track and all Clarets fans I am sure will wish him well.

 

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From scapegoat to hero – A look at Jordi’s five years at Wigan

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

“My time in Wigan was unforgettable.”

 

 

So said Jordi Gómez after he had cut his five year tie with Wigan Athletic by agreeing to join Sunderland.

The myriad of Latics fans that for months had been campaigning for him to stay through the social media were to be disappointed, although in their heart of hearts they probably knew it was not going to happen. The player who was transformed from scapegoat to hero is packing his bags for the north east. Emotion apart, a return to the Premier League and a lucrative three year contract makes sound sense to a player who is 29 years old.

It is ironic that Gómez should be leaving Wigan with his popularity ratings being at their highest point during his five year stay. His final season proved to be easily his best. The Spaniard had started to win over fans through playing a key role in the FA Cup run of the previous season. Moreover he had shown before what a force he could be playing in the Championship division. However, it took the departure of the hapless Owen Coyle to allow Gómez the chance to show what he was capable of. He was to shine under Uwe Rösler.

After suffering continual verbal abuse from sections of the crowd for so many years, Gómez had won over so many of them through his performances over these past months. Ice cool penalties dispatched in the cup run against Manchester City and Arsenal thrust him once again into the eye of the media. Spectacular goals from long range in open play and from free kicks, matched with a high work rate added to the impression of the Spaniard being a changed man under the management of Uwe Rösler.

In the end his displays managed to convince the majority of Latics fans that he was a player the club should keep if they were to keep pressing for promotion. The inability of the club to keep him leads supporters to worry about who next will jump ship.

But was it more than just financial security that helped the Spaniard decide to leave Wigan after five years?

If it had not been for an end of season rally,  Sunderland would have been joining Latics in the Championship next season. Gus Poyet must have known it would be an uphill task to turn things around when he replaced Paolo Di Canio at Sunderland in October last year. Poyet had come in with a reputation for good football from his time at Brighton and the Mackems are a much more attractive side to watch now. It is a playing style that Gomez should find relatively easy to fit into.

Although the majority of Latics fans will be sad to see Gómez go, there will be others who won’t.

Jordi Gómez was a player who divided Latics fans. He was derided by those who preferred the more traditional English approach of “up and at ‘em” . His admirers would say he was a skilful player who could bring order to a game through his cultured technique, keeping the ball while under pressure, drawing fouls. It was sometimes said that we would never see how good Gomez could be until Latics were playing the level of skilful football that Roberto Martinez sought.

The anti-Gomez lobby was strong during Martinez’ reign at Wigan. Jordi Gómez was identified as a player in whom the manager had faith beyond the norm. When the crowd lost their patience with the tiki-taka style of Martinez’ teams it was so often Gomez who suffered the brunt of their frustration .

I retain a vivid memory of the first match of what proved to be the last season for Martinez at Wigan. Latics had lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea. At the end of the match I was sheltering from the pouring rain outside, when I overheard a conversation where a group of Latics supporters came to the consensus that having Gomez in the team was like playing with ten men. These fans were  infuriated  by the team’s apparent unwillingness to go at Chelsea after falling behind. Jordi had come on in the second half for crowd favourite Shaun Maloney. Once again Jordi Gómez had become the scapegoat of a section of fans, who were above all frustrated by the manager’s tactical approach.

In those days, when Wigan fell behind there would be little increase in tempo, contrary to what one would expect in English football. In this particular game Latics had so often seemed languid after giving away a soft opening goal. In such circumstances the Englishman in me would get frustrated, even if I  knew that Martinez’s teams would not follow the usual English pattern. Watch Barcelona fall behind and you would see no change in their brand of football: they would eventually grind you down and beat you. The Barcelona style was clearly an inspiration for Martinez, but he was savvy enough to know that Latics did not have the wherewithal to go with it fully.

Jordi had come through the youth ranks at La Masia, with the likes of Messi and Pique. The Barca style of play was in his blood and it was probably for that very reason that Martinez first signed him. Martinez espoused possession football and for Gómez had grown up playing that brand of tiki taka.

It was anathema  for Gómez to waste the ball with a speculative pass. He would infuriate fans by passing the ball backwards or sideways, rather than risk losing possession. His detractors would label him as lazy, too slow and unwilling to go into 50/50 challenges.

If one looked at the stats for ground covered during his time on the pitch the ‘lazy’ tag would he hard to justify. When Latics’ defence or midfield was under pressure Gómez was invariably there to receive the ball, so often drawing free kicks which gave his side a breather. But too often Martinez would play Gómez in a role wide on the right where he did not have the pace to get past the full back on the outside. Inevitably he would have to cut the ball back inside, once again testing the patience of the fans. The manager was doing the player no favours using him in that position.

Over four years in the Premier League Gómez had mixed success. In the minds of many Wigan Athletic supporters Jordi Gómez never quite proved that he could handle the transition from the Championship to the Premier League. Too often he would get himself into great scoring positions, but not have the composure to put the ball in the net. However, Martinez continued to have faith in Gómez and the player persevered with the support of his manager, despite hostility from elements of the crowd, but never establishing himself as a regular starter.

In the 2012-13, his last season in the Premier League, Gómez scored three goals in 32 appearances However, those goals were memorable as they came in the same game, a thrilling  3-2 home win over Reading in November.

In that very game Gómez was booed early on following misplaced passes and poor finishing. A few minutes later he slipped an incisive short pass through to Kone who should have scored. But Gómez was back to showing his frustrating side just before half time, maneuvering past defenders with considerable skill in before shooting wide. Who would have thought that he would come to the rescue, winning this game for the Latics with a brilliant hat trick of second half goals? Even the most fair and open-minded of Latics supporters had been getting to the point where they would wince to see his name on the team sheet.

The game would be remembered as the day that Gómez showed the Wigan fans that his manager’s faith in his abilities might be justified after all. In the second half of this match he had looked a class act, threading through good passes and taking his chances with great aplomb. Sadly Gomez was unable to add to his goal tally in the league after that.

That hat trick against Reading really was something special, but Gómez’ outstanding contribution in the 2012-13 season was in the FA Cup. Gomez was pivotal in that cup run, scoring three goals and making four assists. His assist for Callum McManaman’s goal in the semi-final against Millwall will stick in the minds of Wigan supporters for years to come. In the FA Cup Final Gomez had played remarkably well in a midfield holding role, but as fate would decree, he was the one to go off after 81 minutes to allow Watson to come on.

Given his previous success in the Championship with Swansea, Gómez appeared to be a key player for Owen Coyle on his arrival at Wigan. However, the Scot did not get the best out of the player, sometimes following Martinez’s habit of playing him wide on the right.

The low point for the player under Coyle was in the Europa League home game against Zulte Waregem in early December. Coyle had put out a well-balanced starting lineup, omitting his two out-of-form central strikers and playing Nick Powell upfront. Callum McMananan and James McClean were on the wings and this time Gómez was played in his natural advanced midfield role.The four were to link up very well at times in the first half, showing the kind of movement and mutual understanding that had been sadly lacking for big chunks of the previous game against Brighton. Although he made mistakes at times, Gómez was a key link player in the first half.

Gómez had a bad start to the second half, with poor deliveries from set pieces followed by the crowd voicing their frustration with him after being caught unawares as an opponent robbed him of the ball.  He was to be substituted soon after. Taking him off after the crowd got on his case was not going to help the player’s confidence. He needed a better level of support from a manager who had put him in the starting lineup.

However, the arrival of Rösler was to enable Gómez to play the football he was always capable of at Championship level, resulting in him being voted ‘Player of the Year’. But if fans would have voted for the  award in December, Gómez would have been nowhere near the top of the charts.

Ironically Gómez only became a regular starter under Rösler in March. Prior to that he was in and out of the lineup, only once completing a full 90 minutes. However, following serious injuries to Ben Watson and Chris McCann,  Gómez’s  name was to become one of the first to be written on the teamsheet. Spectacular and crucial goals, great assists and a willingness to cover every blade of grass of the pitch were to help Gómez win that ‘Player of the Year’ award. In doing so he leapfrogged over stalwarts like Emmerson Boyce and James McArthur who had played far more games and provided a real backbone for the team. However, given the abuse that Gómez had taken over the years, few would begrudge him the award.

In the minds of many Wigan Athletic supporters Jordi Gómez never quite proved that he could handle the transition from the Championship to the Premier League. He had a rare ability to drift in, seemingly unnoticed by a defence, but too often he would get himself into great scoring positions, but not have the composure to put the ball in the net. There had been so many times over the those years when Gómez had done everything right until his final touch has let him down, whether it will be a header, a shot or a defence-splitting pass. He just did not seem to have had the self-belief to deliver in the Premier League.

The stats show that in four years playing in the Premier League Gómez scored 7 goals in in 46 starts and 25 appearances as a substitute. He made no assists.

As Swansea’s ‘Player of the Year’ in the 2008-09 season he scored 12 goals in 38 starts and 6 substitute appearances, making 5 assists. As Wigan Athletic’s  ‘Player of the Year’ he scored 12 goals and made 10 assists in 37 starts and 13 substitute appearances, in all competitions. The stats reveal the gulf between the player’s performances in the Premier League and the Championship.

However, whatever shortcomings he might have had at Premier League level, there could be no doubting his determination and commitment to the club. Gómez has learned to hassle and harry the opposition, and to cover a large number of yards of the pitch in each game he plays. At Swansea he played in a newly promoted team that was on the up. His role was to orchestrate the midfield and to score goals. When he arrived at Wigan he moved into a struggling team that was too often unable to get the lion’s share of the possession.

Latics fans will surely wish Jordi Gómez well at Sunderland. Despite constant abuse from some sections of the crowd he has maintained a positive and professional attitude. He will be long remembered for his role in helping Wigan Athletic win the FA Cup.

Jordi’s next challenge will be to prove, once and for all, that he is a true Premier League player. Sunderland might not be the best side in the elite division, but with Gus Poyet at the helm the Spaniard  should be able to slot seamlessly into the style of play.

 

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Team selection and shape, loan players and discipline – A Brentford View of Uwe’s Tactics: Part 2

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

 

Billy down the pub with Rosler signings Brentford captain Tony Craig and Alan McCormack (and the rest of the team) the night Brentford won promotion.

Billy down the pub with Rosler signings Brentford captain Tony Craig and Alan McCormack (and the rest of the team) the night Brentford won promotion.

Following Uwe Rosler’s appointment in December, Billy Grant gave us a fan’s view of the German’s time at Brentford (click here to see the previous article). Six months later we have come back to Billy to give us more of his insight.

Billy writes for the Brentford fanzine http://www.Beesotted.co.uk (Twitter – @beesotted). He will also be travelling to his sixth World Cup this year, video-blogging his way around the country for All Mouth No Action’s ‘World Cup FanCam’. You can follow Billy by RSS linking http://www.worldcupfancam.com. Also follow him on twitter @worldcupfancam and @billythebee99. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldcupfancam.

This is Part 2 of our look at Rosler’s footballing philosophy and tactical style through the eyes of this knowledgeable Brentford fan. Click here to see Part 1 on high pressing and squad rotation.

Fans here find it hard to predict Uwe’s lineups and substitutions can be even harder to predict. Granted that much of this might have been down to having to rotate his squad and save players for upcoming matches. Do have any insight into what his rationale might be?

Not really. One reason why Uwe used to rotate the team was he would try and adapt the Brentford team depending on the opposition. Many fans wanted him to stick to the same team and let the opposition worry about us. That obviously changed after the Stevenage game when he stuck with the same team week in and week out.

To be fair to Uwe, he would often change the team quite radically as well as the tactics if it was not working in the first half. More often than not, this has proven to have positive results with the changes turning the game around. His teams were also known for fighting till the very very end. Brentford were well known for scoring important goals very late in the game – this I believe was down to the team’s increased fitness levels that Uwe insisted on, an incredible team spirit within the side fostered by Uwe and an alteration in the team, formation and or tactics.

Uwe’s masterstrokes were becoming legendary.

At Loftus Road in the playoff semi final we saw the hoof once more rear its ugly head. That was what fans might have expected more from Coyle’s teams than Rosler’s. Over the past months it has become more and more prevalent. A measured long pass is one thing, but hoofing forward speculative high balls to the opposition defence is something else. It could have been a symptom of mental tiredness on the part of the players, but did Uwe manage to keep a lid on it when at Brentford?

We saw a bit of both at Brentford. There was the total passing game which was interspersed with a long ball game. In division one, Uwe learned that pretty football did not always get you the results you wanted. Long ball was sometimes effective for Brentford although after three seasons of seeing our style change, many fans would get p!ssed off if we resorted to a long ball game.

We had a striker, Farid El Alagui, who was a big fans’ favourite who used to attack aerial balls and chase everything down with a passion. Unfortunately, he got injured early on in the “Doncaster” season and when he came back a year later at the beginning of the promotion season, our football style had changed somewhat. Brentford were beginning to rely a lot less on playing the long ball game. Farid was reduced to an occasional substitute. Ironically, in quite a few games he came on in, he managed to switch the game up and score. Brentford fans wanted to keep Farid as an option so that we could switch to a “B” plan which involved playing a more direct style of football. But he was used less and less and eventually was loaned to Dundee Utd just after Uwe left.

I was actually at Loftus Road in the Wigan end for the QPR game with Laney the Beesotted founder. Uwe kindly sorted us out match tickets. We blame ourselves for Wigan losing. Brentford have a terrible record in the playoffs – losing every 7 of the playoffs we have been in – so I’m surprised he let us anywhere near the match with our dismal playoff record. Saying that, Uwe is totally practical when it comes to superstition not believing that past Brentford’s failures should have any impact on current games. I think he may take a different view after we lost to Yeovil in the final once again last year and our jonah appearance at Loftus Rd.

My personal opinion was with so much at stake, Uwe probably played it a little bit too cautious at QPhah. It reminded me of some games at Brentford back in the day. Lots of good skillful passing play. Getting the ball up to front men quickly who are unable to deliver. Giving the ball away in midfield needlesslessly at times. Quite frustrating as naturally, we wanted you guys to win. But his argument will be – Wigan were playing away from home so you keep it tight and hit the opposition with a sucker punch and all of a sudden they’re chasing you for the game. That’s when you switch it up in the last 20 minutes with substitutions to expose those gaps.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work that way.

How successfully did Uwe use the loan system at Brentford? Things did not work out well for him here with many of his loan players. Not one of them appeared in the starting lineups in the two playoff games. What proportion of loan players “made it” at Brentford. How many were later to sign permanent contracts?

Brentford have a wicked loan system. We have a sporting director who’s main role is dealing with the player side of things. Current manager Mark Warburton was sporting director when Uwe was manager. The two very much worked as a team. Who actually found specific players we signed I cannot say for sure. But as Warburton’s background and passion is developing youth team players, I can only assume that it was he who developed relationships with a number of premier league academies as he created the NextGen series (sort of the champions league for academy teams). As a result I can then assume that he  recommended the signing of young Everton academy players Luke Bidwell, Adam Forshaw (league one player of the year this season) and Conor McAleney, as well as players like Harlee Dean (Southampton), Kadeem Harris (Cardiff), Tom Adeyemi (Norwich) and Marcello Trotta (Fulham). I may be wrong though. Bidwell, Forshaw and Dean played a good season or so on loan for the Bees before becoming permanent signings.

Adeyemi was great for Brentford in the “Doncaster” season and we tried to buy him in the summer. We would have got him if we got promoted but Birmingham waded in and promised him Championship football so he left for them. We’re still trying to sign Trotta after he matured massively after “crossbar-gate” in the last league game of last season. He’ll probably end up at Wigan as will George Saville (Chelsea) who had a great debut season for us and Uwe tried to sign in the January window. We tried to sign him too but he’s going places and has already said his farewells to Brentford after the team’s promotion holiday in Vegas.

The policy Brentford has is to pick up players with great potential but still needing a lot of developing. Then give them match time and try and sign them from the parent club on a deal which gives the club a decent sell-on clause.

Matthew Benham the owner also keeps an eye on what is happening in the transfer market and, as he owns a company which analyses football data of players worldwide, he occasionally throws in suggestions of players Brentford should look at. But it is ultimately down to the manager and sporting director to see whether these players fit into the squad.

We did have a number of duff loan and permanent signings too. Paul Hayes comes to mind as a striker with potential that just didn’t work out. His fitness levels were apparently incredibly poor and his work rate wasnot up to Uwe’s standards. He was on decent money too. it’s no secret that him and Uwe fell out. He was banished to the development team, trained on his own at stages and was loaned out to Plymouth and Crawley. We ended up having to pay him off as no one would even take him on loan for any period of time.

Bradley Wright-Philips I feel was also a disappointment. Yes he scored a last minute equaliser up at Bramall Lane when we were down to 9 men which will always be remembers for years to come as one of the great Brentdord matches .. But the reality is if he had scored more goals in his loan spell at the end of “Doncaster” season we would not have had to rely on Marcello Trotta to score that 94th minute penalty to get automatic promotion to the Championship.

Czech striker Martin Fillo played for Uwe in Norway. We signed him on a season-long loan but he didn’t make the grade. Maybe this was a reflection of the standard of our division where players who looked great playing in the Norwegian league, couldn’t even make the bench in a Division One side. Lesson learned for Uwe there.

This last season, the decision was made that the manager, sporting director and owner had to agree on all signings. That I believe helped to ensure there we maximised the potential of all our signings and didn’t repeat the Paul Hayes mistake.

So to answer your question, Uwe played the loan system very well at Brentford. He had a great team of people to work with to make sure the right decisions were being made and to bounce off. Something he will need at Wigan I reckon.

What is Uwe’s transfer market style? Where does he like to shop? Is he willing to splash cash either on transfer fees or wages for the right players? Obviously Wigan has a bit more money than Brentford, what sort of signings should we expect?

This is a toughie. I can’t be sure who initiated the decision to bring in particular players. I do know for example Uwe was incredibly keen on Marcello Trotta. When we failed to get promoted, Uwe wanted to bring Marcello back but for various reasons, it was decided that was best if we looked elsewhere. When the season started, we we still short of a striker and to make matters worse, Conor McAleney got injured within the first month. We tried desperately hard to bring in a striker before the deadline but were turned down repeatedly. After the deadline closed, Uwe then requested he bring Trotta back from Fulham on loan and the wish was granted. The move was met with anger from a large section of the Brentford fanbase (I will be quick to point out that Beesotted was behind Trotta’s move back to Griffin Park from day one). Trotta went on to show what a great player he is by putting in a shift and scoring some crucial goals for the team this season including the one away to Orient in mid March which, in effect, sealed our promotion to The Championship.

That was an incredibly brave move by Uwe. But he believed in Trotta and wanted him to prove to people what he was capable of. Yes he’s still green and makes mistakes but he’s young and is developing. We’re currently trying to sign him but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up at Wigan if Fulham decide to cash in on him.

Uwe likes to give younger more enthusiastic players a chance to grow with him. Interesting that he pulled Rob Kiernan from Southend and put him in your team (Rob was at Brentford on loan last season and we were meant to be getting him on loan in January but it fell through much to our disappointment). I was very surprised he let Dicko go though. I seriously thought Uwe was going to send him to Brentford when he pulled him from Rotherham or keep him. He was just the type of player we needed. I was gutted when he went to Wolves. I believe his signing turned their season as they were third and we were top when they signed him. 13 goals in 16 starts says it all.

I feel Uwe would be prepared to splash cash if the player is right. But he won’t go overboard Harry Redknapp-stylee as he believes every player has a value and that should adhered to. He bought Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg for £350k plus which was big money for us. He scored 20 goals from Walsall the season before. So far he hasn’t quite worked out for us but it will be interesting to see how he fairs in the Championship.

Uwe has used a variety of tactical formations here at Wigan, using either a conventional back four or a line of three central defenders and wing backs. Did he have a preferred team shape at Brentford?

Uwe would often switch formation during the game. But we would normally go for four at the back, four or five in the midfield and one or two up front. normally 4-5-1 away from home. Or maybe 4-4-1-1 with a player in “the hole”. Then some time during the game we would switch to a traditional 4-4-2. But we have never played with three centre backs as far as I can remember. Sometimes a player would drop back from midfield and play deeper just in front of the centre backs.

Uwe also believed massively in wing backs with Jake Bidwell and Shaelum Logan (who was then replaced by Alan McCormack) careering down the wings. This season, we have been playing a lot of games 4-4-3. I have a feeling Uwe instigated the 4-3-3 switch post Stevenage when we brought in Kadeem Harris to bomb up and down that left wing. But then I can’t be sure. It’s been a long season trust me.

One last question – squad discipline. Did Uwe have to deal with anything such as players drink driving or causing trouble. Any public reprimanding?

There were a few incidents I know about but I would rather not repeat them in public. They were obviously kept under wraps for a reason. Some things are best held down in order to maintain the equilibrium within the team. But a job of a manager is to manage a team of individuals. And that will involve making some tough calls. There were dressing room politics and personal battles at Brentford for sure. That will be the same in any team. How the manager deals with it is the important thing. The Stevenage dressing room lock-in allowed a number of issues that were festering to come out. It obviously did the job as we went on a 19 match unbeaten run after that. That to me was good man-management.

From what I can gather, Uwe was an incredibly firm but fair manager. He wanted things done his way and he would be meticulous in ensuring that that happened. He was a big believer in team spirit and bonding. That’s why he took the team over to Germany two seasons running for a training and bonding exercise. The fans were invited over to stay in the team hotel the first season as Uwe felt that having the fans and team bonding together was an important exercise in the club moving forward together. Needless to say, this move went down incredibly well with the fans who felt that the team hadn’t got “too big” for them.

It was not Uwe’s style to publicly reprimand any player. Some of the stuff we have heard that has gone down behind closed doors would have definitely been made public by certain managers. But Uwe preferred to keep a lid on it. And even at times blame himself or himself and the team together for things when they didn’t go to plan. Which was a refreshing change to our previous manager Andy Scott who week in and week out used to blame the players for any failings without criticizing himself occasionally for poor tactics or team selection.

The final thing I would say about Uwe is he is still learning. He will make mistakes but he puts his hand up and readily admits that. But if the club allows him to grow with them, he will make a great manager. I personally don’t believe he has quite finalised his staffing issues. I reckon he will bring in a few more people around him so that he has his own team to work with – just like he had at Brentford. We were all surprised that Alan Kernaghan didn’t go with him at Christmas. Maybe he will be on the way in the summer. Lovely bloke is Alan. But I say Uwe really benefitted from Brentford’s Sporting Director system. It took a lot of pressure off him as a lot of the work for finding and delivering players was being done by a man who’s full time job it was to build relationships with key clubs and unearth and present players for possible additions to the squad. I wouldn’t be surprised if Uwe was talking to Whelan at this very moment about poaching one of the premiership academy coaches for this very role.

Best of luck for next season. But not too much luck. We’re in the same division now remember.

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