Burnley Preview – Can Latics do it again?

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

“After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust cart” is a saying that can so often hold true in football. Wigan Athletic fans will be hoping that will not be the case when their team visits Burnley tomorrow.

Over the course of a season a team can reach its highs, but they are so often spread apart. Highs rarely come in consecutive games, but for Latics’ over the past week it has been the case. A superb performance in the FA Cup semi-final draw with Arsenal was followed by the best home display of the season, with a resounding 3-0 win over fellow play-off contenders, Reading. Both results were obtained by Latics playing high quality football.

But can they reach their third high in the space of nine days by getting a good result at Turf Moor? Or will it be an anticlimax?

The trip to Burnley was never going to be easy. Moreover it is a particularly big one for the hosts since they can win automatic promotion by beating Wigan.

Burnley have had a wonderful season, consistently punching above their weight. Somehow they have managed to stay clear of the large-scale injury problems that have dogged promotion rivals, although striker Sam Vokes will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury. However, the 25 goal Danny Ings will play up front with Ashley Barnes, signed from Brighton in the January transfer window.

Uwe Rosler will rotate his squad as always. He has stated that some players who were not even on the bench on Good Friday will make the team tomorrow. That appears to point at the likes of Gary Caldwell and Josh McEachran.

Nicky Maynard and James McClean are due to reappear in attack and Rob Kiernan and Stephen Crainey in defence. Rosler might well revert to a 3-5-2 formation, with Caldwell and Kiernan in the backline. The in-form Callum McManaman is likely to be rested, although he might make the bench. Shaun Maloney might well come on at some time in the proceedings, although he is unlikely to start his second game in three days following his recuperation from long-term injury.

The last two performances have shown the kind of quality football that Rosler’s Latics can produce. However, they are also capable of grinding out results away from home against promotion rivals, as to which Brighton and Derby can attest.

A good result at Burnley will consolidate Latics’ playoff position. It might not be pretty to watch, but Wigan have enough strength in depth to more than match their East Lancashire opponents.

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Maloney and Callum ready for Reading

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews and tagged with , , ,
Shaun Maloney
Callum McManaman

What a refreshing sight it was to see a sparking Callum McManaman running at the Arsenal defence on Saturday. It was almost like a glimpse from the past. When he plays like that few defences can contain him. Per Mertesacker will not be the last player to give away a penalty against the young winger, who outdid him on pace.

A week or two back if someone had said that McManaman would be back to his best and Shaun Maloney would be back in action it would have been hard to believe. Maloney sat on the bench at Wembley, but would most likely have come on for the extra time period if it were not for the unfortunate injury to Ivan Ramis, which required Uwe Rosler to use a defender as his third substitution. But the Scot had somehow played for the whole ninety minutes in the previous match against Millwall, despite not having played competively for some six months.

Maloney and McManaman, together with the departed Arouna Kone, provided the attacking thrust for Roberto Martinez’s cup winning side. A centre forward of Kone’s class was always going to be difficult to replace since he was not only a superb target man but also had an eye for goal. We have seen a succession of players in that position this season – Grant Holt, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Nicky Maynard and Nick Powell – but none has so far managed to get the balance between the two main facets of a central striker’s game. Until the end of the regular season Uwe Rosler will rotate Fortune, Maynard and Powell, although the young Manchester United loanee probably has the edge on claiming a starting position should Latics reach the playoffs.

Wigan’s injury problems continue, following Ivan Ramis’ sad exit in the FA Cup Semi Final. The Spaniard had been on superb form since coming back from injury. However, Latics are well covered for central defenders. Apart from a missed penalty that he should probably never have taken, Gary Caldwell made a successful return from long-term injury against Arsenal, surprisingly getting the nod ahead of the dependable Leon Barnett.

Since his hamstring injury at Ipswich Barnett has not been able to re-establish himself as the automatic choice he was previously. However, Rosler might well be holding him back until he regains full fitness. Barnett is the best header of the ball in the Latics defence and might well be preferred against teams who play a more direct style.

On the bright side it was good to see Roger Espinoza on the bench at Wembley, following a hernia operation. With the non-emergence of Ryan Tunnicliffe Latics have been short of options in midfield. A national newspaper reported last week that Tunnicliffe’s loan period had been cut short by Rosler with the player sent back to Fulham.

Having to play Reading at home on Good Friday and Burnley away on Easter Monday, Rosler will continue to rotate his squad. However, he is likely to put forward his strongest lineup against Reading, who lie a place below Latics in the playoff zone. It could well be close to that which lined up at Wembley, but with Maloney and Martyn Waghorn stepping in. The exciting, if enigmatic, James McClean did not make the bench at Wembley but will also come into consideration.

Reading themselves have some injury problems. According to their manager, ex-Latics goalkeeper Nigel Adkins  “It’s been the story of the season. I don’t know who we’ll have available for Wigan, we’ll have to have a roll call with everybody. The easy thing would be to say ‘there you go, have a few weeks off’ but we just can’t afford that. We’ve got to keep pushing as much as we can, with all the players. We’re probably rushing people back a bit sooner than we would ideally want, but that’s where we are at this stage of the season.”

Given the injury problems Latics have faced this season, Adkins is unlikely to receive any sympathy from them. However, the visitors could well be without a handful of their senior players for the clash tomorrow.

Latics have been afforded a recuperation period of six days since the FA Cup Semi Final, rather than the 3-4 days that has been the norm over the last couple of months.

They go into the game relatively fresh, with McManaman and Maloney ready to cause problems for the Royals.

Three points for Latics is definitely on the cards.

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Latics looking ready for the Premier League

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

logo_premier_league_1241

A week or two back Stuart Gray, manager of Sheffield Wednesday, commented that Wigan Athletic had a Premier League squad playing in the Championship. A similar comment was later made by Brian McDermott, Leeds United supremo, although he qualified his remark by saying that it was second to Leicester’s.

Whether Leicester’s squad is any better than Wigan’s is doubtful, but neither manager mentioned Queens Park Rangers, the most expensively assembled squad in the division. According to the Daily Star,  QPR got relegated last year although their budget was higher than that of Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund. Their budget this year has been scaled down, but is still unrealistically high for a Championship club.

There was talk in the pre-season that Wigan Athletic were going to have a splurge in the transfer market, using money brought in from their summer sales. Many fans were disgruntled when it did not happen, with Owen Coyle paying no more than around £2m for any of the players he brought in.

With catapult payments and transfer fees coming into play the club had a financial decision to make – how best to use that money. Given the extra six matches they were due to play in the Europa League they chose to spend on building a large squad, capable of putting up a good show in Europe and competing for promotion back to the Premier League. Little did they know at the time that Latics would also end up playing six matches in the FA Cup!

In February Latics played at Cardiff in the FA Cup 5th round in a televised game. At the time the commentators remarked on how one team had so much more Premier League experience than the other. But it was Wigan Athletic they were referring to. In fact every single player in their starting lineup had previously played in the Premier League.

Similarly at the FA Cup Semi Final last weekend all the starters had that experience. Moreover  Emmerson Boyce and Scott Carson alone had amassed almost 300 starts at Premier League level.

Some might say that Latics’ cup run this year has detracted from their league form. However, on their way to knocked out through the lottery of penalties, Latics were unbeaten within normal time against four Premier League teams, including two in Champions League spots. The self confidence garnered from such experience should not be underrated.

The displays against Arsenal and Manchester City have shown that this Wigan Athletic squad is good enough to challenge not only teams in the bottom half of the Premier League, but also those at the very top.

It has been a season of highs and lows for Wigan Athletic. Moreover the sheer volume of games they have had to play has contributed to poor results against teams that they would have otherwise beaten.

Uwe Rosler has done a fantastic job in raising Latics up into the playoff zone and being within a whisker of reaching another FA Cup Final.

It could be that sheer fatigue, injuries or controversial refereeing decisions will come into play over the coming weeks. However, Rosler will be mindful of the need to grind out enough points to secure that playoff place, but at the same time making sure that his key players peak at the right time – in the playoffs themselves.

The Championship playoffs are a pressure cauldron, where the unexpected can happen. However, Rosler has at his disposal an experienced and capable squad which has proved it can compete with the elite of English football.

The German’s challenge will be to ensure that the players are not complacent over the coming weeks. Latics fans are hoping for another Wembley visit on May 24th.

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Arsenal 1 Wigan Athletic 1 – valiant Latics go out on penalties

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports

Arsene Wenger

Wigan Athletic gave as fine a performance as one could possibly expect, despite going down 4-2 on penalties to Arsenal after extra time. The leaps of joy from the Arsenal players on winning the shootout was testimony to the relief they must have felt. Latics had been leading until the 82nd  minute when a miskick led to a Gunners goal. It is a testimony to Uwe Rosler’s game plan and the commitment and quality shown by his players that they were only minutes away from another Wembley final.

Rosler surprised us by fielding a flat back four with Emmerson Boyce and Ivan Ramis in the centre of defence and James Perch and Stephen Crainey at full back. James McArthur, Josh McEachran and Jordi Gomez lined up in midfield, with Callum McManaman and Jean Beausejour nominally supporting Marc Antoine Fortune up front.

Arsenal put early pressure on Latics, particularly on the right where Oxlade-Chamberlain looked dangerous. He produced a superb cross that Sanogo headed towards goal, Carson making a terrific reflex save. However, after that initial 15 minutes Latics were starting to look more composed and their game plan was stifling their expensive opponents.

Sagna hit the ball wide after Vermaelen had headed a corner in his direction after 26 minutes, but Latics continued to fight their way back into the game, looking more composed. Callum McManaman was looking lively and he put a good effort just wide after cutting into the penalty box. Jean Beausejour had dropped back to cover the danger from Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Perch was giving Podolski no breathing space on the other flank.

Latics continued to frustrate Arsenal as the second half progressed. Their pressing in midfield nullified the passing movements one normally expects from the Gunners and Latics were playing composed football. Sensationally Latics were to gain a penalty in the 63rd minute as McManaman was tripped by Mertesacker as he sped across the penalty box teeing up a shot. The penalty was delayed with the injured Monreal being taken off, but Gomez showed great temperament by dispatching the penalty past Fabianski. Ironically he placed it to the right of Fabianski in a similar way to the one that was saved at Bolton, but it was good enough to beat the Polish ‘keeper.

A minute later Rosler took off McEachran, bringing on Jack Collison. Four minutes after that he took off McManaman, who had been Latics’ most dangerous player, for Nick Powell. Arsenal brought on Giroud for Podolski and started to play a more direct game, putting Latics under pressure. Sagna headed against the post, then Carson made a superb parry from a Gibbs header, with Crainey somehow clearing it off the line.  Sadly Latics’ defensive heroics were undone eight minutes from time when the unmarked Mertesacker headed in a scuffed shot from Gibbs.

The excellent Ramis limped off after 86 minutes to be surprisingly replaced by Gary Caldwell, with Leon Barnett remaining on the bench. It was the club captain’s first senior outing for close on a year. Latics held on in the closing minutes of normal time.

Extra time was a cruel consequence for a Wigan Athletic outfit that had already played more games than any other team in the country. However, they maintained their organization and composure in extra time despite close calls with Carson making a fine save from Sanogo and Oxlade-Chamberlain hitting the underside of the crossbar.

The match went to penalties, but Latics just did not have the depth in that department. Caldwell and Collison had the first two penalties saved and although McArthur and Beausejour dispatched their’s with aplomb, it was not enough, as the Gunners scored four out of four.

The Good

A superb display, brilliantly choreographed by Rosler. As at the Etihad in the previous round he got his tactics just right and Latics were within a whisker of pulling off a spectacular victory against great odds.

The defence was superb with Boyce and Ramis showing their class and composure. The midfield worked so hard to nullify the Arsenal threat.

McManaman was back to his best, clearly enjoying his return to Wembley.

Rosler stuck his neck out by putting in Carson for Al-Habsi, but the Cumbrian was superb. The German did it once again by bringing in Caldwell to replace Ramis, but the Scot did a fine job in defence.

The Bad

The performance cannot be faulted. However, taking off McManaman so early in the proceedings took some pressure off Arsenal, even if he was suffering from cramp.

Rosler was not in a position to name five good candidates for a penalty shootout. If Ramis had not gone off, maybe Shaun Maloney would have come on and he has shown his skills with penalties in the past. Both Caldwell and Collison were brave in stepping up for the first two, but their efforts were saved. Why the self-assured Powell did not take one is hard to understand.

Player Ratings:

Scott Carson: 9 – a superb display.

James Perch: 8 – superb defensively, nullifying the threat of Podolski.

Emmerson Boyce: 8.5 – marshaled his defence superbly, looking a class player in the process.

Ivan Ramis: 8 – another quality display. Let’s hope his injury is not serious.

Stephen Crainey: 8 – a fine display. He has been improving game by game under Rosler.

James McArthur: 8 – a typical display from this fine player, full of industry and cultured passing.

Josh McEachran: 7 – so busy protecting his defence and not wasting the ball. A pity he had to be taken off. Taken off after 68 minutes.  One wonders when he will be fit for the full 90 minutes.

Jordi Gomez: 8.5 – excellent in all areas, covering so much ground and keeping possession under pressure.

Callum McMananan: 8 – looked like the player who electrified Manchester City last year. Let’s hope he can do this again in what remains of the season. Taken off after 64 minutes.

Marc Antoine Fortune: 7 – worked hard despite being so closely marked.

Jean Beausejour: 7 – the threat on Arsenal’s right flank kept him pegged back. In reality played a midfield, rather than a forward,  role.

Substitutes:

Jack Collison: – always ready to receive the ball, worked hard, but found the going tough.

Nick Powell: – could not stamp his mark on the game.

Gary Caldwell: – did well after such a long absence.

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The Dream refuses to die – but who will play?

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

Martinez

When Wigan Athletic won the FA Cup it really was a dream come true. Who could ever have imagined that they would be within close distance of making it come true again just eleven months later?

Just like last year Latics had a difficult time disposing of a team a division below them in the early rounds. Last season it was Bournemouth, this time around it was MK Dons. Martinez’s team had an amazing 3-0 win at Everton in the sixth round, while Rosler’s side also shocked the pundits with a 2-1 win at Manchester City.

However, Martinez’s team were to meet Millwall in the semi-final. Arsenal present a different proposition.

Whatever happens at Wembley tomorrow this team has done the club proud. They have got to the semi-final on merit following three successive victories over Premier League teams.

Latics had gone into the match at the Etihad following a series of good results, having won 4-1 at promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest in the previous game. Nevertheless they were facing a City team that had won 12 of its 13 home games in the Premier League and had already thrashed Latics 5-0 in the League cup.

As with the FA Cup Final last year against the same club, Latics’ manager got his tactics spot-on. Rosler’s team plays a more pragmatic style of football than that of Martinez. From the start they went at City, their high pressing game stemming the flow of the Citizens’ play. When Latics’ went 2-0 up not long after half time they dug in to conserve the result. City were to get a controversial goal that should have been disallowed for offside, but they were to pummel Wigan’s defence. With grim determination and a tiny bit of luck on their side Latics held on to get their victory.

At the Etihad, Rosler played a conservative 3-5-2 system, with Marc-Antoine Fortune and Callum McManaman upfront. However, the midfielders – Jordi Gomez in particular – pushed forward in the first half. He had surprised us by playing Chris McCann in the left of the backline trio. Leon Barnett was to take over that role after half time, due to the unfortunate injury to the Irishman.

Rosler will almost certainly adopt a similar approach tomorrow. Arsenal tend to pack their midfield with a lot of players and Wigan will need strength in numbers there to compete. James McArthur and Jordi Gomez will play in central midfield with James Perch and Jean Beausejour playing wide. However, it is that third central midfield position that will be up for grabs.

Jack Collison has the most experience, but played a full game in midweek plus most of the second half last Saturday. Would his knee stand up to him taking a starting role tomorrow? Josh McEachran played there at the Etihad, but has not figured much recently and was taken off at half time on Tuesday. However, this is an entirely different kind of match to the league encounter against Millwall and might well suit the young Chelsea loanee.

The lineup could well be that which began the second half at the Etihad, with the exception of Jean Beausejour for Stephen Crainey at left wing back : Carson ; Boyce, Ramis, Barnett; Perch, McArthur, Gomez, McEachran, Beausejour; McManaman, Fortune.

The 29 year old Michael Oliver has been named as referee for the encounter. Coincidentally he officiated last year’s semi-final against Millwall. One of the features of Rosler’s regime has been in the discipline shown by his players, with no red cards received. They will need to show that same kind of resolve tomorrow against a skilful Arsenal team whose supporters will be in the large majority at the Stadium, ready to pressurize the young referee.

The fourth placed team in the Premier League is playing against the fifth placed team from the division below, which has already played 55 matches this season. So once again the odds are heavily stacked against the Latics. However, only a fool would count them out.

The dream is still alive.

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