The departure of the cup winning icons

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

watsonSteve Bruce signed Ben Watson for Wigan Athletic in January 2009. Watson scored what was considered a crucial goal in a 2-1 win away at Sunderland a couple of months later. But neither Bruce nor Watson could have guessed that the same player would score the most important goal in Latics’ history some four years later.

Ben Watson became a household name through his fantastic header from Shaun Maloney’s corner. He caught the attention of not only the media, but also of other football clubs. Watson’s contract ends in summer and there is a strong possibility that Latics will cash in on any reasonable offer that comes in.

It has never been easy for the likeable Watson at Wigan. In his early years with the club he was sent off on loan to both West Bromwich and Queens Park Rangers. His best season was in 2011-12 when he made 23 starts with 6 appearances from the bench. In the latter part of that season he was superb in the deep-lying playmaker role as Latics shocked the Premier League elite with amazing results.

Jordi Gomez’s contract is also up at the end of the season.

Gomez was pivotal in the 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.

Like Watson, Gomez has never had an easy time at Wigan.

Roberto Martinez brought him to Wigan in the summer of 2009, following excellent performances for Swansea. Gomez tends to polarize opinion at Wigan. His fans regard him as a skilful player who can dictate play and make a difference. His detractors would say he does not like” to get stuck in” and passes the ball sideways or backwards too often

Were either Gomez or Watson to leave Latics this month they would leave behind great memories of their role in the club winning the FA Cup. But why would Latics allow them to leave?

Financial considerations must clearly come into play. Latics have had a huge drop in their revenue through relegation from the Premier League.

A look at what happened to Bolton Wanderers a year before is chilling.

Last season Bolton spent their first year back in the Championship after 11 years in the ‘greed league’. They have recently released the financial figures for the year ending June 2013. It reveals a loss of £50.7m.

They had a turnover of £28.5m, compared with £58.5m the year before. Although they had cut staff salaries down around 33% from the previous year is still came to £37.4m, way beyond turnover. Gate receipts amounted to only £3.8m. It is the broadcast revenue that hit Bolton hardest, at £19m compared with £42m the year before.

Even with a parachute payment of around £16m, Bolton still made a huge loss.

Bolton continue to survive thanks to owner, Eddie Davies, to whom they are indebted by over £150m. However, financial fair play regulations will tighten the knot on Davies’ contribution in the future.

In Latics’ latter years in the Premier League Dave Whelan put them on a sound financial footing. Roberto Martinez worked wonders on a limited budget and won the FA Cup in the process.

It is now a period of adjustment. Wigan Athletic have to deal with the decreased revenues in the Championship and make best use of their parachute payments while they last.

Big money signings in the January transfer windows are unlikely. Latics need to continue to downsize their staffing costs towards Championship norms.

One thing is for sure. The financial gap between the Premier League and the Championship will continue to grow.

Wigan Athletic need to regain their place in the elite league or risk sinking down into the lower echelons when the parachute payments run out. Let’s look at playing the likes of Liverpool or Arsenal, rather than Rochdale or Macclesfield.

In order to maintain financial stability it will not only be the likes of Ben Watson and Jordi Gomez in the shop window for the January sales.

But both players will have a place in the hearts of Wigan Athletic supporters if they do depart this month.

Without them Latics would not have won the FA Cup.

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James McClean can become a Latics legend

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles
McCleancoomshield

McClean and Smalling challenge for the ball.

Latics at Wembley, a goal behind to Manchester United in the Community Shield.

Stephen Crainey launches a ball over the Reds’ defence. Chris Smalling makes a hash of it and James McClean is through with what is to be Latics’ best chance in the match. But instead of looking for Grant Holt coming up on his inside the Irishman hits a cross shot that goes astray.

It was McClean’s debut for Wigan Athletic, only three days after being signed from Sunderland.  He had looked lively that afternoon at Wembley, clearly keen to make an impression on the match. The 24 year old had been so keen to come to Wigan that he had taken a pay cut to drop down a division in his move from the north east.

It is his enthusiastic approach and his willingness to run at defenders that endears McClean to so many Wigan Athletic fans. Often referred to in fan forums by his first name – an accolade rare among Latics fans – ‘James’ has already become a player with the potential to be a legend at the club. At 5’11” he is physically strong and is never afraid to take on defenders.  He has a great left foot and genuine pace. So why is he not playing in the Premier League?

During his time at Sunderland some of their more extreme fans dubbed him ‘a headless chicken’ , through his lack of awareness when on the ball. Mathew Wear of the Mackems  fan site ‘A Love Supreme’ provided us with a more balanced view of McClean’s time at Sunderland in the article we posted in August.

McClean had a hard time at Sunderland over the ‘poppy issue’, which made him unpopular with many fans. Facing probing media questions about McClean’s absence at the same time this season Owen Coyle stated that the player was injured.

Moreover McClean has had various off the field problems with his club and national team managers through his activity on ‘Twitter’.

McClean had a ‘Man of the Match’ performance in Martin O’Neill’s ’ first game as Republic of Ireland manager in November .However, he was soon to get himself in hot water once again with the manager following another rant on Twitter. He had similar problems with both O’Neill and Paolo Di Canio at Sunderland and with Giovanni Trappatoni for Ireland.

Up to this point in the season  James McClean has started 14 games and come on as a substitute in 11. He was unfortunate in having his first goal for the club chalked off as the match with Sheffield Wednesday was abandoned.

Under Coyle, McClean was used a winger, on both flanks. Although less comfortable on the right he has a powerful shot and can be employed in the same way Latics that Roberto Martinez effectively used Charles N’Zogbia. However, since Uwe Rosler’s arrival McClean has added energy and vigour when played in a striking role. If Rosler decides to play with wing backs this will be McClean’s role.

On his appointment Rosler was asked about Callum McManaman and James McLean. He described each as exciting, fast and direct players that would fit his system, while reserving a diplomatic word about room for improvement in McLean’s final pass. Rosler is already getting much more out of McManaman and he has clearly had an influence on McClean.

Rosler can help McClean to become a top player. As an ex-striker the German has a good insight as to what is required.  McClean has spent most of his career as a left winger. He is likely to have to play a variety of roles under Rosler, which will make him into a better player.

McClean has been left on the bench for Latics’ last two games against Burnley and Derby, despite approaching his best form in previous matches. However, he has recently become a father for the first time and this might have impacted upon Rosler’s decisions.

James McClean is an enigma, both on the field and off it. He could be Uwe Rosler’s greatest challenge.

Were Rosler to be successful in unlocking the Irishman’s potential it would make a huge difference in Latics’ quest for a return to the top flight.

McClean has the ability to become a top quality forward.

He has the support of the majority of Latics fans who will be willing him to succeed.

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A Brentford fan’s view of Rösler – Uwe will go far

Posted by Ned in Other, Specials and tagged with , ,
Billy and Uwe at Brentford

Billy and Uwe at Brentford

Uwe Rosler has made a very positive start to his Wigan Athletic career. Since his arrival good football has returned to Wigan and the future now looks much brighter.

Rosler spent his formative years as a coach in Norway, where he learned the trade. However, it is at Brentford that he made a major impact.

We reached out to Billy of the excellent Brentford fan site www.beesotted.co.uk to get his insight on Rosler’s time there.

Thanks to him for this superb article.

I remember exactly where I was when Wigan made an approach for Uwe Rosler. I was setting up the equipment at Hounslow Civic Centre for Beesotted fanzine’s first ever live YouTube video broadcast.

 It may sound like a dull show – a council planning meeting. But it was our new stadium decision and was possibly one of the most important events in the Brentford calendar this century.  
 
The news soon drifted around the room that Rosler was almost definitely out the door. Five hours later, the council had rubber-stamped Brentford’s move to a new stadium. There were cheers all around. 
 
Everything was finally beginning to go right for Brentford this season after a stuttering start. We were on a 9 match unbeaten streak – 8 of them being wins. We were well on the way to getting a new stadium. 
 
Then there was this. 
 
Many fans I spoke to that night tried to remain upbeat. But deep down there was a niggling worry that everything would fall apart now the manager was leaving. Personally, I thought Whelan could have held it down for at least another 24 or 48 hrs, negotiated with Brentford in private and given the club their night of victory and Uwe time to settle the team before an important FA Cup match. But he had to go public before the deal was done as obviously no one else matters. 
 
Should Rosler have gone? To be fair he had spent over two years living away from his family so a move closer to his home in Stockport was a no brainer really. We just had to accept and move on.
 
Uwe Rosler was personally one of my top 3 favourite managers ever to manage Brentford. And that’s above Steve Coppell, who managed one of the best Brentford teams ever (Sidwell, Ingermarrson, Stephen Hunt, Owusu, Rowlands etc), and Phil ‘Noddy’ Holder, who was the last manager to have got us promoted to what is now the championship. Why was that? Rosler never actually won anything with Brentford. 
 
Rosler was very much a fans’ manager. He understood football fan culture and truly believed that fans were incredibly important to the game. He admired clubs like St Pauli as he felt they were a club who has great liaison with their supporters.
 
He regularly held fans forums and even organised a pre-season friendlies in Germany encouraging fans to stay at the players’ hotel and hang with the players during the trip. 
 
When visiting Wembley for a Man City cup final, he decided to swap the glitz of Club Wembley with drinking with Man City fans in the Green Man pub before the match. 
 
He would often call our fanzine Beesotted to discuss issues and even volunteered to do a video interview for us after we had missed that final day penalty against Doncaster to help motivate the fans. 
 
And despite the wee spat he had with some Brentford fans during our dodgy spell at the beginning of this season when a small section of supporters sang “You’re gonna get sacked in the morning”, Uwe has had a brilliant rapport with the majority of supporters who saw him as being open, welcoming, honest and humble. 
 
On the pitch, Rosler got Brentford to play some of the best football we have ever seen at Griffin Park. 
 
We’ve had some glorious moments under him. We were a mere 7 minutes from victory against West London neighbours Chelsea in a day out that many Brentford fans will remember for years to come.
 
When Rosler arrived his catchphrase was “pass them to death” and that’s just what we did. We quite simply outplayed our opponents week after week – in some games we would have over 80% possession. 
 
He instilled a never-say-die spirit into the team which saw Brentford score a ridiculous amount of goals in the last minutes and injury time – Sheffield United away (with 9 men) , Portsmouth at home and Swindon away in the playoffs being three thrillers in which we scored last minute goals. 
 
And he orchestrated pre-season friendlies in and around Leipzig, Germany which will be talked about in Brentford for many a year – Brentford fans’ first foray into Europe since the Anglo Italian Cup in 1992. 
 
Uwe did have his detractors though. Although the majority of Brentford fans stuck with Uwe through thick and thin, there was a small minority who thought his tactics were often negative and he played too safe too often. 
 
His tactic of always having 11 men back to defend a corner frustrated some fans no end. And another thing that did frustrate folk was – despite often having the lions share of possession and creating 20 or 30 or even 40 chances per game – our goalscoring ratio was low, scoring at times one … or maybe two goals after creating a hatful of chances. There is an argument that if we had put away the numerous chances we had created, no one would be blaming Marcello Trotta for missing the penalty against Doncaster on the final day of the season as we would have long been promoted. 
 
All that aside, Wigan are lucky as they have got hold of a young ambitious manager who will have learned from his mistakes at Brentford. Hopefully, this will be to Wigan’s benefit.
 
Uwe was always learning on his toes and realised after a season in Division one that ‘total football’ does not get you out of that division and we needed to have players and tactics that could mix and match between different styles. And so we did. 
 
He was brilliant at switching the game up. If we were looking poor in the first half, he would often change the tactics in the 2nd half and make a substitution that would completely change the game around. 
 
The counter argument to this was some believed that Uwe was too cautious in the first place and should have been taking the game to the opposition from the start. 
 
Uwe was also humble enough to acknowledge his mistakes. As a manager with a set plan, he would unsurprisingly try to stick with it and try and get the team to deliver his vision. 
 
When things were going wrong at the beginning of the season and Brentford were on a three match losing streak, Uwe decided to have a clear the air session with his players in the dressing room after a defeat away to lowly Stevenage. The players were locked in the dressing room for 90 minutes and apparently it was a real ‘air your dirty washing’ session. 
 
As a result of the meeting, Uwe then decided to switch to a fixed team week on week as opposed to the team rotation system that he favoured from when he had arrived. He also dropped ever-present and highly popular right back Logan for midfielder McCormack as apparently his defensive errors were raised in the meeting (as an attacking right back he was awesome). The result – Brentford won all nine subsequent games before Wigan poached him. 
 
All in all I wish Uwe well at Wigan. He will have learned from his mistakes at Griffin Park and will hopefully go on to make great strides. Our biggest fear is that he may try and take some of our young hopefuls with him – Adam Forshaw being the most likely to leave in the near future but we fear for losing Harlee Dean and Jake Bidwell too amongst others. 
 
Hopefully with him understanding the true meaning of loyalty, Uwe won’t leave us in the lurch. We would be gutted if any of our players left but if the inevitable happens, the least he can do is to sort us out with a decent fee and give us someone in exchange. 
 
I have no doubt that Uwe will not forget that Brentford’s owner Matthew Benham took a great risk in employing him from Norway as a left-field option when he was completely off the radar from clubs on their ‘manager hunt’. He put him firmly on the map by giving him time to develop as well as adequate finances to assemble a decent squad. 
 
It hasn’t gone un-noticed that Uwe has already done us a favour by recalling Nouha Dicko from Rotherham right in the middle of him banging in the goals down there left, right and centre. Where Dicko may now end up in January who knows? But no doubt Uwe has got a master-plan in place
 
And on the plus side, from Brentford’s end, things haven’t fallen apart. New manager Mark Warburton (who was in fact Uwe’s technical director and has been at the club even longer than Uwe) has won his first two games – both difficult ones at that against potential promotion rivals. We are continuing to play attractive football so Uwe Rosler’s legacy continues at Brentford. 
 
With any luck, Mark Warburton will finish off the job that Uwe Rosler came soooooo close to finishing last season come May this year. And finally, Brentford fans can lay to rest the ghost of constant failure that started way way back in 1985 at Wembley in the Leyland Daf Final against …… Oh ….. it was Wigan. 
 
Cheers!!!!!!
 
BillytheBee (@billythebee99) writes for Beesotted fanzine. Check out our articles and videos at www.beesotted.co.uk (@beesotted)

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Wednesday will receive a Wigan Athletic in transition

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

It has not been a smooth transition for Wigan Athletic since Roberto Martinez, his coaching staff and swathes of players left over the summer.

But supporters are at least more optimistic about the future, given the arrival of Uwe Rösler and other appointments that might well prove key to the club’s continued development.

Only a few weeks ago the club seemed to be taking one step forward and two steps back. Losing to Brighton, Zulte Waregem and Derby in the space of eight days was hard to swallow. The team just was not going anywhere. The lack of ambition in their play was a sad sight, let alone the long ball tactics that were reminiscent of Bolton under Allardyce and Megson. Surely that was not the real Wigan Athletic?

Supporters know the club is going through another transition, but there is a lot more optimism now. Like Martinez – but unlike Coyle – Rösler has come in with a clear game plan, even if it could take time for the players to consistently put it into effect.

A lot has been happening this week. Brentford have announced the departure of assistant manager Alan Kernaghan and first team coach Peter Farrell. Nothing yet from Wigan side, but their arrival must be imminent.

One wonders what will happen with current first team coach Graham Barrow, who has a terrific record of service at the club. Barrow’s son James was brought in by Coyle as conditioning coach and he is taking a lot of flak from supporters about the lack of physical fitness of the squad, although to be fair he might have been overruled by Coyle.

Gregor Rioch’s arrival coincided with that of Rösler, so he did not come in as heralded as he might have been otherwise. Rioch has been appointed to run the Latics Academy, following an outstanding record in developing young players at Coventry City. His father Bruce was manager of Latics for a brief spell in the 2000-2001 season.

The simultaneous arrival of both Rösler and Rioch might well prove a landmark in the history of Wigan Athletic. Supporters can already see that long-term vision back at the club that was obscured by the mistake of hiring Coyle on a one year contract.

Latics even signed a player this week.

Patrick Antelmi was a teenage prodigy in Australia, well documented on YouTube. He has been playing for Latics’ development squad this season after spells at several English clubs over the past five years, the main ones being Portsmouth and Leeds. He is still only 19 and given the difficulty of finding quality strikers he appears to be well worth giving a chance.

Click here to see a YouTube video interview through ‘Aussies Abroad’ during his time at Leeds last year. So often kids can look outstanding in their early teens but don’t make it. However, Antelmi clearly has a wonderful technique, a great left foot and has already scored goals for the development squad.

The outcome of tomorrow’s match at Hillsborough is difficult to predict. Sheffield Wednesday are in the bottom three and Latics have won away games against the teams below them, Barnsley and Yeovil.

However, not only will it be Latics’ third match in a week, but they are also adjusting to a new style of play. The high pressing that Rösler expects is physically demanding for players who have not managed to keep up such a pace up till now. The question is whether the lineup Rosler puts out will be able to do what he wants most of the time.

Jordi Gomez, excellent in the Maribor game, is due for a recall. So too is Roger Espinoza, whose style appears right for the football Rösler is looking for. Other than that it is hard to predict the lineup the German will put out.

Rösler will hope to come out with a good result tomorrow, given a difficult trip to Reading at the weekend.

However, were the good result not to materialize the fans would not be overly upset.

There is now optimism for the future that had severely dissipated under the Coyle regime.

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Uwe Rösler – a fan’s view from Norway

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

Viking_Stavanger

Uwe Rösler’s longest stay in football management up to this point was at Stavanger in Norway.

He coached local club Viking for three seasons, starting in November 2006, following  a short spell as coach at Lillestrøm.

Stavanger is a beautiful port town in the south west of Norway, where the climate is moderated  the Gulf Stream.  Although much less snowy compared with other parts of the country, its average annual rainfall exceeds that of Manchester by around 50%.

Viking is Norway’s most established club, having been formed in 1899.

We reached out to a Viking Stavanger fanatic, Wim Keeremen, to get a view on Rösler’s time  there.  Thanks to Wim for the interesting article that follows.

In his first season  Uwe Rösler  built on the foundations laid by Tom Nordlie. In the previous season  Nordlie had come in late and he and striker Ijeh saved the team from  relegation in the final games of the season, coming down to the last game.

Under Rösler  Viking ended third, their best position in the previous twelve seasons.

 People  liked Rösler both as a coach and person. They liked his direct approach, delivered in a mixture of Norwegian, English and German.

 Norwegian football fans are lovers of English football, and anyone having played over there, is likely to get a lot of credit here. But people were questioning  whether the third   place finish was down  to  Rösler, or from Nordlie’s legacy

 In the next two seasons  Viking finished sixth and tenth . In the press, Rösler was often called ‘very German’, the implication being that he was very direct and methodic, always to the point, if a little abrupt.

 A friend commented that: ‘The last year showed his lack of experience. He had issues with the reporters and went rather grumpy. He was clearly affected by the rainy days in Stavanger.’

 By the time Rösler left Stavanger, relations  with the press had turned rather sour. At the press conference he gave after resigning his  ob, he bitterly criticized the local media – the ‘Stavanger Aftenblad ‘and ‘Rogalands Avis’ – for having crossed a line. He said they had spread lies, gossip and downright bullied him and his family to the point where his kids felt uncomfortable in Stavanger.

 Strangely enough journalists were rather fond of him, as a character. He has an excellent sense of humour, and it became a sport to look for the ultimate ‘Rösler quote’ – in  English or Norwegian.

 These things having been said, it is clear that Rösler is an intelligent man, and he is building his career step by step.

 Today, he is a better coach than when he was here. He has much more experience now.

 He has been showing recently that he is a better coach than several of the Premier League managers.

 Rösler is a self-made man, who has been through adversity and dealt with it. He has learned from experience. He has gone through so much, starting his coaching career in Norway, then in the English League 1 , now on to the English Championship Division.

We in Stavanger will be watching Uwe  Rösler’s progress with great interest. 

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