Style, goals, or both?

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

In August 1963, non-league Wigan Athletic were due to play at Southport, then of the Fourth Division, in a pre-season friendly. My Dad commented at the time that the Seasiders played too much “pretty, pretty football” to be effective. I had visions of Southport’s players almost walking the ball into the net. The end result was not so pretty for Latics. Southport – inspired by ex-Manchester United youth player, David Latham – tore them apart 10-2. Funny enough four days later a return match was played at Springfield Park. Latham was marked out of the game. Southport played some nice possession football but were not incisive. Latics beat them 3-0, inspired by ex-Liverpool youth playmaker Pat Kinsella, Tommy Neill netting a penalty. Southport had played the football, but Wigan took their chances. Maybe my Dad did have a point?

When my son, and regular columnist Ned, was 8 years old we moved to Cali, Colombia. We would regularly go to watch the local teams –- America and Deportivo Cali -– play each week at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium, close to the centre of that vibrant and captivating city. The Colombian league was a joy to watch — the ball was invariably on the ground, technical levels very high, the emphasis on skill. The downside was that, at times, play could go across the field rather than towards goal.

The Colombian national team were the same – full of promise and good football, but short of bite. The captain Carlos Valderrama – he of the frizzy hair and wonderful technique – was the most popular person in the whole country. Valderrama’s outfit was the best national team Colombia had ever had and in 1996 FIFA ranked them fourth best in the world. They were playing that technically pure type of football that probably only Brazil could match in terms of artistry. They still were not scoring many goals, but they had a strong defence and retained possession in such a way that opponents found them hard to play against. In 1994 they had got their most famous result, beating Argentina 5-0 in a World Cup qualifying game in Buenos Aires. Valderrama bossed the match from the centre of midfield and the lightning fast Colombian forwards – Faustino Asprilla and Adolfo Valencia – blew Argentina away. It was a case of pretty, pretty football being finished off by ruthless and clinical finishing. You can watch highlights here.

Colombia have continued to promise — but not deliver — since that era. However,  they currently lie in third place in the 9 team South American World Cup qualifying group, having beaten Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile in recent qualifiers and drawn with Brazil in a New Jersey friendly. The emergence of one of the world’s most sought-after strikers — Radamel Falcao –- has helped them translate their pure technical football into goals.

The message for the current Wigan Athletic team is clear: it is not enough to play good possession football. It is incisive approach play and ruthless, clinical finishing that wins matches. Finding strikers of the kind of quality to kill off the opposition is hard for a club like Latics with limited resources. It is also hard to find creative midfield players who can provide them with the ammunition. Shaun Maloney is doing a fine job in that role, although in recent outings he has often been heavily marked. The opposition have learned that he is the main creative threat.

I had the pleasure of meeting Carlos Valderrama near the end of his career when he was playing in the MLS in the United States. Modest, friendly and warm hearted you would not have guessed what a superstar he was with the 45 million people in his home country, and many more on the South American continent. A model professional with a fantastic attitude. For me the only way he could be faulted was that he never scored enough goals. Maloney, Gomez and company please take note.

LIVERPOOL 3 WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 – WHAT A DIFFERENCE A GOAL MAKES

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

Once again a defensive lapse led to an opening goal, from which Latics were never going to recover. Wigan had managed to stifle Liverpool during a poor quality first half and the home team had not looked like scoring. Neither had Wigan. Latics had a body blow after 32 minutes as Ben Watson suffered a broken leg following a tackle by Raheem Sterling.

However, just after half time, loose build-up play put Maynor Figueroa into a 50-50 situation with Sterling. More often than not  Figueroa would win such a tackle, but having already picked up a yellow card in the first half, he backed off. Sterling ran through and passed to Luis Suarez who scored. Only one goal but effectively it was “Game Over” as Liverpool’s tails were raised and Latics played like a team that had no faith that they could get back into the match. By the end of the game Latics had made Liverpool look a good team, which they are not.

Liverpool had dispensed with the Martinez-like back three that they employed at Chelsea the previous week. Their lineup was unbalanced with the right footed Glen Johnson on the left of the back four and the natural left back, Jose Enrique, in midfield. Rodgers seemed to have lost his rag completely when he made a tactical substitution after only 35 minutes, replacing the inconspicuous Suso with the workmanlike Henderson. However, once that first goal had gone in it looked like Rodgers’ tactical lineup was right after all. Predictably the in-form Suarez was Liverpool’s outstanding player and the main difference between the two teams. Enrique too had a fine second half, enjoying the lack of composure of Wigan’s defence and midfield.

The Good

In the first half Latics had played well defensively, although it was worrying to see how little ambition they showed in trying to put the ball into Liverpool’s net.

The Bad

It was sad to see Ben Watson leave the field with a major injury, just when he was getting back on top of his game. Let’s hope he has a speedy recovery.

When Latics fall behind they just cannot raise the tempo of their play sufficiently to cause concern for the opponent’s defence. Wigan created very little going forward, bar a couple of poor finishes from Jones and Gomez in the second half, when in good positions.

All in all – a match best forgotten.

Player Ratings

Ali Al Habsi: 6 – played well, apart from only being able to parry Sterling’s shot leading to Enrique’s goal.

Emmerson Boyce: 5 – not his best day.

Ivan Ramis: 5.5 – the best in defence, tried to stem the flow of opposition attacks on the defence.

Gary Caldwell: 5 – played well in the first half, but faded. Substituted after 69 minutes when Martinez reverted to a flat back four.

Maynor Figueroa: 5 – not his best day.

Jean Beausejour: 5 – not his best day. His poor backpass led to the first goal.

James McCarthy: 5 – looked lost in the second half without McArthur or Watson alongside him.

Ben Watson: 6 – played pretty well until his inopportune injury.

Shaun Maloney: 5 – ineffective.

Franco Di Santo: 4.5 – could not get into the game. Should have been taken off earlier than the 69th minute when he was substituted.

Arouna Kone: 5 – an afternoon of hard toil for the big centre forward, with poor service being supplied to him.

Substitutes

David Jones: 3 – anonymous after coming on for Watson on the  32 minute mark.

Jordi Gomez: 3– ineffective and lightweight,  coming on after 69 minutes.

Ryo Miyaichi: 5 – tightly marked and did not receive one pass for him to utilize his pace. Came on after 69 minutes.

LIVERPOOL-WIGAN ATHLETIC PREVIEW

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

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                        Wigan Athletic travel to Anfield this afternoon to face a Liverpool team in transition. The statistics tell us that Liverpool have won only 3 of their last 15  matches at home in 2012, a far cry from the days when Anfield was a fortress where teams feared to go. Latics 2-1 win there in April was one of their most notable performances, catalytic in helping maintain their Premier League status. Moreover Wigan have not lost to the Reds in their last five meetings.

The optimistic Liverpool supporter would rightly say that the club comes into this fixture on an unbeaten run of 6 league games, including a 1-1 draw at Chelsea last week. Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool are playing better football and have some exciting young talent coming through. The controversial Luis Suarez has been playing really well, scoring 8 league goals so far. Liverpool are clearly on the ascendancy and this is a game they dearly want to win.

Much has been said in the press this week of the confrontation between the two young managers – Rodgers and Martinez – both being lauded for their teams’ style of football. The cynic might say that Rodgers takes undue credit from his success as manager of Swansea, following unimpressive stats in his previous posts at Reading and Watford, where his teams were not renowned for playing good football. Martinez supporters would suggest that it was he, more than Rodgers, who recrafted the brand of football during his era at the Welsh club.

Rodgers still has a lot to do to prove himself on Merseyside, but his insistence on Liverpool playing quality football is to be commended. He has also had the courage to throw a handful of young players in at the deep end. Liverpool still retain players of proven quality to complement their youthful component. Steven Gerrard may be past his best but still has a lot to offer. They might well come into this match with a backline of three central defenders – Skrtel, Agger and Carragher – a rugged and experienced barrier to penetrate.

Wigan Athletic’s season so far has been disappointing, but these days one never knows what they will do next. When they first got into the Premier League a confrontation with Liverpool was one to be feared. Since then Liverpool’s strength has waned and Wigan have shown themselves capable of beating any one of those big clubs on their day. Wigan will go into the match anxious not to concede an early goal. So far this season they have not been able to get a result in a match where they have conceded the first goal.

Latics still have Alcaraz , McArthur and Crusat ruled out by injury. However, Ryo Miyaichi might be fit enough to take a place on the bench. It remains to be seen whether Shaun Maloney will make it after a recent injury. Jordi Gomez would be the most likely replacement. Ben Watson is likely to continue in midfield following his much improved performance against West Bromwich last weekend. Other than the doubt about Maloney the starting lineup is likely to remain unchanged from last week.

With fair refereeing and a little bit of luck Wigan Athletic can get a good result today. They need to avoid giving away any soft goals – particularly penalties – and Gary Caldwell and his defensive unit need to neutralize the threat of Luis Suarez. It seems like Latics play best when Caldwell is at his best. Let’s hope that today is one of his better days.

Roberto Martinez and substitutions

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Other

While some managers have gained reputations for making inspired substitutions, it is up for debate what exactly makes them good at it. Is it the manager’s tactical nous, or does he simply have quality players at his disposal on the bench who  may even be better than those who started. While the role of the impact sub is in the limelight after Chicarito’s hat-trick for United, it was hardly rocket science to put him on when trailing 2-0. Hernandez may well have scored for Latics if he had some on for the second half against West Brom. Can you remember Roberto Martinez making substitutions that made such a difference?

Let’s look back to early March of last season, with Wigan Athletic desperate for points. They are trailing 1-0 to a 10th minute Wes Hoolahan goal at Norwich. Roberto Martinez makes a substitution after only 56 minutes. Just over 10 minutes later his tactical change — Shaun Maloney for Jordi Gomez — comes to fruition as the Scot slots through a lovely ball for Victor Moses to score. This was to prove the beginning of a glorious run for Maloney and a miraculous escape from relegation.

Scroll back a little further to December 31st, 2011. Ten-man Latics trail 2-1 at Stoke with 5 minutes to go. Hugo Rodallega goes down in the penalty box. Ben Watson is brought off the bench to score the equalizer. Latics gain a vital point from a match they looked like losing. It must have taken some courage from Martinez because Watson had missed the last two penalties he had taken. Another inspired substitution.

Last weekend the situation was ripe for an inspired substitution. Latics were losing 2-1 at home to West Bromwich, looking well organized, but predictable in their approach. The situation was crying out for something different. Martinez did make a bold substitution after 65 minutes, taking off captain Gary Caldwell and bringing on Ronnie Stam. Stam made a difference – it was pleasing to see the attacking wing back being brought back in from the cold. Together with the other wing back, Jean Beausejour, they put over an array of crosses for the two central strikers. Granted some of the crosses were better than others, but there were chances that could have been put away. Di Santo is a fine footballer, but is woefully lacking when the ball is in the air in the box. Boselli is probably the best header of a ball at the club, but once again he was brought on in the last five minutes, far too late. No wonder there is newspaper talk about Boselli wanting to go back to Italy in the January transfer window. Despite rattling in goals in the League Cup and Under 21 teams he has been brought off the bench only twice in the past six league matches in the 83rd and 86th minutes.

A year ago at this stage Wigan Athletic were woeful. They had 6 points from 12 matches and were propping up the division. There were players who just were not performing well and the team looked disorganized and vulnerable. At this stage they are doing much better. Players in the starting lineup have been performing pretty well and the team has shape and purpose. The problem comes as other teams get to know Wigan’s tactics and devise ways to upset them. Any manager worth his salt is going to figure out how to disrupt that slow Latics build up from defence. We can expect that kind of “pressing” particularly from opponents in the relegation zone.

Moreover without Victor Moses there is more reliability, but less spontaneity. There needs to be another player who will run at opponents and upset defences. This columnist has several times advocated for the inclusion of Callum McManaman, who does not have the pace of Moses, but is nevertheless able to dribble past defenders. Ryo Miyaichi has been injured recently, but his electrifying pace would be an asset, particularly at the end of a game when opponents are tiring. Sadly Albert Crusat’s time at Wigan continues to be dogged by injury, but the diminutive winger definitely has something to offer when fit.

If you are the manager of a top three club,  making an inspired substitution is not so difficult. Manchester City can choose any two forwards out of Aguero, Balotelli, Dzeko and Tevez. Roberto Martinez does not have such luxuries on the bench and needs to manage his substitutions the best he can. At times he will change the shape of the team, reverting to a conventional back four. If he is to be criticized, I would say it is the lateness of too many substitutions when things are not going to plan. Being well organized is one thing, but being predictable is another. I’d love to see a bolder approach to substitutions from Roberto.

1/4 Season Report Card: Al-Habsi, McCarthy & Maloney the top performers

Posted by Ned in News, Specials and tagged with , , , , , ,

With eleven matches played, we’ve entered the second quarter of the season. This post takes a look at the performances that have earned us a point a game — on track for safety — but left us rueing missed opportunities for more.

The numbers below were calculated by averaging the performance scores we dole out after every match. They are obviously subjective, but provide some insight on the areas of the team that are — at least in the eyes of the writers on this site — performing to, below or beyond expectation. Ali Al-Habsi is perhaps unsurprisingly our stand-out performer, followed by James McCarthy and Shaun Maloney. The strongest area of the pitch was the centre of midfield partnership of James McCarthy and James McArthur, while the weakest was the centre of defence. Only players who have started more than five matches were included.

By Player

Ali Al Habsi: 7.4 — Mostly 7s and 8s, with a 5 on an off-day and a 9 on a particularly excellent afternoon.

Gary Caldwell: 6.45 — Like Ali, has had one standout 9-worthy performance against Spurs, but a few more off-days.

Ivan Ramis: 6.65 — Nightmare debut, but steady improvement since then.

Maynor Figueroa: 6.55 — One of the more consistent performers. Had a bad day at Swansea post-international break, and a good one at Sunderland. Otherwise 6s and 7s.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.45 — Mr. Reliable, with nothing higher than a 7.5 but rarely letting his team down.

Jean Beausejour: 6.78 — Good performances without reaching his best.

James McCarthy: 7.2 — Very good season so far, has been dominant in midfield. Imagine if he adds goals to his game.

James McArthur: 6.78 — Stop-start campaign with injuries, but has been good when available.

Shaun Maloney: 7.05 — Some high numbers, but lack of finishing is probably losing him points. He makes this team tick, but is starting to be identified as the man to mark.

Arouna Kone: 6.75 — Very good average given these have been his first 11 matches in Premier League football, with a new team and surroundings, and no adaptation period.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — A big number for Franco, who has scored some well-taken goals, continued to put in the hard work, and been rewarded with an Argentina call-up.

By Area

Defence (including Al-Habsi): 6.76

Centre of Defence (without Al-Habsi): 6.55 — weakest

Centre of Midfield: 6.99 — strongest

Wingbacks: 6.61

Attack: 6.93