Momentum building: Wigan Athletic season preview

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

On first look, it’s hard to blame the people who doom Wigan Athletic to relegation each year. On paper, our late August squad looks weaker than the lads that kept us up in May. We’ve typically lost our top player (or three) to bigger clubs and replaced them with little known youngsters from the Scottish league or unfashionable, though generally astute, Spanish-speaking gambles in their late twenties.

But this season irks more than any of the previous. How short is the memory? To repeatedly read paid journalists make the point that Latics will suffer without Hugo Rodallega and Mo Diame is more than lazy. The finest run of form in Wigan Athletic history — ultimately resulting in survival and the scalps of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, in-form Newcastle and almost European Champions Chelsea but for two horrific mistakes by match officials — was achieved with the pair of them reduced to cameos from the substitutes bench. They scored three goals between them since Christmas and all were in matches that we had already lost.

This is not a slight on either player. Both immensely talented, they were a pleasure to watch and have at the JJB/DW. Hugo, a poacher, was frustrating on the left wing but certainly a success overall and crowd favourite, and suffered from injuries last season. Diame was outstanding in the first half of the term when no one else was, before losing his place to the thoroughly committed and deservedly appreciated James McArthur after the African Cup of Nations. But the point stands that they played no real role in Latics’ sensational final two months.

If anything, that unforgettable survival run emphasized the transition of Wigan Athletic as a Premier League club where individuals come to make their name, to a club of players proud to play for Wigan that operate as a team. Mauro Boselli, recently returned after a year and a half on loan in Italy and Argentina, made the interesting comment that contrary to two years ago when he arrived, there were no longer any divisions in the squad — it feels like a team of players that play for each other. We’ll be publishing an exclusive interview with him later this week.

What people are missing is that, behind the scenes, we’ve been making steady progress. Most people see Wigan as just surviving every year. But each of Roberto Martinez’s three years have brought progress. The squad is deeper and stronger, investment in youth has been made, and our crowds are growing as a new generation grows up supporting their local team in the Premier League.

Replacing people like Valencia, Palacios and N’Zogbia was a nightmare, though their sales may have been necessary to keep the books steady. Things are changing. We would all like to hold on to Moses, but he only really clicked last season when the rest of the team did. If he leaves, there will be an adaptation period as the team re-shapes itself without him, but this is no longer a “get it out wide to Rodallega, N’Zogbia or Moses and see what they can do” situation. Roberto’s highly successful wingback system is extremely flexible, and it is intriguing to think about how it might set up. New boy Aruna Kone is an astonishing buy at a reported 2.75 million pounds or good buy at 5 million depending which price you believe — a 28 striker at the peak of his career that just managed 15 goals in the Primera Liga last season for (another) unfashionable club like Levante. Mauro Boselli is back after a good season in Argentina, and hungry. Ryo Miyachi has been signed from Arsenal and didn’t look half bad at Bolton last season. Not to mention Shaun Maloney and Franco Di Santo, two of the undisputed stars of our survival success last year.

Wigan Athletic is quietly gaining momentum. I suspect it will be the midfield and defense that will have to spend more time adapting if Moses leaves — he is truly excellent at holding the ball up and drawing fouls to give the (even) harder-working core a breather.

The other gaping hole in the squad was defensive cover for the three centre-backs. Steve Gohouri has been released. He had a rough time last year, jittery and lacking sharpness. Adrian Lopez, to whom we wish the best of luck this season, has been dodgy at best. He seemed to struggle with the pace and physicality of the game. Roberto has faith in him, but has also brought in Ivan Ramis — another very good signing at the peak of his career. There is no questioning his ability as an uncompromising centre-back, the question is how he will take to his new surroundings after a career and life spent on a gorgeous island in the Mediterranean.

I’ll save the rest of the new signings talk for Jakarta Jack, whose article is coming soon.

Prediction for the season? Not quite the lofty heights of mid-table comfort that the brilliant and much-appreciated optimists out there are suggesting, but not relegation either. Somewhere in between. I would expect a wobbly start if Moses leaves. The new signings will take time to bed in like Maloney did last year and many before him. I personally have high hopes for Boselli, although the Kone signing radically decreases his chances of a regular run in the team. Perhaps Di Santo will drop deeper into the Moses role? Or is it Crusat’s year to shine in the free role? Talented young loan signing Ryo Miyaichi?

The fixture list is never kind. With Chelsea and Man United in two of the first four fixtures, plus a hungry Stoke without the Cup distractions of last season. If there is a time to play Chelsea it is now, with all their new signings and an uncertain new era under the lucky Roberto Di Matteo (lets face it, his approach to the CL was equivalent to Roy Hodgson’s for England in the Euros — he just had a better centre-forward.) The Southampton match is crucial.

We welcome all Latics supporters to the new season. Please join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe (scroll down, lower right) to this blog. Please leave comments — we look forward to hearing from you, and c’mon Wigan — keep the faith!

* To read Jakarta Jack’s even more optimistic take on the new season, click here.

 

Blind optimism and Latics’ new season

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

One of the lads in my class at school was called Brian. He claimed to be an Horwich RMI supporter.  I thought I was remarkable enough at the time, being a Latics fan, in a town dominated by the cherry and white. There were few of us Latic fanatics at school and if we dared to utter words of blind optimism about our club, our classmates were quick to shoot us down.  The message was – how can you support a measly little non-league football club? Don’t even dream of reaching the heights of our wonderful local rugby team or the football giants in neighbouring cities. However, I considered myself an optimist as far as Wigan Athletic were concerned. It was in my blood – and still is. I trust that those classmates are eating their words now.

To be honest, Brian was even more of an optimist than me. Horwich Railway Mechanics  Institute was in fact a much older football club than Wigan Athletic, having been formed in 1896. Their only major  success over those years was in winning the Lancashire Combination championship in 1957-58.  Coming up on Saturday afternoon at Springfield Park was a Lancashire Junior Cup tie between our two teams. It was akin to David and Goliath. Brian saw it differently — an epic tussle between two of Lancashire’s outstanding non-league clubs. He reeled off the names of RMI’s starting eleven, declaring each player a “good-un”, although it was clear from the intonations of his voice that some were more good than others. He had faith – I thought foolishly so – that RMI would get a good result.

Brian was right that day, the match ended in a draw. My Dad was so furious he said he wouldn’t go and watch the replay in the coming week. Their ground was a freezing, a God-forsaken place on the top if a big hill where the wind ruled the roost, he said. Their pitch was going to be rutted and would make good football impossible.

Fortunately, he relented and we took the short bus ride, and walked up to RMI’s ground at Grundy Hill.  Latics won 5-0, and Brian avoided me at school the next week, although I did quietly admire the genuine faith and optimism he seemed to have in his little club. Later, I became disillusioned to find out that he went to see Bolton more than Horwich.  But then again —  why would he announce himself a  fan of Horwich RMI rather than First Division Bolton? Strange how it turned out that Bolton now play home games  in Horwich, whereas the latest incarnation of RMI plays in Leigh.

So what would an optimist make of Wigan Athletic’s chances this season? That Bob and Dave are still here and therefore the club is continuing to move forward.  The appointment of the admirable Matt Jackson to spearhead the much needed youth system upgrade is to be commended. Boselli  is back and so far has averaged a goal a game in pre-season, having only played a half in each. He remains our potentially most clinical finisher, if not the silky skilled player that Di Santo has become. Both Fyvie and Ramis look like excellent signings. Roberto has also brought in two 19 year olds from elite Spanish clubs, each with good credentials. Assuming no major injuries or loss of form, a place in the top half of the table is a distinct possibility.

So what of Victor Moses? Why are Chelsea putting in such derisory bids for him? The odds are that he will go. He is far from the finished article, mainly with his decision-making in goal-scoring opportunities. He wasted a lot of chances last season. However,  there is a need for  a flair player like Moses, or N’Zogbia before him, to do the unpredictable and unsettle defences. Providing he can avoid injuries I expect Albert Crusat will make more of an impact this year. He is pacy, intelligent and David Silva has shown that slightly built players can flourish in the physical Premier League. It would be a mistake, however, to view Crusat as the replacement for Moses  — they are different types of player – and Dicko and McManaman will also compete for that spot.

Latics’ superb end of season performances, however, were built from the back. The three central defenders — Alcaraz, Caldwell and Figueroa – were outstanding, but one lived in fear of any injury to any of them. There was always the possibility of slotting Boyce into the centre but he was playing possibly the best football of his career at wing back. The signing of the experienced and highly capable Ivan Ramis is therefore welcomed. In fact, Figueroa might miss the first part of the season after being on Olympic duty for Honduras. Expect Ramis to slot in for him – if not it will be Lopez or Golobart.

In goal we have the outstanding Ali Al Habsi. The promising  young goalkeeper, Lee Nicholls, is clearly one for the future, but needs to get more experience before stepping in for the Omani. The 40 year old stalwart, Mike Pollitt, will be the first choice backup ‘keeper. There is newspaper talk about a promising young Australian coming on trial.

Latics are well served for wing backs. Ronnie Stam was in excellent form last season before being left out for Emmerson Boyce, who did spectacularly well. Jean Beausejour was the piece in the jigsaw puzzle that made a big difference in the latter part of last season. Wing back is not a position most clubs use, but Beausejour played in that position for Chile under Marcelo Bielsa. Both he and Stam are specialist wing backs. Ramis’ arrival allows Figueroa to serve as emergency wing-back in the event of injury to Beausejour.

Despite losing Diame and Thomas the midfield looks strong. The classy Ben Watson will fight to get his place back from James MacArthur, although he will face competition from Fraser Fyvie. The excellent James McCarthy is potentially as good as most midfield players in the Premier League and is likely to be our sought after by the big clubs before the end of the season. It may be that Fyvie is seen as his long-term replacement. He is a complete player and the goals that have been missing over the past season are likely to return. All he lacks is a little self belief.  David Jones remains a useful squad player able to play in a variety of positions. He has a great left foot and is an intelligent footballer. Hopefully he will steer clear of injuries this year.

Shaun Maloney was a revelation in the latter games of the season as the playmaker.  He has that kind of quality that can make a difference. His experience in a Celtic team that dominated the SPL has given him the level of self-confidence that most of his teammates lack. His career has been blighted by injury and one doubts his ability to make it through a full season unscathed. Jordi Gomez, the butt of some fans, remains a good footballer, able to play that role. Jordi has learned that he has to work hard off the ball and now covers a lot of ground. He is not a natural tackler, but does a lot of harassing of opponents to complement his considerable skills on the ball. Both Maloney and Gomez are likely to score goals, be it from open play or the penalty spot.

There has been talk of Conor Sammon going out on loan, although he does not seem to know anything about it. Sammon needs regular first team football if he is going to develop further. He is not likely to get it with Di Santo and Boselli ahead of him in the pecking order for the centre forward position. Speaking of loans, Lee Nicholls is already fixed up for a spell at Northampton.  One wonders how many more of last season’s loanees –  Golobart, Kiernan, Mustoe and Redmond – will be sent off again for more first team experience.

Perhaps I am being a blind optimist like my friend Brian, but with Bob and Dave still at the helm this club is going to be steered towards a bright future.  They are a great double act and deserve to succeed at the club. Whether Wigan Athletic have a good season in 2012-13 depends on the players. Shaun Maloney summed things up at the end of the season by suggesting that the great revival was brought about by hard work. We have a pretty good squad this year and with the full commitment of the players a mid-table position is a distinct possibility. Forget about the friendly loss to Real Mallorca. We are in for  a good season. Believe and keep the faith!!

The summer of Moses: should he stay or should he go?

Posted by Ned in News, Other

Premier league summers have historically been a time of dread for the Wigan Athletic supporter. While Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Arsenal — recently joined by City and Spurs — are out spending their tens of millions, Latics face the two-headed beast of keeping their prized assets at the club and persuading new talent to join one of the league’s least fashionable outfits.

It was Bullard and Chimbonda that first season, it was Charles N’Zogbia last season, and there’ve been plenty in between. The fact is, Latics’ recruitment strategy is based on the promise to young or unproven foreign players that they will be given the chance to develop their game at Wigan before eventually moving on to a bigger club. So the question is really not “will he leave?” but “when and how will he leave?” It is a calculation involving two key factors: how easy or hard he is to replace, and what is his potential value? (Which depends largely on how many years he has left on his Wigan contract)

This year’s case is a classic example. Victor Moses is by far Latics most saleable asset. Young, undeniably talented, physically imposing, he is the player that can make something out of nothing. If media reports are to be believed, he wants out, with Chelsea the most likely destination. His agent, Tony Finnegan, has been banging the transfer drum for most of the summer. He only has a year left on his contract and appears unwilling to sign a new one, meaning he could leave on a free transfer a year from now. It is believed that Latics are asking for something in the region of 9-10 million pounds. Is one season of Vic worth that much money to a club with limited resources at this level like Wigan?

Don’t get me wrong. We’d all love Victor to sign a new Wigan contract, give us another season, and if he must leave, do so for a decent sum of money. But the fact of the matter is that looks highly unlikely. And so, if the question is leave now for 9-10 million, or stay and leave for a tribunal set fee nowhere near our valuation of the player, the answer has to be go now. Progress is being made all the way from the first team down to the youth squad, but we must realize that it is player sales like those of Luis Valencia and Wilson Palacios that have allowed for that money to be invested in long-term sustainability. As valuable as he is to the first team, we need to cash in on him while we can — the time is now.

Chelsea, however, are not making things so easy. In addition to the existing competition like Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge, Florent Malouda, Yossi Benayoun and Gael Kakuta, they’ve signed three more attacking mid or winger types in Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Brazilian Oscar. Vic would almost certainly spend most of the season on his backside, on the bench, although he is potentially better than many of the aforementioned. Potential is the key word, however — the irony is that what he needs to break into the Chelsea team is another year at Wigan.

And so… what if a deal could be negotiated in which Chelsea bought him this year but loaned him back to us for further development? Wigan would lower their valuation a couple million to account for the season-long loan, Chelsea would have their man and not risk losing him to someone else next summer when he becomes a free agent, and the player himself would benefit from continued development. Unlikely scenario, but worth a discussion?

Inbound

The capture of Ivan Ramis has hardly been headline news around the country but represents a major coup for Roberto. Very few Martinez signings boast extensive experience in a top level league. The more experienced players like Gary Caldwell or Antolin Alcaraz came from weaker leagues. Others like Ali Al-Habsi or Franco Di Santo were reserves at their Premier League clubs. Even the promising youngsters who have grown up in Latics colours like Moses himself, McCarthy or McArthur came from the Championship or Scotland.

But Ramis is more than experienced. He is the right age, at 27, to come in and make an instant impact but still have a potentially long career at Wigan. He provides competition in the centre of defense, but could also free up Maynor Figueroa to play a more attacking wing-back role should Jean Beausejour ever get injured or need a rest. He spent his entire career at Mallorca and appears to be a loyal professional. Last season, Mallorca’s defense kept 10 clean sheet and finished 8th in the Spanish first division. His style is physical, but we can expect his distribution to be good. And he apparently rejected West Ham in order to join us, which is icing on the cake. Although I’ve not seen this last nugget confirmed by a reliable source.

Bring back Boselli

Posted by Ned in Other, Reflections and tagged with , ,

* this article was written by Jakarta Jack but somehow listed under my name. I agree 100% with his views however!

A sleepy Sunday afternoon in May 2011. I turn the television on and inadvertently come across an Italian league game.  The atmosphere in the Genoa-Sampdoria derby I am watching  is frenetic. It is 1-1.  In the 97th minute, the on-loan striker Mauro Boselli receives the ball to his right just inside the box, pirouettes and hits a cracker into the far left hand corner of the Sampdoria keeper’s net. The Genovese home crowd goes crazy.

 

Looking back to November 2010 at West Ham  – Latics are  losing 2-1 and get a penalty. Not long off the bench, Boselli steps up but fluffs it. It turned out to be the key moment for Boselli and Latics, his homesickness exacerbating the issue. Here we are a year and half later, and Boselli remains a Latics player. This columnist advocates his return.

Mauro Boselli started his career at Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, a big club in a country that produces great players. He made 42 appearances between 2003-2008, scoring 10 goals. That he did not make more appearances for them was largely due to the form of World Cup forwards, Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio. So he moved to Estudiantes de la Plata in 2008 — a small club with a ground capacity at the time of 23,000, where he was key to their Copa Libertadores success in 2009. He scored the winning goal in the final. His 9 goals made him the tournament’s leading goalscorer. During his time at Estudiantes he scored 32 goals in 57 appearances in a league where goals are hard to get. He is an Argentine international..

The Argentine came to Wigan at a time when they desperately needed goals. He did well in pre-season, but found the role of lone centre forward difficult, as had Jason Scotland before that. At Estudiantes he had played with a twin striker, Argentine international, Mariano Pavone. To find himself alone and up against the giant, physical defenders of the Premier League must have been demoralizing. At the time, service from Latics midfielders was scant, in a time when Roberto was concerned about committing men forward after some notably heavy defeats. Despite scoring a well-taken cup goal, Boselli had failed to score in the Premier League and his time was a miserable one.

His next stop was a loan move to Genoa, where he got few opportunities. His goal in the derby was the exception. He played 7 matches, netting 2 goals. He clearly missed his native Argentina and returned to Estudiantes on loan for the 2011-2012 season, where he has scored 11 goals in 29 appearances.

Mauro Boselli is a fine centre forward who never had much of a chance before at Wigan. He is a much more natural goalscorer than anyone we have. Given the improved support from the midfield and number of quality crosses now being provided from the wings, conditions suit him. Let’s hope that those who have criticized him – like those who have criticized Roberto Martinez in the past – will give him a chance. We’d love to have you back, Mauro. You can do a great job!

BOB, DAVE AND YOUTH

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

The break-up of the Beatles, possibly the most successful and innovative group in pop history, probably received as much attention as the music they were creating. It was not so much a single event, but a long transition which had taken place over the years. It seemed inevitable – the question was not if it was going to happen, more when. It took a press release in April 1970 from Paul McCartney to provide final confirmation that it had happened. They had been formed in 1960.

So the Beatles spanned a decade, which will not be forgotten. Bob and Dave have been together running Wigan Athletic for 3 years. Whatever happens from now on Latics followers will retain unforgettable memories of the champagne football we have seen over these past  months. To see Wigan Athletic outplaying the rich and famous and beating them on merit is something we could not have dreamed of in the past. However, like the Beatles, it is inevitable that there is going to be a break up some time, even if we don’t know when.

Dave Whelan says Roberto Martinez is staying – for the foreseeable future at least. There has been nothing from Martinez at this point, but one hopes that the Chairman and he are in agreement. If Martinez is staying – then for how long? It would certainly calm our nerves if he were to make a statement indicating that he will be with us for at least a couple more years. He has done a wonderful job providing infrastructure and his long term vision for the club is to be admired. However, there is one area in which we really need to improve – youth.

According to the Daily Mail, Whelan told ESPN: ‘Roberto is staying with us and I’ve agreed to his request to up our spending on youth development and training facilities.” A full size indoor training ground makes good sense, but there is an acknowledgement that the club needs to spend more on youth development. So why does more money need to be spent on youth and where will it go?

The Wigan Athletic youth team lost 9-1 at Nottingham Forest in the FA Youth Cup. That our team lost is not a surprise, even if the scale of defeat was quite shocking. They played away to a team that plays in the Premier Academy League. There are 40 teams in that league, which consists of Premier League and Championship clubs. Latics’ youth team plays in the North West Division of the inferior Football League Youth Alliance. Among the champions of that league over the past five years appear clubs such as Rochdale and Wrexham. No other Premier League team has their youth team in Youth Alliance, only Wigan. I have been scanning the internet for tables and up to date information about the Youth Alliance, but to little or no avail. The Wigan Athletic official site gives the youth team results up to the end of March. There is a match report from the first game of the season – a 2-0 home loss to Port Vale on August 6th – but there is a gap until the next one, the Forest debacle on January 19th . Neither the Latics official site nor that of the Football League give end of season standings.

It was good to listen to interviews with Daniel Redmond and Jordan Mustoe on Latics Player. They have been offered further one year contracts. Redmond started at Everton and Mustoe at Liverpool, both Merseyside clubs having provided so many of our youth players over the years. The Liverpool area remains a breeding ground for footballers. Both players have benefitted from being sent out on-loan and getting regular first team football, albeit at levels well below that of the Premier League. The Premier Reserve League simply does not provide enough matches and there are periods without any game for weeks. Latics second string had just two matches in the whole of December and January. The move to send young players out to lower division clubs on loan is to be commended. In addition to Redmond and Mustoe add the names of Dicko, Golobart, Kiernan, and Nicholls who have also been out on loan. Callum McManaman had a successful period on loan at Blackpool until he recalled to Wigan in January, since then making only one brief appearance as a substitute. One wonders if he might have been better off staying at Blackpool?

Look at the profiles of youth players at the top Premier League clubs and you will see they come not so much from all over the country, but all over the world. Although Latics have some young professionals from abroad – Jeshua Angoy and Roman Golobart from Spain and Nouah Dicko from France – looking at the names in the youth team line-ups foreign names are few. Out of the 18 first and second year professionals we have Sheego from Somalia and Thompson from Florida. Waters comes from Neath, Bingham from Newham. The remainder come from the greater Liverpool, Manchester and Wigan areas.

Let’s hope that Bob and Dave will stay at Wigan Athletic for years to come. Expecting them to stay together as long as the Beatles might be asking too much, but every year we will see the club progressing under their leadership. They are a great double act. It is going to take money to attract higher quality youth players to the club. You simply cannot dump a 17 year old from overseas in a new cultural environment without providing the necessary support systems. Doing so costs money. Let’s get our youth team into the Premier Academy League, where they will be competing at a much better level, making a smoother transition to the Premier Reserve League. Roberto Martinez clearly recognises our shortcomings at youth level and the chairman is now giving his backing to increased spending on youth development. It looks like another step in the right direction!