Five talking points after gaining an important point at Bristol City

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

Bristol City 2 Wigan Athletic 2

Bristol is always worth a visit. In 2017 it was named by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in Britain:  “a small city that feels like a big city”, it was praised for being “handily placed for seaside and scenery” but “hardly cut off”. A little less than a year ago I went to the north of the city to see Latics get a 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers in primitive conditions, sitting under a canopy with the rain lashing in at the rustic Memorial Ground.

The impressive Ashton Gate stadium is some three miles south of the city centre, not far from the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge. Bristol City were in fourth place, following fine wins at Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, facing  a Wigan team low on confidence and in a  relegation dogfight. Gary Caldwell’s promoted side played there in the opening game of the season in August 2016, going into half time with a 1-0 lead, only to go down in the 90th minute after Lee Johnson’s substitutions had changed the game.

This Bristol City side has a high proportion of tall players, posing a serious aerial threat. Knowing that Paul Cook had changed his team’s shape, reverting to a 3-4-2-1 system, with Cedric Kipre brought back as the third centre half. Gavin Massey was left on the bench for Josh Windass to join Nick Powell behind centre forward Joe Garner.

Latics started off well, not being afraid to take the game to the home team. They went into the interval a goal ahead following a prodigious strike from distance by Reece James. The Wigan fans in the John Atyeo Stand were delighted at the half time lead, if somewhat wary of what might follow. Were Latics going to suffer that all-too-familiar second half slump that had let them down in so many away games?

But Latics went into the second half in a similar vein, cancelling out the home team’s efforts and carving out opportunities of their own. But Johnson once again changed the pattern of the game, through making three substitutions after just 58 minutes. A sloppy Wigan backline allowed goals by Matty Taylor after  65 minutes and substitute Kasey Palmer three minutes later. But Wigan had not caved in and continued to create opportunities. On the 81st minute Cook made three substitutions, taking off Kipre, Windass and Joe Garner to bring on Massey, Anthony Pilkington and Leon Clarke. With just a minute remaining of the five added-on  Clarke steamrollered his way through the home defence, his shot being blocked by a defender on the line, only for Pilkington to slot home the loose ball.

The away support went into raptures. In the end it was a point well deserved against a good Bristol City side.

Following the game Paul Cook said: “I think, even for our fans, it’s very much a fair indication of probably where we’re at, at the level. Going forward we’ve genuinely tried to carry a threat and create chances which we’ve done. Unfortunately, defensively, we have the ability just to give teams soft goals and that was no different today. Whilst it’s important we stick together and stay strong, you know there must be a level of improvement in certain departments of the pitch and none more so highlighted than the five minutes today that have seen us go from a comfortable lead to going behind 2-1.The character of the team is good. The subs came on and effected it really well, we carried a threat the whole game. I thought Powell and Windass looked good behind Joe Garner who was excellent, but unfortunately the goals change the game and from there we’re making substitutions we probably didn’t want to make, albeit they had a positive effect.”

Let’s take a look at some points arising:

Clarke shows his worth

When Leon Clarke was brought on with some 10 minutes to go it did not go down particularly well with the away following. The big man has had a difficult return to a club where he had previously failed to impress. Joe Garner has established himself as the first choice centre forward and he had had another good game against City’s three towering central defenders. But Clarke’s physical strength and opportunism helped save the day for Latics.

Whether the 34-year-old will be at Wigan next season remains to be seen, but Cook will be hoping to see more of his opportunism in the six matches that remain.

Cook gets his shape right

Faced with such an aerial threat Cook wisely selected three central defenders, allowing Nathan Byrne and Antonee Robinson more freedom to move forward as wing backs. The lineup was well balanced and helped Latics compete on an even keel with a side vying for promotion.

Cook’s plans were sadly undone by poor defending, Kipre allowing Taylor to out jump him for the first goal, Chey Dunkley’s slip leading to the second.

But the 3-4-2-1 system the manager used in this match could prove to be his preferred formation until the end of the season. Not only does it potentially stiffen the defence but it provides pace up the wings. After being left on the bench presumably because of the formation, Gavin Massey looked to be hobbling along in the closing minutes. Should it prove to be a major injury the manager will be short of his three fastest wingers, since Michael Jacobs and Callum McManaman have already been ruled out.

Over the course of the season, faced with injuries to Jacobs and Massey, Cook persisted with players on the wings who were so much less pacy and incisive than that duo.  One can only hope that the manager sees the benefit of persisting with a 3-4-2-1 which allows his best available players to take the field in positions to which they are suited.

Cook gets his substitutions right

When the second City goal went in there were some away fans asking for Cook to make substitutions. But, despite the defensive errors Latics were playing well against strong opposition. He wisely waited until the 81st minute, changing the shape to his favourite 4-2-3-1.

The manager’s substitutions over recent months have often received criticism. He certainly got it right this time.

Dunkley and Kipre for the future

The Championship season is long and relentless, a constant challenge to players who have come up from lower divisions. Chey Dunkley had a mixed game, his slip leading to a goal, fluffing two headers on goal which last season he would probably have put away. But he nevertheless made important tackles and interventions.

The 27-year-old Dunkley had just two seasons in league football prior to this season, both in League 1. The ascent to the Championship was always going to pose a challenge. With a young defence around him so often Dunkley has had to shoulder the burden. His heading ability has been so important for the team, as have the superb last-gasp tackles he has so often produced. At times he has been caught out and made errors that have proved costly and his distribution has been far from the level expected from a central defender in the second tier. But at Bristol he rarely launched those hoof-balls that have too often characterized his distribution.

Cedric Kipre is only 22-years -old, with a single season behind him in league football, albeit for Motherwell in the SPL. He has a superb physique for a central defender, has pace and passing ability. In recent games he has looked short of confidence, not the player he was earlier in the season. Despite his height and powerful build he is too often beaten in the air, as happened again in this game. Rather than aggressively attacking the ball he can tend to hold back. Earlier in the season Kipre was unafraid to venture forward towards the half way line to make tackles, but playing in a struggling team must have had its effect. Kipre is young and has the potential to become a fine central defender at Championship level. With the right coaching maybe he could go even further?

It has been a steep learning curve for both Dunkley and Kipre. Should Latics manage to avoid relegation the knowledge the two have gained from playing at this level will surely hold them in good stead for the future.

Looking forward to Hull

Hull City sit in 11th place. Their home record is W10 D5 L5, amassing 35 points, just one more than Latics at the DW Stadium.

Although Bristol City were flying high prior to playing Latics their home record had not been impressive. In that respect the trip to Hull could pose more of a challenge.

However, buoyed by the point gained at Bristol, can Latics come away with a good result in east Yorkshire?

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five talking points following a tight encounter with Brentford

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

Wigan Athletic 0 Brentford 0

Wigan Athletic rarely do well after an international break. But this was by no means a bad performance. Whether it was a point gained or two points lost is the current debate among Latics fans.

It was a tight game between two teams of contrasting styles with few clear-cut chances created by either side. Brentford played the better football, but Wigan came closest to scoring.  With 7 games to play Latics are 4 points ahead of the relegation zone but have some difficult games coming up. Some fans are suggesting that their fate could be decided in that final match of the season when Latics host Millwall.

Paul Cook made one change to his starting line-up, preferring the experience of Danny Fox to the youth of Cedric Kipre at centre back. Anthony Pilkington returned to the squad following injury and was brought on after 43 minutes when Michael Jacobs had to go off because of a hamstring injury. Pilkington’s return to action had coincided with Josh Windass being a noticeable omission from the match-day squad.

Following the game Cook commented: “We need to respect the point, it’s a point more towards where we want to be and with seven games to go, we just need to keep believing. It was a case of staying disciplined with our shape and then hitting them on the counter-attack and creating chances. Credit to Brentford, they’re an excellent football side and are one of the best teams we faced here in terms of managing and handling the ball, they take the ball in all areas of the pitch and continually caused our shape problems. We had a couple of good chances, Gavin Massey’s was the most clear-cut chance in the game just after half-time, but we’ve now taken four points from Bolton and Brentford and we move on.”

Let’s look at some points arising from the game:

Were Wigan over-physical or were Brentford play-acting?

We learned what excellent possession football Brentford can play in the 2-0 defeat at Griffin Park in mid-September. The Bees were riding high at that time and if it had not been for a good display by Christian Walton they would have won by a much greater margin. We saw that smooth possession football in action again yesterday, their three-man backline calm under pressure, the midfield players making themselves constantly available to enable a seamless transition from defence to attack. Brentford are second to Leeds with average possession stats of 57% over the course of the season. They enjoyed 65% of the possession yesterday. Moreover, their pass accuracy was 82% compared with Wigan’s 63%.

Following the game, the Bees Danish manager, Thomas Frank, commented: “Wigan are very physical…and I don’t think it’s any secret that they try to use that physicality, because they thought that maybe an advantage for them. They used that well, and then it’s up to the referee to protect the players.”

A fierce tackle by Danny Fox in the opening minutes on Brentford’s leading goalscorer Neal Maupay was a signal of things to come. The foul count ended up being 19 against Wigan and 14 against Brentford. Wigan’s average foul count is 13 per game. Latics were certainly physical against a team with technically superior players, but although they committed more fouls than usual, they accumulated only one yellow card compared with Brentford’s two.

In the encounter at Griffin Park there was criticism by Latics fans of what they considered the home side’s “play-acting” and pressuring the referee. Sam Morsy was sent off in the 60th minute, but his suspension was rescinded by the FA. The Bees’ manager at that time was Dean Smith. When his current side, Aston Villa, visited Wigan in mid-January we saw a similar pattern.

Wigan were physical yesterday, but Brentford’s reaction was so often over the top. Is the same behaviour the players learned under Smith being allowed to continue under Frank?

The second half sag

So often this season Latics have sagged in the second half. The high pressing has dissipated, and Wigan have dropped back in defence, unable to string passes together. The same happened yesterday. What are the reasons? Are the players lacking in fitness?  Or are they following the manager’s instructions?

Brendan Rogers once said: “If you can dominate the game with the ball, you have a 79% chance of winning”. Where he got his figures from is up to debate but, put simply, the more the ball is passed around the field, the more the opposition is forced to burn energy.  In the first half yesterday, Brentford were certainly stretching Latics with their possession. In Cook’s words “they take the ball in all areas of the pitch and continually caused our shape problems.”

The likelihood is therefore that by half time Latics had expended more energy than their opponents. Given such a scenario it would have been no surprise for Cook to instruct Latics to sit back and look at hitting the visitors on the counterattack.

Defence holds firm

Chey Dunkley returned to form yesterday, forming a combative central defence with Danny Fox. Dunkley’s form off set pieces has been so disappointing this season and he still has not scored a goal. But he came close his header drawing a fine save from the opposition keeper and he later had another effort bounce off the crossbar. That goal must surely come. At times it has been a difficult learning experience for the big central defender in his first season in the second tier, but nevertheless he has figured among Latics’ most consistent performers over the course of the season.

Fox’s last appearance for Latics had been in the 2-1 defeat at Derby on March 5 when he went off injured after 33 minutes. He had suffered a previous injury after 25 minutes at Rotherham on February 9 that had kept him out for two weeks. Since signing for Latics at the end of the January transfer window he has made just five appearances, including two curtailed by injury. He was excellent yesterday, his reading of the game and positional sense shining through. He is by no means a sophisticated central defender, but his determination and his passing ability make him a player to be reckoned with at Championship level.

Powell completes the full game

Nick Powell was not at his best, but soon after half time he won the ball close to his own penalty box and ran some forty yards to lay off a beautiful pass for Gavin Massey who had intelligently moved into space. Unfortunately, the winger’s effort was well saved by the goalkeeper. Powell is such an important player for Latics that it takes a lot of nervous energy out of us as fans when he looks frail and injury-prone. In this game he misplaced some of his passes, but he was certainly committed and for once Cook did not take him off before the full-time whistle blew.

So often have Latics relied on Powell’s creativity to provide some kind of spark in tight encounters. It is a heavy burden he shoulders. With Michael Jacobs once again struck down by a hamstring injury there will be even more pressure on Powell. Pilkington had been brought on for Jacobs, one creative player for another. But the ex-Cardiff player needs more games under his belt before he is going to play at his best. Since joining Latics in early January he has made just six starts with two appearances off the bench. Pilkington has a good pedigree for the second tier and could prove a key asset in the bid to avoid relegation. If Jacobs is to be out for some time Cook will need Pilkington to stay fit and show the kinds of skills that we know he is capable of.

Commitment with discipline

Sam Morsy talked in the week about the need for him to cut out the unnecessary yellow cards. After being booked four times in five outings he has now gone four games without a yellow. Morsy is a key player in Wigan’s midfield and Cook will not want to lose him through suspension again.

Although Morsy is the leader in yellow cards at the club he is not the only player who has run into problems with referees. Latics average 13 fouls committed per game, with 14 per game being awarded in their favour.  They occupy 17th place in the fouls committed table, with seven teams having a higher foul count. However, in terms of yellow and red cards only Nottingham Forest have a worse record. Latics have 82 yellows and 3 reds in 39 games.

Antonee Robinson deservedly received a yellow card yesterday for a desperation tackle but his teammates managed to avoid one. Last week against Bolton nobody on Wigan’s team received a card.

It appears that Cook and his coaches have been working with the players on improving their discipline. Discipline tends to be associated with the gap between fouls committed and cards received, but it can have a wider meaning. With a young defence Latics have too often given away free kicks near their penalty box that have caused them problems. Throw-ins have been another problem area with too many routinely given away when the ball could have been kept in play. Doing so has invited further pressure from the opposition. “Safety-first” defending – putting the ball out of play at the slightest hint of danger – was not so often punished in League 1 as it has been in the Championship. In the first half against Bolton we saw the visiting side pepper the home defence with crosses and throw-ins, too often given away by the indiscipline of Wigan’s defence. Fortunately, those same defenders, aided by Bolton’s lack of finishing, managed to keep the visitors out until after half time.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

 

 

 

Five talking points following an impressive display against Bolton

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

Wigan Athletic 5 Bolton Wanderers 2

It was throwback to the Wigan Athletic we had seen at the start of the season. Latics were full of energy and invention and their attacking approach simply blew away their near neighbours. This emphatic win puts them 10 points ahead of a Bolton side seemingly doomed for relegation.

After the game Cook commented: “I would have taken anything today as long as we won, I thought the result against Reading was an absolute disgrace, we were very flat again against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night, but we’ve bounced back today and I’m sure our fans will be delighted. We’ve set out a great chance of achieving what we wanted to at the start of the season with that performance today…..Tonight everyone will feel a little bit happier, but until the final ball is kicked on the final day no one can relax, we certainly won’t rest on our laurels as we play a very strong Brentford side here next.”

Let’s take a look at some points arising:

Garner’s early goal was crucial

Joe Garner’s header in the fourth minute gave Latics a big psychological boost. They had started with attacking intent, Michael Jacobs causing problems for Jason Lowe, the Bolton right back being given a yellow card after just three minutes. The early intervention by the referee helped set the tone in a game that could boil over at any time. In the event it was certainly a physical encounter, but Lowe’s card was the only one the referee deemed worthy to give in the remaining 92 minutes. Garner’s header had come from Reece James’ free kick following Lowe’s booking.

Garner once again showed that he is worthy of his starting place at centre forward. Yesterday he linked up intelligently with the creative trio of Jacobs, Massey and Powell and gave the corpulent Bolton defenders a hard time. His goal came at a crucial time for a Latics side who desperately needed a boost after an awful display at Blackburn.

Getting the best out of Jacobs and Massey

Cook took Gavin Massey off after 45 minutes in the previous game at Blackburn; Michael Jacobs went off after 61 minutes, with Rovers already two goals up. Was Cook saving them for the Bolton game?

Both Jacobs and Massey have had long spells out through injury this season and the cutting edge they provide was badly missed when they were absent. They both had excellent games, each scoring a well-taken goal, Jacobs also getting the assist for Nick Powell’s goal. Massey was substituted after 82 minutes but Jacobs completed the whole 90 plus. Their interplay with Powell has always been a joy to watch, as it was once more yesterday.

Last season both Jacobs and Massey made 50 appearances. They were key players in the League 1 title winning team.

When Latics were last in the Championship in 2016-17 Jacobs was a regular starter and made 46 appearances, scoring 3 goals. However, he did not totally convince that he was a Championship-level player. This season he has made 21 appearances, scoring 4 goals. Yesterday he certainly looked up to the task and showed the kind of energy and creativity that Latics had been lacking when he was put injured. At 27 he is at his peak.

Massey scored 6 goals last season, but only one of those was bagged at the DW.  Massey is now 26 years old and nearing his peak. After a career in the lower divisions he looks very much at home in the Championship.

A defender almost scores

Late in the proceedings Nathan Byrne hit the post with a rocket shot from 25 yards. If it had gone in it would have been only the second goal scored by a defender for Latics this season and Byrne’s first in 89 appearances. A few minutes earlier Byrne had put in a beautiful long cross for Leon Clarke to head home Wigan’s fifth.

Walton back for Jones

Jamie Jones took over the starting goalkeeping position from Christian Walton in early January. It had been a long wait for the Brighton loan player to get his place back.

Walton looked more assertive than he had looked in December and could not be faulted for either of the Bolton goals. Both goalkeepers have their strengths and will continue to compete for a place in the starting lineup. One of Jones’ real strengths is his distribution, and this is something Walton needs to continue to work on.

Danny Fox will be back

With an international break coming up there is time for Danny Fox to recover from his knee injury. Fox’s experience and organisational skills would have been helpful yesterday when Latics defence let in two soft goals that could have allowed Bolton back into the game if it had not been for Wigan’s ability to strike back in attack.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

Wigan Athletic: caretaker manager needed NOW

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

It’s now or never.

The performance against a weakened Blackburn side was probably the worst of the season, riddled with errors from players so short on confidence. Relegation is looming and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Paul Cook needs to be sent on “gardening leave”, allowing a caretaker manager to come in and lift the squad for the final nine games.

It would be folly to wait until after the Bolton game. There is an international break afterwards, and only four days to prepare if Cook were to step down today. BUT there is nothing to gain by keeping him on at this point. He’s toast. Whereas removing Cook, and putting a caretaker (such as Peter Reid or Joe Royle) in charge could give them a boost ahead of a MUST WIN match. This is truly a must win. Ipswich was, and Cook got that badly wrong and then gave the most disheartening press conference afterwards.

We on this site have, in the past, advocated giving Cook more time, but the situation has reached a critical point. If action is not taken the most likely outcome will be Wigan Athletic back in League 1 next season.

 

Getting the right balance in an unforgiving league

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

“It’s an unforgiving league” is a phrase that Paul Cook has frequently used over the course of the 2018-19 EFL Championship season. It is one which Wigan Athletic fans will hope he will not be using after this week’s encounters with neighbours, Blackburn and Bolton.

Compared with League 1 the Championship is more unforgiving. Mistakes are more likely to be punished playing against teams with higher quality players and managers who are more tactically aware.

Last season Latics had a wage budget in excess of £12 m compared with a League 1 average closer to £3 m. Rival team managers would have been so often justified if they had called last season’s Wigan team “unforgiving”.  Put simply, Latics had higher quality players on higher salaries than any other team in the division bar Blackburn Rovers. Even when not playing particularly well they had a solid defence and the kinds of players in midfield and up front who could produce something special when things were not going so well.

The boot this season has been on the other foot. Wigan’s wage budget is modest for a division in which the clubs with the lower budgets typically occupy the lower parts of the table. That Latics are competing with clubs with similarly modest budgets like Bolton, Ipswich, Millwall and Rotherham to avoid relegation comes as no surprise.

But clubs can punch above their weight as Latics proved in the most emphatic way during their time in the Premier League. Despite a modest budget by Premier League standards they stayed in the division for eight years, reaching the League Cup Final and winning the FA Cup. During those eight years they recorded victories over those giant elite clubs that dominate that division.

Wigan Athletic were punching above their weight in the early stages of the current season. Although rather suspect in defence they were playing a brand of “no fear” attacking football, built upon the momentum of winning the League 1 title. Cook had continued to use the 4-2-3-1 formation that had brought success in League 1.

However, Gavin Massey’s injury at QPR at the end of August was a blow to Cook’s style of play. Moreover an injury to Michael Jacobs meant that both first choice wingers were unavailable for the next game at home to Rotherham.  Callum Connolly was drafted in on the right for Massey and Josh Windass for Jacobs. It was a dour game with Rotherham “parking the bus”. Both Nick Powell and Will Grigg were taken off after 60 minutes and a skillful passing approach gave way to a speculative long-ball scenario.

Jacobs returned in place of Connolly for the next game, a 1-0 win over Rotherham and played a part in victories over Hull and Bristol City. But an injury sustained in a 4-0 defeat at Preston in early October saw him out of action until mid-January.

In the absence of specialist wingers Massey and Jacobs for periods of months Cook could have been expected to use the speed and trickery of Callum McManaman, but his initial preference was to play such as Windass and Connolly out of position. He later employed the 34 year old Gary Roberts in wide positions. McManaman continued to be snubbed. The result was a lack of pace and cutting edge from the flanks. The manager’s problems were further exacerbated by the absence of the midfield playmaker Nick Powell through injury from the end of November to the middle of February. In the absence of Jacobs, Massey and Powell the quality of football plummeted, especially in away games with the “hoof” being far too prominent.

Cook now has the trio back at his disposal, but must be careful not to overuse them and risk injury. On Saturday at Reading the quality of football once again plummeted when Massey and Powell left the field, Wigan unable to retain possession, conceding late goals.  With Anthony Pilkington not on the bench Cook brought on Kal Naismith to replace Massey. Leon Clarke replaced Powell.

Cook’s substitutions on Saturday were ill-thought and allowed Reading back into the game. Rather than allow Reading to come forward and have speedy players ready to launch counterattacks he chose to put on a big centre forward and play a version of 4-4-2. The more obvious replacement for Powell was Josh Windass who has been used in the number 10 role before and has pace. Naismith was the obvious substitute for Massey, but rather than play him in his natural role on the left and switching Jacobs across the right the manager chose to play the Scot in a position where he looked out of his depth.

Cook will surely name the trio of Jacobs, Massey and Powell in his starting lineup at Blackburn tomorrow, providing they are fit. However, one can only hope that he can make better contingency plans for substitutions as they tire. Putting Clarke and Garner up front late in the game might be a valid tactic if Latics are behind, but it is not the way to protect a one goal lead. If Latics do get ahead against Blackburn he should either stick to a successful formula – usually 4-2-3-1 – and avoid that 4-4-2 long ball approach like the plague. An alternative on Saturday would have been to bring Cedric Kipre off the bench to play in a back three, with Nathan Byrne and Antonee Robinson moving to wing back roles. It could have provided extra defensive cover whilst bolstering the midfield.

That trio of Jacobs, Massey and Powell are crucial for Wigan’s survival in the Championship. An injury to either one would be a hammer-blow. Cook will have to be careful of not pushing them too hard given their recoveries from injury. That means that he will need to be proactive, rather than reactive, in keeping the team balanced if one or more of them is not on the pitch. Above all that hoofball approach that cedes possession to the opposition needs to be avoided.

We can only hope that the manager has learned from the mistakes he has made this season and will open his kind to more insightful approaches. Might he even consider McManaman as a possible stand-in for Jacobs or Massey?