A Bolton Wanderers fan’s view of Antonee Robinson

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , ,

 

The 21 year-old Antonee Robinson joined Wigan Athletic on a year’s loan from Everton on the summer transfer deadline day. The 6 ft tall Robinson is 21 years old.

Born in Milton Keynes of an American father, Robinson joined Everton as an 11-year-old.  He signed a professional contract for the Toffees when 17, after being awarded the Under 18s Player of the Season. Robinson missed much of the 2015-16 season because of a cartilage injury. Despite his injury he was offered a new one-year contract and went on to play three EFL Trophy games for the U23 side in 2016-17.

In August 2017 Robinson joined Bolton Wanderers on loan. He went on to make 30 appearances over the course of the season.

After playing for the US under 18 team he went on to make his full international debut in May 2018 against Bolivia.

In order to learn more about Robinson’s time at Bolton we contacted Chris Mann of the Burnden Aces fan site http://www.burndenaces.co.uk (@BurndenAces ).

Here’s over to Chris:

Following Andrew Taylor’s performances during our League One promotion season of 2016/17, Antonee Robinson arrived at Bolton as somewhat of a low-key signing and one many expected to provide nothing more than backup.

 A couple of Carabao Cup ties aside, Robinson had to wait for an opportunity with Wanderers but was thrust in earlier than anticipated when Taylor picked up an early-season injury.

 It would be a baptism of fire for Robinson, who was torn apart by Adama Traore on his first league start on an afternoon where we were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Middlesbrough at Macron Stadium.

 Many young players would have crumbled there and then but Phil Parkinson showed a huge amount of faith in Robinson, even as the club embarked on a run of eight successive defeats without scoring a single goal.

 As the season progressed, Bolton’s form improved and so did that of Robinson, who made the left-back position his own for the majority of the campaign and earned a first international call-up to the United States squad.

 The Everton loanee has undoubted potential, with his pace and ability to burst forward once making him a fans’ favourite in these parts, but his defensive capability needs some serious work if he is ever to make the grade at Premier League level.

 Robinson may have been handed a new three-year deal at Goodison Park, but I just don’t see him forcing a way through. The Toffees will cash in at some stage and a good season at Wigan will only increase his value. As is so often the case with loan deals though – as we have seen ourselves in this instance – just don’t expect any loyalty at the end of it.

 

 

 
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Five talking points following an exciting performance at Villa

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

Aston Villa 3 Wigan Athletic 2

 

It was a spirited performance by Wigan Athletic, another five-goal feast of entertainment following the Sheffield Wednesday encounter. Latics attacked Villa from the get-go and to lose to a goal in the 93rd minute was heart-breaking.

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

Connolly preferred to Evans

With Darron Gibson ruled out by injury most of us would have expected Lee Evans to replace him in the starting line-up. Was Callum Connolly preferred because of his defensive qualities in an effort to contain Jack Grealish?

By all accounts Connolly impressed in holding midfield when on loan to Ipswich last season, more so than in his more regular role at full back. In the event Grealish went on to dominate the proceedings. Neymar was so heavily criticised for going down too easily in the World Cup, but in this game Grealish proved equally adept at falling to the ground and getting free kicks. The result was that Wigan players were reluctant to engage him. Villa fans might say that Grealish is a skilful player who should be protected by referees, but in this case, it went too far.

Evans came on in the 53rd minute and immediately fitted in to the style of play. Connolly was moved to the right wing and a couple of minutes later scored Wigan’s second goal meeting Nick Powell’s cross ahead of Alan Hutton.

Cook clearly rates Connolly and we can expect to see him in a variety of roles this season.

A rookie defence

Despite good individual performances the defence had looked all-at-sea on occasions against Sheffield Wednesday. It was a rookie defence composed of players who had never previously played together as a unit. Between the four of them the number of seasons played in league football totalled the same number, just four.

Before the game one wondered how that defence would cope with the experience and ability of Aston Villa’s attack. Not surprisingly they looked wobbly throughout.

Injuries to Dan Burn and Nathan Byrne have come at a difficult time. Burn appears to be out for some time, but Byrne seems to be taking a long time to get over what was originally referred to as a minor injury.

Cook recognises the need for defensive reinforcements having stated: “I think defensively, probably in the centre of the defence, we’re going to need something. Hopefully we’re going to look at and be able to address that before the loan window closes.”

In the meantime, he could look at the option of bringing in the experienced Alex Bruce and playing with a back line of three. The young full backs Reece James and Antonee Robinson would surely thrive in wing back positions.

Naivety or simply positive?

Once again Latics kept pressing forward in the final quarter of the game, rather than slow things down and look at securing a point. Most of the pundits we hear on television would probably lambast Paul Cook, call him naïve, citing a need for better “game management”.

But over the course of the season how many draws can be turned into wins if Cook continues to have his team play like this?

The Refereeing

In the Premier League years Latics fans would talk about facing the twelve men prior to going to support their team at Old Trafford. So many awful decisions were made in the home team’s favour, whether it were due to the roars of the large crowd or the manager at the time.

Now Steve Bruce is hardly a Ferguson. His teams have typically played with a physical approach, but not particularly cynical. But for some reason Latics got the rough end of the stick with the officials at Villa Park. It was not only allowing theatrics from Grealish, but so many decisions went the home team’s way.

How will Cook use Windass?

It was a surprise when Latics paid some £2.5 m for Josh Windass. But it was no surprise to see him come off the bench to replace Nick Powell after 67 minutes. Now Windass does not have the silky skills of Powell, but he is fast and direct.

A couple of minutes after Windass came on Lee Evans launched one of his trademark long diagonal crosses. Windass reached it with a diving header at the far post which went narrowly wide. What a pity it did not go in!

Rangers used Windass in a variety of positions. Will Cook use him as a winger, central striker or as an alternative to Powell in the number 10 role?

 

 

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A Rangers fan’s view of Josh Windass

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , ,

On transfer deadline day Wigan Athletic announced the signing of Josh Windass from Rangers on a three-year contract. The fee is reported to be around £2.5 m plus add-ons.

 

On signing the 24-year-old Paul Cook stated: “Josh is an exciting player with an eye for a goal and he gives us further strength in attacking positions.”

The 5 ft 10 in tall Windass was born in Hull. He spent ten years at Huddersfield Town until being released as an 18-year-old. After an unsuccessful trial at Bradford City he joined Northern Counties East club, Harrogate Railway Athletic, in December 2012 on a semi-professional basis. In July 2013 Windass joined Accrington Stanley in League 2. He made his debut against Tranmere Rovers in an FA Cup tie in November 2013, alongside new teammate Kal Naismith. Windass went on to make 77 appearances for Stanley, scoring 22 goals over three seasons.

Windass turned down the offer of a new contract at Accrington in November 2015, reportedly on the advice of his father Dean, who is well known to many Latics fans. On the termination of his contract he joined Rangers, with Stanley receiving £60,000 as compensation.

Windass went on to make 57 starts for Rangers, with 14 appearances off the bench, scoring 19 goals.

To learn more about Windass’ time at Rangers we contacted Stewart Franklin of Gers Net (https://www.gersnet.co.uk/).

Here’s over to Stewart:

First and foremost, Josh is a talented footballer. He’s quick, he can score goals, he can find space and he’s very good at being the link between midfield and attack, especially on the counter.

The problem at Rangers was his inconsistency. In his first season he kept picking up niggling injuries so he never really got going until his second season. Unfortunately, despite the impressive stats (13 goals and 6 assists in the league), his overall contribution split fan opinion. He’d go missing in games, he’d shirk out of tackles and he never really looked entirely comfortable in any position.

We used him deeper, we used him as a second striker and he played mainly right across the three attacking roles in our preferred 4-2-3-1 but he was unable to persuade our fans he could be relied upon. It seems Steven Gerrard was equally unconvinced as despite already playing two Europa League ties and our first league game, Windass struggled to stay a first pick ahead of Thursday’s transfer.

In closing, I’d imagine most Rangers fans will miss the undoubted threat the lad brought but we won’t miss his social media gaffes and we won’t miss his old man poking his nose in where it usually wasn’t wanted. Nevertheless, we wish Josh all the very best for the future and the same goes for Wigan!

 

 

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The transfer deadline day unfolds for Latics’ fans through the social media

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Social Media and tagged with , , , , ,

We trawled the social media on the 2018 Transfer Deadline Day to get fan reactions on the comings and goings of players at Wigan Athletic.

Once again our thanks go to the Cockney Latic Forum, the Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Facebook,  and also Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen. Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below.

Let’s take a look at how the deadline day unfolded for Latics’ fans:

Adam O’Neill @adamONeillio tweeted:

Dan Burn been a brilliant player for us over last few seasons. Will be a huge miss but deserves a crack at the Premier League. Wish him all the best #wafc

Victor Moses on Latics Speyk commented:

Since we signed Kipre i’m not too fussed about losing Burn. Would rather we gained more money, but i think overall we will have a better player whos more suited to our system with far greater potential. Burn is suited to a deep defensive line that is focused on defending within the box. If we played that way he would be the better choice.

But it seems cook wants to play a high defensive line, which would suit Kipre far more. Dan lacks awareness, also gets caught out up the field with his positioning and lacks strength to dominate aerially. He’s better at attacking the ball with his head with forward momentum rather than being pinned 1v1 vs another player.

With a high defensive line the defenders will be exposed to a lot of 1v1 battles this season. The benefit is that our players will be higher up the pitch with the press and it will improve our general attacking play with players starting off higher up the pitch.

I like Burn, he’s been a quality player for us and wish him all the best, if he’s to come back here on loan i would expect him to be a backup unless an injury to Dunkley or Kipre. Watching Kipre gave me a lot of confidence in him, he stopped 4 or 5 1v1’s with the ball at the opponents feet and dominated a very high % of 1v1 aerial plays against Nuhiu and Joao. Two of the bigger forwards in this league.

Matt Jones @WafcMatt3 tweeted:

I absolutely adore Dan Burn and he deserves this move to the prem and I could see it coming but £3.5M surely it should be at least 5 need a replacement in summer considering he’s on loan to us this season #wafc

Peter Millward @PeteMillward79 tweeted:

Really puzzled Dan Burn’s loan back. I wonder if he’s going to be out injured until Nov and the loan from #bhafc point of view is that he’ll stay to get fit and playing before a Jan move. From #wafc point of view, we get a player for 2 months or so and the deal calms fan concerns

Studds40 on Latics Speyk added:

It’s a good deal for us. Good fee, good terms, if he returns on loan.

Personally, I don’t think he’s Premier League quality, so don’t understand what Brighton get out of the deal. Unless he’s a back-up for injuries or potential relegation.

Kipre still young and has a lot to prove. But it shows what kind of player you can pick-up around the £1m mark. Be interesting to see what moves we make in the next few hours.

Hindley Blue on the Cockney Latic Forum commented:

Good luck to the lad and I wish him every success as he was great for us and always gave 100%. I’m just really shocked a Prem team wants him, milk turns quicker and imo he’ll get found out.

Chris Stafford on The Boulevard of Broken Dreams commented:

Is it just me that thinks this Dan burn deal is a fantastic deal ?? He’s leaving at end of season anyway by the looks of it so would probably go for nothing but instead we are getting around £4 million for him and he’s being loaned back to us by all accounts ? We can now go and spend a bit of money today if needed

Duncan Holder responded:

 If anyone thinks we can survive financially without selling players each season they need to give their heads a wobble!! Got him on a free and sell him for decent profit.

Peter Millward @PeteMillward79 tweeted:

I’d be gutted if @mp_1825 left us. I really like the lad. Infectious enthusiasm. Seems so important to us he squad #wafc

Alan Farrimond @AlanFarrimond tweeted:

I also like him as a lad and there’s no doubt he likes us, but I do have concerns as to whether he can hack it in Championship. Also we have an abundance of CM players and we can’t keep them all happy, so good luck to the lad.

WillJones89210 on Latics Speyk commented:

I love max he’s my favorite player and I’ll be sad to see him go because of his passion and style of play. That said he has never been a fit for cooks system. His strengths are not as a holding midfielder never will be. He may be good enough for the championship but I don’t think he is in cooks system. With Connolly Gibson Morsy Macdonald and lopes we have pleenty of options 3 of which are probably as good if not better. From a footballing perspective purely it makes sense to sell if we get a decent fee.

Stuart Glover @StuartGlover tweeted:

Don’t forget Power wanted to leave last season and wasn’t all that effective in Championship year before (though few were). McDonald is better and may allow Morsy to get a little further forward.

C_Latic on Latics Speyk commented

Got no problem losing Power if the fee is right. We’ve upgraded in Connolly. The only worry I have is that Max is a great character and I’m guessing a key figure in the dressing room. Very much a Bullard type. It’s vital we don’t lose that togetherness as that group of players who have been with us since around 2015 start to dwindle.

MightyTics on Latics Speyk commented:

WIGAN. SHEFF U. Evans deal is on. Truly stunned by that.

 Martin @_MartinWAFC tweeted:

Very happy with midfield options of Morsy, Gibson, Evans and MacDonald #wafc

KingdeZeeuw06 on Latics Speyk commented:

I’m absolutely made up if we get Evans back – it was a huge mistake to not sign him when he went Sheff U. I’ll be over the moon if we do that deal. Wow!

Greg Farrimond @GregFarrimond tweeted:

Not sure who Joe Garner is but reading both the #wafc and #bwfc hashtags he may be about to become my favourite player.

HudWiganFan on Latics Speyk commented:

Kept all but one of the key players (even he’s returning on loan), signed some excellent players for our level and splashed some cash in the process as some had demanded – this window couldn’t have gone much better IMO.

Alan Nixon @reluctantnicko tweeted: 

WIGAN. Garner deal done at around 1m. BOLTON seen off in end. Evans deals should happen later on buy to loan basis. Power to SUNDERLAND the same basis as it only moved close too late.

Dudestalker on Latics Speyk said:

 Twitter saying Garner signed £1.2 million…suppose we’ll see at 9am.

Bramall Lane HQ @bramalllanehq tweeted:

Lee Evans move to Wigan Athletic is back ON. The Blades will only allow the midfielder to leave if they are to receive a fee, with the Latics willing to commit to a loan-to-buy purchase in January. [Alan Nixon] #sufc #wafc #twitterblades

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Latics fans react to recent events on the social media

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Social Media and tagged with , , , , , ,

The social media and message boards have been particularly busy recently following a trio of signings the day before the first game of the season, each doing well in a wonderfully entertaining win over Sheffield Wednesday. But a lot more could happen before the transfer window closes on Thursday, with speculation abounding in the media. Moreover there has also been a rumour that the takeover will be announced on Thursday too.

Once again we trawled the social media following Saturday’s game. Our thanks go to the Cockney Latic Forum, the Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Facebook,  and also Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen. Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below.

Will Jones picked up Alan Nixon’s tweet about who was sitting behind Dave Whelan in the directors’ box on Saturday:

Studds40 on Latics Speyk commented:

If that’s not Cheng it’s his spitting image.

If it is him, and his family still own a minority stake in IEC, it can only be a positive to see him taking in a Latics game. Better still by all accounts he enjoyed it. Whether it’s direct involvement, or a passing interest, these things can lead to other business associations such as sponsorships and what have you.

It was also good to see all of the current owners and board members sat with the prospective owners. At the very least it suggest a cordial working relationship. Same goes with seeing Royal and his son in the directors box. Better to have a smooth transition.

Hampton on Latics Speyk stated:

It was Cheng (straight fm the owners suite horses mouth) he is not fronting up the transaction but is underwriting it hence some of the corporate validation delays. How much he will lump on tics is of course open to question.

Pemblue1932 on the Cockney Latic Forum commented:

Been in wigan all week, and at the training ground, already paid for the new pitch (6 million), moved the worriers out of the offices and into Robin Park, initially investigating 80 million to get us in the prem, was behind Cook signing new contract.

Horc responded to Pemblue:

Nobody will shoot the messenger pemblue, I just hope you are right on the third part.
BTW, I heard it will be announced before the deadline and there could be further additions to the squad.

Trent_Wigan on the Cockney Latic Forum commented on player performances on Saturday:

Gibson was MoM for me today. His 1st touch passes were excellent. Always made himself available for the ball.

Robinson gave him a run for MoM. If he carries on like that he will be the best left back we have had since Baines. Not only can he cross a ball he can do it with both feet.

HudWiganFan on Latics Speyk commended the players:

Excellent performance – its great to see players like Jacobs and Massey proving their critics wrong and showcasing their skills to great effect.

A fast-paced, enthralling attacking performance that produced countless chances against sturdy championship opposition and easily warranted more goals than the three scored.

Not bad for a team filled with ‘League One players’ that allegedly lack the quality to play at the level above!!

Bigroy on the Cockney Latic Forum commented:

Lots of reasons to be optimistic. For his first professional game Reece James was fearless and settled well despite the odd mishit pass, Kipre was a revelation and like a rock at the back, Robinson looked quick on the break, set up the first goal and has bags of potential whilst Gibson controlled the midfield, played some great balls, broke up play and made a terrific goal saving block in the second half. Jacobs was MOTM, scored two good goals, hit the bar with a cracking effort and got an assist for the third and you couldn’t say any of the players didn’t play well. All round a great game and thought the scoreline flattered the opposition given the chances we created. If we keep that level this season should be a cracker.

GazLatic on Latics Speyk opined:

Kipre is only 21, a million is a snip of he develops. It’s a good example of the business plan buying young players to look at selling on for a profit.

Studds40 on Latics Speyk expects further turnover:

I imagine 4 or 5 will be on the way out to streamline the squad and make room on the wage bill. Even if we are flush with cash you don’t want established players never in with a chance of making the bench. Cole, Colclough, Walker, MacDonald, plus Flores & Lang, maybe on the market.

Apparently we’ve left the No.10 squad number free. So that could be for an outright striker or someone to sit just behind. At this time all clubs are open to in’s and out’s. Quality players may become available we weren’t in for that we take an interest in.

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WafcHarvey on Latics Speyk revealed:

I was chatting with Walkers family in Glasgow. They was saying that Jamie wasn’t happy with his involvement and had asked his agent to speak with the club. He was told that he was too small and weak when he arrived which he has been working on. I can only imagine Cook has been miffed by his agents involvement and decided to freeze him out. His Instagram showed him at the training ground Saturday and he has removed Wigan Athletic from his Instagram and changed his picture to him in a Hearts top. Shame as I thought he would do well this season, but I also said Gilbey would be one of our best players last season and he left on deadline day so what do I know!

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