An important pre-season

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

 

Jason Pearce

Jason Pearce

“He wants us to train hard and well in order to be ready to take that onto the pitch in matches. Clubs I’ve been at before haven’t got the footballs out so quickly and there has been lots of running but I’ve enjoyed the balance this year and it’s been really beneficial because you get your touch back quicker.”

Jason Pearce was commenting on the pre-season preparations up to this point. It will be the 27 year old Pearce’s eighth pre-season as a first team squad player with 356 first team appearances under his belt for Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Leeds United and Latics. Given his wealth of prior experience, Pearce’s comments surely carry some weight.

Pearce is one of the pillars upon which Gary Caldwell will build his team. He is a player more largely defined by his physicality and commitment, hardly seeming to typify the type that Caldwell needs to build a team that can play a brand of football akin to that of the Martinez yesteryear. However, looking at the signings so far, it is clear that Caldwell’s teams will have the steel necessary to scrap it out with the more robust sides of League 1. A central defensive trio of Pearce, Craig Morgan and Donervon Daniels will pose a stern physical challenge to any opposition forwards.

Pearce’s  positive comments about Caldwell’s approach to the pre-season will be welcomed by Wigan Athletic supporters. A year ago a disaster was on its way to happen. A Latics squad that was buoyant from the reaching the Championship playoffs and the FA Cup semi-final was to be brought to its knees by its pre-season training regimen. There are those in football who will say that players cannot be “overtrained”, but whatever happened in those training camps in Germany got the season off to a disastrous start.

One game in Germany had to be postponed because Latics did not have enough fit players. By the start of the season so many players were carrying knocks or niggling injuries or were just not fit. Caldwell and his staff will have learned from that and will surely not let it happen again. A focus on ball skills and stamina conditioning is surely the right approach at this stage.

Latics started last season by going 1-0 up against Reading, only for their legs to go in the second half and having to be rescued from defeat by James McArthur’s late equalizer. It was a pattern that was to repeat itself over the weeks that followed. Being unable to physically compete on an even keel against the most moderate of Championship opposition meant the superiority in terms of skill and flair that Latics might have possessed was nullified. So many players were unable to produce their best form as the “movement” necessary for good team work just did not happen.

Caldwell will be looking at launching a frontal attack on opposing teams when the season commences, going in with guns a blazing. A good start is crucial for a new team of players who will not be weighed down by the psychological consequences of what happened last season. The pre-season is even more crucial this year with so many new players coming in. Moreover many of those players will not have been playing the Caldwell brand of football at their previous clubs.

However, a little over six years ago Roberto Martinez’s team won the opening game of the 2009-10 season with a 2-0 victory at Aston Villa. The brand of football was poles apart from that of Steve Bruce’s team the previous season. Martinez had produced that change in just a handful of weeks of training. Caldwell will clearly believe he can do the same.

Reports tell us that Latics played a friendly game against Queen of the South in La Manga, Spain, this week. Only Ryan Jennings played in both halves of the game. However, one can only speculate on how many of the 21 players who took the field that day will be at the club when the season starts. Caldwell’s challenge is to move on most of the players who are on Championship division salaries.

Owen Coyle signings Leon Barnett, Chris McCann and James Perch remain at the club, but it would appear a matter of time before players of their experience are snapped up by Championship clubs.

Of the Rosler signings there have been rumours linking Martyn Waghorn with Sheffield United and James Tavernier with Rotherham. Should both Perch and Tavernier both leave then Caldwell will be looking at least one more right back. Don Cowie still has one more year to go on his contract, but did not appear in the Queen of the South game. Andrew Taylor did appear, but rumours suggest that ex-Hull City full back Joe Dudgeon has been training with Latics with a view to signing. Given the added presence of Aaron Taylor-Sinclair it could be a sign that Taylor is going to move on. Rumours have surfaced about Burnley wanting to sign Emyr Huws, but Latics need the kind of midfield creativity he can provide.

In order to recruit new players Caldwell has to move others on. Up to this point five under contract  senior players have left the club –Andy Delort, Scott Carson, Rob Kiernan, James McClean, Oriol Riera – and seven have been signed – Donervon Daniels, Craig Davies, Craig Morgan, Sanmi Odelusi, Richard O’Donnell , David Perkins and Max Power.

Caldwell has been trying hard to get the 20 goal per season striker that David Sharpe has talked about. They made a £1 m bid for Nadir Ciftci, which was accepted by Dundee United, but the player declined the offer to come to Wigan. Latics are currently bidding for Brentford’s Will Grigg, underused by Uwe Rosler in his time at Griffin Park, but scored 20 goals in 43 appearances for MK Dons last season. Latics have offered slightly less than the £700,000 being reported, but with add-ons. Brentford are asking £1m.

Reports tell us that ex-Fleetwood Town forward David Ball has been training with Latics in Spain. The ex-Manchester City youth player is now 25 years old and has made 98 appearances, scoring 26 goals, for Fleetwood.

A fascinating article on footballeagueworld.co.uk compares Ball with Eric Cantona quoting that “the crucial parallels are: flair, unpredictability, magic from out of nothing, unique running style, goals from all over the pitch and a hatful of assists” . Ball has left Fleetwood because of their inability to meet his contact demands. He is clearly a flair player and could prove a key asset for Latics if they can secure his services.

 

Gary Caldwell and his recruitment team have done a fine job up to this stage in recruiting useful players through the bargain basement. They have not yet been successful in their quest for a potential 20 goal per year striker. That could well prove to be Will Grigg.i

But it is not so much the ability of each player in a striking partnership to score goals on his own, but more the ability to complement each other in style and approach. David Ball can offer the kind of unpredictability and spontaneity that Latics have lacked upfront over the past couple of years. Moreover his style of play could fit in very well into the brand of football that Caldwell seeks.

Latics’ first league match is at Coventry on August 8th, four weeks from today. Caldwell has already made good progress in reshaping his squad, but there remains much more to be done. The sooner he can do it the better.

In the meantime he will work on getting his players fit and inducting them into the style of play he seeks.

A good start of the season is something that Latics have struggled with over these past years. Given the turnover in playing staff it is going to pose a tough challenge to Caldwell, but it is surely something he will be up for.

A Bolton fan’s view of Craig Davies

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

Davies

It was announced today that Wigan Athletic have completed the signing of free agent, Craig Davies, previously of Bolton Wanderers.

The 6 ft 2 in centre forward is 29 years old. He has played for Wales at all age levels, including five caps for the senior squad. Davies started as a youth player at Manchester City before joining Oxford United as an 18 year old. From 2004-06 he was to make 48 appearances, scoring 8 goals, while the club was in League 2.

In January 2006 he signed for Hellas Verona of Serie B for a fee of £85,000. Sadly he could not adapt to the culture change and only made one appearance, returning to England on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship. He was a regular starter for Wolves until they signed Andy Keogh in January 2007. Davies was to leave Wolves at the end of the season, having made 23 appearances, his only goals being one in a 2-2 FA Cup home draw with Oldham, followed by another in the 2-0 replay victory.

Curiously Davies was to join Oldham in the summer of 2007 to play in League 1. After regularly challenging for a first team place in his first season, he went through a 10 game goalless streak at the beginning of 2008-09, leading Oldham to send him out on loan to Stockport County, also in League 1 at the time. He scored 5 goals in 8 appearances before returning to Oldham. He had made 44 appearances for Oldham, scoring 10 goals before being sold to Brighton in January 2009.

Davies could not establish himself with the Seagulls and went on loan periods at Yeovil and Port Vale before joining Chesterfield in the summer of 2011. Davies’ 23 goals in 41 appearances were to help the Spireites win the League 2 title.

Davies was snapped up by Barnsley in the summer of 2012 and went on to make 60 appearances for the Tykes over the next two years, scoring 19 goals. His second season had been hampered by a  hamstring injury. Bolton Wanderers paid £300,000 for his services in January 2013 and Davies went on to make 35 starts for them with 19 appearances off they bench, scoring 10 goals.  He was loaned to Preston in January 2014, where he scored 5 goals from 13 starts and 3 substitute appearances.Last season he struggled once again with his hamstring injury and was not offered a new contract.

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

So here’s over to Chris:

Wigan Athletic today completed the free signing of Craig Davies, seven days after his contract at Bolton came to an end.

Davies joined Wanderers in a £300,000 transfer from Barnsley in January 2013 and went on to score a total of 11 goals in 58 appearances for the Trotters, prior to his release.

Whilst those statistics may not look too appetising, it’s worth noting that 31 of those outings were from the substitutes’ bench.

Davies was a hugely popular figure amongst Bolton supporters, with his never-say-die attitude and willingness to put his body on the line earning him many plaudits, although it wasn’t until Neil Lennon’s arrival as manager in October 2014 that we began to see the best of what he had to offer.

All of a sudden, Davies became a focal point of the Bolton attack and was producing arguably the best form of his career – including a Man of the Match display in a 3-1 win over Latics at Macron Stadium.

Then, in a cruel twist of fate, he was struck down by three separate hamstring injuries that restricted him to just three starts after the turn of the year.

The club weighed up whether to offer him a fresh deal, but financial restraints at the present time meant it made little business sense to take a risk on an injury-prone player and Davies was an unfortunate victim of the cost-cutting measures currently in place.

 If he can put his fitness issues behind him, Davies has the ability to be one of the Championship’s top players. However, inconsistent form and the amount of time he spends in the treatment room has stopped him from fulfilling his undoubted potential.

If you can get 20+ games out of him next season, Wigan will have got themselves a good player who is more than capable of scoring the goals to get you out of the division at the first attempt.

With all those aforementioned worries, though, it would be unwise to pin all hopes on him, so I’d be expecting Gary Caldwell to bring in at least one more striker during the summer transfer window.

Dreaming big

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

 

Ally MacLeod

Ally MacLeod

“You can mark down 25 June 1978 as the day Scottish football conquers the world.”

It was Ally MacLeod’s most famous quote. The date was that of the World Cup Final in Buenos Aires.

MacLeod was nothing if not optimistic. After successful stints at Ayr United and Aberdeen he was appointed Scotland manager in May 1977. He introduced himself to the squad by saying “My name is Ally MacLeod and I am a winner.” Within a few months he had beaten England at Wembley and he was to lead Scotland to qualification to the Argentina World Cup.

The more rational of Scotland supporters had their doubts whether MacLeod’s team could win the World Cup. But MacLeod had a kind of buoyant enthusiasm that lifted people along with him. He really believed his team could bring back the trophy. True it was the most gifted Scotland squad in living memory, which included the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Joe Jordan, Graeme Souness and Archie Gemmill.

Spirits were high before Scotland left for Argentina. Comedian Andy Cameron’s rendition of “Ally’s Tartan Army” reached number 6 in the UK singles chart and 25,000 people turned up at Hampden Park to see the squad parade around in an open-top  bus. Prestwick airport was packed with well-wishers as they went to catch their plane. When asked what MacLeod would do after the World Cup, his answer was “Retain it”.

Sadly MacLeod’s motivational powers were to prove not enough to help Scotland succeed. They lost their first match 3-1 to Peru, then drew 1-1 with Iran. Needing a victory by three clear goals against Holland they ahead 3-1 before the Dutch pulled a goal back. It finished 3-2 and Scotland were knocked out in the group stages on goal difference. Needless to say, MacLeod’s popularity rating immediately plummeted. He lasted one more game in charge before he resigned.

Despite the final outcome MacLeod certainly lifted the spirits of the Scottish public and is remembered with affection by many.

“When I get the key players in I believe we’ll have a side you will be proud of that will be champions in May.”

Gary Caldwell exudes positivity and a determination to succeed. He wisely qualified his ambitious statement at the recent Fan Forum with the proviso of “when I get the key players in”.

David Sharpe certainly set the parameters by saying things like:

“I don’t just want to win this league. I want to smash it and get 100 points.”

“I guarantee we will have a goalscorer who scores us 20 goals next season,”

Some fans are already saying that the young chairman is setting himself up to have egg on his face. But then again weren’t similar comments made about his grandfather when he said that Latics would be a Premier League club within ten years? Sharpe certainly cannot be accused of lacking ambition for the club, even if he can tend to stick his neck out too far at times.

Having a young rookie chairman and a young rookie manager can be viewed as both a recipe for disaster and as a new broom coming in to herald a new era.

Given two relegations in two years a more experienced chairman/manager partnership would be more likely to look for consolidation in that first season in League 1. A mid-table finish would halt the slide, with building a promotion side being viewed as something to be achieved over two seasons. Rather than talk about “Smashing League 1” it would be more like “There are good teams in League 1 and we aim to be amongst them.”

However brash Caldwell and Sharpe might have been so far in their public statements to there can be no doubting the uplifting effect they have had on the club’s support.

Wigan Athletic fans have had the most miserable past twelve months, during which there have been three managers and performances on the pitch that have beggared belief. The club seemed to be drifting, without clear direction. Perhaps the most shocking of all was in January when the club started to plan “just in case” relegation happened. The net result was thirteen players leaving and the resultant squad lacking in quality.

David Sharpe took over as chairman in March, but the hapless Malky Mackay continued as manager despite an horrendous record of results. While Mackay was manager relegation was getting closer and closer. When Sharpe finally removed Mackay there were only five matches left and Caldwell could not work miracles with a weak squad.

However, it was clear from Caldwell’s very first match in change that good football was returning to Wigan, if not the results, in what remained of the season.

Caldwell will play possession football, but looking at his signings so far, one can see a combative edge will be present. The players signed up to this point have been bargain basement. However, there is already a sense that Caldwell’s vision will come to fruition. Latics have a considerable advantage over their competitors in the division through the parachute payments, highlighted by Sharpe’s assertion that their budget will be will be “five times higher than anyone else’s”. They are therefore able to offer salaries well above par for the division, attracting end of contract players looking for a better deal.

The news that Latics have made a bid of £1m for Nadir Ciftci of Dundee United is no surprise in its magnitude. Sharpe had already stated that “I was brought up on Ellington and Roberts scoring every week. To have that you have to pay good money and I’m prepared to do that”.

Latics will face competition from Celtic in securing Ciftci. The fact that they are in League 1 and Celtic are champions of the Scottish League is going to make it difficult to persuade the young Turkish player to come to Wigan. Can Latics offer a salary well beyond that of Celtic to induce the player to come? One doubts that.

Transfer money will largely be spent on strikers, although there is a clear need for a creative midfielder who can provide the strike force with the right ammunition. Nicky Law of Rangers has been mentioned and he is a possibility.

When Paul Jewell was at Latics he made the famous comment to the effect of “I can’t get anyone to come here”. Latics were the new kids on the block at the time and nobody knew how long they would be able to stay in the top echelons. Players were cautious about joining the club in those days. But times have changed. Together with Sheffield United, Latics are the “big clubs “of League 1. They can more than compete with the other clubs in the division for players. However, competing against clubs like Celtic and those in the Championship is going to be difficult, a “big sell “for Caldwell and his recruitment team.

Both Sharpe and Caldwell are to be commended for their optimism and lifting the spirits of the fans. They have set themselves high targets. But there is a lesson to be learned from the past.

Owen Coyle was appointed in the summer of 2013 with the brief of getting Latics back into the Premier League in a year. It proved too big a challenge. Working under the pressure of such an expectation would not have been easy for either him or his players. Sharpe and Caldwell and the new Latics squad will face a similar risk.

Only time will tell if the young duo can deliver what they promise. Like the Scotland supporters in 1978, the Wigan Athletic fans’ spirits have been lifted. We can only hope that Sharpe and Caldwell will have more luck than MacLeod had in Argentina.

Ally MacLeod sadly passed away in 2004, but there are still Scots who remember him with affection as the man who really believed in his country and the ability of its footballers.

It takes courage to stick your neck out and you might well fail. But then again you can lift others through your belief and you can succeed.

Sharpe and Caldwell are certainly not afraid to stick their necks out. Let’s hope things go better for them than MacLeod.

 

A Blackpool fan’s view of Donervon Daniels

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

daniels

It was announced today that Latics have signed 21 year old Donervon Daniels from West Bromwich Albion.

The 6 ft 1 in defender comes from the Caribbean Island of Montserrat, famous for the volcano that erupted in 1995, engulfing the capital, Plymouth, forcing two thirds of the population to flee. Together with Anthony Griffith, who plays for Carlisle, they are the two Montserratian internationals playing in the Football League.

Daniels joined West Bromwich as a 16 year old from Reading. He progressed through the youth ranks and became captain of their under-21 side, winning their Young Player of the Year award in 2012. In November 2012 he was loaned to Tranmere Rovers, where he stayed until the end of the season, making 13 appearances. In November 2013 he went to Gillingham for a short term loan for six weeks, playing 3 games.

In the first half of last season Daniels played on loan for Blackpool, forming a favourable impression when playing against Latics. He made 19 appearances. In January he went on loan to Aberdeen, scoring on his debut against Dundee United. He went on to make 9 appearances for the Dons.

It is reported that Latics beat several other clubs to the signing of Daniels, who could prove to be a key player with the kind of football approach that Gary Caldwell seeks.

In order to find out more about his time at Blackpool we reached out to the AVFTT fan site http://fansonline.net/blackpool/.

Our thanks to them for what follows:

Donervon Daniels came on loan to Blackpool at a tricky time with the club going through a horrendous transition and manager Jose Riga locking horns with Chairman Karl Oyston.

 However, the youngster from West Brom did well and could operate at right back or centre half and was one of the few stand out players for Blackpool. He scored one goal against Huddersfield and in defence was a strong, robust character who always looked like he had the potential to become a decent player.

 However his game was riddled with errors and at least once or twice a game he’d commit himself or make a wrong decision which lead to opposition goals. He just wasn’t quite the finished article and, if anything, deteriorated when Lee Clark arrived at the club to replace Riga.

 He was infamously involved in Blackpool being fined after his youth loan expired and towards the end of his time with the club we had so many loan players he was being dropped because he couldn’t play them all. Sadly his exit came about when he posed with Jacob Murphy on Instagram with a sign saying ‘We are going to lose .. again’ and that was effectively the end of his Blackpool career.

 May find his level at League One and is a decent acquisition for Wigan.

 

A Coventry fan’s view of Sanmi Odelusi

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

Odelusi

According the Sun newspaper Latics are about to sign 22 year old  Sanmi Odelusi  from Bolton Wanderers for £50,000 on a three year contract. Odelusi is a 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in tall winger.

Oluwasanmi Babafemi Oluwaseu Odelusi was born in Nigeria but brought up in Dagenham. After being part of the youth setups at Reading and QPR he joined Bolton in 2009. Odelusi was to make nine appearances for Bolton, scoring two goals. In February 2014 he joined MK Dons on loan, where he started in six matches and made four appearances off the bench in a three month stay. For the second half of last season he played on loan at Coventry, making four starts and ten appearances as a substitute, scoring three goals.

If the newspaper reports are correct then Latics will be taking a gamble in signing a player on a long term contract who has had such little first team experience. But Odelusi clearly has talent. The question is whether he can establish himself and add consisitency to his game.

In order to learn more about Odelusi’s time at Coventry we got in touch with the Covsupport News Service at at http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/

Here’s over to them:

Sanmi Odelusi, was very much in and out during his loan at Coventry City.   He could not have asked for a better debut after joining the Sky Blues on loan in January from Bolton, showing some class to finish smartly in the 38th minute of a 2-2 draw with Rochdale.    

But from then on, he was soon out injured with a hamstring injury and struggled to command a regular place in the side.  

Odelusi showed that he has good ball control and a neat touch along with a good finish especially in the win at Chesterfield and the defeat to Port Vale but could not convince Tony Mowbray, who took over from Steven Pressley as Coventry City manager that he was worth anything more than a place on the bench.  

A decent lad, if he can keep his fitness then he could thrive at Wigan.

Click here to read another Coventry fan view on Odelusi, written for a Bolton fan site last month.