Why did Au Yeung Wai Kay waive his rights to the £25.3m “loan”?
We may never know the real reason but there is no shortage of opinions from Latics fans on the social media, with conspiracy theories abounding. But whatever the reason it is great news for the survival of the club.
There remains a £6m debt to be paid off to football creditors and another £4m to non-football creditors. To avoid a 15-point deduction for the coming season Latics need to pay the football creditors in full and pay 25% of the other £4m.
When the change of ownership is completed the administrators will need to be paid off and a figure around £2m could be needed.
There has been consternation among some fans regarding the fire sale that we have seen in recent weeks. Three outstanding youth players were sold off, ifollowed by regular first team starters Kieffer Moore, David Marshall, Antonee Robinson and Joe Williams. Sheffield Wednesday’s purchase of Joss Windass was no surprise, given that he had been on loan there. However, although those players have been released for sums well below their normal market values, the combined revenues will go a long way towards paying off the creditors.
The fire sale may well continue until the ownership issue is resolved. With the debt much reduced than it was a couple of weeks ago the club is now a more attractive package for purchase. However, although five major earners have departed there will need to be more shed if the wage bill is to be commensurate with the division Latics find themselves in.
There have been rumours of other clubs interested in Cedric Kipre and Jamal Lowe. However, it remains to be seen whether the administrators would sell them off in the current buyers’ market or if they would allow the future owners to make such a decision. If a new owner were to come in and continue to fund the wage bill in the short-term it would allow them more time to get better fees for assets yet to be sold off. The administrators have needed ready cash to pay off the club’s debts, rather than following the usual route of transfer fees being received in instalments. Selling any further player contracts by means of instalments would surely provide a higher return and money coming in during the future.
Once the ownership issue is dealt with Latics can expect revenue coming in from the EFL and instalment payments due to them from previous player sales.
It remains to be seen what Latics and other clubs will do about season tickets and televising of matches. Reports suggest that fans will be welcomed back in October but with stadium capacity reduced to 25%. The capacity of the DW Stadium is listed at 25,138 meaning they would be allowed to accommodate just less than 6,300, a figure close to the number of season tickets they have sold in recent years. However, the new rules are unlikely to include away supporters who pay at a higher rate per game than season ticket owners. Revenues will be relatively small, but at least there will be some money coming into the club.
The UK economy is in recession and football clubs, like other businesses, will be under pressure. More football clubs will most likely go into liquidation over the coming months.
The Swiss Ramble figures for 2018-19 show Wigan Athletic with a lower gross debt – £21m – than most Championship clubs, being dwarfed by the £142m of Blackburn Rovers. Given the recent actions of the administrators that debt is being reduced.
Some clubs are under benevolent ownership, as were Wigan Athletic to a large degree under Dave Whelan. Other clubs have owners willing to allow a club to go into considerable debt in search of a potential Premier League pay off. It is a dangerous path that is being followed by so many clubs.
During the coming week we most likely learn that Wigan Athletic have new owners. Whoever it is they will be taking over a club that has lower debts than many. Following the rocky period that the club has been through in recent months there is a need for stability and a long-term plan sustainability. Let us hope the new owners will be able to provide those things.
Sam Morsy’s well-taken blast into the West Bromwich net has given Wigan Athletic a massive boost. Three wins in the space of a week have propelled them up the Championship table. They now stand in 19th place, two points above the relegation zone. A win against lowly Luton Town on Saturday could see them climb further out of trouble, but there are fans who question whether that will happen despite the recent upturn in performances and results.
Paul Cook must certainly take credit for the upsurge in results. The seeds of the revival were sown following an abject defeat at Kenilworth Road in early December. Following a winless November, it had looked that Latics could get an uplift by picking up three points against a bottom-placed Luton side.
But students of Cook’s Wigan were already citing mediocre results over the previous 16 months against teams in the lower rungs of the table. It was hardly a surprise to them when Luton scored two late goals to secure their win. Once again, we had seen Wigan Athletic players in an away game looking both clueless and legless in the closing minutes. There was only one team trying to play football in this game: it wasn’t Wigan. Fightball/longball once again failed under Cook’s tutelage.
Cook made seven changes for the next game against league leaders West Bromwich Albion. With Chey Dunkley suspended and Charlie Mulgrew injured Cedric Kipre was brought in with Kal Naismith reverting to the centre of defence and Josh Windass was played at centre forward. Naismith’s passing out of defence was a feature of that game, and the long ball approach hardly reared its ugly head in the absence of a combative target man upfront. Kipre made a succedssful return to the centre of defence. Latics had to settle for a draw largely due to a goalkeeping error, but they had been the better team throughout.
Although results remained disappointing in the rest of December the performances were much better. Passing the ball out from the back had become more normal, even if the long ball had not disappeared entirely.
Following the memorable victory at the Hawthorns on Saturday captain Sam Morsy commented:
“People will say there has been a change but all season – I know you can’t – but if you take the last five or ten minutes from some of the games, we would be right up the league. It is not a dramatic or drastic change that we have made…. It has been fine margins and we can’t look back, this isn’t drastic change, we have played well for the majority of the season, but if you don’t win games then things get looked at, the reality is that we have done well and not got the points but this week has been a great week.”
What Morsy did not mention was that the transition from longball/hoofball to a more possession-based approach. The long ball remains a feature of Cook’s football philosophy, but it is being counterbalanced by an emphasis on retaining possession. As a result, the players no longer visibly wilt in the closing minutes after constantly having to chase the opposition to regain possession which has been squandered. Moreover, the change in emphasis has given the players more opportunity to express themselves and so many of them look better as a result.
Morsy himself has looked a far better player over the past couple of months. He has not only cut out the unnecessary yellow cards that had been so prevalent but is playing a much more constructive role going forward. His surging runs from deep in midfield have helped open opposition defences and he is showing much more ambition in his passing.
Following a run of games at centre forward Josh Windass left for a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday in January. With Windass’ departure some of us wondered if it would signal a return to a long ball with Joe Garner and Kieffer Moore on the receiving end. But it was not to be the case, with Moore looking a much better player as a result. With Latics defenders constantly looking to launch long balls in his general direction he was struggling in his first season in the Championship. But over the past couple of months he has received better service, scoring goals, holding the ball up with strength and intelligence.
Cook’s action of putting Naismith and Kipre together in the centre of defence in December was perhaps one of desperation at the time. Naismith had performed admirably in that position in the landmark 2-1 win at Leeds in April 2019, but he had hardly been considered as a centre back since then. Kipre’s performances earlier in the season had been disappointing and the promise he had shown since his arrival from Motherwell in the summer of 2018 seemed to have evaporated. However, playing together the two players really gelled: the passing out of the ball from the centre of defence became much improved and their reading of the game was as good as any we had seen from central defenders all season.
In the last five games loan signing Leon Balogun has played with Kipre in the centre of defence. Despite a patchy career record where he never found himself an automatic starter in the Bundesliga, with Fortuna Dusseldorf and Mainz, the 31-year-old has looked so impressive, with some fans even calling him the Wigan Van Dijk. Kipre has continued to blossom with his new central defensive partner and has been excellent of late.
Since that low point at Luton there has been a gradual improvement in performance, if not always in results. The centre of defence has become increasingly more solid, the midfield more involved in linking up play between defence and attack. The centre forward is getting better service and Latics are pushing more men forward into the opposition penalty box. Moreover, the “rub of the green” has been more in Wigan’s favour, after being against them for so long.
The tide really does seem to have turned and some fans are already talking about a final placing in mid-table. Others question whether the revival will continue under a manager who has struggled at this level. They accept that Cook will be at the club until summer at least, but question whether he has learned from his mistakes. The hoofball may have largely disappeared and the players are showing better game management when holding on to leads, but there are other aspects upon which they remain to be convinced.
Under Cook’s tenure as manager Latics have had poor results against clubs close to them in the standings. The League 1 title winning team of 2018-19 had a less than stellar record against promotion rivals and last season’s team performed poorly against teams near the bottom of the table. The manager’s critics will say that he has gone into such games with too much caution, allowing the opposition too much respect.
This season’s team also has a less than impressive record in that respect. Their record against clubs currently below them in the table reads W1 D2 L3. It is for these reasons that there are fans who are not convinced that an in-form Latics will put Luton to the sword of Saturday.
The Luton game is an acid test and could be a turning point in Cook’s tenure as Latics manager. A win would relieve relegation fears but anything less than that would suggest that the manager had still not addressed the issue of poor results against relegation rivals.
Wigan Athletic’s first away win since April was another nail-biting affair, but this time they held out to gain an invaluable three points to lift themselves off the bottom of the table. The celebrations of the players at the end showed how important the win was for them.
Paul Cook made just one change in the starting lineup with Michael Jacobs coming in for Gavin Massey. That meant Josh Windass continuing at centre forward with Joe Williams in the number 10 position.
The irony is that Latics won the game without playing as well in recent matches, but still showed enough pace and movement to trouble a suspect Birmingham defence. Once again they let in soft goals, but the home side can also be accused of the same, with all three Wigan goals coming from defensive errors. For once Latics capitalized on their opponents’ errors.
Windass proves his worth
Cook kept faith in the enigmatic Josh Windass, who went on the score the first goal and have a hand in the other two. Playing without a big man up front means puts an onus on defenders and midfielders to be more creative. Windass has genuine pace that allows him to pounce on well-hit long passes. It is so refreshing following the mindless long-ball approach that characterized Wigan’s away performances for so long.
He had his best performance for the club today.
Naismith provides composure in defence
Kal Naismith has been excellent in the centre of defence in the past six matches. He provides the composure that has been so lacking for so long. Given his limited experience playing in the position we could have expected him to have made some major gaffes, but that has not been the case. Naismith has an ability to read the game, not to panic and to make the right tackle at the right moment. His distribution of the ball from defence has been outstanding.
Sadly Naismith had to go off at half time with what has been reported as a thigh injury. When he left the composure dissipated.
It is no coincidence that Cedric Kipre has looked much more comfortable since teaming up with the Scot in the centre of defence. When the combative Chey Dunkley came on after the interval Kipre was moved across to the left to accommodate him.
Nathan Byrne has a tough one
It has not been an easy season so far for Nathan Byrne. He had a torrid time this afternoon against the speedy French winger Jeremie Bela, then later with the likewise pacey Ecuadorian Jefferson Montero.
The 20-year-old Chelsea loanee Dujon Sterling has competed with Byrne for the right back position, making 9 appearances compared with 19 for the latter. Sterling did not make the bench today.
Full back is not an easy role in Cook’s style of play. Full backs are not only expected to perform their full defensive duties but to bomb forward in attack. Byrne certainly put a lot of effort into his runs forward but at times looked exposed when Birmingham attacked.
Latics have enough quality to climb out of the relegation zone
Latics have shown repeatedly that there are few teams in the division for them to fear. Most of their defeats have been of their own making, in squandering chances or giving away goals through defensive errors. Nottingham Forest are now fourth in the table and Wigan made them look distinctly ordinary three days ago, even if the final scoreline did not do them justice.
Despite the rare away win the manager still remains unpopular with a majority of fans. Many still believe they will get relegated if Cook stays. However, at this stage it looks like he will be here at least until the end of the season.
However, although the manager continues to frustrate fans with his loyalty to certain senior pros as far as team selection is concerned, together with his use of substitutions, there have been improvements. The standard of football we have seen in recent away games has been light years ahead of the mindless stuff we saw for so long.
There is some light at the end of the tunnel, but it is not going to be an easy ride.
A trip to Leicester
Few of us have any expectations for the trip to face Leicester City this weekend. The likelihood is that Latics will receive a tonking. But on the other hand Leicester can be expected to put out a weakened lineup and Cook’s Latics have a surprisingly good record against Premier League teams in the FA Cup.
The bottom line is that Wigan will go into the game with nothing to lose, except maybe a little pride.
The deadline for Championship clubs for all incoming permanent and loan registrations is due to close at 5pm on Thursday August 8, 2019. It leaves Wigan Athletic just under four weeks to complete their recruitment for the first half of the season. It appears that enough time remains, but nevertheless the fans are getting nervous. Five players out and just one man in up to this point. What is happening?
The concerns of fans are reflected in the social media and message boards. They see that other clubs in the division are streets ahead of Latics in their recruitment at this stage. The Bristol Post yesterday published a list of comings and goings among Championship clubs. It makes interesting reading. Latics rank among the highest in players leaving, among the lowest in players coming in.
At this time last year Latics had signed Leo Da Silva Lopes and Kal Naismith on permanent contracts and Reece James and Christian Walton on loan. Why is it taking longer this year? Some fans say that players will not be keen on joining a club that could once again be battling against relegation. Others say that Latics simply cannot or will not compete with other Championship clubs who are splashing money around like water. Reports suggest that Wigan were prepared to offer the 34-year-old free agent Alan Hutton a two-year contract but were unable to agree terms with him.
The fee Southampton want for Gallagher is rumoured to be around £5m. It was a surprise to many of us that Wigan Athletic were actively pursuing a player from a Premier League club, given inflated transfer fees and salaries in that division. The interest in Portsmouth’s Jamal Lowe was more predictable, although the £3m tag put on him by the south coast club seems excessive for a League 1 player who has never played above that level. The summer transfer activity will surely provide a litmus test for the IEC’s willingness to invest in player recruitment.
Chairman Darren Royle is hardly a David Sharpe in terms of communicating with the fans. But he is certainly addressing issues within the club. The DW Stadium needs an overhaul, the club needs to bring in more commercial revenue, the Academy needs upgrading to at least a category 2 level. Royle may be less comfortable with the media than his predecessor but is tidying up things that had been left on hold.
IEC made it clear on buying the club that they were willing to invest but would do so judiciously. Investing in infrastructure is already underway. It is the club’s recruitment policy that is unknown. During Paul Cook’s reign the players coming in have typically come from the British Isles. The club’s homegrown players have been largely ignored with young loan players from big clubs brought in. The manager typically brings in veteran players who he believes will add to the dressing room climate and positively influence the younger players. Last season Cook splashed money on signing Josh Windass (around £1.8m), Cedric Kipre (around £1m), Leo Da Silva Lopes (around £800,000). Windass and Kipre impressed at times, but generally struggled to adjust to second tier English football. Da Silva Lopes was sent out on loan to Gillingham. Windass is now 25 years old, Kipre is 22 and Da Silva Lopes is 20.
Royle and the IEC are keen to develop the academy as a potential source of first team players. Latics have some fine prospects on their hands at the moment and it is to be hoped that the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Jensen Weir will not fall by the wayside as so many young players have at Wigan over the years.
Callum Lang is now 20 but has made 72 senior appearances in the past two seasons on loan at Morecambe and Oldham, scoring 23 goals. The loans have given him valuable experience. Now the time has come for the player to be given a chance in the Championship. Last season an under-pressure Cook was loath to bring in home grown talent.
Wigan Athletic’s recruitment policy has hardly been coherent in recent seasons. It contrasts with that of Brentford, whose data-driven approach helps them scout talent not only in the British Isles, but all over Europe. No matter that managers have come and gone they have stuck with a formula that has brought in significant funds from transfers, helping them stay solvent. They have shown that a small club can compete with the heavyweights of the Championship, finishing in the top ten in each of the past four years.
The 25 year-old Macleod is a free agent after letting his contract run down at Brentford. He has made 41 appearances for the Bees since signing from Rangers in December 2014. Macleod is a very capable player whose career has been riddled with injury problems, hamstring issues in particular. If he does sign for Latics will Cook and his medical team be able to get the best out of him and resurrect his career as they did with Nick Powell?
The next four weeks will certainly give us an indication of the recruitment policy to be supported by the new owners. Will the club continue to bring in young loan players from big clubs at the expense of home-grown talent?
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?
LOS THREE AMIGOS 