Tag Archives: epl

Wigan Athletic – Fulham Preview: Moment of truth for Roberto’s men

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Rarely does a game of such importance rear its head this early in a season. Wigan Athletic have now lost seven games in a row. The last time results were that bad, Dave Whelan moved swiftly to relieve Chris Hutchings of his managerial duties. Times have changed, and while there is no chance Roberto will suffer a similar fate, he must be feeling the pressure. This match is as crucial as they come, an absolute cup final.

Thankfully, it’s against a struggling Fulham side who are notoriously poor away from home. They’re in rotten form, sitting only two places above Latics in the league table with only two points more to their name. They too, have only won a single match so far, also against QPR, who have ironically left us both behind and sit comfortably in the dizzying heights of 10th place. While Roberto finally has a full squad to choose from, Martin Jol has a couple injury concerns in defense, with Aaron Hughes missing out and Philippe Senderos doubtful. Simon Davies is also still out with a knee injury.

All this said, Fulham are one of those teams we seem to find tricky. Theoretically, they should be one of those mid-table teams that we might lose to away but expect to beat at home. But our last five meetings at the DW/JJB have ended in draws, and more often than not, Clint Dempsey scores.

In addition to Clint, Latics will have to keep an eye on Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson, Moussa Dembele, and big-money Costa Rican Bryan Ruiz, who is starting to click after a slow start, scoring a stunning lobbed strike against Everton last week. The Cottagers always hard to break down and play at a high tempo, though Martin Jol’s approach is more continental than both Roy Hodgson’s and Mark Hughes’ were.

Meanwhile, the Wigan camp has been strangely energized by last week’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle. It will be interesting to see if Martinez sticks to the same XI who performed so well, particularly in the first half, or re-introduces Franco Di Santo and James McCarthy to the lineup. Albert Crusat and Dave Jones both performed well at St. James’ and would deserve a repeat start. Di Santo has done nothing wrong, but there is little doubt Rodallega is more likely to score if deployed in the centre-forward role. And James McCarthy has not been himself, but would add a bucket of energy as a second half substitute.

The fixture list over the festive period does not look kind. We have yet to face Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool, which means we must play them twice, and Man City and Spurs each another time. So results must come soon. Seven points from Fulham, Wolves, and Blackburn should put things back on track, but three of them must come tomorrow.

Good luck lads, let this be the turning point we’ve been waiting for.

Heart says: 2-1, Rodallega and Moses to get off the mark for Latics, and who else but Clint Dempsey for the visitors.

Mind says: 1-0, Rodallega.

Wigan Athletic – Newcastle: Morale may be low but strongest XI are finally fit

Posted by Ned in Match Previews, News and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Under normal circumstances, this match preview would address a history of relative success against Newcastle with measured optimism. I’d point out our last result at St. James Park (2-2 draw that we should have won), and the fact that Newcastle tend to be in that mid-table pack that has been very much accessible to us in our Premier League years; a much bigger club, but one that tends to let its guard down when minnows like us turn up.

But we won’t discuss such things because these are not normal circumstances. While we’ve slumped to six consecutive defeats and half our supporters are calling for our manager’s head, Newcastle have enjoyed their best start to a season in years. They may not have the glamour of the Shearer, Ginola, Asprilla era, but they look something they haven’t in years — solid. They’ve uncharacteristically invested well, and while Alan Pardew is no rocket scientist he has created an organized, talented and competitive side. Getting rid of Andy Carroll and Joey Barton can’t have hurt the atmosphere in the locker room either — or at the very least halved the team’s collective criminal history. Midfield pair Tiote and Cabaye are one of the most underrated partnerships in the league, while Hatem Ben Arfa, Jonas Gutierrez and Gabriel Obertan offer pace and invention from the wings. Demba Ba has started to click up front after a slow start, and Leon Best, despite always looking thoroughly workmanlike, scores more frequently than our strikers do.  The defense has been playing together for several years and you can tell. If anything, the only possible weak link — the player I would try to expose if I were Roberto — is rejuvenated ex-Wiganer Ryan Taylor, who is doing a job at left back. Steve Bruce used him as a left midfielder and it looks like Pardew has caught on as well. He may lack pace, but if you can keep him on the pitch long enough to take a few set pieces, he can win the match for you.

So while it is very possible Ryan will wreak havoc with his corners and free-kicks, there is at least hope that Victor Moses, and possibly even Hugo Rodallega if he’s down that wing, can get past him without too much fancy footwork and cause some problems.

I don’t anticipate any surprises in the lineup, but will breathe a huge sigh of relief if our strongest back four is finally restored, albeit nine games into the season. In midfield, I imagine Roberto will stick with McCarthy for his tackling ability, despite his poor attacking contributions of late, while Rodallega should be on the pitch from the start on the left wing. The bench too, should look strong. Crusat, Maloney and Sammon offer attacking options, while Dave Jones seems to have leapfrogged James McArthur in the pecking order. Hendry Thomas has been frozen out — a shame, because on his day he is the best tackler at the club. One of last weekend’s villains, Steve Gohouri is the most versatile defender available and worth a bench spot, although Van Aanholt really did little wrong in his appearances and could provide defensive cover. And the old Ronnie-Stam-for-Emmerson-Boyce-after-a-crap-first-half is a Martinez favorite, so he’ll probably be there. My best guess for the starting XI: Al-Habsi; Boyce, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa; Watson, Diame, McCarthy; Rodallega, Moses, Di Santo.

Results have been bad, but performances have largely been decent. The squad is finally fit. There is of course, plenty to lose, but three points in this forgiving league table would see us to mid-table. Unfortunately, no one else has beaten Newcastle this season and it’s a big ask away from home. But nothing much — except the eradication of mindless defensive mistakes — is expected. The stage is set for our boys to bounce back as they’ve done for us so many times in the past.

Heart says: Massive defensive performance, with a Victor Moses goal, 1-0 Latics.

Mind says: Early lead, eventually crumbling to sustained pressure. 2-1, Magpies.

Wigan Athletic – Bolton Wanderers Preview: Time For a Drubbing!

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

There has never been a better time for Wigan Athletic to give Bolton Wanderers a drubbing. The ‘auld enemy’ lies bottom of the table after seven matches with 21 goals conceded. They have lost 11 of their last 12 Premier League matches.

Whether Latics go on to beat Bolton resoundingly, or to even beat them at all, is going to depend on their approach to the game. To play the ‘cat and mouse’ stuff  that Wigan supporters  have seen too often in the past couple of years would surely play into Bolton’s hands. Despite the propaganda  that comes from Coyle, Cahill and company their confidence has to be at a low point and we cannot afford to show them too much respect. Let’s have an attack-minded lineup and get at them from the start!

Wigan Athletic’s season really needs a kick-start. As has happened so often in the past two years, the team has promised but not delivered. A dynamic performance in this game could prove to be a turning point for the season. Wigan Athletic  have the talent. It is the belief that they  need.

On the injury front it appears that neither  Antolin Alcaraz nor Hugo Rodallega will make this game, despite rumblings about the latter having a chance. There are doubts about the fitness of new signing Albert Crusat. It has been disappointing not to have seen more of the diminutive winger who can give many more  options to  the attack.  It looks like Steve Gohouri will come back into the centre of the Wigan  defence following his suspension. This will allow  Maynor Figueroa to return to his better position of left back. Although Figueroa has played most of his 70 plus games for Honduras in the centre of defence he has not looked the part in that position against the powerful forwards that grace the Premier League. So it would be Boyce and Figueroa at full back and Gohouri and Caldwell in the centre of defence.  The central midfield trio is likely to consist of Watson, McCarthy and Diame, but one cannot rule out the possibility of one of Jordi Gomez, James McArthur or David Jones stepping in there. Let’s hope that Martinez puts on an attacking front three. Moses and Di Santo are obvious choices, with either Shaun Maloney  or Albert Crusat (if fit) providing the best offensive options.  There is the  alternative of playing the more defensive minded Ronnie Stam, or even Jordi Gomez,  wide on the right.  A bold move would be to play three attack-minded forwards, with Shaun Maloney in the “hole” as the third central midfield player.

Bolton are going to have several players out with injury. This could include their excellent goalkeeper, Jussi  Jaaskelainen. Whatever lineup they put forward one can expect the usual Bolton level of  effort and commitment, together with their threat at set pieces.

Prediction: a good win for the Latics, hopefully a thumping. There has never been a better time to play Bolton in the Premier League. Victor Moses is due to get on the scoresheet and a goal from a defender is long overdue.

Wigan Athletic vs. Queens Park Rangers Preview: Will Latics finally get the 3 points they deserve?

Posted by Ned in Match Previews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Two matches, two posts, a crossbar, one goalkeeping mistake and a saved penalty. It’s not been the luckiest start to the season for the Latics, having drawn two games that probably should have been won. But the feeling in the camp remains positive. We keep hearing “at this point last year we’d lost our first two matches 4-0 and 6-0, so we are in a much better position this time around.” Which is true, but shouldn’t mask the fact that killing teams off is still difficult for the Latics. That said, there’s not much more they could have done to win at Swansea — sometimes your luck just isn’t in.

And so QPR is up next. If Wigan’s start to the season has been consistent, QPR’s has been far from it. After losing 4-0 to Bolton on home ground, they managed an unlikely three points against Everton at Goodison Park. And that was after a number of players from their starting lineup were made unavailable due to illness. So who knows what we’ll get tomorrow.

It’s been an interesting week in the transfer window. Joey Barton is apparently on the verge of joining QPR, which is a shame not only because he’s a nasty sod and I’m sick of watching him shout and bully, but also because he’s a good player who hurt us last year while playing for Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Latics have been linked with Vladimir Weiss, and Roberto confirmed that he is also still interested in Sean Wright-Phillips. The Weiss deal would likely be a season-long loan, the SWP an outright transfer. Both would be excellent signings, but I would be very surprised if the more experienced of the two doesn’t opt for Bolton (or QPR, who just entered the bidding) rather than us.

The Football: Antolin Alcaraz is out for two months, a huge blow. Steve Gohouri, his would-be replacement, is thought to be two weeks away from a return. Victor Moses is rated 50-50 after pulling up with a groin strain against Swansea and being forced to play the final 15 minutes due to all three substitutes being used already.

It seems likely Roberto will start this one with the defense that finished the match against Swansea, with Ronnie Stam slotting in at right-back, Boyce joining Caldwell in the center of defense, and Figueroa on the left. The midfield trio should remain the same unless McCarthy’s ankle injury hasn’t healed in which case James McArthur might get a chance. Given Moses’ fragility, I would guess Rodallega will be back in the starting lineup on the left, Gomez on the right, and Di Santo up top. I’d love to see Rodallega and Di Santo take turns, swapping back and forth from wing to center-forward position.

Ex-Wigan defender Fitz Hall will be at the heart of QPR’s defense. He looked a player of enormous potential in his time at Wigan, an incredible athlete prone to lapses of concentration, ala Bramble. Now 30, he looked very useful against Everton last week, but a little wobbly in the match against Bolton. Will be interesting to see how he does.

Could last week’s excellent performance be a turning point in Jordi Gomez’s career at Wigan? If Moses misses out, Latics will need another strong performance from him, drifting in from the wing, making runs into the box, and finishing coolly as he almost did against Swansea.

It’s another tricky one to predict, particularly not knowing if Victor Moses will be in the side. Based on QPR’s ability to hold onto their lead at Everton, and their capitulation versus Bolton, I’d say first team to score will win. I think Latics will do the job this time.

Swansea 0 Wigan 0: Unlucky Latics settle for draw

Posted by Ned in Match Reports and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Match Report:  Swansea City 0 Wigan Athletic 0

As we suspected in our match preview, this was an extremely tricky fixture against a side celebrating its return to the top flight for the first time in twenty-odd years. We felt it would be evidence of the progress Wigan has made over the past couple of years if the team was able to grind out a result, and they did that and more. Swansea possessed and pressed, and enjoyed the first half without finding that bit of quality in the box, while the Latics who so often play that role in games, waited patiently, absorbing their opponents energy, breaking with with pace and quality. In the end, Latics should have walked away with three points; Jordi Gomez hit the post with a sublime lob, then won a penalty which Ben Watson had saved, while Victor Moses, again the main threat, hit the crossbar.

Positives:

Tactical discipline. It was not a pretty first half, but Roberto knew Swansea would be fired up and start the match strongly. The team defended patiently, easing into the game rather than trying to match Swansea. Very rarely did the Latics leave themselves exposed in that first half, save one early chance Al-Habsi saved from Danny Graham. As Swansea grew frustrated at the lack of a breakthrough, Roberto gave the team a bit more license in the second period, and it’s frankly a bit baffling how one of those chances didn’t go in to give the Latics three points.

Jordi Gomez. Possibly his best match in a Wigan shirt, he popped up on the right wing, on the left and through the center. Rather than playing a more traditional role on the wing that has never suited him, he was allowed to roam, and he got himself into good positions on more than one occasion. If it was painfully sad that his left-footed lobbed shot didn’t win it for the side, it must have been even worse to watch the Swansea keeper save Ben Watson’s penalty, which he had earned. Lets hope this proves a breakthrough season for the Spaniard.  

The defense. Everyone did their part. Gary Caldwell, who has played with three partners at center-back in two matches, was assured and commanding. Figueroa made some outstanding tackles, Boyce was reliable as always, and even Ronnie Stam, usually an uncomfortable defender, stuck to his task and kept them out. Al-Habsi bounced back from his blunder against Norwich with a couple decent saves and a clean sheet.  

The result. To get a draw against a newly promoted team in their first match on their home patch is tough. Mission accomplished.   

Negatives:

Fitness of the squad. Antolin Alcaraz was substituted about twenty minutes in with a leg problem, possibly his knee, thus explaining his absence against Norwich. Franco Di Santo ran his socks off but appeared to suffer some sort of injury before being replaced by Hugo Rodallega. James McCarthy once again did not look himself, misplacing passes and earning himself a yellow card out of frustration. He was substituted halfway through the second half. And most worryingly of all, Victor Moses was forced to play the final 15 minutes of the match on one leg after straining a muscle (hamstring, probably) on his way to hitting the crossbar. All substitutions had been used up by that point. 

A Neutral Would Say: 

Swansea started stronger and were a bit unlucky with their finishing, but Wigan should have won this one in the second half. 

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 6.5 — Tested two or three times but a clean sheet should help restore his confidence.

Emmerson Boyce: 7.5 — Mr. Dependable, he is one of the most likable players around. Started at right back but quickly moved into the heart of defense when Alcaraz limped off. He defended well and it’s great to know he is still comfortable slotting in given the defensive injuries in the squad.

Gary Caldwell: 8 — Solid and commanding,  but also a good passer of the ball, which he rarely gets credit for. Coped with a pacy Swansea attack.     

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Commentators were criticizing him in the second half after a small lapse in concentration but I thought he made some excellent sliding interceptions that could have led to shots on goal. Nathan Dyer was a tough opponent and put some nice crosses in, but Fig had to play the last 15 minutes without help from the injured Moses. In attack he was patient and passed the ball well.  

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Went off early in the match, lets hope it’s not a bad injury. 

Ben Watson: 6 — Busy, but a little less incisive than last week. Didn’t find the space to get forward as he did against Norwich. His penalty miss was costly.

James McCarthy: 5 — Something is wrong with him. He misplaced numerous passes and looked frustrated until replaced by McArthur in the second half.

Mo Diame: 6 — Decent workrate and got into shooting positions a couple times, but tends to go for the fancy long range or left-footed volleys when simpler options are available.

Victor Moses: 7.5 — Again Wigan’s most dangerous attacker, he got past his man on multiple occasions, played some nice crosses, but lacked the coolness to finish his chances. Hitting the woodwork was a bit unlucky though. Wigan needs him fit, lets hope his injury is not a long-term one.

Jordi Gomez: 8 — His best half in a Wigan shirt, he popped up left, right and center and deserved to score. Also won the penalty.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — Worked very hard, showed some nice touches and passes, but had little service. Almost created something for himself in the first half, spinning around his two markers before the keeper beat him to the loose ball.

Subs:

Ronnie Stam: 7 — Did his job defensively, and played a delicious driven cross that Rodallega might have gotten on the end of. 

James McArthur: 6 — His first Premier League match in quite some time, he got beaten several times and resorted to professional fouls in areas of the pitch that a better team might have capitalized from. He has some talent though, and it was his first-time  through ball that Moses latched onto when hitting the bar. 

Hugo Rodallega: 6 — Quiet by his standards, but most of the time he was on the pitch, Moses was already injured, depriving him of an attacking partner. Still, came close to a couple dangerous crosses and might’ve poached one.