Tag Archives: latics

Aston Villa – Wigan Athletic Preview: Lively first half needed

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

The was no shortage of drama between these two clubs during the summer, beginning with Roberto’s decision to reject an approach from Villa for the vacant managerial position, and ending with the sale of star man Charles N’Zogbia. While N’Zogbia has endured a slow start — give him time Villa fans, he’s quality — McLeish has quickly shored up Villa’s defense and led them to an unbeaten start to the season. Inconsistency in the atttacking third has deprived them of further points, but one can hardly fault the manager, who has had to rebuild said attack following the departures of key creative pair Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.

Despite this all, and Wigan’s recent run of bad results, there is reason to believe Roberto’s muchachos can come out of this one with something. Latics have not lost at Villa Park in six Premier League meetings. Last season, they took 4 out of 6 points against Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City side and did not concede a goal in either match (though they only managed to score one in two matches). And though unbeaten, McLeish’s Villa side have only managed one win so far, and that was at home to third-from-bottom Blackburn.

Still, Latics must improve. Defensively, the long-term absence of Antolin Alcaraz continues to sting, while Emmerson Boyce’s niggles and Steve Gohouri’s suspension (after missing five matches through injury) have been unfortunately timed. In their absence, Maynor Figueroa has been asked to deputise at centre-back, where he has been directly responsible for one goal, and beaten to headers for two others. A shame, because with an established central pairing in place, one tends to think Everton away and Spurs at home would have yielded points.

In attack, for all his promise, the club needs goals from Victor Moses. He has hit the post or bar three times this season so far. His excellence in creating chances deserves reward. Maybe this will be the week?

Far too often, Latics start matches slowly, only to deliver a much improved second half performance. Last week’s dismal first half and spirited second could not have been in starker contrast. Can they come out of the blocks firing for once? If they go down a goal, away to a defensive Villa side, it’s hard to see them getting back into it. A first half goal could force Villa to throw numbers forward, and Latics do have pace on the break.

Reports suggest Emmerson Boyce will be fit enough to return to the starting lineup. The hope is that he does so in a central role, partnering Gary Caldwell, with Figueroa restored to his natural position out left, and either Ronnie Stam or Adrian Lopez at right back. But Roberto has surprised us more than once with his starting lineups this year, rotating the squad and limiting opportunities for the new attacking signings. While Rodallega’s absence through injury appeared to provide the perfect opportunity to fully blood Shaun Maloney, or Albert Crusat, Roberto stuck with Jordi Gomez, who has shown some positive form when in midfield this season but confirmed once again against Spurs that he is the worst right winger the club has ever had. I tend to think the lineup will once again be conservative against Villa, with either Van Aanholt or Stam, naturally defenders, playing on one of the wings rather than our more attacking options, Crusat and Maloney. But you never know…

Watch out for: Barry Bannan, Aston Villa’s left-footed midfielder. Very promising young player with great technique. Charles N’Zogbia, who will have a point to prove to his new supporters. Darren Bent, who has had a slow start to the season and loves scoring goals against teams like Wigan.

We need: A good defensive performance. Victor Moses to score, or create a goal.

Prediction: with Boyce strengthening the defense and Villa under pressure to win this one, I’ll say honors even at 1-1, Wigan to score first, N’Zogbia to equalize.

Also of interest: a nice little interview with a Villa fan by Cockney Latic.

Albert Crusat is a Latic!

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

Roberto has been following Crusat for at least a year, and finally gets his man. He is apparently a skillful, fast, left-footed winger who spent his last six seasons for Almeria in Spain. Perhaps some of our Spanish readers can provide some insight in the comments section below this story.

Full story on Wigan Today

1932 and all that — is Wigan a rugby town?

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

A twelve year old boy went to watch his first football match on August 27th, 1932. It was the beginning of what was to become a life-long addiction to his hometown team and in his later years he would still talk about that match with great affection, although the result was not favourable. It was the opening league game for Wigan’s new football club: they lost 2-0 to Port Vale Reserves in front of 6,000 people. It was during the time of the great depression. Wigan Borough had folded the previous year, following the familiar pattern set by other clubs who had been set up to represent our  ‘Ancient and Loyal’ town in the football world.

That boy was my Dad. Although he was a Latic fanatic he was also proud of our rugby club, although the rugby matches he actually attended were few. However, I do remember him going to Central Park to watch Wigan rugby league club’s highest attended  game when they met St. Helens in March,1959. The recorded crowd was 47,747. Latics were drawing crowds of one to two thousand those days.

As a kid I was brought up around the corner from where George Orwell lodged in Sovereign Road when he started writing “The Road to Wigan Pier”. He chronicled the misery of life in Wigan at the time. It was superb documentary, way ahead of its time.  It is totally chilling and gives you a real feel of how hard life was at the time. The year was 1936, a handful of years after the great depression. It was the forty second season of the Northern Rugby League (NRL). Wigan RLFC finished fifth that season, three points behind the fourth placed team Liverpool Stanley and nine behind champions Salford.  There were 29 clubs in the NRL that year (there were 35 clubs in the three divisions in 2010-2011). That same season  Sunderland won the First Division for the sixth time and Arsenal won the FA Cup for the second time. The Football League was composed of 88 clubs in four divisions.

The early thirties was a tough time for any football club to be born. Wigan Athletic were fighting against the odds  then, as they continue to do now. Wigan remained economically depressed for decades. Could a town of its size and economy support two professional sports teams? Could both clubs co-exist and survive economically?

According to Wikipedia:  “Wigan are the most successful club in the history of British rugby league, having won 19 League Championships, 17 Challenge Cups and 3 World Club Challenge trophies. Wigan enjoyed a period of sustained success from the late 1980’s to mid-1990’s which included winning the Challange Cup eight seasons in succession and the League Championship seven seasons in succession.”

Wigan Athletic’s record is quite different. They were a non-league team for their first 46 years. During that time they won the Northern Premier League twice,  the Cheshire League four times and the Lancashire Combination four times. Since entering the Football League in 1978 they have gained promotion four times, winning their division twice in the process. They reached the League Cup final in 2005-2006.

Wigan Athletic continue to defy the odds. Despite being in a so-called rugby town the fact is that they consistently pull in superior attendances than their historically more successful counterparts do. This despite having struggling teams, fighting to avoid relegation. Since they got into the Premier League their average attendances have been around  the 18,000-20,000 range. According Wikipedia they have been:

2005-06                20,160

2006-07                18,169

2007-08                19,046

2008-09                18,413

2009-10                18,006

Those of Wigan Warriors rugby  team in the Super League have been around the 14,000-16,000 range during the same period (Wiki figures again) :

2006                       14,404

2007                       16,040

2008                       13,955

2009                       14,080

2010                       15,181

From 2000-2005 their attendances were lower, the highest average attendance being 13,894 in 2005.

Is Wigan really a rugby town?  Can it support two teams? Let’s take a look at the statistics.

Since entering the Premier League Wigan Athletic’s attendances have been significantly higher than those of the Warriors every year. However, it is to be noted that the Warriors’ attendances too have shown a positive trend since Latics got into the higher echelons.

Providing both clubs can balance their books with those attendance levels and maintain their status in their current divisions then the answer must be that the town can support the two. Things have changed a lot since the 1930s. Football clubs used to base their budgets on gate revenues, but now the reality for Latics is that the gate receipts are a relatively small part of their overall income. The Premier League is marketed worldwide and gets revenues which are way beyond those of any other football division in the world. Latics may be a small club by Premier League standards, but economically they can compete on more than just an even footing against their rugby counterparts.

Wiganers have  a choice: to support a club that is  a big fish in a small pond or to support a smaller fish in a giant pond.  Or they can support both. Wigan Athletic are an example to the football world. The rugby team’s  performances and attendances do not need to concern them. There is room for two teams, but the tables have turned. This is not the 1930s. The football team is now the more dominant economic force in the town, in terms of revenue and scale of operation. The myth of Wigan being a rugby town needs to be put to bed.

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.

Waiting on a Winger — Transfer Window Diary

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

As Peter Odemwingie put his name to a contract extension that will see him a West Brom player through the summer of 2014, the curtains closed on Wigan’s latest failed attempt in the transfer window.

There has been plenty to smile about this summer — Al-Habsi’s permanent deal, the release of wage drainers like Jason Koumas and Daniel De Ridder, and the retention of all but one of the club’s crop of talented young players.

But as we approach match day number two, the club appears no closer to the signing of a winger it so desperately needs. Nouha Dicko was apparently quite useful for the “development squad” in their 3-1 win the other day over Fulham, but is clearly one for the future. And Callum McManaman is back from the u-20 World Cup and will hopefully be available in the coming weeks. But it was quite clear against Norwich that while not doing anything wrong (or much of anything at all), Jordi Gomez is not dynamic enough for that position on the right wing. When the opposition wises up and starts kicking Moses on the left side of the pitch, we’ll have a problem.

And so West Brom rejected the Latics offer of 4 million pounds, a weak bid that was never going to tempt them. Odemwingie was a revelation last year, scoring 15 goals. He only cost West Brom 2.5 million, but who in their right mind would sell 15 Premier League goals for a profit of 1.5 million? That’s the difference between mid-table security and relegation.

Meanwhile, Sean Wright-Phillips is apparently close to joining Bolton. Roy Beerens (who?) snubbed Latics for AZ Alkmaar. Carlos Vela joined Real Sociedad on a year-long loan. Everton’s injury-prone forward Yakubu was linked a few days ago but nothing further on that one. Which probably means the best bet at this point is another season-long loan signing, ala Cleverley last year. But who else is there? Milner or Johnson from City would be great but their wages will be prohibitive. Diouf and Macheda of United may be available but haven’t shown too much in previous loan spells. Gio Dos Santos would be a loan possibility but it sounds at though Spurs want to sell. Arsenal don’t really have too much to spare. Maybe Pablo Barrera from West Ham’s bench? Someone from the Spanish market?

Overall, I’m a very happy supporter with Roberto Martinez at the helm. The team is financially stable, he’s building for the future, they’re playing decent football, and he genuinely cares. But one thing Steve Bruce had — and continues to have at Sunderland — is a big enough football name to convince proven Premiership players to join the club. At this stage, it looks like any signings are going to be from weaker leagues, who will take time to settle in and find their feet. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think the team can afford to wait too much longer — the relegation six-pointers have already started.