Tag Archives: Mackay

Sheffield Wednesday preview – keeping a settled team?

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

Photo courtesy of SWFC.

Wigan Athletic travelled to Hillsborough on December 18th last year, only their second ever visit to that famous ground that hosted FA Cup semi-finals for so many years. Wigan were on a high. After a miserable run of defeats under Owen Coyle and caretaker management they had welcomed the charismatic Uwe Rosler. Just three days before the German had won his first game in charge, with a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Bolton.

Almost a year on, Wigan Athletic find themselves with another new manager in his second game in charge, once again hoping to turn back a tide of bad results. With all the media hype about emails and racism the mood in Wigan is not as bright as it was a year ago, although there exists a significant faction of supporters who have faith in the ability of new manager, Malky Mackay, to turn things around.

Latics were playing well at Hillsborough a year ago, being 1-0 up through a goal from James McClean, only for the match to be abandoned after 59 minutes because of the torrential rain. They were to return to Hillsborough on February 11th to claim a 3-0 victory with two goals from Nicky Maynard and one from Marc-Antoine Fortune. It signaled the beginning of an eight game unbeaten run in the league with seven wins and a draw.

How times have changed. Latics currently lie in 23rd place in the Championship table, with Wednesday five points above them in 13th place. Strangely enough Wednesday have won only one out of nine home games this season, scoring just three goals. However, their defensive record is strong with only 14 goals conceded in 18 matches.

Latics put up a good performance in Mackay’s first game as manager, drawing 1-1 with high flyers Middlesbrough last Saturday, thanks to a superb free kick from Shaun Maloney. Mackay will be looking at building upon that performance to get a good result at Hillsborough.

One of the main criticisms levelled against Rosler was his constant rotation of the team. It will be therefore be revealing to see if Mackay sticks with the lineup that was a shade unfortunate not to beat Middlesbrough last weekend.

However, a lack of firepower upfront remains a huge concern for Latics. There are plenty of fans who would like to see a frontline pairing of Andy Delort and Oriel Riera. The two played together in midweek for the development squad, Delort scoring two and Riera hitting the post for Jordan Flores to tap in. Would Mackay be willing to vary his tactical formation to allow this to happen?

The big question is whether Mackay’s arrival can lift Latics in the same way that Rosler’s lifted them just over a year ago.

The performance on Saturday will give us at least an indication of whether Latics really can turn around a hugely disappointing start to the season.

Development squad beats Morecambe 4-0.

Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough Preview

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

The furore that has surrounded Malky Mackay’s appointment has overshadowed everything else happening at Wigan Athletic this week. However, there is a fascinating contest coming up on Saturday with the team third from the bottom of the Championship playing the team third from top. Can a Latics team that has been down on its knees lift itself to defeat a team riding high?

Ex-Real Madrid centre half Aitor Karanka took over at Middlesbrough a year ago this month. Karanka had been Jose Mourinho’s assistant during his time in the Spanish capital. It seems that the Basque learned from his time working with the ‘Special One’. Boro are a physical team with a high workrate. They have the best defensive record in the Championship with only 12 goals conceded in 17 matches. They will prove a hard nut to crack.

Mackay has confirmed that assistant manager, Graham Barrow, and first team coach, Eric Black, will be continuing in their positions. He will most likely to consult with the two of them regarding Saturday’s lineup. For the first time in years a Latics manager will have the luxury of choosing from a full squad, with the return of players from short and long-term injury. Two players Mackay will know are Don Cowie and Andrew Taylor, who were not key members of his squad that won the Championship a couple of years ago, but also played under him previously at Watford.

Despite their league positions few could argue that Wigan do not have at least as strong a squad as Boro. Mackay’s task will be dealing with the egos in the dressing room and getting the best out his players. He has some six weeks before the transfer window opens – time to assess not only his players’ capabilities, but their commitment to the club. It would not be a surprise to see some high profile names leaving the club in the next couple of months.

It so often happens that a new manager breathes new life into a club – at least in the short term. Dave Whelan will be hoping Mackay can do that, despite the huge pressure of media and public opinion surrounding him at the moment.

As an ex-centre half, Mackay can be expected to build a team based on solid defence. He might well opt for experience with a back four of James Perch, Emmerson Boyce, Ivan Ramis and Maynor Figueroa. He might well opt for a conservative midfield with Don Cowie and William Kvist bolstering the defence, with Adam Forshaw pushed a little further forward. It will be fascinating to see how Mackay will deal with Andy Delort and Oriel Riera, two capable strikers who had a rough time under Uwe Rosler.

It is hard to predict what will happen on Saturday. But a Wigan Athletic win is by no means impossible.