Tag Archives: maloney

Norwich City 1 Wigan Athletic 1 – Good, but not good enough?

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

Was this going to be the turning point in our season? It’s the 85th minute, all equal at 1-1, Wigan Athletic dominating and Norwich on the back foot. Mohamed Diame has just come on as a substitute. Shaun Maloney skillfully beats the right-back and plays a lovely ball across from the left, leaving an open goal for him. Diame somehow kicks it over the bar.

It was an all-too-familiar pattern. So many times this season Latics have been the better team but have not been able to kill off the opposition. The result — Latics remain in the mire, glued to the bottom, with very difficult fixtures against top teams fast approaching. Norwich continue to punch above their weight, 15 points ahead of Latics this season with a squad that is certainly no better than ours. They seem to be experts at getting goals out of the blue, as did Hoolahan in the 10th minute when he somehow got a poke of the ball ahead of Caldwell from a speculative cross. In the 68th minute, Victor Moses had leveled the score after latching on to a lovely through ball from Shaun Maloney, finishing with aplomb. A far cry from the wretched finishing we have seen from him in previous games. One of our two main strikers, he has now scored 3 goals in 28 appearances. The other striker on the day was Hugo Rodallaga, energetic and involved,  going close on several occasions. He has scored 2 in 22, although half of those appearances were made as a substitute. But goalscoring is not merely in the strikers’ domain. The midfield sadly lacked a goalscoring touch in this match, Diame the main culprit on more than one occasion, but he was not alone in his profligacy.

Match statistics show that Wigan enjoyed 55% of the possession and committed 8 fouls to Norwich’s 12. Although it was not a rough match, each team ended the match with four yellow cards. Wigan had 20 shots (7 on goal) to Norwich’s 14 (2 on goal). Ruddy made 6 saves, Al Habsi just one, thought it was a brilliant one, keeping out a goal-bound header from Morison in the last minute.

The Good

Latics did not lose and played with some degree of confidence. They were clearly trying to win, rather than not to lose. They showed commitment and played some good football in an entertaining match.

The substitution of an ineffective Gomez for Maloney brought forth a much more creative midfield. Maloney was a risky signing over the summer, given his previous injury record. In this match he looked classy and for once Wigan had a midfield player who could put forward a defence splitting pass. The question is whether he can stay fit long enough to make a real impact on the end of the season.

The Bad

This was a point gained, but in reality two points lost. You have to be able to beat lower mid table teams like Norwich if you want to maintain your Premier League status. Three points were needed. Perhaps if we had beaten Everton, Swansea or Blackburn at home, this result could have been viewed as a success. But our poor home form has meant we need maximum points from all fixtures against teams mid-table or lower.

The lack of finishing tarnished an otherwise good performance. Rodallega continues to struggle with his finishing and none of the big clubs is going to want him on current form, even as a free agent. If Diame was a better finisher a top tier club would have paid serious money for him several transfer windows ago. He has huge potential, but is out of contract at the end of the season. Much though I admire his skill and technique he has repeatedly wasted goalscoring opportunities in his stay at Wigan and rarely puts through the killer pass for his strikers. The irony is that he is only 24 and we will probably only see him at his best when he goes to another team and matures there.

Much of the Wigan fans’ frustration continues to be vented at Jordi Gomez. For several matches now he has been below par, but has still made the starting lineup. Roberto Martinez’s shows a lot of faith in players, Gomez in particular. However, there comes a point at which you need to make some changes. Given current form Gomez does not merit a place in the starting lineup.

Our best wing back, Ronnie Stam, has been noticeably absent from recent lineups. Playing Emmerson Boyce at right wing back gives us more defensive strength and this could be key in the matches coming up against the top teams. However, against mid range teams Stam’s attacking skills should be used to effect. Why was he not brought on against Norwich?

Player Ratings

Ali Al Habsi: 7 – An outstanding save in the last minute saved a point. Otherwise solid.

Emmerson Boyce: 7 – Solid in defence but limited going forward.

Antolin Alcaraz: 8 – Back to form, looks a good player again.

Gary Caldwell: 7 – Playing well at the moment, although shares some blame for Norwich’s goal.

Maynor Figueroa: 8 – A good performance. Seems to play better as a third centre back than as a left full back where his distribution can let him down.

Jean Beausejour: 5 – Not his usual self. Apparently he was carrying a slight injury, sustained during the warm-up.

James McCarthy: 7 – Worked hard in front of the defence, but still not showing the kind of attacking flair we need. It is time he got on the scoresheet. Taken off after 85 minutes.

James McArthur: 7 – Worked hard as usual in closing the opposition down and putting through passes.

Jordi Gomez: 4 – Poor, justifiably taken off after 56 minutes for Shaun Maloney.

Victor Moses: 8 –. Played well, taking his goal beautifully and causing headaches for the Norwich defence.

Hugo Rodallega: 6 – Energetic enough but let down once again by poor finishing.

Substitutes

Shaun Maloney: 9 – Provided the kind of midfield creativity that has been sadly lacking previously this season. His passes should have led to more goals.

Mohamed Diame: – Came on after 85 minutes for McCarthy and immediately involved. Went on a fantastic mazy run only to trickle his shot into the keeper’s hands. Then had an empty net to tap into, but put the ball over the bar. Should have won the match for Wigan.

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.

Everton 3 Wigan 1: Missed opportunity as Latics lose to uninspiring Everton, and lose Rodallega to injury

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

Everton 3 Wigan Athletic 1

As expected, Everton were largely unimpressive, a side full of battle but completely devoid of imagination or flair. But they still managed to emerge with all three points, largely thanks to their aerial prowess and Latics’ reluctance to push forward in search of three points when they were there for the taking. It was a frustrating afternoon for the Latics faithful. Having watched their team contain Everton despite a makeshift defense with Maynor Figueroa in the centre, Adrian Lopez at right-back, and Patrick Van Aanholt making his Premier League debut at left-back, Latics had started the second period with genuine promise. You could feel the tension mounting at Goodison, and as Wigan created chances, it looked decreasingly likely that Moyes’ men would make a breakthrough. Victor Moses and the outstanding Patrick Van Aanholt both went very close but a deep cross from Tony Hibbert was met powerfully by big Greek centre-forward Vellios for Everton’s winner, late in the game. The crossbar then denied substitute Dave Jones an exquisite chipped equaliser, but as Latics desperately pushed forward, they left too much space for new Everton signing Royston Drenthe to put things beyond doubt.

Probably as important as losing the match, Hugo Rodallega was stretchered off with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. It has been reported that he has suffered ligament damage and may be out until Christmas, a devastating blow. The positive news is that Shaun Maloney was signed to play in the position Hugo has been occupying, while Franco Di Santo’s current form as lone centre-forward offers promise.

The Good

Despite defensive injuries to the three important defenders in Alcaraz, Boyce and Gohouri, the defense put in a valiant shift. While Maynor Figueroa was eventually beaten in the air for the winning goal, he had performed well at centre-back. Van Aanholt was a revelation, solid in his defensive work and very clearly a talented attacking threat as well. His crossing, dribbling, and shooting deserved greater reward in the second half.

Franco Di Santo has now scored three in four. His latest was another rocket, also slightly deflected, but his confidence and overall performance gives plenty of hope.

The Bad

Rodallega’s injury. As frustrating as he can sometimes be, he is the club’s best forward and draws markers away from other attackers even when he’s not scoring. Victor Moses will need to start scoring in his absence, while opportunity beckons for Shaun Maloney and Albert Crusat. A report on a Colombian website quotes Hugo as saying the team doctor believes the injury not to be as bad as originally thought. It is believed the problem is with his meniscus rather than the ligaments. Lets hope so.

Roberto’s approach in the second half felt too cautious. Latics were creating chances and could have won this match with a little more adventure in the minutes leading up to Everton’s goal. A point wouldn’t have been bad — and Martinez’s mentality is understandable with a relegation battle so fresh in the mind — but these missed opportunities are starting to add up.

A Neutral Would Say

Save glimpses from Moses and Van Aanholt, not much quality in this borefest.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 7 — Can’t blame him for any of the goals. Made a couple decent saves early in the game.

Adrian Lopez: 5 — Uncomfortable with the ball at his feet, his passing is not very good. He did alright defensively but  the return of Gohouri, Alcaraz and Boyce can’t come soon enough.

Gary Caldwell: 6 — The usual from the captain, who has already played with four different partners in the heart of defense this season.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Got beat in the air for Everton’s second goal, but at times looked a quality centre-back and played some very good passes that either did or should have resulted in dangerous breakaways.

Patrick Van Anholt: 8 — Excellent. Solid at left-back, dangerous when he got forward. He can cross, dribble and shoot by the looks of it. Unlucky not to score after a dazzling run that culminated in a right-footed shot just over the bar.

Ben Watson: 6 — Some neat passing at times, but would love to see him get forward more often, he has an eye for goal when he’s around the box.

James McCarthy: 6 — Remains this season’s biggest under-performer, although he deserves credit for the amount of running and tackling he did in midfield. Latics will need him to regain his attacking form soon though.

Jordi Gomez: 6.5 — Drew a lot of fouls as usual. Should be allowed to take all direct free-kicks as he is the only player with proven success from them.

Hugo Rodallega: 5 — Kept very quiet by Everton’s defense. Injured just before the 90th minute.

Victor Moses: 7 — Dangerous, but yet again guilty of a little hesitation at the crucial moment. He has been very, very close in every match this season, surely the goals will come soon.

Franco Di Santo: 7.5 — Worked very hard for the team and was confident enough to beat his man and shoot from a tight angle for the goal. Decent performance.

Subs:

Dave Jones: 7 — So unlucky not to score with an improvised chip immediately after Everton’s second goal. Clearly a cultured player with a lovely left foot.

Shaun Maloney: N/A — Hardly touched the ball in his 7 minutes on the pitch.

Everton vs Wigan Preview: A good time to play the Toffees?

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

Match Preview:  Everton vs. Wigan Athletic

Everton is one of those strange clubs that always seems to start the season poorly, grow as it goes along, and end with a flourish, often pushing for a spot in Europe. This season has been no different, losing to QPR and failing to beat Aston Villa at home, and scraping a 1-0 victory away at Blackburn. They’ve lost a couple strikers in Yakubu and Beckford. The Nigerian wasn’t contributing very much and shouldn’t be missed but Beckford appeared to be settling in last season and it does seem a strange decision to let him go. One would guess that promise of first-team football, a non-promotion clause and a big paycheck at Leicester probably did the trick.

The real dagger though, has been the loss of Mikel Arteta. While his form at Everton in the last season or two has been a little inconsistent, largely due to injuries, he was always the creative heartbeat, one of the few players in their squad capable of a little magic. And an excellent set-piece delivery, although former Wiganer Leighton Baines has taken over those duties rather excellently. In fact, it’s Bainesy’s free-kicks, direct and indirect, that Latics will probably be most wary of in tomorrow’s clash.

All in all, you get the sense that the traditional Everton bounce-back may be less of a sure thing this year. They still have too much quality and resilience to get sucked into a relegation battle, but they look a decidedly mid-table team — particularly if their poor home form continues — and as such, are a team Latics should be looking to snatch a point or three against.

While always tough matches, Latics don’t seem to fear the trip to Goodison, and got a valuable point there last year. The year before that, they might have emerged with all three had a Jordi Gomez shot gone in rather than striking the post, and a Scott Sinclair breakaway ended up in the back of the net as it should have. Instead, Everton got a last minute penalty, and took all three points. Point is, this game will be a battle, but is up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Latics will arrive at Goodison on the back of two losses in a week. The 3-0 result at City could have been much worse — although we did fail to report in our match report that there were some decent passages of attacking play, particularly through the legs of Victor Moses — while the League Cup loss at Crystal Palace (albeit with 7 reserves in the starting lineup) was disappointing. Martinez spoke highly once again of new signing Shaun Maloney yesterday, so we can expect to see him on the bench, at least. Otherwise, the only change should be in midfield, where McArthur will probably make way for Jordi Gomez or McCarthy. Probable starting XI:  Al-Habsi; Boyce, Lopez, Caldwell, Figueroa; Watson, Diame, Jordi/McCarthy/McArthur; Rodallega, Moses, Di Santo.

Prediction:  as always, hard to tell. My main concern is Lopez’s ability to cope with the aerial threat Everton always pose. But I’m think Latics, particularly with their new signings coming off the bench, have goals in them. Moses for one, is due a bit of luck. I’m saying 1-1.

Celtic supporter dishes on new Latics signing Shaun Maloney

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

Few people are better positioned to provide insight on new Wiganer Shaun Maloney than David Harper, of Celtic fansite Lost Bhoys. The little winger spent the better part of 10 years wearing hoops over two separate stints. What you are about to read is Harper’s assessment of Maloney — his two spells at Celtic, his playing style and attitude, and his chances of success with Wigan. David has also kindly agreed to answer questions about Maloney in the comments section below this story, so please do take him up on the offer!

Shaun Maloney aka Bupa

Howdy Wiganites, sorry I have no idea what you call someone from Wigan please excuse my ignorance. Ned asked me to put together a small piece about former Bhoy and new Latic Shaun Maloney. Iʼm a regular blogger and editor on http://www.LostBhoys.com and co-host of the weekly HomeBhoys Celtic fans phone-in show. I started following Celtic home and away from the age of 14 in 1987 so Iʼm pretty well placed to give you a brief rundown on the last of the Seville team to leave Celtic (management team excluded).

Shaun broke into the 1st team in 2001 and if I recall correctly he made his debut at Ibrox against ʻthemʼ. Originally he was deployed as an out and out striker and for the next couple of seasons mostly made appearances from the substitutes bench. It wasnʼt until Gordon Strachan took over the reigns that Shaun found his best position as an attacking left-midfielder which is still his natural position to this day.

Thatʼs when heʼs fit of course and those occasions have been few and far between in his second spell at the club. Heʼs a player that has divided fans ever since his return up north from Aston Villa. Many many fans myself included didnʼt think Maloney should be afforded a return to Celtic after the way we felt he had let us done badly when he left for Villa Park.

Shaun had suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury and despite the fact nobody was sure if he would return the same player Gordon Strachan fought to get the board to offer him a new contract. Celtic were very good to Shaun in this time and when he came back from injury he had his best spell winning both Scottish footballs player and young player of the year.

The disharmony came to be when Shaun played hardball over a new contract and eventually left under a cloud for Martin OʼNeillʼs Villains. Personally I think Maloney was due us a bit more loyalty considering we had taken a chance on him while injured and this was the reason many eyebrows were raised upon his ʻgloriousʼ return. His second spell has been a disaster for the player and a quick check shows he only played 55 games in the last 3 years. Maloney is constantly injured. Iʼll be absolutely astonished if he plays 20 games this season. Actually whenever I hear his name David Bowie singing China Doll creeps into my head. It would seem his hamstring is made of glass.

On his game heʼs a fantastic player who loves to drift in from the left onto his right foot and has a good eye for goal. He certainly isnʼt an out and out winger and isnʼt the kind of guy who will hit the byeline but rather step inside and play neat one-twoʼs around the box. Heʼs often been described as a buzzbomb as he is very busy but heʼs lost a bit of the pace he had when he was younger. Heʼs by no means a slouch though. Ned asked me if heʼs the kind of guy that will get stuck in. Flying into tackles no but heʼll certainly track back and has a good engine to get up and down the flank. I would say one of his biggest assets is heʼs a very intelligent player and reads the game extremely well.

There is no doubt in my mind if he can stay fit and if this is the position Wigan are looking to fill heʼll be a great signing but again I canʼt stress enough his fitness is a major problem.

There is also a myth surrounding him being a dead ball specialist. In his first spell he was quite prolific with free-kicks but this ability seems to have alluded him on his return. Frustratingly his seniority in the team (was stand in captain for a period) often seen him push better candidates to the side before he sailed one harmlessly over the bar. Most notably when Nakamura was in the side who was a real free-kick expert.

You may think reading this that Iʼm being overly harsh and my opinion has been tainted from my disdain at him letting us down. Believe me itʼs not Iʼm being as honest as I can. I think youʼll find most fans have actually forgiven him his sins but at the same time everyone knew it was time for him to move on. Money is tight in the Scottish game and Maloney being one of the larger earners at the club who spent the majority of his time in the physio room was a pay packet that could be better utilised. In saying that heʼs fit and raring to go at the minute so weʼll see how he goes.

Iʼm not sorry to see Shaun go but I wish him the very best of luck in the rest of his career. Heʼs a pretty laid back guy with no billy big boots airs or graces about him and I pray he can get a real run of games under his belt for you. Iʼll watch his career now from afar with interest.

I hope this has been a decent insight into what you have bought and hope I havenʼt panicked you too much with the injury woeʼs. If anyone would like any further info I can be contacted at LostBhoys@gmail.com.

Iʼd like to wish Wigan and Maloney all the best for the season ahead, most sincerely.

Hail Hail

David Harper

http://www.LostBhoys.com