Ryan Lowe’s previous track record clearly appealed to Mike Danson when he was looking for someone to replace Shaun Maloney as manager of Wigan Athletic.
Lowe had a record of success at clubs where spending was limited, rather than profligate, as is the case with so many football clubs. The Liverpudlian led Bury and Plymouth to promotion out of League 2 in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. That was followed by a stint at Preston where the club’s middling positions in the Championship showed that they were punching above their weight with staffing budgets being low relative to the majority of clubs in the division.
Lowe’s appointment in March was well received by Latics fans who had been frustrated by the defensive style of football under Shaun Maloney. However, the football on display in Lowe’s 11 games at the helm from then to the end of last season was no more entertaining, with the new manager adopting a “fightball approach”, with few memorable moments. When Lowe had taken over Latics had been in 15th place in League 1, 10 points clear of the relegation zone. The stats at the end of the season showed exactly the same results. Relegation has been avoided.
Lowe gained a reputation for attacking football early in his managerial career at Bury, employing a 3-4-1-2 formation. But goals were not easy to come by later at Preston where Will Keane was the highest scorer in his time there with 11 goals in 2023-24.
Long-standing fans recall Paul Jewell’s and Steve Bruce’s sides playing enterprising football with twin strikers and many very much welcome Lowe’s preference for the same. Some of them were critical of the Roberto Martinez era, preferring a more direct style of football, grudging of the manager’s success of keeping the club in the top tier for four more seasons and his staggering achievement of winning the FA Cup. The initial managerial appointments of both Gary Caldwell and Shaun Maloney from the Martinez days did not go down well with that faction.
Last summer’s player recruitment under Maloney was largely focused on signing younger players with potential sell-on values. It was a reaction to the club previously being saddled with older players on bloated salaries and long contracts who could not be moved on, a massive drain on finances. Maloney’s summer recruitment largely brought in players of 25 years of age or less, who had been identified as having potential to develop further given the right coaching environment. Salaries offered were commensurate to that of a club seeking sustainability, rather than one looking for a quick-fix for promotion. But Danson backed Maloney in the transfer market by allowing him a figure in the region of £1m to bring in players to supplement a collection of free agents and young loan players.
Lowe has also been backed by Danson in the transfer market. In addition to picking up Fraser Murray (26) and Christian Saydee (23) for free, Lowe paid Burnley a figure of around £350,000 for Dara Costelloe (22). Lowe’s acquisition of Paul Mullin (31) and Callum Wright (25) on year-long loans suggests he will be looking for more mature players in the loan market, whose experience could prove useful in a young squad.
Since Lowe likes to play with twin strikers, he has needed to bring more in. He already signed Costelloe, Mullin and Saydee and the rumours suggest he is trying to sign Jordan Rhodes (35) who was at Blackpool last season. Were Rhodes to be signed it would be on a short-term contract. Lowe already had Maleace Asamoah (22) and Chris Sze (21) under contract.
Mullin, the most well known of the newly signed strikers, had an outstanding goalscoring record at Wrexham when they climbed up the division from the National League. However, his League 1 record of 3 goals in 9 starts and 17 appearances off the bench last season is a concern. Christian Saydee was a popular figure at Portsmouth, but his career record shows him scoring 12 goals in 60 starts and 63 substitute appearances. Dara Costelloe’s record is better, with 12 goals in 56 starts and 19 as a substitute. Asamoah has scored one goal in League 1 from 12 starts and 12 as a sub with Latics and Fleetwood. Sze has made just 4 starts with 28 appearances off the bench, scoring 2 goals since 2021.
Lowe’s hope will be that his young strikers will mature and start producing goals on a more regular basis. He will also hope that Mullin can renew his goalscoring exploits, given a change of club: a fresh start, with the full support of his manager.
With new contracts being signed by Matthew Corran, Callum McManaman, Harry McHugh, K’Marni Miller and Tom Watson, Lowe already has a first team squad of 28. The manager continues to scour the market for players who will fit in his budget and there will be more comings and goings before the transfer window ends on 1 September. There will be players currently under contract who will need to be moved to other clubs if the manager is to stay within his staffing budget.
Toby Sibbick has already joined Burton Albion and Kai Payne is to go on a season-long loan at Oldham. Lowe has made it clear that Steven Sessegnon needs to move on, although still under contract.
Lowe wasted little time in acquiring more strikers but still needs to look at specialist wing backs and perhaps more cover at centre back. But the question that concerns so many fans is whether Sam Tickle will be leaving over the summer. The young goalkeeper has been a revelation and his brilliant shot-stopping has saved his team on so many occasions. The weakness in his game is his distribution, a key area for new goalkeeping coach, Tony Warner, to work with him on should Tickle stay. Should Tickle leave he would be very hard to replace.
All football managers prefer to have all their squads complete before the first game of the new season. It will be Ryan Lowe’s preference, but the nature of the transfer market suggests that more movement will take place during the month of August.
LOS THREE AMIGOS 