Tag Archives: Uwe Rösler

Rosler ready for a good start to the season- Reading preview

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

This time last year Wigan Athletic travelled to Barnsley for the opening game of the season. The 4-0 triumph appeared to be the beginning of a successful campaign, as Latics’ class was too much for the Yorkshire side. The next match away at Bournemouth was eagerly anticipated by the fans, but was to be a damp squib, with Latics going down 1-0. Coyle’s side went on to take just 8 points from the first 6 matches.

Ten years ago Paul Jewell’s side made a much brighter start. Despite a disappointing 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest they went on to take 14 points from their first six matches. They were to go through their first 17 league matches unbeaten and despite a slump in November and December they went on to win promotion to the Premier League.

Over the years Latics teams have tended to disappoint in the opening matches. That start in 2004 was an exception and one that Uwe Rosler would love to replicate a decade later. Rosler’s team faces home games against Reading, Blackpool and Birmingham and away at Charlton, Cardiff and Blackburn. Can they emulate the record of Jewell’s side in their first 6 matches?

Away matches at places like Cardiff and Blackburn are going to be tricky, as is the home game tomorrow with Reading. Moreover last season’s team often struggled against lower placed opposition. Rosler’s oft stated target of picking up an average of 2 points per game would seem more realistic – can Latics get those 12 points from the first 6 matches?

Reading finished 7th in the Championship last season, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. Latics’ high pressing game undid them twice last year with 2-1 result at the Madejski and a 3-0 scoreline at the DW. Manager Nigel Adkins will no doubt have done his homework for tomorrow’s match and might well resort to a long ball approach to counteract the high pressing. Over thesummer Reading lost or released a swath of senior players including former captain Jobi McAnuff, who went to Leyton Orient, and Adam Le Fondre who went to Cardiff. Adkins expects the majority of the players on the pitch and on the bench tomorrow to have graduated from the club’s academy. Reading have a category 1 academy status and play in the Professional Development League 1.

Providing there have been no further injuries following the Paderborn game, Uwe Rosler will have a strong squad available. It is anybody’s guess which of Ali Al Habsi or Scott Carson will start in goal. He is likely to go with an experienced defence of James Perch, Emmerson Boyce, Ivan Ramis and Andrew Taylor. Don Cowie and James McArthur will probably be joined by either James Tavernier or Roger Espinoza in midfield. Oriel Riera will play the target man role, with Callum McManaman and Martyn Waghorn completing the front three. Should Rosler decide to opt for a 3-5-2 formation another centre back will come in and Waghorn could take that third midfield place.

Wigan have more than enough quality to see off a young Reading side. Rosler will be keen to get the season off to a winning start.

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Is Latics’ squad lacking in quality?

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

 

Emmerson Boyce
James McArthur and Shaun Maloney

Some say that results in pre-season matches are not important. But then again, a 2-1 loss at Rochdale was hard for Wigan Athletic supporters to swallow, let alone a 4-1 drubbing in Dusseldorf yesterday.

Latics’ worst ever pre-season performance will surely be that of five decades ago, when fourth division Southport smashed non-league Wigan 10-2. My father told me at the time that friendly matches can produce strange results and do not really have much bearing on the season to follow. Strangely enough the same two teams met again four days later at Springfield Park and Latics went on to win 3-0. In the event it turned out to be a mediocre season for Latics, who finished in mid-table in the Cheshire League. That 10-2 scoreline proved to be an indicator of defensive weakness as Latics were to concede 82 goals in 42 league matches.

Following the 2-1 win over Besiktas, thanks largely to Ali Al-Habsi’s brilliance, we seemed to be looking forward to a good season ahead. Granted there were concerns over the departures of two of Latics’ most creative players – Jordi Gomez and Jean Beausejour – but Uwe Rosler had been moving shrewdly in the transfer market and was building up a stronger squad. Most fans have now accepted that Dave Whelan is not going to wave his cheque book around in the way he did to get Latics into the Premier League last time. Austerity has not yet set in, but stringent financial management is the order of the day at the club.

Rosler is used to working under tight budgets, through his experience with his previous clubs. He will bring in a mixture of youth and experience. The experienced Andrew Taylor and Don Cowie have played in the Premier League and been part of a Championship division winning team. James Tavernier and AaronTaylor-Sinclair are clearly the kind of youngsters who have the potential to develop into quality players. The 19 year old loanee, Emyr Huws , is an exciting young player who can play in the creative midfield role that Gomez used to enjoy. A good central striker at an affordable price is something that hardly exists in modern day English football, but Rosler has done well to bring in Oriel Riera from Osasuna. Riera scored 13 goals in La Liga last season for a team that was relegated, making an interesting comparison with Arouna Kone who scored 15 for Levante before arriving at Wigan.

In order to sign another central striker Rosler will need to raise funds by selling off one of his assets. Stories of Latics courting another goalkeeper might seem far-fetched, but both Ali Al-Habsi and Scott Carson are likely to be transfer targets for other clubs. A possible scenario is for one of them to be sold, with the exciting, but inexperienced, Lee Nicholls once more sent out on loan.

Rosler’s squad is not yet complete. We can expect more incomings and possibly outgoings over the coming weeks. But when the squad is finally completed will there be sufficient quality there to mount a serious challenge for promotion?

After playing for ten clubs in six countries in over a decade, Jean Beausejour has gone home to Chile. He will play in Santiago for Colo-Colo, the country’s historically most successful club. When Roberto Martinez signed him from Birmingham City in January 2012, Latics were struggling. Moreover fans were disappointed with Martinez’ lack of activity in that January transfer window. However, the arrival of a specialist left wing back blew fresh air into Latics’ play, helping them to produce the best quality of football and the best results in their history over the next three months. He was the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle that Martinez was putting together. A team player, he was solid in defence. When Latics had the ball he was always available, hugging the touchline, stretching the opposition defence. He rarely lost the ball and had a few tricks up his sleeve with quick footwork. Beausejour is probably the best crosser of a ball who ever played for Latics, although some more senior supporters might also cite Walter Stanley whose sublime crosses helped Harry Lyon become a household name in Wigan.

Last season was not a good one for the Chilean, except for a memorable goal in the World Cup finals. Beausejour was frequently played at left back, rather than his natural wing back position. Like Gomez, he is another player who never got the recognition that he probably deserved from sections of the DW crowd.

During that late season rally in 2011-2012 and the FA Cup run in 2012-13, Latics beat the top teams in the country on merit, through playing quality football. The stats show that in winning the FA Cup final they committed only 5 fouls, compared with their opponents 11. Is it possible that they will ever be able to raise their football to that level ever again?

Since then lots of quality players have left the club. However, Emmerson Boyce, Shaun Maloney and James McArthur still remain. They are the pillars upon which Rosler will build this season’s team. Boyce is getting no younger, but at centre back he still has years ahead of him. The fitness of the two Scots will be of paramount importance and Rosler is nurturing them very carefully through the pre-season physical conditioning programme. Moreover the skilful Ben Watson and Chris McCann are making good progress in their recuperation from major injuries.

On the tactical front Rosler continues to demand the high tempo, high pressing style that he espouses. They did it for half an hour at Dusseldorf, but once again could not keep it going. It remains to be seen whether Rosler will ever enjoy that level of intensity he seeks from the players at his disposal.

In the meantime Rosler will scour the loan market to complete his squad. Maybe even that additional central striker will be a loan player? A return for Nick Powell continues to be touted by the media.

The name of Grant Holt continues to pop up in the social media and fan forums, the comments usually being derogatory. If no other club is willing to take the player off the club’s hands will Rosler be able to turn him into an asset? Would Holt be able to fit into Rosler’s style of play if he could regain full fitness?

Holt has proved in the past that he can deliver the goods by scoring key goals that win matches, but last season was one he will want to forget. During the reign of Owen Coyle he was used in a similar way that Bolton used Kevin Davies for so many years, a human battering ram posing a physical threat to the defence. That probably did Holt no favours and moreover it led to defenders constantly launching long balls in his direction. Given Rosler’s preferred style of play Holt would not be a regular starter, even if fully fit. However, he could have a role to play as an impact substitute.

Providing his ventures in the transfer market go well over the coming weeks, Rosler will have a squad good enough to challenge for promotion. Enough quality players remain, but the moot point is whether they can they stay fit.

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Fyvie back on track

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Fraser Fyvie

In the 14th minute in Wigan Athletic’s pre-season friendly game against TSV Havelse, Fraser Fyvie put through a defence-splitting pass for young winger Ryan Jennings to get Latics’ first goal.

Wigan went on to win 3-1, but the main purpose of the match was to provide playing time for a squad that had been involved in intensive training sessions over that past week. No less than 21 players got playing time, with only one playing the full 90 minutes. That was the young Wigan-born prospect, Tim Chow. However, the player who received the next largest amount of playing time was Fyvie, who went off to be substituted by Gary Caldwell after 75 minutes.

What is significant is that Fyvie appears to be back in the Latics fold after being seemingly on his way out of the club.

Last season was a nightmare for the 21 year old Scot. Snubbed by both Owen Coyle and Uwe Rosler he had been farmed out on loans, which just did not work out.

In mid-October Fyvie went to fellow Championship side Yeovil Town on loan. He soon made his debut against Brighton, but a shoulder injury forced him to be forced off after only 22 minutes. A month later he returned to the lineup against Doncaster Rovers, but in the 11th minute he gave the ball away leading to a goal for Rovers. He was substituted after 31 minutes. Before the end of the first half he had posted a tweet on Twitter: “Everyone has given away a goal in their career – learn from mistakes!” Fyvie was returned to Wigan in mid-December after making no more appearances at Yeovil.

In late January Fyvie joined League 1 club Shrewsbury Town on a one month loan. He started in four consecutive matches and it looked like Shrewsbury were going to request an extension of the loan period. However, a knee injury suffered in training was to scupper that plan and he returned to Wigan.

It looked like Fyvie was on his way out of Wigan when he went to train with Sheffield United in April, playing a game for their under-21 side. However, the Yorkshire team was not sufficiently impressed to take things further.

When Fraser Fyvie joined Latics as a 19 year old in July 2012 Roberto Martinez said: “Technically he’s very gifted, enjoys playing in the midfield where he can cover large areas, he’s very powerful off the ball and in possession is someone who can read the tempo of the game very well”.

Despite his tender age Fyvie had made 58 appearances for his home town club Aberdeen in the SPL. He was the youngest player to play for the Dons, making his debut against Hamilton at the age of 16, winning the ‘Man of the Match’ award. He was later to score a goal against Hearts that made him the youngest goalscorer in SPL history. Fyvie has represented Scotland at schoolboy, youth and under 21 levels.

In his first season at Wigan his appearances were confined to FA and League Cup matches. It appeared that he was being groomed to step up to regular first team action the following season. With the change of management that was not to be.

With Ben Watson and Chris McCann out with long-term injuries and James McArthur and Shaun Maloney struggling for fitness, Uwe Rosler is short on midfield players. The arrival of George Saville on loan from Chelsea is likely to be announced shortly, but in the meantime the absence of the senior players might well continue to give Fyvie the chance to prove that he still has a lot to offer.

Rosler prides himself on developing young players and in Fyvie he has a player with undoubted talent. The Aberdonian still has one year left on his contract. Hopefully it will be one in which we will see his potential being realised. It is an opportunity to get his stuttering career back on track.

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James Tavernier – a Rotherham fan’s view

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , ,

Taverneir

Over the past week Uwe Rosler has taken his number of new signings to four, with the acquisition of James Tavernier and Oriel Riera.

On signing Tavernier the manager quoted: “James is a player I have been tracking for a long time, dating back to my days at Brentford. He proved last season what great potential he has by being part of a very successful Rotherham side throughout the season and also in the play-offs. He will bring great competition on that side of the field, he is still learning and, at just 22, I feel that we can provide the right sort of environment for him to grow and develop into a really important player for this club.”

The Bradford-born James Tavernier was part of the Leeds United youth system until moving to Newcastle United in 2008. He was to make his debut for Newcastle United at the age of 17 as a substitute in a League Cup game against Peterborough. The following season he started his first  game in another League Cup tie against Accrington Stanley. That same season he was to make his one single Premier League apperance, as a substitute against Reading. In January 2011 he was loaned out to Gateshead and further loan periods were to follow at Carlisle, Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Shrewsbury and Rotherham United.

Tavernier’s track record is not impressive, but he is clearly a player who Rosler believes has the potential to develop into something special.

That last move, to Rotherham, was clearly his best and Tavernier made 27 appearances for the Millers, scoring five goals, despite predominantly playing at right back.

To find out more about Tavernier’s time at the New York Stadium we reached out to KCM North Stand @KCM_North _Stand) on Twitter, which is described as ‘the unofficial page for the KCM North Stand, New York Stadium and home to the supporters of the pride of South Yorkshire.’

22 year old Newcastle full back James Tavernier joined Rotherham United on an emergency loan deal in November which was later extended for the rest of the season. After relatively unsuccessful spells at MK Dons and Carlisle United among others South Yorkshire was where his career really took off.

Tavs instantly became a fans favourite after his debut goal and performance in the 4-1 victory over Gillingham. With bags of pace and a rocket of a shot he can play in right and centre midfield as well as his preferred right back slot. What I liked about Tavs is he always gave 100% and he really seemed to care about the club, which is something loanees often lack.

His brilliant work rate and stamina allow him to make regular surging runs upfield and he really is exciting to watch. A set piece and long shot specialist, he scored a few beauties during his time with us (most notably a brace against Bristol City if you want to have a look on YouTube).

He has tremendous amounts of energy and his overlapping runs caused a lot of problems for opposition defences this season and led to many goals. His crossing at times can be wild, but that’s the case with most full backs these days. I can’t recall him having a bad game last season and his consistency was rewarded with two Player of the Month nominations and many people thinking he was worth a place in the League 1 Team of the Year.

He very rarely missed a game for us and was an integral part in the best season in our club’s history. He and the fans got on like a house on fire, with mutual respect seemingly remaining between the two, despite his choice to turn us down.

His attacking nature can often leave the defence exposed and he has a tendency to get caught out of position. To be honest, I believe he’s far better going forward than he is defensively and may be suited to a more advanced role. Also his decision making at times can be slightly suspect, with him regularly blazing ambitious 40 yard strikes into the crowd.

However, Tavs came on leaps and bounds in his first year of consistent game time and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so. He will be a Premier League player in the not too distant future – either with or without Wigan – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him represent England one day. That’s how highly rated he is around Rotherham.

There are no hard feelings between Tavs and the Millers and I am sure he’ll get a standing ovation when he visits the New York Stadium, with a rendition of his song “Ohhh we’re half way there, ohh James Tavernier” ringing out from the North Stand.

Fantastic signing for Wigan and a massive mistake by Alan Pardew. If you want to see him in action check out this montage of his performances last season, which highlights how good he was for the Millers.

I can only thank him for his part in a season that was beyond our wildest dreams. All the best, Tavs.

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Will Powell be back for the playoffs?

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

nick-powell-wigan

Wigan Athletic have a paltry goalscoring record this season, notching just 81 goals in 60 matches. But among the goals they have scored there have been some absolute crackers. Jean Beausejour’s rocket shot at Derby, Jordi Gomez’s free kicks, Roger Espinoza’s 35 yard blinder against MK Dons.

But in terms of sheer self-confidence and artistry Nick Powell’s second goal in the Europa League home game against Maribor stands out. It is the kind of thing that one might expect to happen at places like the Nou Camp or the Bernabeu, but it was certainly a joy to see it at the DW.

Powell was the hero for Latics that night. His first goal had come after 22 minutes from a simple header into an empty net after the Slovenian goalkeeper had made a hash of a punch. Ben Watson scored with a header from Jean Beausejour’s cross some 12 minutes later. But Maribor clawed their way back into the game as Latics went flat, scoring after 61 minutes. Powell’s deciding goal came in the 91st minute when he somehow found the energy that most of his teammates did not have to slalom through the visitor’s defence and score with aplomb.

That was in early October and Powell’s stock was high. His name was being touted around the media as the one who could go back to Old Trafford and lift his parent club out of their lethargy.

Owen Coyle was clearly delighted to sign Powell on loan last August, saying “I said to David (Whelan) when I was bringing him in, for me it was a win-win-win situation.We would win out of it because we got a terrific player, Nick Powell would win because I’ve given him a platform to showcase his talents and Manchester United will get back a more-developed player with more experience and a player who can challenge; as we’ve done before with the Sturridges and the Wilsheres.There’s no doubt from me he can have a huge career.”

During the time Coyle was at Wigan it looked like his assessment of Powell’s potential might be right. The 19 year old was to get rich experience in Europe, starting in five of the six Europa League games and coming on for the last half hour in the other in Kazan. His first appearance for Latics was coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat at Leicester on September 14th. Five days later he started in the unfamiliar centre forward position in the 0-0 draw with Zulte Waregem in Bruges. With experienced central strikers Grant Holt and Marc-Antoine Fortune struggling with injuries, Powell soon established himself in that position.

Alex Ferguson had signed him from Crewe in July 2012. Powell had been a boy wonder with the Railwaymen, making his debut at the age of 16. He was to get lots of media attention scoring a spectacular goal for Crewe in the 2012 League 2 playoff final, but he had already agreed on a move to Old Trafford before then.

The iconic Dario Gradi, Director of Football at Crewe, explained what Ferguson saw in Powell: “He is athletic, he’s a good size, he’s good physically and he’s bright, he knows where people are around him. His clever with his play, he’s not just twinkle toes. Nick’s got a brain and a desire and Alex spotted it on the strength of one outing.”

Powell had become a key player in Coyle’s squad. Given the number of games Latics were facing Coyle was operating a rotation policy but Powell seemed to be the one Latics forward who could go the full 90 minutes on a regular basis. It prompted fans to wonder about the fitness levels of his team mates. At the time of the Scot leaving the club in December, Powell had made 14 starts, 3 appearances as a substitute and scored 6 goals.

In both of Graham Barrow’s games in charge, Powell started, but was substituted early in the second half. He was pulled off after 65 minutes in Uwe Rosler’s first game, the 2-1 defeat at Maribor. However, in the next match he came back to play the full ninety against Bolton, scoring with a bicycle kick in Latics’ 3-2 win.

He scored a goal in the 2-1 win at Reading in the next match, but was taken off at half time. Around that time in late December media speculation over Powell’s future was going haywire. The main theme was that Manchester United were going to recall him from his loan spell. Another version was that he was either going to go on loan to another Premier League club for the rest of the season or another club was to sign him. The names of Everton and Swansea were often quoted.

In the event, Powell was to stay at Wigan until the end of the season. His next goals came after coming on in the 60th minute in the FA Cup tie at MK Dons when Latics were in trouble. His two well- taken goals helped them reach the fourth round.

Injury caused Powell to miss the month of February and he returned to the field on March 12th coming on in the 54th minute in the 1-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday. Since then Powell has only completed two games, including a goal in the 3-3 home draw with Yeovil. His other goal was an 88th minute equalizer at Bolton, after coming on at the 70 minute mark. The last game he completed was the 1-0 defeat at QPR on March 25th.

Since Uwe Rosler’s arrival, Powell has made 12 starts, 10 appearances off the bench and scored 6 goals. The stats paint a different story than in the first half of the season under Coyle.

Nick Powell had an impressive start to his loan spell under Owen Coyle. Although Ferguson and Manchester United signed him as a midfield player,  Coyle thrust him into a central striking role. During Coyle’s tenure he looked the part.

The young player exudes a certain kind of arrogance in his body language on the field of play. Some have compared him to Berbatov, but under Coyle, Powell was willing to graft and defend in a way that would not typify the Bulgarian. Powell won the hearts of many Latics fans through not only his excellent technique and confident play, but also through the physical effort he put out for his team.

Somewhere along the line, Powell lost his way. He just has not been the same kind of player in the second part of the season. Have injuries and illness played a part? Has the extreme media attention got too much for him, above all not knowing where he will be next year? Or is it just that he is a young player, not long turned 20, who lacks consistency? The conspiracy theorists will say that there is a rift between Powell and Rosler.

What fans have seen over the past weeks is a Powell who has not shown the same kind of physical commitment that we saw earlier in the season. Moreover the swagger that the young player was showing in his body language earlier in the season was seen as a sign of self-belief, but  is now being interpreted by some as a “couldn’t care less” attitude. However, some would say that Powell has not been well used by Rosler, too often pushed out to the wings where he is less effective. At times under Coyle, he enjoyed a free role.

Nick Powell is a fine young player, who has represented his country at all youth levels 16-21. He has recently been nominated Crewe’s best player of all time. He is a class act and will almost certainly represent his country at senior level.

If Powell can make the playoffs – in a positive frame of mind and a good state of health and fitness – it might conceivably make the difference between another year in the Championship division or a return to the Premier League for Wigan Athletic.

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