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Tottenham 0 Wigan Athletic 1: Return of the giant-killers

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

Wigan Athletic made up for their slow start to the season with an away performance reminiscent of the famous victories at Anfield and the Emirates of last term, climbing to 12th in the league table in doing so.

Tottenham’s starting XI — and indeed the thousands supporting them at White Hart Lane — appeared to approach the fixture as a foregone conclusion ahead of a series of tricky fixtures. Much will be criticized about their performance, but it won’t tell the whole story. While Villas Boas shifted and tweaked throughout and his players huffed and puffed in the second half, Roberto Martinez’s men knew exactly what their gameplan was and executed it to perfection.

In fact, so dominant were the Latics before Ben Watson’s breakthrough, they should have gone at least two or three up. While Gareth Bale was clearly the best player on the pitch, you got the sense that Spurs are at present just a team of expensively assembled individuals, while Wigan look an organized and well-oiled machine.

The Good: 

Roberto Martinez. The second youngest manager in the league put on a tactical masterclass for the youngest. This is the second 1-0 win in three away fixtures at White Hart Lane, against Spurs teams that have hardly struggled for goals. If you go back a fourth fixture, you get to the horrific 9-1 loss in Roberto’s first season. Where most chairmen would have panicked, Dave Whelan kept faith, and Martinez has repaid it. The team showed today it is already — this early in the season despite losing Victor Moses and having to bed in new signings — capable of the form shown that kept us up last year. Which bodes very well indeed.

The defence. Gary Caldwell was immense, as he was in the final stretch of last season. Ivan Ramis, next to him, had a brilliant match save one foul on the edge of the box that might have proven costly on another day. He looks comfortable in the league and tactical system, a quality signing. Figueroa had to cope with Lennon and Bale and got the job done, albeit with the occasional mistimed challenge. Emmerson Boyce, whose attacking play was non-existent, must receive huge praise for his defensive work as well.

Attacking link-up play. There are some excellent partnerships developing between the attacking trio. First, Maloney set up Kone. Then Kone returned the favour. Di Santo was quiet today but has been on the same wave length in recent fixtures. Latics created the five clearest chances of the match.

The Bad: 

Finishing. Both Kone and Maloney, when through with just the keeper to beat, shot straight at him. It comes down to confidence and composure. Both played very well otherwise, but you get the sense they each need a goal to get things going again. Ben Watson, who had an odd match — at times rusty, others very effective and ultimately scoring the winner — missed another sitter by blasting over.

Player Ratings: 

Ali Al-Habsi: 8.5 — Excellent. Held onto a couple stinging shots that other keepers would have spilled. Dominant in the air.

Ivan Ramis: 8.5 — Cracking performance from the Spaniard. Strong and excellent with his distribution. The way the back three knocks the ball around these days is a joy to watch. Very rarely is a ball hacked away in panic.

Gary Caldwell: 9 — Man of the match. Didn’t put a foot wrong, he was dominant. His passing out of the back, under pressure, was fantastic.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Had a tough time with Bale and Lennon at times, but got a very difficult job done. Lucky not to be given a yellow card in the first half, which was fortunate as he received one in the second.

Emmerson Boyce: 7.5 — Passing was at times poor and didn’t get forward, but his primary function was defensive. He had Bale to watch for most of the match, and defended well on set pieces.

Jean Beausejour: 8 — In good form. Got forward on several occasions in the first half with some quality deliveries. Neat in footwork as always, and put a real defensive shift in.

James McCarthy: 7.5 — Usual energetic, neat performance.

Ben Watson: 8 — Got the match winner. Going from Bradford to Spurs within the space of a few days must have been an adjustment, and his passing was a little wayward at times. But he was very frequently in the right place at the right time to make defensive interceptions, and stuck the ball in the back of the net — which no one else managed.

Shaun Maloney: 8 — Top class in the first half, buzzing about and creating. Should have scored his one-on-one opportunity. Faded as the team retreated in the second half.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — Couldn’t get going in this one, though he held the ball up well when required. Substituted with 20 minutes to go.

Arouna Kone: 7 — Another promising performance full of dangerous movement and skill but no goal. They’ll come.

Subs: 

Jordi Gomez: Played a couple delicious flicks that Kone and Maloney might have been quicker to pounce on. Drew a couple fouls that eased the pressure. Overall, did the job he was sent on to do quite well.

Wolves 3 Wigan 1: That sinking feeling

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

For several weeks now, we have sat down to write our match previews with relentless optimism (#keepthefaith), operating under the assumption that at some point in the next match, during a crucial moment, we would get a slice of luck.

This week, we finally did.

1-0 down, just before the stroke of halftime, Emmerson Boyce cleverly drew a penalty by jinking through a pair of Wolves defenders. Ben Watson stepped up, a visible bundle of nerves, and kicked it right at the keeper. It bounced back for an easy tap in, and Latics were back in the match. We finally got that bit of luck.

The problem was everything else. Despite playing far better football, creating chance after chance, Latics continued to single-handedly provide footage for the 12Bet.com How-Not-to-Finish instructional video. The man posing as Hugo Rodallega was culprit-in-chief, tamely toe-poking when through on goal early in the match before missing an absolute sitter — probably the easiest chance he’s had in a Wigan shirt — after chesting down a lovely Franco Di Santo pass with only the goalkeeper to beat. It visibly affected him, but he has cut a forlorn figure for quite some time now. With his agent talking up a potential move to Juventus, Latics Premier League goal-scoring record holder’s stay appears to be coming to a depressing end.

But it’s too easy to make a scapegoat out of the Colombian. Victor Moses was once again devastating in one-on-one wing play, but his final pass, cross, or shot simply fails to yield. The fear with him is that for all his raw talent there is no football brain, no vision. He holds on to the ball too long, keeps his head down when others are making runs for him (Dave Jones made an excellent one in particular after recovering the ball in Wolves territory in the first half), and shoots either too early or too late. This is harsh criticism for a young player who has been denied by posts and outstanding saves all season long, but it is what we’ve missed of N’Zogbia’s game. Coolness under pressure. Can you teach that?

Moving back to the defense. Gohouri was wobbly, while it’s hard to talk about Antolin Alcaraz’s performance after the spitting incident that will see him banned for the next three matches. Needless to say he didn’t have one of his better games. We can only hope a public apology is coming, and the incident doesn’t negatively affect relationships within an already distraught squad.

The way he is performing, it won’t be long before there is an Ali Al-Habsi statue in the town centre. The frustration he must have felt after his defense failed to clear three times before Dave Edwards hammered that second goal in must have been unreal. His agility and reflex saves are second to none in the premiership.

In midfield, Mo Diame and Dave Jones had decent games, and Ben Watson was solid enough. Latics passed well and had the better of the game. They are not the problem. If Diame continues to progress, he will no doubt be making the step to a bigger club sooner or later.

And so it has to be said — barring an astonishing turnaround, Latics look doomed. Last season, West Ham billed their home match against us their “Save our Season” fixture. They beat us, and then in the reverse fixture, we sent then down. The home fixture against Blackburn in two weeks time is certainly a must win if this season is to be saved. But then so was the last one. I’ll be wearing my lucky sombrero and moustache, but how great would it be if the team could put in a performance that didn’t need it?

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habi: 9 — Made a number of excellent saves, inspirational.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.5 — Won the penalty, did some good defending and got forward. But two of the goals came down his side.

Antolin Alcaraz: 5 — Was okay, until the spitting incident.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — Wobbly.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 — Wolves’ first goal just seemed a bit too easy, but otherwise fine.

Ben Watson: 6 — Solid performance, was unhappy to be substituted which at least shows desire.

Dave Jones: 7 — Worked really hard and had an effective game in midfield.

Mo Diame: 8 — Latics best player this season, lively.

Hugo Rodallega: 4 — Miserable. Missed a sitter and several other chances. Sad to watch him perform this way.

Victor Moses: 6 — Great running, no end product.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — If Rodallega has been up to it, he would have emerged from this match with a couple assists and a good energetic, committed performance as centre-forward. His own finishing should have been better when he had half chances, however.

Subs:

Conor Sammon: 7 — Deserves a chance. Had a good effort and looked lively.

Albert Crusat: 6 — Did not assert himself on the game this time.

James McArthur: 6 — Not much to report.

Boyce, McCarthy and Watson to stay

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

Good news today as Latics trio Ben Watson, Emmerson Boyce and James McCarthy signed new contracts for three, two and three years respectively. McCarthy had been linked with a move away during the summer but has decided to stay and further his career with the Latics, while deep lying playmaker Ben Watson has been rewarded for his increasingly influential displays in midfield. Everyone at the club will be delighted to hear Emmerson Boyce is sticking around for another couple years — he just keeps getting better with age.

Watson made mention of the “good feeling” at the club which suggests last season’s relegation battle and the relatively quiet summer of ins and outs has created strong team spirit. Boyce, already a father figure at 31 in this young side, has now been with Wigan all six of the club’s Premier League years and should handily break Paul Scharner’s record of most Premier League appearances this season. An under-appreciated player, Boyce has really flourished under Martinez, adding an attacking threat to his always reliable defensive work. And McCarthy, undoubtedly destined for one of the top clubs in the country, will continue to develop his game at Wigan Athletic, although the club will be lucky to hold onto him for all three years of his contract. The contract should, however, allow the club to ask for top dollar if the big boys do start circling in the next year or two.

Despite losing 3-1 to Arsenal earlier today, the reserves apparently looked very sharp. They had more than one goal disallowed and Callum McManaman hit the crossbar and had an effort cleared off the line when the game was still in the balance. Apparently, he and Nouha Dicko looked very dangerous throughout. Dicko is a natural left footer, who has been playing in that N’Zogbia right-wing role. Sounds really promising. Daniel Redmond scored the goal, a screamer from midfield. You can read the match report here.