Tag Archives: wigan athletic

A Wolves fan’s view of Nathan Byrne

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with , , , , , , ,
Photo courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Photo courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Wigan Athletic have announced the signing of Nathan Byrne from Wolves for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be in the region of £400,000. The 24 year old usually plays as either a wing back or a winger.

On signing for Latics the 5 ft 10 in tall Byrne commented that “I’m energetic, I want to attack and run at people, provide crosses and have shots but overall I’m about energy and my pace.”

Nathan Byrne was born in St Albans and played for his home town club until joining Tottenham, signing professional forms for them as an 18 year old in June 2010. Byrne never went on to play for Spurs, but was sent on a series of loan moves. In February 2011 he went to Brentford where he was to make 11 appearances. In July 2011 he went to Bournemouth on a season-long loan which was cut short by an ankle injury in September which kept him out until January. Byrne went back to Tottenham in February 2012 after making 9 appearances for the Cherries.

Byrne spent the first half of the 2012-13 season at Crawley Town, making 12 appearances. In March 2013 he went on loan to Swindon for the remainder of the season, making 7 appearances. In summer 2013 he left Tottenham on a free transfer, signing for Swindon.

2014-15 was particularly successful for him, Swindon making the playoffs and Byrne making 43 appearances, scoring 3 goals and making 9 assists over the course of the season. He appeared in the League 1 team of the year. Byrne scored a hat trick against Bradford City in the first league game of the 2015-16 season in early August, but in early September he signed for Wolves for an undisclosed fee. In his time at Swindon he had made 83 league appearances, scoring 10 goals.

Byrne made 24 appearances for Wolves last season, scoring 2 goals.

In order to find out more about his performances at Wolverhampton we contacted Thomas Baugh at the Wolves Blog (http://www.wolvesblog.com).

Here’s over to Thomas:

We only signed Nathan Byrne a year ago (almost exactly) for a decent chunk of money, so in one sense it’s surprising to see him moving on.

But he always struggled to get near the team and when he did make an appearance he was usually back on the sidelines again a week later, leaving many to rightly ask ‘why did we bother getting him in the first place?’.

Kenny Jackett certainly didn’t seem too keen, choosing to ignore him even when we were crying out for width and pace. I suspect his diminutive stature is what ultimately counted against him, as he always seemed a decent player on the rare occasions he was selected.

I remember being particularly impressed in a derby victory at Birmingham last season. He got into pockets of space in between midfield and attack and looked a threat. In sporadic appearances he showed quick feet, a decent (but not lightning) turn of pace and an eye for a goal. He scored a nice one against Leeds last season and hit the bar with a free kick so he has a few tools in his armory.

I suspect in a more free flowing team with good technical players around him (e.g. Jacobs) he could be a good Championship player. He came highly rated from Swindon but we never truly got a decent enough look to make a fair judgment.

Good luck to him. It seems like a good move.

Check out these goals:

Bramble and Burn

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

Dan_Burn

Dan Burn’s inept back pass to his goalkeeper gave Nottingham Forest a flying start at the City Ground. The home team centre forward Britt Assombalomba snuffled it up to give his side an early lead. It was the kind of error a Sunday League defender would be embarrassed by. Soon after the boos started to come from a small section of the away support when Burn touched the ball again. Thank goodness the jeering subsided and it did not rear its ugly head again.

A couple of weeks earlier a Latics fan, who had been to the pre-season games and had made a frustrating journey to watch his team play at Bristol said that Burn was “an accident waiting to happen”. Another went further by saying that he looked like a second Titus Bramble.

But is it fair to compare Burn with Bramble? Was the fan referring to the Titus Bramble who was famous for his high profile errors or the one who was Player of the Season for Steve Bruce’s Latics in the 2008-09 season?

Titus Bramble arrived at Wigan on a free transfer from Newcastle in the summer of 2007. Although he had made over 100 league appearances in his time at the north east club, he had become more well known for his errors than his considerable attributes as a Premier League central defender. Bramble had a superb physique with the requisite skills to be a top class defender. But it was his gaffes that had given him notoriety. Bruce was sticking his neck out by taking in the big Ipswich-born defender, but the manager himself had been a central defender. Could he and his coaching staff help Bramble become a more complete player?

It was not easy for Bruce or Bramble and the player continued to make those same kinds of errors in his early days at Wigan.

But Bruce maintained his belief in the player. The result was Bramble being voted both Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year near the end of the 2008-09 season. Bramble was to spend three years at Wigan, before following Bruce to Sunderland.

Dan Burn’s poorly hit back pass at Nottingham hardly places him in the category of Bramble. But Fulham fans will tell you he was prone to the odd howler and his pre-season performances for Latics were riddled with occasional errors that one would not expect from a player who has made more than 70 appearances in the Championship.

Having a very tall central defender can be a prerequisite for success in the Championship. At 6 ft 6 in Burn can dominate in the air. Tall defenders like Burn are not always strong in their distribution, an important feature in Gary Caldwell’s style of play, but Burn is capable of launching precise passes with a sweet left foot. Moreover he can be effective on the ground in making interceptions and breaking up play.

However, Burn needs to work on his heading of the ball. Being tall is not sufficient. He needs to work on developing more power and control of his headers. His arrival in the opposition penalty area should provoke concern for their defenders, but he remains unconvincing.

More than anything else he needs to work on his concentration.

When Bramble arrived at Wigan he was 24, the same age as Burn. Direct comparisons are futile. Their attributes and experience differ. But there are analogies.

Titus Bramble was a success at Wigan despite his precedents. His manager clearly believed in him and inspired him to give his best.

Like Bruce, Caldwell too is an ex- central defender. Can Caldwell help Burn cut out those errors, those moments of uncertainty which can blight his performances?

Dan Burn and Titus Bramble are different types of player from different eras. Moreover Bramble operated in the Premier League, not the Championship. But some parallels exist. Will Burn become one of the first names on Caldwell’s team sheet as was Bramble in the Bruce era?

Burn has the attributes to become a dominant central defender in the mould of Fulham legend Brede Hangeland. As such he could be invaluable to Latics. Although he can sometimes be uncertain in his play he has not committed the quantities of high profile errors that had plagued his predecessor Bramble’s early career. But can he win over the doubters in the Wigan support as Bramble did?

Caldwell was clearly unhappy with Fulham’s first goal at the weekend. With Jake Buxton’s suspension period over will he recall the ex-Derby player at Burn’s expense for the QPR game coming up on Saturday?

Or will he find a way to include both, giving Burn a vote of confidence?

 

 

A Bournemouth fan’s view of Shaun McDonald

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

 

Wigan Athletic have announced the signing of 28 year old midfielder Shaun McDonald from Bournemouth on a two year contract.

McDonald is a player little known to Latics supporters, but on recruiting him Gary Caldwell said:

“He is a quality addition to the squad. A terrific pro who understands the way we want to play, a skillful midfielder capable of fitting into our system. He is a a great person too, with a great attitude who has gone through a similar experience at Bournemouth to where we are now, a team coming up from League One to the Championship and playing a certain brand of football.

The 6 ft 1 in McDonald was born in Swansea and joined his home town club, making his debut as a 17 year old in August 2005. From 2009 to 2011 he spent no less than 5 loan spells with Yeovil Town, making 61 league starts and scoring 9 goals.

McDonald signed for Bournemouth in August 2011 for a fee of around £125,000. He since made 70 starts, with 31 appearances off the bench, scoring 7 goals. McDonald has four full international caps for Wales.

In order to learn more about McDonald we contacted Steve J, Supreme Overlord at Tales From the South End @tftse www.thesouthend.co.uk

Here’s over to Steve:

Shaun MacDonald signed back in 2011 when AFC Bournemouth were still in League One. Nicknamed the Welsh Zidane Bournemouth fans didn’t know what to expect, but he proved to be a hard-tackling midfielder with a touch of flair. As a defensive midfielder he rarely ventured too far up field so scoring a goal was a rare treat. He got two in first season.

He was an integral part of the Cherries team that got promoted to the Championship, which cemented his place amongst the fans affections. His future was looking bright, he made 25 appearances in 2013/14, but the emergence of Harry Arter and the signing of Andrew Surman saw his chances restricted. He struggled to get in the side but never let down the team when called upon.

At 28, he is coming into his prime and deserves a chance to prove himself with regular first-team football. It’s catch 22 for MacDonald, when he’s not in the first team he is not getting the minutes needed to improve and prove himself.

We at TFTSE thinks if he gets regular football he will prove to be an invaluable part of the Wigan team. Maybe even good enough to play in the Premier League.

Life without Pearce?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Player profiles and tagged with , ,
Photo courtesy of football365.com

Photo courtesy of football365.com

Wigan boss denies defender set for Charlton switch said a headline yesterday. Headlines are meant to draw attention to an article. This one certainly drew mine. But did Gary Caldwell really deny that Jason Pearce might be heading for Charlton?

The Latics manager had said that he had not yet received any offers for the central defender and quoted that that “The arrival of Jake [Buxton] has given me options that I need going forwards. If anything changes, we’ll let you know.”

It could be argued that the headline was misleading, but it has got fans debating as to whether a defender who was pivotal in the League 1 title winning triumph should be allowed to leave. Would Caldwell be willing to lose Pearce? It appears that the door has already been opened, given the absence of a comment from Caldwell saying that the player is staying at the club.

The 28 year old Jason Pearce was signed by Malky Mackay in January 2015. Impressing in a struggling team was never going to be easy, but Pearce held his own and formed a solid partnership with Harry Maguire in the centre of defence. He went on to make 15 appearances from February until the end of the season on May 2.

Then came a massive summer clear out by Caldwell, but Pearce was to become a rock upon which a League 1 title winning team was built. Pearce was to miss the start of the 2015-16 through injury, appearing in his first game in a home match against Crewe at the end of August. He partnered Donervon Daniels and Craig Morgan in a backline of three. Given Caldwell’s predilection to switch between three at the back and an orthodox back four, Pearce had to be flexible in his positioning, but was to be inevitably found on the left side of the central defence.

His wealth of experience in the lower divisions made him invaluable defensively in Caldwell’s set up, particularly when playing in tandem with Morgan. Moreover Pearce had worked on his passing skills out of defence, rarely wasting the ball. Given the player’s willingness to totally commit him to the cause, putting his body on the line so often, it was perhaps inevitable that injuries would result. In fact he went on to make 33 appearances. It was a reflection on the effectiveness of the Pearce-Morgan combination that Latics did not lose a single game when the two appeared together in the starting lineup until the final match of the season against Barnsley.

It could be that injury has once again intervened, preventing Pearce playing in the final two pre-season matches at Oldham and Fleetwood. If that is the case he will be among more than half a dozen of the squad currently suffering from pre-season injuries. However, rumours persist that the player wants to move back down south; moreover that Caldwell has already signed Buxton as his replacement.  Could it be that Caldwell does not see him as effective a player in the Championship as he was in League 1?

Jake Buxton’s arrival appears to be an indicator that Pearce is on his way out of the club. Buxton is a physical, combative player in the mould of Pearce and will fans are hoping he can reproduce the same kind of form at Wigan as he did during his prime at Derby, where he spent seven years, an idol of the fans. It can be seen as an indication of Caldwell’s regard for Buxton that he gave the player a three year contract at the age of 31. Pearce remains only 28. Is there not room in the defence for the two?

Should Pearce move on Caldwell will be left with just one player in his senior squad recruited prior to his appointment as manager.  That is Lee Nicholls, who faces competition from Adam Bogdan, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Dan Lavercombe for the goalkeeping position.

Jason Pearce has earned the respect of Wigan Athletic supporters due to his commitment and willingness to put his body on the line for his team. Whether he will be at Wigan at the start of the 2016-17 season next weekend remains uncertain.

 

 

 

A Dundee United fan’s view of Kyle Knoyle

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

Kyle_Knoyle

The 19 year old Kyle Knoyle has joined Wigan Athletic on loan from West Ham United for the whole of the coming season.Knoyle is a right back, a position which was problematic for Latics last season.

Last summer Caldwell signed Kevin McNaughton on a one year contract and Jonjoe Kenny on a two month loan. Unfortunately things did not work out with McNaughton making only three appearances before picking up an injury that effectively kept him out for the rest of the season. Moreover Kenny was recalled by Everton when his loan spell expired. Donervon Daniels was moved across from the centre of defence and showed promise in the right back position, if not being entirely convincing. Donald Love was brought in from Manchester United for a short term loan, with Reece Wabara being signed as a replacement in January. Wabara’s short term contract terminated in summer and it appears that Latics were not willing to meet his wage expectations for staying.

With Knoyle and Daniels available it could be that Gary Caldwell will not be seeking another right back. The signing of Knoyle could therefore prove crucial.

On signing the Newham-born youngster Caldwell said “Kyle is a young player with potential, one who has been identified as having the qualities we are looking for and was watched last season. We are optimistic he can develop here with us and make a positive contribution to the squad and we’re happy to have him on board.”

The 5 ft 9 in Kyle Knoyle is a product of the West Ham academy with three caps for the England under 18 team. He has made just one appearance for the Hammers’ senior team, playing the full 90 minutes against Astra Girgiu in Romania in the Europa League last August. He was an unused substitute on three occasions last season.

In January Knoyle went on loan to Dundee United, where he was to play alongside Billy Mckay. He made his debut for the Tangerines as an 82nd minute substitute in a 3-0 win at Ross County in late February. He repeated this with a 66th minute substitution against the same side a week later in the Scottish Cup, which United won 3-2. Knoyle had to wait until early April to make his first start in a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone. Despite poor team results in the rest of April and May he was a regular starter. Knoyle made a total of 9 starts for United.

In order to get more information on Knoyle’s time at Tannadice we reached out to the Dundee United fan forum on www.arableague.co.uk.

I hasten to add that United have been referred to as “the Arabs” since the 1962-63 season when the harsh winter led to the cancellation of many matches. However, on one occasion they were due to play at home to Albion Rovers and the club hired a tar burner to melt the snow and ice on the pitch, which they covered with tons and tons of sand. The team played so well on the sandy surface, virtually devoid of grass, that they became known as the Arabs.

The feedback we received through the forum:

Setenza commented that:

He only really started getting a game towards the end of his loan period for us. Once he did, most people wondered why he didn’t start before.

We were a pretty dreadful team last season, playing mostly long ball football, but he did show plenty of willingness to get forward from full back and attack, and in my view was one of our better performers. Worked hard and usually tried the right thing in possession. Defensively, maybe a few more slip ups, but was playing in an awful defence.

Certainly wouldn’t have been unhappy if we’d signed him for another loan spell. Seemed to have the right attitude to be a decent player in time.

Micky added that:

Can’t add anything more than what Set said, seems a good attacking option from full back..

Naebody responded:

For a couple of games, he looked the best player in the worst United team for 50 years. Everything Set says is fair. But it’s impossible to know whether the awful quality of players around him were making him look better or worse.

We also got feedback from the Dundee United Mad forum:

TerryTheTerror commented:

Signed on loan in January then never given a chance in the team. Once he did get that chance he was a fixture and ended up probably being our best and most consistent performer. Fast, athletic, hard in the tackle, and good with the ball. Everything a full back should be.

Weedude83 supported Terry’s comments:

Once our idiotic manager decided to play him, was regularly our best player.

Quick, strong and likes to get forward and help the attack.

Defensively, strong in the tackle, very tenacious and won his share of headers – sometimes caught out of position but that’s to be expected at his age/experience.

Genuinely wish we had him for next season.

Smirky4 was less positive:

I thought he was very average, I think people hyped him up on here and everyone looked at him with rose tinted glasses, often caught out of position, not a flying wing back bombing forward getting crosses in or indeed playing that killer pass…..