Tag Archives: wigan athletic

An enjoyable evening at Firhill – Partick Thistle 1 Wigan Athletic 1

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions and tagged with , , , , , ,
Photo courtesy of Tim Attree.

Photo courtesy of Tim Attree.

What an enjoyable time it was last night at Firhill. The pleasant and friendly atmosphere at the stadium was lifted even further by a bright performance from a young Latics team.  They played not only with organisation and enterprise, but with no mean level of skill.

The last time I went to watch a football match in Glasgow was not long after England had won the World Cup. I had travelled down from Dundee with a couple of friends from university to watch a tense England-Scotland game at Hampden Park. The atmosphere was totally intimidating for an England fan. Being naïve at the time we had not realized that the tickets we had bought were at the Celtic end, where we stood among fans wearing colours of both club and country. We were perhaps wise to keep a low profile as the crowd was to constantly jeer the German referee, Rudolf Kreitlein, whom they thought was allowing England too much leeway. It ended in a 0-0 draw.

Hampden Park was certainly a scary venue to visit at the time for an Englishman living in Scotland. But that was a long time ago, so when one of those same two friends told me a week ago he would join me on a trip to our old haunts in Dundee I suggested we combine it with a trip to Firhill. I had watched Partick Thistle play at Dens Park and Tannadice so many times during my seven years in the port city. They were one of my favourite visiting teams, always seemingly intent on playing good football, easily identified by their distinctive red and yellow shirts.

Firhill is nothing like Hampden. It is a small stadium with a capacity of around 10,000. Thistle have not actually played in Partick since 1908, when they moved to the Firhill Stadium in nearby Maryhill. Being less than half an hour’s walk from Sauchiehull Street it is closer to the city centre than Ibrox or Celtic Park. They are a small club in a big city, living within their means, without inflated ambitions.

Gary Caldwell set up his team in a 3-5-2 formation. Lee Nicholls was in goal. There was a return to the starting lineup for both Leon Barnett and Chris McCann, who lined up in a back three marshaled by the dominating Craig Morgan in the centre. Loan singing Jonjo Kenny played at right wing back with Jordan Flores on the left. The second loanee, Francisco Junior, was to play in front of the back four, with Ryan Jennings and trialist John Lundstram pushed a little further forward in midfield. Billy Mckay and Louis Robles played up front.

With such a mixed lineup it seemed inevitable that Latics would lack some cohesion, but they were well organized and every player seemed to know his role. Both teams were there to try to play good football and it was an open contest. As the game progressed Latics were to gain more cohesion. A slow start had been inevitable.

Junior was a tireless worker in midfield, not only through tackles and interceptions, but also in making himself available to receive the ball from the defenders in tight situations. It is the type of midfield play that was lacking last season. Kenny attacked with gusto and looked a fine player, although at times he left Barnett exposed. Flores worked hard in an unfamiliar role.

Morgan was captain for the night and will clearly be the main pillar upon which the defence will be built this season. McCann played with more enthusiasm than we have seen from him for a long time. Uwe Rosler had used him at times in that role on the left of the backline of three, where his steel in the tackle and cultured distribution come to the fore. On the other side Barnett was strong in the air but looked vulnerable under pressure. Like so many other players at the club, Barnett lost his confidence last season and just did not look like the player he was in 2013-14. On the positive side at least he was given some game time to try to get himself back in shape.

Nicholls was dominant in goal, constantly calling for his defenders to get in position. He had no chance for Steven Lawless’ goal not long after half time, the shot passing through Barnett’s legs, with the keeper unsighted.

Lundstram looked useful in patches, but could not impose himself on the game, being taken off at half time for David Perkins. It was Jennings who was to catch the eye in an unfamiliar central midfield role where he had the licence to run at the opposition defence. He scored a fine goal in the 51st minutes following Thistle’s opener, receiving a layoff from Robles on the edge of the area, his low shot beating the keeper. The 20 year old will surely now be challenging for a regular place in the lineup.

Perkins’ signing was hardly greeted with universal approval by fans, looking like another journeyman was arriving as in the days of Malky Mackay. But what we saw last night was a hard working holding midfielder with a nice touch on the ball, fitting seamlessly into Caldwell’s style of play.

Billy Mckay looked lively, willing to run at the defence, but he let himself down by skewing his shot wide of an open goal from Robles’ cut back. Robles himself was industrious and gave a good account of himself.

The second half saw a slew of substitutions for both sides, but the good football continued with Latics getting on top. Will Grigg had come on for Mckay after 60 minutes and came close twice, one shot being smothered by keeper Cerny, another effort going narrowly wide. With a little more match fitness Grigg will surely convert such chances. It is refreshing to see a Latics striker who knows where to position himself to score goals.  Craig Davies came on in the final quarter and his physical presence complemented the bright and intelligent footwork of Grigg. If both can stay fit they will provide Latics with a real cutting edge.

Max Power had come on after 60 minutes and really looked the part. Power is well built, not easy to knock off the ball, and has the kinds of incisive passing skills that have been lacking at Wigan over the past twelve months. The player is only 21, but having played so many times at senior level for Tranmere, he is not afraid to display his considerable skills. He will surely be the main contender for a more creative, advanced midfield role.

In the end a 1-1 result was probably fair to both teams. It was an entertaining game and although Latics employed 16 players during the course of the proceedings their football was good to watch.

Pre-season friendly matches can so often give a skewed view of what is going to happen when the season proper gets underway. But the dominant performances of senior professionals like Morgan, McCann and Perkins together with the youthful promise of Flores, Jennings and Robles augur well for the future.

One wonders if McCann is now back in the fold, or whether he was put in the shop window in this game. Last season was a nightmare for him, but he showed yesterday that he can still represent Wigan Athletic with application and no mean level of skill.

It is likely to be a very different starting eleven at Dundee on Friday. Last night’s display has certainly whetted one’s whistle for what is to follow.

A Bolton fan’s view of Craig Davies

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

Davies

It was announced today that Wigan Athletic have completed the signing of free agent, Craig Davies, previously of Bolton Wanderers.

The 6 ft 2 in centre forward is 29 years old. He has played for Wales at all age levels, including five caps for the senior squad. Davies started as a youth player at Manchester City before joining Oxford United as an 18 year old. From 2004-06 he was to make 48 appearances, scoring 8 goals, while the club was in League 2.

In January 2006 he signed for Hellas Verona of Serie B for a fee of £85,000. Sadly he could not adapt to the culture change and only made one appearance, returning to England on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship. He was a regular starter for Wolves until they signed Andy Keogh in January 2007. Davies was to leave Wolves at the end of the season, having made 23 appearances, his only goals being one in a 2-2 FA Cup home draw with Oldham, followed by another in the 2-0 replay victory.

Curiously Davies was to join Oldham in the summer of 2007 to play in League 1. After regularly challenging for a first team place in his first season, he went through a 10 game goalless streak at the beginning of 2008-09, leading Oldham to send him out on loan to Stockport County, also in League 1 at the time. He scored 5 goals in 8 appearances before returning to Oldham. He had made 44 appearances for Oldham, scoring 10 goals before being sold to Brighton in January 2009.

Davies could not establish himself with the Seagulls and went on loan periods at Yeovil and Port Vale before joining Chesterfield in the summer of 2011. Davies’ 23 goals in 41 appearances were to help the Spireites win the League 2 title.

Davies was snapped up by Barnsley in the summer of 2012 and went on to make 60 appearances for the Tykes over the next two years, scoring 19 goals. His second season had been hampered by a  hamstring injury. Bolton Wanderers paid £300,000 for his services in January 2013 and Davies went on to make 35 starts for them with 19 appearances off they bench, scoring 10 goals.  He was loaned to Preston in January 2014, where he scored 5 goals from 13 starts and 3 substitute appearances.Last season he struggled once again with his hamstring injury and was not offered a new contract.

In order to learn more about Davies’ time at Bolton we reached out to Chris Mann  of the Burnden Aces fan site http://www.burndenaces.co.uk (Twitter @BurndenAces )

So here’s over to Chris:

Wigan Athletic today completed the free signing of Craig Davies, seven days after his contract at Bolton came to an end.

Davies joined Wanderers in a £300,000 transfer from Barnsley in January 2013 and went on to score a total of 11 goals in 58 appearances for the Trotters, prior to his release.

Whilst those statistics may not look too appetising, it’s worth noting that 31 of those outings were from the substitutes’ bench.

Davies was a hugely popular figure amongst Bolton supporters, with his never-say-die attitude and willingness to put his body on the line earning him many plaudits, although it wasn’t until Neil Lennon’s arrival as manager in October 2014 that we began to see the best of what he had to offer.

All of a sudden, Davies became a focal point of the Bolton attack and was producing arguably the best form of his career – including a Man of the Match display in a 3-1 win over Latics at Macron Stadium.

Then, in a cruel twist of fate, he was struck down by three separate hamstring injuries that restricted him to just three starts after the turn of the year.

The club weighed up whether to offer him a fresh deal, but financial restraints at the present time meant it made little business sense to take a risk on an injury-prone player and Davies was an unfortunate victim of the cost-cutting measures currently in place.

 If he can put his fitness issues behind him, Davies has the ability to be one of the Championship’s top players. However, inconsistent form and the amount of time he spends in the treatment room has stopped him from fulfilling his undoubted potential.

If you can get 20+ games out of him next season, Wigan will have got themselves a good player who is more than capable of scoring the goals to get you out of the division at the first attempt.

With all those aforementioned worries, though, it would be unwise to pin all hopes on him, so I’d be expecting Gary Caldwell to bring in at least one more striker during the summer transfer window.

A Tranmere fan’s view of Max Power

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

It appears that Max Power is to sign for Wigan Athletic over the next few days. Power is a free agent, but Tranmere Rovers will be due to receive compensation from Latics because of his age. He appears to be a fine young prospect and could provide some genuine creative spark in Latics’ midfield.

The 5 ft 11 in tall  Power has made 108 appearances, scoring 12 goals, for Tranmere despite still only being only 21 years old. Born in Birkenhead, Power joined his local team at the age of eight, captaining the team at all playing levels at the club, turning down an offer to play at Liverpool along the way. He was awarded a professional contract at the age of 17, making his first team debut as an 18 year old in August 2011.

Sadly Rovers were relegated in April, after a 94 year stay in the Football League. Power was unfortunate enough to have given away a penalty in the vital last match at Plymouth, which the home side converted. However, he was to make amends by firing home an effort from the edge of the box, although the home team were to eventually triumph by 3-2.

In order to find out more about Power’s  time at Tranmere we got in touch with Deadly Submarine of the Total Tranmere site (total–tranmere.co.uk). Our thanks to him for his insight on this exciting young player.

A youth product at Tranmere and a lifelong supporter of the Club, Max Power, the guy with the most talked about name in football seems to have always suited a role alongside a playmaker type midfielder rather than being the guy to rely on to run a midfield game himself.
 
Capable of some great finishes and with a huge passion for the game (certainly when playing for his boyhood team), Power is a player still learning the game and learning from mistakes – a fact supported by two incidents last year where he tried to be clever and chip in a couple of penalties rather than just hit the target – something he will no doubt learn from.  He also likes to look for a killer ball which is always good to see even if not always executed.

The nicest guy you could ever meet off the pitch (I have had many personal encounters with Max from his youth days right up to his time in the first team), if he carries on where he left off at Rovers, Latics fans will certainly be getting a passionate and committed player who in he right team and with the right players around him would do a job in League One although he may initially be a substitute for Wigan in my opinion.
 
Back-to-back relegations in the last two of his three or so senior seasons is no reflection on Max alone that’s for sure!

Keeping your key asset

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

Emyr Huws

With less than a week to go to the first training session of the new season the summer sell off at Wigan Athletic is starting to gather momentum. Scott Carson has already gone to Derby and it looks like James McClean is off to West Bromwich and Rob Kiernan to Rangers. The latest rumour is that James Perch will be joining McClean and Callum McManaman at West Bromwich.

The demand for ex-Premier League players like Carson, McClean and Perch was always going to be there. They were to be the three most likely to attract transfer income  for the club, as meanwhile it will ease its wage bill by some £20,000 per week or more for each of them. Keeping the three of them would have entailed using up around £3 m of an anticipated wage bill of £8- £10 m.

Behind them in the domestic transfer pecking order come Leon Barnett (29 years old), Don Cowie (32), Chris McCann (27) and Andrew Taylor (28) who have played in the Premier League, but are also experienced Championship division campaigners. Although their potential transfer values may not be high, the club will try to move on most of them, given their Championship-level salaries. Transfer fees will be waived as necessary.

The pairing of Andy Delort and Oriol Riera cost a total of around £5m in transfer fees last year. Sadly Delort was not able to regain his old goalscoring form after rejoining Tours on loan in January. He hit the back of the net only twice in fourteen starts. Reports from the French press suggest that there are Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs interested in him, but it is doubtful whether they would be willing to pay the kind of transfer fee that Latics paid last September. Reports from Spain suggest that Deportivo La Coruna would like to keep Riera, but are unwilling to match the kind of transfer figure that Latics would like.

Latics face a dilemma with the two players. Sell them off for maybe a combined transfer input of  £1m, signifying a £4m loss, or bring them back and have to use up 20% or more of the total wage bill for a squad of around 24 players, on their salaries alone. The option remains of a further loan period for each, relieving wage bill costs, but leaving the door open for the future.

However, media reports suggest that Latics are actively seeking strikers from other English clubs. It therefore looks like they will take the first option and sell the two players off at a significant loss.

All of the players mentioned so far are those for whom salaries are an issue for a club facing a change from a £30m wage bill to one of around a third of that within a year. However, there are also the cases of the younger players such as James Tavernier (23), Martyn Waghorn (25), Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (23), whose salaries will also have to be taken into account, together with the Malky Mackay signings Billy Mckay (26) and Jason Pearce (27), whom one assumes will be staying.

David Sharpe talked some time ago about needing up to fifteen new players. The implication is that the majority of the players signed prior to 2015 will be encouraged to move on.

However, if players are to move on they need a club not only interested in their services, but willing to get close to matching the salaries they have been receiving. In Grant Holt’s case the options seem slim. Ostracised by Uwe Rosler, Holt faded out of the Latics’ scene.  He was sent off on loan to Aston Villa and Huddersfield, where he received an anterior cruciate knee injury that kept him out of action for the second half of last season. Holt is 34 years old and with that ACL injury he is unlikely to attract the interest of clubs who can afford to pay a salary probably well in excess of £20,000 per week.

Critics will say that Owen Coyle should not have been allowed to offer a three year contract with a lucrative salary to a 32 year old. At the time it appeared to be not such a bad bet, getting a player with proven goalscoring pedigree for a relatively low transfer fee. Little did we know that just two years later the club would be in League 1 and the player’s salary would be like a millstone around their necks.

Injuries certainly affect the marketability of a footballer. Holt’s injury while playing on loan at Huddersfield will most likely prove to be the factor that will mean him staying at the club. At 34 and past his best, recovering from injury, but playing in a lower division can he be a key player? Can he win back the fan support that he lost before he was dispatched to Villa Park?  The likely scenario is that Gary Caldwell will have to find ways of motivating a player who has had a difficult time at the club, into being part of a successful set-up.

The injury to Holt did Latics no favours, but the ankle problem that prevented Emyr Huws playing in the second half of last season might well prove to be a blessing in disguise.  The 21 year old Huws was initially signed on loan from Manchester City, but Rosler signed him for a fee in excess of £2m last September. Not long after Huws injured his ankle while playing for Wales and suffered a series of niggles with it that prevented him reaching top form.

However, it was an incident in training in early February that caused Malky Mackay to report that “Emyr’s rolled his ankle badly, we’ve had it looked at and he’s going to need operating on. He’s going to be out for three or four months, and that’s a real disappointment. He came back in for a couple of games, he grabbed his chance and did really well, and it’s a real blow for us and him.”

Mackay clearly rated Huws and the young Welshman was one who avoided the huge January sell-off. Midfield was to prove a problematic area under Mackay and one can only speculate what might have happened had Huws been fit.

Because of his injury Huws might well avoid the cull that will happen in the coming weeks. Big clubs will bide their time and see if he can overcome his injury and realise his full potential. Moreover Caldwell might consider him a key player, well worth paying a salary above the League 1 norm.

Huws showed what a quality player he can be when on loan at Birmingham in 2013-14. He has shown flashes of his quality at Wigan, but niggling injury has held him back. However, he has all the attributes needed to become a top midfield player. He is combative in the tackle, has a cultured left foot, good dribbling skills and the technique to score spectacular goals from distance.

In League 1 Huws is capable of being the kind of imposing midfield player that Latics have lacked since the departures of the Jimmy Macs, McCarthy and McArthur. Moreover in shedding players who have played at higher levels there is a danger of a lack of class in the team. Huws can provide that.

Who knows how many of the players from Coyle and Rosler’s days will be at Wigan come August? So many will be shed because of economic necessity.

But Emyr Huws could prove to be the asset most worth keeping from that 2014 squad.

Only time will tell if Gary Caldwell thinks the same.

Forgetting the past

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Other and tagged with , , ,
Alex Cribley (left) with Dr Mike Ashworth.

Alex Cribley (left) with Dr Mike Ashworth.

“Last season is still a bit of a mystery for me. Having a poor season is one thing, it happens to a lot of teams. But for us to have got relegated was unthinkable. I’ve got my own opinion on what happened, but that’s all history now. We just need to let it go and be ready for the challenge of bouncing back next season.”

The words of Graham Barrow speaking to the Evening Post.

Many of us would be interested in hearing Barrow’s opinion of what happened last season, but he seems unwilling or unable to make it public. Barrow rightly wants to move on and focus on next season. However, despite saying that last season is all history now, he moves on to talking about his role in Latics’ Freight Rover Trophy win thirty years ago.

The Chorley-born Graham Barrow has had a long association with Wigan Athletic. He was the most rugged and determined of midfield players, sometimes used as a centre forward, signed from Altrincham for £10,000 in August 1981. He was to become a key component in Larry Lloyd’s team that won promotion from the fourth tier and made 179 appearances, scoring 35 goals, in his five seasons at Wigan. He was “Man of the Match” in that 3-1 win over Brentford in that Freight Rover Trophy final.

 

 

Barrow moved on to Chester at the age of 32 and suffered five bookings in his first seven games for them. However, he was to make 248 appearances for them, scoring 17 goals. In addition to being captain on the field of play he became assistant manager to Harry McNally, then player/manager from 1992-94. As Latics’ manager in 1994-95 he helped them avoid relegation to the Conference. He was to go on to manage Rochdale, before a short lived return to Chester, subsequently taking the reins at Bury.

Barrow was brought back to Wigan as first team coach by Roberto Martinez in July 2009. On Martinez’ departure in summer 2013 and the arrival of Owen Coyle his future seemed in the balance. New managers tend to bring in their own right hand men, but although Sandy Stewart came in as Coyle’s assistant, Barrow continued as coach. He was to become assistant manager under Uwe Rosler, keeping the position under Malky Mackay and Gary Caldwell who were to follow.

Alex Cribley played in the same Larry Lloyd team and that Wembley final against Brentford. In fact he made 328 appearances for Latics over eight years. Cribley had been signed on a free transfer from Liverpool by Ian McNeill in November 1980 and his versatility made him a key player. His best position was probably in the centre of defence, but he was a solid right back and could lend a hand in a midfield holding role. Cribley went on to become club physiotherapist, being connected with the club for 35 years.

Cribley is perhaps one of the more unsung of Latics icons. However, when Mike Ashworth retired as club doctor in April after 33 years of service he spoke of his colleague:

“One thing I will miss more than anything is Alex Cribley. He was there as a player when I started so he’s been there longer than me, then he became a physio. He’s been a fantastic friend, a fantastic support, a proper professional and Wigan Athletic has been very lucky to have him over the years. I’m going to miss that day to day contact with Alex but I’ll keep in touch, I’ll still go to the games and hopefully get a season ticket now and go back to where I started.”

A couple of weeks ago a rumour went around the social media and message boards that Cribley had left the club. Soon after the kit manager, Dave Mitten, tweeted that he had been made redundant. Ironically Mitten still appears on the Who’s Who on the official club site, but Cribley has disappeared.

Given a drop of two divisions in a space of years and an almost 80% potential dip in revenue compared with the life at the top, Wigan Athletic have to cut their coats according to their cloth. It entails not only a mind shift  in terms of the kinds of players they will look to acquire, but also a fundamental restructuring of the auxiliary and administrative staff  at the club.

Put simply Latics cannot continue with a Premier League infrastructure in League 1. It inevitably suggests a huge cut in the total costs of players’ wages, but also a general downsizing within the organisation.

There are fans who will question the outgoings over the next couple of months, not only players but support staff. The club will look at getting the best possible infrastructure in place, within its new financial situation, for the start of the 2015-16 season. It is going to be a painful time for so many within the club, as redundancies will be announced.

David Sharpe is in an unenviable position in having to oversee the culls. He currently has the support of the majority of fans, despite the poorly handled departure of Emmerson Boyce. There are fans who will question the exit of such as the kit manager, citing that what he was earning was a pittance in comparison with what a player would earn. Those questions will continue as the downsizing continues.

However, past commitments and service to the club should at least be acknowledged, if not celebrated. Boyce spent nine years at Latics in their heyday and deserved more thanks than he got from a club that has not been strong in the human resource management aspect. It is sadly the norm in football clubs across the country, Latics probably being no better or worse than most.

Football clubs need to look forward to the future, but at least recognise people who have put in so much in the past.

We await news from the club on Alex Cribley.