Tag Archives: wigan athletic

Maloney can do it for Scotland, but will he do it for Latics?

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

 

What a delight it was for a Latics fan to watch Shaun Maloney curl in that beauty for Scotland on Friday. It was reminiscent of the gem he scored in that 1-0 win for Latics against Manchester United in April 2012.

A lot has happened since that memorable first win over the Red Devils. Maloney was the creative force behind that incredible revival that saw Wigan Athletic not only beat United, but also win away at Liverpool and Arsenal. They were heady days for Latics and for Maloney.

It was only in the second half of that 2011-12 season that Maloney established himself in the team lineup. In the 2012-13 season, which ended in relegation from the Premier League, he made 41 appearances, scoring 7 goals. Sadly since then, following a long layoff through injury, he has not been an automatic choice in the team, even when fit.

Maloney’s performances for Latics this season have been intermittent and patchy. He was not fit at the start of the season and has not commanded a regular place in the Wigan Athletic lineup. This is in contrast with his position in the Scotland squad where he has been a first choice under Gordon Strachan.

Maloney made his debut for his country in 2005 and has since made 36 appearances, with 4 goals. His recent performances have been excellent, as he has fitted perfectly into Gordon Strachan’s tactical system. He scored a very well taken goal in the enthralling 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw and it was his deflected shot that won the previous game at home to Georgia. The gate at Celtic Park for the Ireland match was the highest for Scotland for 25 years, an indication of how much Strachan has lifted the Scots. After years of mediocrity Scotland are regaining respect on the international scene. Strachan’s positive tactical approach is to be commended and Maloney plays a key role in his team.

Maloney is in the final year of his contract at Wigan. He remains a fan favourite, although not always one of the manager. It has been rumoured that he did not see eye to eye with Uwe Rosler or Owen Coyle. Hopes were high when he returned from injury near the end of last season. He could have provided the magic to lift Latics through the playoffs, but maybe it was expecting too much after his recovery from hip surgery.

Seeing Maloney for Scotland the other night, he looked as fit as he ever has been for Latics.

Is Maloney more interested in shining for his country than his club? Is he prepared to deal with the physicality of the Championship division? Is he going to be supportive of a new manager at Wigan?

Will a change of manager at Latics inspire Maloney to show the kind of ability that will unlock defences in the Championship? One hopes that will be the case, with a player that has so much to offer.

The alternative could be his departure in January. Let’s hope that will not be the case.

Espinoza return will energize a problematic midfield

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

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“Roger has trained very well for the last couple of weeks, he is in good spirits and he will be in the squad.”

Does that statement suggest that Uwe Rosler has welcomed Roger Espinoza back into the fold? The American/Honduran has played only 12 minutes of Championship football this season, coming after 78 minutes at Charlton. That was more than two months ago.

Curiously another statement from Rosler about Espinoza preceded the above in the media. In an interview with the BBC Rosler is quoted as saying that “Roger came twice to me and wanted to leave the club. He wanted to go back to Kansas. I think after he came back after the World Cup he struggled to find an appetite for football. His family is in the States, it was very difficult. “

There had been rumours in the press about Espinoza going back to Kansas City, but is this the real reason why he has been given so little playing time, first by Coyle, then by Rosler? Admittedly he did undergo a hernia operation early this year, but he recovered quickly and was soon back in training.

Was Espinoza snubbed for so long because he did not perform well enough in training or was it that he was missing his family? Given the way Espinoza plays could he truly have lost his appetite for football or has he been disillusioned by the lack of opportunity given him by Rosler?

If anything has been Latics’ weak point this season it is the midfield. They have collectively struggled to do their job – to protect their defence and provide service to the forwards. There have been so many occasions this season when the midfield has needed an injection of energy and passion. That is something Espinoza has always had in abundance.

Apart from the return of Espinoza to the squad – and hopefully a place in the starting lineup – the other good news this week is of the returns of Chris McCann and Ben Watson from injury. However, following a broken knee cap and a double fracture of the leg respectively, neither player is likely to be match fit for some time. Sometimes an under pressure manager can bring key players back too soon after injury. Let’s hope that it will not be the case with McCann and Watson. Around the Christmas period would seem to be a realistic time frame for their return to first team action, following games for the development squad.

For the moment, Rosler has injury problems to deal with. It could be for that very reason that he is bringing Espinoza back into the match day squad.

Let’s hope that is not the case and that the German is going to give Espinoza a genuine chance, through a run of games in the team.

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Maloney back in the limelight – but can it last?

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

MaloneytScotland

Shaun Maloney has had a pretty miserable time over the past twelve months, but he can still hit the headlines. He was already being quoted about the resurgence of Gordon Strachan’s Scotland side before his deflected shot sealed a 1-0 victory for them over Georgia in midweek. Now he is in the limelight once more, quote after quote from him appearing in the media.

Through his ten years of service at Celtic and an international career that started in October 2005, Maloney is well known to Scottish journalists. Moreover in a sport where its professionals are hardly known for their eloquence, he comes over as intelligent and thoughtful in his comments.

Just a couple of years ago Latics had three players regularly making appearances for Scotland. Gary Caldwell was captain for both club and country, Maloney featured regularly and James McArthur was staking a case for a midfield holding position. Since then McArthur has left for Crystal Palace and both Caldwell and Maloney have had major injury problems. Given that Maloney had started in only two matches for Wigan Athletic this season, Strachan clearly has belief in the player to pitch him into a European Championship qualifier.

Injury has been a constant companion to Maloney throughout his football career. For Celtic from 2008-2011 he made only 38 starts in three seasons. He arrived at Wigan from the Glasgow club in August 2011 for a fee of £850,000. He struggled for fitness in the first half of the 2011-12 season, making just three substitute appearances. In early March 2012 he made his Premier League debut for Latics, setting up an equaliser for Victor Moses at Norwich and making a very positive impression.

He was to go on to become a regular starter and a key player in Latics’ miraculous escape from relegation. Maloney’s first goal for Wigan was a penalty in the memorable 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. His great goal against Manchester United in early April secured a 1-0 win and moved Latics out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. He went on to score another beauty in the 4-0 demolition of Newcastle just over two weeks later.

Maloney was to steer clear of injury in the 2012-13 season when he scored 6 goals in 34 starts and 2 substitute appearances in the Premier League. He scored a memorable opening goal in the FA Cup semi final against Millwall, but Maloney will probably be remember best of all by Latics fans for the corner kick that he launched on to Ben Watson’s head for the Cup Final winner.

However, injury was to strike Maloney again only a few months later. After scoring three goals in 6 early appearances in the Championship under Owen Coyle, Maloney was out of action for five months after requiring hip surgery. His last match had been in the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City, where he was substituted after 63 minutes on September 14th. He returned on April 1st in the 2-2 home draw against the same opponents. Maloney was to go on to make ten more appearances, including the FA Cup semi final against Arsenal and the two playoff games against Queens Park Rangers.

Maloney’s return had given fans the hope that he could produce some of his magic to help Latics secure promotion, but it was not to be. He just could not hit his best form after so long a layoff though injury.

Sadly injury has continued to dog Maloney. He was unable to take part in the pre-season warmup games, but has since started in two league games, coming off the bench in five.

A fully fit Shaun Maloney could help kick start Wigan Athletic’s stuttering season. Playiing on the right of midfield for Scotland against Georgia on Saturday, he looked much more like the player who was key during the more halcyon days of Roberto Martinez at Wigan.

The question is whether Maloney can maintain his fitness, steering clear of injury. Latics supporters will be praying that this will be the case.

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Adam Forshaw: League 1 Player of the Year [video]

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

The saga involving the Adam Forshaw transfer has, to some degree, obscured the signing of a very talented player.

Forshaw could well produce the inspirational moments that will help Latics get back to the Premier League. In March he was voted League 1 Player of the Year by the managers of each club in the division.

The video below is kindly shared with us by a talented and true Latic fanatic through YouTube and captures some of Forshaw’s best moments last season:

 

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A Manchester City fan’s view of Emyr Huws

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

huws-emyr-wigan_3198769
Monday was an uplifting day for Wigan Athletic supporters. The signings of Adam Forshaw and Andy Delort were confirmed and there was the surprise signing of William Kvist from Stuttgart. But the icing on the cake was surely the capture of Emyr Huws on a permanent contract.

Huws is only 20 years old, has a superb technique and is tenacious in the tackle. Born in the rugby hotbed of Llanelli he joined Swansea City as a teenager, moving to Manchester City in 2009. Huws was to become captain of the club’s under 21 side. He joined Northampton Town in October 2012 on a three month loan, with ten appearances, making a positive impression. He made his debut for City in January 2014 as a substitute in an FA Cup match at Blackburn. A couple of weeks later he joined Birmingham City on a one month loan. Being Birmingham’s player of the month in February, his loan was extended until the end of the season.He proved to be an excellent loan signing for the Blues and his spectacular goals against Burnley  and  Middlesbrough brought him public acclaim.

Huws could prove to be Rosler’s best ever signing. He has everything it takes to become a success, not only in the Championship, but in the Premier League. He has already made two appearances for Wales and will surely make many more in the future.

In order to get a Manchester City fan view on Huws’ transfer we reached out to BlueWolf (@BlueWolf1894) . He is a co-owner of mcfcforum.com and wrote for MCFC’s website throughout last season.

Let’s pass over to BlueWolf:

And so, once more, another Manchester City hopeful moves on to a different club; this time around it’s Emyr Huws to Wigan Athetic for around £3m.

 Five years he had been with us after moving from Swansea City at the age of 15 and much praise was heaped upon him, even Captaining the U21 side. But, in fairness, he had always been on the fringe of appearing for the 1st team squad with a number of loan moves in the last couple of years, which in all likelihood was hampering his progression with us.

 The thing is, us City fans are desperate for someone to permanently break through; we have this wonderful Academy set-up (with the brand new facilities opening up its doors in a few weeks), yet everyone who goes through it seems to end up playing for someone else. Sure it brings in some extra money but everyone loves a true homegrown player taking to the field brought up in the club’s own image. The last one of real note was Michael Johnson, and that didn’t exactly end well, did it?

 That’s not to say it won’t happen, because it will, we’re just getting a little impatient. Over to you Iheanacho, Lopes, Rekik, et al.

 So what are the Latics getting for their money? A good and solid holding midfielder, who has impressed everywhere he has been at; obviously Rosler saw enough to give him a 4 year contract. Of course at the age of 20, he still has a lot to learn, but he has a decent head on his shoulders, and as long as he keeps it there he should do wonders for you guys.

 The reported £3m or so has surprised a few Latics fans, not least because it’s about £3m more than they thought would be spent after splashing out on Kvist, Forshaw and Delort, but I suppose the £7m for McArthur helped out a little.

 Rosler said, “Emyr has impressed everyone since arriving at the club and we feel that he can have a major role to play in the future of the club. Everybody can see what a very talented player Emyr is, and from the first training session with us leading through to the games he has played, he has been very good.

 At just 20 years old he is already with the full Welsh national team and the chance to sign him on a long-term contract was too good an opportunity to turn down.”

 It’s just a pity, City didn’t think the same.

 

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