Tag Archives: wigan athletic

Kvist is back – but for how long?

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

 

His last appearance for Latics had been as a substitute at Derby in late October. Despite that William Kvist made a successful return, playing the full 94 minutes against Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

Why had the Denmark captain been left out in the cold for so long? Can he become a regular component of Malky Mackay’s team?

Kvist is by no means an exciting player to watch. His preferred role is to sit in front of the back four, making tackles and interceptions, using the ball economically. However, given the fragility of the Wigan Athletic defence the shielding that Kvist can provide could be invaluable.

Kvist was signed at the end of the summer transfer window and has now made seven starts for Latics, with three appearances off the bench. Strangely enough until yesterday he had made as many starts for Denmark this season as he had for Latics.

The Dane arrived at Wigan with a reputation for long throw-ins. Uwe Rosler did not utilize that part of his game. However, given Malky Mackay’s focus on set plays we are likely to see him use Kvist in that way, providing he is included in the team. But will Kvist still be at Wigan two weeks from now?

There were rumours that Kvist (and Thomas Rogne) were looking to move in January. Despite the midfield functioning as badly as it has over the past weeks Mackay has stuck with long term injury returnees Chris McCann and Ben Watson. McCann has started in all ten games since Mackay arrived, being substituted only twice in the closing minutes. Although still not back to his form of last season the Irishman has done well to get back his match fitness. Watson too has been an ever-present under Mackay, although his appearance against Birmingham was off the bench. Following two long spells out following leg breaks, Watson has shown his resilience, although the standard of his play has been disappointing. Given such injuries one wonders how comfortable he is coping with the physicality of Championship teams’ midfields.

The departure of Roger Espinoza and the indifferent form of Watson surely precipitated Kvist’s return. However, the conspiracy theorists will say that his reappearance against Blackburn was an effort by Mackay to put him in the shop window, with an imminent departure a possibility. But Kvist has never let Latics down and surely deserves the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular place.

Yesterday also saw the return of the 21 year old Welshman, Emyr Huws. The ankle injury that was hampering his fight for a regular place in the starting lineup under Rosler was to put him out of action for weeks. When fully fit Huws will be a big asset. He is strong, energetic and tough in the tackle. The opposition know his skills are a threat, as indicated by the 29 fouls he has suffered, compared with the 16 he has committed.

Andy Delort continues to bide his time but at least was given more of a chance yesterday, coming on after 72 minutes, rather than the dying moments. Mackay clearly does not rate him, but Delort will want to prove him wrong. Delort’s main problem under Rosler was being played as a lone centre forward, which he is not. However, Mackay has been playing two upfront as of late and if he will give the young Frenchman a run in the team we will finally get to know whether he is capable of becoming a top striker in the Championship.

The futures of such as Kvist and Delort at Wigan are in the balance. It may well depend on which other players are offloaded. So far Espinoza, Oriol Riera and James Tavernier have been offloaded, with Liam Ridgewell coming in on a short term loan.

It looked like Shaun Maloney might go to Leicester, but the Foxes did not offer him the length of contract that he was seeking. The alternative is for him to wait until the end of the season and be in a strong negotiating position as a free agent, with Celtic and Chicago Fire both reportedly interested.

Mackay will be keen to get in funds to help him seek his own transfer preferences. If money does not come in for Maloney the departure of Callum McManaman could be hastened.

The family silver is to be sold and by the end of the season the squad could be stripped bare of quality players. If Latics stay up and Mackay is still here in August we will be seeing a different brand of football, but hopefully one with commitment from the players.

Skill alone does not suffice, particularly in the harsh world of the Championship division.

Playing ugly to stay up

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Reflections and tagged with , , , ,
Liam Ridgewell - Mackay's first signing.

Liam Ridgewell – Mackay’s first signing.

“He is the man to lead us back into the Premier League, I am convinced of that having met him and discussed the demands of the job ahead of him.”

So said Dave Whelan on November 19th when he announced the appointment of Malky Mackay.

Some seven weeks later the chairman’s judgement is looking decidedly suspect. Rather than leading Latics onward and upward the Scot has led them in the opposite direction up to this point in time.

Mackay’s record so far reads W1 D1 L6. Latics are in 23rd place in the Championship and the threat of relegation is growing increasingly real.

However, who is to say that Whelan will not eventually be proved right? Should Latics avoid relegation who knows what will happen next season?

Should Mackay succeed in doing the improbable – taking Latics back to the Premier league – what kind of football can we expect?

Mackay will base his team on solid defence, with goals from set pieces the order of the day. There will be a strong team spirit and they will not be afraid to get a result by playing ugly. The squad will consist largely of players from the British Isles.

Mackay has talked about the margins. In fact, the five league games lost under his charge have all been by a single goal margin. He clearly believes he is close to making the breakthrough.

The Scot inherited a squad at a low ebb in terms of self confidence. He will bring in fresh faces to provide uplift, even if those new players are potentially no better than those he has already had at his disposal.

He has stated his desire to recruit hungry British players. His first signing is Liam Ridgewell, a combative defender with a wealth of Premier League experience. Ridgewell knows what it is like to play ugly from his time at Birmingham where he played in a ruthless defence with Roger Johnson and Scott Dann. However, that defence provided the foundation for them to win the League Cup.

Whether Ridgewell is “hungry” is up to debate. He will only be at Wigan for six weeks but Mackay will hope his presence will bolster a defence that has let in too many “soft” goals.

Reports suggest that Latics have made a £150,000 bid for Dundee United winger Gary Mackay-Steven and that the bid has been rejected by the “Arabs”. The 24 year old is a fine prospect and can play on either wing.

However, there are other clubs interested and Latics will have to up their bid considerably if they are to compete.

Mackay is also reported to be interested in two English centre forwards who have played for a total of 18 different clubs.

Danny Graham is 29 years of age, currently at Sunderland. He has a career record of 102 goals in 346 league appearances, although he has enjoyed most of his success as a goalscorer playing as a twin striker. Graham played well at Watford under Mackay where he scored 38 goals in 91 league appearances. Heioar Helguson and Marvin Sordell were his main striking partners there. If Mackay can secure Graham’s services it will be on loan until the end of the season.

Ishmael Miller is now 27 years old and has had his ups and downs. The 6 ft 3 in Mancunian is now at his seventh club in Blackpool. He has a career record of 33 goals in 173 league games.

Mackay will hope that the comings and goings in the January transfer window will help provide a different dynamic in his squad. Put simply, the players need to shed that losing mentality.

By the end of February we can expect to see the kind of football that Mackay seeks. By then he will have had time to sufficiently bolster team spirit and get the kinds of results that the fans expect.

The style of football is not going to be sexy, but the priority is to get out of that relegation zone and build up a squad good enough to challenge for promotion next year. At this stage things look bleak, but Mackay still has the time to do what is necessary to get Latics back on track.

Andy Delort set to return

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

The news that Andy Delort is scoring goals again is like music to the ears for Wigan Athletic fans. Delort scored two for the development squad against Morecambe last week and followed it up with another at Walsall yesterday. Is Delort at last showing the kinds of skills that we know he has in his repertoire? Can Malky Mackay get the best out of the 23 year old Frenchman?

Delort’s first appearance at the DW Stadium was on August 30. He was about to sign for Latics and was introduced to the crowd before the Birmingham City match. The transfer window was about to close and it looked like Latics had got a bargain on their hands. A goalscoring striker was desperately needed. Delort had scored 24 goals in 36 appearances for FC Tours in Ligue 1 last season.

Because of an international break, Delort had to wait a couple of weeks for his Latics debut. He played the lone centre forward role at Blackburn, which resulted in a 3-1 loss for Latics. Delort was full of effort but looked isolated up front. He started in the next two matches against Huddersfield and Ipswich. Delort was left on the bench for the game at Bournemouth, coming on as a 76th minute substitute. He was restored to the starting lineup against Nottingham Forest on September 30. That was the last time he started for Latics. His record up to this point reads four starts, three appearances off the bench, no goals and one yellow card.

Those games were quite miserable for Delort and he had looked nothing like the player that he had been for FC Tours. He looked out of touch and ill-suited to the lone centre forward role. The lack of service from midfield and lack of support up front did not help.

In those two matches for the development squad, Delort was playing up front, but with Oriel Riera close behind him. It could be a combination that would work for Latics in the Championship. But will Malky Mackay revert from his usual preference of playing a lone central striker to a system that plays two up front?

Last year Delort formed a formidable partnership with the 6 ft Ivorian striker Christian Kouakou. Although Tours were to finish 8th in Ligue 1 they scored 63 goals, second only to promoted FC Caen. Kouakou scored 9 of those in 34 appearances. Caen sold Delort because of financial difficulties and their squad is now the smallest in Ligue 1. Sadly they have dropped into the relegation zone, in 19th place, with only 19 goals scored in 16 games.

Latics made a substantial financial investment in signing Andy Delort. But had Uwe Rosler done his homework? If so he was gambling on a player used to playing in a twin striker system to adapt to playing a lone centre forward role. If it was a gamble then it has not yet paid off. Delort has not looked the same player that he was at Tours last season.

Mackay has made it clear that he will give all the players in his squad the chance to show what they can do.

Delort’s chance might well come on Saturday against Norwich. It would be wise to pair him up with another central striker.

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 , , ,

espinoza

“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.

Like us on Facebook, or follow us on twitter here.