Tag Archives: wigan

Five things the new man must get right

Posted by Ned in Other, Reflections and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

2013-who

It has been a whirlwind couple of days since the news broke that Dave Whelan had sacked Owen Coyle (sort of), and the rumour mill has been churning out names ever since.

Football certainly has both a sense of timing and humour, after the eventful week that led to Coyle losing his job also saw Rene Meluensteen accept the Fulham position and Steve McClaren supply the damage that ultimately sealed the former Bolton and Burnley manager’s fate.

There have been murmurs that Whelan regrets the short-term mentality of his latest appointment, after witnessing how little time it took Coyle to dismantle the three years of club ethos-building groundwork of his predecessor. One newspaper stretched this rumour to suggest he is specifically looking for his “next Roberto Martinez” — a young and ambitious manager with a long-term view and a twinkle in his eye. What seems more likely is the appointment of someone who, regardless of age, is thinking not just of how to get Wigan out of the Championship, but stay out of the Championship. The popular favourite at the moment is Mike Phelan — more on that here.

In the meantime, our top five recommendations for the new man:

1) No need for a revolution

Coyle could be forgiven for feeling that he was inheriting a disjointed squad after the relegation-fueled exodus at the end of last season. He acted swiftly and admirably to bring in a number of new faces, most of whom on paper, were excellent Championship signings. But it was a huge mistake to try and re-invent the club’s ethos and actively reject the work Martinez had done before him. Even if he felt the tikki-takka stuff wasn’t for him, there was simply not enough time to completely transform the way the team played, gel new signings, and obtain results. In Jordi Gomez, Ben Watson, James McArthur, Emmerson Boyce, Roger Espinoza, Callum McManaman, Jean Beausejour, and Sean Maloney before his injury, he had a set of players who performed key roles in an FA Cup winning squad. He also had Gary Caldwell, Ivan Ramis and Ali Al-Habsi to return from injury, and settled young talents Frazer Fyvie and Nouha Dicko ready to push for first team football. In the end, he rotated the squad so much that the established players at the club who knew each other and had chemistry on the pitch, were rarely in the lineup together.

If there is a concrete lesson for the new man in charge, it is to embrace the strengths the club already possesses and tweak rather than rebuild. Swansea is fantastic example when it comes to such smooth transitions, from Martinez to Paulo Sousa, to Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup.

2) Get the fans back onside

Injuries or not, one got the sense that fan favourites such as Ali Al-Habsi and Sean Maloney were on their way out of the club. Add to this the limited playing time afforded to Roger Espinoza, despite repeated clamouring from the crowd to see him, and it was clear he was losing the supporters.

It would be a very good move to publicly talk up the returns of Al-Habsi and Maloney, give Espinoza a chance, and focus on getting the best out of the club’s established players such as Emmerson Boyce, James McArthur, Ben Watson, Jean Beausejour and the returning Ivan Ramis, who himself was gaining something of a cult following before that terrible knee injury at Fulham last January.

It would also be wise to praise the work of his predecessors. Coyle deserves immense credit for his work assembling a strong squad of players in a short period of time. Even more important, however, is public acknowledgement of what Martinez did, not only delivered the club’s greatest achievement, but investing hugely in the club’s long-term future. It is difficult to replace an icon, but acknowledging his work puts everyone on the same side.

3) Get the best out of Grant Holt

He was the marquee summer signing — the proven goalscorer at this, and just about every other level in English football — but it all seems to have gone wrong. An instinctive finish against Barnsley on day one promised great things, and he’s shown flashes of talent (his setup play for Marc-Antoine Fortune’s winner at Yeovil stands out), but it’s largely been frustrating for the big centre-forward, and in recent weeks, Wigan Athletic supporters. His confidence is clearly low, and he doesn’t appear fully fit after being rushed back from a knee injury several games back, but the biggest problem was tactical.

A striker who scores the vast majority of his goals from crosses was all too frequently playing with the wrong supporting cast. Beausejour — the finest crosser of the ball at the club — was rarely in the lineup at the same time. His starts seemed to coincide with matches in which Latics failed to control possession of the ball, limiting him to counter attacks for which his talents were ill-suited.

With the less-than-prolific Fortune and young, unproven Will Keane the other options in the striking department, it is clear that the new manager needs to get the best out of Holt if Wigan are to stand a chance of being promoted this season. That means providing service.

4) Fill the gaps

The other option, of course, is to spend time and money on another proven striker.

And a left-back, assuming Juan Carlos Garcia needs more time to adapt and Stephen Crainey doesn’t dramatically improve under new leadership.

If Graham Barrow’s 3-5-2 formation in yesterday’s loss against Leeds was anything to go by, neither is deemed one of the club’s best XI. If the new manager goes the same route, a backup for Boyce on the right flank will be a priority.

5) Improve away form

Another loss, this time to Leeds, means Latics have now lost five out of eight away games — the same number as Yeovil and more than Sheffield Wednesday, both in relegation places. Only Barnsley, bottom of the league, have lost more.

Think we missed one? Please leave us a comment below.

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Wigan Athletic 1 SV Zulte Waregem 2 – late stunner downs brave Latics

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, Other and tagged with , , , , , ,
Leon Barnett celebrates his goal

Leon Barnett celebrates his goal

A superb 88th minute shot from Bernard Malanda broke Wigan hearts .

It had been a rollercoaster evening for Latics – who had blown hot and cold – but the game looked to be heading for a draw until the 19 year old Malanda struck.

Wigan knew they were going to be in for a tough match, given the Belgian team’s recent form.  The stark fact was that a team standing mid-table in the second tier of English football needed to beat a team currently second in the Belgian Jupiler League.

But then again Latics fans have become accustomed to giant killing, so maybe in some cases it was taken for granted that Wigan would win.

However, Latics started well.  Owen Coyle had put out a well-balanced starting lineup, omitting his two out-of-form central strikers and playing Nick Powell upfront. Callum McMananan and James McClean were on the wings and Jordi Gomez in his natural advanced midfield role.

The four were to link up very well at times in the first half, showing the kind of movement and mutual understanding that had been sadly lacking for big chunks of the Brighton game.

Coyle had brought back the tall Thomas Rogne at centre back who was to dominate the aerial game in defence. Stephen Crainey was brought in at left back and offered good support to McClean on the left, even getting to the byline himself to put over useful crosses.

Surprisingly for the neutral, Roger Espinoza was once again left on the bench for Chris McCann to continue in midfield, this time paired with James McArthur.

In the opening minutes Wigan’s wingers were looking lively and there was much more chemistry in the attack than we have seen for months. It was therefore no surprise when McManaman made a great run to the byline in the 7th minute to pull back for Gomez who fluffed his shot, but Leon Barnett stepped in and volleyed home with aplomb.

Latics continued to use the wings, with Gomez and Powell the catalysts in the middle.

But the Belgian team gradually clawed back control. They  had not seriously troubled the Latics defence until a  37th minute breakaway saw the excellent Thorgen Hazard hit a shot from the right that Lee Nicholls made a complete hash of, pushing the ball into his own net.

Coyle made no changes at half time. Gomez had a bad start to the second half, with poor deliveries from set pieces followed by the crowd voicing their frustration with him after being caught unawares as an opponent robbed him of the ball.  He was to be substituted after 64 minutes for Marc-Antoine Fortune.

Nicholls’ error had proved the turning point. Latics confidence had visibly wilted and it was an uphill battle from then on. However, they hung in there and gradually clawed their way back into the match. There were times when Latics looked thoroughly abject, but they showed resolve.

In the end Latics had held their own against a strong side. They had played good football at times and created more chances than the visitors.

The result was a huge disappointment after hopes had been so high.

However, against technically superior opposition Latics had done enough to win.  The margin proved to be due to a goalkeeping error and a spectacular finish that would have been good enough to decide the result of any match.

The Good

Coyle made a bold move by leaving out both of his experienced central strikers, putting Powell up front. The young player was excellent in the centre forward role, linking up well with the wingers and Gomez.  It was hard to understand why later in the game, Powell – who was the main threat to the Belgian team’s defence – was pushed out to the right wing.

It was refreshing to see the wing play of both McManaman and McClean in the first half. Both played with energy and commitment and no mean level of skill. Crainey at left back also gave support to the attack in a much improved performance by him.

If it had not been for the error after 37 minutes who knows what might have happened? Latics had been playing well and Coyle’s tactical plan seemed to be working. The movement that had been sadly lacking in the Brighton match was plain to see in that first half.

The Bad

There was a moment in the second half when Nicholls had the ball and there were at least seven Latics players static not far outside their own penalty area. It was a manifestation of how tired and dispirited Latics had looked at times.

Questions remain as to the level of fitness of the players. So often this season we have seen severe dips in their athletic performance during a match. Critics would say that this was something that occurred to Coyle’s teams at Bolton and that he is too easy on players during training. Others would criticize the conditioning staff.

In this case it might well have been mental rather than physical. That first goal had an enormous impact on the morale of a team that is brittle in terms of self-confidence. Despite Coyle’s utterings that morale is good it does not manifest itself on the field of play.

Once again the midfield was looking one-paced and sluggish in the second half, crying out for an injection of pace and energy. The player who could have provided that – Roger Espinoza – was left on the bench until the 83rd minute.

This is not to suggest that Espinoza is a better player than McArthur and McCann, but the blend was wrong. It was a similar situation to the Brighton game when the pairing of McCann and Ben Watson had looked one-paced.

Once again the defence was unable to pass the ball effectively.

According to Squawka  “A no-nonsense attitude at the back for Wigan also gave rise to 50 clearances, something which allowed Zulte to rather consistently regain possession in order to launch new attacks, and at two crucial moments in the last few minutes of each half the Wigan defence was caught.”

When the centre backs get the ball they will play it across to each other or the full backs. More often than not it is returned to them and they either hoof the ball forward or pass it back to the goalkeeper for a long clearance. Nine times out of ten the end result is the other team getting possession.

Player Ratings

Lee Nicholls: 5 – a learning experience for the young player.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – solid, but just not the player at full back that he was at wing back under Martinez.

Leon Barnett: 6 – took his goal really well and was solid in defence. Poor in his distribution.

Thomas Rogne: 6 – ruled the air in the centre of defence. What a pity such a potentially good young player has not been coached into using the ball more effectively.

Stephen Crainey: 6 – a much improved performance. Made some good overlapping runs.

James McArthur: 6 – although he played with his usual commitment and got through a lot of work he seems a pale shadow of his former self. Some might say he misses his old partner, James McCarthy, but Coyle just does not seem to be getting the best out of this Latics stalwart.

Chris McCann: 6 – once again did a lot of work behind the scenes, supporting the defence.

Jordi Gomez: 6 – although he made mistakes at times he was a key link player in the first half. Taking him off after the crowd got on his case is not going to help the player’s level of confidence. He needed a better level of support from a manager who had put him in the starting lineup.

Callum McManaman: 6 – looked like his old self in the first half but looked tired and dispirited in the second. Taken off after 83 minutes.

Nick Powell: 8 – looked the part as the centre forward, full of endeavour and showed his skill.

James McClean: 7 – the best game I have seen him play for Latics. Full of drive and energy and showed a level of skill that we have not seen before.

Substitutes

Marc-Antoine Fortune: – came on after 64 minutes. Poor.

Roger Espinoza: – clearly not one of Coyle’s  favourite players, being brought on after 83 minutes.

Grant Holt: – brought on for the long balls in the 90th minute.

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Zulte Waregem Preview – Coyle Needs a Win

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

Tomorrow’s home tie with Zulte Waregem is an historic occasion.

A win for Wigan Athletic will put them into the round of 32 of the Europa League, providing Rubin Kazan do their duty by dispatching Maribor.

But a failure to win would put mounting pressure on manager Owen Coyle.

It is not the best time to play Zulte Waregem.

Despite their indifferent form in the Europa League they have moved up to second place in the Belgian Jupiler League, losing only one game in the sixteen they have played. They are unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions.

The storm clouds were gathering at the DW Stadium on Saturday when Latics lost their unbeaten home record to Brighton.

It was a particularly frustrating afternoon, Grant Holt’s miss being the straw that broke the camel’s back for many fans. The marquee signing just was not able to put away a one-on-one chance against the keeper in the 71st minute.

The fact that Brighton broke away to the other end and scored within a minute was hard to bear, particularly as the Wigan defence casually watched as Lee Crofts headed in. That Holt was not able to put away a header from an excellent James McClean cross in the 90th minute merely rubbed it in.

Holt’s miss was not the worst we have seen this season. It was through his own efforts that he got the goal scoring opportunity, dispossessing Brighton defender Greer and getting himself into exactly the right position to score.

Holt’s second opportunity was a rarity – a cross from the wing that reached him and gave him at least an even chance to score. Latics wingers just have not done that enough this season. Holt may look clumsy and slow at times, but where has his service been?

It was refreshing to see Latics playing some good football in the first half, with their movement causing Brighton problems. It was that final touch that eluded them.

The further it went into the second half that movement got less and less.  Latics started to revert to that ‘Coylesque’ approach – hopeful long balls from defence, with Holt being expected to outjump the two central defenders each of whom was taller than him.

What happened to the approach of crossing from the flanks?

There were more than just murmurings of “Coyle Out!” this time around. The Latics faithful have been more than patient, realising that Coyle had a hill to climb in rebuilding a squad that had been decimated at the end of least season. In that respect he has surpassed expectations.

It is the poor quality of football the team has produced and Coyle’s perceived loyalty to players he has brought in that has made many supporters’ blood boil. Most supporters will even tolerate a less attractive style of play providing it brings results. An early exit from the Europa League would not go down well with them.

Once again Coyle has the opportunity to shuffle his pack. Saturday’s line up is probably his first choice, but with the strong squad he has built he has players on the bench who are more than adequate replacements. But then again, on Saturday the players looked like strangers to each other at times, so bringing in another set is hardly going to help the “chemistry”.

Jean Beausejour,  Stephen Crainey, Jordi Gomez,  James McArthur and Thomas Rogne are due to come back into the rotation. Given the indifferent form of both of his experienced central strikers against Brighton, Coyle might be tempted to start with Nick Powell at centre forward. 

Wins at Wigan and at home to Rubin Kazan will put Zulte Waregem through to the next round. Latics can therefore expect a very difficult game tomorrow night.

Much will depend on Coyle’s tactics. One hopes we will not see the woeful stuff that was served up in Kazan.

Latics fans deserve better than Route One football.

There is enough talent in this Wigan Athletic side to overcome the Belgian visitors.

Let’s hope Coyle gets it right.

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Wigan Athletic 0 Brighton 1 – insipid Latics go down

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports and tagged with , , , ,
crofts

Crofts beats Watson and Shotton to head Brighton’s goal
Thanks to Daily Express for photo

A lacklustre display from Wigan Athletic saw them lose their unbeaten home record. Over the past weeks performances like this have been largely excused by the tiredness factor, having had to play too many games in a short period of time. After a two week pause for the international break such excuses cannot apply.

In the 71st minute of a closely matched contest Grant Holt dispossessed Brighton defender Gordon Greer and got into a one on one with goalkeeper Tomas Kuszczak.  A goal looked certain. However, the big centre forward put the ball wide.

Within a minute Brighton’s movement once again troubled a disorientated Latics defence. Lee Nicholls made a fantastic save from Jake Forster-Caskey’s header, but the 5’9” Andrew Crofts got in there before  Ben Watson and Ryan Shotton to head home the rebound.

Owen Coyle had put out the same starting lineup that won the previous league match at Yeovil.

Latics started the game positively, playing the ball patiently through midfield. They went close several times but the finishing was not accurate enough to seriously trouble Kuszczak.

Brighton right back Bruno Saltor came close for Brighton with a volley in the 8th minute which was well saved by Nicholls. The same player was booked after 27 minutes for pulling down Nick Powell and soon after committed a foul against Callum McManaman. It looked like Bruno was treading on thin ice.

Brighton came out more boldly in the second half with their movement causing problems for a static and ponderous Latics defence. Ashley Barnes’ cross found the head of the unmarked Forster-Caskey who somehow managed to head the ball straight at Nicholls. The previously subdued McManaman put in a powerful long range shot in the 52nd minute, which was well saved by Kuszczak.

The giant Rohan Ince started to boss the midfield, Barnes was giving Shotton a hard time and left winger Craig Conway started to look dangerous.

After 60 minutes Coyle took off an ineffective Marc-Antoine Fortune to bring on Grant Holt, who soon got himself in trouble with referee, Iain Williamson. James McClean came on for Marc Albrighton five minutes later. Soon after Holt earned himself a yellow card after backing under Ince for a high ball, the Brighton midfielder being fortunate to avoid injury as he hit the ground.  Once Holt had come on Latics had started to use more of the long ball.

Following Brighton’s goal Latics look shell-shocked and clueless. Conway almost added a second a few minutes later with a powerful right foot shot that Nicholls parried away superbly.

The crowd started to get restless and seeing Latics players arguing with each other on the field did not help. Jordi Gomez was brought on for McManaman after 76 minutes, with Nick Powell being pushed towards the right.

James McClean tried hard to attack the vulnerable Bruno and to inject some life into Wigan.  The Irishman put in a good cross in the 90th minute but Holt’s header was saved by Kuszczak.

It just was not Holt’s day.

In the end Latics were beaten by a better team on the day. Brighton had 56% of the possession and had played the better football. Latics committed 22 fouls, way above their normal level.

The Good

Coyle had put out a team that had an attacking look about it, with two wide players and two strikers. They played some good football in the first half and were only let down by their wayward finishing.

James McClean gave probably his best performance to date, running at the defence, but more importantly managing to deliver dangerous centres. So often since his arrival the player had flattered to deceive, running up blind alleys and not getting the ball across. If McClean can play like this on a regular basis he will be a threat to any opposition.

The Bad

Not long after the kickoff  a fan sat next to me opined that Latics had played better football in the Northern Premier League than most of what he has seen this season.

Early in the second half he said that it looked like Latics were playing a training match.

He had a point. They were insipid, short of flair, short of ideas. The long ball game had started once Holt had entered the fray and the level of football was dropping by the minute.

The job of a football manager is to make the whole add up to at least the sum of its parts. This is not happening at Wigan.

With one of the best squads in the division Latics look no better than a mid-table team. The chemistry that is missing. This group of players play like they are strangers to each other on the pitch.

In the second half Coyle had the opportunity to energize a central midfield which looked one-paced and sluggish, with quality players on the bench ready to come on and add much needed energy.

In the event he brought on the hapless Holt who is sadly becoming the butt of the crowd’s frustration. Coyle did bring a midfield player on, but it happened to be the one-paced Gomez, who ended up playing too far forward to be effective. Bringing on Gomez to provide constructive passes from midfield is one thing, but he is never a central striker and is not good at leaping for high balls.

It was worrying to see Latics’ central defence once more struggle to cope with the opposition’s movement, like they had in the home game against Rubin. Barnett and Shotton are very effective coping with aerial bombardments but struggle against more mobile forwards who drag them out of position.

Left back remains a problem position. The link-up play on the left hand side is a key element on the tactical side, but it is inhibited by James Perch’s limited passing skills on his “wrong side”.  Maynor Figueroa still has not been replaced and Juan Carlos Garcia does not even make the bench.

Player Ratings

Lee Nicholls: 8 – easily the Man of the Match. A fine performance.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – not at his best.

Ryan Shotton: 5- shaky at times in the second half.

Leon Barnett: 5 – good in one to one challenges, but looked uncertain in his positioning.

James Perch: 5 – poor.

Ben Watson: 6 – tried hard, but it was not his best day.

Chris McCann: 6 – did a lot of good defensive work, but could not put his stamp on the game.

Marc Albrighton: 6 – looked lively in the first half.

Nick Powell: 6 – tried hard and put in some nice touches, but things did not come off for him.

Marc-Antoine Fortune: 5 – not up to his usual level.

Callum McManaman: 5 – largely anonymous, apart from one cracking shot.

Substitutes

Grant Holt: – poor.

James McClean: – the best attacker in the second half.

Jordi Gomez: – ineffective.

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A Brighton Fan’s View

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews and tagged with , , , ,
Photo courtesy of Visit Brighton

Photo courtesy of Visit Brighton

Less than a year ago Brighton and Hove Albion were playing a style of football akin to that of Wigan Athletic under Roberto Martinez.

A lot has happened since then.

Both clubs lost their managers at the end of the season. Brighton sought a replacement who would build upon the style of play established by Gus Poyet, bringing in ex-Barcelona youth coach and ex-player Oscar Garcia. Latics chose a manager who prefers a more direct approach.

The two clubs are neck and neck in the Championship, with Latics in tenth place, one point and one position above Brighton. Both clubs have had bad luck with injuries so far this season. Both come into the match with two consecutive league victories under their belts.

Let’s get up to date with Brighton through the eyes of one of their keenest supporters.

Tim Attree’s love of the club dates back to when he was a kid and he would help his father sell jackpot tickets on matchdays outside the old Goldstone Ground. His father had watched Brighton from an early age and for decades would volunteer to help out selling programmes and jackpot tickets. Tim has kept up his father’s love of the club and hardly misses a single Brighton match.

Tim first came to Wigan in the mid 1970s, when I invited him to join me at Springfield Park to watch a Northern Premier League game with Stafford Rangers. Since then he paid repeated visits to Wigan to Springfield Park and the JJB/DW Stadium.

Over to Tim to answer some questions.

Does anybody know why Gus Poyet was pushed out after taking his team to the playoffs ?

Nobody seems to know or wants to say anything about it, but he told chairman Tony Bloom that he wanted to leave just before we beat Crystal  Palace back in March. According to Bloom at ‘Fans Forum’ things deteriorated after that.

 Did Albion’s fans like the tiki-taka style that your team played last year?

 Yes we loved the way they played. Some of us think it’s the best we’ve ever seen!

 How is the team performing? Has the style changed from last year?

Injuries have hit us hard, but we try to close down teams very quickly after losing the ball within 5-10 seconds – a bit like Barcelona. Oscar Garcia  was at Barca and has brought that philosophy with him.

In addition there is the feeling that we do not keep the ball as long as we did with Gus and try and cross the ball a bit earlier. If we lose it we press high to get it back whereas with Gus we would all have gone back to defence as quickly as possible.

 Latics made a decision to replace Roberto Martinez with a manager whose football is ‘more direct’. There are mixed feelings among fans about Coyle’s appointment. What do the Brighton fans think about Garcia?

The jury is still out on Garcia, but most fans think he is doing OK particularly having had so many injuries.

 Who are the players in the Brighton team Latics will have to watch?

 Goalie Tomas Kuszczak is very good. Liam Bridcutt (ex Chelsea youngster) is a strong holding midfielder and last week played his first 30 minutes or so after being out through injury. Will Buckley (ex -Watford) is a fast player who plays out wide, mainly on the right wing.

In defence we have Gordon Greer who has just won his first Scotland cap and Matthew Upson. We miss Wayne Bridge at left back but now have Stephen Ward on loan from Wolves who has just got back into the Irish team.

 Who   is going to finish higher in the table at the end of the season – Brighton or Wigan?

 Don’t know! Suspect it will be close if both clubs can get all their players fit for the New Year!

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