Tag Archives: wigan

YEOVIL PREVIEW – will the tide turn?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Previews, Other and tagged with , , , ,
Yeovil's Huish Park ground.

Yeovil’s Huish Park ground.

You can say what you like about Owen Coyle and his ‘Bolton-style football’, but you can’t deny that he is building a team that is growing match-by-match into a highly competitive outfit.

They are physically and mentally determined and have the ability to grind out results . It is not pretty, but if it gets the results Latics need to get back up into the Premier League then few supporters will complain.

Last year Latics conceded fifteen headed goals – more than any other in the Premier League. But that will not happen this year with big central defenders like Leon Barnett, Thomas Rogne and Ryan Shotton around.

Moreover the trio pose a danger in the opposition penalty box – Barnett has already scored three, Shotton also has one too and Rogne has been unlucky to be denied by the woodwork. Add to them good headers of the ball like Emmerson Boyce, Grant Holt and Chris McCann and you can see why Latics are dangerous from set pieces.

Wigan Athletic  have never played Yeovil before and now is a good time to play them as they are bottom of the Championship table. What better chance for Latics to pick up three points?

Coyle will rotate his squad following the defeat at Kazan. Thankfully Emmerson Boyce will return at right back. His passing skills were missed in Russia where Ryan Shotton had a miserable 57% pass completion rate. Shotton is much better at centre back and he will compete with Thomas Rogne for a place in today’s lineup.

James Perch will move back into the back four, where he has provided defensive stability in the problematic  left back position. Midfield is not his best position. Coyle will have another difficult decision in who to play in midfield. Roger Espinoza was the ‘Man of the Match’ in Kazan and deserves another outing. He will have to compete with James McArthur, Chris McCann and Ben Watson for a place.

Up front Coyle might well choose the more mobile Marc-Antoine Fortune to start, with Grant Holt coming on later as an impact player.

This being an away  match that is very ‘winnable’ he could well go for two wingers, rather than use Jordi Gomez on the right. Marc Albrighton is on loan for 28 days and Coyle will need to give him ample opportunity soon if he is to assess the young Brummie with a  view to permanent signing. Albrighton could line up on the right, with Callum McManaman on the left.

Latics have so far been unlucky with shots and headers hitting the woodwork on too many occasions.

The tide is due to turn some time. It could well happen today.

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McCann silences his critics

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

Chris+Mccann

When managers change clubs they often take with them players from their previous club. Roberto Martinez is a prime example in taking Antolin Alcaraz, Arouna Kone, James McCarthy and Joel Robles from Wigan.

It was therefore no surprise when Owen Coyle’s first signing was one of his former players. Most Wigan Athletic fans would have expected it to be someone from Bolton, but it turned out to be a tall Irishman who had played under the Scot at Burnley.

Not many of us had heard much about Chris McCann, who had spent nine years at Burnley after being signed from Dublin club, Home Farm. When we found out more about him, it looked as if maybe Coyle had made a mistake.

McCann’s best season with them was in their promotion year, 2008-09. A cruciate knee injury  early in his first Premier League season proved a severe blow for McCann. He made only eight appearances that season and four in 2010-11, being plagued by injury.

However, the Irishman was to come back to start in 83 Championship matches over the next two seasons.

Owen  Coyle had taken over a fragmented squad at Wigan following Martinez’s departure. There was shortage of players in various positions, particularly the centre of defence and up front. But central midfield was the one area where Latics were well supplied – with James McArthur, Roger Espinoza,  Fraser Fyvie,  Jordi Gomez and Ben Watson – plus James McCarthy, who was to be sold.

McCann’s  performances in his early starts for Latics at home to Doncaster and Middlesbrough and at Zulte Waregem were solid, if uninspiring.

Cynics said that Coyle had brought in an ex-player who was not up to par, but who was ahead of both Espinoza and Fyvie in the pecking order. It looked like Coyle was snubbing  players from the previous regime to bring in his own men.

However, McCann was to come back to the starting lineup with a fine display against Rubin Kazan. That night he was tireless in defence and his cultured passing when under pressure helped Latics keep possession. He followed that up with a fine performance at Charlton, being unlucky with a flick header that hit the crossbar. In the subsequent match against QPR he once again put in a hardworking stint, being denied by the woodwork with a far post header. On Sunday against Huddersfield he once again put in solid defensive shift and this time saw a fine long range shot palmed over the bar by the keeper.

Coyle has so far relied heavily on McArthur and Watson in the midfield holding roles. They bring Premier League quality to the Championship. Both have excellent technique and work tirelessly to win the ball back and support their defence.

However, McCann has already shown that he too is a player of such attributes and will be challenging them for a place in the starting lineup. He too has a touch of quality. At 6’1” he also poses an aerial threat to opposition defences.

Chris McCann has already silenced most of his critics through a series of good displays. He is still only 26 years old and could prove to be a key player for Latics for years to come.

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A good time to play Rubin

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

Europatable

Wigan Athletic travel to the most easterly club remaining in the Europa League on Thursday to play Rubin Kazan.  What are the chances of a good result for Latics?

Latics’ 1-1 draw with the Russian team ten days ago at the DW Stadium was well-earned and keeps them in with a more than even chance of qualifying from the group. Moreover it halted a nine game winning streak by Rubin in Europe.

Rubin are a formidable side at home in Kazan in European competition. They have not lost there for 22 matches, winning 13 and drawing 9. They have not conceded a goal in their last 7 European matches at their Centralniy Stadium.

For climatic reasons Rubin have had some of their previous European ties moved to Moscow, where they have understandably been less successful. However, this match will be played in Kazan, with a 9 pm kick-off (5 pm UK time).

Latics will count themselves fortunate in that they are going to arrive in Tatarstan a couple of weeks before the night temperatures drop below zero. The weather forecast for Kazan on Thursday indicates a daytime high of 11 °C, dropping down to 7°C at night.

Despite their formidable record in Europe, Rubin have only won one out of their last five matches in the Russian Premier League. Prior to coming to Wigan they lost 2-1 away at Volga Nizhny Novgorod. After drawing at the DW Stadium they lost 2-1 at home to second placed Lokomotiv Moscow, with ex-Tottenham player Roman Pavlyuchenko getting the Muscovites’ first goal.

Last Wednesday they made the 3,600 mile trip to Vladivostok, where they were knocked out of the domestic cup competition, losing 4-2 to the home side Luch. On Saturday they drew 0-0 at Rostov-Na-Donu. Rostov is on the Don River a mere 700 miles south west of Kazan. The result puts Rubin in 9th place, level on points with Rostov, but with a superior goal difference.

The timing of the match looks good for Wigan, despite the continued absence of key players through injury. When I wrote my initial posting about Rubin Kazan in early September they were unbeaten and in seventh place, within striking distance of the leaders Zenit St Petersburg. Since then Rubin’s league form has not been so impressive.

Although they are not scoring a lot of goals in the domestic league, Rubin are the most prolific scorers in the  Europa League Group Stage with ten goals. Although Latics have scored only four up to this point other statistics for the two teams make interesting reading.

Both teams have committed 43 fouls in their three games so far, but Rubin have suffered 36 and Latics 49. Rubin have completed 829 out of 998 passes attempted, Latics 716 out of 852. Rubin have had 16 goal attempts on target, compared with 14 for Latics. The Russian team has had 7 yellow cards, Latics 5.

Although Rubin’s form in Europe has been impressive, poor results in the Russian Premier League indicate they are not playing at their best.

Wigan Athletic will be hoping that Rubin’s recent run of poor form will continue – at least for one more game.

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Huddersfield Preview

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

Callum McManaman slots home in the 4-1 FA Cup win over Huddersfield in February.

It seems like more than nine months ago since Wigan Athletic demolished Huddersfield Town in a fifth round FA Cup tie at the Galpharm Stadium. Callum McManaman was the star for Wigan, repeatedly ripping open the Terriers’ defence in a 4-1 win.

How times have changed. Latics were then a Premier League team, a class above opponents who were languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship.

So far this season Wigan Athletic have outclassed only one team, a woeful Barnsley in the first competitive match under Owen Coyle.

But the good news  is that the Wigan defence is getting stronger and not throwing away goals like it did in the Martinez era. The goalless draws at Charlton and at home to Queens Park Rangers are an indication that Latics can become a ‘mean machine’ capable of grinding out results.

There is certainly no shortage of effort and commitment from the current  Latics side.  They are now physically imposing, with height in defence, less likely to give away soft goals from aerial set pieces than they were even a couple of months ago.

Latics remain unbeaten at home, largely down to their resilience. They trailed to both Doncaster and Middlesbrough in their first two home games, but came back with late goals to secure draws. The subsequent wins over Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and Blackburn were gained through hard work and determination. The bore draw with QPR was not one for the spectator to enjoy, but Latics showed that same resilience. In previous times they might well have come away without any points in such a match.

Huddersfield currently lie a point above Wigan, but their away record is not good – W1 D2 L3. Moreover they are without top scorer James Vaughan, who is suspended.

Despite the FA Cup win last year, Latics have a poor record against the Terriers. In league matches over the years they have a home record of W6 D1 L5 against the Yorkshire team, but Latics’ away record against them  is W0 D5 L5.

Owen Coyle believes that Latics are close to fulfilling their potential. He commented this week that “We know that if we keep knocking on the door it will fly open and someone will be on the end of three or four goals. There’s so much more still to come from this team, players to come back from injury and money to be spent come January.”

Coyle will once again have to rotate his squad.

Having started in three consecutive games in less than a week, Emmerson Boyce is due for a rest. Ryan Shotton will probably move over to the right back position, with Thomas Rogne returning in the centre of defence.  Chris McCann has silenced his critics with an excellent trio of displays in central midfield, but is likely to find himself rested with Ben Watson coming back in.

Nick Powell and Leon Barnett too have started in those three games, but both seem to get included in the starting lineup despite the physical demands they might face. Both have become key players.

Marc Albrighton could well make his debut on the right flank and Jean Beausejour is due to return on the left.  Marc-Antoine Fortune will probably take over from the out of form Grant Holt at centre forward. However, Holt might well be used as an impact substitute later in the game.

Were Latics to really click and win this match in style and by a clear margin it could be the turning point that Coyle seeks.  Latics fans have been patient up to this point, but the time has come for a convincing display to reward them for their loyalty and support.

Maybe this will be the game in which the team will show what it is capable of.

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Albrighton ready for crunch match with QPR

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

Albrighton

Marc Albrighton could be thrust into the crunch match with Queens Park Rangers at the DW Stadium tonight.

The 23 year old has been  signed from Aston Villa on what must be one of the shortest of loan periods –  reported to be just 28 days. However, the winger  has had injury problems and has fallen out of favour with Paul Lambert. If he can prove his fitness and fulfill his potential he might well become a player that Latics want to keep.  The possibility remains open for a permanent deal when the transfer window opens up again in January.

The QPR match is the acid test for Owen Coyle’s Wigan Athletic revolution. Failure to win will be viewed as a failure by most fans who feel that Latics need to build more momentum for a promotion challenge. They face an expensively assembled QPR team that is currently on track in 3rd place, with only one defeat so far.

At this point Latics stand in 14th place with a record of won 4, drawn 3 and lost 4 matches. The games they have lost have all been away from home to teams above them in the table – Leicester (in 2nd place), Blackpool (4th), Watford (7th) and Bournemouth (11th).

Up to this point Latics are unbeaten at home, a considerable improvement given the terrible record they have had at the DW Stadium, albeit against much stronger opposition over recent years. However, Coyle will be keen to make the DW a fortress for visiting teams to scale as the promotion battle unfolds.

Given the indifferent form of Latics’ wide players it could be that Albrighton will find himself in the starting lineup. Coyle has already shown he is not afraid to throw in new players at the first instance, after doing the same with Leon Barnett and Nick Powell earlier in the season.

It will be interesting to see how Coyle deals with the squad rotation for this game. On Sunday, Ben Watson looked tired, but was withdrawn only after 72 minutes. The man best known for his famous header has been a key component of Coyle’s lineups in recent weeks.

Roger Espinoza came on and looked useful at Charlton and it could be that he will see more playing time tonight, but one doubts  that he will make the starting lineup ahead of Watson. Moreover Jordi Gomez is higher up in the pecking order and is due for a return.

Leon Barnett is the outfield player who has played most matches this season, only missing the game at Zulte Waregem. If Coyle is willing to risk resting Barnett he will have the option of bringing in Ryan Shotton to partner Thomas Rogne in the centre of defence, although the big Stoke man might come in at full back for Emmerson Boyce. Another option would be to move James Perch across and bring in Stephen Crainey at left back.

The risk with too much rotation in defence is that in a radically new formation the players are not going to have that mutual understanding built up through regularly playing together.

Up front Coyle has to decide whether he wants to play with twin strikers – any two of Marc-Antoine Fortune, Grant Holt and Nick Powell – or play with two wingers.  Latics actually  played with two strikers and two wingers – an old fashioned 4-2-4 system –  for a period in the defeat at Blackpool.  Coyle is unlikely to risk it against a midfield as strong as that of QPR . His other option would be to play Powell in what is his best role, in attacking midfield behind the central striker.

Latics will want to narrow the 12 point gap between themselves and QPR.  Although they look good on paper the visitors are by no means invincible.

If  for once Latics take their chances and the ball does not keep crashing against the woodwork  there is no reason why they should not come away with three points tonight.

Whether they can do that will depend largely on Coyle’s tactics and how he rotates his squad.

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