Tag Archives: wigan

Stateside Latics fanatics savo(u)r US tour

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

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Wigan Athletic’s first ever USA tour is not just proving a success in terms of conditioning and team bonding — it has set the perfect stage for the beginnings of a US-based supporters club, as fans from all over the country communicated on Twitter and Facebook to meet up, get to know one another, and support the team.

Jon Sicotte, known on Twitter as @spikechiquet, is one of them. A sports copy editor at the Toledo Blade in Ohio and a freelance writer for TheCup.us, he started following the Latics three years ago after some web and FIFA-gaming based research, and hasn’t looked back since. He traveled to both Columbus Crew and Dayton Dutch Lions matches, and was kind enough to contribute a write-up and photos of each experience for the Amigos. Thanks Jon!

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Columbus Crew 1 Wigan Athletic 2

Although this Wigan trip was about the new squad limbering up for the Football Championship campaign, it really was a chance for Latics fans to find out that they are not alone. Through Twitter and Facebook, fans from all over the United States connected and got together to share stories, laughs (a few ales) and talk of their love of WAFC. Last Saturday, a group of us decided to go to the 4th St. Grill in Columbus, about a mile from Crew Stadium. It’s a Crew bar, but we were welcomed and had a great time (the bar’s Two-Hearted Ale/Chipotle sauce on boneless wings is fantastic).

The backgrounds of the fans were all over the board: a retiree from Illinois who has lived in the States for 35 years; a Texan who has been in the U.S. since 2005; a Canadian; an American with Wiganers in his family; and even some born-and-bred Americans that just happened to pick the Latics. A few of us tailgated right before the game and met a girl who lived in the area and was wearing a Liverpool kit, although she was from Wigan originally and was happy to see her town’s team playing in Columbus. She was waving a Union Jack proudly out of her car.

Crew fans and staff welcomed us with open arms and event security looked the other way as our group sat together despite having tickets all over the stadium. We may have been small, but we were mighty and we let the Crew know we were there! The array of kits was fun to watch. We met QPR fans, a few Manchester United, Man City and England National team fans in our journey. Michael, one of the guys I met while there, grew up playing youth games under Graham Barrow and the two got to catch up on old times before the match as well.

After the match, Ben Watson and Emmerson Boyce stopped by to chat with fans along with Roger Espinoza. Some of the other guys were down by the bench. A Wigan assistant coach handed up Wigan FA Cup posters as well. It was nice to meet Ben, I remarked I was happy to get to take a picture of the forehead that won Wigan the cup.

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Dayton Dutch Lions 1 Wigan Athletic 6

A few days later, I ventured to Piqua High School’s soccer field and assumed I would be alone since many of my “Twitter Crew” couldn’t make the second game. I was happily wrong. I was tapped on the shoulder by a teen named Chole. She, her mum, brother and boyfriend had been in Columbus, but also made it to Piqua for the Dayton vs. Wigan match…a three-hour trip from Louisville. They introduced me to Joe, who believe it or not, lives just down the road from me here in Perrysburg, Ohio. I also met a few more fans around us (I believe our crew stood eight strong or so) and we all braved the 90+ degree heat and humidity.

The players felt the heat as well. In fact, they stopped to take a water break at the 30th minute. The pitch’s grass seemed long and dry and dead, making it slow playing. Wigan was sloppy as well and tried to fool around at times instead of trying to be technically sound. Still, the second half was full of exciting goals and a few good shows of sportsmanship. Late in the match, after scoring a goal already, newcomer Grant Holt collided with Dayton’s keeper nearly outside the box. The goalie fell and was in pain near his knee. Instead of driving to the net, Grant kicked the ball out of bound and let the team tend to their keeper. A minute later, after a penalty kick was awarded, Wigan offered the services of Lee Nicholls to play the penalty instead of the injured keeper. (Dayton only had one keeper at the match). After Holt scored against his teammate, Nicholls stayed and finished the match for Dayton (I wonder if Mr. Whelan will get a few bucks for the transfer fee).

After the match, the players came up to our little group to take pictures and sign autographs. We caught a few more guys before they got on the bus to head back to Columbus. The team even brought out a few boxes of pizza to share with us and many young kids hanging around to meet some true professionals of the beautiful game.

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Blackpool writer: Wigan are getting a Mr. Consistent in Stephen Crainey

Posted by Ned in News, Transfers and tagged with , ,

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As the Owen Coyle revolution continues so too does our coverage of Wigan Athletic’s new signings. This week’s guest writer is Dan Bennett of Vital Blackpool (http://blackpool.vitalfootball.co.uk/), who kindly shares his insight on Scottish left-back Stephen Crainey — a man he dubs Mr. Consistent:

Although not one of the most exciting footballers to admire, Stephen Crainey certainly is one thing — consistent.

In total he has made 295 club appearances and had played for four different clubs before joining Wigan. He started his career at Celtic where he was never really first choice left back, and made 58 appearances over five years at Celtic Park before moving on to Southampton.

Crainey never truly found his feet at Southampton and only made 5 appearances for the club before a swift transfer move to Leeds United. It’s fair to say he did well at Leeds, his solid performances at left back won him many fans and in the 2005-2006 season made a total of 30 appearances for the club. This was the season Crainey had made the most appearances for any of his clubs until that point. 

However this was soon set to change as Crainey made his move to Blackpool, a club where his talents were truly appreciated. His ability never looked in doubt, and in the first season he spent with the club he made 43 appearances. His excellent work ethic and fantastic defensive play pleased many Tangerine fans and he soon became a favourite.

Crainey was part of the famous team that secured promotion to the Premier League with Blackpool, and featured many times the following year in the top division. Blackpool’s defence often came under scrutiny whilst Ian Holloway was manager of the club, and although Crainey was not the ‘perfect defender’ he rarely performed badly in a Pool shirt.

He’s certainly a player that Blackpool fans wanted to see back at the club next season; he was offered a fresh deal at the club but took the opportunity to move on. If he features frequently for Wigan next season, he’ll be a player that will always give his all in every game he plays. Even if he’s used as a squad man, Crainey’s performances are still likely to impress Latics fans.

He is certainly the solid and decent championship standard player that many of the clubs in this league desire. Luring Crainey to the club away from other potential suitors was certainly a great bit of business on behalf of Wigan Athletic. Latics fans will surely hope his championship experience can help you bounce back first time of asking.

Many thanks to Dan for his insights and to Vital Blackpool editor Jon Pearcy for his help.

Burnley supporter sheds light on Chris McCann

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

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As the Owen Coyle revolution continues with arrivals from near and far, we thought we’d re-visit a special feature approach and ask more informed writers about who exactly the club is signing.

Twenty-five year-old Irish midfielder Chris McCann was Coyle’s first signing as Wigan Athletic manager. Here’s a link back to our reaction. But in an effort to gain a more enlightened take on his eight year stay at Turf Moor and the circumstances under which he is joining our club, we reached out to the editors of the fine supporter website, Vital Burnley.

Without further ado, here is Phil Lea, aka Turfmanphil, on our midfielder, Chris McCann:

Chris McCann had been a one-club man since he arrived at Turf Moor from his native Ireland in 2004 from Home Farm. Clarets fans had seen him develop into an exciting midfielder but in recent seasons he just doesn’t seem to have been firing on all cylinders and there are a number of theories as to why.

There is no doubt that McCann’s best season was in our promotion season to the top flight during 2008-9 and of course new Wigan boss, Owen Coyle was Burnley manager at the time so it could be argued he brought the best out of him. McCann seemed to relish playing under Coyle and the ‘old magic’ might return now he as at Wigan under his former gaffer.

It was a disastrous season for McCann in the Premier League though. an unfortunate knee injury and subsequent surgery to his cruciate following the game against Sunderland at Turf Moor in September 2009 sidelined the midfielder until December 2009 In his second match back from injury, he picked up a second injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season!

Following Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League the injury woes continued for McCann although he returned and played in three pre-season friendlies, in the first game of Burnley’s tour of Singapore he was taken of with yet another knee injury. He was sent to see a specialist and faced another long lay-off. Clarets fans wondered whether the injuries had some sort of psychological effect on McCann because he never seemed to reach the dizzy heights achieved under Coyle again following his return. He didn’t seem to be going into the tackle as much perhaps conscious of his knee problems and he was certainly not as influential on the game. Eddie Howe bizarrely made him captain too for the 2011-12 season, some thought to keep him at Turf Moor and it was a total failure. The responsibility seemed to affect his game even more and most fans felt he was not skipper material generally being too quiet and ineffective.

Stripped of the responsibility after Jason Shackell became captain, last season was probably McCann’s best for sometime but again he blew hot and cold and his heart did not seem to be in it! He was no doubt thinking about his next career move and he was not even prepared to consider a new contract this summer.

In summary if Coyle can get the best out of McCann like he did during his time at Turf Moor, you will be getting a very strong and effective attacking midfielder who will also score quite a few goals for you during a season. It might be the new lease of life, McCann needs to get his career back on track and all Clarets fans I am sure will wish him well.

Phil Lea aka Turfmanphil
Vital Burnley Editor

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Celtic supporter sheds light on Thomas Rogne, Wigan’s new signing

Posted by Ned in News, Specials and tagged with , , , , , ,

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In light of the much-needed flurry of transfer activity Owen Coyle has orchestrated in recent days, we thought we’d re-visit a special feature approach and ask more informed writers about who exactly the club is signing.

Twenty-three year-old Norweigan centre-back Thomas Rogne became the third free transfer in less than a week to join the club after some promising, but injury-strewn years at Celtic. He joins former teammates Shaun Maloney and Gary Caldwell in the Wigan locker room and has hopefully spent enough time in Scotland to understand what James McArthur, Stephen Crainey are on about as well.

In an effort to learn more about his Celtic years and the circumstances under which he is joining our club, we reached out to the writers of Celtic  blog, Lost Bhoys, who helped us with a similar request when Shaun Maloney signed for us two years ago. Their take on the little Scot has proven thoroughly accurate — if he could regain fitness and sharpness, they wrote, he would go on to be a hit. After a six to eight month period of adaptation and fitness work in his first season, Maloney’s impact has been spectacular. Lets hope the arrival of another ex-Celtic player can help keep him at the club.

Without further ado, here is Liam Power, aka Brummie Bhoy of Lost Bhoys, dishing on our new centre-back Thomas Rogne:

Hail Hail to Ned and all the Wigan supporters who Los Three Amigos website. Ned had asked David Harper to produce a piece on Thomas Rogne after he did something similar when Shaun Maloney joined Wigan back in August 2011. Unfortunately, Harper was unavailable so he asked me if I would pick this up which I was more than happy to do.

I think it is reasonable to say that Wigan were not one of the more glamorous Premiership clubs during their spell in the top league so they would generally slip under the radar of most Celtic fans. However, this changed in recent years as we have seen a number of ex Celts and SPL players move to the club under the tenure of Roberto Martinez.

My former boss is a Wigan season ticket holder so we have had many amusing conversations over the last few seasons when discussing the contribution of Gary Caldwell and more serious chats about the continued development of Maloney, McArthur and McCarthy as they become integral to the Wigan team in the last season, culminating in your magnificent FA Cup victory.

Wigan now also has lifelong Celtic supporter Owen Coyle in charge and have just acquired the services of Celtic’s out of contract defender Thomas Rogne.  As a season ticket holder for most of the last 9 seasons and as a weekly blogger for the LostBhoys on www.hailhailmedia.com I can provide an insight into Rogne’s time at Celtic, what sort of player he is and what you can expect from him in the seasons ahead.

Rogne turned 23 last week but still features regularly for the Norway under-21 team despite being capped at full International level. He joined Celtic as a 19 year old on the 20th January 2010 and was described by former Celtic favourite Vidar Riseth as the hottest young talent in Norway.

Rogne was signed by Tony Mowbray whose single season in charge at Parkhead can most politely be described as a disaster, culminating in a 4-0 defeat to St Mirren that signalled the end of his reign. Rogne only managed 4 appearances during the second half of season 2009/10 but would have been encouraged by the appointment of Neil Lennon who has always been happy to give young players opportunities within the team.

Rogne didn’t start a game in the following season until 30th October 2010 as an injury interrupted pre-season prevented him from establishing himself in the manager’s plans. However, he then featured 15 times in the following three months, including an outstanding performance at Ibrox in a 2-0 win over our former rivals.

Further injuries took him out of the team and he only featured intermittently during the rest of the season. This was to become the story of his time at Celtic as he could rarely muster a run of games in the team without picking up knocks that would require spells on the sidelines. As an 18 year old Rogne damaged his cruciate ligaments and missed the entire 2008/09 season, which may explain his continual injury problems.

The following season 2011/12 saw a depressingly similar pattern as injury disrupted his pre-season and he didn’t make his first start until 26th October 2011. He played 3 times before injury sidelined him again but once back in the team in December Rogne managed to establish himself and struck up a good partnership with Scottish Player of the season Charlie Mulgrew.

He featured in 17 league games during the remainder of the season and was considered as a first choice pick for the first time in his Celtic career, keeping out new signing Kelvin Wilson who had experienced a difficult start to his Celtic career.

This should have signalled better times for Rogne at Celtic but the signing of Efe Ambrose and the re-birth of Kelvin Wilson produced a solid partnership that was not going to be split up. This partnership, added to more niggling injuries for the player meant that he had drifted out of the first team picture.

He only made 8 league starts last season, a situation that was not helped with his ongoing contract dispute with the club. Rogne was looking for a deal that would put him in with the high earners at the club but he had done nothing during his 4 seasons to justify such a position.

The club expressed their desire to keep him but no compromise could be reached so the player allowed his contract to expire and today he becomes a free agent meaning that Wigan will not have to pay any compensation to Celtic.

There is no doubting the ability of Rogne as a footballer. He is a tall player who enjoys doing the basics of good defending.   He is good in the air and reads the game well which enables him to win a fair amount of challenges staying on his feet without over committing himself.

He has reasonable pace and his positional sense is good although he can suffer from lapses in concentration. He is not a ball playing defender and is happy winning possession and giving the ball to his more talented colleagues.

What he desperately needs is a run of 20-30 games in a side without injury so that he can establish himself as a first choice. He is easily good enough to play in the Championship but needs to contribute much more in terms of appearances. As a free transfer on relatively modest wages he fits the bill for Wigan’s transfer policy and would be deemed as a low risk signing.

Wigan have the best chance of promotion from all the three clubs who were relegated as they should manage to retain a decent nucleus of last seasons squad, unlike QPR who have huge financial implications to deal with.

Providing he can stay fit then Rogne will be a good addition to the squad and should be a success at Wigan. He is familiar with British football and knows Caldwell and Maloney well from his time at Celtic, so his transition to Wigan should be relatively straight forward.

Good luck to you for the forthcoming season and I will definitely continue to keep an eye on our former bhoys

Hail Hail

Brummie Bhoy

McCann arrival kicks off Coyle revolution at Wigan

Posted by Ned in News and tagged with , , , , ,

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The first signing of the Owen Coyle era has been confirmed in the shape of 25-year-old Irish midfielder Chris McCann, who will join Wigan Athletic upon the expiration of his contract at Burnley, where he spent the past nine years.

The transfer virtually confirms Wigan’s intentions to cash in on their prize asset and fellow Irish midfielder, James McCarthy.

Though not a household name, McCann looks an astute signing. At 25 years of age (26 in July), his best years are in front of him yet he boasts an impressive seven seasons of Championship football. He is the type of player Wigan were never able to afford in the top flight: someone established who knows the division well, entering his prime years as a footballer. Today’s three-year deal should see him turn 26, 27 and 28 in a Latics shirt — peak years.

And while Coyle has a technically gifted midfield with players like James McArthur, Ben Watson, Jordi Gomez, Roger Espinoza, Fraser Fyvie, it is the athleticism of the likely-departing McCarthy that he would have struggled to replace internally. At six-foot-one and described as a powerful box-to-box player, it appears McCann is the man to do it.

Interestingly, the year McCann made the most appearances for Burnley was the year they achieved promotion to the Premier League. He then suffered a bad injury and was limited to seven appearances in the Premier League campaign. He has worn the captain armband for Burnley and having spent nine seasons with them, appears to be a loyal and committed player. His comments upon arrival at the club make for encouraging reading.

The hope now is that a McCarthy transfer will bring in at least 12 million pounds. Those who have watched his development over the last few years would likely value him at closer to double that amount, but realistically, 12 million would still be very good business. Potentially, Coyle could buy five good Championship players and still have money left over.

In a related note, news sources had suggested that McCann’s former teammate and striker, Martin Paterson, could be ready to follow. But earlier today, it was confirmed that Paterson had opted instead to join Huddersfield Town.

The other rumour doing the rounds at the moment involves a move for goalkeeper Scott Carson, who has made more than sixty appearances for Bursaspor in Turkey over the past two years but may fancy a move back to England. He seems to have been around forever but is only 27 and would be an excellent signing for the 400,000 pounds that are being mooted. With Ali Al-Habsi apparently set to miss the beginning of the season to injury (along with Gary Caldwell and Ivan Ramis) — Latics supporters will be hoping there is some truth to that nugget.