Tag Archives: wigan

On probation: Latics quarter-season report card

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

Technically, we’re one and a half matches late for a quarter-season analysis. Like most Latics supporters, I tend to need a few days to recover from the latest loss. Fulham and Wolves took a bit longer than usual. But along came the international break, allowing me the space and time to cycle through all five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance — and a new one, faith-based optimism. Warning: this final stage may set you up for another round of the previous. But what if it doesn’t?

I’ll stop short of predicting a turning point in our season this Saturday against Blackburn, as I’ve made that mistake before. But it certainly seems an appropriate time to look back at our disastrous start and assess the individuals involved in it. First, we’ve averaged each player’s match performance ratings this season (which are admittedly subjective and only based on those given by Los Three Amigos writers, but serve as an interesting starting point for discussion). There are some surprises in there, but all interesting and insightful. For instance, defying all emotion, the struggling Gary Caldwell scores the same as reliable Emmerson Boyce. But while Emmerson has been steady and Gary Caldwell poor of late, it was the latter that scored highest (8) points in matches against Swansea and Newcastle. We try to make sense of it all below:

Player Ratings

Ali Al-Habsi: 7.1 — With Moses, our best regular performer. His score would have been higher but for the costly mistake against Norwich on day one, which cost the team 2 points, and probably cost Ali at least 0.2 in this assessment.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.2 — Our most consistent defender, the only one we seem to be able to rely on. He’s one of the few players who seems to be improving as the season goes along. Had a tough day at Villa but otherwise 6s and 7s.

Gary Caldwell: 6.2 — On the whole has looked slow and past it. But he had a couple cracking games, versus Swansea and Newcastle away, defending well and displaying the qualities you look for in a captain. A lot of fans have made him something of a scapegoat, but Roberto has asked a lot of him. So far, he’s had Lopez, Gohouri, Boyce, Alcaraz and Figueroa partner him — five players in 11 matches. The central defensive partnership is the most important on the field and has been completely disrupted. It is telling that his best performances came with Alcaraz/Boyce at Swansea, and then Alcaraz at Newcastle.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Missed the opening part of the season to injury and will miss the next three matches for spitting at an opponent. Started poorly against Bolton, looked good in a couple, then brought shame on himself and the club with the spitting incident at Molineaux. A shame, since he’s the club’s best centre back.

Maynor Figueroa: 6.2 — Was given a few generous ratings when filling in at centre back. Has looked low on confidence recently, his attacking is better than his defending and goals often start down his side. Recently admitted to an Honduran newspaper that he is not in a good moment of form.

Ronnie Stam: 6 — Largely limited to substitute appearances, has done reasonably well when he has come on, but isn’t the solution. Not good enough going forward to be a winger, not good enough at defending to be a right back.

Patrick Van Aanholt: 7 — Was excellent against Everton when Maynor Figueroa was pushed inside, but has since featured very little.

Adrian Lopez: 4.75 — Latics’ lowest rated performer largely thanks to a nightmare against Norwich on opening day. Looks uncomfortable whenever he plays.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — A bit of a nightmare season for him. Sent off trying to mark Gareth Bale, then gave away the crucial goal against Bolton on his return, and looked wobbly at centre half. He’ll need to improve if he remains there throughout Alcaraz’s suspension.

Ben Watson: 6.7 — Consistent. Latics problems have not been in the midfield passing department. Truly masterful against Newcastle — my favourite performance of anyone in a Wigan shirt this season — but otherwise in the 6 and 7s. The question still lingers: is he best-suited to that deep midfield role?  If he tackles like he did at St. James Park yes, if not, no.

Mo Diame: 6.7 — Started slowly but has grown into the season, scored a couple very well taken goals, and looks our best midfielder.

James McCarthy: 5.5 — We expect more. Was probably playing with niggles in the early part of the season, before getting more seriously injured and losing his place to Dave Jones. Lets hope the spell on the sidelines has allowed him to heal. His performances were a catalyst in the team’s turnaround last year, we’ll hope he can do the same this time around.

Dave Jones: 6.9 — Highest-rated midfielder, although he has played fewer matches than the others. He has injected energy and intelligence into the midfield, with four of his five performances 7s.

Jordi Gomez: 6.5 — Started the season well, with an excellent performance at Swansea. But eventually lost his place and hasn’t been seen since.

James McArthur: 5.9 — Hasn’t let the team down in his substitute appearances, but also hasn’t provided much that the other midfielders at the club didn’t already.

Victor Moses: 7.1 — If he’d scored a few goals by now we’d be raving about him. (We’d also not be bottom of the league). His dribbling, pace and strength are unplayable. But his final pass, cross or shot lets him down every time. Is too young and raw to be playing such a crucial role at the club, though he has been extremely unlucky, hitting the post about 4-5 times.

Albert Crusat: 6.4 — Has looked lively in his five appearances, good pace and touch, but needs someone to get on the end of his crosses. Doesn’t seem direct enough to score himself.

Shaun Maloney: 7.5 — His rating is based on a cameo at Villa Park, during which he immediately changed the way the team attacked. Other appearances have been so brief they went unrated. Would like to see more of him.

Hugo Rodallega: 5.9 — Has gotten worse and worse. Desperately needs a goal, but chances won’t come easier than the one he missed at Wolves last week. Are contract talks affecting his form? Frustrating to watch at the moment.

Franco Di Santo: 6.8 — Has played well this season as the lone frontman, but all three goals have come from deflections, and he never seems to be in the right place at the right time. Would probably gel very well with Hugo in a 4-4-2, but we know that’s probably not going to happen.

Conor Sammon: 6 —  10 minutes here and 10 minutes there, hard to judge him. But he certainly deserves his chance. His pace, energy and heart lift the stadium when he comes on.

Conclusions

The exercise has confirmed the obvious. Our defense has been unsettled and inconsistent. The club’s goalscorer is having a bad season. And the man we were banking on to match Charles N’Zogbia’s contribution has played well, but not produced the numbers the Frenchman did. Last season, Hugo and Charlie shared the burden of scoring our goals. But neither Hugo nor Victor Moses has scored this season. Sure, the defense has not played well — but by far the bigger concern is at the other end of the pitch.

Goals conceded, per match, this season: 1.8

Goals conceded, per match, last season: 1.6

Goals scored, per match, this season: 0.63

Goals scored, per match, last season: 1.05

¿Que fue de Hendry Thomas?

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

ENGLISH VERSION

Despues del partido contra Wolves, me senti completamente deprimido, una sensacion demasiado comun para el hincha del Wigan Athletic en lo que va de sus años Premier. “¿Por qué no apoyas a otro equipo? Estas insoportable, y siempre es asi cuando pierden los Latics. Es lo peor que te he visto!”, me dijo mi mujer, y estaba en lo cierto. Tal como Wigan, me hacia falta inspiración este ultimo fin de semana. Estaba hecho un miserable.

Un par de días despues estaba caminando por mi vecindario cuando vi un hombre alto y de piel oscura, vestido con camisa de rayas azul y blancas con el nombre “Thomas” en su espalda. ¿Otro aficionado de los Latics en esta parte lejana del mundo? (el autor vive en Indonesia). ¿Un seguidor de Hendry Thomas? Imposible. Resulto no ser camiseta del Wigan sino el que lucio Honduras en el mundial de Sudafrica. Lo debi haber saludado pero no lo hice. Pero si le vi la cara, y definitivamente no era el mismo Hendry. Seria imposible no reconocer esa cara!

Se me ocurrio que los dioses del futbol me estaban mandando un mensaje. Casualidad o no, me levantó los ánimos y me puse a pensar en Hendry Thomas y sus predecesores en esa labor de destructor, de volante seis: Lee Cattermole, Wilson Palacios y Michael Brown, por ejemplo. ¿Qué pasó con Hendry? Mi ultima memoria de el es del partido contra Tottenham el año pasado cuando regalo un penal. Desde entonces no se ha visto, ni en la banca ni en las reservas. Es dificil saber si se trata de su nivel futbolistico o algo mas. Cuando Roberto Martínez se hizo cargo del Wigan, vendio a Cattermole y a Brown, mientras Palacios ya habia sido cedido al Tottenham. Los tres fueron claves en la transformación de Steve Bruce, quien se decidio en construir el equipo de atras hacia adelante, con una defensa solida y protegida, con un par de atacantes creativos y oportunistas. El futbol no era tan bonito, pero funcionó.

Durante la primera etapa de su temporada debut en la Premier League, Hendry Thomas fue muy efectivo en ese papel de destructor. Las estadísticas confirmaban que el Hondureño era uno de los dos jugadores de la liga con mas pelotas recuperadas. El otro fue Scott Parker — quien fue votado el mejor jugador de la Premier el año pasado. Pero se desvaneció en la última parte de la temporada y no lo hemos vuelto a ver. Desde entonces, Ben Watson — quien ha mejorado en marca pero es mas armador que luchador — se ha establecido en esa posicion.

Para mi, hace falta la labor de Hendry, especialmente en tiempos dificiles como los que estamos viviendo. Algunos dicen que esta version de los Latics estan obsesionados con el fútbol bonito. ¿Pero qué dicen las estadísticas? Hasta ahora, el Wigan Athletic ha cometido 153 faltas, segundo lugar detras de nuestros viejos amigos, Blackburn, con 157. Wigan ha ganado 106 faltas, colocándolos en el puesto 18 con sólo Everton (105) y Blackburn (104) debajo de ellos. QPR ha ganado 159 faltas. Las estadísticas son informativas: los Latics comenten muchas faltas, pero no lo hacen efectivamente. Ni me acuerdo de una falta tactica, para romper ritmo, para frustrar al mejor jugador del rival A nosotros nos hacen faltas estrategicas, profesionales. Nosotros las cometemos desesperados.

Hendry Thomas es un gran contencion. La mayoria de las veces gana la pelota limpiamente, pero cuando no lo hace asi, tambien cumple una labor importantisima — le inyecta miedo al rival. Entra fuerte, es fisico. Sus pases son simples pero no la regala, y el tipo lo da todo por el equipo. Cada equipo necesita un Hendry Thomas.

Roberto debe cambiar su sistema táctico para adaptarse a la situación en la que estamos. Hay espacio para ambos Thomas y Watson. Para sobrevivir en la Premier, le tenemos que dar mas proteccion a nuestra defensa. Le tengo mucha fe a Martinez, un tecnico joven idealista, pero su rigidez táctica es su talón de Aquiles. No se olvide del Hondureño Roberto!

Wolves 3 Wigan 1: That sinking feeling

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , ,

For several weeks now, we have sat down to write our match previews with relentless optimism (#keepthefaith), operating under the assumption that at some point in the next match, during a crucial moment, we would get a slice of luck.

This week, we finally did.

1-0 down, just before the stroke of halftime, Emmerson Boyce cleverly drew a penalty by jinking through a pair of Wolves defenders. Ben Watson stepped up, a visible bundle of nerves, and kicked it right at the keeper. It bounced back for an easy tap in, and Latics were back in the match. We finally got that bit of luck.

The problem was everything else. Despite playing far better football, creating chance after chance, Latics continued to single-handedly provide footage for the 12Bet.com How-Not-to-Finish instructional video. The man posing as Hugo Rodallega was culprit-in-chief, tamely toe-poking when through on goal early in the match before missing an absolute sitter — probably the easiest chance he’s had in a Wigan shirt — after chesting down a lovely Franco Di Santo pass with only the goalkeeper to beat. It visibly affected him, but he has cut a forlorn figure for quite some time now. With his agent talking up a potential move to Juventus, Latics Premier League goal-scoring record holder’s stay appears to be coming to a depressing end.

But it’s too easy to make a scapegoat out of the Colombian. Victor Moses was once again devastating in one-on-one wing play, but his final pass, cross, or shot simply fails to yield. The fear with him is that for all his raw talent there is no football brain, no vision. He holds on to the ball too long, keeps his head down when others are making runs for him (Dave Jones made an excellent one in particular after recovering the ball in Wolves territory in the first half), and shoots either too early or too late. This is harsh criticism for a young player who has been denied by posts and outstanding saves all season long, but it is what we’ve missed of N’Zogbia’s game. Coolness under pressure. Can you teach that?

Moving back to the defense. Gohouri was wobbly, while it’s hard to talk about Antolin Alcaraz’s performance after the spitting incident that will see him banned for the next three matches. Needless to say he didn’t have one of his better games. We can only hope a public apology is coming, and the incident doesn’t negatively affect relationships within an already distraught squad.

The way he is performing, it won’t be long before there is an Ali Al-Habsi statue in the town centre. The frustration he must have felt after his defense failed to clear three times before Dave Edwards hammered that second goal in must have been unreal. His agility and reflex saves are second to none in the premiership.

In midfield, Mo Diame and Dave Jones had decent games, and Ben Watson was solid enough. Latics passed well and had the better of the game. They are not the problem. If Diame continues to progress, he will no doubt be making the step to a bigger club sooner or later.

And so it has to be said — barring an astonishing turnaround, Latics look doomed. Last season, West Ham billed their home match against us their “Save our Season” fixture. They beat us, and then in the reverse fixture, we sent then down. The home fixture against Blackburn in two weeks time is certainly a must win if this season is to be saved. But then so was the last one. I’ll be wearing my lucky sombrero and moustache, but how great would it be if the team could put in a performance that didn’t need it?

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habi: 9 — Made a number of excellent saves, inspirational.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.5 — Won the penalty, did some good defending and got forward. But two of the goals came down his side.

Antolin Alcaraz: 5 — Was okay, until the spitting incident.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — Wobbly.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 — Wolves’ first goal just seemed a bit too easy, but otherwise fine.

Ben Watson: 6 — Solid performance, was unhappy to be substituted which at least shows desire.

Dave Jones: 7 — Worked really hard and had an effective game in midfield.

Mo Diame: 8 — Latics best player this season, lively.

Hugo Rodallega: 4 — Miserable. Missed a sitter and several other chances. Sad to watch him perform this way.

Victor Moses: 6 — Great running, no end product.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — If Rodallega has been up to it, he would have emerged from this match with a couple assists and a good energetic, committed performance as centre-forward. His own finishing should have been better when he had half chances, however.

Subs:

Conor Sammon: 7 — Deserves a chance. Had a good effort and looked lively.

Albert Crusat: 6 — Did not assert himself on the game this time.

James McArthur: 6 — Not much to report.

Wolves – Wigan Preview: It’s now or never

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


If the must-win theme in our match previews of late has been getting a bit repetitive, at least its message becomes truer by the week. Wigan has already lost two absolutely-must-win home fixtures, the first with a shambolic display against Bolton, the second a luckless affair against bogey team Fulham. The next three — Wolves away, Blackburn at home, and Sunderland away — are probably as crucial to our survival as any in the season run-in. Not only because they are matches we should expect to emerge from with some points. But because we have to emerge from them with some points. If we don’t, we go into December bottom of the table with fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United in four of the five next games.

Assuming we don’t pick up much in that Christmas deathtrap, I think we need no less than 7 out of the next 9 points. Which means beating Blackburn at home, then beating either Wolves or Sunderland away, and drawing with the other. Given Wolves’ poor form, this may be the better chance for that away win.

The good news is that Latics have a strong record at Molineaux in recent times. We won 2-1 last year and 2-0 the year before. Their form has been poor, losing 7 of the last 9, although they won 3 of the 4 before that, and the most recent two losses were back-to-back exercises against Man City. They did draw at home to Swansea and lose to Newcastle, though, which should give us hope.

The bad news, of course, is that our form is worse. We are now on a staggering eight-match losing streak, although performances have not been as bad as the statistic suggests. With the exception of Man City away, Latics could have (in several cases should have) emerged with points. We live in hope that this will be the performance that delivers reward.

Not too much in the way of player news other than the excellent report on Mo Diame’s ankle injury not being serious. He may even be in contention for a starting spot on Sunday, and thank goodness given the rest of our midfield’s scoring record this season. Gary Caldwell is out suspended, which I daresay has been greeted with enthusiasm by many sections of Latics support. He appears to have lost a yard of pace — not that he was ever the quickest — and equally importantly, presence. I felt he was a good choice for captain when he first arrived at the club, but the defense is severely lacking the authority he was signed to provide, something has gone wrong. Roberto has a few options to replace him — none that steady — playing Steve Gohouri or Adrian Lopez in the centre with Antolin Alcaraz, or moving the ever reliable Emmerson Boyce into centre, drafting in Ronnie Stam at right-back. Or playing Gohouri or Lopez at right back. The main concern should be containing Matt Jarvis, who usually operates down Wolves’ left wing.

If Diame is fit, I would guess a repeat lineup in midfield, with Dave Jones and Ben Watson. Albert Crusat was dangerous against Fulham and should keep his place on the left, while Victor Moses will continue to provoke panic in goalposts country-wide on the right. Hugo Rodallega has been poor — a lifeless, dejected version of the livewire striker with the neon green boots that joined us under Steve Bruce. He remains the most likely player to score, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Martinez opted for Franco Di Santo, who at least looks like he wants to be on the pitch.

As for Wolves, it will probably be a 4-5-1 similar to ours, with Kevin Doyle the frontman. Matt Jarvis will be the main creative threat, while Jamie O’Hara will be energetic in midfield. Cristophe Berra is a bit of a weak link in their defense, though old Birmingham bruiser Roger Johnson always seemed to enjoy a good tussle with Rodallega, I’m sure it will be the same in different colours.

Not much more to say. We’ve played well in the last two outings but haven’t scored. We know we’ll hit the post at least once, but lets hope it bounces in this time.

Heart says: We are a bogey team for Wolves. The extra pace in centre of defense will do us well. We need to win. 1-0.

Mind says: If Wolves score first, we’ve had it. If we do, anything is possible. Realistically, 1-1, but lets hope I’m wrong.

Wigan Athletic 0 Fulham 2: Robbed again, but keeping the faith

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quite how Fulham beat us on Saturday is beyond me. Nine corners for Wigan, none for Fulham. Nineteen goal attempts Latics, Cottagers six. We have yet again been punished for the failure to convert our chances. But how many more games will go by in which the law of averages does not apply? How many times more can we possibly hit the post without it bouncing in, taking a slight deflection, or falling to one of our strikers to tap in. How many more corners until we get a lucky bounce? How many more bone-crunching tackles from the opposition before the referee sends one of them off?

We just can’t buy a goal. Victor Moses has to go down in history as one the most unfortunate attackers to set foot in the league. Sure, he is a raw young talent, an erratic finisher who would benefit from a cooler head. But he alone has hit the post 4-5 times already. Time and time again, he gets past his marker with such power and pace, but is denied against all odds by a lunging defender, an inspired keeper, or the woodwork. He was scoring for fun in pre-season. The Gods of the Premier League just aren’t smiling on him. Surely his reward will come soon?

Then there’s Roberto. I thought he made the right decision in sticking with the XI who performed so admirably against Newcastle. He was forced to substitute his most talented midfielder in the first five minutes after some cynical and targeted tackling, particularly that of Steve Sidwell, which typically went unpunished. He eventually brought Di Santo on for Crusat, who was probably tiring. But with one substitute left, still trailing by a goal, the Stam-for-Boyce substitution is infuriating. It’s not that Stam is a bad player, but he had Shaun Maloney and Conor Sammon on the bench. If you don’t throw them on in that situation, when do you?

That said, I don’t blame Roberto’s tactics for this loss, or the one at Newcastle, or so many others. If either of the shots that hit the post had gone in, we would have probably gone on to win. We were after all, the better side.

I suppose it is better to go on an 8-match losing streak in the beginning of the season than towards the end. But if it doesn’t stop in these next couple fixtures, we will have a serious mountain to climb. December and January look to be cruel months on the fixture list. If we go into them in the bottom three, I can’t see us getting out. November is a big, big month.

I’m keeping the faith. Confidence breeds luck, and we have neither at the moment. But if we get a bit of it, everything else is in place for a decent run of results against Wolves, Blackburn and Sunderland. Seven points from those three would propel us into mid-table. And the bottom half of the table is weak. Bolton and Blackburn have continued their mediocrity. Wolves look frail, Swansea and Norwich are doing okay but will find the second half of the season challenging. Sunderland probably have too much quality to get stuck down there, but do look dodgy. Lets go win at Wolves.

A Neutral Would Say

Wigan dominated but got hit on the break. Twice.

Player Ratings

Al Al-Habsi: 6 —  Might have done better with the second goal. Everyone, including him, assumed Dembele would pass wide to Dempsey rather than shoot.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 — Caught out of position for the first goal by a very good Danny Murphy pass. Couldn’t catch Dembele. Showed some good interplay with Victor Moses down right flank.

Gary Caldwell: 6 — Latics didn’t need to do much defending, but still conceded two goals, so it’s hard to give him anything more than a six. Will miss the next match due to accumulation of yellow cards.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Outrun by Dempsey for the first goal. Otherwise solid.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Tricky to grade him. Had his best attacking game in a long time, with some mazy runs and a tremendous left-footed shot that struck the post. But should have cleared in the build-up to the second goal instead of trying to pass his way out of trouble.

Ben Watson: 7 — Decent match for Wigan’s quarterback. So unlucky with an excellent volleyed effort in the first half, tipped over the bar by Schwarzer. Latics controlled possession, which was largely down to his distribution.

Mo Diame: N/A — What a shame. Only on the pitch for the opening minutes after two bad tackles ended his afternoon. Sidwell should have been cautioned. Lets hope it’s a speedy recovery as he is the only Wigan player to have scored a non-deflected goal, or a penalty, this season.

David Jones: 7 — Decent passing from midfield, another good shift. Lots of room for improvement on set pieces though.

Albert Crusat: 7 — Really lively and positive, delivered a range of crosses before making way for Di Santo.

Victor Moses: 8 — Outstanding performance full of invention and running. Saw a gorgeous volley crash off the crossbar in the second half. Was involved in all Wigan’s attacking play.

Hugo Rodallega: 6 — No real chances for Hugo in this one.

Subs:

James McArthur: 6 — Came on for Diame and worked hard, with some neat passing, but did not offer the penetration Diame is capable of.

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Came on in centre-forward role but did not make a big impact.

Ronnie Stam: 6 — Joined the attack as instructed, but his crosses were generally cleared without complication.