Roberto has been following Crusat for at least a year, and finally gets his man. He is apparently a skillful, fast, left-footed winger who spent his last six seasons for Almeria in Spain. Perhaps some of our Spanish readers can provide some insight in the comments section below this story.
Two matches, two posts, a crossbar, one goalkeeping mistake and a saved penalty. It’s not been the luckiest start to the season for the Latics, having drawn two games that probably should have been won. But the feeling in the camp remains positive. We keep hearing “at this point last year we’d lost our first two matches 4-0 and 6-0, so we are in a much better position this time around.” Which is true, but shouldn’t mask the fact that killing teams off is still difficult for the Latics. That said, there’s not much more they could have done to win at Swansea — sometimes your luck just isn’t in.
And so QPR is up next. If Wigan’s start to the season has been consistent, QPR’s has been far from it. After losing 4-0 to Bolton on home ground, they managed an unlikely three points against Everton at Goodison Park. And that was after a number of players from their starting lineup were made unavailable due to illness. So who knows what we’ll get tomorrow.
It’s been an interesting week in the transfer window. Joey Barton is apparently on the verge of joining QPR, which is a shame not only because he’s a nasty sod and I’m sick of watching him shout and bully, but also because he’s a good player who hurt us last year while playing for Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Latics have been linked with Vladimir Weiss, and Roberto confirmed that he is also still interested in Sean Wright-Phillips. The Weiss deal would likely be a season-long loan, the SWP an outright transfer. Both would be excellent signings, but I would be very surprised if the more experienced of the two doesn’t opt for Bolton (or QPR, who just entered the bidding) rather than us.
The Football: Antolin Alcaraz is out for two months, a huge blow. Steve Gohouri, his would-be replacement, is thought to be two weeks away from a return. Victor Moses is rated 50-50 after pulling up with a groin strain against Swansea and being forced to play the final 15 minutes due to all three substitutes being used already.
It seems likely Roberto will start this one with the defense that finished the match against Swansea, with Ronnie Stam slotting in at right-back, Boyce joining Caldwell in the center of defense, and Figueroa on the left. The midfield trio should remain the same unless McCarthy’s ankle injury hasn’t healed in which case James McArthur might get a chance. Given Moses’ fragility, I would guess Rodallega will be back in the starting lineup on the left, Gomez on the right, and Di Santo up top. I’d love to see Rodallega and Di Santo take turns, swapping back and forth from wing to center-forward position.
Ex-Wigan defender Fitz Hall will be at the heart of QPR’s defense. He looked a player of enormous potential in his time at Wigan, an incredible athlete prone to lapses of concentration, ala Bramble. Now 30, he looked very useful against Everton last week, but a little wobbly in the match against Bolton. Will be interesting to see how he does.
Could last week’s excellent performance be a turning point in Jordi Gomez’s career at Wigan? If Moses misses out, Latics will need another strong performance from him, drifting in from the wing, making runs into the box, and finishing coolly as he almost did against Swansea.
It’s another tricky one to predict, particularly not knowing if Victor Moses will be in the side. Based on QPR’s ability to hold onto their lead at Everton, and their capitulation versus Bolton, I’d say first team to score will win. I think Latics will do the job this time.
A twelve year old boy went to watch his first football match on August 27th, 1932. It was the beginning of what was to become a life-long addiction to his hometown team and in his later years he would still talk about that match with great affection, although the result was not favourable. It was the opening league game for Wigan’s new football club: they lost 2-0 to Port Vale Reserves in front of 6,000 people. It was during the time of the great depression. Wigan Borough had folded the previous year, following the familiar pattern set by other clubs who had been set up to represent our ‘Ancient and Loyal’ town in the football world.
That boy was my Dad. Although he was a Latic fanatic he was also proud of our rugby club, although the rugby matches he actually attended were few. However, I do remember him going to Central Park to watch Wigan rugby league club’s highest attended game when they met St. Helens in March,1959. The recorded crowd was 47,747. Latics were drawing crowds of one to two thousand those days.
As a kid I was brought up around the corner from where George Orwell lodged in Sovereign Road when he started writing “The Road to Wigan Pier”. He chronicled the misery of life in Wigan at the time. It was superb documentary, way ahead of its time. It is totally chilling and gives you a real feel of how hard life was at the time. The year was 1936, a handful of years after the great depression. It was the forty second season of the Northern Rugby League (NRL). Wigan RLFC finished fifth that season, three points behind the fourth placed team Liverpool Stanley and nine behind champions Salford. There were 29 clubs in the NRL that year (there were 35 clubs in the three divisions in 2010-2011). That same season Sunderland won the First Division for the sixth time and Arsenal won the FA Cup for the second time. The Football League was composed of 88 clubs in four divisions.
The early thirties was a tough time for any football club to be born. Wigan Athletic were fighting against the odds then, as they continue to do now. Wigan remained economically depressed for decades. Could a town of its size and economy support two professional sports teams? Could both clubs co-exist and survive economically?
According to Wikipedia: “Wigan are the most successful club in the history of British rugby league, having won 19 League Championships, 17 Challenge Cups and 3 World Club Challenge trophies. Wigan enjoyed a period of sustained success from the late 1980’s to mid-1990’s which included winning the Challange Cup eight seasons in succession and the League Championship seven seasons in succession.”
Wigan Athletic’s record is quite different. They were a non-league team for their first 46 years. During that time they won the Northern Premier League twice, the Cheshire League four times and the Lancashire Combination four times. Since entering the Football League in 1978 they have gained promotion four times, winning their division twice in the process. They reached the League Cup final in 2005-2006.
Wigan Athletic continue to defy the odds. Despite being in a so-called rugby town the fact is that they consistently pull in superior attendances than their historically more successful counterparts do. This despite having struggling teams, fighting to avoid relegation. Since they got into the Premier League their average attendances have been around the 18,000-20,000 range. According Wikipedia they have been:
2005-06 20,160
2006-07 18,169
2007-08 19,046
2008-09 18,413
2009-10 18,006
Those of Wigan Warriors rugby team in the Super League have been around the 14,000-16,000 range during the same period (Wiki figures again) :
2006 14,404
2007 16,040
2008 13,955
2009 14,080
2010 15,181
From 2000-2005 their attendances were lower, the highest average attendance being 13,894 in 2005.
Is Wigan really a rugby town? Can it support two teams? Let’s take a look at the statistics.
Since entering the Premier League Wigan Athletic’s attendances have been significantly higher than those of the Warriors every year. However, it is to be noted that the Warriors’ attendances too have shown a positive trend since Latics got into the higher echelons.
Providing both clubs can balance their books with those attendance levels and maintain their status in their current divisions then the answer must be that the town can support the two. Things have changed a lot since the 1930s. Football clubs used to base their budgets on gate revenues, but now the reality for Latics is that the gate receipts are a relatively small part of their overall income. The Premier League is marketed worldwide and gets revenues which are way beyond those of any other football division in the world. Latics may be a small club by Premier League standards, but economically they can compete on more than just an even footing against their rugby counterparts.
Wiganers have a choice: to support a club that is a big fish in a small pond or to support a smaller fish in a giant pond. Or they can support both. Wigan Athletic are an example to the football world. The rugby team’s performances and attendances do not need to concern them. There is room for two teams, but the tables have turned. This is not the 1930s. The football team is now the more dominant economic force in the town, in terms of revenue and scale of operation. The myth of Wigan being a rugby town needs to be put to bed.
Good news today as Latics trio Ben Watson, Emmerson Boyce and James McCarthy signed new contracts for three, two and three years respectively. McCarthy had been linked with a move away during the summer but has decided to stay and further his career with the Latics, while deep lying playmaker Ben Watson has been rewarded for his increasingly influential displays in midfield. Everyone at the club will be delighted to hear Emmerson Boyce is sticking around for another couple years — he just keeps getting better with age.
Watson made mention of the “good feeling” at the club which suggests last season’s relegation battle and the relatively quiet summer of ins and outs has created strong team spirit. Boyce, already a father figure at 31 in this young side, has now been with Wigan all six of the club’s Premier League years and should handily break Paul Scharner’s record of most Premier League appearances this season. An under-appreciated player, Boyce has really flourished under Martinez, adding an attacking threat to his always reliable defensive work. And McCarthy, undoubtedly destined for one of the top clubs in the country, will continue to develop his game at Wigan Athletic, although the club will be lucky to hold onto him for all three years of his contract. The contract should, however, allow the club to ask for top dollar if the big boys do start circling in the next year or two.
Despite losing 3-1 to Arsenal earlier today, the reserves apparently looked very sharp. They had more than one goal disallowed and Callum McManaman hit the crossbar and had an effort cleared off the line when the game was still in the balance. Apparently, he and Nouha Dicko looked very dangerous throughout. Dicko is a natural left footer, who has been playing in that N’Zogbia right-wing role. Sounds really promising. Daniel Redmond scored the goal, a screamer from midfield. You can read the match report here.
Match Report: Swansea City 0 Wigan Athletic 0
As we suspected in our match preview, this was an extremely tricky fixture against a side celebrating its return to the top flight for the first time in twenty-odd years. We felt it would be evidence of the progress Wigan has made over the past couple of years if the team was able to grind out a result, and they did that and more. Swansea possessed and pressed, and enjoyed the first half without finding that bit of quality in the box, while the Latics who so often play that role in games, waited patiently, absorbing their opponents energy, breaking with with pace and quality. In the end, Latics should have walked away with three points; Jordi Gomez hit the post with a sublime lob, then won a penalty which Ben Watson had saved, while Victor Moses, again the main threat, hit the crossbar.
Positives:
Tactical discipline. It was not a pretty first half, but Roberto knew Swansea would be fired up and start the match strongly. The team defended patiently, easing into the game rather than trying to match Swansea. Very rarely did the Latics leave themselves exposed in that first half, save one early chance Al-Habsi saved from Danny Graham. As Swansea grew frustrated at the lack of a breakthrough, Roberto gave the team a bit more license in the second period, and it’s frankly a bit baffling how one of those chances didn’t go in to give the Latics three points.
Jordi Gomez. Possibly his best match in a Wigan shirt, he popped up on the right wing, on the left and through the center. Rather than playing a more traditional role on the wing that has never suited him, he was allowed to roam, and he got himself into good positions on more than one occasion. If it was painfully sad that his left-footed lobbed shot didn’t win it for the side, it must have been even worse to watch the Swansea keeper save Ben Watson’s penalty, which he had earned. Lets hope this proves a breakthrough season for the Spaniard.
The defense. Everyone did their part. Gary Caldwell, who has played with three partners at center-back in two matches, was assured and commanding. Figueroa made some outstanding tackles, Boyce was reliable as always, and even Ronnie Stam, usually an uncomfortable defender, stuck to his task and kept them out. Al-Habsi bounced back from his blunder against Norwich with a couple decent saves and a clean sheet.
The result. To get a draw against a newly promoted team in their first match on their home patch is tough. Mission accomplished.
Negatives:
Fitness of the squad. Antolin Alcaraz was substituted about twenty minutes in with a leg problem, possibly his knee, thus explaining his absence against Norwich. Franco Di Santo ran his socks off but appeared to suffer some sort of injury before being replaced by Hugo Rodallega. James McCarthy once again did not look himself, misplacing passes and earning himself a yellow card out of frustration. He was substituted halfway through the second half. And most worryingly of all, Victor Moses was forced to play the final 15 minutes of the match on one leg after straining a muscle (hamstring, probably) on his way to hitting the crossbar. All substitutions had been used up by that point.
A Neutral Would Say:
Swansea started stronger and were a bit unlucky with their finishing, but Wigan should have won this one in the second half.
Player Ratings:
Ali Al-Habsi: 6.5 — Tested two or three times but a clean sheet should help restore his confidence.
Emmerson Boyce: 7.5 — Mr. Dependable, he is one of the most likable players around. Started at right back but quickly moved into the heart of defense when Alcaraz limped off. He defended well and it’s great to know he is still comfortable slotting in given the defensive injuries in the squad.
Gary Caldwell: 8 — Solid and commanding, but also a good passer of the ball, which he rarely gets credit for. Coped with a pacy Swansea attack.
Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Commentators were criticizing him in the second half after a small lapse in concentration but I thought he made some excellent sliding interceptions that could have led to shots on goal. Nathan Dyer was a tough opponent and put some nice crosses in, but Fig had to play the last 15 minutes without help from the injured Moses. In attack he was patient and passed the ball well.
Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Went off early in the match, lets hope it’s not a bad injury.
Ben Watson: 6 — Busy, but a little less incisive than last week. Didn’t find the space to get forward as he did against Norwich. His penalty miss was costly.
James McCarthy: 5 — Something is wrong with him. He misplaced numerous passes and looked frustrated until replaced by McArthur in the second half.
Mo Diame: 6 — Decent workrate and got into shooting positions a couple times, but tends to go for the fancy long range or left-footed volleys when simpler options are available.
Victor Moses: 7.5 — Again Wigan’s most dangerous attacker, he got past his man on multiple occasions, played some nice crosses, but lacked the coolness to finish his chances. Hitting the woodwork was a bit unlucky though. Wigan needs him fit, lets hope his injury is not a long-term one.
Jordi Gomez: 8 — His best half in a Wigan shirt, he popped up left, right and center and deserved to score. Also won the penalty.
Franco Di Santo: 7 — Worked very hard, showed some nice touches and passes, but had little service. Almost created something for himself in the first half, spinning around his two markers before the keeper beat him to the loose ball.
Subs:
Ronnie Stam: 7 — Did his job defensively, and played a delicious driven cross that Rodallega might have gotten on the end of.
James McArthur: 6 — His first Premier League match in quite some time, he got beaten several times and resorted to professional fouls in areas of the pitch that a better team might have capitalized from. He has some talent though, and it was his first-time through ball that Moses latched onto when hitting the bar.
Hugo Rodallega: 6 — Quiet by his standards, but most of the time he was on the pitch, Moses was already injured, depriving him of an attacking partner. Still, came close to a couple dangerous crosses and might’ve poached one.
LOS THREE AMIGOS 