Tag Archives: will grigg

Latics fans react on social media to win over Forest

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Social Media and tagged with , , ,

griggfire

Will Grigg scored his first goal in thirteen games yesterday to put Wigan Athletic ahead against Nottingham Forest as the half time whistle approached. After being written off by too many fans as a League 1 striker, Grigg showed the kind of opportunism that we had come to expect from him in the past. Providing he is not sold off in the transfer window we can expect more goals from a centre forward keen to show that he has the qualities to become a force in the Championship.

Warren Joyce commented after the game that:“I think Will has been great in general play and he works hard for the side. His all-round commitment has been good and he is doing a job for the team. It’s the hardest thing in football to score, that’s why strikers get paid the most money and he did his job very well today.”

Yanic Wildschut continued his impressive recent form, scoring his fifth goal of the season in the 57th minute. Danish goalkeeper, Jakob Haugaard,  made an eventful debut, saving an 80th minute penalty, Joyce commenting that:“I’m really pleased for Jakob. He didn’t have a lot to do thoughout the game but he had to keep his concentration and be there to save the penalty. Great for him, good confidence booster.”

However, the Man of the Match award went to Sam Morsy on his return from a loan spell at Barnsley. His performance was impressive enough to have fans lobbying for a permanent return to the club for Morsy, although the Yorkshire club have the option of signing the player providing they pay Wigan the agreed transfer fee and can agree personal terms with the player. Joyce commented that:“I’m delighted for Sam. I met him for the first time this week after talking to him on the phone and he’s impressed me, I’ve told him he’s my type of player. The situation is out of our control slightly so we’ll see how that develops.”

After a run of disappointing results, spirits have been lifted, the only real downer of the day being a sparse attendance of 5,163, with some 1,500 coming from Nottingham.

We took a look at the social media following yesterday’s match and came up with a wide range of views. Our thanks go to the Cockney Latic Forum, Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Facebook) and Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen.  Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below.

Garswood_Latic on the Cockney Latic Forum commented:

Haugaard signed on loan and straight in the team. Sam Morsy back and in the team. Craig Davies off to Scunthorpe. I think it looks like Joyce is starting to forge what he wants.

Noel Wards Leg on Latics Speyk appraised Sam Morsy’s contribution:

I really enjoyed Sam Morsy’s performance today. His ability to play accurate forward passes and maintain the momentum of our play was a joy at times. Forest were very poor but still, I don’t think we’ve got anyone else who can play like that. If, as seems likely, it’s basically up to him whether he joins Barnsley now, then we can only regret whatever happened previously. However, as much as it appears on today’s performance that he would improve our current squad, it’s unlikely that he would play that well every week. Forest put him under no pressure when he had the ball and as we saw last season, he can fold very quickly when he is pressed very intensely. In the hurly-burly of an average Championship match, I fear he wouldn’t contribute as much as he did today. As to whether he will stay, Joyce said in his post-match interview that he’s told Morsy that “he’s my kind of player”. That, and a start today, may lead him to think that he will play more often for us than for them although he has played in his last six games for Barnsley. As ever it will probably come down to money. I can’t see us offering him a better contract but it may well be that he’s already earning more here than Barnsley can offer. If that’s the case, he may still be our player this time next week. He could make a difference and give the fans a lift into the bargain.

Paul Kendrick @PKendrickWIG tweeted:

May only be short-lived, but good to see Sam Morsy back in a Latics shirt. Mistake to let him go in summer. But only my two-penneth.

JamesSaintLatic  @JamesSaintLatic said:

Great, that. Midfield 3 superb. Showing what we are capable of. Morsy needs to stay if possible. Huge game next week now. Come on!

JimmyC on the Cockney Latic Forum talked about Haugaard:

This keeper from Stoke looks good jr. He didn’t have a lot to do today but looked comfortable coming for crosses, and saved a pen…

Rob G @robgibson82 praised Morsy’s performance:

I’m with the internet experts on this one. I thought Morsy was brilliant yesterday, maybe, just maybe he could have made a difference

CLatic on Latics Speyk commented:

Feel sorry for David Sharpe, he’ll take the pelters from the fans if Morsy goes when all he was doing was backing his manager at the time’s awful judgement. Having said that, I hope the young man has learnt a serious lesson regarding permanent fees inserted into loan contracts following this debacle. If Morsy decides to stay and helps keep us up, then for me he’ll become an instant cult hero at this club and deservedly so.

Phil Crompton @ptc23 tweeted:

@LaticsSpeyk#wafc    Worst PR ever. Loan Morsy out, recall him, play him in one match and sell him. Who thinks these things up ?

NuneatonLatic on the Cockney Latic Forum surmised that:

But why pick a player for one game knowing he’s off the week after. Imagine your the player stood down for him. Not gonna make for a happy squad is it? I think Joyce must rate him and I would hope he’s had a word with the lad and convinced him that he is an integral part of his plans. Sometimes that’s all is needed its what the great man managers do .

GrimReaper87 on Latics Speyk checked out a Barnsley view:

Just been looking on the Barnsley Forum and their fans don’t seem confident in signing Morsy, They’re saying that personal terms are the stumbling block they’re saying that Barnsley can’t and won’t offer the same money that we’re paying Morsy.

Murf @RobertRobmurphy added:

waiting “Grigg and Yanic only doing it for a transfer out of here”#wafc

Mark Ashurst on The Boulevard of Broken Dreams said:

Wonder how many of the folk moaning about the club spending no money will not be going today as it’s a tenner to get on and not in your season ticket …..

Tez H on the Cockney Latic Forum commented:

What a shame there was only 3500 Latics die hards there to see it. Embarrassing that so called fans can’t put their hand in their pocket for a tenner.

TrueBeliever on Latics Speyk opined that:

The problem for me Tl4e is that we are not attracting pay on the day fans. We are only bringing in the season ticket holders and hence a game that has to be paid for as an extra is not appealing. I’m not saying this is the only reason but Wigan fans are fickle and have proved that over the years, until we start playing consistent and attractive football and start moving up the league I fear we will not see the floating “fans” back. Its a sad state of affairs I know but sometimes you have to take off the blinkers and see the truth of things.

 

 

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A two sided view of Warren Joyce at Latics

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Specials and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

janus

Wigan Athletic lost at Villa Park on Saturday due to a brilliant goal in the 89th minute. Up to that point we had seen them cancel out the attacking efforts of a team loaded with players who played in the Premier League last season.

Looking at the team lineup prior to the kickoff it was clear that Warren Joyce was going to utilize the same tactics as he did at Barnsley and Huddersfield, where Latics picked up a draw and a win. The plan was simple: play a massed defence, relying on the pace of Yanic Wildschut up front. It worked until the closing minutes. Latics went close to getting a hard earned point, although they never truly looked like coming back with three.

After the game Joyce expressed his satisfaction on the effort and commitment of his team, also adding that “That’s where we’re at, we’ve got to make sure we stop the opposition from playing in the best way that we can and limit their opportunities of scoring – which we did today – and then try and come up with ways that we can score goals to win games. We will approach the game no differently on Wednesday night, we will try and win the game in what we believe is the best way that we can go and do that.”

After just five matches in charge the new manager has already polarized the Latics support. Is he playing the right tactics? Is it the right way to get out of the relegation zone?

Any argument has two sides. Let’s take a look at a couple of opposing views:

 

It is far too early to judge Joyce after just five matches in charge, most of which have been against teams either in high positions or on strong runs of form. He inherited problems left behind by Gary Caldwell and it is going to take time to put it right. Joyce has been appointed for the long term, as evidenced by the three and a half year contract he was given. Previous managers were appointed on rolling contracts.

Joyce had a great reputation at Manchester United and has demonstated his ability to develop young players. In the long term this will be necessary for our club which does not have the available resources to compete on an even keel with the bigger clubs in the division. The reality is that David Sharpe’s Latics will be the kind of club that develops players and sells one or two off each year to balance the books. In his interviews with Sharpe prior to taking the job, Joyce surely gave the young chairman a vision of how he could do that. He must have known it would be a difficult task, given this scenario, but nevertheless gave up a relatively comfortable position at Old Trafford to take on the challenge.

Caldwell had made far too many mistakes this season and if he had stayed Latics would have been in a constant struggle against relegation. His summer signings were uninspiring, with the players brought in no better than those who were there already. Moreover he broke up the solid central defensive partnership of Craig Morgan and Jason Pearce, the former being stripped of the captaincy, the latter offloaded to Charlton. The pre-season was a mess and the players have not been fit enough. Joyce has increased the intensity of training and is getting real commitment from his players. It may not be pretty to watch at this stage, but these are early days. Joyce’s teams at Old Trafford had a reputation for playing entertaining football and this will surely come at Wigan, given time.

The first thing to put right in a team struggling against relegation is the defence. Joyce is on his way to making Latics a team that others do not want to play. Nottingham Forest had a team studded with Premier League players, with £20 million worth on the bench, but they did not look like getting past Wigan’s defence until that spectacular goal a minute from the end of normal time.

Joyce’s team selections have been criticised but he oversees training on a daily basis. If a player is not making the effort in training should he leapfrog over others into the starting lineup? Joyce is sending a clear message to his squad that their full commitment is required.

His immediate goal will to be to get towards the January transfer window, picking up enough points here and there to keep Latics within reach of the teams immediately above them in the table. He will keep things tight, not risking heavy defeats that can demoralize his players. He has inherited a weak squad and will need to bring in fresh blood in January. Much will depend on Sharpe’s willingness to back him in the transfer market. If the chairman does not provide the funds then Joyce will have to scour the loan market. His connections with Manchester United will surely help.

With time we can expect to see a team which effectively defends and attacks as a unit, with genuine pace up front and at the back. The days of the painfully slow build ups of Caldwell’s teams are gone and we can expect a more direct and high tempo approach from Joyce.

 

Since Joyce arrived Latics have gone backwards, rather than forwards. He started with a 3-0 home defeat and his only win was a steal at Huddersfield. The football has been horrible to watch. Even that served up by Owen Coyle was better. Players who were able to retain possession by stringing a series of passes together under Caldwell now seem unable to do so. Moreover if the defence or midfield wins the ball there is nobody to hold it up.

Joyce thinks a winger can be a centre forward, as did Malky Mackay with James McClean, which proved sadly misguided. Like McClean, Wildschut does not know how to hold up the ball or to head it. Moreover even as a winger he can be so inconsistent. I cannot recall a previous situation in English football when a manager has played a winger in the middle, with three centre forwards on the bench. Proven strikers are the most likely to win games for you.

On Saturday Joyce started with Luke Garbutt in wide right midfield and Michael Jacobs on the left. Most of their efforts were taken up by defending, with Wildschut looking solitary up front. Joyce’s game plans seem to have been based more on damage limitation rather than actually trying to win the three points.

Latics squad is far from the best in the division, but neither is it the worst. The problem is that he is not getting the best out of the squad at his disposal. With the right tactics and the right team selections there is already enough talent there to get the club out of the relegation zone.

The treatment of Will Grigg is baffling. The excuse that the player needs a rest because of being in the European Championship over summer wears thin. It appears that Joyce wants a central striker with more pace than Grigg (or Davies or Le Fondre), so he puts Wildschut there. Rather than adjust the tactics to suit the squad he has, Joyce chooses to leave out players who can win matches by scoring goals out of the blue. Is he so inflexible that he cannot see this? Common sense needs to prevail.

The right full back position remains problematic. Joyce’s preference has been Reece Burke, a central defender who lacks finesse in attack. His next choice is Garbutt, who is left footed and who had been left out of the team by Caldwell. Despite Joyce’s reputation of developing young players, Luke Burke continues to languish in the development squad, despite promising performances early in the season. Moreover Joyce also has another specialist right back in Kyle Knoyle who has disappeared from view.

When Latics were struggling to maintain their place in the Premier League in 2011-12 “Believe” was the theme. It happened. But at the moment it is hard to believe and it is not surprising that support in recent home games has been muted.

How can people believe in a manager who writes off a defeat at Aston Villa by saying that “Single points add up over the course of a season, but the reality is it’s just one point. It’s not all doom and gloom, it’s one point, in a tough game, against a massive club.” Prior to Saturday Latics had lost in just one of their previous eight visits to Villa Park.

Playing ugly football with just one forward is not the way to pick up points.

 

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Rekindling Grigg’s fire

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

 

Windsor Park erupted into song in the 62nd minute of a World Cup qualifying match on Friday. The chorus reverberated around the old Belfast stadium. The irony is that some Northern Ireland supporters may have been more familiar with the song than the player who came off the bench at that moment

Will Grigg went to the European Championships in France in summer, but never got the chance to play. He found himself the third choice centre forward behind  Kyle Lafferty of Norwich and Conor Washington of Queens Park Rangers. Lafferty has a fine goalscoring record for his country – one in every three games. He opened the scoring against Azerbaijan in the 24th minute, before going off with around half an hour to play. But Washington was not in the squad and Grigg was the replacement.

Will Grigg was born in Solihull and qualifies for Northern Ireland through an Irish grandparent. He made his debut for them in a 6-0 defeat to Italy in June 2012, going on to make five more appearances over the next 12 months, but over the past three years his appearances have become infrequent.

The experience in France will have been desperately disappointing for Grigg. He scored 27 goals last season, the third time in his career when he has exceeded the 20 mark. Given Lafferty’s goalscoring record at international level it was always going to be difficult to claim a place ahead of him. But Grigg’s fans will seriously question why he was not favoured over Washington, who had a good goalscoring ratio at Peterborough, but failed to score for QPR last season after his January transfer.

But despite the knockbacks of France and critics wondering if Grigg was up to the level of the Championship, the player started the season with a flourish. Despite his team’s poor start to the season Grigg not only managed to score 4 goals in the first 5 games, but also to look comfortable playing in the second tier. It looked like Grigg could be on fire in the Championship as he had been in League 1.

At the start of the season Grigg was Wigan’s most marketable player. Were he to make a success of himself in the Championship his potential transfer value would sky-rocket. The figure Latics paid Brentford – rumoured to be around £900,000 – looked like chicken feed compared with the possibilities of a valuation moving up towards the £10 million mark. In a cash-strapped situation the club could not afford to miss out on a big cash-in at a later date.

But since early September Grigg has not so much been on fire, but more like smouldering. With his first child due to be born he opted out of the Northern Ireland squad at the end of August, the arrival of Adam Le Fondre near the end of the transfer window also complicating Grigg’s position. At the end of September in the home game against Wolves Gary Caldwell chose Le Fondre to start ahead of Grigg. The manager could say his move paid off as Le Fondre scored after 5 minutes, with Grigg coming off the bench to score the winner in the 88th minute. In fact that has been Grigg’s only goal in his last 7 matches for Wigan.

Le Fondre was again preferred to Grigg in the goalless draw with Burton in mid-October, but Grigg was to regain his place for the next three matches. However, the arrival of new manager Warren Joyce was to see Le Fondre start in the ill-fated 3-0 defeat to Reading.

One wonders if Joyce will continue to favour Le Fondre over Grigg. The 29 year old Le Fondre arrived on loan from Cardiff with an impressive career strike record, having scored 164 goals in 287 league starts and 152 appearances off the bench. He has played in the lower divisions, but also in the Premier League with Reading. He joined Cardiff City in May 2014 but managed only 4 goals in 19 starts and 4 substitute appearances before being sent off on loan to Bolton then Wolves.

Joyce might well be looking into resting Grigg over the coming weeks. Last week he stated that: “It is a real frustration. Talking to Will, he’s had a long summer, where he maybe only had 10 days off between seasons, and he almost needs a little bit of a break. I know from my experience at Manchester United, the players always had at least a four-week break (over the summer) because the body needs that. It’s something we’ll be looking at with Will, to try to give him a chance to recharge his batteries and go again for the rest of the year.”

Up to this point Grigg has started in 13 league matches, with 3 appearances off the bench. He has scored 5 goals. Le Fondre has started in 3, with 4 substitute appearances, scoring 1 goal.

Both Grigg and Le Fondre have excellent goalscoring records. There are fans who would like to see them play together as twin strikers, but Joyce is likely to take a similar stance to Gary Caldwell and most other modern day managers by playing with one central striker. The 25 year old Grigg is physically bigger than Le Fondre and has shown his ability to play the lone centre forward role with skill and application. But Le Fondre has more experience of playing in higher levels of football.

Joyce also has a fit-again Craig Davies at his disposal. Davies can play the role of an old fashioned battering ram centre forward who can make life uncomfortable for central defenders. He was afforded little playing time last season, so often brought on near the ends of games, with little time to settle in. Davies needs more consistent playing time to be at his sharpest, but with Grigg and Le Fondre ahead of him in the pecking order he will find it tough. But the prospect of a Davies-Le Fondre double act in the final quarter of a tight game could be tempting for Joyce.

It is ironic that at the same time that Joyce is talking about resting Grigg he is at last getting playing time for Northern Ireland. It is a matter which is out of the manager’s hands, but he cannot be happy with the situation.

It remains to be seen not only how much rest Joyce will afford Grigg, but whether the player wants it. He started the season well, but events have conspired to disrupt his rhythm. Many fans advocate a return for Grigg as the undisputed first choice centre forward. Joyce will have to make some difficult decisions over the coming weeks.

An on-fire Grigg could be the key to Latics moving up the Championship table, free of the threat of relegation. He remains the club’s biggest asset and the manager will need to ensure that he is sharp and at his best.

Last season Grigg had only scored 6 league goals by Christmas, but went on to notch 25. He has already scored 5 goals in the Championship this season.

Can he do it again?

Can Joyce rekindle Grigg’s fire?

How many more new faces for Caldwell?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Other and tagged with , , , , , , , ,
At least three new faces coming in for Caldwell?

At least three new faces coming in for Caldwell?

“We’re probably looking at bringing in four or five new players”

So said Gary Caldwell at the end of May.

The manager has since brought in Adam Bogdan, Jake Buxton, Dan Burn, Alex Gilbey, Kyle Knoyle and Nick Powell, in addition to signing Stephen Warnock on a permanent contract. He also has Emyr Huws and Andrew Taylor back from season-long loans.

Yesterday Caldwell was quoted as saying that:

“I think you can see we still need certain players to come into certain positions”. Hopefully before next Saturday we can add not just one but a few new faces to the group.”

So why has the manager changed his mind about how many new players he needs? Is he saying it to rouse those players who have failed to impress during the close season? Or does he feel that there are not enough players in his squad up to challenging the best in the Championship?  Given the club’s short-term financial situation is he going to be able to be able to offer the salaries necessary to recruit players of such quality?

The pre-season has been less than impressive. There are worrying parallels between it and that of two years ago under Uwe Rosler. In the latter case too many players came out of the pre-season injured and others were palpably unfit to play a full ninety minutes of Championship football. There have been a number of injuries in this pre-season too, although managers tend to err on the side of caution by leaving out players who have niggling injuries who would otherwise have played if it were a league game.

In the past we had come to expect managers to play their first choice players as close as possible to a full 90 minutes in the final game of the pre-season.  But last summer Caldwell used 20 players in the game at Blackburn, with only Craig Morgan, David Perkins and Max Power playing the full 90. For the Fleetwood game last Friday he used only 15 players, with 7 playing the whole game.

Latics announced the players’ squad numbers today. The name of Andrew Taylor did not appear in the list of 25 senior squad players.  The squad includes four goalkeepers, one of whom will be leaving, on loan or by permanent transfer, within the coming weeks. The most likely is Lee Nicholls and rumour suggests that MK Dons will bid for him. Speculation surrounds the future of Emyr Huws, who has once again has picked up an ankle injury, making him unavailable for the last three warm up matches. Latics are reputed to be looking to offload the player for a fee of around £2m, with Leeds United being the latest suitors. Jason Pearce is almost certainly on his way, probably to Charlton.

Should those four players depart, Latics will be down to a squad of 21, hence making room for at least three new players. Given the excellent form of the 18 year old Luke Burke in the pre-season, Caldwell could take up the option of bringing him up to the senior squad. .

Caldwell has pinpointed the need to bring in players in “certain positions”. One of those will be at right back, following Kyle Knoyle’s long term injury. Another will be in midfield, given Huws’ expected departure. Latics have been linked with Sheffield United full back, John Brayford, although the Yorkshire club would expect a sizeable fee. Rumours persist that they are seeking the services of Leon Osman, born locally, who made over 350 appearances for Everton over 16 seasons. The midfielder is 35 years old and is accustomed to a Premier League salary. However, a one year contract might well be in the offing.

There are reports that Caldwell is also chasing Millwall centre forward Lee Gregory, who was a major force in the London club reaching the League 1 playoff final last season.  The 6 ft 2 in ex-Halifax Town player is pacey and scored 27 goals last season. However, strikers don’t come cheap and Millwall will ask for a fee of around £1.5 m.

But if Latics were to sign Gregory how would it affect Will Grigg? Caldwell is loath to play with twin strikers and some fans see the hunt for Gregory as the prelude to the departure of Grigg for a hefty transfer fee. Interestingly Craig Davies’ squad number has been changed from number 10 to number 21. It may be of minor significance, but could it signify a new player coming in to take the number 10 shirt? Moreover is Davies’ stay at Wigan nearing a close? Would Caldwell be looking at Grigg and Gregory alternating in the central striker position?

The signings of players of the quality of Brayford, Osman and Gregory would add to the squad. David Sharpe is certainly not averse to putting up money for key transfers, but will want to keep tabs on what will be happening to the wage bill one year from now when parachute payments cease. Given that proviso the arrivals of the three players would be a distinct possibility.

Caldwell has certainly changed his mind over the quality of the squad that won League 1. He now recognises the need to reinforce it more profoundly than he was thinking at the end of May. He needs a squad strong enough to establish itself in the Championship, with a mid-table position by the end of the season being a likely goal.

There are likely to be at least three new faces coming in, but there could be more, depending on outgoings.

It is going to be an interesting week.

 

 

 

How good is Caldwell’s team?

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Specials and tagged with , , ,
Nathan Ellington
Will Cook find the best way to employ Grigg’s talents?

“Walsall delay Wigan’s promotion” the headline said.

Trawling the internet for football news can be often entertaining, if sometimes frustrating. We are so drawn in by headlines. The spurious premise of this headline drew me in and I opened the article.

It told us that had if Walsall had not beaten Shrewsbury last night, Latics would have been promoted. Mathematically true it could be said. But the realists among us know that Walsall stood as much chance in making up the 22 goal difference gap between the two clubs as one might have winning a lottery. Why did I bother opening the article?

Gary Caldwell’s thoughts must be all over the place at the moment. He will be keen to win the League 1 title by his team being victorious in  one of its last two games – mathematically speaking of course, in case Burton make up the 17 goals by which they trail Latics. The probability is that Wigan Athletic will win at least one of the two; the likelihood is that they will win both. But as much as winning the division is important surely Caldwell’s mind will be looking on next season, back in the Championship division.

It is a nice feeling to win a division. The last time Wigan Athletic did it was in 2002-03 when Paul Jewell’s expensively assembled team won the League 1 title in his second season at the club. His first season had not been easy. Latics were to drop from a playoff position the previous season to 10th place. But Jewell managed to clear out much of the deadwood that was blocking the club’s progress and had been able to bring in players on salaries well above the norm of the division.

Jewell’s team amassed 100 points, 14 ahead of second placed Crewe. They scored 68 goals, conceding 25.  The following season they were to finish 7th in the Championship, scoring 60 goals, conceding 45. The players were largely the same that won League 1, buoyed by the arrival of Jason Roberts from West Bromwich in January.

Should Caldwell’s team win their last two games their points total will be 90. They already have 71 goals, although they have conceded 36. Jewell’s team had been based on a solid defence with John Filan, Nicky Eaden, Matt Jackson and Jason De Vos making a combined total of 204 appearances in league and cup games that season.

Inevitable comparisons have been made regarding the merits of the players in the teams of 2002-03 and 2015-16. Nathan Ellington’s 22 goals in 48 appearances were pivotal as have been Will Grigg’s 26 goals in 41 displays in the current season to date. Ellington went on to score goals in the Championship. Caldwell will be hoping Grigg will make a similarly successful transition.

Six of Jewell’s 2002-03 squad – John Filan, Leighton Baines, Matt Jackson, Jimmy Bullard, Gary Teale and Lee McCulloch – were to go on beyond the Championship to play in the Premier League in the 2005-06 season. Are there players in Caldwell’s squad who could reach that level?

Caldwell and his recruitment team have certainly done a fine job since last summer. Neither Max Power (22 years old) nor Sam Morsy (24) have played above League 1 level. They were signed for bargain fees and have looked a class above the third tier. Donervon Daniels was signed for free, but has made 43 appearances this season. Daniels is still only 22 and can play in the centre of defence or on the right. Like so many young defenders Daniels can lose concentration at times, but he has great physique and has a surprisingly good touch on the ball for a man his size.

Will Grigg (24), Reece James (22) and Yanic Wildschut (24) were signed for fees that were considerable for a club in League 1, but they are young and have made major contributions to Latics’ promotion. Yet none has yet reached his true potential. Michael Jacobs is still only 24, signed for a bargain fee from Wolves. Jacobs has played in the Championship before, but not with the success he would have liked. Jacobs has been a key player in Caldwell’s system and shows genuine quality. Will these players be able to step up to the mark next season in a more competitive division?

Caldwell has wisely resisted the opportunity to spend serious money on experienced players who are nearing the end of their careers. The players aged or 30 or over that he picked up were on free transfers, signed on short term contracts. However, together with experienced players already at the club, they have provided a balance that has enabled Caldwell to bring in players in their early to mid-twenties who have genuine potential.

Making realistic comparisons between the League 1 squads of Caldwell and Jewell is simply not possible, given how much the game has changed in those past thirteen years. However, Caldwell will certainly try to emulate Jewell’s success. Jewell was a great motivator, but his teams were all built around 4-4-2. Caldwell is very much the modern manager who is tactically aware and ready to change his tactical approach according to the state of play.

For the moment Wigan Athletic supporters will be focusing on winning the League 1 title. Should this happen, as expected, they will certainly celebrate as many of them will have done in May 2003. It was Paul Jewell’s first success as a Latics manager and he went on to make many more.

Can Gary Caldwell follow in his footsteps, albeit in a very changed environment?