Defensive gaffes prove costly for Latics – Wigan 1 Bolton 3

Posted on October 16, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Wigan Athletic badge

Keep the faith

Post match there have been some ridiculously ill-considered comments from Wigan fans about Roberto Martinez, but the real reason for this latest set back were some shocking individual defensive mistakes.

The facts are that Antolin Alcaraz and Steve Gohouri’s three howlers are the main reason why Wigan lost this match, in what was otherwise a closely fought encounter.

Martinez will be devastated by the current catalogue of individual defensive mistakes. Against Spurs the Latics defence pushed the self destruct button by giving their opponents a two goal lead and this time Alcaraz and Gohouri showed a remarkable naivety by gifting the Trotters three more goals.

The first goal came after just four minutes as Alcaraz lost possession while trying to dribble past two Bolton attackers and then just as Wigan had drawn level through Momo Diame’s excellent strike, Gohouri presented Kevin Davies with the ball, before David N’Gog scored Bolton’s second. Very few teams can expect to compete at the top-level when the opposition are regularly gifted goals.

Wigan were the more positive team at the beginning of the second half as Rodallega and Figueroa replaced Gohouri and Watson. There were some excellent interchanges between Rodallega, Moses and Diame. Indeed Victor Moses had several good chances and could have scored on three occasions.

However, an equaliser was not to be as the Latics just ran out of steam. Bolton created a couple of clear-cut opportunities and Gary Caldwell conceded a penalty as he was adjudged to have pushed Boyata. Fortunately Ali Al-Habsi guessed correctly to save Kevin Davies penalty before Alcaraz once again recklessly presented the ball to Chris Eagles to make the game safe at 3-1 to the Wanderers.

It is fair to say that some of Wigan’s players have been under performing and injuries to Alcaraz, Rodallega and Boyce have restricted the manager’s options.

However, Martinez should not be held responsible for the crazy individual mistakes that have peppered the opening fixtures. Now is not the time to panic with only eight games played. The individual players are well aware of their errors and the manager will make it clear that they must wipe out such basic mistakes.

With Alcaraz, Rodallega and Boyce returned to the team the manager now has more options available and if we can eradicate the individual mistakes, there is no reason why we can’t make progress up the league table.

Posted in Antolin Alcaraz, Bolton Wanderers, Roberto Martinez, Steve Gohouri, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Is it time for a football revolution?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Che Guevara

Football revolution

The opening games of the new Premier League season have demonstrated that the gap between the mega rich teams and the rest is now increasing.

With only seven games played the Big Guns are way ahead. Manchester United have won six and drawn one, scoring 24 goals and conceding only five, City have also won six and drawn one, scoring 23 and conceding five. Chelsea in third spot have scored a relatively modest 17 and conceded eight.

Newcastle have risen to the heady heights of fourth spot, but there is little expectation of a move into the top three and virtually no one expects them to be there come the end of the season.

Even the merely rich are finding it hard to compete, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal already know that winning the league is beyond them.

Other clubs like Sunderland have spent significant sums of money (approximately £115 million) trying to get near the top table, but they are now starting to realise that this is insufficient when the top three are spending unimaginable sums of money on transfers and salaries.

What is the point of having a league, in which after only seven matches, only three teams can win the title?

The league is no longer a real competition, it is now a three-horse race from the first kick of the season.

In fact, ever since the Premier League started in 1992 only four teams have won the league. Manchester United have won it 12 times, Arsenal and Chelsea three each and Blackburn once, way back in 1994.

In recent years the dominance of Chelsea and Manchester United has meant that no club other than these two has won the Premier League since 2004 and, as of May 2011, 20 of the last 27 major domestic trophies have gone to either Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

I know many United, City and Chelsea fans will not like this said but the Premier League is no longer a competition in any true sense. It is now for the glorification of the top table, those mega greedy clubs who gorge themselves with increasingly obscene demonstrations of wealth and success.

Roman Abramovitch, Sheikh Mansour and the Glazer family have pumped incredible sums into their chosen teams paying massive transfer fees and wages in the process. Spending £50m on a transfer fee and £250,000 a week wages is seemingly pocket-money for those with unimaginable wealth.

Many fans of other clubs in the Premier League are disenchanted with the current disparities and are starting to turn away from attending matches. Many in the Football League have given up hope of ever reaching the Premier League because the distribution of funds within the football pyramid is too locked into the top teams.

So how do we resolve the current impasse and create a football environment where there is a fair and real competition.

Here’s my list of potential ways to revolutionize the Premier League and football in general.

1. A salary cap to limit on the amount of money a team can spend on player salaries. The limit could exist as a per-player limit or a total limit for the squad, or both. Several sports leagues have implemented salary caps, both as a method of keeping overall costs down, and to ensure parity between teams, so the same mega rich teams cannot maintain dominance by signing many more top players than their rivals. There would be clear benefits derived from salary caps – promotion of parity between teams, and control of the clubs costs. A salary cap has been implemented effectively in both Rugby League and Union for some time.

2. Limit transfer fees as well as salaries. The huge transfer fees paid are currently obscene at a time of global economic meltdown. Players should be rewarded for their efforts but frankly the transfer fees (of which the player gets a cut) and salaries are completely out of synchronicity with the rest of society.

The public are getting increasingly frustrated with the exorbitant transfer fees and salaries. Clubs could invest their resources in youth development and demonstrate a long-term approach for the good of the clubs themselves and for football in general. Many Premier League clubs have spent excessively trying to keep up with the mega rich and this has only led them into financial difficulties and in some case even administration.

3. Give cash incentives for home-grown players. Extra resources could be given to clubs with home-grown players in their squads up to a maximum number. This would promote youth development and in turn provide benefits for the home nations international teams.

4. Share the TV money more equally amongst Premiership teams and give a greater share of money to clubs in the Football League. This would ensure that the football pyramid is secure and that the smaller clubs, who are often the lifeblood of many communities, are able to thrive and develop new footballing talent.

5. Premier League footballers contracts should stipulate that they donate a small percentage of their income to local charities and good causes and that they help out at local schools and hospitals on a regular basis. This would help the players to understand how privileged they are and it would ground them in the local communities which support them.

If we want a sport that is truly competitive and that supporters can be proud of, it is about time we revolutionized football. All football fans need to be lobbying their clubs and the football authorities to make the changes.

Now is the time for a change.

Viva la revolution!

Posted in Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Roman Abramovich, Spurs, Sunderland, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Two halves to every story – Wigan Athletic 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Posted on September 26, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Man of the Match - Mohammed Diame

Man of the Match - Mohammed Diame

In a game of two halves, Latics shambolic defending characterised the first and their fighting spirit was foremost in the second. Wigan were woeful in the first half with misplaced passes, defensive blunders and a lack of attacking ideas. Spurs dominated possession creating numerous chances and scoring twice through Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale.

Wigan’s defending had been poor last week against Everton but this week the defensive blunders verged on the farcical. The first goal was handed to Spurs on a plate after only three minutes as first Caldwell played a poor pass to Figueroa who then played an even worse ball into the path of Adebayor who fed van der Vaart to finish in clinical fashion. The second goal came on 23 minutes from a corner as Bale headed home unchallenged by his marker Figueroa.

However, the second half was a different story. Ronnie Stam replaced the ineffective Jordi Gomez and Wigan started the half in positive fashion. Roberto’s teamtalk had certainly done the trick and instigated a spirited response from his players. Wigan no longer allowed Spurs time on the ball and Mo Diame in particular gave the Spurs midfielders a torrid time. It was no surprise when Wigan’s man of the match pulled one back after Assou-Ekotto had failed to clear.

Wigan’s passing and movement was much improved and they could sense that they had the upper hand. Unfortunately just as Wigan were building up a momentum, Steve Gohouri was red carded for a second bookable offence. His challenge on Gareth Bale was reckless rather than malicious but it was a fair decision by the Referee.

Both sides still had chances to win the game before the end, a deflected free kick by Younes Kaboul hitting the Wigan bar and James McArthur having a golden opportunity to play in Ronnie Stam for the equaliser, but it was not to be.

Wigan’s second half performance showed the spirit within the camp which augurs well for the future. But there are still major questions about our defensive capabilities. Alcaraz and Boyce have been sorely missed and Figueroa and Caldwell continue to struggle. A significant improvement will be required in this area if we are to get anything from our next game at Villa Park.

Posted in Mohammed Diame, Roberto Martinez, Spurs, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Injury crisis deepens as Everton expose defensive frailties

Posted on September 19, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Hugo Rodallega

Hugo Rodallega

Off the pitch Wigan Athletic are now debt free, but on the pitch the season took a downturn as Everton overcame them 3-1 at Goodison Park. Not only did they lose the game, but they also lost striker Hugo Rodallega with a serious knee ligament injury which could rule him out until Christmas.

Rodallega is crucial to Wigan’s attacking play and his creative and goalscoring abilities will be sorely missed as we enter a difficult period for the club.

Latics are already without key defender Antolin Alcaraz for three months, plus there are injuries to Emmerson Boyce, Steve Gohouri and Mohammed Diame to contend with. Wigan do not have the strength in-depth of the bigger clubs and injuries to key players will severely restrict their options over the coming months.

For much of the game on Saturday Latics looked like they might take a point against opponents somewhat lacking in confidence, but two late goals by substitutes Vellios and Drenthe took the three points for the Toffees.

Latics took the lead through another deflected goal by Franco Di Santo. That’s three deflected goals for Di Santo this season, but the Wigan fans won’t care if all his goals are deflected, as long as he keeps on scoring.

But almost as soon as the fans had sat down from celebrating the goal Everton equalised. Wigan’s vulnerability from set pieces is clear to see, Everton’s corner was headed against the bar by Tim Cahill, who easily got in between central defenders Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa, and Phil Jagielka was left unmarked to poke home the rebound.

The second Everton goal was a similar affair, a good cross into the box by Hibbert and Apostolos Vellios muscled his way between Caldwell and Figueroa to head home. The third goal came from a route one pass which Figueroa, Caldwell and Lopez all failed to cut out and Drenthe finished comfortably.

Without Alcaraz and Boyce the defence looks ill at ease, Lopez and Caldwell both had disappointing games, Figueroa is much better at full back, only debutant loanee Patrick Van Aanholt excelled at left back.

Caldwell may be a good leader but his performances this season have been lacklustre, his distribution is poor and he lacks pace. Lopez is still young, but he is struggling to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.

The defensive frailties are for all to see and now that we have lost Rodallega our attacking options have been severely curtailed.

Boyce and Diame may be fit for our next game, but I’m afraid to say that without Alcaraz and Rodallega we will still have our work cut out, as we face an in form Spurs who demolished an expensively assembled Liverpool team 4-0 on Saturday.

Posted in Adrian Lopez, Everton, Franco Di Santo, Gary Caldwell, Hugo Rodallega, Patrick Van Aanholt, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Not a level playing field? Manchester City 3 Wigan Athletic 0

Posted on September 11, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Etihad Stadium

Etihad Stadium

Wigan fans should not be too despondent after this 3-0 defeat to the über wealthy Manchester City. On this form City are potential Premier League champions and many teams will suffer much heavier defeats at the Etihad Stadium.

City played some world-class football with Sergio Aguero scoring a hat trick, and in all honesty it could have been five or six apart from some slack finishing by City and some great goalkeeping by Ali Al-Habsi.

Al-Habsi saved a penalty from the out of sorts Carlos Tevez and pulled off a string of fine saves to deny a rampant City.

David Silva and Aguero in particular interlinked so effectively that City were unplayable at times.

Some Wigan players were maybe too in awe of their wealthy rivals but City’s attacking options are legion, Tevez, Aguero, Silva, Dzeko, Johnson, Milner, Ballotelli, very few teams will cope against such strength in-depth.

Yet despite the festival atmosphere amongst the City fans, the team’s success is somewhat tainted by their incredible wealth.

The underlying feeling amongst many Wigan fans and neutrals is that City’s huge wealth is creating an apartheid in the Premier League.

City, United and Chelsea are on a different financial level than the rest. This can’t be good for the future of the game and some would even prefer a separation of these teams to create a more competitive league for the rest.

A similar problem has emerged in the Primera Liga with Barcelona and Real Madrid being so far of the rest that the other teams are now seeking a re-balancing of the financial resources by re-drawing the TV deal to make the league competitive again.

The gap between the mega rich teams and the rest continues to grow. A radical solution is required if we want a truly competitive Premier League in England.

Posted in Ali Al Habsi, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Champions League here we come!

Posted on August 27, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Franco Di Santo

Franco Di Santo

After a relatively comfortable 2-0 win against newly promoted Queens Park Rangers, Wigan are now in the heady heights of seventh position in the Premier League – nicely placed for a surge into the European places.

No doubt the mega spenders at the top of the Premier League will be quaking at the prospect.

Seriously though, Wigan’s young team are continuing to make excellent progress playing some attractive football in the process.

Roberto Martinez’s perseverance is starting to pay dividends and if we can add some numbers to the squad before the close of the transfer window, mid-table is a reasonable target.

Despite QPR hitting the woodwork on three occasions, Latics controlled possession and looked the more confident outfit throughout.

Ben Watson and Mohammed Diame bossed the midfield and Jordi Gomez provided some deft touches to enliven a lively frontline led by the returning Hugo Rodallega and the surprisingly potent Franco Di Santo.

Di Santo scored two spectacular goals although both benefited from slight deflections.

Di Santo had only previously scored one goal for the Latics against Sunderland but his brace against the hoops should give his confidence a boost for the forthcoming fixtures.

Despite being without the injured Antolin Alcaraz, Latics looked reasonably safe at the back with Alcaraz’s replacement Lopez putting in a steady shift.

Latics were also without the not fully fit James McCarthy, who was on the bench, but the midfield coped well against a team who will be bolstered by a number of new signings before the close of the transfer window. Joey Barton and Luke Young have already been recruited, but Rangers will also have to reinforce in a number of other positions if they are to survive at the top-level.

Wigan go into the international break in an excellent position, with the fans in an upbeat mood. Long may it continue.

Posted in Franco Di Santo, QPR, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Is patience always a virtue? Swansea 0 Wigan 0

Posted on August 21, 2011 by ianhaspinall

By our Special Correspondent Jamie Aspinall.

When the fixtures were released, there are certain away days you mark down as ones to look especially forward to.

Like Blackpool away last year, Swansea away was one of the trips I thought would not only be great as a new place to visit but also somewhere we could come away with a result. We almost got one, but that was only down to the last 20 minutes of the game when we eventually decided we fancied taking part.

For all of Swansea’s attacking, fluent football they had the similar problem to us, that they do not look dangerous in front of goal.

After watching Match of The Day I was reminded of the chances Swansea created but whilst at the game these chances never seemed very threatening at the time. The hope was always there that if we could step it up a gear we could quite easily take the three points that our first half display certainly didn’t warrant.

When we eventually did find our higher gear, it was surprisingly Gomez who struck an out-of-the-blue looping shot onto the post in front of the Wigan fans. This woke up the Wigan fans and spurred on a succession of chances on to Vorm’s goal.

Victor Moses was next to find his effort twanging off the woodwork. He received a defence splitting pass onto which he twisted his way past the last defender and then laced a shot over the keeper but it lacked enough dip to find its way under the crossbar. The rebound must have shocked Jordi Gomez into life as he was first to react and managed to get in front of Williams, who stamped towards the ball but was too late, spinning Gomez to the ground.

Newly promoted team number two, penalty number two. Apparently the Swansea goalkeeper Vorm had been advised by the Swansea backroom staff which way he should dive, as they had only ever seen Watson hit the ball to his left. Their research paid off as Watson’s predictable shot was met by Vorm’s gloves.

My friend had said before the penalty was taken that after us hitting the woodwork twice and our generally below par performance that it was probably not meant to be. It would be fair to say that we would have been a little lucky to have taken the full 3 points.

Our first half performance was extremely disappointing; one of the major culprits again being Di Santo. Martinez is an intelligent manager, who adopts a considered approach but maybe sometimes he is too patient.

It was clear for all to see that Rodallega or Sammon would have offered more of a threat against a team we were capable of beating.

Gomez does offer the ability to find a goal from nowhere on the odd occasion, but the persistence of playing Di Santo and Gomez together on a regular basis is rather baffling, particularly after their lacklustre performance and early withdrawal against Norwich.

The majority of Wigan fans, in my opinion, possess a lot of patience but we will voice our opinion when we feel something is not right. Wherever I sit around the ground I always hear the same unrest about these two players being selected, so hopefully Martinez will not wait too long before he makes a change.

At the end of last season, when we desperately needed to pickup points for our survival, Martinez seemed to listen to the changes the fans wanted and often reverted to a 4-4-2 formation as his last ditch, gung-ho approach and it worked as an alternative. It frustrates me that his patience does not wear thin sooner, forcing him to make these profitable changes.

Rodallega made his way onto the pitch later in the second half, notice how I talked earlier about all of our chances coming late in the second half – there must be a correlation? He may not have been in the starting line up due to transfer interest but if this is the case we may as well use him whilst we still have him.

It is hard to find strikers in the market at the moment and I can sympathise with Martinez for that, but if there are more influential strikers sat on the bench and they prove this when they come on then it is a problem that the manager has to address.

The Liberty Stadium was a new venue for the Wigan players to adjust to and the home fans filled their stands, creating a tough atmosphere. This will have no doubt contributed to the difficulty of the occasion for the players; therefore, a point away from home has to be seen as a positive.

We have made a steady start which we can build on, but we need to build quickly. Stronger teams would have punished us in our two opening games so it is essential that we play our most effective team and learn to be more ruthless in front of goal. Two worrying moments were the departures of McCarthy and Alcaraz with suspected injuries. We will certainly need these two in order to field our strongest team and hopefully they are nothing serious.

It was not the great trip out I had hoped for and did not compare with Blackpool away but we are still unbeaten, so maybe we just need to keep being patient, but not too much so.

Posted in Ben Watson, Roberto Martinez, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

There for the taking – Wigan 1 Norwich 1

Posted on August 16, 2011 by ianhaspinall

From our Special Correspondent – Jamie Aspinall.

Norwich City were like an electronics shop crammed with Plasma TV’s helplessly waiting for Wigan to come along as the low-life looters and smash their way in to take what they please. The only problem being, Wigan didn’t possess a striking implement and were unable to force an entry into the Norwich goal from open play and failed to walk away with, what should have been an easy three points.

It took a well executed Ben Watson penalty to give the Wigan faithful an optimistic feeling that this wasn’t going to be anything like last season’s opener against Blackpool, but that feeling was short lived once Wigan failed to look convincing in front of goal. The biggest criminal of all was Franco Di Santo. Having been allocated the new number 9 shirt, he appeared to have a new fire in his belly and was making frantic runs forward which did very fortunately result in him being bundled over by De Laet’s clumsy challenge just inside the box. His energy could have also gained Wigan a second penalty not long after, when Russell Martin clearly stuck a foot out to catch Di Santo’s leg but the dramatic fall to ground made the referee Stuart Attwell believe it was a dive.

The problem is that if Di Santo hadn’t been brought to the ground, then what are the chances of him actually beating the keeper, or at least hitting the target? He clearly doesn’t have that natural striker’s instinct of where the goal is as he proved on a number of occasions. The most disappointing was when a ball came over the top of the defence and Di Santo had enough time to control the ball, set himself up for a shot and write a post on his twitter page, but instead he panicked and softly headed the ball from a ridiculous angle and distance with an effort that resembled a back pass.

It was not surprising then that he and the lacklustre Gomez, who I can’t remember contributing anything, where swiftly swapped for Rodallega and Sammon in the second half. The introduction of the two substitutes was met by the fans with a large applause but it did not have the impact expected. The biggest contribution towards a goal was Sammon’s strong run and pass across the box to Ben Watson who casually struck the ball with the outside of his boot only for it to cannon off the keeper’s right-hand post. Watson who was by far one of the greatest performers during the 90 minutes carried on his form from the end of last season and was my man of the match. The official man of the match was given to Victor Moses who appears to now have become our new Charles N’Zogbia and one of our only hopes for a goal. He was electric down the left flank and left his markers tripping over themselves with his trickery but failed to have that cutting edge final ball or bit of luck that his effort deserved. Moses has been scoring for fun in the pre-season friendly’s, however in the competitive Premiership games he still seems a little panicky in front of goal and hopefully with a few more starts he can start finding the target more often.

I don’t want to be unfair to the well supported Norwich team as they dug deep and probably merited a point due to the fact they never gave up, but they did not have a lot to offer in the game in terms of chances and quality and I felt they looked like a Championship team at times, it should have been an easy victory for Wigan. It may well be that Norwich were finding their feet and didn’t want to take too many risks away from home in the hope they could take a point and if this is the case then they achieved their aim. In my view though, Norwich were poor and struggled to play the ball to one another with any flow or clear direction. They couldn’t deal with Wigan hassling them off the ball and will need to improve on many levels in order to keep their premiership dream alive. They did however take their chance when it came to them, which is something we regularly fail to do.

The foundations are in place for us to become a strong mid-table team and we should be reasonably happy with a point in the circumstances, it just feels like we need to find our next Ellington, Roberts or Zaki (before he self destructed) as it has been a long time since we could rely on a centre forward to find the back of the net consistently. It is imperative that we strengthen our attack as soon as possible. Our great passing football deserves it.

Posted in Ben Watson, Norwich City, Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Trying to predict the future – winners and losers for 2011/12

Posted on August 6, 2011 by ianhaspinall

20110806-162440.jpg

The new Premier League season is nearly upon us and it is time for every fan, pundit and casual observer to offer up their predictions for the winners and losers in the 2011/12 season.

As a Latics fan, it is always somewhat annoying to see that many so-called ‘football experts’ have predicted that we will be relegated again this season. But then again it is always a very sweet experience when we prove them wrong.

Wigan Athletic have denied the doomsayers for many seasons and I think under Roberto Martinez’s leadership we will continue to do so.

So who will be the winners and losers in the biggest and most hyped football league in the world?

I’m afraid to say that my tips for the winners involves the usual suspects, the mega-rich clubs whose resources seem limitless in comparison to the merely wealthy.

My prediction is that Manchester United will once again be Champions with the nouveau rich Manchester City as runners up, with Chelsea in a disappointing, for them, third place.

At the other end of the table I cannot see beyond the three promoted clubs to occupy the three bottom places. In a previous article on this blog I outlined my reasons why these three clubs will find it difficult.

I suppose one reason to change my mind would be if QPR were to be taken over with a major injection of transfer funds made available. However, at the time of writing, I think the three promoted clubs will be the three relegated in May 2012.

So what of Wigan Athletic’s prospects?

Apart from Charles N’Zogbia we have managed to retain all our key players from last season with the addition of Dave Jones from Wolves. I expect Roberto to recruit a few more new faces before the transfer deadline, but these may not all be finalised before the new season kicks off.

Wigan have some exciting youngsters in James McCarthy, Victor Moses and Callum McManaman plus the improving Mohammed Diame and the underrated Ben Watson.

I think Wigan are capable of finishing higher than last season and would certainly expect them to finish above the three promoted teams plus Wolves, Blackburn and Newcastle.

Whether we can push on into mid-table is likely to depend on our transfer acquisitions. We need to replace N’Zogbia with a creative attacker and we also need a goalscorer to replace our failed record buy Mario Boselli.

As always I’m optimistic for the new season, I believe we can continue our progress in the Premier League. I just hope you are a believer as well.

20110806-162440.jpg

Posted in Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Norwich City, QPR, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Roberto Martinez the new Pep Guardiola?

Posted on July 31, 2011 by ianhaspinall
Roberto Martinez
Roberto Martinez

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has been tipped by many pundits to be successful at the very highest level. Martinez has won many admirers with his cool calculated approach to management, firstly at Swansea City and more recently at Wigan.

He is still only 38, but he has already guided Swansea to promotion and secured a seventh season for Latics in the Premier League. A fluent speaker of both Spanish and English, he has an extensive knowledge of european football and his calm persona seems well suited to managing a top team in the Champions League.

The similarities between the current FC Barcelona manager Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola and Roberto ‘Bobby’ Martinez are significant.

Both players were born in the early 1970’s in Spain, Guardiola spent his playing career as a defensive midfielder with Barcelona while Martinez began his football career with CF Balaguer and Zaragoza before moving to play Wigan in 1995 as one of the groundbreaking Three Amigos.

Although Roberto has had a successful playing and management career at Wigan and Swansea, his achievements are currently dwarfed by the incredible achievements of Pep.

Pep achieved playing success at Barca winning the European Cup in Johan Cruyff’s dream team, before playing abroad in Italy, Qatar and Mexico. After retiring as a player he became coach of Barcelona B before taking up the reins as first team coach in June 2008.

In his first season as manager he won the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. In doing so Guardiola became the youngest UEFA Champions League winning manager ever. The following season he won the Spanish Super cup, the UEFA Super cup and the World Club Championship bringing the manager’s tally to six major trophies in one year.

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola

Last season Barcelona won the European Champions League and La Liga once again, it is safe to say that Guardiola is currently the best manager in world football.

Despite the contrast in the scale of Pep’s and Roberto’s achievements so far, they both share very similar footballing beliefs and their teams play the same type of football.

Both managers believe in possession football – Barcelona have taken passing to a new level, but you can also see the same slick interplays between the players at Wigan.

The calibre of player at Barca may be superior but Wigan have some excellent young players coming through the ranks and under Roberto’s tutelage they will no doubt go on to play for the top teams.

Under Guardiola and Martinez their respective teams are very disciplined with a focus on retaining possession. They adopt a pressing style when they do not have the ball, which in Barca’s case is not very often.

Barca have the metronomic ‘tiki-taka’ passing of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta but Latics have some promising young midfielders in James McCarthy and Mohammed Diame who retain possession while also getting from box to box.

Some will say that Roberto is not proven at the very highest level, but he has only been at the DW stadium for two seasons and he is still one of the youngest managers in the Premier League.

As Wigan battled to save their Premier League status last season he was surely the calmest manager of those in trouble and he always stuck to his footballing beliefs. When he has had to deal with difficult players his man management skills have been exemplary.

Pep is at one of the biggest clubs in the world, with excellent resources and a dynasty of great players at his disposal. Roberto’s team is a work in progress and it will take a few more years for his ideas to fully take root and for the younger players to develop into established Premier League stars.

Aston Villa identified Roberto as one of the best young managers around, but he turned them down to complete his project at Wigan. It was typical of the man then when he signed a new contract at Latics he requested the purchase of the training ground as a top priority, so that he could have the best facilities to develop his plans.

Like Pep, Roberto lives and breathes football, in fact his dedication to the game is verging on the obsessive. He spends his relaxation time watching football and he is a regular expert on Spanish football on TV.

Ultimately Roberto will manage a top English or Spanish club, I just hope he stays long enough at Wigan to establish a footballing dynasty which will thrive for many years to come.

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