Let's Hang On

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 Norwich City, Wigan Athletic | 1 Comment

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

Posted on August 6, 2011 by ianhaspinall

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.

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

Is Roberto Martinez the new Pep Guardiola?

Posted on July 31, 2011 by ianhaspinall

: 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

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.

Posted in Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Barcelona, Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola, Roberto Martinez, UEFA Champions League, Wigan Athletic | Leave a comment

Ali is a Wiganer – keeper signs permanent deal

Posted on July 4, 2011 by ianhaspinall

: Ali Al-Habsi seals his dream move to Wigan

The on and off transfer from Bolton to Wigan has now been resolved and Ali Al-Habsi is now a Wiganer. After much wrangling an undisclosed fee (probably £4m) was today agreed by the two clubs and Ali signed a four-year deal.

It was always clear that Ali wanted to come to the club where he had performed so valiantly on loan last season, but Bolton held out for a somewhat inflated fee.

The 29-year-old was so impressive last season that the latics fans were desperate for him to sign permanently.

When Ali broke into the first team at Spurs few people (except perhaps Roberto Martinez) expected him to make such an impact. His faultless performance in a crucial 1-0 away win turned around latics season after the two early heavy defeats against Blackpool and Chelsea.

It is no exaggeration to say that without Ali’s performances Wigan would probably not have survived in the Premier League. During his tenure he kept eight clean sheets and the team went onto register their fewest defeats during their time in the Premier League.

Ali was voted player of the season for 20110/11 and if he continues where he left off last season he will play a crucial role in Wigan’s progress further up the league table.

Ali is now truly a Wiganer and of course…… he hates Bolton.

Posted in Ali Al Habsi, Bolton Wanderers, Transfers, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Ali Al Habsi, Bolton Wanderers, Transfers, Wigan Athletic | Leave a comment

Canaries, Swans and Tigers – the prospects for 2011/12

Posted on June 20, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Wigan Athletic’s first game of the 2011/12 Premier League season will be against Championship runners-up Norwich City. The Canaries travel to the DW Stadium on August 13th and this fixture is followed by Swansea away on the 20th and then Queens Park Rangers at home on 27th.

Some may say that these first three games are an easy start to the season, but my personal view is that the newly promoted teams will be determined to make a good start in the top flight. The adrenaline will flow and they will want to show that they can compete with the very best. Last season’s opener against Blackpool shows how a team who have built up a winning momentum during a promotion season can continue that progress in the early stages of the Premier League season.

So let’s look in more detail at the three promoted teams.

Norwich City

Captain Canary - Norwich City mascot

Norwich have made two successive promotions and have risen phoenix like under manager Paul Lambert. Only nine months after leaving his post at Colchester he led Norwich to the first promotion and last season managed to galvanise his team into a second promotion to the promised land.

The Canaries had been in a downward spiral since leaving the Premier League in 2005 and had gone through a succession of managers including Nigel Worthington, Peter Grant, Glenn Roeder and Bryan Gunn until Lambert arrived to rescue them.

Norwich like Blackpool before them have no stand out names. Grant Holt their captain and player of the year for the last two seasons is a solid player, but is far from being a household name.

Lambert is not looking to make signings from overseas, but has targeted seven additions to his newly promoted side.

He has already made three pre-season signings, midfielder Elliott Bennett and strikers James Vaughan and Steve Morison, but they have added little Premier League experience to the Norfolk outfit, with Vaughan’s eight starts and 39 substitute appearances for Everton making him the only one of the trio to have tasted top flight football.

Only four other City players have notched up games in the Premier League – John Ruddy (one), Adam Drury (33), Leon Barnett (11) and Andrew Surman (seven) – and Lambert has hinted he will not be bucking the trend with future acquisitions.

Familiarity, hard work and teamwork will play a crucial role in Norwich’s attempt to stay up, but ultimately I think the lack of top quality players will be Norwich’s downfall.

Swansea City

Cyril the Swan - Swansea City mascot

Just like like Wigan Swansea City play a very attractive style of football. It is no coincidence they both play this way given that the architect of this approach is Roberto Martinez.

Martinez took over as manager of Swansea in 2007 and immediately transformed the club from top to bottom. He recruited new players, changed the style of football, overhauled the coaching and fitness regime, in fact, he changed the whole ethos of the club.

When he took over the Swans were struggling in Division One, but in his second season the club were promoted to the Championship with a record haul of 92 points. Before he left to takeover at Wigan, the Swans had just missed out on the play offs in the Championship. The club’s progress under Martinez had been exceptional.

Roberto explains his footballing philosophy in his book ‘Kicking every ball’ published in 2008.

“I was looking forward to the new challenge and putting my philosophy into action. Football is a results industry, but I don’t believe the result can ever make your style of play irrelevant. To me it is important that the route to the result is attractive. “

He goes on to explain,

“You have to find the chance to score rather than chase it. As well as the skill, you need a clear understanding of the game and a clear control of the tempos of play with the possession of the ball. As a manager I want to rely on the talent of the player, not on percentage football, to win a game. I believe this approach is vital. I will never subscribe to the view that as a manager you can take any way to a win because that can only bring success in the short-term. It doesn’t allow you to build and grow something for the future”.

Subsequent Swansea managers Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rogers have continued with the same style of football, with the team gaining promotion to the Premier League via the play off final beating Reading 4-2, with former Wigan loanee Scott Sinclair scoring a hat trick.

It is interesting to note that following the promotion the Swansea players paid tribute to the important influence Roberto Martinez had on the club.

Swans chairman Huw Jenkins says that they will continue to play the same attractive style of football in the Premier League and believes they can compete with the big teams.

However, it is often difficult for teams who gain promotion through the play offs to plan and recruit appropriate players for the top flight.

The summer transfers have so far been limited. Swansea have released key midfielder Darren Pratley and are in discussions to sign Spanish international Marcos Senna. Swansea don’t have the resources of most of the other clubs and I do not expect them to spend heavily on transfers.

Swansea will win many admirers for their attractive football, but I think their lack of resources will restrict the quality of their signings, and this in turn will limit their chances of survival.

Queens Park Rangers

Spark the Tiger - QPR mascot

QPR were promoted to the Premier League as Champions but the promotion was somewhat tainted by an FA investigation into QPR’s acquisition of Alejandro Faurlín which threatened to deduct points from the side and put their promotion into jeopardy. The investigation found QPR to be at fault in two of the seven charges, and they received a £875,000 fine, but no points deduction came into play.

QPR have some extremely wealthy owners. In fact, Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal rival Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour as the richest owners of a Premier League club.

The trio are never far from controversy.

Flavio Briatore’s future as QPR chairman came under question in September 2009 after he left the Renault F1 team in the midst of race fixing allegations.

The owners have been accused of cashing in on the club’s promotion by hiking the prices of both match day and season tickets.

Queens Park Rangers supporters have reacted angrily after learning they will be charged up to £72 to watch their team in the Premier League next season.

The cheapest tickets will be £47 while season tickets are up by almost 40% from last term, although with four home games less in the Premier League compared to the Championship, the increase is even more in real terms.

Paul Finney of the Independent R’s website said,

”Flavio Briatore’s dream is a ’boutique’ club, which has an exclusive feel to it and is the place for wealthy people to be seen. Not only is that a slap in the face of QPR supporters, it is not in the long-term interests of a club that has two other Premier League clubs (Chelsea and Fulham) on its doorstep.”

QPR’s season ticket price changes will see the most expensive band – platinum – increasing from £699 to £999.

The motivation of the trio in owning QPR remains unclear. None are natural fans of the club, and whilst they have bankrolled losses (injecting £41m up to 31st May 2010 on top of the £14m paid originally), there has been no substantial investment in the playing squad or ground. Briatore has famously spoken of turning the club into a ‘global brand’, but no mechanism to achieve this has been suggested.

In the three seasons up to 2009/10, the club spent a net £4.8m in cash on players and a net £5.3m on the ground. Net transfer spending in 2010/11 was close to zero. Success has come from finally finding a manager in Neil Warnock who is a proven promotion specialist, not from spending.

Meanwhile Ecclestone placed a £100m price tag on the club in April and there were abortive talks about he and Briatore selling out to Mittal in May this year (ending with the Mittal offer being dismissed as “insultingly low”).

So QPR and its owners remain steeped in controversy. They are the mega-rich owners who haven’t bought any players and who, despite the £40m windfall coming the club’s way, feel that they need to hike season ticket prices by an extortionate 40%.

QPR have an experienced manager in Neil Warnock and although some people may not like his style he does have a good track record in getting his teams promoted. He has managed in the Premier League previously with Sheffield United, but as we all know his team were relegated on the final day of the 2007 season against Wigan.

Rangers have players with Premier League experience in Paddy Kenny, Shaun Derry, Danny Shittu and ex latics player Fitz Hall, plus some exciting youngsters, but they will need to add more quality to the squad.

QPR have a prized asset in midfielder Adel Taarabt, but it is now looking likely that he will move on. Warnock is very good at organising and motivating his troops, but unless the wealthy owners are prepared to invest in the playing staff, they will have a difficult season ahead.

Posted in Norwich City, QPR, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Norwich City, QPR, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic | Leave a comment

The best value Season Ticket deal in the Premier League

Posted on June 10, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Whelan and Martinez - a great team

With Roberto Martinez now confirmed at the helm of the good ship Wigan Athletic, it is now time for all football fans in Wigan to get behind the club and show your support.

Under Martinez Wigan will look to push on next season and establish themselves as a top ten team. They will continue to play the same attractive passing game, which has gained many plaudits (apart from Mark Lawrenson) and this can only augur well for the future of the club.

Latics already have some exciting young players and I’m expecting Roberto to add to these over the close season. Roberto wants to establish a footballing dynasty at the club along the same lines as Barcelona legends Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola.

Come and join a club which is developing and progressing in the right way under Roberto Martinez and Dave Whelan.

Season Ticket Deal

Wigan – One Adult and One Child £270 ie £14.21 per Premier League game + Under 5’s Free. A fantastic price for a Premier League season ticket for an adult and one child. If you are already a season ticket holder it’s actually only going to cost £250 to renew ie £13.16 a game.

Get your Wigan Athletic Season Tickets here.

Posted in Dave Whelan, Roberto Martinez, Season Tickets, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Dave Whelan, Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic | 2 Comments

Transfer torment for the latics

Posted on June 2, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Transfer target Charles N'Zogbia

The close season transfer window is now officially open and the transfer rumours are already in full flow. It is no exaggeration to say that the transfer rumour mill now turns 24 hours a day, every day in the year. Fans of the Premier League big hitters look forward to seeing who they can sign, but for many latics fans the close season is a time of transfer torment.

The initial transfer Wigan rumours centre around James McCarthy, Charles N’Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, Ali Al Habsi, Mohammed Diame, Maynor Figueroa and even manager Roberto Martinez all being linked with moves away from the DW Stadium.

While speculation about arrivals includes Pablo Piatti and Hernan Bernadello from Almeria, Cedric Hengbart from Auxerre, Craig Mackail-Smith from Peterborough and Guy Moussi from Nottingham Forest.

The major worry for Wigan fans is that we are seen as an easy target for the bigger teams to take our best players. Yes we often make a sizeable profit on these players but we are then faced with the difficult task of having to replace our star performers with players who cost less. We will have to recruit replacements who may not yet be at the same level as our star performers. We now have to recruit and rebuild the squad every close season.

The implications of all this were seen in the opening two games of last season when a quickly assembled new Wigan team faced Blackpool and Chelsea and were soundly beaten. It takes time to establish the style of play and to build understanding between the players.

Roberto Martinez clearly knows how he wants his teams to play, but if there are significant changes over the summer, we will have to bring in new players who may not have long to settle in before the season starts.

The team had found a rich vein of form towards the end of the season with Charles N’Zogbia scoring five goals in the final six games. Losing him, James McCarthy or in fact any of our star performers will pose Roberto with a significant challenge to replace them.

It will be particularly galling for Roberto and the coaching staff to scout, nurture and develop these players and then to lose them so quickly.

Latics have a wage structure and relatively small transfer budget, yet some of our fans don’t seem to understand that we cannot match the huge wage demands of players and their agents. So we continue to be an easy target for the Premier League teams with big budgets.

Some Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United players are now on £250,000 a week. There is massive wage inflation in the Premier League, with even some journeymen players demanding six figure salaries. The temptation for players to move should not be underestimated.

It would be nice if, after the tension and excitement of the final games of the season, the close season could be a relaxing experience. But the constant tirade of rumours via the TV, Internet, Twitter, Facebook and other social media mean that it is impossible to escape the speculation and the fear that we will be losing our best players or even our manager.

Unfortunately there is very little we as Wigan fans can do, but watch on the sidelines as the transfer madness unfolds.

Posted in Ali Al Habsi, Charles N'Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, James McCarthy, Maynor Figueroa, Mohammed Diame, Roberto Martinez, Transfers, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Ali Al Habsi, Charles N'Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, James McCarthy, Mohammed Diame, Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic | Leave a comment

Mission accomplished

Posted on May 23, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Hugo Rodallega celebrates the winner

We did it! We stayed up! What an absolutely incredible finale to the season, with 13 minutes to go we were in the relegation zone, but a Manchester United goal against Blackpool and then Hugo Rodallega’s 78th minute headed goal made us safe.

The post match celebrations were something to behold, Roberto being bounced in the air by the players and then throwing his lucky jacket to the fans, wallet included! Dave Whelan showered in Champagne by Hugo and then warmly embraced by Roberto.

Little Wigan had proved all the doubters wrong and we can now look forward to a seventh season in the Premier League.

When I started writing this blog at the beginning of February Wigan sat second bottom of the league and had not won in 2011, and yet I still believed we could escape. Some may say this was blind faith, but I thought we could do it because we have some excellent young players, a great team spirit and one of the best young managers around in Roberto Martinez.

Roberto is a very intelligent manager, he has some very strong beliefs and he always wants his team to play football in the right way.

Roberto supports his players and gives them confidence, he does not criticise his players in public and he engenders a great team spirit. Some say he overly accentuates the positive but I think this gives players the belief that they can achieve great things. He always seems cool and calm, even under the most intense pressure, his decision-making during the final two games of the season were exemplary.

He wants to play football on the floor, pass and move – yes like Barcelona (although we are not at that level), he wants to build a team of young players who will go onto great success. His long-term plan is to establish Wigan as a Premier League force and to constantly improve the club’s status. He always has the best interests of the club at heart.

Now that we have stayed up, I think he will go on to establish the club higher up the table, the current crop of young players and the excellent youth policy means that the club has a very bright future ahead.

Posted in Dave Whelan, Hugo Rodallega, Roberto Martinez, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Dave Whelan, Hugo Rodallega, Roberto Martinez, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic | 2 Comments

Real Roy of the Rovers stuff

Posted on May 20, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Roy of the Rovers at Wigan Athletic – photograph courtesy of Homes of Football

Last Sunday saw a real Roy of the Rovers ending (see footnote for younger readers) to an incredible game at the DW stadium as Wigan overcame West Ham 3-2. This amazing rollercoaster encounter saw Latics come back from 2-0 down at half time and win 3-2 in the 94th minute with a modern-day Roy Race, Charles N’Zogbia getting the last gasp winner. It was a comic book fantasy ending to an emotionally charged relegation decider.

The fans went through the whole gamut of emotions during the mind-boggling 94 minutes, before they were able to celebrate what was an exceptional result.

Unfortunately we have to do it all again this Sunday. We go to Stoke probably needing to win with other teams slipping up. We are in a five way relegation battle with Wolves, Blackburn, Birmingham and Blackpool, with two of the five to be relegated.

Stoke have had a great season, FA Cup finalists, qualified for Europe and currently 9th in the Premier League table. Worryingly they have an imposing record at home this season with 10 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats, scoring 31 with 17 against.

Some may point to the fact that Stoke have lost their last two games against Manchester City but Tony Pulis is one of the hardest taskmasters and he will want his team to sign off with more points than last season and to finish in the top 10.

Stoke have several injury doubts with Robert Huth, Jermaine Pennant, Matthew Etherington, Rory Delap and Kenwyne Jones all facing fitness tests. Despite this long list I expect that Pulis will want to play his strongest team and this will no doubt include most of the above.

The Potters are one of the most hard-working and competitive teams in the league and their robust and physical style make them difficult to beat.

Many of Stoke’s goals come from corners, free-kicks and Rory Delap’s long throws. Wigan will need to stand firm and be combative against the aerial bombardment. The defensive lapses experienced against West Ham cannot be repeated if we are to prevail.

The big question for Wigan fans is whether Conor Sammon will start the game. Sammon scored a crucial equaliser against West Ham and can lead the line with strength and purpose. Roberto Martinez may however decide to start with his usual line-up and only introduce Sammon when required.

The player who could be the deciding factor between the two teams is Charles N’Zogbia. Wigan’s leading scorer has scored 6 goals in the last 5 games and if he is able to continue his scintillating form Wigan will be favourites to get the 3 points.

A Wigan win gives us a great chance of survival, but the scores at Molineux, Old Trafford and White Hart Lane will also have a say in our destiny.

If Sunday’s game is anything like the West Ham game we are in for another emotional afternoon and I’m hoping for another real Roy of the Rovers ending from Wigan Athletic.

Footnote – Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The stock media phrase “real ‘Roy of the Rovers’ stuff” is often used by football writers, commentators and fans when describing displays of great skill, or results that go against the odds, in reference to the dramatic storylines that were the strip’s trademark.

Posted in Stoke City, Wigan Athletic | Tagged Roy of the Rovers, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic | 2 Comments

Still Hanging On

Posted on May 12, 2011 by ianhaspinall

Wigan players celebrate

Well we are still hanging on but it is now only by our fingertips. Results last Saturday went against us, despite a good performance at Villa Park we could only manage a draw, Blackpool gained an unexpected point at Spurs and Wolves strolled past a West Brom team who clearly had their minds elsewhere.

The bottom of the table does not provide good reading going into the last two games of the season.

P W D L F A GD Pts

15 Blackburn Rovers 36 10 9 17 42 56 -14 39
16 Birmingham City 36 8 15 13 36 54 -18 39
17 Wolves                  36 10 7 19 41 62 -21 37
18 Blackpool                36 9 9 18 49 71 -22   36
19 Wigan Athletic       36 7 15 14 36 59 -23 36
20 West Ham United 36 7 12 17 41 64 -23 33

Looking at the remaining games, I think goal difference could decide our fate.

Here’s my personal analysis of the remaining fixtures for the six teams involved.

Blackburn play Manchester United at home on Saturday and they probably need one more point to stay up, given their superior goal difference. United on the other hand require one point for the Premier League title. My feeling is that a draw will suit both teams nicely and if the scores are level in the second half, I can’t see either team trying to push on and get three points. A draw is my expected result.

Blackburn’s final game is against Wolves away and assuming Blackburn have secured a point against Man United, Wolves will be favourites to win this game as they desperately need to win and Rovers will be just about be safe. A Wolves win allied with a least a point in their game at Sunderland will take Wolves to 41 points and safety.

Birmingham play Fulham at home on Saturday and with Fulham having won only two away from home all season League, a Fulham win is unlikely. Birmingham will be desperate to win and secure safety before their final game away at Spurs, but given Fulham’s ability to counter attack and their record as draw specialists, I’m going for a draw. This will take the Blues to forty points.

Birmingham at Spurs is a tricky one to predict. Spurs have been outstanding in the first half of the season but since their Champions League exit their season has tailed off and they have now missed out on a top four slot. However, they still have the players to outshine Birmingham and I’m backing ‘Arry’s Boys to sign off with a win. If this is the case, Birmingham will sign off with forty points and goal difference will decide their fate.

Blackpool face Bolton on Saturday in a crucial local derby, I’m hoping that the Wanderers players show some pride and don’t just roll over against their Lancashire neighbours. I’m predicting a hard-fought draw with neither team gaining the upper hand.

Blackpool’s next game is at Old Trafford against a United team who are expected to have already won the League. The general feeling is that United will field their second string team as they have the Champions League final against Barcelona imminent. Another draw will not be a problem for United, but it will enough to relegate Blackpool.

Wigan have their biggest game of the season on Sunday (4pm KO) against West Ham. A draw or a win for Wigan will relegate West Ham. But realistically latics must win this game and probably the next against Stoke if they are to guarantee survival.

Many people are calling for striker Conor Salmon to start the game against West Ham, and Roberto to adopt a 4-4-2 formation and go all out to attack. At this stage in the season I think it is unlikely that the manager will change his approach. Wigan will adopt their patient passing game and hope that Charles N’Zogbia can unlock the Hammers defence.

My heart says a Wigan win and West Ham to be relegated. The pressure will then go onto the final game at Stoke City.

Stoke are facing Manchester City in the FA Cup Final on Saturday and I expect this game to be closer than many people expect. Stoke are physical and aggressive competitors, but they have now managed to combine this with some skill and creativity. I think they will pose difficult opponents for Man City and they could just edge it over the ninety minutes or possibly during extra time and penalties.

When Wigan face Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday 22 May they will either be up against the FA Cup winners or the disappointed runners-up. How this will affect their performance on the day is hard to predict. Some will say that as winners they will not really care about the Wigan game, but others predict that they will want to sign off the season victorious and celebrate with their fans.

If Stoke lose the cup final the mood will be more downbeat, but manager Tony Pulis will not want to finish the season on a defeat. Either way latics are in for an extremely difficult final fixture. I’m backing Wigan to get at least a point and go to forty points, it could then be that goal difference will decide whether we remain in the Premier League or start next season in the Championship.

Predicted Final Table

15 Wolves
16 Blackburn
17 Wigan
18 Birmingham
19 Blackpool
20 West Ham

Posted in Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Charles N'Zogbia, Conor Sammon, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Stoke City, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Wolves | Tagged Birmingham City, Blackpool, Charles N'Zogbia, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Stoke City, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Wolves | 2 Comments