J-Rob MBE

Former Wigan striker Jason Roberts has received an MBE for his work encouraging young people in Britain and the Caribbean to play football.

The Jason Roberts Foundation was formed in 2007 to provide opportunities for young people to take part in sporting and cultural activities and to participate in learning programmes enhancing educational achievement.

Roberts bagged 37 goals in 93 games for the Latics and helped them to achieve promotion from the Championship in the 2004/2005 campaign. He went on to score Wigan’s first goal in the Premiership from the penalty spot against Sunderland the following season and steer the Latics to mid-table safety.

He is perhaps best known for his winning goal in the 2005/2006 Carling Cup semi-final second leg, which sealed his team a place in the final of the competition for the very first time. The following season, he signed for Blackburn in a £3million deal, and has since gone on to score seventeen goals in 86 appearances for the Lancashire side. He came on as a sub in Saturday’s match against his old club, whereupon he received a polite round of applause from the Wigan crowd.

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Rooney calls Martinez an ambulance. Or maybe the pizza place?

Even the most hardened of Latics fans will admit there was an air of inevitability over this fixture. If we’re being honest, we all knew Manchester United were going to play some excellent football, in all probability leading to a comfortable win over the Latics.

In fact, you didn’t exactly have to be Stephen Hawking to predict the result of last night’s game:  I believe we’ve only ever managed to score a handful against The Red Devils in all our time in the Premiership compared to their 30+ in the same fixture.

Yep, they’re not just a bogey team, but a whacking great blob of phlegm that engulfs Little Wigan in a sea of yellowy-green mucus on a twice-yearly basis (sometimes more, if we’re unlucky enough to draw them in the cup).

I apologise if I put you off your tea, for that was a bit disgusting. It shall act, though, as an apt metaphor for Wigan’s performance on the night: clunky and not very pleasant to witness. Of course, few teams go to Man U and win, but at least many of them put up a fight – we didn’t even manage to do that yesterday as the Latics side of Chelsea and Aston Villa earlier this year looked to be at home watching The Great Escape. Is it me, or does that film get seven minutes longer each year?

Don’t get me wrong: Wigan were outplayed and outclassed, and even if Latics brought their A-game to Old Trafford they would still have struggled to get anywhere close to ‘Ze Champions’. However, it would have been good to at least have seen some pleasant footy on the big stage in front of 75,000 people. I suppose it was not to be, and the lads will no doubt be drowning their sorrows with extra training on New Year’s Day.

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Jason Scotland's barren run continues

It wasn’t a very eventful Premier League Boxing Day in terms of goals and spectacular wins and all that, a point mirrored in the Wigan-Blackburn game yesterday. Well yes, there were two goals, but it wasn’t exactly one for the purists.

I will concede that, at times, the match alluded to end-to-end action, especially in the second half when Wigan started to appear at the match. If I’m honest, the first 45 minutes lacked that spark which only reared its head after the second goal, Wigan’s first.

For this reason, I shall largely gloss over the first half, which saw Blackburn take the lead through Benni McCarthy, a few shots blazed over the crossbar and some bloke in a chicken suit.

Well, what did you expect? It was Boxing Day, and of course the silly suits were out in force for Latics’ annual festive fancy dress competition. King Henry VIII won out, with Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men getting a runners-up spot and a place in the programme for the Aston Villa game on 9th January.

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Will Jason Scotland ever score?

This isn’t going to be a full-blown match report (let’s face it, how often do I actually post one of those?) because the hustle and bustle of midweek life combined with the rapidly dwindling count of shopping days until Christmas has somewhat curtailed my usual period of post-match reflection. Nevertheless, lunch hour is here to rescue us all!

Prior to yesterday’s game, our friends from down Mersey way were digging themselves a big hole, and all talk was (and still is) of Benitez – should he stay or should he go? I haven’t an inkling either way: since I ain’t a Liverpool supporter I don’t feel at all qualified to give an opinion on the matter. Besides, plenty of other people have been doing that for me.

Whatever, going into last night’s game Liverpool would have accepted nothing more than three points. Yup, had they drawn they probably would have thrown their point back in the FA’s face and said ‘chew on that, sucker’. But the points were far from secure: recent results haven’t exactly been to fans’ liking, and you could see why in periods yesterday.

At times, the lack of that finishing touch was like watching Wigan, who didn’t have too bad a night themselves. Former Liverpool man Chris Kirkland turned out another sweet and sour performance, costing Latics the first goal and looking a little bit rickety in the first half, but redeeming himself with a couple of wonderful saves to keep his side in the game. So I suppose we can let him off – after all, he must still be dazed from the event which must not be named ever again.

Sorry to bring up that game once again, but it seems we’re destined never to forget it. Even when I’m old and wrinkly (in a couple of months’ time, if Latics’ season continues in the same vein) I fear I still won’t have heard the last of it.

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